thirdkingdom
2016-12-08, 09:24 PM
I started running an ACKS game on rpg.net somewhat over a year ago. The premise is that the world undergoes constant cycles between Law and Chaos, each extreme lasting roughly one hundred years. In the times when Law is ascendant civilization spreads, roads and infrastructure is built and the wilderness is tamed; when Chaos is premier the Realms of Man are assaulted by hordes of beastmen, screaming barbarian hordes and ripped assunder by warfare.
The campaign starts in the Thirdmonth of the Fifthyear of the Sixteenth Cycle (each Cycle is roughly a two hundred year period). The forces of Chaos are in retreat and the Realms of Men are in the process of rebuilding and retaking territory that was lost. The characters begin in the frontier town of Junction, a border community in the western reaches of the Scarlet Principalities. The game was pitched as ACKS meets Oregon Trail and was to focus on exploration of the world outside the civilized Realm of Man, with the assumption that it would gradually shift over towards the domain phase of the game as the party cleared and claimed territory.
The players created characters using the Adventurer method of creating high level characters, found on p. 253 of Core. I rolled five sets of stats and let them pick which one they wanted. No arranging, or adjusting, but they can change any three rolls to a 13, provided the original roll was 8 or lower and they can only do this once per set. Leftover sets are to be used for starting henchmen. Each PC starts with 20,000 XP and 16,000 gold. Gold can be spent on equipment, XP for henchmen (at a rate of 1 gp = 1 XP) and chances for magic items. Everybody, needless to say, spent the 10,000 and 1,000 gp for chances to get magic items.
The roster of PCs at the start of the game was as follows:
*Karag Two-blades, Assassin 5 and his two henchmen:
**Hira of the Seven (Antiquarian Witch 3)
**P'zev the Hairless (Mage 2)
*Qutai (Shaman 5) and his henchman:
**Jochi (Explorer 4)
*Rabanus the Raffish (Mage 5) and his henchman:
*Pantera (Explorer 3), a former panther transmorgrified into a human.
*Xallijk (Nobirian Wonderworker 4) and his henchman:
**Nathet (Nobirian Wonderworker 2) also Xallijk's daughter
*Sir Harn (Fighter 5) and his henchman:
**Brother Hanston (Cleric 3)
*Zaharak the Unburnt (slightly reskinned Ruinguard 4) and his henchman:
**Anchorite Syllana, Priestess 3
The PCs also started with the following:
*20 veteran horse archers.
*A baggage train of 20 mules for supplies.
*A factor named Mr. Hand who would remain behind in Junction and handle their expenses, money and recruitment of workers, mercenaries, etc.
*A magical silver bowl that would enable the party to communicate with Mr. Hand once per week.
*This map, 18 miles to the hex, dating from the previous Cycle. I made it clear that it is possible the very geography has been warped by the influence of Chaos, or that some information on the map may be incorrect. Because I am lazy I randomly generated the map using Hexographer.
https://wiki.rpg.net/images/b/ba/Player%27s_Map_9.2.15.png
*The following plot hooks:
Over dinner the previous night the party's factor, a lean, smallpox-marked man named Mr. Hand had spread out the wrinkled, faded map on the table and succinctly recounts what they know.
“Here,” he says, pointing to the road leading to the town of Rocky Mount, “a pride of manticores is said to lurk, devouring all who attempt to pass. Their lair is said to be in these mountains here, overlooking the forest below. I have spoken to a merchant who claimed they are denning halfway up an almost sheer cliff, with a difficult approach.”
“A man has made contact with me, wild-eyed and bushy-bearded, claiming to know the location of a lost gold mine that he is willing to sell for the sum of five hundred gold alcedes. Ordinarily I would discount such tales as the raving of a lunatic or the sugary words of a con man, but I have sources who confirm that there was at one point an attempt to mine a lucrative vein somewhere about here.” He points to a section of the map labeled “75.55”.
“Explorers tell tales of Pesh, a fabled city far to the west. However, in order to get there one would have to either pass through Rocky Peak or take a longer and more circuitous route south, and then west.”
“There are also tales that the land west of Junction and south of Rocky Peak are exceptionally fertile. They tell me the Prince has his eye on expanding this way, at some point, as his domain is somewhat lacking in rich soil.”
“The Prince is offering a reward of five thousand gold alcedes for the removal of the river trolls currently disrupting shipping traffic on the River Sarn, some one hundred miles south of here. Alive or dead, he wishes to see them removed.” Hand points to a section of the map labeled “71.51”. “They are believed to be laired here.”
“The Rufous Baron, ruler of Junction, has offered a reward of 500 gold alcedes for anyone able to clear the land opposite the bridge of all threats, so that he may garrison a squad of troops there.”
