Arbiter of Worlds

Annals of the Auran Empire Authors Announced

Alexander Macris — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 02:42:13 GMT

Friends, Aurans, Countrymen -

I haven’t been as active on this newsletter this year as I would have liked, so it is possible that you might not yet even be aware of the existence of the upcoming Annals of the Auran Empire anthology.

Annals is not just an anthology that brings together an extraordinary roster of fantasy authors to explore the Auran Empire’s dangers, dungeons, and doomed champions. Annals is an anthology inspired by and based on the recently-completed ACKSII Treasure Tome. Each and every short story in the anthology is centered on a different item from the Treasure Tome, allowing you to glimpse how magic items appear and influence the game’s world.

The longest story in the anthology is “Shadowblade,” by Nebula Award finalist John C. Wright, featuring a Sword of the Manes. “Shadowblade” unfolds in the kingdom of Rorn during the dark days following the death of Arëtar Pendaelen. If you follow the project on BackerKit, you will unlock an exclusive preview of Chapter 1 of Wright’s story, so be sure to click the link and follow the BackerKit page to get your sneak preview.

The other amazing stories in the anthology are:

“By Axe and Blade” by Zane Voss, featuring the battle axe Brine Cutter, tells the story of a Jutlandic exile who reluctantly joins forces with a swaggering ex-legionnaire to rescue slaves from an orc camp in the Borderlands, forging the beginnings of an adventuring party.
“Debts on the Long Road” by Ruth Clara, featuring the Hidden Tent, tells the story of a fugitive Shebatean prince who uses the magically invisible pavilion to evade the elite trackers pursuing them across the mountains toward the Auran Empire.
“Expendable” by Sam Robb, featuring a Death Shroud, tells the story of a scholar named Ptolemaios who guides a band of brutal mercenaries to an undead city on behalf of a cruel and mysterious dark captain.
“Family Honor” by A. Kristina Casasent, featuring a Ring Against the Wolf, tells the story of a Tirenean nobleman struggling with the challenge of producing an heir with his new wife.
“Shieldbearer” by B.K. Gibson, featuring the Shield of the Iron Curtain, tells the story of a lowly torchbearer who finds a strange shield during a goblin assault and discovers a heretofore undiscovered gift for combat.
“Siege on the Borderlands” by Nathaniel McIntyre, featuring a Sword +1, Lone Hero, tells the story of an Auran legate who must defend an undermanned border fort against an orc horde and a sinister sorcerer.
The Seat of Contemplation” by Brian Renninger, featuring a Hand of Calamity, tells the story of a grief-stricken Somirean mystic who has spent decades mourning his dead wife when he discovers a way to have all his wishes be granted.
“Falling from Oblivion” by Jonathan Oldenburg, featuring a Helm of Alignment, tells the story of a Zaharan Ruinguard who is captured and converted from darkness to the Empyrean cause.

Many of you will know Jonathan Oldenburg as Andravus of the Grey Brotherhood YT series (and hence one of my West Point classmates.) He is also the author of Tears From Iron, an epic fantasy novel published by Autarch. Tears From Iron is on sale now on Amazon, and the sequel will be released by Autarch in 2027.

Meanwhile, if you are active in the speculative fiction writing community, you might recognize that Casasent, Gibson, McIntyre, Robb, Thompson, and Voss are all members of an elite writing circle known as the Alpha Mercs. The Alpha Mercs have been instrumental in assembling Annals of the Auran Empire, with Mr. Zane Voss serving as a managing editor / writer-wrangler for the affair. I am extremely grateful for the Alpha Merc’s support and contribution. If you are an RPG designer looking to work with talented writers to help expand your IP, I highly recommend them.

Annals of the Auran Empire will crowdfund on BackerKit on June 8th. Again, be sure to click the link and follow the BackerKit page to get your sneak preview!

The Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Vol. II and ACKS II Treasure Tome Are Late But En Route

I had hoped that this week’s newsletter would also be an announcement of the arrival of Star-Spangled Squadron Vol. II and ACKS II Treasure Tome at our warehouses.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. For reasons outside my control, the logistics company was not able to get the books loaded onto the transport ship before the start of the Lunar New Year Celebration in China. Instead, the books languished in the warehouse during the multi-week festival. I made a number of attempts to work around this, but China simply shuts down during the holiday; there was no one to even communicate with, let alone to arrange alternate freight.

Now that Lunar New Year is past, the books have been loaded but the net result is that they will not arrive until the end of this month or early next month, and thus shipping to you will not take place until mid to late April. My sincere apologies for the delay.

The ACKS II Second Printing Books Are Also En Route

The same freighter that is carrying Star-Spangled Squadron Vol. II and ACKS II Treasure Tome is also carrying the second printing of the ACKS Imperial Imprint. Our US, UK, and Canadian warehouses will therefore be getting a “resupply” of ACKS II books in mid-April. This will supplement the ACKS II inventory that was dispatched from our UK warehouse last month.

I know that many of you are waiting to order the second printing books, either because you missed the original ACKS II Kickstarter or because you are hardcore collectors who want an updated version of the books with errata fixed. Here is how the timing of that will play out:

Treasure Tome backers who ordered ACKS II books and haven’t yet received their books (because they didn’t select Expedited Delivery last year) will get first priority on delivery, likely end of April 2026
Before All Others backers who choose Expedited Delivery in BackerKit will then be sent ACKS II second printing books, likely end of May 2026
Before All Others backers who choose Standard Delivery in BackerKit will have their books set aside for delivery alongside Before All Others in Q1 2027
The remaining inventory will be made available for sale on the Autarch Emporium, Compose Dream Games, and Studio II Publishing websites, going on sale in June 2026

I will, of course, make further announcements at each stage of this process. If you’re waiting for your books, that’s the timeline!

A Conversation on “4D Gaming”

Better With Bacon recently invited me to join him and ‪Tablerunner Crispy‬ for a discussion of “4D Gaming.” 4D Gaming is an emerging method of playing tabletop games that seeks to maximize immersion in the diegetic world of the game.

On first impression, the simulationist crunch of ACKS II would seem to be an odd choice for an immersive RP methodology, but first impressions are often wrong. It turns out that the fanbase for 4D Gaming has a surprising overlap with the fanbase for ACKS II, because both communities prioritize diegetic plausibility as a means of creating player agency.

In the video we streamed below, the three of us delved deep into issues of game theory for over an hour, along the way finding both fundamental agreement and points of friction. It was the first time I have streamed in many months, and I was grateful for both the opportunity to participate and the good health to do so.

Substack Stacking Up

We’re beginning to develop quite a community of ACKS-related blogs here on Substack. Here’s some of the latest offerings from ACKS and ACKS-adjacent substackers.

Annals of the North

Intelligent Items Revisited

Nearly three years ago, I shared an early draft of my rules for intelligent items. I stand by the core claim made there: being possessed by an item’s sapience is not strictly a drawback, but rather the point of wielding such an item, to gain its skills and powers…

13 days ago · 8 likes · 1 comment · Arbrethil

Fascinating Contaminated Luggage

Beware Imitations

Cursed items play an important role in the magic item metagame/ecosystem: they can punish players for not fully identifying treasure. Discern Curse can of course neatly spot them, but priestesses are rare, and it’s a significant cost for a studious divine caster to spend one of the repertoire slots on such a spell. Magical Engineering and Loremastery proficiencies simply do not catch cursed items, and will either return no information or falsely report the item as the item it appears to be. Proper magic item research, with a base cost of 1,000gp, will make things clear, but who has the time…

2 days ago · 2 likes · Daniel Hicks

Harrowing Worlds Substack

Sketching out the Terrain 4,000 to 6,000

In the last article I covered the 6,000’ to 8,000’ range of elevation. I’m going to continue the trend of leaving the previous elevations up as I make my way down the 6K-4K bands…

a month ago · 12 likes · Harrowed

Rage's Substack

Escape From Ravenloft (Part I)

Ravenloft is one of the most seminal and beloved adventures in the history of Dungeons and Dragons. Each edition of the game has its own take on it as well as its own expansions and alterations. Ravenloft is also a scenario designed to include several touchstones of gothic horror throughout. While much of it is evocative and occasionally successfully cr…

2 months ago · 7 likes · 1 comment · Rage Mage

ThePhoenixTome

Adventure Site Contest III: All ACKS II Entries

The third iteration of Ben Gibson’s Adventure Site Contest III saw a great increase in quality ACKS II submissions. Of course I must shamelessly promote my own entry The Hypogean Oracle, but I have also been really impressed by the other ACKS entries…

9 days ago · 3 likes · ThePhoenixTome

Zathras' Adventures

ASCIII: Spiteful Springs

A naiad and witch battle for control of a ruined bath complex. Bandits, orcs, and…

a month ago · 6 likes · Zathras Adventures

FortCranium

Dungeon26: Level one NPC party for ACKS II

This post is intended to be a companion to my year long mega-dungeon project labeled Dungeon26. You can see my profile for the original posts and there will be a new one again tomorrow…

a month ago · 4 likes · 3 comments · FortCranium

Axebeard's Art and RPGs

RPGs - solo and otherwise - Carcosa Actual Play

Personal stuff…

a month ago · 18 likes · 10 comments · Axebeard

Pedantic's Substack

Investigation of the Iron Crucible

Not all classes are created equally powerful. In By This Axe, the Fury underperforms (as I have mentioned previously), while the Excavator seems almost an NPC class. By contrast, the Sporecaster is more than a little busted. But you might be forgiven for thinking that the Earthforger is fine. After all, the Invocation of the Eternal Forge is a joke, and…

4 days ago · 4 likes · 3 comments · Pedantic Demography

Support the Community

Here’s the links to everything you need to get involved in the Autarch Community:

Announcing Annals of the Auran Empire

Alexander Macris — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 02:23:52 GMT

I hope that everyone had a splendid New Year's Day and is looking forward to a prosperous 2026. Here at Autarch, it's only been a week, and it feels like a month has already passed.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Auran Empire

The Auran Empire is best known as the default setting of ACKS and ACKS II, but it’s more than that - it’s my own personal campaign setting, one that I’ve used to run BX, D&D 3.5E, and even RuneQuest, in campaigns that long predate ACKS.

As it happens, today marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Auran Empire, with my earliest files dating to January 6, 2006! To celebrate this milestone, I’m delighted to announce a major new project: Annals of the Auran Empire!

Autarch’s new anthology Annals of the Auran Empire brings together an extraordinary roster of fantasy authors to explore the Auran Empire’s dangers, dungeons, and doomed champions.
Leading the anthology is Nebula Award finalist John C. Wright, whose tale “Shadowblade” unfolds in the kingdom of Rorn during the dark days following the death of Arëtar Pendaelen. More authors will be revealed in the weeks ahead.
Crowdfunding launches Spring 2026. Follow now to be first in line and unlock an exclusive preview of Chapter 1 of Wright’s story before anyone else.

Be sure to click the link to follow the BackerKit page to get your sneak preview.

Ascendant Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II Now Available in PDF

I’m also pleased to let you know that Ascendant Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II is now available in PDF format on DriveThruComics and DriveThruRPG. As a newsletter subscriber, you can use this coupon code to purchase the PDF at a 10% discount.

Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II is an action-packed 64-page tale that plunges the heroes of the Star-Spangled Squadron into a desperate battle against Exodus. While American Eagle and Stiletto took center stage in Volume I, we see Aurora in the lead in Volume II, with the megalomaniacal Maximum Leader as the main antagonist.

Crowdfunding backers will be getting the book in softcover in March and it will then become available at retail the following month. In the meantime, be sure to get your PDF now!

The Simulation Renaissance

Ross from Mythic Mountains Folk Tabletop recently featured me in a two-hour session to discuss the Simulation Renaissance. I think it’s one of the best conversations I’ve had on simulationism. Ross and I tackled some difficult questions in a depth you don’t usually see on YouTube. If the theory and practice of simulationist RPGs is a topic you’re interested in, this is must-watch interview.

The Living Ascendant Campaign is Ascending Higher

The Living Ascendant campaign is our new multi-GM living campaign set in the official Ascendant universe. It’s based on the Ascendant: Platinum Edition RPG rules and it’s open to every free member of the Autarch Discord and Patreon. The campaign began on November 5 and we’ve had an unbroken streak of multiple sessions every week, with every session jammed with players. You can read about the Living Ascendant Campaign here. We’re actively recruiting more players and gamemasters; join the Discord as the first step.

All Other Things Autarch

Our latest crowdfunding campaign, Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization, reached 1300% funding on October 15th. However, the project remains open for late backing and we if we can reach $150,000 in pledges by March 2026 it will unlock the Bitter War campaign. If this is your first time hearing about Before All Others, check out the special 16-page full-color sneak preview of the book. By This Axe has proven to be one of my most enduringly popular books, and I think Before All Others will prove equally well-loved, so don’t miss out!

Meanwhile, Autarch is manufacturing the print rewards for Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II graphic novel and the ACKS II Treasure Tome sourcebook. Both books should be dispatched to backers in March.

