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Ascendant

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Ascendant is the superpowered role-playing game of infinite possibilities. In this 496-page standalone rulebook, you get:

  • Elegant game mechanics that swiftly simulate the physics of a comic-book world using easy-to-reference real-life benchmarks
  • Color-coded challenge action resolution tables that resolve complex actions with superspeed
  • Infinitely scalable system lets you play heroes of any power level, from streetfighters to living gods – and replicate virtually any character from your favorite anime, comic, manga, or movie settings
  • Countless powers all customizable with an easy-to-use system of modifier tags that lets you match your power’s specifics to your character concept
  • Comprehensive detective mechanics for investigating crimes, interviewing witnesses, and finding clues
  • Detailed options for super-geniuses to create inventions, cure diseases, and even bring their outlandish devices into mass production
  • Extensive rules for responding to emergencies such as asteroid strikes, avalanches, disease outbreaks, earthquakes, fires, nuclear disasters, tornados, tsunamis, and volcanoes
  • A huge catalog of pre-built characters and objects including major military vehicles such as aircraft carriers, attack submarines, and ballistic missiles
  • A dynamic mission generation system to help you create challenges for your heroes
  • An optional campaign setting with ready-to-use heroes, villains, and organizations
  • Spectacular artwork by industry-leading pencilers, inkers, and colorists

Who will you become when you ascend? Don your cape and mask and find out in Ascendant.

February 26 Update:

We are pleased to share updated versions of the Ascendant rules. The file Ascendant Core Rulebook with Vision Layers features additional layers for you to customize for your use and enjoyment of the title. You can choose to view the PDF in color or in grayscale and either with art or without art. These layers allow you to customize the PDF to suit your needs. 

Since not all options will work for everyone or every device, we are also provided some standard options:

  • Ascendant Core Rulebook - Color is the standard full-color rulebook.
  • Ascendant Core Rulebook - B&W presents all of the pages in grayscale. This improves accessiblity for readers who found the white-on-red and white-on-blue text blocks hard to read.
  • Ascendant Core Rulebook - No Art removes all of the art from the book. This is useful to those who want to share the book with younger readers or who want to be able to print pages without art. 

Errata Corrected

The Core Rulebook has been updated to include all of the errata identified since the game has been released. The Errata Compilation PDF provides a detailed overview of all of the corrections that have been made to the book. The errata is compiled in order of priority with the opening pages covering the most important matters. 

Print Options Now Available

The new print files have been proofed and the print options are now available. If you've already purchased the PDF, check your email for a $20 coupon for the softcover!

Star-Spangled Squadron Flyer

Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron is a graphic novel set in the universe of Ascendant. It will be crowdfunding on IndieGoGo on March 15. Check out the flyer to see one of the four covers for the upcoming book. We'll be distributing a sneak preview on DriveThruComics soon.


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Reviews (25)
Discussions (71)
Customer avatar
Mark H January 07, 2024 9:55 am UTC
PURCHASER
Nice to have an update but what exactly has changed for us who have hard-copies?!
Customer avatar
Brett G July 14, 2023 7:56 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I bought the original print edition and pdf when it was first sold through drivethrurpg, but how can I get the second edition printing? I wanted to order a second copy, but I'd rather wait to make sure I'm getting the newest edition if possible.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M July 14, 2023 8:29 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
If you bought the original print edition and pdf, then the file you've got on DTRPG will be the second printing with errata corrected. The second printing in hardcover will be released later this year.
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Customer avatar
Brett G July 16, 2023 2:30 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks for clarifying!

I don't believe my pdf copy through DTRPG is the second printing with errata included. I've compared the changes in the errata document to the relevant sections in the book, and the pdf doesn't match the errata document changes. Is there a way I can make sure I get a pdf copy of the second printing? Sorry for the trouble, thanks for your help! A friend is starting to run this system for us, and we're all trying to get a handle on it and this would help make sure we're all reading from the correct pdf.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M July 16, 2023 3:38 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Brett, if you message me at orders@autarch.co (not .com, .co!) I will send you a coupon code for the Ascendant RPG to make sure you have the right version.
Customer avatar
neil T July 12, 2023 12:14 am UTC
How many powers
Customer avatar
neil T July 01, 2023 3:22 am UTC
does this have aliens in it
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Customer avatar
Alexander M July 04, 2023 3:00 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Aliens exist in the canon of the game, but there are no stats provided for aliens in the core rules.
Customer avatar
Ralph B May 08, 2023 8:29 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I'm understand there is a coupon available if I bought the pdf version. I think I missed the email informing me of this. Can I still get the coupon for purchasing the printed version?
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Customer avatar
Alexander M May 08, 2023 8:44 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Ralph, if you bought the PDF version you can get a coupon for the print version, that's correct. Can you please email me your DTRPG email address to orders@autarch.co and I'll take care of it. Cheers!
Customer avatar
Alain G December 09, 2022 4:00 am UTC
PURCHASER
So.... No divination powers ?? or did I miss it?
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Customer avatar
Alexander M December 12, 2022 11:48 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
It depends what you mean by divination, I think. If you mean postcognition and precognition, communing with higher powers, and similar, I excluded them as a design choice. I may add such powers in a future "magic" supplement.


