The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

I can promise terror, glory, and riches...or a quick and brutal death.
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drpete
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The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#1 Post by drpete »

Welcome!

I am looking for a few players to embark on what I hope will be a fairly cinematic game of ACKS. ACKS is a modern b/x clone that incorporates several additional features (tweaks to the economic model to enable a smooth transition to campaign play, a proficiency system that helps you to customize your character, etc). I'm also going to add some house rules from various places around the internet that I think are cool to see how they play out. No experience with acks is required, just a willingness to give it a try :)
Our adventure begins in the Oasis Kingdom of Kuntan, a small city on the edge of a huge desert the locals call "The Great Thirst" or "The Desert of Death". Legend has it that this land was not always a desert, but was transformed in a magical cataclysm generations ago. Ancient battlegrounds, ruined cities half buried in sand, and more are reminders of that ancient history. Nomads somehow survive out in the desert, among lizard men, giant insects and other things. Rumor has it that giant sandworms swim through the deep desert one hundred miles to the north, but no one you know has seen one.

Kuntan is one of a string of oases fed by streams from a forbidding mountain range to the south known locally as the "Teeth of the Dragon". The mountains are populated by giant creatures, beastmen, and more, but the runoff from the mountains sustains human life here in the desert. Bandits make their camps in the foothills of these mountains, from which they strike out at caravans moving between the oasis strongholds.

Meanwhile, in Kuntan, unrest is brewing. The peasants strain under the high taxes imposed by their foreign king. Guards clamp down on dissent in the taverns, but you have heard whispers. Is trouble brewing? Is it trouble for the king, or for those who dare to plot against him?
My intention is that the game will begin at 1st level with human characters local to the oasis. There will be several adventure sites, and leads, and characters can set their own goals, whether these be trading between the oases, tomb robbing, fighting bandits and/or beastmen, exploring lost cities. You name it.

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Rex
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#2 Post by Rex »

Hi drpete,
Is there a free version of ACKS available? If so I might be interested.

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drpete
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#3 Post by drpete »

Well, there's the "acks srd" which is a no frills free set of files you can check out here:

https://github.com/capheind/ACKS_SRD

If you're familiar with bx, it should all seem very familiar... :)

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Rex
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#4 Post by Rex »

I am familiar with bx so that is not an issue. I am interested then.

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sulldawga
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#5 Post by sulldawga »

Interested.

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drpete
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#6 Post by drpete »

Rex,

Cool! To get a sense of the changes that'll be most up front, check out chapter 4 for proficiencies. The classes are in chapter 3... there are the standard ones, plus a few more (halfling is turned into a human ranger-like class called the explorer, there are bards and assassins, etc...

There are some tweaks to various parts of the system, but most of it is pretty minor.

Sulldawga,
Great... I was counting on it :)


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Urson
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#8 Post by Urson »

Sure, I'd be interested- assuming you have space.
Expect Nothing, Appreciate Everything.

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drpete
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#9 Post by drpete »

Thirdkingdom, Urson,

You're both welcome to the game. Absolutely.

To give you guys a taste of some of the tweaks I want to try out...

On top of some things from the Heroic companion (tweaks to thief skills like including Dex bonus and allowing multiple attempts to, say, pick a lock, critical hits, tweaks to healing (natural & magical healing scales with hp), etc, here are a few other plans...

Dungeon Grappling: (and converting the other combat maneuvers to this system)
https://gamingballistic.com/2016/12/05/ ... g-reviews/

Torchbearer Style Light Rules:
http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2015 ... t.html?m=1

Mike Mearls' new initiative proposal: (as modified here...):
https://youtu.be/pOz35qLj_8c

Oh, and I want to speed up levelling, so I'd like to try 100 xp per hd. The treasures will still be there, but you won't stay quite as fragile for so long:
http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2016/01/x ... 1.html?m=1

I'm going to ask for the game forum and start getting us rolling. I figure we can certainly accommodate more people, but we seem to have enough to start the process.

Note: In reviewing my calendar, I realive that I had a lot more travel this summer than I had originally thought, so things may be a bit sporadic for July. I hope you'll bear with me.

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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#10 Post by tymir »

I have the books and would like to join if you have space.

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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#11 Post by drpete »

So, as we anticipate the opening of the forum, let me put a choice to you folks...

Standard ACKS character generation is to generate 5 sets of 3d6 rolls, done in order, to pick from, but there is a more "heroic" option, in which 5 sets of 4d6 drop 1 rolls are done in order, and you pick from those arrays. Do you want to do the standard way, or the more "heroic" option?

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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#12 Post by sulldawga »

I like the "heroic" option but I'm fine with standard if that's the group preference.

