I have raved over this game quite a bit and with good reason: this is the system that gave me the old school D&D campaign of my dreams. Yes, it plays pretty well like my trusty Moldvay Basic Set I had back when I was twelve. No… the confusing rules, the missing rules, the rules that require me to make judgement calls when I don’t feel like it… they’ve all been fixed. But mainly… when I ran ACKS, people kept coming back. It was awesome. Some of the most memorable tabletop moments I have come straight out of taking this product line and running it exactly like they designed it.

What’s in the monstrous Bundle of Holding package?

• Adventurer Conqueror King System — Gaming gold! Everything you need to play in one book. And finally! The big domain rules that have been repeatedly glossed over since the late seventies finally get first class attention.
• ACKS Player’s Companion — More character classes. (And introducing the new ones really does spice up the game.) There’s a system for building new classes and new spells.
• Domains at War: Campaigns — Note that this is just the campaign system rules and not the rules for playing the actual miniatures battles. (Caveat Emptor!)
• The Sinister Stone of Sakkara — A modern day answer to the most iconic dungeon module of all time. It’s very playable and does several things that this sort of adventure ought to feature but which you just don’t see very often!
• Auran Empire Primer — Note that this game includes a fleshed out default setting baked into the rules. You might as well run with it because players will assume it’s in play anyway!

Yes, all that in PDF for a mere $9.95. But wait… you can do better. Because for just a bit more you can also get this:

• Dwimmermount (ACKS version) — The best mega-dungeon on the market created by people that are completely fluent in the pulp fantasy classics. This is D&D the way it was meant to be played!
• Domains at War: Battles — These are the only rpg mass combat rules that have seen actual play at my table. It’s basically everything that you can do in D&D applied to a Commands & Colors style system.
• Domains at War: Troops and Terrain — I don’t do the little figures like everyone else seems to do. These counters are everything you need to get real play out of the mass combat rules quickly.
• Lairs & Encounters — The players will go and do as they please. This sort of thing will keep you going when the modules are all someplace else!

If you do get in on this, take my advice and go all the way. The items that set this system apart from the rest of the pack are worth the extra gold pieces.

And seriously, check out these awesome endorsements:

“While the ACKS corebook is really sort of a souped-up retroclone, the Player’s Companion is where the game earns its S for System. And it’s not just neat in theory, either; it’s loaded with stuff that can actually be used in roleplaying campaigns run by mere mortals. Someone else has dealt with all the painstaking game design issues so I can just focus on running the game. I love it!” — Jeffro, Castalia House

“This game does for mass combat what Steve Jackson did for tactical combat with Melee and Wizard. Even better, the basic system of armor class, hit points, and D20 to-hit rolls will be immediately recognizable to most roleplayers. It’s great that people that could never be convinced to sit down to a game of Commands & Colors or Dragon Rage will play this, but the fact that it provides a context for martial characters with high levels of Wisdom and Charisma to really make a difference totally seals the deal. This is something I’ve wanted for a long time, even if I didn’t quite know it, and it addresses a wealth of design issues that emerge in many of the older roleplaying games. This is a very big deal, an achievement on par with the development of playable megadungeons.” — Jeffro, Castalia House [from a long and detailed analysis]

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If you ever heard the horns of Elfland dimly blowing

If you ever wanted to carry a kicking, half-naked wench under your arm

If you ever felt like detonating a nuclear weapon on R’lyeh

NOW’S THE TIME