A Steampunk Request for Suggestions Thread

[djotaku]

I know a lot of folks find Steampunk cringe. I came across it at an impressionable age, so I am a sucker for a Victorian setting full of trains, steam, and all the related shenanigans. Unsurprisingly the release of the new Eberron content for 5e 2024 is the inspiration for this thread, but it's not merely about that.

D&D

• The biggie here since D&D 3.5 is Eberron. I own Wayfinders. I imagine for running 5e (2014 or 2024) that Rising from the Last War is also a good one to pick up. I've got a few questions. 1) Is there a legal source for either Embers of the Last War or Oracle of War? D&D Adventurer's League campaigns for Eberron. 2) Recommendations for any of Baker's DMSGuild's Eberron books? (other than "all of them" )
• Any non-WoTC recommendations for good Steampunk settings/campaigns?

Tales of the Valiant/Black Flag & Kobold Press 5e Content

• Zobeck from Midgard kinda but not really. There are the gearforged, but that's got more of a magic origin than a steampunk origin. (it's about putting souls into machines - more Ghost in the Shell than steampunk in my mind)
• Similarly the Mechanist class for ToV (KP's answer to the Artificer) seems less steampunk than you would expect from the name. (Or maybe I need to re-read the Player's Guide. I might have been looking at it with a different eye last time I looked)
• Any good Black Flag non-KP recs for settings/campaigns?

Pathfinder 2e

• Here I am the most ignorant. I own the books from a Humble Bundle and I plan to get my table to at least give 2e a chance, but I have no idea other than knowing the world is called Golarian. Are there steampunk countries, cities, or planes in PF2e?
• What about non-Paizo, but using PF2e rules?

Others?
While the only other system I own is Cosmere (and Mistborn Era 2 is the closest they will have to Steampunk) - I wanted this thread to be useful to the maximum number of EnWorld readers. Maybe there are other systems that are primarily steampunk. Maybe there are other systems that, like Daggerheart, use campaign frames that make it just as easy to have steampunk as to have science fantasy or regular fantasy or whatever.

 

[djotaku]

After re-reading the ToV player's quite, a lot of what was throwing me off w/ the Mechanist was the shard of creation - which definitely has an engineer feel to it, but is more magical than gears and so on. However, after reading Exploring Eberron: Forge of the Artificer perhaps it's not too far from how D&D implements its engineering/alchemist class.

 

[JConstantine]

1) Is there a legal source for either Embers of the Last War or Oracle of War?

Both can be purchased on DMs Guild: Embers of the Last War bundle and Oracle of War bundle.

2) Recommendations for any of Baker's DMSGuild's Eberron books? (other than "all of them" )

I highly recommend Exploring Eberron and Chronicles of Eberron.
The rest are situational. Eberron Confidential is essentially just a collection of Eberron specific secrets to use as plot hooks. Dread Metrol is only worth getting if you specifically want to run a gothic horror Eberron/Ravenloft mashup. And Morgrave Miscellany should be given a miss.

Any non-WoTC recommendations for good Steampunk settings/campaigns?

The first that springs to mind is Victoriana 5e from Cubicle 7.
There's also Through the Breach for the Malifaux setting (though that's closer to weird west than pure steampunk).

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Any non-WoTC recommendations for good Steampunk settings/campaigns?

hm yes, today i will shill for zeitgeist and its adventure path in a manner that's actually relevant to the thread (the only thing i'd watch out for here is the firearm tech level is much more napoleonic then you might expect or, imo, it really should be - something like victoriana 5e might help you with that if it bothers you)

 

[djotaku]

Thanks both of you that have replied so far. I will definitely be checking those out.

 

[Reynard]

Point of Order: Eberron is not Steampunk. It is magitech/aetherpunk.

 

[djotaku]

Point of Order: Eberron is not Steampunk. It is magitech/aetherpunk.

Semi-serious question - magitech - could you do Final Fantasy 6 in Eberron?

 

[Reynard]

Semi-serious question - magitech - could you do Final Fantasy 6 in Eberron?

Unfortunately, I have never played a FF game so I cannot be certain. I will say that the general vibe from the art I just googled seems like it would work with some reskinning.

 

[djotaku]

Unfortunately, I have never played a FF game so I cannot be certain. I will say that the general vibe from the art I just googled seems like it would work with some reskinning.

oh man, if you ever track down the original SNES version or the PS1 version (which is the same, but ads some animated cutscenes) - it's amazingly large storytelling given the tech constraints of the time.

 

[Marc17]

Going to toss out Unhallowed Metropolis out there since I had things to do with it. A dark future world holding on after a zombie apocalypse filled with monsters and mad science. Not really supposed to be a Victorian society, but a society that is LARPing one in a desperate attempt to make sense of their world. There's also Unhallowed Necropolis if you want to add psychics and ghosts.