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Rex
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#13 Post by Rex »

Doesn't matter to me, more what you are shooting for, for overall feel.


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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#15 Post by tymir »

Hi drpete. I am not able to respond to your pm due to my low post count, so I am replying here.

I played 1st and 2nd edition dnd back in the day. During 3rd and 4th I mostly got my fix through crpgs and fantasy novels.

I have not played PbP before, although I have read an astounding number of 'Actual Play' accounts and followed others' PbP stories. I am a bit of a serial lurker.

I had a regular in person old school group several years ago, but now have 2 little ones that don't allow much structured me time, although I do have unstructured time throughout the day where I could participate in a PbP game.
Jaskar 7/7

Hamiya 7/7

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drpete
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#16 Post by drpete »

Alright, I think I'm gonna give that one the nod.

Another rule is "Prodigality", which modifies your upkeep rule, to encourage you to spend down the treasure, and stay hungry :)

Any character gets a bonus to xp earned from adventuring if he spends more than his henchman wage equivalent. For each level above/below this baseline incurs a 5% bonus/penalty to earned xp.

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Rex
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#17 Post by Rex »

Are we going with going with 3d6 or 4d6?

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drpete
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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#18 Post by drpete »

4d6, drop 1, I think, except for gold, where I want to do 3d4. I've got some arrays gor you guys, but I was going to wait till we got the forum to drop 'em on you. Unless you want to get things started here...? (ToniXX has been away for a few weeks)

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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#19 Post by thirdkingdom »

drpete wrote:4d6, drop 1, I think, except for gold, where I want to do 3d4. I've got some arrays gor you guys, but I was going to wait till we got the forum to drop 'em on you. Unless you want to get things started here...? (ToniXX has been away for a few weeks)
I have found that it is typically best to err on the side of momentum in pbp, so I think we should start creation now.

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Re: The Great Thirst (ACKS) (Looking For Players)

#20 Post by drpete »

Character Creation:
Select a class, and create a character for (preferably) 3 sets of rolls. You may trade down 2 points of a stat other than your prime requisite for one point in your prime requisite, as usual (no stat may be lowered below 9). You may begin with max hp for first level. Be aware that dexterity will not be modifying initiative, but it will be modifying most thief skills.

Campaign ID is 580.

I ask that you NOT create a very detailed background about things far away. You are all new to the grim world of adventuring, you are all from this city. You know each other, and have banded together to seek your fortune.

To help you flesh out your background and ground you in the setting, we’ll try two things. I’ll generate a family for each character, which you may take as an inspiration if you like, though you are welcome to consider yourself estranged from them if you prefer. Also, please divide your maximum number of henchmen by 2, and create this many “contacts” in the city, to represent your friends and associates. You may, if you like, generate one additional contact at the cost of creating one enemy for your character. If they prove fruitful, there will be ways to gain more contacts.

Ethnicities
We'll be starting in the oasis city of Kuntan, and there are three main ethnicities that live in the area. Generally, they can be thought of as upper and lower classes and outsiders, but there is an additional ethnic dimension to the tension between them:

Khazaki: The wealthy, educated and powerful are primarily of this group, descended from a group that conquered the kingdom a few hundred years ago. They are monotheistic, and worship the Great One, the Lawgiver, the Sacred Fire. This is the “official” religion of the oasis.

Kuntani: The majority of the population is of this ethnic group, especially the peasants, but also most of the middle class. Their worship is on a much smaller scale than the Great One, but they worship a variety of gods in small temples and at their homes.

Bedi: Nomads, who primarily live in the desert, but maintain a presence here. They are a shamanic people who commune with spirits rather than gods.
Suggested classes: Barbarian, Shaman

Available classes:


Non-magical/religious classes: Fighter, Explorer, Bard, Thief, Assassin, Mystic, Venturer (non-magical variant), Barbarian
(Barbarian Info: Natural Proficiency: Survival, Weapons: Composite bow, club, dagger, hand axe, javelin, lance, short sword (scimitar), spear, staff, whip. Fighting Styles: Two Handed Weapon, Two Weapons)



Arcane Classes: Mage, Warlock

Divine Classes/Gods:
Khazaki Gods---
The Great One
Clergy: Paladin, Priest

Kuntani Gods---
Adonis, God of Fertility, vigor and agriculture
Clergy: Clerics, Priests

Ishtar, Goddess of Love and War (Passion)
Clergy: Bladedancers and Priestesses

Mityara, Goddess of the Hearth Fire and Water
Clergy: Witches (Antiquarian)
---
Bedi Clergy: Shaman

(If you wish to play a priest or priestess, let me know, and we can work out the code. There are other gods out there, I suppose, but lets keep it simple)

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