Support the Community

Here’s the links to everything you need to get involved in the Autarch Community:

ACKS II Treasure Tome Now Available

Alexander Macris — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 23:25:14 GMT

Friends, Aurans, Countrymen -

I’m delighted to announce that the ACKS II Treasure Tome is now available in PDF format on DriveThruRPG. As a newsletter subscriber, you can use this coupon code to purchase the PDF at a 10% discount.

The ACKS II Treasure Tome is the fourth volume in the Adventurer Conqueror King System Imperial Imprint. Designed as a sourcebook for judges, it contains:

A comprehensive compendium of over 1,300 new magic items, meticulously designed and lavishly detailed;
A customizable treasure placement system that lets you fine-tune the flow of treasure from gritty to heroic levels;
A robust item creation system capable of crafting anything and everything, from simple scrolls to awe-inspiring artifacts;
A dynamic weapon development mechanic enabling adventurers to transform personal weapons into legendary arms;
A procedural generator to catalyze your creativity with infinite items on demand;
A potion miscibility system, a curse and corruption mechanic, and more!

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! Here’s a few sample items and illustrations from the Treasure Tome, ready for use in your campaigns. After you’ve perused them, head over to DTRPG to get your PDF.

Predator’s Mantle: This regal black cloak is trimmed with white tiger fur across its shoulders. Once per 3 turns, by making a guttural roar, the wearer can evoke a predatory aura around himself that unnerves normal beasts. Each animal that begins its initiative or moves within 90’ of the wearer must make an Implements saving throw. If the save fails, the animal falters that round, suffering a -2 penalty to attack throws, proficiency throws, and saving throws against the wearer. T he aura lasts for 3 turns or until dispelled.

Saddle of the Bearmaster: While dwarves have little love for horses, bears are a different matter, with dwarven affinity for the creatures dating back millennia. This hard war-saddle is sized and shaped for use on a bear. A short poem in Dwarvish praising the valor of bears is embossed forward of the seat; reading it aloud in a boastful tone while touching the saddle will call a brown bear (see ACKS II Monstrous Manual p. 44) to serve the user. If called in a hex of its native terrain (e.g. forest, hills, or mountains), the bear will arrive in 1d6 turns, otherwise taking an additional 2 hours of travel per 6 mile hex to arrive from the nearest suitable terrain. Upon arrival, the bear will allow the saddle to be attached, understanding the reciter’s speech and serving him faithfully as though it were a trained war mount. The bear departs if dismissed or left unsaddled for 1 day. If the bear departs, is slain, or is dispelled, the saddle can call a new bear after 1 day passes. Most such saddles are sweat-stained from their hairy mounts, but a seat which has ever had its enchantment dispelled while being ridden is likely also heavily stained in blood (and usually has other substantial damage).

Talking Head: This small shrunken head hangs from a leather loop. When the head is worn around the neck like a macabre necklace, the wearer hears the tiny voice of the head rambling at a low volume, though the head’s stitched-together lips do not move. The head has a lot to say: it will complain about the weather, disparage the looks of passersbye, mock local fashions and customs, catcall attractive strangers, and (if all else fails) deride the wearer for walking too fast or walking too slow, for sitting in the shade or standing in the sun. Though the dead head is as irritatingly obnoxious as any living curmudgeon, the wearer can occasionally pick up useful information from its jabber. In a single day of wandering an urban settlement the head has visited before (either with the wearer, with a prior wearer, or in its life), the wearer can learn 1d4 interesting rumors from the head’s remarks on the events and circumstances of the settlement. Like the venturer’s rumormongering power, the head’s power can be used but once per month per settlement – the head is easily bored, and if taken on a tour of the same urban settlement in the same month, it will simply complain continuously without offering any fresh insights.

Attempts to converse with the head are largely futile, as it simply spits out its stream of (un)consciousness without concern for what the wearer is saying. Targeting the head with speak with dead has no effect other than to make the head stubbornly fall silent for the duration of the spell. Bringing the head within earshot of a creature plagued by whispers from beyond the grave (due to a dark whisper spell or a side effect of Tampering with Mortality) causes the creature to hear the head’s ramblings instead of the grave whispers. The cursed creature will unfortunately still suffer the -2 penalty to Listening throws and surprise rolls, as the head (delighted to “have someone who listens”) will be even more talkative than before. The unfortunate victim often f inds he prefers the whispers of the grave.

The Living Ascendant Campaign is… Alive!

The Living Ascendant campaign is our new multi-GM living campaign set in the official Ascendant universe. It’s based on the Ascendant: Platinum Edition RPG rules and it’s open to every free member of the Autarch Discord and Patreon. The campaign began on November 5; since then we’ve had 4 gamemasters and 21 players register, and seen an average of two sessions every week run by our GM team. You can read about the Living Ascendant Campaign here. We’re actively recruiting both players and gamemasters; join the Discord as the first step.

Next Month: The 20th Anniversary of the Auran Empire

As it happens, next month will actually mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Auran Empire, with my earliest files dating to January 6, 2006. To celebrate this milestone, I’ll be announcing a major new project. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but it involves the illustrious author John C. Wright. Stay tuned for details next month!

All Other Things Autarch!

Meanwhile, Autarch has begun manufacture of the print rewards for Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II graphic novel and the ACKS II Treasure Tome sourcebook. Both books should be dispatched to backers in Q1 2026.

Support the Community

Here’s the links to everything you need to get involved in the Autarch Community:

Announcing the Living Ascendant Campaign

Alexander Macris — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:21:11 GMT

When tabletop RPGs first began, it was not uncommon for campaigns to involve multiple gamemasters running shared worlds on a nearly continuous basis, with sprawling groups of players that could number in the dozens or even scores. All the grand campaigns of the early 1970s, including Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk, Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor, and M.A.R. Barker’s Tekumel, and Rob Kuntz’s Kalibruhn, were open-table affairs with overlapping player pools. Gygax’s Greyhawk reportedly had 40–50 active participants. Even MIT’s CUDDL (Cambridge University D&D League) and Caltech’s campaigns ran in a similar multi-GM style. These multi-party multi-GMs campaigns often adopted “strict timekeeping” to manage the action. Gygax recommended 1:1 time (one game day = one real day), or something close to it, to keep the campaign organized.

The halcyon era of the great Lake Geneva-style campaigns didn’t last long; by the time the hobby went mainstream in the early 1980s, most gamers played RPGs in small groups made up of a single gamemaster with 3 to 6 players. The exceptions to the rule were the Living Campaigns organized by the Role-Playing Games Association (RPGA). The first such campaign, Living City, launched at GenCon in 1987 with the AD&D 2E rules. It soon grew to thousands of players worldwide. It was followed in 1999 by Living Greyhawk, based on the D&D 3E rules, and then by others - Living Arcanis, Living Force, Living Rokugan, and more.

These campaigns, largely played at conventions, orchestrated massive numbers of players through a gauntlet of scenarios run by various gamemasters. The worlds of the Living Campaigns were put into the hands of GMs from around the country, who were responsible for building out their regions, writing scenarios, and so on. Living Greyhawk, the largest shared campaign in history, had 120 different regions, each mapped to a real-world area, with thousands of GMs and tens of thousands of players.

The nature of convention-focused RPGA play meant that the Living Campaigns were quite distinct from the old Lake Geneva game club style. Instead of daily sessions tracked in 1:1 time, the Living Campaigns used abstract “time units” (TUs). Players received a limited number of TUs per year (e.g., 52 per real year) that they could allocate towards activities in the shared world. Activities were reported back to a central registry, and character progression and in-game events could affect regional storylines. Regional GMs wrote sanctioned adventures that tied into a central metaplot set by the campaign administrators. The campaigns advanced in discrete in-game years, sometimes aligned with real time, sometimes decoupled.

Whatever their limitations, the Living Campaigns were grand affairs, uniting gamers in play in an era before MMOs, Reddit, and Discord. Many Gen X gamers remember these Living Campaigns as some of the best gaming of their lives. But when 4th Edition launched in 2008, Wizards of the Coast decided to sunset Living Greyhawk and replace it with Living Forgotten Realms, effectively wiping the slate clean. 4E famously alienated many established 3E players; the elimination of Living Greyhawk alienated many loyal participants even more, as their characters and regional histories simply vanished. Not surprisingly, Living Forgotten Realms was never as popular as Living Greyhawk had been.

In 2014, WotC replaced the Living Campaign model with the Adventurers League model. The Adventurers League model offered standardized, centrally written modules with simple reporting and minimal paperwork. It eliminated regional storylines, player-driven metaplot, and meaningful persistence. This shift mirrored a larger cultural move from campaign-based play to episodic sessions and digital pick-up gaming. A glorious era had ended.

Around the time that the Adventurers League replaced the Living Forgotten Realms, the Old School Renaissance began to emerge as a popular, albeit niche, play style. Most members of the OSR continued to run standard campaigns with one GM and a small group, though here and there “West Marches” style campaigns offered open tables for larger groups. But if the OSR mostly played the same way as their brother gamers in the mainstream, they did much to revitalize interest in older styles of play.

In 2020, when the country locked down during the COVD-19 pandemic, a majority of gaming groups switched from playing in person to playing online using a virtual tabletop platform like Roll20 or Foundry, or even just Discord. As VTT play became dominant, some visionary gamers, familiar with OSR rules, decided to recreate the original tradition of multi-GM multi-party campaigns online. Jeffro Johnson codified the new-but-old approach in his 2022 article “What is the #BrOSR?”

Now, Jeffro himself proved a controversial figure in the gaming space. (I don’t mean that as a veiled criticism, merely as a statement of fact; I’m controversial, too.) Though he has since left the hobby, various allies, enemies, successors, and critics have continued waging low-intensity internet warfare on Discord, Reddit, and X, arguing about everything from how Gygax actually played to the merits of strict timekeeping to the best system for various styles of play. People’s opinions on such matters are… very strong… But that’s ok! Opinions are strong because people care. Multi-GM living campaigns seem to meet a real need, an unscratched itch; every year, more and more people want to try them out.

I’ve long wanted to do some sort of living campaign — but using one of my own rules systems, not Gygax’s or Arneson’s or anybody else’s. Unfortunately, a living campaign requires a certain critical mass of players to sustain it, and for a long time my rules systems didn’t have the critical mass needed.

Fortunately, the Autarch community has been consistently growing. When Autarch’s Discord launched in 2018, it had just a couple hundred members; when Ascendant blew it up it grew to 1,000; and as of now, post-ACKS II, it’s got over 2,300. And that, my friends, is mass enough to make a go of it!

Accordingly, last week I launched Autarch’s first living campaign, the Living Ascendant campaign.

What is the Living Ascendant Campaign?

The Living Ascendant campaign is a multi-GM living campaign set in the official Ascendant universe. It’s based on the Ascendant: Platinum Edition RPG rules and it’s open to every free member of the Autarch Discord and Patreon. We’re actively recruiting both players and gamemasters; join the Discord as the first step.

In Ascendant, a session of play is called an Issue, and a collection of Issues is called a Series. Each Series is structured with the heroes as operatives for an Organization that calls on them to perform crimefighting activities. Having the heroes work for an Organization makes it much easier for the Series to run, because the Organization can assign Missions to the heroes; provide a headquarters where the heroes plan, rest, and re-equip; offer back-up if the heroes ask for help; justify the addition of new heroes if one of the player characters dies or otherwise leaves the campaign; and enforce limits on the behavior of the heroes so that the Series doesn’t become impossible to manage.

The Living Ascendant campaign uses this default campaign framework and expands it into a multi-gamemaster format. The Organization at the center of the campaign is Dreadnaught Security Inc, a private police company that employs ascended officers.

Each of the six gamemasters in the Living Ascendant campaign has assumed responsibility for a region within the United States in which Dreadnaught has clients and facilities. In the game world, each gamemaster personally role-plays as the Bureau Chief of that Dreadnaught field office in addition to his referee responsibilities.

Meanwhile, each hero in the Living Ascendant campaign is an ascendant operative of Dreadnaught assigned to the Rapid Response Team (RRT). As a member of the RRT, the hero can participate in various locations as needed to handle Missions when called by the Bureau Chiefs. Heroes are built and registered using the Ascendant Multiverse character creator app, which streamlines character creation for new players.

The gamemasters create and run Missions that take place within their assigned regions. Each gamemaster is expected to run at least one Mission per month but gamemasters can run more Missions per month if desired. In the game world, the “crime rate” of the gamemaster’s local region is assumed to loosely correlate to how many Missions the gamemaster runs. For instance, gamemasters who run weekly Missions must (by abductive reasoning) be overseeing “more dangerous neighborhoods” than gamemasters who only run monthly Missions. Regions without gamemasters are rather safe and peaceful!

When a session takes place in game, that means the Bureau Chief is requesting operatives from the Rapid Response Team to undertake Missions within his region. The day, time, and venue in which a Mission takes place is up to the individual gamemaster. Some gamemasters may run Missions that some players can’t participate in because of scheduling. In the game world, this simulates crises occurring at random times, sometimes when particular heroes are otherwise occupied.