For more routine divination (in the D&D sense):

Cosmic Awareness
Scrying
Psychic Blindsight
Telepathic Scrying



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Customer avatar
Alain G December 14, 2022 10:05 am UTC
PURCHASER
wwwwoooooooo!!!!! yes magic supplement please!!!!!!!
Customer avatar
Bruno M November 15, 2022 11:55 am UTC
PURCHASER
I bought this book and I have to thank you for the good work you made. I like the crossing between DCH and MSH you realized. I need to try it, hoping players will be ready to take on a system like this. Many thanks.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M November 16, 2022 7:27 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Customer avatar
David H September 21, 2022 7:49 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Why does RES factor into determining the Power Limit for Mental Attack? As far as I can tell, RES is only used for Mental Defense.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M September 21, 2022 8:00 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
There are two stat blocks, the physical and psychic. The physical are VAL (AV/DV), AGI (AV/DV) and MIG (Health/EV). The mental are INS (AV/DV), CHA (AV/DV), and RES (Determination/EV). RES is analogous to MIG and used the same way. Note that RES is used as the EV for Goad and Intimidation, for instance. It could also be used as the EV for future mechanics or powers.
Customer avatar
Daniel O May 10, 2022 3:20 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Is it correct to assume that an Augmentative Blast Object (like the compound bow) has its SPs compared to the wielder's MIG?

This is probably one of the trickier Augmentative Objects in the book, since Blast is neither a Skill nor a Power with a clear "substitution chain" like Strike.
Blast for characters does however come at a discount up to the character's MIG, and Augmentative Blast is described as being used for muscle-powered ranged attacks, so I'd say that MIG is being applicable here, even if it's not spelled out specifically.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M May 11, 2022 5:58 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Your conclusion is absolutely correct -- you'd compare it to MIG/Super-Strength.
Customer avatar
Neil S April 25, 2022 2:31 am UTC
PURCHASER
Are there any organised criminal organisations in this
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Customer avatar
Alexander M April 25, 2022 2:53 am UTC
PUBLISHER
There are several in the setting. The two main ones are "Exodus" and "El Cartel de Los Carteles".

"Exodus" is an organization of super-terrorists who believe that it's time to "exit humanity". They engage in wanton acts of destruction in order to trigger ascension in those who endure the carnage.

"El Cartel de Los Carteles" is a meta-cartel that has formed from the union of the world's largest drug syndicates. They are large and wealthy enough to have ascendants on the payroll which gives them the edge against ordinary criminals and cops.

There's a number of others, including some supernatural bad guys ("Court of Night"), ecoterrorists ("Nature's Right"), and private military baddies ("Dark Emerald"). There's also the Chinese and Russian superteams, which are good from the perspective of China and Russia but can serve as antagonist for western heroes.
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Customer avatar
Neil S April 30, 2022 5:57 am UTC
PURCHASER
Are there stats for all these in the book
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Customer avatar
Alexander M May 03, 2022 2:19 am UTC
PUBLISHER
The major organizations have stats, the smaller ones do not
Customer avatar
Ian F April 15, 2022 3:56 pm UTC
PURCHASER
One more question, if I may ask; in regards to conversions from DC, what might be a reasonable figure for Batman's VAL and Martial Arts skill? Thank you.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M April 18, 2022 5:14 am UTC
PUBLISHER
To convert from DC Heroes I do the following:
MIG should be equal to the lesser of STR or BOD
AGI should be equal to DEX
VAL should be equal to the greater of Martial Arts or DEX
RES should be equal to (WILL + MIND + SPIRIT) / 3
INS should be equal to INT
CHA should be equal to (INFL + AURA) / 2

I then assign Bludgeoning Strike SPs equal to rank of Martial Arts and SPs of either Super-Strength or Super-Stamina equal to the greater of STR or BOD.

