ACK versus D&D et.al.

Good morning, forum!

 

I have a question regarding ACK. I've skimmed through it a couple of times, and it looks very cool. I picked up the Players Companion, Domains at War, and the Heroic Fantasy Handbook, and the Sinister Stone module (as well as all available Axioms issues).

 

My question is this: I've been playing D&D and its variations for almost 40 years now (encompassing B/X D&D, AD&D1, AD&D 2, D&D 3/3.5, Pathfinder, D&D 4, D&D 5) so this looks like something I should be familiar with. But I've also noticed some differences from core B/X D&D. Assumptions, in my case, are a dangerous thing to have, when I want to initially run ACK as close to rules-as-written as possible. So, what are the major or minor areas that a gamer coming from D&D will assume work one way, but instead ACK does another way? I.E. What are the things that tend to trip people up when they run ACK for the first time, and what is there to watch out for to keep the game running smoothly?

 

And lastly, are there any commonly accepted house rules that people use to smooth out the rough spots?

 

Thanks for the help! I'm developing a mega-dungeons camapaign which will have at least Barrowmaze and Dwimmermount kicking around, as well as lots of stuff from my own diseased brain on a rampage <insert pic of intellect devourer here>.

 

cleaving is new and it's a pretty cool bump to the power of fighter types vs. small enemies.

spellcasting looks like it's vancian but it's slightly tweaked, so be sure to read up on it.

proficiencies are their own beast, so be sure to give those a good read.

the death and dismemberment table is going to figure in heavily when PCs get dropped below 0, and it won't always be fatal (but it's usually grisly).

henchman! these are a big part of ACKs. compared to the vagueness of older editions, ACKs is much more cleanly cut out. Even then, though, there are some parts you'll need to decide for yourself how you want to fill in (depending on the type of campaign you want).

 

As for house rules: i found spears to be a little too good relative to other weapons in terms of price, damage, and modes of use.  it is theoretically balanced by weighing 1 stone, but i went a step further and declared they break on an attack roll of a natural 1.  crossbows/arbalests are similarly quite good compared to bows (which is historically accurate, i suppose), so i said on a natural 1 they become stuck/unstrung/etc. and it takes 10 minutes to fix.

Some of the "tactical" rule changes from B/X include:

  • All activities are handled using the mechanic of B/X saving throws, that is, you have a target value based on your class and level; this is true for attack throws, proficiency throws, etc.
  • Fighter-types get a damage bonus that scales with level
  • Initiative is rolled individually each round; there is some interaction with arrows readied and spears set for charge 
  • A character who slays a target gets to move 5' and attack again (cleave) subject to limits by level and movement rate
  • Spells sit in a "repertoire", from which any spell can be cast; repertoire can be changed from spellbooks, but slowly
  • Fireball only has a blast radius of 10', not 20' (important for mass combat!)

A house rule I recommend (this will be an "official" rule if there's ever an ACKS 2E):

  • WIS bonus/penalty applies to ALL saving throws, not just saving throws vs. magic

 

What's your thinking behind the WIS bonus/penalty applying to all saving throws?

 

Gryph - Two things:

1) Symmetry: There is an ability score that provides a bonus to melee attack throws, to missile attack throws, to armor class, to hit points, to damage, etc., but there is not an ability score that provides a bonus to saving throws in general

2) Balance: Wisdom is closest to being a dump stat in ACKS of any ability score

 

One may find some issues with some builds/proficiencies in conjuction with ACKs reaction rolls as written if you don't carefully consider the "Judge may choose to alter the Monster Reaction result if he believes a different result would be more plausible given the circumstances." clause.

There are a couple helpful threads on this forum with others' thoughts on this topic. Here is one such thread.

I considered substituiting B/X's table for Charisma's modifier to reactions. I landed on not modifying intitial reaction rolls by Charisma & having the initial reaction roll be a strong influence on any parley that might follow. I'm not entirely satisfied with my solution but we get by.

I've read most of this forum over the years and haven't observed universally common house rules. Most seem to have their own pet table rules here and there, same as for B/X.