The campaign began on the real-world date of 5 November 2025 and correlated to the game date of 5 November 2019. In the game world, all of the heroes were recruited to Dreadnaught following the 11/5/19 Viceroy article on crimefighting superheroes.

Campaign time updates each day between Missions. However, campaign time updates during Missions dynamically in accordance with the mission. Most Mission begins and ends in one game day but in rare cases they may extend two or more game days. A hero cannot undertake more than one Mission on the same game day, nor undertake downtime activities on the same day as he undertakes a Mission. The remainder of the game day is eaten up by paperwork, debriefing, and other interludes. (Heroes with Superspeed and Time Control just get assigned more paperwork. It’s realistic!)

Meanwhile, heroes who are not undertaking a Mission can use their downtime to undertake extended actions in the game world; work the beat, dealing with petty crime and police work; or (with appropriate powers) develop and manufacture inventions, even advancing the state of technology in the game world as a whole.

Over time, the Ascendant Universe will march forward, and the heroes will steer the course of its history. We have plans to introduce monthly events, enemy factions (Exodus cells in the various cities), and more!

The Living Ascendant campaign has come together far faster and far smoother than I had ever hoped would be possible; I was amazed that our first session launched within days. Here’s the first After Action Report, written in character by “Ironguard”:

DREADNAUGHT SECURITY INC.
Field Operations Division – AFTER ACTION REPORT
Operative: Ironguard (Ethan James Marrow)
Mission Code: MA-003A
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Date: 11/08/2019
Classification: Internal – Level 3
Summary: Repeated engagements with known Ascendant-class offenders during ongoing Baltimore crime wave.
________________________________________
Overview
Ironguard, Grief-Sayer, and Bullet Time arrived at the Baltimore Branch via teleportation relay for what was to be a standard day of patrol support. The city remains under severe stress, with an average of one criminal incident reported every four minutes and a marked rise in Ascendant-related activity.
________________________________________
INCIDENT 1: “Fire Starter” Engagement
Upon arrival, a Yellow Alert was issued following reports of a fire at a mid-rise apartment complex on the East Side. Visual confirmation identified Fire Starter, a known pyrokinetic fugitive, in proximity to the blaze.
Ironguard initiated evacuation protocols, executing vertical leap descents to extract civilians, while Bullet Time coordinated rooftop evacuations. Grief-Sayer provided crowd control and emotional stabilization among evacuees.
During evacuation, Fire Starter downed a responding police helicopter, prompting an active pursuit through city blocks. Bullet Time pursued on foot, while Ironguard advanced via jumping, carrying Grief-Sayer for rapid repositioning.
A missed blast from Fire Starter struck a nearby residential building. Bullet Time engaged first, discharging multiple precision rounds with negligible effect. Grief-Sayer attempted a verbal disruption, no visible impact.
Ironguard closed distance landing in front of Fire Starter and engaged in close quarters. The initial strike missed; a follow-up grapple succeeded. Fire Starter was contained, causing only superficial uniform degradation to Ironguard. Reflected thermal feedback resulted in moderate burns to the subject, facilitating capture.
Grief-Sayer and Bullet Time proceeded to assist Baltimore FD at secondary fire sites while Ironguard maintained containment until the arrival of dampeners. Fire Starter was rendered unconscious and transferred to Dreadnaught Baltimore Sector-3.
________________________________________
INCIDENT 2: “Ascendant Gang” Engagement
Time Elapsed: 32 minutes post-containment.
Status: Team redeployed to North District following secondary Yellow/Red Alert. Gang comprised of Beatz, Dr. Boom, Zappy, Vape, Frosty.
Reports indicated an Ascendant gang rampage roughly three miles north of the initial site. Bullet Time advanced ahead and successfully neutralized speedster Vape using paralytic rounds, then engaged Beatz, whose sonic shockwaves disrupted local law enforcement coordination.
As Ironguard (carrying Grief-Sayer) descended into the area, Dr. Boom launched an explosive device with a directed sonic pulse. The blast inflicted no structural injury to Ironguard but temporarily incapacitated Grief-Sayer with vibration trauma.
Upon landing, Ironguard delivered a kinetic strike to Vape to ensure total incapacitation and prevent reactivation of abilities.
A sustained gunfire exchange followed between Beats, Dr. Boom, and Bullet Time. The Dreadnaught team maintained superior mobility and suppression. Grief-Sayer recovered mid-engagement and incapacitated Beats via resonance word effect. Dr. Boom attempted retreat but was tackled and subdued by Ironguard.
The gang was detained without civilian casualties. Property damage was moderate—three vehicles, one storefront, and one utility junction box.
________________________________________
POST-ENGAGEMENT NOTES
Ironguard reports no personal injury but significant uniform degradation due to combined thermal and kinetic stress. He has requested improved field-grade material durability. Engineering has confirmed that adaptive fiber prototypes are in testing for the next generation of Dreadnaught suits.
________________________________________
Attachment A
CASE OFFICER DEBRIEF TRANSCRIPT
Operative: Ironguard (Ethan James Marrow)
Case Officer: M. Klein
Date/Time: 11/08/2025 – 2100 hrs EST
Subject: Post-Mission Debrief following Operation MA-003A (Baltimore)
________________________________________
Klein: Alright, Marrow. First field mission with Dreadnaught, and you get Baltimore. Pretty tough city to break in on.
Marrow: Yeah, I heard. Guess I got lucky. It… wasn’t what I expected.
Klein: Meaning?
Marrow: I thought it’d feel harder. Not the work… just everything happening at once. The chaos, the people screaming, all of it. But once we were in motion, it felt… natural. It feels more natural than I expected it to.
Klein: Let’s talk Fire Starter. You closed distance and grabbed him. Why?
Marrow: Couldn’t land a clean hit on him. So I figured if I could just get a hand on him, I could slow him down enough for us to take him out. Which worked out but he tried to burn me/ That ended up being a mistake for him.
Klein: The fire reflected automatically?
Marrow: Yeah. My body just does it when I’m in that state. I don’t really think about it when it’s on. Totally automatic.
Klein: Fair enough. Now, during the gang fight, you struck someone while he was already paralyzed. Smashed him into the concrete by the report. Care to explain?
Marrow: Didn’t know how long he would be out. Paralysis wasn’t on Bullet Time’s bio, so that was new to me. Last thing we needed was the guy waking up mid-fight and hitting us from behind. I figured, take him out while he’s down. Might be a little unsportsmanlike, but they’re criminals.
Klein: Grief-Sayer, you were protecting him and he still took a few hits. Why?
Marrow: Yeah. I tried to cover him. During the explosion when we were coming down to fight the gang there was a sound component to it that I couldn’t block. Didn’t bother me but shook him up a little. Then later they kept attacking him and I was out of position to stop one of the attacks. I’ll try to be more careful in the future.
Klein: You listed property damage as minimal.
Marrow: I mean, I don’t have a lot to compare it to, but no buildings went down. I feel bad about the stuff that went up in the fire, but at least no one was hurt. Sucks about the helicopter too, but there wasn’t anything we could’ve done about that once it got hit. Could’ve been a lot worse.
Klein: Last note, you mentioned the state of your uniform.
Marrow: Yeah. Look, I get that it’s part of the job to look a certain way, but it feels weird being out in public, on camera, and ending up half naked because my costume keeps getting burned or torn off me. I know I don’t really need it for protection, but it’d be nice to look like I belong out there and not have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction I have to talk to legal about.
Klein: You did good work out there, Marrow. Welcome to Dreadnaught.
Marrow: Thanks. Hope things keep going well out there.
________________________________________
End of Transcript – File Reference MA-003A-D
Filed by: Case Officer M. Klein, Dreadnaught Security Inc.
Authorized Distribution: Internal – Level 3 and above.
Classification Note: Excerpts approved for training and evaluation use by Field Division Command.

Hopefully this marks the beginning of a new superheroic era. If you’re interested in participating, please join us on the Autarch Discord and get involved!

All Other Things Autarch!

Of course, the Living Ascendant campaign isn’t the only thing going on here at Autarch. Our latest crowdfunding campaign, Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization, reached 1300% funding on October 15th. However, the project remains open for late backing and we if we can reach $150,000 in pledges by March 2026 it will unlock the Bitter War campaign. If this is your first time hearing about Before All Others, check out the special 16-page full-color sneak preview of the book. By This Axe has proven to be one of my most enduringly popular books, and I think Before All Others will prove equally well-loved, so don’t miss out!

Meanwhile, Autarch has fulfilled the digital rewards for the Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II graphic novel. The print rewards will be delivered after we issue the pledge manager, collect shipping, and complete manufacture. We’ve also fulfilled the PDF rewards for the ACKS II Treasure Tome sourcebook. The PDF will be finalized for printing on November 17th. Both books should be dispatched to backers in Q1 2026.

Finally, in between all of the above, I also took some time to address an important health issue; two weeks ago I had sinus surgery to remove some tissue that was pressing on my optic nerve, causing severe pain and visual problems. I’m now well on way to returning to my full powers. Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes as I recovered!

Support the Community

Here’s the links to everything you need to get involved in the Autarch Community:

A Big Week for Autarch!

Alexander Macris — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 21:34:03 GMT

It’s an exciting week for Autarch.

ArneCon is At Hand…

Tomorrow I’m heading to ArneCon. On Friday 10/10 I’m running ACKS II at 6PM; then on Saturday 10/11 I’m doing a Special Guest Meet and Greet at 5PM and running Ascendant at 6PM. Please let me know in the comments or direct messages if you’ll be there - I’m looking forward to meeting up with everyone! My brother ArcanistWill, one of the stars of the Grey Brotherhood Actual Play series, is also going to be there.

Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Vol II is Finished…

Yesterday on BackerKit, I announced that the lettering and layout of Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II is finished. We had a lot of things go wrong throughout the production process. But as the Star-Spangled Squadron challenge coin says, “to every challenge, we will ascend!” I hope that the struggle to produce this book all proves worthwhile when you read it. It will go on sale on DriveThruComics once the BackerKit backers have received their copies, and from there it’ll go to print and up on Amazon.

And The Time of Elves is Coming to an End!

We’re down to the last six days of the Before All Others campaign! We stand at a healthy $120,651 -- a tremendous crowdfund even if it closed down today. Where will we end up? What final stretch goals might we hit? It’s always hard to predict how things will turn out in the last few days of a campaign. Sometimes they’ve limped to the finish line, other times there’s been a massive sprint that adds tens of thousand of dollars to the finale. It’s therefore not inconceivable that we might hit the $130K, $140K, or even the $150K stretch goal, which would unlock the Bitter War mini-campaign. Whatever happens, it’s already been a win.

If you don’t know what Before All Others is, I have a failed as creator. BAO: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization launched on September 15th on Kickstarter with a $10,000 goal. We funded in two minutes. BAO’s sister book, By This Axe, only reached $51,636 while our most recent sourcebook, ACKS II Treasure Tome, only raised $116,957 in its entire month!

If this is your first time hearing about Before All Others, check out the special 16-page full-color sneak preview of the book. It has three sample lore entries, one sample class, and one sample monster. The full book will be this, but an order of magnitude more!

You can see almost everything that’s been written so far for BAO by becoming a Conqueror-tier member of the Autarch Patreon. If you can’t wait to start fighting the Bitter War for real, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles computer game and are playtesting it now.

Check out these ACKS Substackers

The ACKS community on Substack has burgeoned into its own sub-culture. Be sure to check out these recent updates by FCL, Harrowed, and Arbrethil:

Fascinating Contaminated Luggage

Step Forward

For some time now I’ve had an idea for a set of teleportation effects which, cast in succession and with preparation, allow long-range movement along prepared routes. The basic process is as follows…

5 months ago · 2 likes · Daniel Hicks

Harrowing Worlds Substack

Orm, a Summation of his Realm

So finally I circle back to what I started back in September 2024 with a small area that was Orm’s centered on #41 Ruins of Azen Kairn and built out a series of Vassals that serve him. In this article I’m going to pull all of that together and see what I’m looking at for a threat staring down at the Borderlands. Using the ACKS style of organic design me…

5 months ago · 11 likes · 8 comments · Harrowed

Annals of the North

Realm Magic

A couple years back, I started a series of posts composing Birthright variations using the ACKS rules for characters and domains. It was my plan at that time to do at least two further posts, to cover realm magic and awnsheglien, but the group I was using to playtest things fell apart due to real-life developments and so the series was put on pause. At …

6 months ago · 6 likes · Arbrethil

If you’ve got an active ACKS or Ascendant-themed Substack, be sure to let me know in the comments so I can add you to the list I follow.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

ArneCon is Imminent

Alexander Macris — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:50:53 GMT

In just under two weeks I’ll be heading to ArneCon. On Friday 10/10 I’m running ACKS II at 6PM; then on Saturday 10/11 I’m doing a Special Guest Meet and Greet at 5PM and running Ascendant at 6PM. Please let me know in the comments or direct messages if you’ll be there - I’m looking forward to meeting up with everyone! My brother ArcanistWill, one of the stars of the Grey Brotherhood Actual Play series, is also going to be there.

