By Issue
Published Issues
Axioms #1
- Beyond Arcane and Divine: rules for designing custom magic types for your campaigns
- The Shades of Magic: Rules for shaded magic, where dark magic can cause corruption of the body and soul
- Introducing the Wizard: a Mage-like class that utilizes shaded magic
- The Art of Arcanogenesis: Creating new life forms with magic from scratch
- Overcasting: Casting spells beyond one’s traditional limits, with a price
Axioms #2
- A Culture of Battle: History and Social/Economic structures of beastmen
- Domains of Chaos: Rules and demographics for beastman clanholds, chaotic domains, and tribal warriors.
- The Weapons and Warriors of Woe: Variant rules for beastmen arms, armor, and leaders.
- Bred for War: Building custom classes with beastman racial builds.
- Who Stands Against the Beastmen?: How the Auran Empire defends its borderlands.
Axioms #3
- Strongholds and Domains: Refined rules for ACKS domains
- Seperating Land and Lordship: Running domains where the ruler of the land and the owner of the land are distinct entities
- Senatus Consultum Ultimum: Rules for domains with a senate or other ruling body
- Wandering Into War: Random encounters at the domain level – wandering beastmen and monsters arriving to pillage or settle
- Of Coins and Commerce: The underlying economic system of ACKS, and rules for mercantile investments
- The Economics of Peasant Families: How peasant families generate value
- Flocks and Herbs And Silver And Gold: How animal husbandry generates value
Axioms #4
- Pitching Battle!: A revised ruleset for Domains At War: Campaigns battle resolution
- Aide De Camp: Printable play aids for the above ruleset
- Elite Troops: Training region or culture specific elite troop types
- Morituri Te Salutant: Running gladiatoral games, and maintaining a gladiatoral school as a domain type
Axioms #5
- Hedge Wizardry and Village Wisdom: Cantrips for ACKS.
- Potions, Lotions, and Other Commotions: Cantrip Items and item creation.
- Of Mischief and Mountebanks: Two new classes.
- The Fool: A class relying on charisma and luck
- The Mountebank: A trickster who can brew quacksalves (potions of dubious effectiveness)
- A Blight Upon The Earth: Drawing divine power from the land itself.
Axioms #6
- What’s Your Condition?: A dictionary of various conditions (affecting creatures) in ACKS
- Well Met! Now Prepare to Die, Handsome: Expanded mechanics for diplomacy, intimidation, and seduction in ACKS
- Prepare for the Future: A peek into what might happen in an ACKS 2E
Axioms #7
- Magic Item Research: Calculations of value for each magic item in ACKS, to aid in item creation.
- Magical Compounds: Enhancing the flexibility of the magic item creation rules by using/distilling common, multi-use compounds from monster parts.
- Alternate Progressions for the Arcane Values: Reworking the lesser arcane value spell slot progression for better value balance
- A Grimoire of Spells: Nine new spells of 5th level and higher.
Axioms Special Edition: Campaign Play
- Campaign Play: Scheduling the resoution of various domain play activities
- Campaign Activities: Managing various activities – adventuring, growing congregations, ruling domains, magical research, guild hijinks, and mercantile adventures in the framework of a long term campaign.
Axioms #8
- Make Magical Items Magical Again: Thematic minor effects to indivualize magical items.
- Put Your Game Face On: Generating PC/NPC appearances based on race and ability scores
- Stocking the Wilderness: Revamped mechanics for broadening the scope and flavor of wilderness encounters
- What’s In Its Pockets?: Valuables, trinkets, and oddities found in other people’s pockets.
Axioms #9
- Creating Custom Fantasy Races: Creating races compatible with the Player’s Companion class building system
- Hauberks and Hobbits: Armor weights and costs for small and large creatures
- Folks Fair and Foul: Eight new fey monsters.
- Noncombatant Characters: Leveling noncombatant, non-adventuring characters – normal men – into higher levels
Axioms #10
- Grim Heroes: Three new grimdark classes for grimdark worlds:
- The Flagellant: a zealot fighting fores of Chaos
- The Revenant: Free willed undead with a singular goal
- The Sorcerer: A spellcaster steeped in Chaos, with a custom magic type weighted towards summoning and control
- Terrors of the Night: A pair of new undead creatures inspired by monsters of legend.
