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Dwimmermount is one of the few complete megadungeons, and I think it is unique in it's consistent ecology and lore. One of the risks when players face a megadungeon is that they eventually grow bored of the 'crawl' and will look elsewhere. But with dwimmermount, my players have been so curious about finding out the secrets of the dungeon and of history of the campaign world itself. Instead of simply fighting bigger monsters as you go deeper, the low levels of Dwimmermount set up all sorts of opportunites for higher level play with some campaign-changing threats that can be unleashed by unwitting or unwise players. It's not perfect, and althought it's completely ready to run, I think that DM's will want to read through and make changes and tweaks to make it their own. But that is true of any module, and I think that dwimmermount comes more "oven ready" than Stonehell, Barrowmaze or Temple of Elemental Evil. Strongly recommend!
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Very excellent megadungeon, extremely easy to run and much more gonzo than meets the eye (although not quite to the extent of something like Anomolous Subsurface Environment or similar modules). Highly recommended
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The more I read the more I like this system. Flexible and easy to grasp rules that make for fast and furious play.
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Simply amazing matieral! To exlain why this is amazing, I have to explain why I use Adventurer Conquerer King in the first place. There are plenty of options as a DM if I want to run a game where I constantly get told by the books, "Uh, yeah, you're own to figure that out buddy." Or where my players are straight jacketed into a narrowly defined role. Thanks, no. Or perhaps I want to choose between running a Grim Dark world that appears to have been written by a 11 year old Edge Lord, or a world where the players can never do anything wrong. Life, and good role playing games, shoot the middle ground. For RPGs this means a system where player's choices exist and matter. Where players get to encounter good, evil and the large amount in between, and figure out where they exist in that spectrum. The challenge with providing that sort of flexability, without just leaving it on the DM to figure out the particulars, is that the game designer has to put a lot of effort in supporting the DM. This is the challenge I see Autarch taking on, and the promise I see they extending to the players of ACK. It clearly started as a way to revive a version of D&D long abandoned by its creators, and has grown far beyond that beginning.
That all said, why do I love Axioms Compedium 1-8? It allows me to see the ongoing, living process of ACKs growing and expanding to fufill this promise to the players. Each chapter provides an answer to a question I already had, a solution to a problem I hadn't even looked into yet, or a brand new idea that I never would have considered otherwise. It is a tremendous tool for the Judge. My players haven't looked it over yet. If they had, they'd be getting me to hurry up with integrating some of the new ideas into our games. :-)
Another bonus from this book is that it provides a look into what you can get from being a Patreon of Autarch. My first Patreon membership is for Autarch, and I got it because of this book. This is NOT to say that this book lacks value without a Patreon subscriotion, nothing of the sort. Rather that this book gives the reader a taste of what they can get as a Patreon. I got this book in the printed format, and would have gotten it as a printed book even if I had been Patreon subscriber before hand.
Get the book, it'll blow your mind! :-)
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When I first introduced my players to ACKS, they complained it was too complicated and didn’t want to learn a new system. Now, even the one guy who doesn’t really enjoy the genre acknowledges it is an objectively better game than anything comparable we’ve tried.
When they first got the memo about henchmen, they were like, “eh, sounds like a lot of work for less XP, we’ll be fine.” Now they love their henches and struggle from having too many if anything.
When we first ran D@W, they definitely thought it was too complicated and fairly uninteresting (obviously, they're new to wargames). Now, after we just finished our third large Battles engagement, we’re scheduling extra sessions for it and they seem very intent on acquiring more soldiers to go pillage and conquer.
More than any other system I’ve seen, ACKS has been able to persuade people and win them over. Modular rules expansions are a great help in that regard, but just in general, the game as a whole fits together very elegantly in a way that people really come to appreciate.