Mr. Hand takes a sip of wine and warns the adventurers that they surely will not be the only brave souls called to the frontier. “There is one other party that I am aware of currently in Junction, and more will certainly follow with the warmer weather. I have told you what I know, and leave the final decision to those more experienced in such matters.”
They decided to go after the trolls disrupting river traffic.
The campaign starts in the Thirdmonth of the Fifthyear of the Sixteenth Cycle (each Cycle is roughly a two hundred year period). The forces of Chaos are in retreat and the Realms of Men are in the process of rebuilding and retaking territory that was lost. The characters begin in the frontier town of Junction, a border community in the western reaches of the Scarlet Principalities. The game was pitched as ACKS meets Oregon Trail and was to focus on exploration of the world outside the civilized Realm of Man, with the assumption that it would gradually shift over towards the domain phase of the game as the party cleared and claimed territory.
The players created characters using the Adventurer method of creating high level characters, found on p. 253 of Core. I rolled five sets of stats and let them pick which one they wanted. No arranging, or adjusting, but they can change any three rolls to a 13, provided the original roll was 8 or lower and they can only do this once per set. Leftover sets are to be used for starting henchmen. Each PC starts with 20,000 XP and 16,000 gold. Gold can be spent on equipment, XP for henchmen (at a rate of 1 gp = 1 XP) and chances for magic items. Everybody, needless to say, spent the 10,000 and 1,000 gp for chances to get magic items.
The roster of PCs at the start of the game was as follows:
*Karag Two-blades, Assassin 5 and his two henchmen:
**Hira of the Seven (Antiquarian Witch 3)
**P'zev the Hairless (Mage 2)
*Qutai (Shaman 5) and his henchman:
**Jochi (Explorer 4)
*Rabanus the Raffish (Mage 5) and his henchman:
*Pantera (Explorer 3), a former panther transmorgrified into a human.
*Xallijk (Nobirian Wonderworker 4) and his henchman:
**Nathet (Nobirian Wonderworker 2) also Xallijk's daughter
*Sir Harn (Fighter 5) and his henchman:
**Brother Hanston (Cleric 3)
*Zaharak the Unburnt (slightly reskinned Ruinguard 4) and his henchman:
**Anchorite Syllana, Priestess 3
The PCs also started with the following:
*20 veteran horse archers.
*A baggage train of 20 mules for supplies.
*A factor named Mr. Hand who would remain behind in Junction and handle their expenses, money and recruitment of workers, mercenaries, etc.
*A magical silver bowl that would enable the party to communicate with Mr. Hand once per week.
*This map, 18 miles to the hex, dating from the previous Cycle. I made it clear that it is possible the very geography has been warped by the influence of Chaos, or that some information on the map may be incorrect. Because I am lazy I randomly generated the map using Hexographer.
https://wiki.rpg.net/images/b/ba/Player%27s_Map_9.2.15.png
*The following plot hooks:
Over dinner the previous night the party's factor, a lean, smallpox-marked man named Mr. Hand had spread out the wrinkled, faded map on the table and succinctly recounts what they know.
“Here,” he says, pointing to the road leading to the town of Rocky Mount, “a pride of manticores is said to lurk, devouring all who attempt to pass. Their lair is said to be in these mountains here, overlooking the forest below. I have spoken to a merchant who claimed they are denning halfway up an almost sheer cliff, with a difficult approach.”
“A man has made contact with me, wild-eyed and bushy-bearded, claiming to know the location of a lost gold mine that he is willing to sell for the sum of five hundred gold alcedes. Ordinarily I would discount such tales as the raving of a lunatic or the sugary words of a con man, but I have sources who confirm that there was at one point an attempt to mine a lucrative vein somewhere about here.” He points to a section of the map labeled “75.55”.
“Explorers tell tales of Pesh, a fabled city far to the west. However, in order to get there one would have to either pass through Rocky Peak or take a longer and more circuitous route south, and then west.”
“There are also tales that the land west of Junction and south of Rocky Peak are exceptionally fertile. They tell me the Prince has his eye on expanding this way, at some point, as his domain is somewhat lacking in rich soil.”
“The Prince is offering a reward of five thousand gold alcedes for the removal of the river trolls currently disrupting shipping traffic on the River Sarn, some one hundred miles south of here. Alive or dead, he wishes to see them removed.” Hand points to a section of the map labeled “71.51”. “They are believed to be laired here.”
“The Rufous Baron, ruler of Junction, has offered a reward of 500 gold alcedes for anyone able to clear the land opposite the bridge of all threats, so that he may garrison a squad of troops there.”
Mr. Hand takes a sip of wine and warns the adventurers that they surely will not be the only brave souls called to the frontier. “There is one other party that I am aware of currently in Junction, and more will certainly follow with the warmer weather. I have told you what I know, and leave the final decision to those more experienced in such matters.”
They decided to go after the trolls disrupting river traffic.