Western / Steampunk Hero Idea Bouncing: "Bone Falls"

[zippercomics]

Hi everybody. (no "hi, Doctor Nick", jokes, please).

I just want to bounce some ideas off the community at large here, for a campaign setting that I'm writing up. To that end, I just kinda want some input, and a fairly generous helping of "directional guidance" if my ideas seem to derail one another.

You see, I'm trying to make a campaign that is both a Western, and a Steampunk game. Generally, they're pretty easy to mix together, since the concept of "Steam powered technology that, while uncommon, does exist" can fit pretty easily into a Western game. The catch here is that I want to incorporate other ideas, as well. Stuff like very low level magic (no spells, but more things like hexes or voodoo or magic centered around cultural ideals that, while unlikely, could be real).

So yeah, a melting pot of genres.

But "Western" is the backbone of it all. It takes place in a decidely Western world, where a six shooter is still a man's best friend, where a horse is the most reliable mode of transporation, where prostitution is a "career choice", and where the lawmen could be just as reviled and evil as the men they pursued.

Since I have the terrible "start from scratch" gene, I've decided to set the campaign in a homebrew "variant" on the United States. Not even sure I'll call it that, but that's where we all come in.

I just need ideas. And I really don't know where to start. :smile: I've built worlds before, but they tend to be the kind that I haven't thought through all the way. I need to really crunch down and get some solid stuff documented, especially if I'm going to be introducing others to this world (PBeM, when the time comes).

So I guess I should start with the areas in which I need help: History. I'm no history buff, and I don't care to be one. But i know what kinds of things I want in my world. I was thinking of setting it at the beginning of a civil war (many games are set during or near the end, if not just after). The war hasn't started, per se, but it's going to. And it'll be based off of - what I think - is a pretty standard cause of war in History: the assimilation of independent states into a unified government.

Naturally, some states agree, some don't. Those that do agree form the (Insert suitable name here); an organization that puts nice, brown uniforms on all their young men, hands them rifles, and sends them out alongside horses and steam-powered tanks to force other states into alignment. Naturally, these guys will be the "bad guys".

As for those who chose to remain independent, I don't have any thoughts on them.

So there it is; can you guys help me add some flavour to this? Put some meat and potatoes onto the unified states, and the independents. Put some history into it that'll make it more believable?

Muchos Merci's, dudes. Thanks!

[tgrandjean]

I'm not going to scratch together details, I'm sure other posters will help with those. However, it sounds like the united states that you are looking at is one in which the Articles of Confederation held together. Provide a decent reason for doing so- for example the European powers were too distracted with their internal struggles so they never considered the Americas anything more than just a battleground, and the states were either secure enough that they wouldn't be attacked (treaties perhaps?) or too distracted with other issues. Time has passed and new states have been formed and a northern alliance (or a southern one) is seeking to unite all the states.
You might have to do a little (and I do mean little) research to pull up some prominent names and personallities of the times. That's all that needs doing to add a little versimilatude to your setting. Perhaps an external threat from the 'Iron Duke'?

[JTesla]

Sounds like a very interesting setting.

One thing you might look to set are any cultural or social differences within the nation. For instance in the United States you had large differences between North and South, and also between East and West. If your setting is in the “Wild West” is it directly influenced by events in the population centers? Are your territories being persuaded to join one side or another through direct or indirect action? Is there some form of false idolization of the West by people in more established areas?

One other area to look at is what type of communication and transportation network you want to have. Is there coast to coast telegraph and rail service? Or, like many movie and TV show plots, is this something that is currently being deployed?

[zippercomics]

Good questions, all.

As far as communications goes, I don't see there being much more beyond standard messanger services and the like. Transportation isn't impossible between the States, with a train network already heavily employed, and carriages and caravans commonly moving about.

I'm not sure what would really cause such a conflict besides the fact that there was a unified financial force trying to impose a governmental system that someone else wouldn't want. I would've figured that would be reason enough for "war", especially if it wasn't an overt one that drew a lot of attention.