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I consider this 2 things at once. It's a stand-alone rules system that's heavily inspired by B/X rules, and it's also a giant pile of rules for downtime, high level adventuring (you're a king with a keep now, etc), running campaigns, extra proficiencies, henchmen/hireling/experts hiring, etc. So I'll write two separate reviews here:
High level play, campaigns, stronghelds, NPCs, etc
SOLID 5 stars. One of the best sourcebooks I've ever seen. Straightforward and useful. Many products say "here's the price of a tower for your keep" but this gives you entire frameworks for actually gaming as somebody who has a stronghold. Many products have some simple stuff about hiring experts, this one goes into lots of excellent detail. Tons of proficiencies, getting lost, foraging, wilderness rules, special maneuvers, sea combat, drowning, crimes and punishment, trading, plant toxins, etc. This section is absolutely worth the price of admission and I recommend the book for this. I see this book as all these wonderful things to drop into my campaign with my rules system.
Stand-alone B/X-inspired rules system
2 stars. Basically trash. It's as if people took OD&D and make a couple completely arbitrary changes that make it less compatible and more mathy without any actual gain. Don't buy the book for this, buy the book for the stuff in the previous section which is fantastic.
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Creator Reply: |
Thanks for the review. Glad you found the high-level play sections to be of such value! Sad to hear you found the system to be trash.
You mentioned that a lot of changes from BX seemed completely arbitrary. I wanted to respond quickly to note that virtually all of the changes I made were pursuant to the focus on domain-level play. I didn't do a good job of explaining that in the rules (it's on the ACKS blog). Here are some examples:
- In BX, high-level fighters never gain any bonus to damage or additional attacks. In ACKS, fighter get a damage bonus by level and can cleave anytime they kill an enemy, up to their level. This combo make fighters exponentially more powerful in melee combat as they level. That becomes very important in Domains at War (the mass combat supplement), where it enables solo fighters to be threats to massed formations of troops. In BX, high level fighters are irrelevant on the battlefield.
- In BX, fireball has a 20' radius. In ACKS, fireball has a 20' diameter (10' radius). In Domains at War, troops organize into 60' x 40' formations of 120 troops (2400 square feet). The change to the radius of fireball (from 20' radius to 10' radius) reduces the area of effect from 1,256 square feet to 314 square feet, which is the difference between 1/2 and 1/8 of a company being destroyed by a fireball. On first read, it seems like an arbitrary change, but that one small change is the difference between pitched battles feeling like modern warfare or classical warfare.
- In BX, various actions are resolved with d20, d6, or d100. In ACKS, all actions are resolved with d20. My thought was that because I was adding so many extra sub-systems for war, politics, thieves, magic research, etc., I needed to have a unified resolution mechanic or it would become mind-boggingly confusing. I ran BX for years with d% thieves and d6 listen/door/secret door checks, so I didn't make the change arbitrarily.
Thanks again for the review.
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Phenomenal rules for playing out epic battles as a capstone to a campaign. Very well thought out and integrates very well into the base ACKs game as well as a great standalone wargame!
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"The ancient almanac of unusual magic, penned by the wizard-lord Aryxymaraki in the time before the Day Without Night, has been rediscovered…"
Within the pages of Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic, you will find four new kinds of magic-user, each of which uses magic in new and exciting ways:
Dwarven earthforgers inherit an ancient tradition allowing them to draw on the spark of the divine found in all creation to power their magic.
Gnomish alchemists are experimenters whose concoctions range from ‘helpful and safe’ to ‘incredibly poisonous’.
Terran engineers are scientists and builders from another time, whose inventions and tinkering certainly appear magical to most non-technological societies.
Warlords draw on the chaotic energy of battle, taming it with their practiced tactics and leadership to ensure that their side wins.
These new classes are built for use with Autarch’s Heroic Fantasy Handbook, which provides rules for ceremonial and eldritch magic. Because they use eldritch magic, the new spells (and tactics) described for the gnomish alchemist, the Terran engineer, and the warlord constitute more than one hundred new eldritch spells usable in any campaign that includes eldritch magic, even one that doesn’t include any of these new classes. Of course, it wouldn’t be an ACKS supplement without full builds for all of the classes and spells, and the source factors for gnostic magic, allowing you to build your own content to expand what’s in the Almanac"
Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic is one that I've been waiting for since the kickstarter reared its head a long while back. Clocking in a fifty six pages of ACK's goodness Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic packs in the magical PC goodness for orienting magus towards the Heroic Fantasy Handbook.