- The Fetid Crypt of Anatu the Defiler: a dark and haunting dungeon in the Auran Empire’s Borderlands
Axioms #11
- Behind the Veil: A new class – Nobiran Veildancers, a graceful fighter with divine power
- Temptress of the Temple: Revealing the dark secrets of the Priestesses of Nasga
- Lore of the Stars: astrology in the Auran Empire
- Metaphysics of the Cosmos: the cosmogonic secrets of the universe, revealed!
Axioms #12
- The Art of Thievery: revisiting the rules for thieves and related classes
- Re-Thinking Thieves, Part I: a mathematical assessment of whether thief skills are balanced
- Re-Thinking Thieves, Part II: some roguish ideas to tinker with thieves
- Live by the Fist: presenting a streetfighter that packs a punch
- The Purse is Mightier than the Curse: with the newly revised venturer, the wizards work for you
- Hench Wanted: finding and hiring the right henchman for the job at hand
Axioms #13
- Machinery to the Max: Vastly expanded Automaton rules for Machinists
Axioms #14
- Codex & Scroll I: Writing, Reading, Buying, and Selling Books
- Codex & Scroll II: Libraries and Authorities
- Codex & Scroll III: Spells, Formulae, and Systems
Axioms #15
- Lords of the Night: The Nosferatu as a racial class.
- Scion of the Shadows: The Nosferatu Scion class.
- The Katripol of Eastern Ulruk: A New Race for ACKS and Auran Empire Campaigns, the Katripol, with skill in machines
- The Magical and the Mechanical: The Katripol Artificier class.
Axioms Special Bonus Issue 2020
- Compiled Equipment Collection: The collection of all arms, armor, and equipment from ACKS, Player’s Companion, Domains at War, and Heroic Fantasy Handbook.
Axioms #16
- Wounds & Woe: Expanded rules for permanent wounds and tampering with mortality
Axioms #17
- coming soon!
Axioms #18
- Integrated Spell Power Guidelines: Integrated tables combining the Player’s Companion and Heroic Fantasy Handbook‘s spell building resources in one place.
Axioms #19
- Dynasties: New rules for dynasties, including birth, succession, blood rights, and more.
- Cohorts: New mechanics for adventurer-scale battles with large formations of troops.
Unpublished Articles
These articles are available now on Autarch’s Patreon, and will soon be available as individual issues.
- ACKS v.01: A look at the set of house rules modifying B/X that birthed the system
- Savage New Permanent Wound Tables: The five tables are for Bludgeoning, Penetrating, Slashing, Savage, and Fire damage. Each of them is substantially different in narrative description and moderately different in physical effect.
- Classical Auran: A Primer for English Speakers: After 12 years of philological study, the American Society for Classical Auran Philology (ASCAP) has finally released its first primer on the Classical Auran language.
- ACKS Encounter Table Generator: Quickly customize wilderness encounters for any area you define
- Calling, Conjuration, and Summoning: Expanded options for summonings and conjurations by Frank Skeivoll Romsvig
- History and Timeline of the Auran Empire
- Of Arms and Armor: A deep dive into how ACKS’s treatment of armor and combat compare to real-world research
- Who’s On Point?: A look into streamlining sneaking and surprise in ACKS 2E
- The Flow of Combat: A study and overhaul of ACKS’ combat sequence
- Horsing Around: The economics of horse herds.
- What is Best in Life? I,II,II: The underlying economics of nomads, such as the Mongol, and how their domains are structured in ACKS
- Magical Research Revised, I,II,III: An update for Magical Research rules in ACKS, plus updates to the Experimentation rules from ACKS:PC and drawing Arcane Power from the dungeon.
- Secrets of Dwarven Mycoculture: The mechanics and methods of dwarven mushroom farms
By Content
Characters
- Axioms #1
- Introducing the Wizard: a Mage-like class that utilizes shaded magic
- Axioms #5
- Of Mischief and Mountebanks: Two new classes.