Based on https://www.dcheroesrpg.com/2017/08/batman.html you would stat Batman as follows:

MIG 5
AGI 9
VAL 9
RES 11
INS 12
CHA 9

Powers: Super-Stamina 6, Bludgeoning Strike 9

Note that DC Heroes does not follow Ascendant's convention that normal humans are limited to 5 SPs in Attributes and 9 SPs in Skills, and most DC characters cannot be simulated if you attempt to do so. You're better off just ignoring that rule when converting them over....See more
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Customer avatar
Alexander M April 18, 2022 5:25 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Since someone is bound to ask, to convert from Marvel/FASERIP, do the following:

MIG should be equal to lesser of STR or END
AGI should be equal to AGIL
VAL should be equal to FIGHTING
RES should be equal to PSYCHE
INS should be equal to REASON
CHA should be equal to INTUITION

Feeble = 1 SP
Poor = 2 SP
Typical = 3 SP
Good = 4 SP
Excellent = 5 SP
Remarkable = 7 SP
Incredible = 9 SP
Amazing = 11 SP
Monstrous = 13 SP
Unearthly = 15 SP
Shift X = 16 SP
Shift Y = 17 SP
Shift Z = 18 SP
Class 1000 = 20 SP
Class 3000 = 24 SP
Class 5000 = 30 SP

So Thor (https://classicmarvelforever.com/cms/thor.html) would be something like:
MIG 15, AGI 9, VAL 15, RES 11, INS 3, CHA 5, with Physical Invulnerability 5, Cryogenic Corrosive Electrical Ionizing Thermal Toxic Resistance 15, Immortality 20, Weather Control 15, Boomerang Bludgeoning Strike 16*, Hovering Flight 20*,...See more
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Customer avatar
Ian F April 18, 2022 8:58 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thank you for this info, it's incredibly useful.
Reply
Customer avatar
Greg H March 10, 2023 11:34 am UTC
PURCHASER
These are FANTASTIC. Love crunch! Do you have conversion tips for other games (HERO, M&M3e)?
Reply
Customer avatar
Alexander M March 11, 2023 5:23 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
I do not! If someone in the community works them up, though, I will share it!
Customer avatar
Ian F April 12, 2022 1:50 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Just to end a dispute amongst my group, Do amateur Musicians/Actors/Composers/Photographers have Avocations and Processionals have them as a 'Profession'? Thank you.
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Customer avatar
Alexander M April 12, 2022 5:55 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
That's how I've typically done it. Either one could be used in Challenge Actions at the appropriate AV, but my sense is that the area of coverage would be a little bit different. E.g. a hobbyist filmmaker might know more about low-end cameras and indie conferences while a pro filmmaker would have more of a film school professional knowledge. The cost will be the same in most cases so it's largely fluff.
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Customer avatar
Ian F April 12, 2022 8:58 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks for clarifying. Superb game system.
Customer avatar
Ian F April 10, 2022 3:32 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi, I must have missed my coupon for the softcover. How can I get another please? Thanks in advance.
Reply
Customer avatar
Alexander M April 10, 2022 7:22 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Ian, drop us an email at support @ autarch.co (not .com)
Reply
Customer avatar
Ian F April 12, 2022 1:49 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Done and completed. Thank you.
Customer avatar
Adam H March 30, 2022 5:06 pm UTC
This looks awesome! I am interested in picking up but most of my gaming these days is virtual. Do any of the major VTT services support this game? Do any of them have character sheets etc. for it?
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Customer avatar
Alexander M March 31, 2022 12:04 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for checking it out. We have made a number of HeroForge-based tokens available for VTT on the forums. A player on our Ascendant Discord has developed a die roller and some other modest support for Roll20. There hasn't yet been a full VTT engine/module built, though.
Customer avatar
Tony N March 14, 2022 8:49 am UTC
PURCHASER
Thank you so much for the discount on the printed book for having bought the PDF. It was very generous of you and I'm eagerly awaiting my hard copy.
Reply
Customer avatar
Alexander M March 31, 2022 12:05 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for supporting the game!
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Product Information
Platinum seller
Author(s)
Rule System(s)
Pages
496
ISBN
978-1-941956-38-0
Publisher Stock #
ASC01
File Size:
185.7 MB
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
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File Last Updated:
January 07, 2024
This title was added to our catalog on December 12, 2021.
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