Wolfe-Chan Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Well I have decided that I don not like the religious tension in the Iron Kingdoms setting. I am going to create my own Steampunk setting which is more to my liking. For instance it will be more Sword & Sorcery then High fantasy as it makes things easier to only have humans in the world. Elves blow chunks anyway. So far I have an idea of Technology Vs. Magic. One kingdom ruled by technology and another by Magic. And the battle between the two with a wrench or wand thrown into the works here and there. On the technological side they will have machines run with difference engines and steampower and other technological wonders. On the Magic side they will have the typical fantasy magic and may be more that everything uses magic. ie. Chariots that are pulled by invisible magical steeds, and other fantastic magical items as regular occurrences. I was wondering what you all thought about such a setting and maybe you all could give me some more ideas to flesh out my ideas. For instance what would you like to see in such a setting? Well hope you have lots of ideas to help me out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsedgamer Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero A few thoughts. Could you run a locomotive with a matched pair of captured fire and water elementals mystically bound together in the boiler? Would this locomotive be able to run forever without fuel? Is there a resource (mana) that is expended by the use of magic? Is that resource bound to certain locations? If so, is it a scarce resource that must be wisely husbanded? What would happen if the location of a huge pool of mana was the same the location of a natural resource needed for technology? How would that situation be resolved? War or trade? Would the soldiers of your technologically based kingdom behave like a typical Napoleonic era military force? Then I could image a battle where cavalrymen with sabers and matchlocks are fighting against guys with magic swords and the like. Better yet, think about an artillery duel between a battery of cannon and a wizard hurling fireballs. If you can mix tech with magic, as in my first example, could you have things like a matchlock pistol that never needed to be primed, or an enchanted musket ball that always finds the target's heart ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero It would probably be interesting to have each side fanatically devoted to their paradigm of choice, to the extent that the technologists never so much as carry a lucky charm, and the magicists (wow, that sounds weird) never boil water without some muttered invocation of spirits. And then you have the spies of each side, who are forced to use the methods of the other side on occasion, and to meld the two paradigms in the same way as lapsedgamer suggested. The steampunk-type gadgetry is created by each kingdom's Q analog for the respective Secret Services. Perhaps they are even beginning to reach the realization that they have more in common with each other than with their own countrymen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Just a bit of pedanticism - The technological side should be using Analytical engines, not Difference engines. Babbage's last - greatest, and incomplete invention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Sounds neat. The first thing that leaped into mind was Castle Falkenstein, with it's blend of fantasy, steam and it's modern protagonist. The second thing that leaped to mind was The Books of Faerie. Pit the magical Sidhe against the technological humans. Each kingdom is on one side of the Faerie Vail. As Captain Obvious suggests, there will be cross-overs -- Magicians like Timothy Hunter on our side, and captured humans like Titania. There are a few other source you could draw on. Sabriel by Garth Nix, and Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear come to mind. EDIT: Falkenstein, darn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austenandrews Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Humbly submitted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Ha! "Humbly".. as humbly as any other published writer I know Suprised it isn't in your signature, actually Looks good, good reviews - I take it that at least some of them aren't by friends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe-Chan Posted March 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Thank for the input has been very helpful. As for the Analytical Engine I am doing a bunch of research into that now. Has given me a cool idea about a giant sentient mechanical computer, and some ideas for smaller sentient analytical engines. They will be intricate clock work engines in vehicles and large walking steel golems. The sentient engine builds other smaller engines to help the technocrats but also putting in a little bit of control for itself in each of its designs. or maybe the machines have already rebelled? The designers of the machines will be a guild of engineers that are a little bit loopy that have created all of the Engines and Steam Engines to power them. Well that is what I have for the Technological side for ideas at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austenandrews Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Ha! "Humbly".. as humbly as any other published writer I know Suprised it isn't in your signature, actually Looks good, good reviews - I take it that at least some of them aren't by friends I'm pretty sure I figured out who one or two were, but I never asked anybody and no one ever 'fessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero You might want to check out http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ for some cool clockwork that borders on magic. And they've got mad boyz aplenty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloomann Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Humbly