Imagine a SteamPunk/Fantasy game:
Magic is weak and being driven out by science and the power of steam! Most magical creatures have fled over the fabled sea to the mystic isles. Only Minotaurs (Tauran) and the Snakes (actually Utah Raptors with feathers) remain in large numbers. The Empire is still recovering from a War with the Snakes to the south, a war that was won by the invention if the airship.
Many of the following blog posts will help you create characters, or get a feel for the campaign itself. This block will also be a source for campaign records, as well as a font of important information as I decide to post about them.
I’m excited about running this game as it combine all three of my
favorite things (SteamPunk, Fantasy and Science Fiction) in one game in a
great framework, and it is the first great story arc I’ve ever started a
campaign with. I already know how this campaign should play out!
I've decided to use the 6th edition Hero System as the basis for the game, since the low magic world kind of demands a system that takes that into account. It will be an heroic game, with normal characteristic maxima, hit locations, knockdown (vs. knockback), and long term endurance rules. Armor is just not worn in society, and seldom outside of full scale war. Characters are built on 125 points with up to 50 points in complications (or, 175 points total with 50 points in matching complications, same thing -- different words).
Stay tuned for fire-arm rules. They are allowed. Lots of different kinds. But they will be ... interesting. There is no standardized ammo, and not all of them will use gun powder. Steam pistols, anyone?
And now, a history lesson ...
A short history of the Empire
The Empire was established, legend says, at the dawn of time by a great
warrior raised by the elves. Honestly, written history can only trace
the history of the Empire back a little over 1200 years. The calendar
starts 1421 years ago, and dates are referenced from there. A
rebellion in the Western Counties a little over 240 years ago led to the
creation of the House of Commons and a weakening of the Noble Judges
and the King's powers.
At about the same time the first steam engine was built. Soon, the
power of steam was harnessed for rail traffic of goods from one end of
the empire to the other. Contact was first established with the
Supremacy of the Caliphate, lead by his Immortal Majesty and made up of
predominantly bi-pedal raptors, almost immediately branded as snake men,
despite being covered in iridescent feathers. Things at first went well, new
found wealth flowed into the Empire, and rails were laid through the
mountain passes into the southern jungles.
Almost unnoticed, during this golden age, magic began to fade. Many
blamed the failure on the steam engine. That makes no sense, as
researchers were able to point to magic events in the past that point to
magic beginning to fade before then. Scientists and the mages alike
are still unable to agree on what the root cause is. Mages blames
science or the steam engine, while scientists claim that the mages have
used up all of the magic available without giving any back. Neither has
made a convincing argument. During this time mankind looked around
and noticed that the elves, and most magical creatures, had quietly packed up and left.
Shock and betrayal ruled the day. Mankind had always trusted the elves, and looked to them for protection like a child looks to a parent. Then the Supremacy attacked through
the passes through the mountains. Caught unprepared and off-guard, the
Empire was unable to stem the tide until the Supremacy had a foothold in
the Empire. The Empire valiantly dug in an years of steady, draining
trench ware fare, with the Empire in a slow retreat, followed.
It looked like the Supremacy would finally break through, but airships, a
chance discovery kept secret and perfected in the desperate days of the
war, enabled the Empire to strike at the Supremacy's forces from the
air and drove them back to their homeland. The airships pounded the
forces until the Supremacy sued for peace and the war ended with the
Empire in control of all of the passes into the south and the land
around the exits into the southern jungles.
Now, everyone has airships and the skies are filled with motion. Rumors
of magic race from ear to ear. Scientists tinker with the building
blocks of life. Machines are being created to lift the burden of
accounting from people and replacing them with gears. Relations with
the Supremacy are strained. Spies for both sides scurry back and forth
through the passes. The tensions and politicking resemble the time between the world wars in our world.