Steam & Steel: A Guide to Fantasy Steamworks

[HellHound]

E.N.Publishing brings you the long awaited (and long-delayed) essential toolkit for adding steamworks to your d20 game.

Not merely a list of steamwork devices and toys, this work discusses the vital aspects of adding steamworks to a game. How will steamworks affect society, magic, religion and warfare? How are these steamworks powered? Through coal and oil burning engines, arcane power sources, or the bodies and souls of those crushed on the field of combat? How do the various races use these new tools and weapons? How were they discovered?

This toolkit covers several possible source technologies for steamworks as well as three tech levels for those who create these machines. The book details a large variety of steamwork prosthetics and enhancements, weapons and equipment, massive suits (and less massive suits) of steamwork-enhanced body armor, and massive constructs of war. There are even steamwork liches, made from those machinists who refuse to die and pine for the immortality of their iron machines, and many other steamwork monstrosities.

Of course, with steam comes vehicles, and these rules for vehicles include many methods of upgrading existing vehicles as well as rules for designing steamwork ironclads, dirigibles and even laying down hundreds of miles of tracks through dark forests for steam-powered locomotives.

Everything you could ever want from your steam technologies can be found within this volume... the only question left is how you will decide to implement these tools and machines into your game.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I have been waiting for this book ever since it was announced. After many delays it has finally appeared on RPGNow.com, waiting for me to swoop down and carry it off.

Well, I managed to download this supplement even before the announcement went up on E. N. World that Steam & Steel was available.

At first and cursory examination it looks good. Easy to read, with quality illustrations. The cover, though simple, is direct and to the point, though lacking any illustration beyond a large metallic gear. Each of the chapters is bookmarked. And the fonts are well chosen, both for the flavor of the material and for legibility. There are one or two odd text flows around illustrations, but these are not serious enough to cause a problem while reading this book.

Taking a deeper look I am impressed with the number of options available, and in fact several variations not covered in detail by the main text are instead highlighted in boxes and side bars.

Notes as to the likely reaction of some of the more common races of fantasy gaming is also placed in boxes rather than in the main text. Though I am intending to use this product in a game without most of these creatures I found their conclusions to be within the bounds of reason.

A sample setting is given a brief glimpse, as is a technological deity. A list of styles and descriptions on how to implement those styles is also a boon, covering steampunk to epic worlds torn by massive armies and huge thundering machines. A very brief mention of the Victorian period is also in this section, mostly advising that the reader take advantage of the vast amounts of information available on this period. To a person using this book as a source of ideas for a new campaign this section might prove a useful springboard.

And then to the meat. A new craft skill (steamworks) is added and most tasks involving the technology are accomplished with this skill. Several feats are also provided, as are a number of prestige classes. running the gamut from users of the new technology to the creators of these wondrous contraptions. And a good selection of new spells to compliment or combat steam creations adds some teeth to the spellcasters in a world darkened by coal smoke. The book draws no conclusion on how spellcasters react to the new technologies, instead settling on covering several of the possibilities and letting the D.M. choose for himself. This is the stance that the author takes throughout this book, letting the reader make his choices, and leaving room for new material of the D.M.’s own creation.

There are enough options to allow a D.M. to flavor his game as he sees fit, picking and choosing from a wide variety of alternatives, Don't want the good guys to have the technology? How about limiting the fuel choices to necromantic engines. Want the tech to be in the hands of arcane spellcasters? There are a number of choices to allow just that. Want technology and magic to go together poorly if at all? The rules can cover it. I would say that most people will not use every feat, spell, or device in the book, so there is unlikely to be a cookie cutter steampunk world as a result of this book. Is every base covered? No, as a matter of fact I added several new vehicle options within minutes of sitting down to read it.

As for the contraptions themselves several modes of powering the engines are given, running from conventional coal burners coal to magic to the consumption of souls. And a variety of materials and their effects upon an engine or device constructed from them helps add flavor and variation to the machines. Sample machines follow, from golem like constructs to vehicles, and from armor and weapons to prosthetics. Tools and equipment also get a fair treatment, including the printing press, . Unlike the other rules that I have seen for steam tech in D20 there are rules for maintenance, These are accompanied by the rules for what happens when things go *SPROING!* Equipment is accompanied by the price and the number of ranks needed in Craft (steamworks) to manufacture it.

The crunch begins with the choices of engine. Enough choices are given that I doubt that many people will use every option. Coal burning, alchemical, arcane, energy trapping (including solar), divine, and necromantic sources are covered. Some of the more exotic choices are crystal powered, elemental, and human sacrifice. (Great choice if only the bad guys in your campaign have access to the technology.) Even blood may be used as a power source; some are powered by dragon’s blood, while others are simply vampiric. This is likely to be the place where a D.M. will begin shaping the mood of his game.

The chapters on steamwork equipment cover useful tools, gadgets, and gear, with a few alchemical mixtures and poisons thrown in for the spice. This is likely the section that I will be looking over the hardest, not every piece of equipment fits every setting. Some are just a little too over the top for my tastes, but other (possibly even most) people will like the wide selection.