To celebrate ArneCon, I’ll be livestreaming tonight with Griffith Morgan, co-creator of The Secrets of Blackmoor documentary and co-organizer of the convention. Griffith and I are going to delve into the…secrets… of Blackmoor, the origin of ArneCon, and more!

I’ll be making a special announcement about Before All Others tonight on the livestream, so be sure to tune in!

If you don’t know what Before All Others is, I have a failed as creator. BAO: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization launched on September 15th on Kickstarter with a $10,000 goal. We funded in two minutes; in two weeks we’ve reached $116,969. BAO’s sister book, By This Axe, only reached $51,636 while our most recent sourcebook, ACKS II Treasure Tome, only raised $116,957 in its entire month!

All the Videos, All The Time

Coming up I’ll be interviewing Jeffrey Talanian (author of HYPERBOREA) on October 6th, while Brian Niemier will be returning in November.

Our friends at Black Lodge Games have also launched a new ACKS Solo Play Speed Run series called I Have No Arms But I Must Conquer. The first episode has been unleashed and its a must-watch! Floyd the Fighter and his band of henchmen seek to raise an army, conqueror the continent, and get absolutely ripped to shreds in this epic adventure series where no character has plot armor. The BLG gurus break down how to use some of ACKS II’s novel systems and show how it goes way beyond typical D&D.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Thanks for reading Arbiter of Worlds! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Before All Others Better Than All Others

Alexander Macris — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 17:55:45 GMT

On September 15, we launched Before All Others on Kickstarter with a $10,000 goal. We funded in two minutes; in one week we’ve reached $110,202. BAO’s sister book, By This Axe, only reached $51,636 while our most recent sourcebook, ACKS II Treasure Tome, only raised $116,957 in its entire month. Before All Others, then, is doing (I hate myself for saying this…) better than all others! We actually have a real fighting chance of unlocking the Bitter War stretch goals. Thank you, everyone, for making the book possible.

All the Videos, All The Time

Tonight I’ll be livestreaming with returning guest John N McGowan. John is the author of the book The Living Campaign and the blog The Crown’s Corner.

Coming up I’ll be interviewing Jeffrey Talanian (author of HYPERBOREA) on October 6th, while Brian Niemier will be returning in November.

But there’s more! Our friends at Black Lodge Games have launched a new ACKS Solo Play Speed Run series called I Have No Arms But I Must Conquer. The first episode has been unleashed today and its a must-watch! Floyd the Fighter and his band of henchmen seek to raise an army, conqueror the continent, and get absolutely ripped to shreds in this epic adventure series where no character has plot armor. The BLG gurus break down how to use some of ACKS II’s novel systems and show how it goes way beyond typical D&D.

Tomorrow night, Dunder Moose will be hosting a livestream featuring BK Gibson, Chubby Funster, Pulp Hummock Press and me as we discuss dungeon design. It’ll be happening at 9PM on This is Dunder Moose YT channel.

Population Growth in ACKS II

Over at the Autarch Patreon, I’ve released an article examining population growth in ACKS II. Does it accurately model historical rates of population growth in human settlements? In beginning my examination, I was immediately confronted by what we might call “Lenin’s dilemma,” namely that “[t]here are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen.” A mechanic for population growth that simulates “decades where nothing happens” risks being too inflexible to model the pace of change of the “weeks where decades happen.” Conversely, a mechanic that properly models the “weeks where decades happen” can easily end up being too frenetic to model the “decades where nothing happens.”

How does ACKS II stack up? Find out the results by signing up for the Patreon. The Adventurer tier is $3 per month and gets you access to scores of awesome ACKS and ACKS II articles. Higher tiers get additional content including my private campaign notes, sneak previews of upcoming books, invite-only chats, and more.

ArneCon Is Imminent

Next month I’ll be heading to ArneCon. On Friday 10/10 I’m running ACKS II at 6PM; then on Saturday 10/11 I’m doing a Special Guest Meet and Greet at 5PM and running Ascendant at 6PM. Please let me know in the comments or direct messages if you’ll be there - I’m looking forward to meeting up with everyone! My brother ArcanistWill, one of the stars of the Grey Brotherhood Actual Play series, is also going to be there.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Before All Others Crowdfunding Now!

Alexander Macris — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:01:23 GMT

The Kickstarter campaign for Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization™ has just gone live! Back it now to snag your early bird rewards.

Before All Others is the companion volume to our bestselling sourcebook By This Axe: The Cyclopedia of Dwarven Civilization™ and the latest addition to our line of critically acclaimed ACKS II™ rulebooks. In this 208-page full-color tome you will find the secrets of the high and noble race of elves, compiled, codified, and curated for use in your favorite old-school fantasy role-playing game.

Before All Others is organized into ten chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, details the audience, purpose, and approach for this book.
Chapter 2, Elven Lore, provides an overview of the ethnicity, physiology, language, and customs of elves. It is narrated from the point of view of a sage in the world of the Auran Empire.
Chapter 3, Elven Characters, explains how to roll up an elven character, with new rules for appearance, age, equipment, and proficiencies.
Chapter 4, Elven Classes, offers nine racial classes, including the arborist, courtier, druid, nightblade, ranger, spellsinger, spellsword, warrior, and wizard. Each class includes eight pre-generated templates. Using the templates, you can easily make your spellsinger a bladesinger, your courtier an emissary, or your ranger a falconer.
Chapter 5, Elven Magic, details a new style of magic, spellsinging, which is more fluid and flexible than traditional spellcasting. Spellsingers can dynamically create spells by weaving together effects, targets, and modifiers.
Chapter 6, Elven Domains, explains how your elven characters can establish themselves as rulers of fastnesses, with rules for settlements, vassals, garrisons, and more.
Chapter 7, Elven Forestry, details the methods of forest gardening used by the elves to sustain their civilization without need for conventional grain-based agriculture. It builds on real-world techniques of agroforestry but blends in the tropes of high fantasy to allow your sylvan civilization to be as plausible or fantastical as you desire.
Chapter 8, Elven Warfare, presents rules for raising and recruiting elven armies, with rosters of troop types that encompass everything from companies of rangers to squadrons of griffon riders and unicorn cavalry.
Chapter 9, Elven Secrets, is the chapter the elves don't want you to know about. The dark decisions and terrible tales of the corrupt elves of antiquity are revealed, with additional classes and options that explore the hidden side of ageless elvenkind.
Appendix A, Bestiary of the Wild, offers a catalog of over 30 new monsters based on historical legend. Each monster receives a full-page illustrated description of the creature's game statistics, combat abilities, habitat, reproduction, and spoils. Introduce the banshee, buggane, caitshee, fomorian, and other creatures malevolent and benign to your campaign.

But that's just our foundation. High-tier backers will have an opportunity to add custom spells, rituals, and classes to the book, and the overall crowdfunding campaign success can increase the scope of the book further by unlocking stretch goals, including 3 new monsters and 3 new character classes. If we reach the $80,000 stretch goal, we will add an entire new section -- Appendix B, Gazetteer of the Vale Abandon. This sandbox setting will include an ACKS II regional map with points of interests. With each additional stretch goal milestone from there, Appendix B will expand to include a number of one-page dungeons that detail the various points of interest.

Want to get a sneak preview of Before All Others? We've got a 16-page sample ready for you to download. Check out the sample lore (elven physiology, aesthetics & art, and cuisine), sample class (elven druid), and sample monster (fomorian).

The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization was written for three groups of gamers:

Judges (gamemasters) who are creating and running fantasy campaigns using any of the Old School Renaissance (OSR) systems who would like to add more depth, variety, and verisimilitude to their elves. If you’ve thought to yourself, “if only I better understood how elven forests have been subtly molded over centuries into fruitful orchards that yield more calories per acre than wheat fields, I could more easily simulate Mirkwood,” this book is for you.
Players who are participating in an OSR role-playing game campaign who would like to test out some new character classes and gameplay experiences. If you find yourself saying, “I wonder what it would be like to play an elven arborist who leads a squadron of elk-mounted archers while riding on an animated tree,” then this book is for you, too.
Gamers who just really love elves. If you greet your co-workers by saying “mae govannen" when you head into the office, if you do Pilates five days per week to maintain a lissome but surprisingly strong build, if you've read The Lord of the Rings in the original Sindarin, if you sold your Manhattan condo to live in a three-story treehouse, if you talk to animals in their native tongue, if you feel simultaneously young at heart yet utterly world weary -- then this book is for you above all!

On the other hand, if you’re a hirsute half-drunken curmudgeon who lives in an overly-decorated hole in the ground, works 80 hours per week, and has a name like “Bolbor Farthammer,” please move along. The precious secrets in this book aren’t for you, and I had to swear a solemn oath before all of the archdruids of the elves that I’d never allow a dwarf to buy this book. (I kid, I kid. Everyone knows that dwarves are superbackers! We actually have a special reward tier for fans of dwarves who want to grab a copy of our dwarf sourcebook, too.)

Before All Others was designed with the Adventurer Conqueror King System Imperial Imprint™ (ACKS II™) in mind. ACKS II is the recently-released new edition of the acclaimed bestselling fantasy role-playing game. The pages of ACKS II offer you everything you need to enjoy epic fantasy campaigns with a sweeping scope. Whether you want to crawl through dungeons, experiment with alchemy, crossbreed monsters, run a merchant emporium, raise an undead legion, or conquer an empire, ACKS II supports your playstyle.

Crowdfunded here on Kickstarter in November 2023, ACKS II raised over $330,000 from almost 2,000 backers. The first printing of ACKS II has sold out, but when you back BAO you'll have the opportunity to order copies of the second printing of ACKS II. Check out the Add-Ons below for details!

However, you don’t have to play ACKS II to make use of The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization. We know ACKS II only makes up a small (albeit growing) percentage of the fantasy RPG market, and we want to share our love for elves with all of our other lithe and beautiful friends. Therefore, we’ve made great efforts to ensure that Before All Others is easily compatible with other OSR role-playing game systems built on a similar chassis. There's a conversion guide included in the book, so using the Cyclopedia with your game of choice is as easy as killing kobolds with fireballs! (Well, maybe not that easy. But it's easier than killing red dragons with fireballs.)

All of the lore in Before All Others is presented by a point of view character, a sage from the Tower of Knowledge of the Auran Empire named Timoneus Thymatas. All of Chapter 2 is presented in character, and any backstory or setting material in the later chapters is from his point of view, too. While written with our own Auran Empire campaign setting in mind, the elven lore is applicable to most other settings that include traditional elves. Here's a sample of Timoneus's writing.

Using Timoneus as our point of view narrator offered several benefits:

Since Timoneus is a human writing about elves for a human audience, adopting his viewpoint allows us to focus on what makes elves different and gloss over all those areas where elves are just like humans.
Since Timoneus is a sage in the world, rather than an omniscient worldbuilder outside of it, his knowledge is incomplete. This allows us to leave some facets of the elves open for interpretation or customization. It also means he can be wrong. The possibility of error allows Judges to simply ignore anything they disagree with.
Since Timoneus’s writing exists in the world, it makes it possible for his writings to be discovered in the campaign, or given to players as in-character background information.
Since Timoneus is a cross between a Greek natural philosopher and a Victorian anthropologist, it allows us to bring some humor to the writing. He is simultaneously parochial about his own civilization but over-awed by that of the elves. The elves have their own reasons for allowing him to write about their culture, and Timoneus isn't always smart enough to know when he's publishing propaganda or trodding territory best left unexplored. There's much that's hidden behind the lines for you to explore or disregard as you see fit.

Timoneus was fun to write, and we hope you’ll enjoy his point of view, too.

Like the other books in the ACKS Imperial Imprint product line, Before All Others features a durable PU leather cover, lay-flat sewn bindings, and thick art paper interiors, with full-color art by a team of artists led by Michael Syrigos.

The standard edition of Before All Others has a black cover decorated with gold leaf to match the ACKS Imperial Imprint core books. The limited edition has a green cover decorated with silver leaf, as well as a green satin ribbon marker and silver edge gilding on the pages.

Regardless of which edition you purchase, the Cyclopedia is a high-quality collectible book majestic enough to stand-out on the bookshelf and durable enough to survive the rigors of tabletop action.

New to ACKS II? Be sure to check out the Elven Imperialist reward tier. For $300 (or $275 Early Bird) you can get, not just Before All Others, but the Deluxe Collection of ACKS II, including the Revised Rulebook, Monstrous Manual, Judges Journal, and Judges Screen, plus the PDFs for each.

Love dwarves as much as elves? The Elven Ambassador tier includes a copy of our bestselling sourcebook By This Axe: The Cyclopedia of Dwarven Civilization. It's the companion book to Before All Others, with dwarven classes, automatons, mushroom farming, and more.

