Full Version: Steampunk Superheroes
I finally saw "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and now that has gotten me itching to do a Steampunk Superhero game. But I don't know as much as I would like about the era. What sourcebooks would other gamers recommend for information on the setting? I was thinking of running it using the Hero system, but have not problems borrowing from other games out there. I've already considered "GURPS Steampunk", and "GURPS Steam-tech", are there any others I should look into? Is "Cthulhu by Gaslight" still being produced? It seems like there is a dearth Victorian era game settings.
There is a d20 steampunk book that is going to be coming out soon. I'll check with my gaming buddies to see what they know and will post back here.
Check your local hobby shop.
Cthulhu by Gaslight is a good source, as is the Gurps book. In fact, Gurps should have a number of sourcebooks fitting the time period you're looking for.
The Cthulhu books will probably be your best bet -- they tend to have a fair amount of detail about the social conditions of the time period.
-Siege
Edit: White Wolf book
Judging by a quick net search, the Cthulhu by gaslight series is out of print -- although I'd imagine your local shop might have something similar on the shelf.
Cthulhu by Gaslight is a good source, as is the Gurps book. In fact, Gurps should have a number of sourcebooks fitting the time period you're looking for.
The Cthulhu books will probably be your best bet -- they tend to have a fair amount of detail about the social conditions of the time period.
-Siege
Edit: White Wolf book
Judging by a quick net search, the Cthulhu by gaslight series is out of print -- although I'd imagine your local shop might have something similar on the shelf.
GURPS has a Steampunk module. I haven't read it, but I've heard good stuff about it.
Edit: oh, that was already mentioned. Missed that.
Edit: oh, that was already mentioned. Missed that.
In Harlequin's Back, there is a steampunk-based adventure, and a Victiorian-style Masque. Really wiz stuff, would be quite easy to base a campaign off of. Cyberware is clockwork-and-magic based, magic is elemental-based, and bioware is animal-grafts. Trolls ride mini t-rexes. Yee-hah!
[/edit] In the masque, there's a steampunk-version Matrix, too.
[/edit] In the masque, there's a steampunk-version Matrix, too.
Speaking of which, have you ever tried to analyze the implications of each of those adventures? What the heck did they symbolize, etc.?
I have not, although the blood-magic angle on the first has already been covered to an extent in canon. It might be interesting to take a look at that.
If you don't mind venturing out of the safe confines of GURPS or the OGL, you could go on eBay and see if you can find used copies of the Castle Falkenstein game from R Talsorin. The setting may be a little "bright" for a steampunk-type of setting, but it could still be helpful, given a few tweaks.
Play Arcanum, the CRPG! A load of laughs!
Castle Falkenstein, its THE steampunk rpg IMHO, mind you, besides steampunk it has magic (ala ShadowRun). It includes the setting along with the gamesystem.
The gamesystem is very easy to learn and plays with cards. There is also a gurps conversion around but I prefer the original system all the way. The idea is that certain tasks require a certain lvl of ability so you have a hand and play cards that add to your ability in order to achieve those tasks. Each player is given a hand of cards, the catch is that you dont want to waste your best cards too early before you get to refresh your hand. You dont roll a single die because, as its said on the book, gentlemen dont roll dice
You dont use a character sheet, you write your characters diary. this is optional of course and you can just go with a charsheet. But the diary way is nice cause if forces background.
The setting is pretty nice, its based on the Real history except magic appears in the victorian era. It also adds a very nice twist having characters well known to everybody. Couple of examples: Jules Verne is the science minister of the French empire, Sherlock Holmes is around, etc, etc
You got tons of secret societies like iluminati's, masons, etc.
You got empires like the British empire, the french empire, Russia, etc
USA is in a Wild West scenario.
Its by R. Talsorian games, the makers of Cyberpunk ™ and other games.
It won several awords among which:
The Origins Award for Best Role-Playing Rules of 1994.
The Nigel D. Findley memorial Award for Best Role-Playing Product of 1995.
Links:
Castle Falkenstein official site
R. Talsorian Web page
The gamesystem is very easy to learn and plays with cards. There is also a gurps conversion around but I prefer the original system all the way. The idea is that certain tasks require a certain lvl of ability so you have a hand and play cards that add to your ability in order to achieve those tasks. Each player is given a hand of cards, the catch is that you dont want to waste your best cards too early before you get to refresh your hand. You dont roll a single die because, as its said on the book, gentlemen dont roll dice
You dont use a character sheet, you write your characters diary. this is optional of course and you can just go with a charsheet. But the diary way is nice cause if forces background.
The setting is pretty nice, its based on the Real history except magic appears in the victorian era. It also adds a very nice twist having characters well known to everybody. Couple of examples: Jules Verne is the science minister of the French empire, Sherlock Holmes is around, etc, etc
You got tons of secret societies like iluminati's, masons, etc.
You got empires like the British empire, the french empire, Russia, etc
USA is in a Wild West scenario.
Its by R. Talsorian games, the makers of Cyberpunk ™ and other games.
It won several awords among which:
The Origins Award for Best Role-Playing Rules of 1994.
The Nigel D. Findley memorial Award for Best Role-Playing Product of 1995.