I mean, what about this as a thought; there's two distinctions of States (east and west, north and south, inner and outer, whatever ...). Group A is part of the unification front, and they're the ones who've collected all of the wealth, all of the power, and the army. They started marching armies out on the frontier cities and lands where settlers and vagabonds had more or less drifted, in search of land or wealth they could freely call their own. So, naturally, when the unification front starts coming up to their doors, commenting on how it's a "join or die" situation, the independents wouldn't listen. But, since these are smaller frontier lands, and not major cities or hubs, a lot of little "crimes" could be overlooked.

It seems reasonable to me, but I might be skewed. Does it seem reasonable to you guys?

Also, as a note, I'm not sure if I was clear that this campaign wouldn't take place in the "United States", but rather a home-brew country that mirrors the setting of the Western genre as it appears in popular medium.

[zippercomics]

I'm not going to scratch together details, I'm sure other posters will help with those. However, it sounds like the united states that you are looking at is one in which the Articles of Confederation held together. Provide a decent reason for doing so- for example the European powers were too distracted with their internal struggles so they never considered the Americas anything more than just a battleground, and the states were either secure enough that they wouldn't be attacked (treaties perhaps?) or too distracted with other issues. Time has passed and new states have been formed and a northern alliance (or a southern one) is seeking to unite all the states.
You might have to do a little (and I do mean little) research to pull up some prominent names and personallities of the times. That's all that needs doing to add a little versimilatude to your setting. Perhaps an external threat from the 'Iron Duke'?

Alrighty. You've mentioned a lot of things I'll have to research here, but that's what I wanted. Gracias!

[JTesla]

It seems reasonable to me, but I might be skewed. Does it seem reasonable to you guys?

In games just about everything seems reasonable to me

Historically, the United States had a very similar set up. The North had the wealth and industry, the South had agriculture. Throw in the abolitionist movement and you have a good reason for the South to dislike the North. In your setting the expansionist industrialists shouldn’t have something as virtuous as ending slavery as a cause to fight.

Of course it is far more complex then that, but this isn’t an area for a history lecture. My point is that historically what you are proposing is very reasonable. Also historically there were tensions and even open conflict that began as a result of each side trying to win territories to their side. So as a possible plot: a territory is being groomed for statehood each side is sending settlers, mercenaries, and politicians to ensure that a state constitution that supports their side is adopted. Side A sends in high tech mercenaries to scare people, Side B tries buying influence, the characters do all those things that characters do in these situations.

[zippercomics]

I like that! It puts a lot of options on my plate, as a GM, for plot hooks. And since I intend on painting the Unification Front in a relatively poor light, it'll give them something much more grand, more exciting, to battle for. Neat!

Speaking of which, and on a much more visceral level, I need a name for said Unification Front. The ... well ... Unification Front sounds too "Borg"-ish. Any ideas? Something that, when a politician says it in a speech, just begs for the thumbs up and the trumpets playing. I was thinking simply of the Alligned States, as it sounds nice and "buddy buddy".

As I have more questions, too, I'd like to keep bouncing them off you guys here. Always easier to figure things out when you're discussing them than when you're just milling them over in your mind.

[Eodin]

Speaking of which, and on a much more visceral level, I need a name for said Unification Front. The ... well ... Unification Front sounds too "Borg"-ish. Any ideas? Something that, when a politician says it in a speech, just begs for the thumbs up and the trumpets playing. I was thinking simply of the Alligned States, as it sounds nice and "buddy buddy".

How about something like "The Grand Alliance", "The Great Union", or "The Union Of [substitute something else for American] States". ?

[Lethosos]

I'd defintly create paraellels with the orignal Wild West. Throw in some local big-shot rackets--the Iron Duke suggestion would do very well, and would make for some interesting plots if he decides to side with one or the other. I'd suggest something like making him a former cattle baron who started dipping his fingers into other investments, like railroads and mining, and decides that he wants to carve out a nation of his own. Work from there.

Alternatively, shuffle around some general arrangements in regards to state divisions. (I'd keep the states/territories the same.) Have it pit the East Coast against the West Coast, for a change--the Great Union vs. The Free States of California, if you like. Territory management and resources would factor hugely in here.

