Dissecting Stan

I thought I'd look at an ACKS character in detail:

Bushwhack Stan:  human  explorer-1 Neutral
 

Str 11 Int 11 Wis 11 Dex 11 Con 11 Cha 11

AC 4 Hit Points: 6 Morale:

XP: 0 Treasure: 5gp

Proficiencies: ambushing (+4/double damage on surprise), intimidation (+2 reactions when threatening violence)

Class Abilities: +1 missile attack, +1 melee and missile damage, +1 surprise/initiative, difficult to spot (3+ outdoors, 14+ dungeon), +4 avoid getting lost, +5 evade wilderness (except clear), Avoid Wilderness Encounter (even if surprised)19+

Encumbrance: 8 stone carried: Combat move 20', run or explore: 60'

Clothes: trousers, tunic, cloak, high boots, belt, back pack

Large Gear: Armor: Chain Mail (4) ; Crossbow: 1d6 (dmg) 80/160/240, (1)

Belt Gear: short sword (1d6 dmg), case with 30 bolts

Back pack , (1)mallet+4 stakes, 2 weeks iron rations, net, 2 flasks military oil (2) 12 torches, 12 iron spikes, tinderbox, 50' rope, tinderbox

ANALYSIS:

human explorer-1:   in ACKS races don't share classes.  So, all members of the Explorer class are humans.   There are no dwarf fighters, instead there are dwarf Vaultguards.  Sometimes it makes a huge difference:  an elf spellsword is like a fighter-mage multiclass, and a gnome trickster is has a strange mixture of powers that make him something like an illusionist-thief, but not exactly.  Other times it doesn't make much difference:  a Vaultguard really is just a fighter with a few dwarf powers.   The best thing is that there are the equivalents to multiclass characters, but they have all their stuff shuffled together and you don't have to split XP or average hit dice.

neutral:  there are only 3 alignments (as I always prefer to play it): Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic, and they are exactly the way we've played the last few campaigns.

Ability Scores: the standard ability scores, in the standard 3-18 range.  13-15 is +1 bonus, 16-17 is a +2 bonus, and 18 is a +3 bonus.  While most abilities give the bonuses to things you would expect, there are a few surprises:  Dexterity does NOT give a bonus to thief skills.  Wisdom does NOT give any bonus cleric spells, but does give a bonus to saves vs. ALL magic attacks.  Any intelligence bonus is a huge prize for a mage and Charisma is key for getting henchmen, who are the ONLY NPC types who will go into a dungeon with you.

AC: 4:  this is the biggest difference.  The to-hit system is basically THACO in reverse.  Each character is given a base to hit AC 0 number based on his level (all level 1 characters it is 10+), but unlike old school D&D,  AC 0 means no armor.   AC 4 means that you add 4 to the target number:  so a first level enemy would need a 14 to hi Stan in his chain mail.   It's all mathematically similar to various sorts of D&D, but expressed in a brand new, never before seen way.

HP: 6:  all classes get either a d4, d6, or d8 for hit die and get a new die each level up to 9th, thereafter getting a fixed amount.  As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing more blowful than getting a bad hit point roll.   My intention is to give everyone maximum at first level, and then rolling as follows:  d4= roll d4 (with a 1 equaling 2);  d6=1d4+2;  d8=1d4+4.  Since there are no true "multiclasses" there's no problem with averaging hit points.

XP: 0; Treasure: 5gp:  XP and treasure are pretty standard D&D

Morale:  henchmen, hirelings and monsters all have a morale rating of -4 to +4, with most being 0, that are used as mods on the morale table.  I really like the morale and loyalty system a lot, at least on paper.

Proficiencies:  this is one of the big differences from Basic D&D, the proficiencies are a combination Feats and Skills system.  You pick a certain number, and some are given to you as class features.  Bushwhack Stan's ambush proficiency, for example, gives him the exact equivalent of a Backstab, other builds of an explorer might take a Precise Shot proficiency (to shoot into melee) or a tracking proficiency.  Not all proficiencies are as awesome as others, for example "Collegiate Wizardry" gives you the power to recognize your guild's signs and cyphers.  Big. Fat. Hairy. Deal.  While Contemplation allows you to regain a used spell during the day by meditation.  Not, even at all.  Besides the lack of balance among all the proficiencies, most of them are indeed quite useful and it is an excellent feature of the game. 

Class Abilities:  the explorer sure has a lot of them.  Some other classes have very few.  Most important to notice, however, is the +1 melee and missile damage at first level.  This is a key feature of the system.  All fighter-type classes gain this bonus damage, which increases another +1 every 3 levels or so.  This additional damage, joined with the Cleave ability, by which a fighter type can make an additional attack if he drops an enemy--up to a number of times equal to his level, and he can move between cleaves--helps give the fighter-types a more of an umpphh at high levels.  

Encumbrance:  the system uses a weight-count encumbrance system. However, it's a bit streamlined.  Encumbrance is measured in "Stone"  which is an abstract measure of between 8 and 14 pounds each.   Armor weighs a number of stone equal to its armor value (so AC 4 chain mail, weighs 4 stone).   Large or bulky items (spears, bows, crossbows, two-handed weapons) weigh 1 stone each, smaller items weigh 1 stone per 6 items, and groups of items such as 6 torches or 1 week of food count as 1 item.