I'm writing up my historical hack of ACKS as a formal supplement. Critique would be welcome on the draft as I go.

Here's the initial bits so far.



Foreword

This supplement came about in the most unexpected way, at least for me as its author. My D&D journey began in 1992 with TSR’s Red Box, which I’d received as a 12th birthday present. I took it to school, recruited some friends, and we learned how to play together. From there we rapidly moved on to Rules Cyclopedia and almost as quickly to AD&D 2nd edition, which became a weekly mainstay for almost three years. Then in 1995 we quit D&D for greener pastures of other systems and I wasn’t to see it again for a long time. Two incarnations of D&D 3rd edition came and went, but I saw nothing there that appealed to me. The “old school renaissance” movement began, and once again there wasn’t anything for me there; I didn’t want to play the D&D of my youth, my tastes had changed.

Then in 2010 my current group gave D&D 4th edition a go, the charm of D&D was rekindled for me. Modern design that catered to where my tastes were, and the tactical skirmish minigame at its centre was brilliantly done. However, while I didn’t find the complaints about the non-combat parts of the game being lacking to ring true, combat still tended to dominate our sessions just because of the sheer amount of time it took. We’d struggle to get more than one combat in a normal session and two was a such a squeeze that it crowded out everything else. I also tended to find that unlike in virtually every other system we played, characterisation stopped in combat, and we switched into wargaming mode where we moved our pieces around the battlemat looking for the optimal tactics, rather than playing our characters. A significant part of this was the handling time, regularly engaging in anything beyond the tactical level would have slowed things down still further. I still enjoy 4th edition for short stints of 6-10 sessions every now and then, but it isn’t something we could do week-in, week-out for years on end.

I was left with a renewed interest in D&D systems, but nothing that really seemed to fit my goal of having a system that could do the swift combats of the old days, while retaining contemporary sensibilities on a range of other issues. In early 2013 I heard about Autarch’s evolution of the 1983 Moldvay/Cook Expert Set, Adventurer, Conqueror, King (ACKS). I did some research on the Expert Set, and discovered how deep the overland exploration section of the game was. It wasn’t something I’d remembered about my own experiences, and I found it intriguing. See the default dungeon-crawling style of play that people often assume is what D&D is about was never really my thing; we didn’t play pre-written modules either, which tended also tended to default to this mode of play. What we loved was overland adventures, engaging with the people and politics of the game world and all the complications that brought.

I also really appreciated how simple characters were; less moving parts and customisation meant much faster resolution and general handling in and out of combat. But what it also facilitated was the use of allied NPCs. 4th edition tended towards a focus on just the Player Characters (PCs) as the entirety of the party, because adding anyone else would decelerate the proceedings to an unacceptable level. In the older editions, however, simpler characters meant taking on henchmen wasn’t a great additional overhead, and added both a buffer against danger and variety to the party. They could also act as backup characters in the event something significant happened which prevented the original PCs from continuing. Turning the PCs from solo operators into leaders of their own retinues was something that really interested me. Instead of the focus being on building and customising your player character, it could be on building and customising your personal retinue.

ACKS promise was to enmesh the PCs in all that as they reached the domain-management endgame at higher levels. What made me take notice it was the way it tidied up the Expert Set and tweaked the rules towards simplicity and consistency. What I loved most, though, was the Proficiencies. While presented as an optional rule, for me they were anything but, they provided a neat way to differentiate characters without adding the sort of complexity created by Feats or having to account for skill points.

So to the final distinction of MLT: applying D&D to historical gaming. It’s a little ironic that despite the wargaming roots of D&D, steeped in many historical battle scenarios, most people wouldn’t think to use it for roleplaying games inspired directly by history. I know there’s an overriding sentiment that history is boring, which I think is a real shame because there is a lot of richness and depth that can be had by drawing on history. In particular there are many opportunities in the gaps between the surviving sources to take license with events and insert characters and stories of our own. There were a range of historical supplements for AD&D 2nd edition in TSR’s heyday, but I don’t know how well those sold; I suspect they were niche products. I love history, antiquity in particular, and I had my inspiration in the form of Christian Cameron’s two historical fiction series’ based around the Greco-Persian Wars (5th century BC) and the Hellenistic era following the death of Alexander the Great (3rd century BC). While each featured a main character or two, they were supported by an extended retinue of other people which plugged them into the world in which they lived. Additional mentions go to Simon Scarrow’s Roman Eagles series (1st century AD) and The History Channel’s Vikings TV show.