Links:
Castle Falkenstein official site
R. Talsorian Web page
Bulldrek Echo
| QUOTE |
The streets of Seattle were dank with fog and the gloaming moon overhead. Every bricked building and cobbled street was damp and slippery. So were some of the occupants who silently made their way down darksome alleys, away from the burning glare of those street-lamps still in repair. Harold was dressed in his great coat this evening, and breathed the damp air uneasily. He did not approve of the climate, with the malign vapors so ubiquitous of industry these days. His great iron-shod cane of polished oak struck sparks from the cobbles as he made his way to the unremarkable door that served as an entrance to Dante's. Once inside the foyer to the somewhat notorius Gentleman's Club, Harold faced the two massive brutes that served as bouncers. The one on the right, with carefully capped tusks of brightly polished brass cordially spoke to Harold. "Would the Gentleman please hand to the coatgirl any weaponry on his person." It was not a question. I very carefully removed my derby, the rather cumbersome greatcoat and the pair of octagon-barrelled revolvers I kept always on my person, handing them to the slight elfin girl manning the coat room. "I must retain my cane for locomotion, I am afraid." Harold carefully rubbed his first two fingers against his thumb, with the pretense of a nervous fidget. The bouncer with the capped tusks raised an eyebrow till it appeared it would impact the horn jutting from his brow. He shot me a beaming smile, full of teeth. "Why of course sir. Please go in, and enjoy your stay." I managed to pass a few gold nuyen into his magnificent paw as I entered the club proper. Dante's, while far from the most popular of nighttime establishments in the great port city of Seattle, and at times berated in the local papers for the unsavory characters sometimes found there, was a particular locale I cultivated for the specific esoteric elements that found themselves there, seeking for either service or employment. I was of the latter. I descended steps covered in worn carpet of oriental design; the grinding gears of airy dragons picked out in copper thread, arriving at the third level before the Pit, where my compatriots awaited. Here was Alijah Snowblood, an albino of the Sinsearch tribe who had been ostracized from his clan (I do not know why, though Ihave reason to guess it was for collaborating with certain of his elfin brothers in Tir Tairngire, and the dissapearence of certain ancient grimoires). His hair remained bound tightly into the braid favored by some of the aboriginal tribes on the continent some centuries before, with a few precious eagle feathers held in the knot at the back. The rest of him was dressed as any Anglo-Saxon gentleman, in a modest black tuxedo and bow tie. Seated to his left at the table was the Jackal. Her flame-red hair and the bridge of freckles across her nose and cheeks declared her Irish descent as surely as the glass of potato-vodka being held in her slender hand. The Jackal's professed preference to aeronaut pantaloons and calf-high leather aviator boots were attested to tonight, as well as a rather fetching if low-cut blouse of green silk. I looked, but could not detect the dull metal gleam of her datajack fittings; she had decided on a partial wig tonight to cover them. Perhaps prudently. James held most of the booth to himself, and was making short work of a pint of beer along with the plate of liver and onions in front of him. The ogre sucked suds from the prodigious mustache that began above his mouth but ended as sweeping and full-bodied sideburn, leaving his prominent chin exposed. He was considered very handsome and masculine by many of the ladies, save only for the irregular scar along the bridge of his nose (I have heard that was from the trenches of Crimea during the Ottoman Uprising, but the ardent German would confirm nothing). James had on tonight a sleevless blouse and vest over the drab dress pants of an officer, and finished with steel-shod boots. Normally I dislike such ostentatious dress, but James was keen to show off his mechanical arms, which whirred and clicked very softly as he dined. Harold took his accustomed place, and ordered a glass of gin while waiting for their potential employer to appear. It was not a quarter of an hour later, as Alijah and the Jackal were discussing the parallels between their two respective professions, the Jackal stressing the cerebral aspect as Alijah spoke of compartive symbols and old myth-cycles. Tall, heavy set and blond, with a thin mustache and grey eyes. "Good even to you all. I am Herr Johanneson. Shall we get down to business?" |
Nice write up AH. Yes, it a nice illustration of how anything can be geared to a Victorian slant.
Thanks for all the suggestions all. What I really need is information of the specifics of Victorian society. Things like the technology of the time, the social mores, figures of note, things like that. From there I can extrapolate and tweak.
I want to keep it mostly like our own with these larger then life figures added in (sort of like your classic Superhero comic, but set in the late 1800's with characters who have origins that fit in that era). I'm not sure that I want to take it as far as Castle Falkenstein, but it could be useful depending on the depth and accuracy of the background information.
Thanks for all the suggestions all. What I really need is information of the specifics of Victorian society. Things like the technology of the time, the social mores, figures of note, things like that. From there I can extrapolate and tweak.
I want to keep it mostly like our own with these larger then life figures added in (sort of like your classic Superhero comic, but set in the late 1800's with characters who have origins that fit in that era). I'm not sure that I want to take it as far as Castle Falkenstein, but it could be useful depending on the depth and accuracy of the background information.
Comme il Faut, a sourcebook for Castle Falkenstein, will probably help you out with the society, mores, and such. The main CF book drops quite a few names of noted historical figures.
Space 1889 is also an interesting steampunk-style setting, although the system is less than perfect. Victorian-era spaceships and Europeans colonizing Mars and Venus. I have used it with the Silhouette system, although I never really found a good way to do inventions like they have in the default game. It doesn't have magic, and I don't know if it's really "superheroes," but you might like it anyway. I think the books are available on Amazon.
I have used it with the Silhouette system, although I never really found a good way to do inventions like they have in the default game. It doesn't have magic, and I don't know if it's really "superheroes," but you might like it anyway. I think the books are available on Amazon.
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