Interested in tabletop wargaming? Want to fight the Bitter War between elves and dwarves? The Elven Conqueror Tier adds a copy of Domains at War: Battles, a tabletop wargame that lets you fight grand battles with ACKS characters on epic battlefields using miniatures and battlemaps. D@W:B can handle pitched battles with tens of thousands of troops on each side.

If your focus is just elves, hot elves, dark elves, all elves, all the time, then grab a copy of Before All Others in PDF as an Elven Retainer, get the book in hardcover as an Elven Adventurer or limited edition Elven Lord, or even shape the setting and system of ACKS II by adding your own custom spells, rituals, and classes to the game as an Elven High Lord, King, or High King. The choice is yours!

Despite being the largest print run we've ever manufactured, ACKS II sold out within 3 months of its retail release. These big, beautiful books aren't print-on-demand products we can pop out in small batches. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to commission a second printing of books like the Imperial Imprint.

That's why the Before All Others Kickstarter isn't just crowdfunding the Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization. It's also helping to fund the second printing of ACKS II itself. The second printing of the ACKS Imperial Imprint product line will feature the same durable PU cover, lay-flat sewn bindings, and thick art paper interiors as the first printing, and will be updated to address all known errata. You can add on copies of the ACKS II Revised Rulebook, ACKS II Judges Journal, ACKS II Monstrous Manual, and/or ACKS II Judges Screen to any pledge level. You can also add Domains at War: Battles and By This Axe if you want to add them to your reward tier.

You can also purchase a Cyclopedia Upgrade add-on. This add-on will upgrade your standard edition copy of Before All Others to the limited edition copy. For instance, if you want the Elven Ambassador rewards but you want the limited edition of Before All Others instead of the standard edition, you can choose the Cyclopedia Upgrade.

When we launched By This Axe: The Cyclopedia of Dwarven Civilization, we set a funding goal of $10,000 and raised $51,636. Since then, we've gone on to even greater heights -- The ACKS II Treasure Tome campaign brought in over $140,000 and the ACKS Imperial Imprint crowdfunding campaign raised over $300,000.

We've set the same humble goal for Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization as we set for By This Axe: $10,000. But just as the small sapling can grow into the mighty redwood, so too might the elven sourcebook grow into our largest fundraising campaign yet. If Before All Others raises as much as Treasure Tome, we'll be adding three new monsters, three new character classes, one new gazetteer, and six one-page dungeons.

But what if Before All Others exceeds Treasure Tome? After all, elves are awesome... And a sourcebook this good only comes around once in an eternally-long lifespan. If so, then Autarch will launch The Bitter War...

The Bitter War was a terrible war waged between the dwarves and elves over two thousand years before the founding of the Auran Empire. Largely unknown to Imperial military historians until the publication of Sürcaneus of Cyfaraun's Cyclopedia of Dwarven Civilization, the Bitter War left scars that have never healed - and secrets that have never been revealed.

Given the great size and scale of the Bitter War, it would be impossible to simulate with most RPG systems. But ACKS II is specifically designed to allow players to wage wars like kings. If we reach the Bitter War stretch goals, that's just what we'll do.

If we hit the $150,000 stretch goal, then every High Lord, King, and High King backer, plus a random selection of other backers will be invited to participate in a Bitter War mini-tournament. If we hit the $200,000 stretch goal, every backer will be invited to participate in a Bitter War mega-tournament.

We'll be using the Domains at War: Battles rules to fight the battles out on tabletop - but we don't expect everyone to come to our living room to play with miniatures. That's why we will fight the Bitter War using the upcoming virtual tabletop wargame.

The Domains at War: Battles virtual tabletop wargame was created by Lost Coast Studios and will be commercially released in a future crowdfunding campaign. Before All Others backers will get early access to playtest the digital game as they fight out the Bitter War!

If you can’t wait to get involved, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles virtual tabletop and are playtesting it now. It is already live, full-featured, and playable, with online and asynchronous multiplayer, though graphics remain minimalist at this stage.

Before being permitted to develop Before All Others, Autarch was required to submit copies of ACKS II to the Argollëan High College of Art and Leisure for review by elven scholars. Here's what they had to say:

"Despite its brevity and simplicity, ACKS II is not entirely undeserving of some small measure of praise." - Áedan Ui Étaín
"Distinctly superior to the average game produced by the human race, and perhaps on par with some of the lesser works of elven gamecraft." - Diarmait the Iridescent
"If I had children, I am sure they would play this. But such joy has eluded me, as it has eluded so many of our kind, in these sad days of eventide." - High Lady Máel of Aodhan
"It's utterly inexcusable that the author entitled his game after a dwarven weapon. Brigand Oppressor Warlord System or BOWS would have been a better name. That aside, the game is not otherwise unsuitable as a pastime." - Aífe Dweomerbow

Well... that's high praise by high elven standards. Even grognards are easier to impress. Here's what the OSR community has said about ACKS II:

"ACKS II is THE greatest innovation in RPGs since the end of TSR. It is an unrivaled masterpiece." - Chubby Funster
"The greatest version of D&D ever made." - Black Lodge Games
"If Gary Gygax were alive today, he would be playing ACKS II." - The RPG Sage
"ACKS II is the natural evolution of AD&D; refined, deeper play built on OSR philosophy that is the logical next step for AD&D players." - Nerdcognito
"In a market flooded with retroclones, ACKS II stands as a complete and fulfilling gaming experience." - Ryan Howard, Rolling Bones
“Alex has presented us with the most comprehensive treatment of the source material so far. If you love the OSR, ACKS II is everything you want and more.” - Rick Stump

What about the dwarves? Since Before All Others is the sister sourcebook to By This Axe, you might like to know what they thought of the dwarven cyclopedia. Here's some excerpts from our reviews on DwarfThruRPG:

"Like Dwarves in RPGs? This is your book. chock full of interesting things about them, their culture, history, economy, vaults, legends, characters, gear and magics! If you're an OSR player of any kind it's usable virtually out the box, if you're a player of other D&D's there's a lot of stuff to plunder anyway. " - Nathan
"This book is a goldmine." - Sam
"The lore is a fun read, with a clever sense of humor. The dwarven classes are very evocative and look really fun." - W.D.
"The best dwarf-focused source book published to date." - Bruno
"By This Axe pursues the craft of bringing tabletop dwarves to the utmost highest quality. The tome is thorough, concise and extremely evocative of dwarven hero and myth." - Zach
"An insanely in-depth, intelligent, well-thought-out supplement. Seriously one of the best pieces of fantasy writing I've ever read." - Anonymous Purchaser

For more information on Before All Others and the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to Kickstarter. Unlike elves, these rewards wont’ last forever!

Before All Others Launching Sept 15!

Alexander Macris — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 20:22:17 GMT

Friends, Aurans, Countrymen - We’re one week away! Before All Others will be crowdfunding on September 15, 2025. To celebrate the milestone, I’ve released a special 16-page full-color sneak preview of the book. It has three sample lore entries, one sample class, and one sample monster. The full book will be this, but an order of magnitude more!

Be sure to visit the preview site to sign up for notification on launch. There’s early bird offers that you won’t want to miss! You can see almost everything that’s been written so far for BOA by becoming a Conqueror-tier member of the Autarch Patreon. If you can’t wait to start fighting the Bitter War for real, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles computer game and are playtesting it now.

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

Tonight I’ll be livestreaming with Courtney Campbell. Courtney AKA Agonarch is a game designer and artist you might know from his blog Hack & Slash, his ACKS adventure Eyrie of the Dread Eye, and more recently his RPG Sinless, the fantasy cyberpunk RPG.

Coming up I’ll be interviewing returning guest John N McGowan (author of the Living Campaign) on September 22 and Jeffrey Talanian (author of HYPERBOREA) on October 6th.

BasedCon Was Based; ArneCon Will be Awesome

I’ve just returned from BasedCon 5. I met (or, in some cases, re-connected) with a number of wonderful industry colleagues from the science fiction and fantasy fiction and wargame community. One of them whom my readers will recognize was Blaine Pardoe, the New York Times bestselling author and BattleTech/MechWarrior guru, but there were many others - for the full list, click here.

Of course, the highlight of the con for me was the opportunity to run Ascendant on Saturday night. I expected to have 6 players but ended up with 9 (with others sadly turned away for lack of character sheets). The Capital City chapter of the Star-Spangled Squadron confronted El Cartel and Exodus; afterwards I signed books and celebrated their heroic victory with tasty beverages until the late hours.

BasedCon was an unusual convention in that it was primarily aimed at an audience of writers, rather than gamers; it was actually my first writer’s convention ever! It reminded me of the old Game Developers Conferences I used to attend, with panels packed with information and networking opportunities at every coffee break. If you are an aspiring or active sci-fi and fantasy writer who shares the convention’s values, be sure to checkout BasedCon 6 next year.

Next month I’ll be heading to ArneCon. On Friday 10/10 I’m running ACKS II at 6PM; then on Saturday 10/11 I’m doing a Special Guest Meet and Greet at 5PM and running Ascendant at 6PM.

I want to again express my gratitude to the organizers of both conventions for making me a guest of honor. It’s the first time I’ve been recognized as such. As a teenager I idolized creators like Dave Arneson as personal heroes. It this feels like being invited into the halls of Valhalla alongside them.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

We're Big in Denmark!

Alexander Macris — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 18:26:38 GMT

Over the last decade, Autarch has done well on Kickstarter and DriveThruRPG, which have been our primary distribution channels. We have not done as well in the retail channel, for various reasons. Although some stalwarts always support us (Noble Knight Games, for instance), Autarch’s games aren’t generally easy to find in flagship gaming stores.

There are a number of reasons for that, but the primary reason is that the small size of my print runs makes it hard to profitably accommodate the necessary wholesale discount. Often I don’t even submit into the retail channel.

With ACKS II having a 2,000-unit print run, I was able to put it into retail, but I didn’t expect to see many orders. I certainly didn’t expect AAA-tier window placement. Imagine my delight when I saw these photos taken at Faraos Cigarer, the flagship game store of Copenhagen, Denmark:

I reached out to the team at Faroas Cigarer to express my gratitude. As a thank you, I will be sending them a signed copy of ACKS II Revised Rulebook. If you’re in their local area, I hope you’ll check out their store because it looks awesome.

Before All Others Launching September 15

The date is set. Before All Others will be crowdfunding on September 15, 2025. To celebrate the milestone, I’m releasing a special 16-page full-color sneak preview of the book. It has three sample lore entries, one sample class, and one sample monster. The full book will be this, but an order of magnitude more!

Be sure to visit the preview site to sign up for notification on launch. There’s early bird offers that you won’t want to miss! If three weeks is too long to wait, you can see almost everything that’s been written so far for BOA by becoming a Conqueror-tier member of the Autarch Patreon. If you can’t wait to start fighting the Bitter War for real, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles computer game and are playtesting it now.

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

I’m playing in a tabletop game session tonight, so I won’t be streaming ACKS To Grind. If you missed last week’s episode, be sure to check it out. It featured actor, comedian, and filmmaker Pat Kilbane as we attempted to answer the question: “Who was Gary Gygax, really?” With topics ranging from the nature of the modern-day Hero’s Journey to the ubiquity of cocaine in Hollywood, this one is not to be missed. You can catch it below:

In the month ahead, I have a number of awesome guests lined up, including Courtney Campbell (author of Sinless), Jeffrey Talanian (author of HYPERBOREA), and returning guest John N McGowan (author of the Living Campaign).

I’m Coming Out of Hiding (Convention Schedule)

At one time, I was a regular at game conventions — I attended everything from DragonCon, E3, and GaryCon to GenCon and PAX, and even hosted several conventions of my own, including the Triangle Game Conference and Escapist Expo. Something in me died when The Escapist was shuttered and I stopped going about a decade ago.

This year, that changed. I’m a guest of honor at not one but two conventions. From September 5th - 7th, I will be attending BasedCon in Grand Rapids, Michigan and from October 10th - 12th, I’ll be attending ArneCon in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At BasedCon you’ll find me on the schedule on Saturday 9/7 for a 3PM panel on Superheroes, a 4PM panel on Fiction and RPGs, and an 8PM session of Ascendant.

Meanwhile, on the ArneCon schedule, on Friday 10/10 I’m running ACKS II at 6PM; then on Saturday 10/11 I’m doing a Special Guest Meet and Greet at 5PM and running Ascendant at 6PM.

I want to express my gratitude to the organizers of both conventions for making me a guest of honor. It’s the first time I’ve been recognized as such. As a teenager I idolized creators like Dave Arneson as personal heroes. It this feels like being invited into the halls of Valhalla alongside them.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Before All Others Sneak Preview Available

Alexander Macris — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 17:56:28 GMT

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

Tonight at 9PM ET August 25th, I’ll be joined for the 30th episode of ACKS To Grind by writer, director, and gamer Pat Kilbane, creator of the documentary The Dreams in Gary’s Basement. This remarkable documentary tells the story of the creation of D&D from Gary Gygax’s point of view. It’s available https://rpghistory.net. I had the pleasure of gaming with Pat regularly when I worked in Los Angeles and can testify that he is wickedly smart and riotously funny, so I hope you’ll join us tonight!

