Everybody Loves Steampunk [Setting and Other Stuff]

[Vadin]

Spell Gears
(My magitech/steampunk setting)

Character classes are:
Fighter (Fort is one good save, he picks the other and can trade out all but every third feat for sneak attack like a rogue)
Cleric (spell failure applies in heavy armor and spontaneous casting variant)
Barbarian
Spell point sorcerer (has access to druid, cleric, bard, and usual spells)
Wizard
Psion
General Meldshaper (Incarnate minus alignment abilities, a little extra essentia, melds from all the lists)
Rogue
Monk
D20 Modern classes
Strong Hero
Fast Hero
Tough Hero
Smart Hero
Dedicated Hero
Charismatic Hero
Shaper Mage (Before a lot of the changes were made, like the new elements)
Evolutionist (A class from these boards with some slight modifications)
Shaman
Inventor
Adventurer (Pre-determined multiclassing, ends up with 13 levels of class abilities from 2 classes, or 9 levels from 3 classes)
All classes may use PHBII options (except sorceror) when available and are free to use any and all racial substitution levels.
All classes receive a defense and reputation bonus, and armor provides ½ Armor bonus and ½ damage reduction as per the UA variant.
Multiclassing incurs a -2 penalty to defense, nothing else.
There are no action points.
Feats may be from D&D or D20 Modern (some are not allowed) and several others from WotC Online.

Races are used the way presented in my sig.

The setting has many magical elements, but also contains some of the more crazy things one can do with science fiction and a simple steam engine. Also, there are no computers, merely difference engines, powerful calculating machines not unlike relatively simple non-digital computers. Architecture is for the most part a fusion of the gothic style and the Victorian style.

Small devices that are fusion of simple magic and minor mechanics are prevalent (like telephones and horseless carriages) and many great behemoths that run on limitless steam engines (orb of create water at will and a ring of fireball at will) are also not too difficult to find if one knows where to look.

There’s a seedy technomage underbelly in addition to secret dark magics and insane mad scientists. Also, Luddites, people who want to do away with steam technology advancement, try their best to halt radical scientists at every turn and are often joined by witch hunters and the Arcane Puritans, who want none of this wood and iron in their ever perfect magical continuum.

Racial tensions have largely cooled, as the orcs were forced to become civilized when a disease almost wiped out their race and the only place of refuge was the sprawling metropolis of the gnomes, who quickly left the underground and moved to the surface world when they invented steam technology. The descendants of these orcs now most commonly serve as members of the Gnomish Guard and fight in large and powerful steamsuits, armor which multiplies their already prodigious strength by great amounts. The Dark Elves chose not to follow the gnomes they one preyed upon and instead remained underground, living their lives largely untouched by surface advancements. The High Elves, or the ‘plain’ elves, quickly assimilated new technologies into their magical lifestyles and revealed their cities in the trees, protecting them now with impressive force barriers aided and maintained by concentrated magitechnology when necessary. Humans and half-elves, adaptive creatures that they are, expanded upon the gnomes’ breakthrough in mechanics and the elves’ adaptation of that advancement to magic. They built larger and tougher cities than the other two and were quick to sell their advancements to the Halflings, who used the new developments to expand further underground, making large underground caverns much like the gnomes had done, but these caverns were only inches below the surface and easily accessed by all who wished to visit their great subsurface markets.

The adaptations of the many peoples to new technologies and their subsequent migrations created many old and abandoned areas. These ruins came to be inhabited by any number of beasts and have proved a ripe orchard of treasure for those adventurers willing to venture into the long abandoned tunnels and cities of gnomes. Some say that another race of gnomes still lives underground, jealous and angry at their brethren for refusing to share the secret of their technology until they had already grown more powerful than these ‘deepknomes’ could ever hope to be.



Just thought I'd share this with the people here. I've always liked Steampunk stuff and thought steampunk enthusiasts and haters might like to share their own Steampunk classes, items, mechs, and settings here.

[Matthew]

So, do you use the Sorcery & Steam supplement for Fantasy Lairs or something else for inspiration?

[Vadin]

Mostly I just use little bits of steampunk stuff here and there. A lot of cartoons. Kids Next Door, that new show Stormhawks, and a few others.

Sorcery and Steam? Please, elaborate. Quid est?

[Engine]

Uhm.
Do you have ever played Arcanum?
It's a CRPG by Troika Games,quite old and little bit complex respect others,more famous,CRPG.
Obviously,it has a steampunk setting.IMHO,the most important rule in this game it's the difference between tech-PC and magic-PC.A tech-PC (a PC specialized in construction and use of tech-equipment of various nature,like the Elephant Gun or chem-potions that enhance your stats) has strong magical resistance that shield him\her from ALL magical effects,even those beneficial for the PC (like magical healing) and cannot use magical equipment.A magic-PC (a PC specialized in casting and use of magical equipment) has strong tech resistance that affects ALL tech-equipment in the surroundings (for example,guns in your presence often have malfunction or trains simply don't function or go off trails).
You could insert this difference in your setting,imagine a duel between a tech-PC and a magic-PC...

[Matthew]

Sorcery & Steam is a D20 Sourcebook, published as part of the Legends & Lairs Series by Fantasy Flight Games. You can read a review at RPGnet here: Sorcery & Steam.

[Nocte]

I love steampunk!

Take a look at World of Warcraft: More Magic and Mayhem, there is some interesting steam technology.

[Vadin]

CRPG? Is that a card rpg?

[Pauwel]

CRPG? Is that a card rpg?

Computer RPG.

[Engine]

Computer RPG.

Yeah,like the Baldur's Gate Series or Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2.
Well,obviously you don't know Arcanum.

[Vadin]

WOW. I just got Chaositech, and WOW.

Has anyone tried running a Girl Genius D20 game using the rules presented in Chaositech? If you removed the need for all the will saves and mutations, it seems like it would be really awesome rules for handling Sparks and their inventions.

[Vadin]

With the help of the system of mutations in Chaositech, I thought I'd make a race of Jagermonsters from Girl Genius.

Jagermonsters
Jabermonsters are the loyal servants of the Heterodyne family, engineered to be powerful and cunning warriors to aid the mad Heterodyne warlords in their conquests.

Size: Medium

Type: Monstrous Humanoid

Abilites: Jagermonsters have ability score adjustments as follows: Strength +6, Dexterity +2,Constitution +4,Intelligence +0,Wisdom +0, Charisma -4.

Armor Class: Their flesh is remarkably strong, providing a +4 natural armor bonus to Armor Class.

Special Qualities: A Jagermonster has a +2 racial bonus on Fortitude saves against poison and disease. In addition, they have Darkvision out to 60 ft.

Special: The skin of a Jagermonsters is most commonly some unnatural color, such as purple or green. In addition, Jagermonsters age incredibly slowly once they reach a certain point. So slowly, in fact, that the aging process effectively shuts down once a Jagermonster reachs adulthood. They progress one age category after that every few hundred years until they reach venerable. At that point, however, they still will never die of old age. Jagermonsters also have +30 hp and weigh three times that of a normal human, though their extra weight doesn’t seem to hinder them at all. Like humans, Jagermonsters gain +1 skill point per level.

Alignment: Usually chaotic(any), never lawful

Level Adjustment: +3