D20 Steampunk Setting? Does one exist?

[edemaitre]

D20 Steampunk

I used the D20 Sorcery & Steam sourcebook for a side adventure when my regular D&D3.5 party ended up 500 years in the future from its usual ancient/medieval setting. However, I had run and played GURPS steampunk games before that, so I had many resources (such as Space 1889, Castle Falkenstein, Forgotten Futures, and D20 Ravenloft) to draw upon. Wasn't there also some Dragon/Dungeon and D20 Modern support for steampunk?

The Fantasy Flight book has decent crunch and would probably dovetail well with the OGL reference. I thought both tomes weren't as good as the non-D20 sources for the history of the subgenre or examples and characters from 19th century literature. I bought Etherscope after running my Sorcery & Steam scenario (which took about three or four sessions), but I liked the setting. I also recommend the pulpy D20 "Forbidden Kingdoms" for flavor.

 

[Galieo]

Etherscope sounds very interesting! Has anyone messed around with that?

I have and it is probably my favorite setting and rules that I never get to play. We all have that game that we expect may really scratch a particular itch--unfortunately, I cannot seem to get a critical mass to play. Since reading "The Difference Machine" I have found Steampunk conceptually very interesting. And to my mind, Etherscope does an excellent job of pulling in a number of notable influences. I highly recommend it.

 

[Stomphoof]

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered the Softcover edition of the Etherscope Corebook.

I know one of my two players is interested, and I am sure the other will be. They tend to be happy just to play, regardless of setting.

So I should be getting it in 2ish weeks according to the shipping type. I hope sooner of course

 

[Voadam]

I noticed the dirt cheap price of Sorcery and Steam and I know I am gonna get that PDF. I just need to make sure I can download a copy both here at work and at home of the PDF before I buy it.

RPGnow default is now 5 downloads then e-mail them if you need to get it reset. I think the file is small enough you could e-mail a copy to yourself for your second computer once you download it once.

 

[Stormborn]

Alot of it depends on what you are looking for. If you are most interested in a System then I would, with a degree of bias, recommend using d20 Modern (or Grim Tales or one of the other compatible systems) along with Imperial Age books. Thats what I would do if I were to decide to get one together right now. I have run several Steampunk games with various systems and feel like a tweak d20 M would be the way to go. You might, however, want to wait for the IA Omnibus.

If, however, you are mainly looking for a Setting then you probablly want to go with Etherscope or Iron Kingdoms, dependign on your preference.

Etherscope is, really, an excellent source for steampunk like games. You should note, however, that the setting is an alternate version of the modern world that retains a lot of Victorian ideas and instituitons along with a pseudoscience quasi steampunk tech that replicates the blending of cyberpunk and victoriana that was the genesis of steampunk in the first place - with a slight shift toward the cyber. This is your choice if you want something that feels very close to the steampunk source material.


WoW has steampunk elements to it, but overall is not a steampunk setting so may not be what you are looking for.


Iron Kingdoms has a strong steampunk feel, overall, but many of the mechanics are, in my experiance, a bit off. New classes and races are either over or underpowered and the mechanics for actually building mekanica (I think thats right) are just overwhelming. Having said all that, the flavor or fluff of the books (epseically the Monsternomicons) is excellent. If you are looking for elements to make a DnD campaign feel more Steampunk then thats certainly the way to go.

 

[Voadam]

I had many resources (such as Space 1889, Castle Falkenstein, Forgotten Futures, and D20 Ravenloft) to draw upon. Wasn't there also some Dragon/Dungeon and D20 Modern support for steampunk?

There is a 3.0 dragon issue focusing on steam stuff, I forget which one but it can be found scrolling through Paizo's pdf selection of dragons.

I didn't really think of Ravenloft as a Stempunk resource. It has Victorian age tech realms and there is a gear type mechanical golem monster I remember, but that's about it. Steam punk can fit in easily, but it is not part of the setting as is IIRC.

 

[Stomphoof]

Well as I said, I ordered the Softcover Edition of the Etherscope Core Rulebook.

Can anyone give me some info on the races in Etherscope? It mentions Humans, and then some other hybrid things...

 

[Galieo]

You hit upon one of the touches that I enjoy so much about Etherscope--namely, its use of a eugenics systems ala A. Huxley's ranking mechanism from "A Brave New World."

Here is a brief summary from Psion's review [http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=review&reviewid=2886110]:

"Etherscope uses the race mechanic, but most of the races in Etherscope are human variants. But in the setting, eugenics and genetic experimentation has occurred, and was (as the book discusses briefly) considered acceptable practice by Victorian society. The eugenics programs produced human subraces. Normal humans are called Beta humans in the game. Alpha humans are of a superior breed, but start with an XP deficit compared to other character races.

Other human offshoots Beta, Gamma, and Epsilon, all what are called “transgenic strains” that arose as a replacement for lost workers after a pretty bloody rebellion putdown. These three strains are engineered with DNA of animals, rats, canines, and horses, respectively.

A final race is the Fey. Fey are fundamentally human, if beautiful looking beings. The truth is that they are inheritors of the lost legacy of lemuria, descendants of an ancient lost race. Fey can detect the presence of etheric energy and receive a familiar similar to the classic D&D familiar in etherspace."

You may also want to check out this site: http://www.redmondsonline.org.uk/

 

[jezter6]

Also, while not steampunk - if you end up liking Etherscope, check out A|State from contested ground studios. It's also got that 'Modern Victoriana' feel to it. Less steampunk, but if you add the 'scope stuff from Etherscope, it makes for a hella fine addition.

 

[Vigilance]

Not to plug something I wrote (ok, I actually love doing that) but doing the d20 conversion for Steampunk Musha was extremely fun.

If a clockwork samurai dueling it out with a samurai who has a steam powered arm sounds fun to you, then Steampunk Musha has your back.

The d20 version is in layout now.