- The Fool: A class relying on charisma and luck
- The Mountebank: A trickster who can brew quacksalves (potions of dubious effectiveness)
- Of Mischief and Mountebanks: Two new classes.
- Axioms #8
- Put Your Game Face On: Generating PC/NPC appearances based on race and ability scores
- Axioms #9
- Noncombatant Characters: Leveling noncombatant, non-adventuring characters – normal men – into higher levels
- Axioms #10
- Grim Heroes: Three new grimdark classes for grimdark worlds:
- The Flagellant: a zealot fighting fores of Chaos
- The Revenant: Free willed undead with a singular goal
- Axioms #11
- Behind the Veil: A new class – Nobiran Veildancers, a graceful fighter with divine power
- Temptress of the Temple:Revealing the dark secrets of the Priestesses of Nasga
- Axioms #12
- Live by the Fist: presenting a streetfighter that packs a punch
- The Purse is Mightier than the Curse: with the newly revised venturer, the wizards work for you
- Axioms #13
- Machinery to the Max: Vastly expanded Automaton rules for Machinists
- Axioms #15
- Lords of the Night: The Nosferatu as a racial class.
- Scion of the Shadows: The Nosferatu Scion class.
- The Katripol of Eastern Ulruk: A New Race for ACKS and Auran Empire Campaigns, the Katripol, with skill in machines
- The Magical and the Mechanical: The Katripol Artificier class.
Custom Classes
- Axioms #1
- Beyond Arcane and Divine: rules for designing custom magic types for your campaigns
- The Shades of Magic: Rules for shaded magic, where dark magic can cause corruption of the body and soul
- Axioms #2
- Bred for War: Building custom classes with beastman racial builds.
- Axioms #4
- Morituri Te Salutant: Running gladiatoral games, and maintaining a gladiatoral school as a domain type
- Axioms #7
- Alternate Progressions for the Arcane Values: Reworking the lesser arcane value spell slot progression for better value balance
- Axioms #9
- Creating Custom Fantasy Races: Creating races compatible with the Player’s Companion class building system
- Noncombatant Characters: Leveling noncombatant, non-adventuring characters – normal men – into higher levels
Equipment
- Axioms #2
- The Weapons and Warriors of Woe: Variant rules for beastmen arms, armor, and leaders.
- Hauberks and Hobbits: Armor weights and costs for small and large creatures
- Special Edition 2020
- Compiled Equipment Collection: The collection of all arms, armor, and equipment from ACKS, Player’s Companion, Domains at War, and Heroic Fantasy Handbook.
Spells And Magic
- Axioms #1
- Overcasting: Casting spells beyond one’s traditional limits, with a price
- Axioms #5
- Hedge Wizardry and Village Wisdom: Cantrips for ACKS.
- Axioms #7
- A Grimoire of Spells: Nine new spells of 5th level and higher.
- Axioms #14
- Codex & Scroll I: Writing, Reading, Buying, and Selling Books
- Codex & Scroll II: Libraries and Authorities
- Codex & Scroll III: Spells, Formulae, and Systems
- Axioms #18
- Integrated Spell Power Guidelines: Integrated tables combining the Player’s Companion and Heroic Fantasy Handbook‘s spell building resources in one place.
Adventures
- Axioms #6
- What’s Your Condition?: A dictionary of various conditions (affecting creatures) in ACKS
- Well Met! Now Prepare to Die, Handsome: Expanded mechanics for diplomacy, intimidation, and seduction in ACKS
- Axioms #8
- Put Your Game Face On: Generating PC/NPC appearances based on race and ability scores
- What’s In Its Pockets?: Valuables, trinkets, and oddities found in other people’s pockets.
- Axioms #16
- Wounds & Woe: Expanded rules for permanent wounds and tampering with mortality
Campaigns
- Axioms Special Edition: Campaign Play
- Campaign Play: Scheduling the resoution of various domain play activities
- Campaign Activities: Managing various activities – adventuring, growing congregations, ruling domains, magical research, guild hijinks, and mercantile adventures in the framework of a long term campaign.
