ACKS is pretty fantastic, IMO. It shines once you get into the domain management part of the game. Mechanics-wise it hits that sweet spot between b/x, BECMI, and AD&D. Combat is pretty simple, and the crunch is more in the economics and management.
If you don't like the name level stuff, it might not be the game for you, but it plays pretty much all the right notes for me. Pretty much any D&D derived game I'm going to run these days will either be ACKS or Castles & Crusades.
edit: full disclosure, I'm friends with Macris on Facebook, mostly to follow his products, but I wouldn't say I know him
It's probably best to compare it to BECMI, with a gigantic focus on running huge tracts of land and raising armies. Economic data for everything you could want to know.
The typical spell lists you expect to see with a few minor changes here and there. Instead of race-as-class there are racial classes that are similar to the typical classes they're derived from but with a few modifications to flavor (with more in the Player's Companion book). The smaller -3 to +3 ability bonuses. At 9th level, everyone can build strongholds of different types - Mages can build fucking dungeons that attract monsters to live in them. Characters can earn XP from domain management. There are proficiencies (which are really a cross between 2e proficiencies and 3.x feats I suppose) that let you customize your character a bit as well. I like the implementation.
AC is increasing, starting at 0 for unarmored, but it still uses a thac0 based permutation for the to-hit roll. (if your Attack Throw value is 8+, you hit AC 0 on an 8. You roll and tell the DM what you hit, so in that case if you roll a 17, you hit AC9). It's very functional and a good compromise to keep ACs as secret as possible during combat w/o using the old AC scales.
There are permanent injury rolls when characters go down in battle, which can result in losing teeth, instant death, limbs, etc.
FWIW the original PHB is around 250 pages with monsters, gm advice, and all of the player info. The new books are going to be around 6 times that length as they're incorporating a lot of the existing material. That said, what's available now is very comprehensive.
Personally, I think it's a great system if you want that level of detail in what for many tables are just 'downtime' activities. I don't think it's the best system if you want a storygame or modern 'balanced' combat, but if you run hexcrawls or sandbox based games with tons of player agency it really shines.
He's linked their podcast runs of the system and it looks well worth checking out. I plan on backing the hardcover edition for my wife for Christmas.
ACKS is pretty fantastic, IMO. It shines once you get into the domain management part of the game. Mechanics-wise it hits that sweet spot between b/x, BECMI, and AD&D. Combat is pretty simple, and the crunch is more in the economics and management.
If you don't like the name level stuff, it might not be the game for you, but it plays pretty much all the right notes for me. Pretty much any D&D derived game I'm going to run these days will either be ACKS or Castles & Crusades.
edit: full disclosure, I'm friends with Macris on Facebook, mostly to follow his products, but I wouldn't say I know him
So, my wife has been on the lookout for osr style games, and I'd love to hear more of your thoughts about the system so I could share them with her.
While I'm familiar with the general concepts of ACKS I'm not versed in the particulars so I'd appreciate hearing more myself.
It's probably best to compare it to BECMI, with a gigantic focus on running huge tracts of land and raising armies. Economic data for everything you could want to know.
The typical spell lists you expect to see with a few minor changes here and there. Instead of race-as-class there are racial classes that are similar to the typical classes they're derived from but with a few modifications to flavor (with more in the Player's Companion book). The smaller -3 to +3 ability bonuses. At 9th level, everyone can build strongholds of different types - Mages can build fucking dungeons that attract monsters to live in them. Characters can earn XP from domain management. There are proficiencies (which are really a cross between 2e proficiencies and 3.x feats I suppose) that let you customize your character a bit as well. I like the implementation.
AC is increasing, starting at 0 for unarmored, but it still uses a thac0 based permutation for the to-hit roll. (if your Attack Throw value is 8+, you hit AC 0 on an 8. You roll and tell the DM what you hit, so in that case if you roll a 17, you hit AC9). It's very functional and a good compromise to keep ACs as secret as possible during combat w/o using the old AC scales.
There are permanent injury rolls when characters go down in battle, which can result in losing teeth, instant death, limbs, etc.
FWIW the original PHB is around 250 pages with monsters, gm advice, and all of the player info. The new books are going to be around 6 times that length as they're incorporating a lot of the existing material. That said, what's available now is very comprehensive.
Personally, I think it's a great system if you want that level of detail in what for many tables are just 'downtime' activities. I don't think it's the best system if you want a storygame or modern 'balanced' combat, but if you run hexcrawls or sandbox based games with tons of player agency it really shines.
Excellent, that amount of detail helps. How about character classes?