I have to run off to Games that Can’t be Named so I will just flat out repost what I wrote for the ACKS Kickstarter and the Autarch site. I hope that the freshness of this news, and the fact that it makes me very happy, will excuse some confusion in that “we” below is “me and the great bunch of folks who helped make this happen”; this group has considerable overlap with my fellow Mules, but here I am lending my Great and Powerful OZ skills to pretending to be the voice of Autarch.
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We’re proud to announce that, thanks to your support, inspiration, dedication, and patience, we have completed the final version of the Adventurer Conqueror King System!
Q: What’s available now?
A: The complete illustrated PDF of ACKS’ first edition.
Q: How do I get it?
A: If you’re a Kickstarter backer, you’ll be getting emails with the details. If not, buy the PDF directly from us, or DriveThruRPG if you prefer.
Q: I’ve set up contributor access at autarch.co and downloaded the final illustrated PDF from there. Should I still get this new PDF?
Q: Probably! The PDF available now for sale and at the contributor area has some important improvements. The version dated 1/31/12 is the first to have an updated list of backers, a special thank you and acknowledgment of our inspirations, and teasers for some of Autarch’s forthcoming collaborations that you may find interesting.
Q: I’m a backer at the Conqueror level or above, when will I get my hardback?
A: ACKS iscontinuing a great tradition of RPGs printed in the USA by McNaughton & Gunn of Saline, MI. We’re expecting them to ship books to Game Salute in time for backers and pre-orders to have their hardbacks and softcovers for the next convention we’ll be at, Gary Con IV.
Q: When can my friends who weren’t backers get print copies?
Game Salute’s Preview Nights program will let stores get the hardcover + PDF bundle of ACKS a week after Kickstarter backers. Visit our forums if you want to find or create a Preview Night near you.
Three weeks after that, the print + PDF bundle will be available through Game Salute Select stores and our online store at shop.gamesalute.com.
Q: What about the Domains at War bonus reward?
A: The current draft can be downloaded in the contributor area at autarch.co. Backers of the Adventurer Conqueror King Kickstarter will get a free copy of the complete illustrated PDF before anyone else. We expect that Domains at War will take substantially less than the six months it took to finish our first ACKS book.
Q: Is the zero edition Gen Con pre-print still available?
A: No, only about a hundred copies were produced and they are now all in the hands of Adventurer Conqueror King‘s Kings of Kings, Visionaries, Legends, God-Emperors, Patron Deities, and creators.
Q: Why are you partnering with Game Salute and Bits and Mortar?
A: Game Salute’s experience fulfilling Kickstarters for other innovative game companies will help us treat you right. And because we believe in supporting local gaming stores, Game Salute’s retailer programs make it possible for us to work to ensure there will be people for you to play ACKS with in many more parts of the world.
Bits and Mortar lets us work together with brick and mortar stores to help bring together the two halves of the ACKS system, the electronic resources and the books we hope will see hard use at your gaming group’s table.
Q: Can I write a review of Adventurer Conqueror King?
A: Yes, please share your impressions of the game! Email tavis@autarch.co if you want to give us feedback in private, need images for a blog post, etc.
Q: What’s next?
A: Download the PDF, visit Autarch’s forums, or check our Facebook page to learn about the new projects we’re excited about.
Thanks again for making this possible! It’s been a blast, and we’re just getting rolling.
The Mule Abides 
Checking out right now…
What happens if I pre-orded a hardcover via the autarch.com web site a few weeks ago (Jan 10th), back before you had this whole deal with GameSalute? Do I get a PDF, too? DO I even get a book? :)
how does a product like this compare to, say, the Judges Guild Charts, or any type of overland hex creation thing for above-ground gaming? My understanding is that Champions of ZED is supposed to be handling this, but I was wondering if this fell under the ACKS design system as well?
Hi – Tavis’s business partner Alex here.
Buzz – Your email address should have been provided to GameSalute. They’ll send you the PDF and then follow up with the hardcover book when it finishes being printed. If you have any problems, you can email us at orders at autarch dot co.
Scott – ACKS does not include tables for overland hex creation. I actually use the Judges Guild’s charts for those myself. What ACKS does include is suggestions for how large an area you should create, how to organize it for sandbox play, how to build NPC realms, how much the NPC realms will be worth, what sort of garrison they’ll have, what sort of monsters will be present, and so on. Everything other than the mapping, basically.