a yet-to-be-named steampunk fantasy campign

[ronnieB]

i have been toying for some time with this idea, here's what I'VE got:
the campaign world was shaped by an industrial revolution that was brought about by a period of prosperity (renaissance) in which many great machines have been planned (think leonardo) and discoveries where made.
amongst the new technologies are: steam power, the corporation, basic chemistry and mass production.
explosives (like gunpowder) are unknown and certain inventions have not yet been brought about: locomotion, steam-powered ships or calculating machines.
in that world magic is much weaker and more limited, so that skilled mages are even harder to find.
automata:
about 50 years ago, at the hight of the renaissance, one mage had the following thought: "what if i would create a clockwork statue that, while winded could walk and then summon and bond a spirit to it as a mind?"

basically, the process involves 4 steps:
1. creating the automata physically (available motivation must be either: steam power, clockwork mechanism or compressed air tank)
2. summoning a minor nameless spirit (usually one that has something to do with metal)
3. binding the spirit to the body
4. adaptation period (at the end of which the spirit is completely bound and will never return to be a 'normal' nameless spirit)

the automata created in this way have a low intellegence and must be "recharged" often (clockworks reminded, air tanks refilled etc..)

automata components:

motivation (engine): clockworks are by far the most popular, due to the ease of the rewinding process and the new enchanting methods which can enhance the working time of the clockwork automata before rewind.
steam power is still a new technology and doesn't see much use.
compressed air tanks are cumbersome and don't last for a long time (oh and they EXPLODE, too).
magical engines or even semi magical engines (everhot lava in a steam engine) are exteremly hard to make, but are probably the most efficient.
and lastly, animal or human power is too unreliable (and it's not an automata if there's a driver).

sensors: the binded spirit gains a short range way of detecting objects and living creatures while losing whatever sensors it had while unbinded.
other magical sensors can be added though

mind: the binded spirits are much more intelligent than any of today's AI and can obey orders.

that's it for this post, next i'll be posting some inventions

[ronnieB]

small clockwork automata:

perception B7 -range of 'sight' is 30 paces (not much, but once in sight range it's very hard to hide)
will B2
agility 3
speed 4
power 4
forte 5

health n/a (not a living creature)
steel n/a (almost mindless, follows orders to the letter)
reflexes B4
mortal wound 10

traits: (* marked ones vary from one automata to another)
mechanical, drone, limited operation time, *ambidextrous, blank stare, color blind, hands of iron, iron hide, *mute, second sight, blind, *tenacious.
new traits:
mechanical- automata are not living creatures and thus are immune to toxins, disease, fatigue and such.
drone- automata have no personality and simply obey orders, attempts to bribe, seduce or reason with an automata is futile.
limited operation time- small clockwork automata can operate for about 1 hour before needing to be re-winded.

skills vary by the task the automata was created for

[luke]

ok, cool enough.

how did you arrive at the stats for this creature?

what's it made out of? Is it posssessed by a spirit? If so, should this be a trait? Could another summoner Abjure the spirit from this creation?

How about trait points? did you give yourself a pool? or just assign as needed?

curious,
-abzu

[ronnieB]

>how did you arrive at the stats for this creature?

i assigned the numbers according to the strengths and weaknesses, there's probably still room for improvement:
perception B7 - second sight is a very effective sense and the automata 'feels' anything within a 30 paces radius
will B2 - almost a complete drone, but still has a (submissive) spirit
agility B3 - a bit clumsy
speed B4 -
power B4 - small build doesn't allow much lifting power
forte B5 - most automata are built well, as they are expensive

>what's it made out of? Is it possessed by a spirit? If so, should this be a trait? Could another summoner Abjure the spirit from this creation?

1.it's made of mostly of steel and some other metals, though some designs are made of cast iron (those get the 'rusty' trait) and rubber is sometimes used, too.
2. while technically it might be considered possesed, the spirit has grown to accept the new body, Abjuring the spirit out will be very difficult -OB7 at least, and the spirit will destroyed in the process.

>How about trait points? did you give yourself a pool? or just assign as needed?

assigned as needed, but i'll come up with a pool for 'extra features' soon

[Drozdal]

About automata - if you gimme some time i'll flip thru may Ars Magica sourcebook - Mysteries - they have there nice rules on creating Automata - so lemme know if you're interested - they may cast some light ;]

Drozdal

[ronnieB]

sure thing, drozdal
it would help me to flesh out the whole thing

thanks in advance.

[eruditus]

I am going to have a low-tech steampunk element to my campaign as well... one of the main NPCs used a telsa rifle to great effect recently :)

As you will see from my campaign notes I will be looking for a tech level just a notch below the computer game, Arcanum.

Anyway, GURPS Steampunk and Steampunk tech are great resources for the genre.