And like it Dwarven earthforgers are a welcome add on to Adventurer, Conqueror, King giving the Dwarven PC classes a much needed magical elemental boast. The class is well rounded & feels like it belongs in Dwarven hold deep beneath Greyhawk.
Here's exactly the sort of flavor we're talking here;"At first level, dwarven earth-forgers are able to learn and cast gnostic ceremonies in the runic tradition. Unlike other ceremonial spellcasters, dwarven earth-forgers know only one ceremony at first level, determined by their choice of sigil of creation (see below). The ceremonies available to dwarven earth-forgers are referred to as invocations. They may cast an invocation at any level equal to or less than the maximum level listed on their progression table, below, for their class level. The invocation will describe its effects at each level in its description. When they perform an invocation, they may choose which level to perform it at; they do not need to prepare it ahead of time" We get behind the scenes building of the class from the ground up. Then variarations & much more. The Gnome Alchemist is another class that as player & DM that I really like ;"Gnomish Alchemy is a new subset of magic for ceremonial and eldritch magic. It is a kind of eldritch magic, and uses all of the same source factors and can theoretically access the full spell list. In addition, any spells designed for gnomish alchemy can be used by eldritch spellcasters without any change necessary (beyond determining their shade). Instead of its spells being categorized as Black, Grey, or White magic, they are categorized as Toxic, Tolerable, or Safe. Instead of risking Corruption when casting Black or Grey magic, they risk exposing themselves to Toxicity when using concoctions that are Toxic or Tolerable. And instead of comparing their Corruption to their Wisdom score, they compare their Toxicity to their Constitution score. Thanks to their distance from the magic, provided by their use of alchemy rather than direct ritual, they can blithely perform acts that would sear the soul of an ordinary eldritch caster. However, because their ingredients have difficulty doing things outside the physical, effects that are perfectly safe for ordinary eldritch casters may be among the most toxic for a gnomish alchemist."
Simple easy, & straight forward.. And its a well done class but then we slide deeper into the Alchemy levels for the Gnome Alchemist we get deeply into their background, motives, class structure, & much more.
And then we get into one of the primary villain NPC race's magicks of my campaigns 'The Terrans'. And their traditions of Terran engineering; "Like Gnomish Alchemy, Terran engineering is a new kind of ceremonial and eldritch magic. Terran engineers can easily do some things that are horrifying or dangerous for other eldritch spellcasters (including gnomish alchemists), but have difficulty with other things that might be simple for them. Instead of their spells being Black, Grey, or White, they are categorized as Hypothetical, Experimental, or Tested. Only Tested spells can be cast or learned safely! Even Experimental spells carry dangers with them, and Hypothetical spells, which truly test the boundaries of engineering, are even more dangerous. Like gnomish alchemists, Terran engineers do not gain Corruption in the normal way; instead, they gain intellectual apathy as they delve deeper past the frontiers of the science they know and learn the dark secrets of the universe. Their ability to resist this is based on their Intelligence score, rather than their Wisdom score."