I’m Coming Out of Hiding (Convention Schedule)

At BasedCon you’ll find me on the schedule on Saturday 9/7 for a 3PM panel on Superheroes, a 4PM panel on Fiction and RPGs, and an 8PM session of Ascendant.

Meanwhile, on the ArneCon schedule, on Friday 10/10 I’m running ACKS II at 6PM; then on Saturday 10/11 I’m doing a Special Guest Meet and Greet at 5PM and running Ascendant at 6PM.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Victors of the Bitter War Revealed

Alexander Macris — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:21:27 GMT

On July 14th the Bitter War of Memes began. This content, designed to promote my upcoming crowdfunding campaign for Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization, pitted dwarves versus elves in a contest of creativity, cruelty, and caption-fu. On July 31st, the Bitter War of Memes ended, and two mighty victors emerged. Today, their triumph is revealed.

The Dwarven Winner was chosen by the cold, impartial algorithm of X. Whichever meme had the most likes by the deadline won the contest. This superior dwarven approach was not only concrete and objective, it also favored X users with nepotistic clans of supporters who reposted their memes simply out of familial support - just as it should be.

Ironically that winner was an elf-lover. X user Alpen (@Alvaspirdoyas) carried the day with this post, “Behold short statured one — a drawing I have wrought, wherein the dwarf is cast in the semblance of the mewling soyjak whilst the elf is rendered as the stalwart chad.” With 2.7K Likes, it wasn’t even close; 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place were 156, 143, and 106 Likes. Congratulations, Alpen!

The Elven Winner was chosen by the capricious whim of my wife (@lifeonerth on X), supreme arbiter of elven aesthetics, based entirely on her 100% personal opinion of how it made her feel at that moment. The superior elven approach was not only poetic and emotional, it also favored artistic individualists who flitter onto Twitter like butterflies depositing pollinated memetic beauty - just as it should be.

After tirelessly reviewing all of the memes, Mrs. Archon settled on this animated meme by Dwarf Respecter (@Messerschmied14 on X). Be sure to click the link to watch the video, as Substack doesn’t allow me to embed X videos. Congratulations, Dwarf Respecter!

The two winners will have their names immortalized as NPCs in Before All Others and will get to commission one interior illustration each to their specifications (within editorial sanity).

Don’t forget that if you're interested in getting early access to Before All Others, you can sign up to become a Conqueror-tier members of the Autarch Patreon. And if you can’t wait to start fighting the Bitter War for real, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles computer game and are playtesting it now.

ACKS II Now Available in Print on Demand!

The much-discussed and long-delayed print-on-demand editions of ACKS II are now available. Before making them available for sale, I ordered a set myself to verify that they met my exacting standard of quality. The titanic tomes came out surprisingly fine; while certainly no match for the grandeur of the crowdfunded leatherette cover and binding, they are still very nice books.

I took some photographs. Here’s the three books side by side. The Syrigos covers look great in print.

Here’s the books ready to be shelved. If you were hoping they’d be thinner than the standard edition, your hopes are dashed - the POD books are thicker than the leatherette books.

Here’s the Dwimmermount POD next to the ACKS II POD. It looks puny. The megadungeon is dwarfed by the megasystem!

If you’re ready to grab your print-on-demand copies of ACKS II, you can use the links below to purchase them from DriveThruRPG at a 10% discount. Note that these coupon codes do not include the PDFs!

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

Tonight at 9PM ET August 4th, I’ll be joined by game designer and youtuber Daniel Jones, AKA Primaeval Fantasy, to discuss his concept of intuitive simulationism. According to Daniel, “the goal is for the players to feel immersed in the Secondary World as real people. The primary tool is by playing in a simulationist fashion, but how do we accomplish that? It’s not by being buried in charts and Wiki pages, but primarily using our most powerful tool: Informed common sense, the power of Intuitive GMing.” Be sure to read my own Manifesto of Simulationism and Philosophy of Simulationism beforehand and then tune into the livestream:

Later this month, I’ll be joined on ACKS To Grind by writer, director, and gamer Pat Kilbane, creator of the documentary The Dreams in Gary’s Basement. This remarkable documentary tells the story of the creation of D&D from Gary Gygax’s point of view. It’s available https://rpghistory.net.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Before All Others Covers Revealed!

Alexander Macris — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 18:39:24 GMT

I’ve just received mock-ups of the covers for Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization and they are delightful. There will be two options, a standard edition and collector’s edition. The standard edition is patterned after the ACKS II rulebook style, featuring black leatherette covers with gold foil. The classical styling we used for the core rules is, of course, replaced with elf-appropriate art nouveau.

The collector’s edition features a verdant green leatherette cover with silver foil, silver-gilt page edging, and satin ribbon mark. It is patterned after the collector’s edition of By This Axe, so it is only decorated with a weapon and detailing.

The PDF and print-on-demand editions will feature the full-color Michael Syrigos cover that serves as the basis for our Kickstarter art. Please be sure to sign up at the campaign preview page to be notified when we launch! Like most crowdfunders, I rely on the volume of prelaunch sign-ups to gauge of how much to invest in the crowdfunding campaign, so even if you’ve already told me on Discord that you intend to back it, it still helps if you sign up for the notification!

There’s Still Time to Enter the Bitter War of Memes!

If you’ve been paying attention to #BitterWar on X, you know that the Bitter War of Memes has entered a bizarre new phase, as the dwarves have begun to deploy memetic automatons (short-form video) deployed with AI to carry the day…

There’s still time to fight back, elves! Entering the Bitter War of Memes is as easy as slaying beastmen with a vorpal sword.

Post a meme on X (formerly Twitter) anytime before 11:59PM EDT July 31 2025.
Include both:
- The hashtag #BitterWar
- The tag @_autarch_ or @archon (so I see it)
In the same thread, reply with a link to the Kickstarter preview page for Before All Others .
Hit “Send.” You’re now on the battlefield.

The full contest rules can be found in this Arbiter of Worlds post.

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

Tonight at 9PM ET July 28th, I’ll be joined by game designer Josh Peters of Stellagama Publishing. Josh is the creator of The Sword of Cepheus, FTL: Nomad, and a number of related products. He and I will talk about the business of indie publishing outside the D20/5E market segment and the creative challenges of designing science-fiction RPGs in an era when we live in a science-fiction RPG.

In August, I’ll be joined on ACKS To Grind by writer, director, and gamer Pat Kilbane, creator of the documentary The Dreams in Gary’s Basement. This remarkable documentary tells the story of the creation of D&D from Gary Gygax’s point of view. It’s available https://rpghistory.net. (Disclaimer: I was interviewed as a contributor to the documentary and my contribution got cut on the cutting-room floor. *shakes fist*)

The Force Structure of the Dwarven Army

Today I’ve released an article on Patreon for Adventurer-tier backers ($3/month) that explores the forces structure of the dwarven army in detail, with a robust spreadsheet for calculating troops at each domain tier.

If you're interested in staying up to date on all things related to ACKS II, members of the Patreon are getting monthly updates and sneak previews. One of the best perks of being part of the Patreon is the opportunity to help shape the design process by seeing the earliest drafts. Those who've been with us for the long-term know that Autarch (me, really) listens intently to the community's playtest feedback. If you've never checked out the ACKS Patreon, you can find it here.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Monstrously Metal T-Shirts are Unveiled

Alexander Macris — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 22:08:03 GMT

The ACKS II Monstrous Manual has over 250 illustrations by artist Old School Jelly. So epic were these monster images that they inspired me to commission some heavy metal concert t-shirts with each monster as an imaginary heavy metal band.

Here’s the first one: a concert t-shirt for the Swedish power metal band LAMASSU, currently on tour to promote their smash album Glory Bound. Check out the epic sound of Lamassu here and then buy the concert t-shirt here.

If these prove popular, I stand ready to become a fashion and apparel mogul and/or concert promoter for imaginary metal bands.

The Bitter War of Memes Has Begun

Last week, to promote Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization, Autarch unleashed the Bitter War of Memes, a contest of creativity, cruelty, and caption-fu fought between knife-ears and fat-beards. You can find a complete list of all the current contest entrants on X using the hashtag #BitterWars. Before you check them out, though, be sure to check out the Before All Others preview page and sign up to be notified when we launch.

The dwarven entrants are currently competing for the most likes, so I don’t want to tilt the balance one way or another; the elven entrants are competing for the favor of the high queen of the elves (e.g. my wife) so I can share a few of those without influencing the outcome.

There’s Still Time to Enter the Bitter War of Memes!

Entering the Bitter War of Memes is as easy as slaying beastmen with a vorpal sword.

Post a meme on X (formerly Twitter) anytime before 11:59PM EDT July 31 2025.
Include both:
- The hashtag #BitterWar
- The tag @_autarch_ or @archon (so I see it)
In the same thread, reply with a link to the Kickstarter preview page for Before All Others .
Hit “Send.” You’re now on the battlefield.

The full contest rules can be found in last week’s Arbiter of Worlds post.

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

Tonight (July 21st) I’ll be interviewing author @BrianNiemeier about the 10th anniversary edition of his book Nethereal, the premier novel in his award-winning Soul Cycle. Brian has already raised over $6,000 on Kickstarter. Be sure to check out the campaign and join the stream tonight:

Next week, Monday July 28th, I’ll be joined by game designer Josh Peters of Stellagama Publishing. Josh is the creator of The Sword of Cepheus, FTL: Nomad, and a number of related products. He and I will talk about the business of indie publishing outside the D20/5E market segment and the creative challenges of designing science-fiction RPGs in an era when we live in a science-fiction RPG.

Other Announcements of Interest

I’ve got a few other exciting announcements as well:

A new draft of the Treasure Tome has been uploaded for backers. The file, ACKSII Treasure Tome WIP5, is a 326-page full-color PDF. It is now textually complete. The "Miscellaneous Items" are still in copy editing, while the rest of the book is in proof reading. All backer art has been completed and is in the book, while other art is still under development. If you aren’t currently a backer of the ACKS II Treasure Tome, you can get access today at the Kickstarter page.
The ACKS II Revised Rulebook, Judges Journal, and Monstrous Manual PDFs have been updated to correct all known errata. If (for some reason) you don't own these books, you can get the PDFs now at DriveThruRPG. In the more likely case that you already own the PDFs, the updated files will have automatically been uploaded to your DriveThruRPG Library. In addition, the DTRPG Library assets have also been updated to include separate files that summarize the major errata. Be sure to download those if you're working from the print copies, so you'll be able to quickly identify what has changed!
ACKS II is Available Now on the Autarch Emporium. There’s still some copies of ACKS II available for purchase on the Autarch Emporium. They’re selling fast and it won’t be long until the entire first run of these black-and-gold PU leather offset-print books is sold out.

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

If you're interested in "what's next" for ACKS II, members of the Patreon are getting monthly updates and sneak previews. One of the best perks of being part of the Patreon is the opportunity to help shape the design process by seeing the earliest drafts. Those who've been with us for the long-term know that Autarch (me, really) listens intently to the community's playtest feedback. If you've never checked out the ACKS Patreon, you can find it here.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Cry Havoc, and Let Slip the GIFs Of War

Alexander Macris — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 16:46:22 GMT

To promote Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization (launching on Kickstarter this August), Autarch is unleashing the Bitter War of Memes, a contest of creativity, cruelty, and caption-fu fought between knife-ears and fat-beards.

It’s a blend of 50% psychological warfare and 50% marketing promotion that is 100% likely to provoke wrathful grudges that shall endure a thousand years.

How to Enter the Bitter War of Memes

Entering the Bitter War of Memes is as easy as slaying beastmen with a vorpal sword.

Post a meme on X (formerly Twitter) anytime before 11:59PM EDT July 31 2025.
Include both:
- The hashtag #BitterWar
- The tag @_autarch_ or @archon (so I see it)
In the same thread, reply with a link to the Kickstarter preview page for Before All Others .
Hit “Send.” You’re now on the battlefield.

Note: Even if your meme is funnier than a halfling attempting to be heroic, missing any of the three markers above means it never leaves the barracks!

Theme & Content Guidelines

Topic: Entries must relate to the epic enmity between elves and dwarves. They can be ACKS II specific if you want, but they don’t have to be. Feel free to riff on Lord of the Rings, make WWII propaganda posters about the elven menace, weight-loss alchemy aimed at dwarves, or whatever other memetic madness you can imagine.
Art Sources: Entries can use:
- Official ACKS II art;
- Original illustrations, AI renders, cosplay snaps, or cursed Photoshops of me and/or Maximus; and
- Classic viral formats available for fair use and repurposed for fantasy beef.
Tone: Keep it PG-13. No real-world hate, harassment, or copyright-infringing steals. We reserve the right to toss disqualifying content into Mount Doom.

Determining the Winner

Both sides claim the other side started the Bitter War, and both sides claim they finished it. That’s why the Bitter War of Memes will have not one, but two winners — one dwarven winner and one elven!