- Axioms #12
- Hench Wanted: finding and hiring the right henchman for the job at hand
- Axioms #19
- Dynasties: New rules for dynasties, including birth, succession, blood rights, and more.
Strongholds And Domains
- Axioms #3
- Strongholds and Domains: Refined rules for ACKS domains
- Seperating Land and Lordship: Running domains where the ruler of the land and the owner of the land are distinct entities
- Senatus Consultum Ultimum: Rules for domains with a senate or other ruling body
- Axioms #4
- Morituri Te Salutant: Running gladiatoral games, and maintaining a gladiatoral school as a domain type
Domains At War
- Axioms #3
- Wandering Into War: Random encounters at the domain level – wandering beastmen and monsters arriving to pillage or settle
- Axioms #4
- Pitching Battle!: A revised ruleset for Domains At War: Campaigns battle resolution
- Aide De Camp: Printable play aids for the above ruleset
- Elite Troops: Training region or culture specific elite troop types
- Axioms #19
- Cohorts: New mechanics for adventurer-scale battles with large formations of troops.
Magic Research
- Axioms #1
- The Art of Arcanogenesis: Creating new life forms with magic from scratch
- Axioms #5
- Potions, Lotions, and Other Commotions: Cantrip Items and item creation.
- A Blight Upon The Earth: Drawing divine power from the land itself.
- Axioms #7
- Magic Item Research: Calculations of value for each magic item in ACKS, to aid in item creation.
- Magical Compounds: Enhancing the flexibility of the magic item creation rules by using/distilling common, multi-use compounds from monster parts.
- Axioms #14
- Codex & Scroll I: Writing, Reading, Buying, and Selling Books
- Codex & Scroll II: Libraries and Authorities
- Codex & Scroll III: Spells, Formulae, and Systems
Monsters
- Axioms #2
- The Weapons and Warriors of Woe: Variant rules for beastmen arms, armor, and leaders.
- Axioms #9
- Folks Fair and Foul: Eight new fey monsters.
- Axioms #10
- Terrors of the Night: A pair of new undead creatures inspired by monsters of legend.
Treasure
- Axioms #5
- Potions, Lotions, and Other Commotions: Cantrip Items and item creation.
- Axioms #8
- Make Magical Items Magical Again: Thematic minor effects to indivualize magical items.
- Axioms #14
- Codex & Scroll I: Writing, Reading, Buying, and Selling Books
- Codex & Scroll II: Libraries and Authorities
- Codex & Scroll III: Spells, Formulae, and Systems
The Auran Empire
- Axioms #2
- A Culture of Battle: History and Social/Economic structures of beastmen
- Who Stands Against the Beastmen?: How the Auran Empire defends its borderlands.
- Axioms #11
- Lore of the Stars: astrology in the Auran Empire
- Metaphysics of the Cosmos: the cosmogonic secrets of the universe, revealed!
Secrets
- Axioms #2
- Domains of Chaos: Rules and demographics for beastman clanholds, chaotic domains, and tribal warriors.
- Axioms #3
- Of Coins and Commerce: The underlying economic system of ACKS, and rules for mercantile investments
- The Economics of Peasant Families: How peasant families generate value
- Flocks and Herbs And Silver And Gold: How animal husbandry generates value
- Axioms #6
- Prepare for the Future: A peek into what might happen in an ACKS 2E
- Axioms #8
- Put Your Game Face On: Generating PC/NPC appearances based on race and ability scores
- Stocking the Wilderness: Revamped mechanics for broadening the scope and flavor of wilderness encounters
- Axioms Special Edition: Abstract Play
- Abstract Dungeons: Running adventures in dungeons without the dungeon – great for groups of henchmen or secondary characters
- Abstract Wilderness: Running wilderness lair encounters and clearing hexes with an abstracted system
- Axioms #12
- The Art of Thievery: revisiting the rules for thieves and related classes
- Re-Thinking Thieves, Part I: a mathematical assessment of whether thief skills are balanced
- Re-Thinking Thieves, Part II: some roguish ideas to tinker with thieves
Lairs And Encounters
- Axioms #10
- The Fetid Crypt of Anatu the Defiler: a dark and haunting dungeon in the Auran Empire’s Borderlands