submitted Hey man! Austin Andrews get down! Do you have distribution overseas? I hate buying things off the Net. Also for other inspiration the video game Arcanum (although playability was nul) it still had some very interesting concepts, gadgets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero I find Steampunk and Victorian go together well. Here are some is my Victorian Hero Resources which inclueds Steampunk Fantasy elements. Wikipedia - Victorian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century Wikipedia - Steampunk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_punk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Steampunk Victorian Roleplaying Themes http://codepoet.org/~markw/gurps/themes.html'>http://codepoet.org/~markw/gurps/themes.html GURPS Victorian http://codepoet.org/~markw/gurps/ GURPS Victorian Superheroes http://centralnexus.tripod.com/GVictbck.htm Wikipedia - Alternative History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alterna..._%28fiction%29 Wikipedia - Boer War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer_War Wikipedia - Castle Falkenstein http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_...tein_%28RPG%29 Deadlands – Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlands Discworld - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discwor...-playing_games English Victorian Fiction http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/english/.../victfict.html Wikipedia - Gothic Novel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_horror GURPS by Gaslight http://bill-barton-games.iwarp.com/custom4.html GURPS Discworld http://www.byenighte.com/ GURPS Victorian Superheroes http://centralnexus.tripod.com/GVictbck.htm Victorian RPG Resources http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo...ch.html#Gaming Japanese History - 19th Century http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2123.html Victorian Gamer http://www.jimskipper.com/victoria/ Lord Darcy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Darcy The London Underground Diagrams http://owen.massey.net/tubemaps.html Wikipedia - The Miji Constitution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Constitution Wikipedia - The Ottoman Empire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire Steampunk Resources http://www.philm.demon.co.uk/Steampunk/ Recogmended Non Fiction http://homepage.mac.com/bowman/cf/No...n.html#Atlases Recogmended Reading http://homepage.mac.com/bowman/cf/bib.html Romilly’s Castle Falkenstein http://deromilly.home.mindspring.com/falk.html Scientific Romance – Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_romance Sherlock Holmes - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes Space 1889 http://www.heliograph.com/space1889/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_1889 Steampunk Victorian Adventure http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9094/STEAM2.html Wikipedia - The Great Game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game The Historical RPG Society http://ringsurf.com/netring?action=i...oricalroleplay The Tony Jones Space 1889 http://www.wolfram.demon.co.uk/rp_1889_top.html Victorian Society in the Americas http://www.victoriansociety.org/ Victorian Adventure Gaming http://www.gisby.org/1889.htm Victorian Novels http://www.victoriannovels.com/ Victoriana http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah/webdoc9.htm Victoriana Online http://www.victorianaonline.com/ Victoriana .com http://www.victoriana.com/welcome/ Victorian Gallery http://www.victorianas.com/ Web Links http://www.boscobel.k12.wi.us/~schnrich/web_links1.htm Cobrabay Gaming Links http://www.cobrabay.f2s.com/favourites.html Victorian Timeline (Thanks Yamamura) http://wanderingthoughts.net/misc/ti.../Timeline.html Hero by Gaslight (Yamamura's Site) http://wanderingthoughts.net/campaig...ogaslight.html Victoriana Forum Links (Thanks Bart Hodge) http://www.vancouvergamingguild.com/...;threadid=1042 Clockwork HERO (Thanks bblackmoor) http://herogames.com/forums/showthre...ight=Clockwork The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana by Jess Nevins (Thanks Agent 13) http://www.monkeybrainbooks.com/Fan...Victoriana.html Myths for the Modern Age:Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe (Thanks Agent 13) http://www.monkeybrainbooks.com/Myt...Modern_Age.html Victorian Women's Art of Self Defense http://herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30657 Victorian Age: Vampire by White Wolf Games http://www.white-wolf.com/Games/Page...anOutline.html London by Night by White Wolf Games Links to follow Victorian Age: Vampire Companion by White Wolf Games Links to follow British Express - The Victorian Period http://www.britainexpress.com/Histor...rian_index.htm Other RPGs converted to HERO System (Thanks Lord Laiden) http://herogames.com/forums/showthre...+HE RO+System The Unhallowed Metropolis (by Eos Press) http://www.newdarkage.net/gallery.html Stanford's Dime Novel and Story Paper Collection http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dp/pennies/ Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austenandrews Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Hey man! Austin Andrews get down! Do you have distribution overseas? I hate buying things off the Net. The odds of a copy still being in a bookstore are slim. Maybe a used bookstore. Since it was a licensed property, I wasn't involved in any of the distribution. I do know it was translated and sold in Turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethosos Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Reminds me of the discussions about a Western-era Leirune. We even went as far as discussing how the way magic works in there that could be done for guns (although that was co-opted for a Star-Age Leirune instead.) But it's not far off from what you're thinking of--just replace the furs with humans, and you've got a good story about the rise of technology against an Ages-old established mageocratic nation, in the aptly-named "Age of Steam." (Of course, the big upset would be if the PCs became the Age's current Rune Knights, and had to play nice with them in order to find a way to restore the Great Seal as fortold by destiny. Players hate destiny, especially when the Knight's own intelligent Crystals start bugging them to no end. