Brethren of the Blade

Could you clarify what you mean by this? As in, your internal alpha playtesting, the same way Opelenean Nights did so for D@W?

Exactly.

In this case, however, it may not happen. I realized last night I’m experiencing heavy GM burnout. 6 years of GMing 2 sessions per week ++ game design…woo.

That’s too bad, this campaign intro had me very intrigued. Nothing against Opalenean nights, I just get drawn in by viking themed stuff.

Sounds like you need someone to delegate DMing the rules you write to, preferably in front of a camera so you can watch it later. Might even give you some insight into how other people interpret your writing. Or you could just give yourself a break, that works too!

I run between 2 and 4 sessions a week of ACKS with a rotating roster of ~15 players. If you need someone to run some playtest material for you, let me know. :slight_smile:

Jard and Kamard, feel free to email me at alex@autarch.co.

sorry! I wasn’t volunteering, just brainstorming. Though technically you can see all the ACKS DMing I do because I run a play-by-post: http://www.pbpmap.com/pbpforum2/viewforum.php?f=834

Sorry, too late. I insist you email me. :stuck_out_tongue:

I will begrudgingly email you, but only so that I can recite the Blue’s Clues mail song

Ha! Oh good lord I’m glad my youngest is off that now.

The campaign I’m starting would probably be able to benefit from this, as I’m going for a lower/slower-magic “Prydain” style theme (with more of a Slavic/Bros. Grimm bent than a Welsh, perhaps?), but I don’t expect to get much in the way of “beta test quality” feedback from 7 to 10 year olds?

I’d have to talk with my group, but I know I’d love a chance to run some playtest material for ACKS. We’ve been playing with increasing regularity, averaging about 2 sessions every 3 weeks (before my vacation out of the country, but the guys have kept playing meanwhile): not a lot compared to many other groups (jobs, significant others, kids, etc.), but we’re a pretty experienced bunch, with most of the group having been together for over 15 years, and have experience in BECM, AD&D, and 3E (plus, of course, many many other systems).

More than a few of my campaign ideas would probably benefit from the Heroic Fantasy rules: I’ve had designs for a Hyborian Age setting ever since I got ACKS (I’m a huge fan of Howard’s Conan), and my Mesopotamian Land of Kings -campaign setting idea is meant to be sword & sorcery. They’d probably also fit my ideas for a 17th Century campaign and a Roman Empire era campaign.

Email me and I’ll send you a beta document.

The beta quality feedback will come from you, as Judge, describing how the mechanics work in play.

Also, I believe I assure you, that ACKS has been entirely built on playtesting by gamers with the mentality of 10-year-olds.


“Tonight,” said the NPC, “We dine in Valhalla”.
“But I’m not huuuungry,” said the player.


Sounds good. Email me and I’ll send you a beta document.

Also, I believe I assure you, that ACKS has been entirely built on playtesting by gamers with the mentality of 10-year-olds.

Shoulda seen that one coming. The “adult” game I play in had a kobold-henchman-turned-stone-golem stored inside a live mekillot for a while. Pretty sure we hit bottom on that one, to turn a phrase.

I’ll drop a line shortly.

Hmm… I’m currently between games, but this sounds like something my group would be really interested in. If you’re still looking for more playtesters, I can pitch it to them.

I feel for you. I experienced this early last year, and realized it had been more than 7 years since I’d been in a seat as a player. Sometimes you just have to step away for a while to keep things from falling apart in the game, or worse, have it become entirely unfun.

This sounds pretty neat. It has a feel very much like Bernand Cornwall’s ‘Uhtred of Bebbanburg’ Saxon stories about the amalgamation of England under Alfred the Great.

Would be interested in taking a look at the document, but i don’t currently have time to actively run a play-test game.

Dear god…where do you find the time? I can barely get a session off once a week.

Yep, I’m a busy dude indeed. I reckon I spend about twenty hours a week thinking or working on my ACKS campaign. We play every Wednesday night from 6:30ish to 10, and every Sunday noon to 5. Tonight I had eight players running nine characters, including a newbie who hadn’t played this game with us before.

I have to use Excel to track pretty much everything.

it’s not an ACKs game unless there are multiple excel spreadsheets!

I also think the campaign frame sounds awesome. I run two weekly games for 8-10 10 to 12 year olds at my school. They love it and cannot wait for their next session. If you want more play testers, I’m happy to experiment with the rules and gather feedback.