[The Monster]

Don't forget the natives! As of 1860, there were still a lot of very active and powerful Indian tribes out West (Big Horn wasn't until the mid-1870's, Custer being a US Civil War cavalry officer). In a situation as active and multi-faceted as yours, plus a little just plain history fiddling, some of them could easily have become more organized than they historically were - some set up as client states, some spontaneously rising in defense (and finding allies among the rival states), even some in envious imitations of the power and civilization of the white states.

Given the strong tendency toward independence, places like Texas, California and Utah might pursue true national identity, and regard themselves as being separate from any confederation based on the Eastern Seaboard. Some areas might even be a (perhaps uneasy) mix of Indian and White settlements, allowing for intrigue of all kinds.

Mexico lurks to the south, if you want it to. Without a US to back it up, Texas and California might be more tempting. For that matter, Britain (via Canada) and even Russia (via Alaska and down the Pacific coast) could get involved in some clandestine stuff.

I'm sure you've checked out Deadlands. It's set post-Civil War, but a lot of the ideas they use there could easily jump to your campaign.

[Lamrok]

As Monster mentioned, you're describing the Deadlands setting fairly well - except Deadlands is set twenty years later (though the Civil War is still dragging on.). Deadlands has a bit more emphasis on the supernatural than you are describing, but you might want to poke around at some Deadlands resources to see what you come across.

My current game is fairly similar to what you are describing - set in the 1870's currently located in the American west, with Steampunk technology. My mental grasp on the setting is defined by the following:
- Start with standard 1870's history (I am a bit of a history buff, and read a lot of cowboy nonfiction in my youth.)
- Add the tech or your choice with some rules defining how it can be used, what it does, and what it changes (I'm using Ghost Rock from Deadlands - I like the supernatural slant of it, and I'm making California the center of the world's largest deposits. This gives a good setting for global intrigue.)
- Look at the ramifications of perhaps sudden tech advancement. Some areas of technology are far more developed than others - the American Civil War, and Prussian aggression in Europe have driven military tech. Old-Style bare-knuckle capitalists are driving most of the rest of technological advances, emphasizing transportation and communication - but only to the benefit of the capital behind the investment. Solitary eccentrics are working in their own random directions.
- Keep in mind that there are some very pristine places that can be explored.

My main "thematic" influences are spaghetti westerns, and those little red biographies I read when I was a kid - full of stories about how young men with pluck could overcome all obstacles to be great American titans of science and industry. This is how the "big" NPCs act, how they expect the PCs to act, and how this fictitional world, in general, functions.

[Lethosos]

Monster's got an excellent point. I'd start researching the Sioux Nation, and see how you might be able to adopt that in appropriate areas. And the Free States (which I'll be using from here on, until you have a better name,) would be more amendicable to allowing territories granted for such nation-tribes to develop. A goodly swath of plains Colorado down to Arizona/New Mexico areas would be a start, IMO.

[Starwolf]

For inspiration/research I'd recommend watching the Wild Wild West TV series starring Robert Conrad as James West. And don't forget the movie remake starring Will Smith as James West. This setting was definately Wild West meets Steampunk. It is set after the war when President Grant was in office, but could easily be adapted to before the war when Lincoln was in office.

[Herolover]

Umm...sorry, but is there a reason why no one has mentioned Deadlands the RPG?

Just in case you don't know Deadlands is an OOP RPG made by Pinacle Entertainment. It is set in 1877 in a US where the civil war has not yet ended. There is magic, there are demons, the indians have a big part to play, and thre is weird science based on steam.

It pretty much has everything you could want and listed. You can even get the books as a download from RPG Now.

This would be a great place to start for a converstion. However, don't look past the Deadlands system. It uses cards and poker chips which gives a great feel. It is one of the few games, okay maybe the only, that I won't bother to convert to HERO because the system is great at what it does.

[Lamrok]

Just in case you don't know Deadlands is an OOP RPG made by Pinacle Entertainment. It is set in 1877 in a US where the civil war has not yet ended. There is magic, there are demons, the indians have a big part to play, and thre is weird science based on steam.

"Deadlands Reloaded" a Savage Worlds treatment of Deadlands, is due out in a couple of months. There's also GURPS Deadlands (for a more Generic feel).