The Dwarven Winner will be chosen by the cold, impartial algorithm of X. Whichever meme has the most likes by the deadline wins the contest. This superior dwarven approach is not only concrete and objective, it also favors X users with nepotistic clans of supporters who will repost their memes simply out of familial support. As it should be.

The Elven Winner will be chosen by the capricious whim of my wife, supreme arbiter of elven aesthetics, based entirely on her 100% personal opinion of how it makes her feel at that moment. The superior elven approach is not only poetic and emotional, it also favors artistic individualists who flitter onto Twitter like butterflies depositing pollinated memetic beauty. As it should be.

The two winners will be declared and determined in the first week of August. Winners will have their names immortalized as NPCs in Before All Others and will get to commission one interior illustration each to their specifications (within editorial sanity).

Note: A single meme can’t win both trophies, but you may post unlimited entries to chase either—or both—crowns.

Don’t forget that if you're interested in getting early access to Before All Others, you can sign up to become a Conqueror-tier members of the Autarch Patreon. And if you can’t wait to start battling, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles computer game and are playtesting it now.

What’s Grinding on ACKS to Grind?

Tonight (July 14th) I’ll be streaming solo on ACKS To Grind as I discuss Before All Others, the Bitter War of Memes, the Domains at War: Battles computer game, and more.

Next Monday, July 21st, I’ll be interviewing author @BrianNeiemeier about the 10th anniversary edition of his book Nethereal, the premier novel in his award-winning Soul Cycle. Brian has already raised over $6,000 on Kickstarter. Be sure to check out the campaign and join the stream next Monday.

Then, on Monday July 28th, I’ll be joined by game designer Josh Peters of Stellagama Publishing. Josh is the creator of The Sword of Cepheus, FTL: Nomad, and a number of related products. He and I will talk about the business of indie publishing outside the D20/5E market segment and the creative challenges of designing science-fiction RPGs in an era when we live in a science-fiction RPG.

Other Announcements of Interest

I’ve got a few other exciting announcements as well:

A new draft of the Treasure Tome has been uploaded for backers. The file, ACKSII Treasure Tome WIP5, is a 326-page full-color PDF. It is now textually complete. The "Miscellaneous Items" are still in copy editing, while the rest of the book is in proof reading. All backer art has been completed and is in the book, while other art is still under development. If you aren’t currently a backer of the ACKS II Treasure Tome, you can get access today at the Kickstarter page.
The ACKS II Revised Rulebook, Judges Journal, and Monstrous Manual PDFs have been updated to correct all known errata. If (for some reason) you don't own these books, you can get the PDFs now at DriveThruRPG. In the more likely case that you already own the PDFs, the updated files will have automatically been uploaded to your DriveThruRPG Library. In addition, the DTRPG Library assets have also been updated to include separate files that summarize the major errata. Be sure to download those if you're working from the print copies, so you'll be able to quickly identify what has changed!
ACKS II is Available Now on the Autarch Emporium. There’s still some copies of ACKS II available for purchase on the Autarch Emporium. They’re selling fast and it won’t be long until the entire first run of these black-and-gold PU leather offset-print books is sold out.

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Before All Others Announced

Alexander Macris — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 22:01:23 GMT

Before dwarves, before men, before halflings and gnomes...Before all others, there came the elves. This summer, Autarch is crowdfunding Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization on Kickstarter. In this 200-page full-color tome you will find the secrets of the high and noble race of elves, compiled, codified, and curated for use in your favorite old-school fantasy role-playing game.

We expect to launch Before All Others in August 2025. Please sign up by clicking the link below to be notified when we launch so that you don't miss out on early-bird reward tiers and first-day backer incentives. A sourcebook this good only comes around once every 1,000-year lifespan!

And if you're interested in getting early access to Before All Others, sign up to become a Conqueror-tier members of the Autarch Patreon.

There Will Be Bitter War

Gamers who back the Before All Others Kickstarter will gain Early Access to the upcoming Domains at War: Battles computer game. You can see actual play footage of the Domains at War: Battles computer game in the video below:

Created by Lost Coast Studios, D@W: Battles will be the digital edition of the acclaimed tabletop wargame, designed for use with ACKS to resolve mass combat in your fantasy RPG. We will be using the D@W: Battles computer game to simulate the Bitter War between dwarves and elves, and every backer tier will have an opportunity for ‘combat command’ in the great war.

If you can’t wait to get involved, emperor-tier backers in our Patreon have already gotten full access to Domains at War: Battles computer game and are playtesting it now. It is already live, full-featured, and playable, with online and asynchronous multiplayer, though graphics remain minimalist at this stage.

Star-Spangled Summertime

Two years ago, we released Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron, the debut graphic novel in the Ascendant Universe. It’s available at Autarch Emporium, Amazon, and DriveThruComics.

This August we’ll be releasing Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II in PDF, with print and retail distribution to follow in January 2026. If you haven’t been following the rise of the Ascendant Universe, there’s never been a better time to get involved. After Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II ships, we’ll be launching Ascendant: Power Overwhelming, the latest sourcebook for the RPG, plus new short fiction, new adventures, and more.

Tell Me More of the Superheroics

If you’re like, “Woah, Alex, I didn’t even know you had an entire line of superhero RPGs and comics,” you’re not alone. I haven’t put nearly enough effort into marketing Ascendant as I ought to have.

Fortunately, my friend Rick Stump was kind enough to invite me onto his podcast, Lore With Rick, to talk about superheroes. Check out our 40-minute conversation at the link below:

ACKS II is Available Now on the Autarch Emporium…

On June 17th, ACKS II became available for purchase on the Autarch Emporium. They’re selling fast and it won’t be long until the entire first run of these black-and-gold PU leather offset-print books is sold out.

If you miss out on purchasing the books now, you’ll will have to wait until the books receive a second printing or settle for the print-on-demand!

Remember that when you purchase a hard copy on the Autarch Emporium, you get the PDF along with it. It will be delivered automatically to you via DriveThruRPG. Just check your DTRPG Library after your purchase.

And We’re Adventuring and Conquering on YouTube

Tom’s Gaming Table has begun a whole series of videos on ACKS II, of which the most popular so far has been his video “5 Reasons to Ditch D&D 5e for ACKS.”

The original teleplay was called “All the Reasons to Ditch D&D 5e for ACKS” but Tom’s Gaming Table was unable to commit to the necessary 10-season 80-episode documentary.

Meanwhile, Mythic Mountains Folk Tabletop has released a video asking the hard question, “Is Adventurer Conqueror King Imperial Imprint the most complete DnD ever made?”

Spoiler: Yes.

FOXOFF RPG is a new YouTuber who has become active in our community, and he’s done an ACKS II Unboxing:

Marketing and publicity remains one of the primary challenges for the game (alongside declining literacy rates and an abandonment of the manly virtues that made Rome great) and I’m very grateful these gentlemen spotlighted the game.

The Escapist Turned 20

This summer I celebrated a major milestone in my life: the 20th anniversary of the launch of The Escapist. Alongside my co-founders Tom Kurz, Greg Lincoln, Jason Smith, and Julianne Greer, I published the first issue of The Escapist (www.escapistmagazine.com) in June 2005.

Our inaugural issue (released in PDF) was entitled Gaming Uber Alles and it was possibly the most prophetic piece of game journalism ever written. In it, we warned that gaming was the new theater of conflict in the culture wars and that the sudden arrival of The Mainstream threatened to change everything about the hobby we loved.

Of course, everything proceeded as we had foreseen.

It is no exaggeration to say that The Escapist re-shaped the face of games journalism. Its acclaimed editorial style won 6 Webby Awards and got it named by Time Magazine as one of the Top 50 websites in the world. Some of the proudest days of my life came during my time running the site, and some of the best friends of my life, too.

A dozen of us got together in Raleigh-Durham, where it all started, to celebrate and reminisce. Not everyone could make it, but those who weren’t there — even those I’ve since fell out with, mostly over the very culture war we predicted would come — were still in our hearts. Thank you to everyone who made the website what it was, editors, writers, artists, contributors, readers, forumgoers, and more.

Other Updates in Brief

There’s so much afoot that I can’t do more than summarize the rest of it!

ACKS II Print on Demand: I have submitted the files to make ACKS II available in print-on-demand on DriveThruRPG. The print-on-demand books will feature the Michael Syrigos covers and will be available as standard-color hardcovers.
ACKS II Second Printing: There will, of course, be a second printing of ACKS II. Backers who crowdfund Before All Others will have the opportunity to purchase the second printing as add-ons. I may also do a second printing as part of a starter box or as a standalone, too.
Annals of Auran Empire: BackerKit has invited me to participate in a crowdfunding campaign in September to promote books and comic books called Printopia. Our project is called Annals of the Auran Empire. However, because of various health challenges and time commitments, I’ve let BackerKit know I might not be able to participate.
Ascendant: Power Overwhelming: The third sourcebook for the Ascendant RPG, Power Overwhelming is currently being edited. This 256-page book will greatly expand the Ascendant universe with new characters, organizations, and powers.
ACKS II Domains at War: A revised re-launch of ACKS II Domains at War remains a top priority. I'm working with some of the elite D@W experts within the Autarch community on this. No timeline at present but obviously the computer game is a major part of it.
Other future projects: I've begun work here and there on a number of other projects, including Under the Dread Flag: The Compendium of Pirate Culture, (previews of which are available to Patreon backers), After the Flesh: The Cyclopedia of Chthonic Civilization, Amalgam, Aeon Star, Armiger, etc. How these shall proceed remains unknown.

Let me know in the comments or on Discord if you have any strong opinions on the above. If you’re not on our Discord, be sure to join!

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

If you've never checked out the ACKS Patreon, you can find it here. The recurring revenue from the Patreon is what sustains the business during the long spells between Kickstarters, especially in 2023-2024 when sales of ACKS I have dried up during the transition to ACKS II. In today's economy, with inflation making every dollar count, I am exceptionally grateful to everyone who chooses to allocate some of it each month to helping keep Autarch in action.

Support the Community

Once you’ve signed up for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

ACKS II is Now Available

Alexander Macris — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 03:01:23 GMT

I’m delighted to announce that ACKS II is now available for purchase on the Autarch Emporium. If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on these black-and-gold PU leather offset-print beauties since last year’s crowdfunding campaign, your wait is finally over!

Supplies are very limited - we have fewer than two dozen Judges Screens available at the moment, and only a few hundred of the other books. If you miss out on purchasing the books now, you’ll will have to wait until the books receive a second printing or settle for the print-on-demand starting in July.

(Remember that when you purchase a hard copy on the Autarch Emporium, you get the PDF along with it. It will be delivered automatically to you via DriveThruRPG. Just check your DTRPG Library after your purchase.)

ACKS II in the Wild

One of the delights of the last few weeks has been watching my X stream fill up with glorious photographs of ACKS II in the wild. The books are just so beautiful! I’ve been reposting all the photos - here’s a few of my favorites. You can find more at https://www.x.com/archon. Be sure to click on the images to give these backers a “like,” too.

A Retrospective on ACKS II

ACKS II has been both the most rewarding and most challenging creative project of my lifetime. I don’t say that lightly. There was a lot of hard work involved in many of my past projects, including Ascendant, the original ACKS, and of course large-scale businesses such as The Escapist. But ACKS II was, in its own way, harder than all of them.

Now that it’s in the rear view mirror, I thought I’d offer a few closing thoughts. An After Action Review, as it were.

The obvious one: Wow, am I exhausted. Some of my close friends know that ACKS II was make-it-or-break-it for Autarch. Had it not been as successful as it was, I would have had to shut the company down. As it was, it's been just successful enough to keep me afloat, but not quite successful enough to enable me to afford to have a team on payroll. I need Autarch to grow bigger or I'll burn out. As it stands, I've had more weird stress-related health problems in the last 24 months than in 10 years prior.

But how to grow bigger? Given the network effects that dominate tabletop RPGs, it seems to me that more than new product I actually need better marketing. Freelancers who would love to write ACKS books are instead writing books for other systems because there aren't enough players to make it worth their while! I think my games are good enough to deserve more attention then they get, and I need to figure out how to make that happen. But how? I'm open to ideas! Let me know in the Comments if you’ve got insights to share.

The question of “what to do” is complicated by the rapid rise of AI. How does one plan for the future when the future is just so darn weird and unpredictable? AI has already changed the landscape for RPG development. I've invested the time and money to test out the cutting-edge models rolling out of the frontier labs, and the level of progress is astounding.

It seems to me that ACKS II will likely be the last 1,500-page RPG ever developed by the hand of man. I mean that literally. Heck, I've told Amy that I'm not sure what will happen first - designing a cyberpunk RPG or living in one. It's a strange timeline, that’s for sure.

What’s Next for Autarch?

Starting in July I will make ACKS II available in print-on-demand on DriveThruRPG. The print-on-demand books will feature the Michael Syrigos covers and will be available in softcover and hardcover. (They will be in standard color, not premium color -- the premium color POD cost is more than the MSRP for the book, e.g. it costs over $70 just to print the book.) I will likely buy POD for my own use, as the PU leather books are so beautiful that I am almost afraid to bring them to the cheetoh-infested warzone of my game table.