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe-Chan Posted April 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Well I am leaning toward making my world, where there two continents and on one there is a civilization that is based on technology and one based on Magic and low technology. On the tech continent they are an advanced steam level technological civilization with many clock work marvels of micro engineering. I am not sure where to go with tis idea at the moment. I am also not sure how I want to have the magic continent work yet I have a lot of the basic ideas I need to work on. Seems that making a whole world will be a bigger job then I first thought. Any suggestions on what directions to go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted April 3, 2006 Report Share Posted April 3, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero May HEROdom strike me down for saying some, but Palladium Books Rifts setting did a very interesting War scenario between two Empires? Kingdoms? The Coalition vs Tolkeen War IIRC QM P.S.: Palladium Books is the worst organized website I have ever had the misfortune to navigate. Ugh!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe-Chan Posted April 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero I need some names for cities and countries in my campaign I need some kind of direction for my two continenets politocalls and culturally and I am sorta stumped on which way to take. Any names or cultural directions you can thin of that would develop in a technological society and a magical one? What types of suggestions do you have for me. Please help me out!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Just use German (or Slavic) words/names for the techno society, and Latin (or Gaelic) for the magical one. Search Google for "online german english dictionary" and presumably you will find an appropriate tool. Culturally, I might expect the technological society to be highly stratified and/or bureaucratic, with lots of instances of people being used as mass labor, trained to operate in a consistent/predictable manner. The magical society would instead be something of an anarchy, though stereotypically ruled by a council of archmages... alternately if you have a more organized magical society that might play into ritual 'group' magic, wherein a bunch of mages stand in a circle and hold hands to do whatever it is they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Wikipedia is your friend- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_towns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe-Chan Posted April 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero I have a name for my Campaign! It is going to be Fantasy by Gaslight! As the Capitol city of the tech kingdom is going to have gas lighting. I am actually excited about actually coming up with a name for the campaign as I am sure ideas will come quicker now. Came up with a map for the campaign with the current look of the Continents that split many eons ago in a large magical catastrophy that split the once large continent. So far I have two sentient Great Anylitical Engines one somewhat on the side of good and one that is evil and bent on the destruction of everything that is not mechanical. And then the added tension of the Magical Kingoms and Empires rediscovering the other half of the continent. Also the Horse Lords and other Nomads and Barbarians that live in the vast steppes of the west. The kingdom with out magic are going a bit of a german feel. While the magical side is going to have a Celtic and maybe Roman feel but mostly Celtic I think. In the sea in the middle is going to be many strange islands where pirates and the undead live and other horrible things left over from the magical catastrophy. Also many strange formations of coral reefs and sea monsters of all types. As for gods I am going to have one god of technology and many celtic type gods & goddesses for the mages. So far I am playing with the Names Dietrech or Adelbrecht for the god of technology. Right now I am concetrating on the Technology side of things and any comments or criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thanx Wolfe-Chan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe-Chan Posted April 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero Opps that was a bad copy of the scan let me try again Ok that is a bit more readable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero I see your map making skills are similar to mine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfe-Chan Posted April 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero I see your map making skills are similar to mine... Was just a rough draft I am sure I could do a bit better all it would take is a bit of solid effort. I am sure you could do better then that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero I highly recommend reading Perdido Street Station (for more than just general reasons this time) - especially the bit about the Construct Council Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethosos Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Re: Steam Punk Fantasy Hero And take a look at Campaign Chartographer, too! I thought it was some hideous mutant beast at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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