With regard to keeping the game running smoothly. The benefits of the univerally provided Adventuring proficiency are scattered through the rulebook. Here's what that covers for every PC:

1) Adventuring for 5 turns out of 6
2) Bashing down standard doors on 18+ on d20 (see p93 for mods)
3) Hearing noises on 18+ on d20
4) Spotting secret doors on 18+ on d20
5) Noticing traps on 18+ on d20
6) Avoiding getting lost in wilderness and sea at the chances listed on the Terrain Navigation tables
7) Foraging in the wilderness on 18+ on d20
8) Hunting in the wilderness on 14+ on d20
9) Riding on a mount for long distances without being hurt
10) Fishing at sea on 14+ on d20
11) Evading opponents in wilderness at chances listed on the Wilderness Evasion table
12) Igniting burning oil without hurting oneself on a 2+ on d20
13) Self-treatment of wounds sufficient to heal 1d3 hp/day

Fighter damage bonus combines with cleaving for a nice little power-up for fighters compared to B/X.  By the book character generation, with 5 sets of 3d6 in order but with point trade-offs, makes seeing fighters with 18 strength more common than I expected, which synergizes with cleave as well.  None of that should trip you up inherently, it's just a way of keeping fighters in the game as spellcasters acquire higher level spells.  (I note that weapon mastery in BECMI and weapon specialization in AD&D were moves in the same direction.)  What did trip me up once was the player damage output when running published non-ACKS OSR adventures.  Low level monsters statted in other rule sets can basically be run as is, with AC converted on the fly, but higher hit dice monsters felt a little weak.  As time allows, run them through ACKS monster creation rules - you'll see higher HD monsters should usually deal more damage or have more attacks than in other old school rulesets.

I got a little bit of pushback from my new-school players on action declarations for casting spells and withdrawing from combat.  Those feel restrictive, but they do play an important part in balancing combat.  That was partly my fault, as I default to only teaching rules as they come up, so if I were starting again I would lay those out at the very start, possibly with a handout sheet, so no one was surprised.

[quote="Jard"]

the death and dismemberment table is going to figure in heavily when PCs get dropped below 0, and it won't always be fatal (but it's usually grisly).

[/quote]

I played in a B/X Barrowmaze game some time before running ACKS, and dead at 0 hp was quite brutal on the PCs starting out.  Between the Mortal Wounds table at 0/below, and Restore Life and Limb listing at 500 gp (if the party can find a caster in time), ACKS felt surprisingly casualty-light to me.

[quote="Fadingmark"]

And lastly, are there any commonly accepted house rules that people use to smooth out the rough spots?

[/quote]

I ran for an open table, and what I should have done from the outset but only figured out late in the game, was to make one adventure session or dungeon delve per month of campaign calendar time an explicit meta-game house rule.  That makes a nice clean unit of time to track downtime activities for absent players/non-adventuring characters.  And has the side benefit of allowing you to figure out a standard living expenses chart, instead of looking up lodging and meals each time the party is in town.

The rules sort of steer towards an adventure a month anyway when you start encountering the Mortal Wounds and Tampering with Mortality tables, or gathering rumors, but it's a soft push, and my players' tendency was to push onward whenever they could, which made tracking time and downtime activities more of a hassle than it need to be for me.

Of course if you're running for a fixed group with good attendance this becomes less important, but I would still consider it for a game centered on dungeon delves.

One quick combat house rule for players of 3E through 5E:

Add 10 to all ACKs AC. in combat roll a d20 + (BTH) + (bonus).  If the total is greater than AC, you hit. 

BTH = monster HD, or 10-ACKs roll , e.g.  a roll of 8= is converted to BTH +2 (10-8=2).

This results in a combat to hit roll closer to modern d20 systems. 

Spell signatures are a neat tweak. I would highlight that portion of the rules and play it up especially when facing NPC spellcasters.  Also spell memorization for arcane casters is a little different, but actually makes it more likely that less common spells (like hold portal) might actually be used,  

I also agree that fighter damage bonus + cleave is a big deal.  I have found that my PCs have accepted characters with low stats and had a good time.  They limitations have impacted player behavior without limiting player effectiveness.  

Check the forums and the Autarch Patreon site for a lot of other tweaks and house rules including custom races, classes, and alternate systems.  

[quote="Alex"]

Gryph - Two things:

1) Symmetry: There is an ability score that provides a bonus to melee attack throws, to missile attack throws, to armor class, to hit points, to damage, etc., but there is not an ability score that provides a bonus to saving throws in general

2) Balance: Wisdom is closest to being a dump stat in ACKS of any ability score

[/quote]

It's also easier from an administrative standpoint. Using the base ACKS rules, the Judge has to tell the players whether a given save is magic-based or not, and the players have to remember to apply the bonus / penalty. If WIS affects all saves, then you can just build it into your saves and forget about it.

[quote="jojodogboy"] Also spell memorization for arcane casters is a little different, but actually makes it more likely that less common spells (like hold portal) might actually be used. [/quote]

Gold as XP encourages this too. Early in my last campaign, one of my players had their level 1 mage henchman use their one spel;l per day to case Magic Rope, and everyone at the table agreed this was a good idea as it helped them raid the treasures of an orc lair without having to fight the orcs. That's not an experience you normally get out of more modern versions of D&D, players generally don't look for ways to avoid fights in a game where fights are your main source of XP, and who has a low-level wizard prepare Magic Rope in a Vancian system?