I have a number of crowdfunding campaigns planned but in exactly what order I shall undertake them remains unclear.

Before All Others: Because ACKS II and Treasure Tome have been delayed in various ways, Before All Others has taken longer than anticipated and so I don't think that campaign will launch as swiftly as I'd hoped. The promotional page isn't yet available but I'll link it when it is.
ACKS II Second Printing: There will, of course, be a second printing of ACKS II. That will need to be bundled into another crowdfunding campaign, however. One possibility that seems worthwhile is to coordinate the Second Printing with a re-release of The Sinister Stone of Sakkara or something similar.
Annals of Auran Empire: BackerKit has invited me to participate in a crowdfunding campaign in September to promote books and comic books called Printopia. Our project is called Annals of the Auran Empire. At present I've planned it as a short story anthology but I might revise it to be a comic book. I might also drop out of the project simply due to being overwhelmed. More on that below.
Ascendant: Power Overwhelming: The third sourcebook for the Ascendant RPG, Power Overwhelming is written. This 256-page book will greatly expand the Ascendant universe with new characters, organizations, and powers.
ACKS II Domains at War: A revised re-launch of ACKS II Domains at War remains a top priority. I'm working with some of the elite D@W experts within the Autarch community on this. No timeline at present.
Other future projects: I've begun work here and there on a number of other projects, including Under the Dread Flag: The Compendium of Pirate Culture, (previews of which are available to Patreon backers), After the Flesh: The Cyclopedia of Chthonic Civilization, Amalgam, Aeon Star, Armiger, etc. How these shall proceed remains unknown.

Let me know in the comments or on Discord if you have any strong opinions on the above. If you’re not on our Discord, be sure to join!

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

If you're interested in "what's next" for ACKS II, members of the Patreon are getting monthly updates and sneak previews from Before All Others: The Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization. One of the best perks of being part of the Patreon is the opportunity to help shape the design process by seeing the earliest drafts. Those who've been with us for the long-term know that Autarch (me, really) listens intently to the community's playtest feedback.

Support the Community

Once you’ve pledged for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

There's So Much Going On, My Computer Had a Nervous Breakdown

Alexander Macris — Mon, 05 May 2025 19:07:16 GMT

It’s an exceptionally busy month here at Autarch. We’re on the tail end of fulfilling the ACKS II Kickstarter, nearing completion of Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II, mid-way through development of ACKS II Treasure Tome, and beginning to assemble the crowdfunding assets for Before All Others, our highly-anticipated Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization.

Meanwhile, I have several other projects in the works after that, including an update to Domains at War: Battles, revisions to the AX series of ACKS adventures, the Ascendant: Power Overwhelming sourcebook, and the Under the Dread Flag pirate sourcebook

So, of course, with everything going on, my computer decided to have a nervous breakdown - or at least a motherboard meltdown. Last Sunday, I woke up to a dead CPU, GPU, and hard drive! It took a week to get a new PC fully functional. I’m now back in action but the loss of productivity couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Given the various setbacks of 2025, I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about the timeline of Autarch projects. Here is what I expect to happen over the next 3 months:

Mid May 2025: Fulfillment of ACKS II poplar slipcase rewards begins
Mid June 2025: ACKS II goes on sale at Autarch Emporium for fans who missed the crowdfunding campaign, available in both print and PDF
Late June 2025: Ascendant Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II PDF delivered to project backers
Early July 2025: Before All Others: Cyclopedia of Elven Civilization crowdfunding campaign begins
Late August 2025: ACKS II Treasure Tome PDF delivered to project backers

, but the calendar for these efforts remains to be determined.

The Art of the Treasure Tome

Below I’ve shared some sneak previews of the art for the upcoming ACKS II Treasure Tome. First up is this legendary Cosmarch-tier illustration of the Paseplitem:

Next up we have an illustration of the Shard of the Logos, the Tokay Flute, and the Golden Thread:

And finally an illustration of the Astrolabe of the Vasty Deep, Alchemist's Tube, Battle Axe +1 of Gratitude, Chalk of the Grand Seal, Circlet of Seeing, Dagger +1 of Disarming, Dagger +1 of Moontear, and Deck of Laughter and Misery:

We have five different artists currently at work on the project (Michael Syrigos, Old School Jelly, Cezar Razek, Jesse White, and Slamet Mujiono) with another coming online this month, so there will be more art coming fast.

Star-Spangled Spectacular

Mel Joy San Juan has finished work on the pencils and inks for Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II. It turned out to be an exceptionally complex project to draw that stretcher her skills - some scenes were so complex that we had to model them with 3D avatars to make sure we kept continuity of action. But it has come together gloriously.

Meanwhile, Pradeep Sherawat has finished 50 of the 64 pages of color. The remaining pages will get done over the next two weeks. The book will then be handed over to Kathryn Renta for layout and lettering, and then it'll be sent to you in PDF and sent to the printers for glorious full-color production.

Here's some sneak previews of the latest colors:

Ascendant II_page50-51.jpg 7.91 MB

Ascendant II_page61.jpg 4.33 MB

Slipcases En Route

I am pleased to announce that the long-awaited ACKS II poplar slipcases are now en route to fulfillment houses worldwide.

I will spare you the saga of the struggle involved. Know that the vast poplar groves of the Syrnasos Islands were tragically clear cut by dwarven automatons in order to secure the requisite material; that over seven thousand craftsmen were crucified along the Palatine Path for their failure to deliver sufficient slipcases on schedule; that many Bothans died to bring us these slipcases.

But now they are ready. The slipcases are expected to arrive at the fulfillment houses (Studio 2, Compose Dream, and Zatu) around May 7th. Based on prior experience, I expect it will take them a week to ingest, process, pack, and ship the product. It will then likely take a week for delivery to backers in their home regions and two to four weeks for backers outside their territory. Slipcase backers should therefore expect to receive their books and cases starting around May 21st and extending into June if they are princes of distant and exotic lands such as New Zealand or Taiwan.

Those of you among the Poplar Elite were the biggest evangelists and supporters of the ACKS II project and I remain mortified that your books were the last to be delivered. Please know that you have my gratitude both for your support and for your patience as we worked through the manufacturing debacle that occurred.

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

Support the Community

Once you’ve pledged for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

The Week in Autarch

Alexander Macris — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 23:41:06 GMT

There’s lots of excitement afoot here at Autarch!

Star-Spangled Spectacular

Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II is coming together nicely. When I launched the Ascendant line back in 2020, I wanted to see the Ascendant universe realized with the sort of big, bold, art style that had made me a fan of comics in the 1990s. I feel like we've delivered on that; and Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron II is the best-looking book yet in our product line. Every page is beautifully detailed and lavishly colored. Huge thank you to Mel Joy San Juan and Pradeep Sherawat for their efforts to bring the Ascendant Universe to life!

Poplar Goes into Production

After some terrible setbacks due to mis-sized wood, the poplar slipcases are finally being assembled. I've just received my sample and it is absolutely majestic. The poplar wood has been treated with a deep rich oil-based "weathered oak" stain on the exterior that matches the gold leaf of the books, while the interior uses a water-based stain to guarantee that no oils damage the precious tomes. The fit is perfect, the feel is smooth, the look is sharp. The interior and exterior are sanded to a silky smooth 320 grit, so the books slide in and out cleanly without damaging the leather texture. Backers will begin to receive their poplar slipcases the week of April 22nd.

ACKS To Grind - How to Run an ACKS Braunstein

ACKs to Grind is the 90 minute livestream I run on my YouTube channel Arbiter of Worlds. Each week, a guest and I grind through the issues facing our hobby armed only with our wisdom, wits, and proficiency in critical hits. Tomorrow night’s livestream features ACKS community member and Braunstein expert Bdubs in a special episode, “How to Host an ACKS Braunstein.”

If you haven’t been watching ACKS To Grind, be sure to check it out.

When You’re Not Grinding, Be Substacking

Also be sure to check out Thalassios’s Seaside Musings. He’s new to Substack but he’s delivering exactly the sort of thoughtful content that Arbiter of Worlds readers delight in.

Thalassios's Seaside Musings

Anti-Patterns in TTRPGs: Terminally Unique PCs and Main Character Syndrome

This time I want to cover two related and reinforcing anti-patterns “Terminally Unique PCs” and “Main Character Syndrome.” As a refresher allow me to give a definition of an Anti-Pattern…

a year ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · Thalassios

And be sure to check out these favorites from the ACKS 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.

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

Support the Community

Once you’ve pledged for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links:

Kingdom of the Conquered Heart

Alexander Macris — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 17:44:51 GMT

Imagine a world where love is a battlefield, and romance is the continuation of diplomacy by other means; where Ianna, goddess of love and war, contends with Nasga, goddess of beauty and pain for exquisite dominance; where bladedancers and shieldmaidens conquer and rule, not with brute force, but with beauty and charm. Imagine the most comprehensive romantic fantasy sourcebook ever written for the most comprehensive fantasy RPG ever designed.

This April, the creator of Adventurer Conqueror King System and Domains of War is pleased to announce the development of Kingdom of the Conquered Heart (KOCH), the romantic fantasy sourcebook for ACKS II. Not since Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu explored the barbarian fantasy genre with new classes, races, and mechanics has an ACKS sourcebook boldly plunged into the exotic pages of a literary genre with such wild abandon.

The 384-page Kingdom of the Conquered Heart features dozens of new character classes based on popular archetypes from romantic fantasy, including the Beastmaster, Changeling, Darkling Sorcerer, Dragon Knight, Dread Pirate, Elven Magnate, Fae Princess, Fallen Angel, Nosferatu Scion, Nymph, Pactbound Witch, Sacred Courtesan, Shieldmaiden, Shadowspawn Sorceress, Shifter, Siren, and Vampire Hunter.

With so many new character classes, it's no surprise that the sourcebook also includes new class powers and proficiencies too, including Bedroom Eyes, Brooding Temperament, Chiseled Jaw, Dungeon Mastery, Eightpack Abs, Flexibility, Manscaping (available in 3 ranks), Muscular Physique, Piercing Stare, Tousled Hair, and Well-Endowed. Optional mechanics allow characters to get tattoos and piercings with enchanting powers.

An entire chapter is devoted to romantic encounters with detailed rules that combine the robust mechanics that ACKS II players expect with the hot spice that romantic fantasy fans demand. Covering everything from backstabbing rivals, avoiding exhaustion and enervation, and using special maneuvers to disarm, subdue and seduce the target, these rules are suitable for battlemap, theater of mind, or live action role-play.

Romantasy wouldn't be fantasy without magic, and Kingdom of the Conquered Heart dives deeply into the genre tropes. Transmogrification magic is a central focus, and you'll discover inspirational uses for shapeshifting sorcery illustrated with scenes from the works of Laurell K. Hamilton, Nalini Singh, Patricia Briggs, and Thea Harrison.

While adventurers in traditional ACKS campaigns rely on henchmen to fortify their parties, romantic heroines gain access to consorts. Consorts are powerful high-level NPCs who can accelerate the campaign immediately into king tier. There's no need to waste time leveling up your 1st level siren when her consort is the king of vampires! A new devotion score measures the degree to which each PC has established a long-lasting and intimate bond with her consort. Building devotion requires not just constant interaction through role-play but tangible in-game action such as undertaking quests and giving gifts, but the reward of a highly-devoted consort is worth it.

Creative consultant Amy Macris has spent countless hours researching the source material and living as a romantic heroine in order to guarantee the authenticity and accuracy of this seminal work. According to market research by Amazon, women now account for over 80% of fiction purchases and 50% of tabletop game purchases. For too long, Autarch has left this demographic untapped. No longer. They've been demanding KOCH and we're giving it to them. KOCH will be released in exactly 12 months, on April 1, 2026.

For more details, visit the Autarch Patreon.

In Other News….

I’ve integrated DriveThruRPG’s PDF delivery system into the Autarch Emporium. Going forward, anytime you purchase one of our books on the Autarch Emporium, you will automatically have the PDF for the book added to your DriveThruRPG Library. No click, no mess, no wait - it just works!

The Grey Brotherhood Has Returned!

Several new episodes of the Grey Brotherhood actual play series have dropped! Epsidoe 34 came on Friday, March 15th; Episode 35 on March 22nd; and Episode 36 on March 29th. Be sure to watch it, because it’s epic!

ACKS To Grind - GM Judgment Day!

Last night I held a special edition of ACKS to Grind wht an all-star panel of gamemasters for a no-holds barred discussion. Panelists included:

If you haven’t been watching ACKS To Grind, be sure to check it out. It’s a 90 minute weekly livestream run on my YT channel Arbiter of Worlds. Each week, a guest and I grind through the issues facing our hobby armed only with our wisdom, wits, and proficiency in critical hits. Yesterday’s episode was the best ever!

Are You a Patron of the ACKS Patreon?

Support the Community

Once you’ve pledged for the crowdfunding campaign, head on over to these community links: