Microlite81, Lords & Wizards, and ACKS

Many readers many remember that I was going back and forth on using Labyrinth Lord OGL rules or Adventurer Conqueror King System OGL as the underlying foundation to build Lords & Wizards on. My waffling back and forth was on of the major things holding up making a real start on writing Lords & Wizards. One of the reasons I talked myself into doing Microlite81 was because writing Microlite81 would allow be to use a set of rules I was very familiar with (Microlite20-based Microlite74) to build a B/X-based game -- and it would allow me to easily experiment with using "Microlite20-ized" OGL material from LL, ACKS, BFRPG, and others as building blocks in the game. Experimenting via very lightweight Microlite20-ized rules is far faster and easier than experimenting the "full-size, complete, and wordy" versions -- especially when one can't just copy-paste but has to rewrite portions because things aren't quite the same.

While I had moved away from using ACKS based systems for Lords & Wizards, playing with Microlite20-ized versions has made me rethink this. For example, the XP needed for advancement in Microlite81 is currently based on ACKS which means ACKS classes and the ACKS class building system could be used with M81 with just a bit of adjustment. The optional classes in M81 Extended will be similar to classes in ACKS. ACKS Spell creation rules should work for M81 spells as well. While the economy will not be hardwired to work like to does it ACKS, it will start at the same point with respect to pricing and the value of money so those who want to use an ACKS-based economic system could easily do so. This bodes well for those who would like to see Lords & Wizards use an ACKS-like engine.

As usual, however, I haven't been able to figure out a way to make proficiencies play well with my more general background system. While proficiencies are technically optional in ACKS, most people who really like ACKS love them. I'm still trying to think of a way to make proficiencies play well with backgrounds, but I'm not having much luck -- and I'm not willing to give up backgrounds given how well they have worked for my games since the late 1970s.