I could see those influences intrinsic to the Expert Set and thus ACKS, which could be teased out with some changes. Many of the elements were already there; you had compatible equipment, mounts and ships used historical reference points, mercenaries were based on types of units from antiquity and the medieval era; making a conversion pretty simple. I began with a discussion on Autarch’s own forum about how I might adapt ACKS for a historical game. This progressed into a lengthy exchange with Alexander Macris, the creator of ACKS, who it turned out was also a lover of antiquity and was a great help in refining and honing my ideas into practical results.

For the game I was to run, I had a workable system covering all the elements I required, which I called Mercenary, Liberator, Tyrant (MLT). There was the future prospect of using the upcoming mass combat system, Domains@War when it appeared for the battles that would come. Eight sessions of play ensued, which worked well and vindicated my belief that D&D could indeed be used for historical gaming. This was interrupted by the birth of my second child, but we have plans to return to the game at a later date. Further discussions elsewhere brought me to the realisation that perhaps I could turn my collection of house rules into a supplement for ACKS, so other people could also experience the fun. Which brings us here.

Much like ACKS is not really an OSR game, nor is Mercenary, Liberator, Tyrant trying to recreate something that existed back in the day. If ACKS is a 2nd generation OSR game (something evolved from the older editions of D&D with its own spin on things, rather than a faithful clone), this is 3rd generation, being a further evolution of that. I make no apologies for departing from the philosophies and play assumptions that are common to the OSR movement, conformity to those notions was never a goal in creating MLT. I’ve made changes to many parts of the system, coming from a differing set of assumptions about how the game is to be played. Obviously if you don’t agree with any of those changes, you are free to discard them and take the approach used in ACKS, or any other D&D-derived game. What I’ve done is pretty transparent, and converting to other editions should be pretty straightforward.


Chapter 1: About the Game

How to use this supplement

This supplement is intended to be used in conjunction with the main ACKS rulebook, rather than act as a standalone product in its own right. Reference is made to ACKS throughout and the chapters correspond to those, highlighting the alterations and replacements. Where this text is silent, assume what is contained in the ACKS corebook applies.


What this supplement is for

MLT is intended as a supplement to ACKS that will enable you to play historical adventures where larger than life heroes and their followers are embroiled in the conflicts of the age. In a major departure from the baseline D&D assumptions, there is no magic which is a mainstay of the fantasy genre. This removal is intentional, while historical people certainly believed in magic, and there were practitioners who were believed to have powers that could not be explained, fireball-slinging wizards are not what this game is about. Most “magicians” as they appear in history are tricksters and charlatans or worse. The only exception is around prophecy and divination, which many peoples in the past placed great value in. It is up to individual groups as to how prominent and indeed accurate prophecy will be at their table, but it is included for anyone who wishes to use it.

This change alters some of the dynamics of the game; there are no easily available sources of healing making wounds more dangerous and the consequences of combat lasting – death is final. Similarly, there are no reliable sources of ranged or area effect damage in the way that spells like fireball or lightning bolt provide. This makes physical conflicts potentially harder and co-ordination of the participants even more important. Morale comes to the fore, most people will not fanatically fight to the death, but will flee when defeat seems certain. This is even more critical on the larger scale; as well as the personal scale represented by the standard ACKS combat rules, by plugging in the Domains@War mass combat system you’ll be able to play out larger skirmishes involving hundreds all the way up to battles involving thousands. It is expected that the PCs may progress from being leaders of a small band of loyal followers all the way up to commanders and generals leading armies or governors managing cities and provinces. None of those things are possible without being able to enlist the aid of other people.

Furthermore, there are no sentient non-human species; the elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, goblins and others that are another fantasy staple. Rather than a mythic game featuring creatures from legends, this is instead about history as we understand it. Thus all the opposition the PCs might face will be other people, societies and civilisations, there are no “monsters” or fantastical beings. Players are encouraged to do some reading into the peoples in the historical juncture the game is taking place in, so as best to appreciate the various origins that would work and the prevailing social mores. This does mean there may be some potentially uncomfortable topics that require discussion before the game begins as to establish where everyone sits with them. These include slavery and prejudice based on gender, ethnicity and religion.

