Hello, today we uploaded revised tables for permanent wounds and tampering with mortality. The changes are subtle, but based on our extensive internal playtesting they will make for a better gameplay experience.
Please let us know if you have the chance to deploy them into your game.
Alex,
Nice changes! One thing that DOES bug me a bit about the chart though is the d6 roll. Almost everything else in ACKS wants you to roll high, except the d6 on the chart. Would it make sense to reverse the order of the d6 rolls so the more beneficial effects were closer to 6 and the harsher results closer to 1?
Also, on the side effects table, one of my players picked up the side effect where a devil/demon shows up 1/week (with a 1 in 6 chance) to try to kill you. However, there are no devils/demons listed in the monster list. I would suggest either adding some demons/devils to the monster list or change this entry to something that is in the monster charts.
Good point on the die rolls.
As far as the demon/devil…ugh. Maybe an Invisible Stalker, then.
That would work.
But that brings up a question - Is ACKS deliberately staying away from demons/devils or is it because of space reasons and demons/devils could conceivably show up in a different book?
Upon further thought maybe it should say creature of gm’s discretion (with some sort of thematic link for the assaulting creatures)?
Duskreign, we are deliberately staying away from demons/devils, but not because of moral concerns or anything. Rather, we felt that if we introduced demons and devils it suggested we must also introduce rules for planar travel, magic of the planes, and so on. Given ACKS’ focus on ruling in this world, we thought we’d better hold off on including any of that.
It’s also because half our backers would immediately demand rules for running domains in hell with families of lemures; while the other half would politely point out that, while well-written, our demons and devils do not match up with the actual Biblical and mythological accounts of these beings. =)
Can I have rules for running a domain in hell with a family of lemurs?
http://www.rfadventures.com/images/Animals/Mammals/ringtail-lemur-face-bg.jpg
But seriously - I think that’s quite a good decision. If GMs want to introduce extra-planar entities and all the baggage that can accompany them, then they could make it up. If and when you do a supplement though, I’d like to see more Howard/Lovecraft less Bible 
The demons/devils in the Auran Empire are somewhat in between the Biblical or Howard/Lovecraft equivalents. They are drawn on the core source material of ancient Sumer, Babylon, and so on. Since those were the sources from which Howard and Lovecraft drew, as well as the inspiration for many Biblical devils, it bridges the gap between “satanic” and “cthulhic”.
Following the ancient greek tradition, we call them “chthonic” beings, as they are of the ancient religion of earth, water, and chaos, as compared to the “empyrean” gods of sky and fire.
As an example: Lammala, the Earth Mother, is worshipped in underground caverns deep in the earth, signifying the womb of the earth. Her womb-temples always hold a huge, crudely scuplted figurine of a pregnant woman with bloated teats and large fangs, representing the dark goddess herself. The cavern walls of her womb-temples are often coated with green slime or other oozes, held in magical abeyance unless the altar is defiled.
Serious, what do I have to do to get a rough draft of the Auran Empire setting? It’s making me crazy with its awesomeness. I’ll pay (more) money!
On a slightly more serious note, great thinking. Everything I’m hearing about the way the game is developing is making me happy as hell.
Yeah, I would be willing to shell out some more dough to get the Auran empire stuff too!
And thanks Alex for the demon/devil explanation. Now that work is done for the day (and I’ve given my art order to Ryan) I just have to wait for my kids to go to bed before I can peruse v26. Aaaaaargh.