Would ACKS be a good fit to capture the BECMI-feel?

[dead]

[I know this is a banned RPG on a couple of sites. I don’t know the full details of why it’s banned but I’m currently investigating to make an informed decision. For the purposes of this thread, though, I’d just like to learn more about the game system. I will do my own research on the controversy elsewhere if that’s OK with folks?]

I guess for me the BECMI-feel is:

Not too dark.
High fantasy.
Colourful/vibrant.
Your heroes can rise from nobodies to kings (and then even to immortals).

I’d like to revisit Mystara and run a campaign but capture all the feel of BECMI in a contemporary system.

Here’s my questions:

1) The artwork for ACKS looks very sword-and-sorcery, Conan-esque. I know that’s judging a book by its cover, but can it do high fantasy? (There’s so many sword-and-sorcery games in this space I guess I’m just being extra cautious.)

2) What is the difference between ACKS 1st and 2nd Edition? Sometimes people put out a 2nd Edition but folks pine for the earlier edition when things were simpler or the essence of the game was just right - ie. before folks had to fiddle with it and make a new edition. Is this the case with ACKS 2e, or is 2e a genuine improvement?

3) It sounds like ACKS can do the “nobodies to kings” vibe. Has anyone got to high-level ACKS play? How has it performed for you?

4) I understand it hasn't quite got an ascending or descending AC but something in between like a saving throw. How does that go in play? Does it feel intuitive and like D&D?

Thank you

 

[NN]

Well its got one good thing going for it;
you can pirate it with a clear conscience.

 

[cbwjm]

As far as I know, 2e is just 1e with all of the extras that they have in their magazines in the main game. Basically, if you have access to 1e, you probably shouldn't feel like you need to buy 2e.

It's based on BX which led into BECMI so it should feel the same as BECMI but has a cap of level 14 (not sure if they expanded it in 2e, I only have 1e). I never got around to playing it, instead I mined it for ideas for BECMI so I can't say how the saving throw system works for combat.

 

[The Soloist]

I would direct you instead to Light Fantasy, which restates BX using more modern rules. More info at this link:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/fr/product/467272/light-fantasy

 

[SteveC]

I picked up the second edition due to some strong recommendations from friends who are very BECMI influenced, so I guess I'd agree. It is very much inspired by that edition, but the thing I find interesting is that they put in a system for building spells/abilities/monsters and they follow it.

I'm not likely to be going in this direction anytime soon, but if I did, I think this would be a solid choice. There are a ton of systems in this sphere, but if you want a game where the curtain has been pulled back and you can see how it was designed, this is good for that.

 

[TwoSix]

1) The artwork for ACKS looks very sword-and-sorcery, Conan-esque. I know that’s judging a book by its cover, but can it do high fantasy? (There’s so many sword-and-sorcery games in this space I guess I’m just being extra cautious.)

2) What is the difference between ACKS 1st and 2nd Edition? Sometimes people put out a 2nd Edition but folks pine for the earlier edition when things were simpler or the essence of the game was just right - ie. before folks had to fiddle with it and make a new edition. Is this the case with ACKS 2e, or is 2e a genuine improvement?

3) It sounds like ACKS can do the “nobodies to kings” vibe. Has anyone got to high-level ACKS play? How has it performed for you?

4) I understand it hasn't quite got an ascending or descending AC but something in between like a saving throw. How does that go in play? Does it feel intuitive and like D&D?

Thank you

1) Yes, but not by default. The game does encourage hacking and has pretty detailed rules to do so, but it would take some work to enable a more high fantasy mode.

2) 2nd edition is a compilation of the original core and a "best-of" selection of supporting material published in the last decade. It does not change the core rules to any significant degree. 2nd edition also has much higher production values, if you find that desirable.

3) I have not, but from various accounts I've read, the rules work pretty well, more so than other "domain" rulesets that have been attempted. It is a fair amount of DM prep, though.

4) It feels pretty much identical to an ascending AC system in practice. The "attack throw" system makes sense in the context of the system, it's just a different approach to the same attack approach every D&D based system uses.

 

[SableWyvern]

1. The default game setting is the periphery of a crumbling pseudo-Roman Empire, but anything you can do in B/X you can do in ACKS, plus more. Any existing Mystara modules and setting stuff you have will fit in pretty seemlessly, just like it will with many OSR products.

2. IMO, the best bits of ACKS are the supporting material for downtime activities and high level play. Mass combat, domains, spell research, ritual magic, trading, investments, thiefly hijinks and more. ACKS II includes more and better versions of what you'll find in core, including finalised versions of a lot of stuff only released as initial drafts on Patreon. If you don't want all that, I think you'll find better options out there than ACKS. If you do want it, I'd go with ACKS II.

3. Yes, it does. Unfortunately, I ran out of steam as our campaign started moving seriously into the conqueror stage, so I never go to give the King phase a real shake, but I have every faith that ACKS would have got me there. It is worth noting that the domain side is quite spreadsheety. If you don't like that, there may be simpler, better domains systems for you.

4. I think the AC/attack roll system it uses is dumb, but it's easily converted to the standard ascending or descending AC systems, as you prefer. (The ACKS way is just yet another way of representing the exact same things AC and to-hit rolls have always done, and it's mathematically equivalent to B/X. Add 10 to an ACKS AC and you have the equivalent AC in an ascending system.)

You can find two years of actual play reports from my ACKS campaign here.

Edit to add: The overall economy system, and that the game encourages PCs to behave like they're wealthy (which they basically will be after one genuinely successful dungeon delve) is one of the strengths of the game. How this is all meant to work was only implied in ACKS, but I believe has been properly spelled out in ACKS II.

 

[Sossij]

I don’t know the full details of why it’s banned but I’m currently investigating to make an informed decision

Based on what I have (just now, never heard of this before) read, the creator has threatened forums with legal action and sent in astroturfing teams to squash any criticism of his alt-right views.

 

[overgeeked]

The creator is one of the people who gives the OSR its bad reputation. There are hundreds of better games out there by less problematic creators.

 

[Micah Sweet]

As far as I know, 2e is just 1e with all of the extras that they have in their magazines in the main game. Basically, if you have access to 1e, you probably shouldn't feel like you need to buy 2e.

It's based on BX which led into BECMI so it should feel the same as BECMI but has a cap of level 14 (not sure if they expanded it in 2e, I only have 1e). I never got around to playing it, instead I mined it for ideas for BECMI so I can't say how the saving throw system works for combat.

There are some changes otherwise, and it is very nice to have everything integrated and easily referenced, but that is largely correct.

ACKS is designed to have a lot of modular options to expand with more detail any aspect of the game, and to have clear formulae for how the game elements are created so you can design your own. This includes spells, classes (it uses race as class with a lot of options per species), special abilities, monsters, etc. The game has a lot of potential rules, but the bulk of them are optional for your table.