*GURPS - hate the system, love the source material*

(Not intended to start a conversation of who likes/dislikes GURPS)

[ronnieB]

the "Messengers" as they are called are light clockwork automata capable of gliding through the air at high speeds and deliver letters or small parcels (about 0.5KG capacity).
since those automata glide, rather then fly, they can operate for much longer times then normal automata (power is still needed for altitude adjustments though): up to almost 6 hours in optimal conditions.
Mechanical Messengers have been introduced a few years ago and have been rapidly replacing homing pigeons as the preferred means to send urgent messages due to their reliability and lack of needs such as rest or food (this automata is not quite as fast as a real homing pigeon, but makes up for it by not resting).
a Mechanical Messenger can glide from 290 kilometers in a good day to a 120 kilometers in poor weather but crashes still happen in storms and such.
special ordering a delivery is beyond the monetary capabilities of a laborer but adding a single letter to a planned delivery costs low enough that even peasants can communicate with far away loved ones (of course, how the letter will get from the farm to a city with a messenger post is another story).
other than allowing rulers and nobles to communicate with hirelings more efficiently, the greatest change to society is banking: now banks can work as chains and hold accounts that are withdraw-able from any major city.

Messenger posts: those high buildings are set in most major cities, at least one post for every 100 kilometers.
the posts always contain: at least one winding machine (in capitals-two), a landing pad, mail hatch and a caretaker.
the ground floor of the Messenger post usually functions as a post-office.

winding machine: a large steam-powered engine that automata can use to rewind themselves- as long as the machine is powered, the automata need only connect the machines winding key to the rewind socket and push a lever.
the winding machine is loaded be coal either by a caretaker or by another automata.

Mechanical Messenger - small clockwork automata:

perception B7*
will B2**
agility B5
speed B2- ground movement
power B2
forte B5

health n/a (not a living creature)
steel n/a (almost mindless, follows orders to the letter)
reflexes B5
mortal wound 10

traits:
mechanical, drone, limited operation time, ambidextrous, blank stare, color blind, hands of iron, iron hide, mute, second sight, blind, tenacious, magical wards**, mental map*.
new traits:
limited operation time (Mechanical Messenger)- Mechanical Messenger can operate for about 1 -6 hours (on air) before needing to be re-winded.

* as perception range of 30 paces is not very useful for a flyer, Mechanical Messengers are magically fitted with a "mental map" that helps them navigate, and an air bladder which it uses to calculate height with by sensing air pressure.
** Mechanical Messengers have strong magic wards against tempering, while the will exponent is still B2, attempts to control or change the Messenger's programing (like the landing spot) is made at Ob9 (Ob10 for the higher quality ones kings have)

Mechanical Messengers are very hard to construct and are costly, the punishment for damaging one can very from incarceration to death penalty.

note: MM's hardly ever carry anything more valuable than encoded letters, and (due to flying speed) are extremely hard to take down, so they aren't a very attractive target to bandits.

[ronnieB]

ok, I've finally got a name for the steampunk/fantasy campaign: shamlay.
notice that that's only the name of the mainland, the world is named by most inhabitants "the earth" or "the world"
like early medieval Europe, the shamlayans cannot perceive the existence of lands beyond (the other continents and major isles are too far from shamlay to be reached with ships*).

*the shamlayans should figure out how to build steam powered ships in a generation or two.

but let's get to the meat of this post: servants of the divine
there are two major divine powers at work: Bo're the creator and Ashme'dai the destroyer, those two forces are locked in an endless, subtle struggle in which none seems to want to crush the other but merely gain an edge.
most of the time the forces are in a state of equilibrium but at some times one of them gains superiority, this is caused by wide scale effects (like a deadly plague or a population boom).
the creation sphere is driven by the desire to build, remake and expand, while the destruction sphere is desires to clear the old and limit the amount of creation.
priests of one of the two spheres are required to advance the goals of their sphere while generally preserving the equilibrium (the really good ones are very subtle, it's the beginners who give destroyers a bad rep and creators an outrageously good one).
the creators encourage high birth rates, construction of buildings and monuments and creativity
destroyers encourage anarchy, destruction of the old and low settlements (as opposed to grand cities).

there is a third force that is opposed by both spheres: decay
decay appears where creation runs wild (swamps for example are filled with life) and where destruction works too slowly (like an long illness)
decay does not create or destroy directly- it weakens. priests are required to oppose decay whenever it gains supremacy and the spheres themselves work to clear (destruction) and rebuild (creation) decayed areas.
no one knows whether decay is a sphere of it's own or just a byproduct of the eternal struggle- the spheres aren't talking.

examples:
control areas: creation- swamps, cities and settlements, forests / destruction- wasteland, barren plains, collapsed ruins / decay- pestilent swamps, filthy slums, unrepaired buildings.
powers in action: creation- birth, completed projects / destruction- death, ending / decay- crippling sickness, rotting objects, aging
champions and servants: creation- inventors, midwives, builders / destruction- undertakers, assassins (some), insurrectionists (until they gain power) / decay- only pests and bacteria

sample conflict and resolution:
a human city is troubled by a band of marauding trolls that effectively keeps the human population in a certain limit.
a bad creator will kill the trolls, thos allowing the city to swiftly grow, a good one will just weaken the trolls
a bad destructor will actively aid the trolls, a good one will give them a small edge.

whoa, i meant this post to be longer but I'm gatting tired (it's 2:25 am here) and haven't even got to the part about the demigods...