We get deep into the actual nuts & bolts of the alien technologies & dangerous sciences of the Terrans. And not all is wonderful with them. Take for example the spell Aversion Field; " Aversion Field Range: 0’ Terran Engineering 4 (Hypothetical), Duration: 9 turns Eldritch 4 (Black) By means of a supersonic noise above the level of human hearing, the caster can create a field that repels animals. The field affects a 480’ diameter sphere centered on the engineer when cast, though the field does not move after casting. The field lasts for nine turns. Animals and giant animals in the field when it is cast, or who attempt to enter the field for the duration must save vs Spell; on a failed saving throw, they flee in panic for 30 rounds. On a successful saving throw, the animal is not affected by the aversion field." Applied to the holdings of a Terran royal through his or her engineer a pattern of spells & operations for the Terrans emerges. And its not all rainbows & sunshine. This is a race whose spell casters have an agenda & its clear through out Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic that PC's better watch out. Finally we get a brand new class of magic in form of Warcraft; "The ebb and flow of combat…the dance between life and death. There is an art to war, to knowing when to step forward and when to fall back. When to take a chance, and when to cut your losses. And as with any art, there are masters of it. Those masters call their art warcraft. Is warcraft magic? There is power in it, and its secrets seem to be visible only to a talented few. Perhaps it is a matter of training and talent only. Perhaps there is magic in it, as there is magic in a sunset or in a baby’s first breath. There is a raw power available in combat, as primal forces surge to the fore while combatants strive for victory or death. Warcraft is the art of recognizing that power and of manipulating it through the actions of yourself and your allies. Practitioners of warcraft do not directly manipulate magic, and would not consider themselves spellcasters. They are strategists and tacticians, commanders and captains. By recognizing the flow of the battle (consciously or not), they can identify the perfect action to take at the time, and the effects of such perfect timing can be magnificent."
Without a doubt Warcraft magi would be right at home in the field with the armies of Rome! Seriously this class is everything I was expecting & wanting from Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic. This is a battle magi worth of ACK's warfare. A solid class of magus capable of pulling off some of the magicks to bring the war to the enemy in spades. This is a good solid class to add to party if their looking to profit & deal with warfare on a tactical or grand level.
Could Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic be added to other OSR systems?! Easily in my opinion where Labyrinth Lord & its subsystems are used. Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic is a good book to add into the mix to get the maxinum ulility out of your OSR systems.
All in all I'm really glad that I backed Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic it has just the right combination of OSR magicks & classes to make a worth while addition to a DM's tool box for Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg.
Eric Fabiaschi
Swords & Stitchery
Want more OSR action?!
Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/
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Of all the Dwimmermount supplements this one is a must have. The others are nice, I bought the map book and the illustration book as well, but this is a MUST if you are trying to run Dwimmermount. I got back into the game after a decades long absence. I hadn't been a DM since the Gipper was in the White House. This took all the stress out of running a megadungeon for my OSR group. Maps are keyed, there is a random encouter table, everything you need to run the level is included in two pages. ALL megadungeons should have something like this. Money very well spent in my opinion.
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Yes, nearly all the images are included in the book. But these are bigger and are nice to show the players during the campaign without showing the group the main book and perhaps revealing something inadvertently. Very good if you want the complete package and reasonably prices. The art is evocative and well done.
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Very useful for the DM. I wouldn't want to run Diwmmermount without it. Anybody running a Mega Dungeon knows the value of a map pack. Yes the maps are in the book, but these are bigger and the the POD map book was of excellent quality. If you want to run a quick campaign, without having the players try to draw their own maps this is a must.
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Fantastic megadungeon. I returned to the game after a more than 30 year hiatus to run this as a DM for my OSR group. It was very easy to run and very flexible and adaptable. Room descriptions, stat blocks and supplementary materials are simply excellent. Lots of strange magic items, custom monsters and a well thought out campaign world. This product along with various side adventures kept my group busy for close to a year. A great time was had by all.
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More excellent material from Autarch! This is a resource I continue to reference for game play. Like the parent book, this is well crafted including easy referencing and relevant art. The game system does appear to be acquiring some diffusion of scope as the limitations of class based characters common to d20 systems appears to be reached. A very useful addition to the rules nonetheless and well worth the money.
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This book is a master's seminar on how to present a game system with coherent rules, easy to access indices in the back topically arranged to allow rapid review. It is a well constructed tome with engaging and relevant art which helps the material presented appear engaging and entertaining. The game system itself is very playable and an improvement on other d20 based systems. Well worth the money!
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Very useful background material for ACKS campaigns. Continue to use as a ready reference with each new game setting.
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