Looking for Thoughts & Opinions on Steampunk Games (with Poll)

[dm4hire]

My gaming group has primarily played D&D and Pathfinder over the years, but recently we've decided to break away from traditional themes and are now looking toward a steampunk game.

I've been looking over the many games that are out there and have come down to three possible candidates which may suit our purposes. However we are uninformed concerning them and what previews and reviews I've found doesn't really seem to give a good feel for the games in question. Either they start to show a little bit of the mechanics and almost nothing concerning the setting or mainly focus on the setting and don't showcase how the mechanics work with it.

The three I am leaning toward are:

Leagues of Adventure - I am familiar with the HEX engine, having all of HEX and Desolation, but what does the setting actually look like? Are you shoehorned into playing only humans or can it be turned into a mix of modern and fantasy, i.e. Victoriana? I don't mind if it isn't, but it would be nice if there is some provision for it.

Clockwork & Chivalry - I've reviewed the 40 page sample and it seems apparent that it is straight alternate history. How does it play would be my main question related to it?

Victoriana - From what I've seen this is pretty much D&D on steampunk with a different game engine. While researching it I discovered there is a 3rd edition coming out shortly and with the holidays playing having with getting together we don't have a problem waiting to get this book. My question would be how does it play and has anyone tried stripping out the fantasy and just doing alternate history?

My goal is to try to save money and find a system that works well with either steampunk fantasy or alternate history steampunk so any suggestions would be appreciated in addition to the comments pertaining to the games I've mentioned. As a note I've looked at Uber, but it has already been shot down by the group as it looks too anime to my players so I'll save people time on suggesting that one. The group is also intent on breaking away from D&D/Pathfinder so steampunk settings are out also unfortunately.

I hope that explains what we are looking for. Thanks.

 

[Yaguara]

Victoriana uses the Heresy Game Mechanic which I don't particularly care for. Another game that uses the same mechanic is Abney Park's Airship Pirates which is a sort of post-apocalypse/steampunk hybrid setting with a bit of time travel thrown into to confuse things. I like much of the setting (although not how it got there) and I think it has some real promise. I really like the HEX rules and would port the best parts of Airship Pirates to HEX if I had enough players who were interested in a steampunk game.

The problem with Heresy is that it puts too much authority in the hands of random dice rolls. The basic mechanic is that the player has a pool of d6s that they roll for task resolution. A 1 or a 6 is a success and the more successes the better. Here is the part that I don't like. The GM doesn't set a target number of successes - they assign a number of what are basically penalty dice to the player's dice roll. They call them "black dice" but they can be any color other than the one the player would normally use. These dice are added to the pool of dice the player rolls but each success on a black die subtracts a success from the player's normal successes. My objection is two fold - 1) I don't like rolling crap loads of dice and 2) I don't like surrendering so much narrative authority to random chance.

I have not played Leagues of Adventure myself but I would advise going with a game mechanic you trust over all other considerations. Setting and set-dressing like fantasy versus alt-history are simple enough to develop on your own or port from another game. HEX is a nice, flexible system that includes reasonably balanced rules for some fantasy elements. The goal is to have a mechanic you trust enough to become intuitive so you can focus your attention on the setting, characters, and plot.

 

[RangerWickett]

I've never played any of the games on your list, but if I may humbly offer another option, have you looked at ZEITGEIST? It's the adventure path we here at E.N. Publishing are putting out, and our intention was to hit some of the classic steampunk notes.

The setting has a mix of technological gadgetry and D&D-style magic, using D&D 4th edition or Pathfinder as the basis and simply adding extra material to handle the things that don't normally show up in medieval-style games. It is a series of adventures with a tied-in setting, so if you're looking for something to use for your own stories I understand if it's not a match. But the setting guide and first adventure are freely available.

If you want the short short version, here's a 2-page overview of the campaign: http://www.enworld.org/ap/ZG_Intro_EN.pdf

And a 2-page outline of the setting: http://www.enworld.org/ap/ZG Players Primer-4E.pdf


Setting Guide: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?307831-free-zeitgeist-players-guide-finally-here
Adventure: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?308843-zeitgeist-1-island-axis-world

If you decide otherwise, good luck with your game. I'm a fan of steampunk, so I'd love to hear how the games play and what you do with them.

 

[dm4hire]

Victoriana uses the Heresy Game Mechanic which I don't particularly care for...

The problem with Heresy is that it puts too much authority in the hands of random dice rolls. The basic mechanic is that the player has a pool of d6s that they roll for task resolution. A 1 or a 6 is a success and the more successes the better. Here is the part that I don't like. The GM doesn't set a target number of successes - they assign a number of what are basically penalty dice to the player's dice roll. They call them "black dice" but they can be any color other than the one the player would normally use. These dice are added to the pool of dice the player rolls but each success on a black die subtracts a success from the player's normal successes. My objection is two fold - 1) I don't like rolling crap loads of dice and 2) I don't like surrendering so much narrative authority to random chance.

Thanks for the warning. I would have to agree with the whole dice pool thing. They are supposedly changing some things up with 3rd ed and may jump over to their forum and ask if that's one of the changes. If not, I will pass. I also agree that HEX is very flexible and LoA is what I am leaning toward the most right now, but will have to see what the others think.

RangerWickett - Thank you, I wasn't aware Zeitgeist was a steampunk setting which is awesome. Unfortunately we are not fans of 4e and trying to broaden our horizons with a new system as well as setting or I'd take the Pathfinder approach. I will keep it in mind for down the road if we decide to get back into Pathfinder.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Hmmm...

Iron Kingdoms is a 3.XEd steampunk setting that is pretty good.

And obviously, if you have strong ideas in mind, any of the toolkit systems- HERO, GURPS, M&M, etc.- can make for good steampunky fun.