Lacking Natural Simplicity

• Auran Empire Primer for the Adventurer, Conqueror, King System (ACKS) published by Autarch LLC, ©2016.

This short (23 pages counting covers) introduction to the Auran Empire and the areas around it includes:

• 1 page cover.

• 1 page title page.

• 1 page credits page.

• An 1 page overview with short sections on purpose, culture, religion, cosmology, monsters, magic, and ancient artifacts.

• A 1⅓ page description of the various lands of the area under discussion (which includes the lands surrounding the Auran Empire).

• A ⅔ page timeline covering over 4000 years.

• A 2 page map of the area.

• A ⅔ page legend of map symbols.

• A 3⅔ page section on Customs, covering Laws and Governance, Coins and Money, Fashion and Dress, Slavery and Indenture [1], Travel and Vehicles, Engineering and Construction, Knowledge and Learning, Weapons and Warfare, Religion and Myth, Clergy and Churches, and a table of Gods and Goddesses listing their names, titles, spheres of influence, holy symbols, sacred animals.

• An 8 page section on People, giving basic descriptions of the various nationalities and/or ethnicities: Celdorean, Dwarven, Elven (Argollëan), Jutlandic, Kemeshi, Krysean, Kushtu, Nicean, Opelenean, Rornish, Shebatean, Somirean, Skysos, Thrassian, Tirenean, and Zaharan.

• A 1½ page table of languages, with their real-world inspiration.

• Finally, a 1 page back cover.

I thought this was a very good overview of a campaign setting.

I wish that the map had shown less of the north of the map where the barbarians lived and more of the south, where there are several countries described that are not on the map.

I liked that the nationality/ethnicity entries included descriptions of the typical appearance, including skin color, hair color, body shape, average height, face shape, and so forth, and that there is a fair variety of each.

I liked that the culture section gives the real-world cultures that inspired the game world cultures. For example, “The dominant Imperial culture [of the Auran Empire] is closely akin to the Late Roman Empire and Early Byzantine Empire.”

Last edited: 2021-08-09 12:20:39 EDT