Lastly, there is no tracking of experience points (XP). Characters level up at whatever intervals or milestones the GM and group agree is appropriate, and the accumulation of wealth has no direct impact on character level. This removes the link between wealth and XP and means rulers are not automatically a high level because they amass revenues from their vassals. Wealth is its own reward, allowing characters to raise armies, build settlements and ships, and otherwise change the world around them. It is the only resource that needs to be tracked. If you wish to restore XP tracking, all the revised classes contained here use the same XP progression, that of the Fighter.


Historical Junctures

The main focus of this supplement is on antiquity, a period more than two millnia before the present, about which only the barest fragments of archaeological evidence survive. There are many facets of ancient cultures which can be both strange and even repellent to the modern observer, things which were shared in almost equal measures by all. It should also be remembered that what survives from antiquity is fragmentary at best and based heavily in conjecture about sources referred to by ancient writers which no longer exist. A caveat to any reading of primary sources which we do have access to is that the ancients were often writing with an eye to entertaining the reader or flattering the patron who supported their works. It is therefore problematic to regard them as unvarnished truth, given truth was not an objective recognised by them. There is also a strong tendency for the victors of conflicts to write self-justifying and complimentary retellings of events leveraging the full benefit of hindsight, Roman historians in particular are often guilty of this. However, in the absence of any other contradictory sources, we only have the options of either taking what remains (with a pinch of salt) or having nothing whatsoever.

It is this ambiguity created both by gaps in the historical record and the potentially dubious veracity of the sources which survive which creates the possibilities in historical gaming. There is great license possible in the gaps between the broad swathes suggested by the accepted accounts of what happened and when. Rather than obsessing about critical events and known dates and somehow trying to weave a path between them (a perennial issue in later times with a wealth of very specific detail), we have some suggestive waypoints and colourful personalities that add flavour, but won’t get in the way of player agency.

There are two primary historical junctures that are the assumed “setting” of this supplement, taking place in the roughly the same geographical area (that of the Mediterranean and the nations bordering it) but at different periods of history. The dynamics and conflicts of both originate with the colonisation activities of the Greeks and Phoenicians from the 9th to 5th centuries BC, seeding pockets of non-native peoples all over the Mediterranean world. These provided contrasting and sometimes competing viewpoints to the local powers in the regions, sowing the seeds of some of the longest recorded conflicts in history. The unifying property in both junctures is the presence of the Greek peoples and their culture, but this should not be read as in some way assuming they are the heroes of the setting and thus whomever they are opposed to are the villains of the piece.


The Greco-Persian Wars
(to follow)

The Hellenistic Era
(to follow)




Chapter 2: Characters

Creating the Party

Before you create the characters, it is necessary to define the nature of the party to which they belong. This is tied to the premise for the game, and will influence the types of characters which are appropriate, their level of starting experience and the composition with regards to the mix of Player Characters and Non Player Characters. The characters might all be members of a mercenary company or similar military unit, members of a noble house or mercantile guild, the officers and crew of a ship, a street gang or criminal enterprise or one of countless other possible concepts. While there are a potentially infinite number of possibilities, three premise types are presented as suggestions.

Just starting out

This is the lowest-level option which is pretty close to the usual starting point for D&D games. The PCs are either a new outfit just starting out, or the junior members of a larger organisation. They are 1st level, making them fragile in combat and have relatively little starting funds. Obviously this restricts the range of experience of henchmen they have in their employ, who must be 0th level Normal Men. This is the best option for a group who are relatively new to roleplaying or wish to experience building their power base from scratch.


An established organisation

This is the middle option and is the recommended starting point for MLT. The PCs might be an established organisation or the middle-tier members of a larger one. The PCs start at 3rd level, they are more durable in combat and amongst some of the more competent people around. They have more money for equipment and retainers. They can have henchmen ranging from Normal Men up to 2nd level, giving more options in how each player chooses to build their PCs retinue.


Leading the charge

This is the highest-level option which puts the PCs in charge of organisations and significantly more capable than most people they might encounter. The PCs start at 5th level, they are tough and inspiring to be around. They have a great deal of funds to disburse and can have extremely competent henchmen (going anywhere up to 4th level), likely filling out their retinues to the maximum number.


