MongooseMatt
First Post
Hi guys,
The long-awaited OGL Steampunk, a complete 304-page RPG covering the highs and lows of this genre, is out in games stores and bookshops this week!
Though the D20 Modern SRD has been used as a core baseline for these Steampunk rules, there have been more tweaks made in this book than perhaps all the previous OGL rulebooks put together! Starting off with characters, Background Points allow players to shape their creations by selecting new traits or different races. Speaking of races, the baseline choices are Human, Hybrid (scientific or magical experiments to combine man with animal - full rules for bat, bear, cat, dog, elk and rat hybrids are provided, though no doubt industrious GMs will add more) and CoGs - Creations of Generated Sentience, or intelligent constructs to you and me. Incidentally, there is a superb illustration of a CoG on the front cover of the rulebook (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpg/detail.php?qsID=353&qsSeries=3). Depending on the nature of the Steampunk campaign, GMs may also like to add the Eldrath (creatures from a fantastical realm, such as Dwarves, Elves and Gnomes) or the Revenants - Ghosts and Vampires.
New classes are provided, to better fit the Steampunk genre, though in this game each class also has a number of vocations which are selected during character creation. There is the Adventurer (Hunter, Explorer, Combatant or Pilot), the Genius (Inventor, Scholar, Field Scientist or Medic), the Investigator (Constable, Consulting Detective, Intelligencer or Journalist), the Journeyman (Bodyguard, Crewman, Professional or Valet), the Occultist (Ecclesiast, Magician, Medium, or Psychic), the Scoundrel (Con Artist, Burglar, Gambler or Thug), and the Noble (Aristocrat, Dilettante, Diplomat or Performer) - that should be enough for the pickiest of players!
Skills and Feats have all been adapted to fill the Steampunk genre, and Traits have been added too - through your Background Points, you may decide you have Amazing Health, for example, and thus gain all sorts of Constitution and Fortitude related bonuses. Other traits such as Feral Soul, Dwarven Heritage, Spark of Genius, and Ghost Corporeality can really flesh out a character.
Equipment has quite a large chapter and is spread throughout the genre. Weapons go from Daggers and Crossbows to Pistols and Muskets. General equipment, clothing, food & lodging, and transport & communication all have similar depths. Vehicles, for example, range from bicycles and rowboats to Ironclads, steam locomotives, airships and ornithopters! More cerebral characters will be drawn to unique items such as Psychographs, Difference or Analytical Engines (Steampunk computers, to you and me), or even Pneumatic Prosthetics (who needs cyberware???).
The World of Adventure chapter contains most of the core mechanics of the game, including combat, vehicles, traps and everything else needed to keep a gaming session going without a hitch. The Power of Steam, on the other hand, looks at the principles of science in Steampunk and the effects of industry and engineering. Rules are given for creating Amazing Machines,
which cover Automata, Equipment, Weapons, Structures and Vehicles - let your imagination run rampant with what is possible with steam power! Complete construction rules will allow players to tailor their creations, from including ejection seats on steam locomotives (could be useful!) to making items remote-controlled. Just flicking through the rules, I am getting ideas for a Steam Mecha campaign. . .
The last chapter, the Occult, adds a dash of fantasy and mystery to the science that has gone before. Astral and Ethereal planes can have a marked effect on worlds of Steampunk, and full rules are given for both Psychics and Magic (usually approached as a science). Traditional spells are not used in OGL Steampunk (rituals take their place) but if you have a d20 spell you are just dying to use, full guidelines on converting existing spells to rituals are included.
So there you have it! A big fat 304-page rulebook filled with Steampunk goodness!
OGL Steampunk is priced at $39.95 and will be available this week from all good games stores and book shops.
The long-awaited OGL Steampunk, a complete 304-page RPG covering the highs and lows of this genre, is out in games stores and bookshops this week!
Though the D20 Modern SRD has been used as a core baseline for these Steampunk rules, there have been more tweaks made in this book than perhaps all the previous OGL rulebooks put together! Starting off with characters, Background Points allow players to shape their creations by selecting new traits or different races. Speaking of races, the baseline choices are Human, Hybrid (scientific or magical experiments to combine man with animal - full rules for bat, bear, cat, dog, elk and rat hybrids are provided, though no doubt industrious GMs will add more) and CoGs - Creations of Generated Sentience, or intelligent constructs to you and me. Incidentally, there is a superb illustration of a CoG on the front cover of the rulebook (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpg/detail.php?qsID=353&qsSeries=3). Depending on the nature of the Steampunk campaign, GMs may also like to add the Eldrath (creatures from a fantastical realm, such as Dwarves, Elves and Gnomes) or the Revenants - Ghosts and Vampires.
New classes are provided, to better fit the Steampunk genre, though in this game each class also has a number of vocations which are selected during character creation. There is the Adventurer (Hunter, Explorer, Combatant or Pilot), the Genius (Inventor, Scholar, Field Scientist or Medic), the Investigator (Constable, Consulting Detective, Intelligencer or Journalist), the Journeyman (Bodyguard, Crewman, Professional or Valet), the Occultist (Ecclesiast, Magician, Medium, or Psychic), the Scoundrel (Con Artist, Burglar, Gambler or Thug), and the Noble (Aristocrat, Dilettante, Diplomat or Performer) - that should be enough for the pickiest of players!
Skills and Feats have all been adapted to fill the Steampunk genre, and Traits have been added too - through your Background Points, you may decide you have Amazing Health, for example, and thus gain all sorts of Constitution and Fortitude related bonuses. Other traits such as Feral Soul, Dwarven Heritage, Spark of Genius, and Ghost Corporeality can really flesh out a character.
Equipment has quite a large chapter and is spread throughout the genre. Weapons go from Daggers and Crossbows to Pistols and Muskets. General equipment, clothing, food & lodging, and transport & communication all have similar depths. Vehicles, for example, range from bicycles and rowboats to Ironclads, steam locomotives, airships and ornithopters! More cerebral characters will be drawn to unique items such as Psychographs, Difference or Analytical Engines (Steampunk computers, to you and me), or even Pneumatic Prosthetics (who needs cyberware???).
The World of Adventure chapter contains most of the core mechanics of the game, including combat, vehicles, traps and everything else needed to keep a gaming session going without a hitch. The Power of Steam, on the other hand, looks at the principles of science in Steampunk and the effects of industry and engineering. Rules are given for creating Amazing Machines,
which cover Automata, Equipment, Weapons, Structures and Vehicles - let your imagination run rampant with what is possible with steam power! Complete construction rules will allow players to tailor their creations, from including ejection seats on steam locomotives (could be useful!) to making items remote-controlled. Just flicking through the rules, I am getting ideas for a Steam Mecha campaign. . .
The last chapter, the Occult, adds a dash of fantasy and mystery to the science that has gone before. Astral and Ethereal planes can have a marked effect on worlds of Steampunk, and full rules are given for both Psychics and Magic (usually approached as a science). Traditional spells are not used in OGL Steampunk (rituals take their place) but if you have a d20 spell you are just dying to use, full guidelines on converting existing spells to rituals are included.
So there you have it! A big fat 304-page rulebook filled with Steampunk goodness!
OGL Steampunk is priced at $39.95 and will be available this week from all good games stores and book shops.
