Friends, Aurans, countrymen - the moment is at hand! The ACKS II Treasure Tome has just launched.
The first sourcebook for ACKS II system, the ACKS II Treasure Tome is a 256-page compendium of over 1,000 brand-new magic items for old-school fantasy campaigns. Designed with all the rigorous detail and careful study expected of the Adventurer Conqueror King System Imperial Imprint, the ACKS II Treasure Tome is easily adapted for use with other D20-based fantasy RPGs such as North Wind Adventure's Hyberborea, OSR Publishing's Dragonslayer, and the Arcane Library's Shadowdark.
If you missed the original ACKS II crowdfunding campaign, don't worry - you can back the Treasure Tome at the Explorer reward tier or purchase the complete collection via add-ons. Backing the Treasure Tome is just the first step in experiencing what critics are calling "the greatest innovation in RPGs since the end of TSR," "the best version of D&D ever made," "the greatest interpretation of the fantasy RPG since AD&D," and a "shockingly good" "unrivaled masterpiece" that is "the natural evolution of AD&D."
The best magic item compilations published before now, the ones truly packed with interesting and compelling items and new exciting ideas, are still the original AD&D Dungeonmaster's Guide, AD&D Unearthed Arcana, and AD&D Greyhawk Adventures sourcebook. Those are the books that have inspired a million campaigns for decades.
The ACKS II Treasure Tome has more items than all of those combined -- and we've taken great pain to create items as fantastic, wondrous, and exciting as those classic items that inspired our childhood imagination so long ago. We've built:
438 new miscellaneous items
177 new potions
168 new magical implements
115 new swords
110 new rings
99 new miscellaneous weapons, and
99 new sets of armor
In addition, the ACKS II Treasure Tome is the first book that actually provides a consistent structured pricing for each item, along with the design details for making them. Some other books have tried this, but the items weren't built with a unified coherent system--and the requirements to make items frequently didn't make sense. Never before has there been a sourcebook that combines the extravagance and imagination of the earliest old-school fantasy with the coherence, detail, and structure found in ACKS II.
Like the other books in the ACKS Imperial Imprint product line the ACKS II Treasure Tome features a durable PU leather cover, lay-flat sewn bindings, thick art paper interiors, with full-color art by a team of artists led by Michael Syrigos. This is a high-quality collectible book majestic enough to stand-out on the bookshelf and durable enough to survive the rigors of tabletop action.
The ACKS II Treasure Tome is not just a tome of treasure - it's a treasure in itself. Check out the free Treasure Tome Sampler to get a sense of what's in store! Then click the link or the image below and back it now. There’s several early bird rewards and limited tiers, so don’t miss out.
ACKS II in PDF
Long-time backers of the ACKS II project know that production was delayed by the voluminous amount of art required to complete the books. But now the wheel of production is rolling smoothly forward. Indeed, I’m pleased to report that all of the backers were sent their PDFs over the weekend!
If you were a Kickstarter or Late Backer of ACKS II and you haven’t received your PDFs, please email me at alex@autarch.co so I can see what went wrong. These books are the most beautiful I’ve ever released and I want to make sure you get to enjoy them as soon as possible.
ACKS To Grind
My new YouTube show, ACKS To Grind, continues to flourish. To date, I’ve been joined by Rick Stump, Brian Neumeier, Jonathan Oldenburg, The Prince of Nothing, and John N McGowan.
Tonight I’ll be joined by one of the co-authors of the Treasure Tome as we discuss the making of this masterpiece. There’s John C. Wright, Tom Kratman, James Young, Jeffro Johnson, Red Room, and more coming thereafter!
https://www.youtube.com/live/FpgOLHfYfhg
ACKS on Substack
Be sure to check out our flourishing Substack community:
If you have a blog or third-party product that supports ACKS or Ascendant, please let me know and I’ll be happy to include you in my next round-up.
Support the Community
Once you’ve pledged for the Discord, head on over to these community links:
Autarch Discord with one of the smartest, nicest gamer communities around
Autarch Reddit with a sub-set of the aforementioned smartest, nicest gamers
Ascendant Patreon with a new character and story hook every month
Autarch Facebook page with news and updates about our projects
Autarch Twitter channel with brief comments and witty quirks
Ascendant Comics Facebook page with sneak previews of the upcoming comics
Ascendant Comics Instagram page with tons of art and cosplay
Ascendant Comics Twitter channel with short messages and quirky wit
Let's gooooooo