Player-safe lore for the Acksberron campaigns. Nothing in this folder is a spoiler.
Eberron was a world of magic and mystery, where ancient dragons soared above lightning-powered airships, and arcane science shaped everyday life. Blending fantasy with pulp adventure, noir intrigue, and magical technology, it was a land of innovation, conflict, and deeply held secrets. It was a world where elemental-powered airships shared the sky with ancient dragons, and warforged constructs—once built for battle—struggled to find purpose in a fragile peace. Arcane science fueled daily life, dragonmarked houses controlled commerce like magical corporations, and secretive cults, ancient evils, and political conspiracies stirred beneath the surface.
The nation of Cyre had once been the glittering jewel of Galifar—a kingdom of art, culture, and ambition. During the Last War, it became both battlefield and crucible, fighting to preserve its identity while surrounded by hostile heirs to the broken empire. Then, on a day of smoke and silence, Cyre was annihilated in a cataclysm known as the Day of Mourning. The land that remained—gray, warped, and deadly—became the Mournland. What had once been a proud nation became a haunted scar on the face of Khorvaire, a mystery and warning that reshaped the war and the world alike.
The Lord of Blades was a charismatic and militant warforged who rose from Cyre’s ashes, preaching a gospel of warforged supremacy and the end of fleshborn rule. Leading a brutal enclave in the Mournland, he gathered followers who believed they were the next evolution of life, forged for a divine purpose in the fires of war, and proclaimed that the belief of the warforged would give birth to a new god, one forged in their image.
Four great heroes braved the dangers of the Mournland and discovered the shocking truth: the Lord of Blades had stumbled upon a true divine power—but sought to corrupt it for himself. These heroes disabled him and paved the way for that divinity to shape itself freely. Thus was born the goddess Numilvara, who cleansed the Mournland and restored a new Sair to a bounteous land. None too soon—for after her birth, the world began to shake and shift, in what would later be called the Year of Trembling. Numilvara’s grace shielded all who could find their way to her lands, but elsewhere, devastation swept across the face of Eberron.
For the past five centuries, the Sairan empire has spread its wings, seeking to restore the glories of the world that was. Yet those who survived outside Sair cling to their old ways, resisting Numilvara’s teachings. Now, it is time for new heroes to rise, and make their own great marks upon the world…
Shape the World
Your characters will start small, adventuring into dark caves to find forgotten treasures, but will grow into great generals leading armies into battle, powerful spellcasters researching their own unique magic, wealthy leaders of mercantile syndicates that span the empire, powerful bosses of the criminal underworld with eyes and ears everywhere, or great explorers who give their names to distant landmarks.
Old-School Sensibilities
Professionals Study Logistics
The system I’m using, called the Adventurer Conqueror King System (or ACKS for short), is built with the idea that a game world will feel more real and immersive if the characters have to actually interact with it. Thus, magic that simply handwaves away long distances, carrying capacity, or basic needs such as food and water is treated as rarer and more powerful than you might be accustomed to from other RPGs. This is not to say that we’re meant to be bogged down in bookkeeping; the systems are meant to be gameable; just that we expect people not to be carrying items as if they had three hands and five backpacks and never need to eat.
XP for Gold
Like many old-school RPGs, ACKS rewards players for collecting wealth and returning it to civilization. Whether it’s a pile of coins, a bejeweled crown, a wagon full of stolen trade goods, or the bounty on a wanted criminal, every treasure won is worth just as much XP as it is gold.
Risks Are Real
The dangers you face in this game will be real. There’s a solid chance that at least one of the starting characters won’t survive until the end. In general, I won’t be pulling punches.
There are some mechanics worth noting around this: in ACKS, your character is “incapacitated” at 0 hp. Once that happens, we don’t know what your condition is until someone spends an action checking on you, after which you will roll on a Mortal Wounds table, with modifiers based on how badly hurt you were, how fast help arrived, how skilled the help is in first aid, etc. Depending on the modified roll (and a separate “hit location” roll), you may have been instantly slain, lost limbs or extremities, suffered scarring, or, like the scene in Lord of the Rings when Frodo gets hit by the Cave Troll, realize that you were just dazed for a bit, but otherwise fine.
Bring Backup
One of the consequences of realistic logistics and risks is that it’s a good idea to bring backup characters! In ACKS, these are typically called “henchmen”, and they are great for helping to carry torches and loot, blocking the occasional hit, and, if necessary, promoting to player character if someone falls in battle.
Downtime Is Magic
Recovering from serious injuries is more than just regaining hp by casting a few cure wounds spells; adventurers will often have to take serious time to recover from their wounds. Sometimes, the party will want to immediately return to adventuring, and the recovering character simply rests in town (a player can take over a henchman for a session or two, rather than sit out). However, ACKS presents many other options for characters to spend time (and money!), ranging from Mercantile Ventures, roguish Hijinks, Magical Research, and managing Domains or Congregations.
New to the setting? Start with The Land of Sair, the world introduction from Session 0.
The current campaign is Campaign II, following the exploits of The Black Puddings; it is a sequel to Campaign I and Pashlatine and Co.
Campaign calendar: Fantasy Calendar