Creating Henchmen

Rather than add still more to the GM’s workload, it is intended that the player should create their PCs henchmen. This not only gives them more of a stake in their retinue and some control over it, but also assists them in getting familiar with what their henchmen can do. In a combat situation it is expected that the player will make the decisions and roll the dice for their henchmen, even if they choose not to roleplay them outside of combat. Henchmen can act as backup character options should something happen to the PC, either temporarily while they are elsewhere or recovering, or permanently, being uplifted to PC-level if they are removed from the game.


Creating Characters
NB: This replaces the text on p16 of ACKS under the same heading.

Refer to your agreed premise for the starting level of your PC, then repeat this process for any henchmen.

• You’ll need a fresh character sheet for your main character and a henchmen sheet to record the details of your retinue.
• For your PC roll the following and record your results: 1d6+12, 2d6+6 rolled twice, 3d6 rolled four times. You will have generated seven numbers ranging from 3 to 18. In both instances, discard the lowest result and reorder them from highest to lowest. This is an array and each player generates one. Bring all the arrays generated together so everyone in the group can see them. Choose your preferred array (more than one person may choose the same one).
• For henchmen roll the following: 2d6+6 rolled twice and 3d6 rolled five times. Discard the lowest result. Do this once for each henchman.
• Assign the numbers to your ability scores as desired. Finally you may move up to 2 points from any ability score to any another. Write down your ability score bonus or penalty.
• Choose a class which suits your character abilities from the Character Classes section.
• Note your level and calculate your hit points (hps), taking the base value for your class and level and applying your Constitution bonus or penalty.
• Record your character’s attack throws and saving throws on your sheet. Note down your bonus or penalty to each from your ability scores. Melee attack throws are modified by Strength and ranged attack throws by Dexterity. Fortutide saves are modified by Constitution. Reflex saves are modified by Dexterity. Will saves are modified by Wisdom.
• Choose your character’s starting Proficiencies from the Proficiencies chapter. Apply any modifiers to your ability scores, hit points, attack throws or saving throws from Proficiencies. Record any new special abilities granted by Proficiencies.
• Generate your character’s starting wealth, referring to the table for the amount appropriate to your level. Use this to purchase equipment and any mounts or pack animals for your character and hire henchmen and hirelings. Once you have chosen armour and weapons, note your Armour Class (AC), applying your Dexterity modifier. Also note your weapon damage, determined by your weapon, applying your Strength bonus or penalty. Calculate your character’s encumbrance based on how much weight they are carrying, modified by the lower of their Strength or Constitution bonus or penalty.
• Give your character a name, determine your starting languages, choose your age and roll your Prime attribute to determine when aging modifiers start to apply.

You should consider using the wound point system from UA if you want a historical feel.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/vitalityAndWoundPoints.htm

(Just rename vitality points, hit points)

Thanks to critical hits directly affecting wound points, it makes combat more dangerous at high levels, and yet at the same time, makes combat less dangerous at low levels, since 1st level characters can take their Con + their hit points in damage.

It also makes magical healing less needed.

Quote from: JeremyR;737152You should consider using the wound point system from UA if you want a historical feel.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/vitalityAndWoundPoints.htm

(Just rename vitality points, hit points)

Thanks to critical hits directly affecting wound points, it makes combat more dangerous at high levels, and yet at the same time, makes combat less dangerous at low levels, since 1st level characters can take their Con + their hit points in damage.

It also makes magical healing less needed.

I've already got a replacement healing mechanic and some other bits, which I'll get to, but thanks for the recommendation.

The Thief is dead! In MLT there isn't really a role for a dedicated Thief class. There's no dungeons, few traps and locks aren't all that complicated in the main.

So I've taken two steps. Firstly, codified/collected the "derived throws" (it needs a better name) that are referenced elsewhere. Everyone can do these:

Brute Force - to open stuck doors or any other feats of raw strength requires a proficiency throw of 18+. Particularly difficult tasks may impose a penalty on this proficiency throw. In addition, for each point of Strength adjustment, modify the result of the die roll by +/- 4. (A character with Strength 18 thus opens doors with a proficiency throw of 6+). If two characters cooperate to apply their muscle, use the stronger character’s Strength adjustment +4. A roll of 1 always fails to achieve the goal.

Climb Walls - any able-bodied character can scale steep surfaces such walls or cliffs without equipment as long as there are ample hand-holds. Sheer surfaces and those without require the appropriate equipment to attempt. They require a proficiency throw of 14+ (modified by Strength adjustment) for each 100' they intend to climb. If the roll fails, they fall a distance equal to half the attempted distance, plus the distance covered by any previous throws, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet. Characters climb at ¼ their standard combat movement rate.

Hear Noise - characters can can attempt to listen for noises in a cave or hallway and at a door or other locations. The character must be quiet and in a quiet environment. They require a proficiency throw of 14+ (modified by Wisdom adjustment) to pick up enough to understand what they are hearing. Hear Noise can be used for general perception and observation checks, whether passively noticing clues or actively searching for them.

Sneak - All characters can attempt to hide in shadows and move silently. This requires a proficiency throw of 18+ modified by their Dexterity adjustment. A character may attempt to skulk unseen in the cover of darkness.They will always think they are successful in this skill, and will not know otherwise until others react to their presence. A character will remain hidden so long as they stay motionless. If they move, they must make a new proficiency throw to hide.

Characters may move with total silence. When successful, even keen eared guards will not hear their movements. However, they always thinks they are successful in this skill, and will not know otherwise unless and until others react to their presence. Characters may move silently at 1/4 their standard combat movement rate without penalty. If they move greater than 1/4 speed, they take a -5 penalty to the proficiency throw. If they move at normal speed or faster, they take a -10 penalty. Wearing armour imposes a -2 penalty on attempts to move silently, this rises to -4 if wearing metal armour.
 

Secondly, I've collated the Proficiency alterations that capture them all:

Alteration: Alertness - The character's base proficiency throw for Hear Noise becomes 14+ and improves by one point every level. He gains a +1 bonus to avoid surprise.

Alteration: Climbing- The character can climb cliffs, branchless trees, walls, and other sheer surfaces, without climbing aids. In addition, his base proficiency throw for Climb Walls is 6+.

Alteration: Dungeon Bashing - renamed Brawn Over Brains - The character is hardened to heavy lifting and physical labor. He receives a +4 bonus on throws to open doors and similar acts of brute strength.

Deletion: Eavesdropping - this proficiency is removed.

Alteration: Skulking - The character excels at moving furtively and finding concealment. His base proficiency throw for Sneak is now 14+ improving by one point every level. His penalty to moving silently while wearing armour is reduced by 2 points. He may also move at 1/2 standard combat move without penalty. If he moves greater than ½ speed, he take a -5 penalty to the proficiency throw. If he runs, he take a -10 penalty.

New Proficiency: Disable Device - The character is skilled at disabling locks, traps and other devices. This requires a base proficiency throw of 18+ modified by their Dexterity adjustment, which improves by one point every level. With the aid of thieves’ tools, the character may pick mechanical locks. He may only try to pick a particular lock once, and if he fails, he may not try the same lock again until he reaches a higher experience level. The GM may apply bonuses or penalties to the roll, depending on the complexity of the lock.

Through careful inspection and probing, the character may find hidden traps and then attempt to disable or discharge the trap harmlessly. He may only try to find or remove a trap once in any given area. The GM may apply bonuses or penalties to the roll, depending on the complexity of the trap. If the character fails, he may not try again until he reaches a higher experience level. Note that these are separate skills, for a character must find a trap before he can remove it.

New Proficiency: Pick Pockets - The character may relieve an unaware target of items on their person such as pouches, jewelry, small items in pockets and so on. This requires a base proficiency throw of 14+, modified by Dexterity, which improves by one point every level. There is also a -1 penalty on the proficiency throw per each level the character is lower than the victim. A throw that is less than half the target value means that the intended target notices the thieving attempt. The GM will then make a reaction roll with a -3 penalty to determine the intended victim’s reaction. It may also be used for sleight of hand tricks suitable for impressing the guillible and to palm and conceal small items. When performing sleight of hand in front of an audience, the character may also apply your Charisma adjustment to the roll.

As a minimum, cut all of chapter one. Tl;dr.  Consider installing it as an afterword or appendix.