Weapons follow, again with a wider choice than I am likely to use, but with the number of weapons to choose from this is not a problem. And again, my choices may well be more stringent than most. And several augmentations, both mundane and magical, are given for anyone who feels the need to upgrade the tools of the warrior’s trade. Black powder weapons are described, and again the author added sidebars containing variant rules for added lethality or for breach loading weapons. Alchemical weapons also exist, including the flamethrower. (This last has its own malfunction table, you don’t want to be holding a flame thrower when it goes *POP!*)

Armor is next, and I expect that this will be the section that my players will turn to first. Several basic choices of armor are given, starting with light armor, and ending with super-heavy armor. This is followed by augmentations and improvements. Armored plates, integral weapons and shields, and sealed environments for those who fancy a deep water dive are included in this section.

Buildings and large equipment is explained in the next chapter, as is equipment designed to be used with them. Factories, mining equipment, dockyard cranes, printing presses and security measures are described. A good solid section that is likely to prove more useful to the D.M. than to his players.

And like its counterpart cyberpunk - steampunk is accompanied by prosthetics. The marvels in this section are a mix of the aesthetic, the useful, and on to the brutal. A glance is given as to why, in a world with healing magic, prosthetics might be needed. This is perhaps the least convincing area of the book, and requires twiddling with the availability of healing magics. However not using the devices would be a darned shame, the rationale may be problematic, but the flavor is right on. Since I use a critical = hit location system it will be easy to integrate into my game. (Essentially when a PC gets a critical he may opt to forgo the extra damage, instead trying to disable a location. Alternately if a critical deals enough damage to kill a character instantly then the character may opt to lose a limb instead.)

The book has two chapters on the ‘Beasts of Steel’. The first deals with constructs while the second covers vehicles. The constructs are pretty generic and can be entered into most games without any problem. Flavor can be added by the selection of power source. I would have welcomed a list of augmentations for these creatures, and if I can find both the time and the inspiration I may add a few, most likely treated in a fashion similar to templates, with a CR modifier for the enhancements.

While I may have desired upgrades for the creatures in the first Beasts of Steel section the very first thing in the second section is exactly that, they start the chapter on vehicles with some of the more common augmentations. The vehicles cover a great deal of ground (and fly over the ground, and even dig under the ground...), derigibles, ‘copters, submersibles, ships, tunnelers, and steam trains are well covered, with a sample for each general vehicle. And for those who wonder - getting struck by a steam train hurts! The train automatically attempts a bullrush, though if it fails the engine is derailed. However few rules are given otherwise for vehicular combat and manslaughter. I am adding a few rules to cover this, and I will review the chase rules in other supplements to see what I can scavenge from them. To keep things simple I will be treating vehicles as exotic weapons in the event that the PCs decide to ram another vehicle or run down a creature. (If someone wants to get Exotic Weapon (steam wagon) they can do so, but they had better explain it!)

All in all I am quite pleased with this product, and will be enjoy using it this coming Saturday. I am sitting down and choosing the options I want for this campaign immediately upon finishing this review. I intend to take shameless advantage of the ability to copy and paste to create a small ‘player’s cheatsheet’ outlining the choices I have made from the material. The number of choices given is truly impressive. I am giving Steam & Steel a strong 5 out of 5.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

To begin, this product was given to me as a courtesy copy. I have not yet playtested the product, but have given it thorough review.

Steampunk. That mixing of Spell and Steam that makes worlds of Fantasy and Victorianism collide, with results anywhere from pulp heroism to dismal futurism. The genre that barely existed 10 years ago, that was popularized by games such as Castle Falkenstein, or Space: 1889, spread by various novels, has its own following, and it definitely evokes a reaction wherever it shows up. Computer games from the Final Fantasy series onward through the 2000 computer game Arcanum have incorporated elements of industrialism mixed with magic. Steam and Steel offers a full treatment on the subject of the technology of the Steam Age, and the numerous ways it can be incorporated into your fantasy gaming.

This work is what I like to see in a game product – useable mechanics aplenty, but backed by lots of background and discussion of how these elements change the game world. To steal a phrase, man cannot live by Crunch alone; the Game Master needs the commentary on the Big Picture, the checklist of "things to think about", and most importantly examples of the way these things interact. Even if I hate the mechanics, this book is a must for anyone wanting to add elements of an industrial age to their RPG’s.

What’s covered? Mechanics include new skills and feats for building steam engines and the vehicles, monsters, and weapons resulting from these engines; different types of steam engines besides the old wood and coal burners (engines that burn corpses/souls/blood, anyone?), and rules for actual use of a steam engine in times of crisis. These rules mentioned give steam engines a unique feel; a steam engine is not a magic item you turn on; it is a difference in the way it is activated, maintained, and how they (occasionally) blow up on you that gives them the feeling of "this is cool, but do I dare use it?!?!?" that you don’t get from the predictability of magic.

Steamwork devices must be maintained; if your skill at maintaining them is insufficient, then malfunctions occur. This could be as mild as "knocking and pinging" (like I don’t hear that enough from my automobile, much less my steamwork weapon), to a complete explosion. For the character who has the skills necessary, steamwork engines work reliably most of the time. MOST.

Prestige classes abound. Balloonists are the "fighter pilots" of the industrial age; they use their flying skills to give targets a hard time and a short lease on life with their balloon-craft. Inspired Inventors create new tech effortlessly compared to other "gruntwork" mechanical inventors. Did your character lose a body part to a pitched battle? Implant those Steamwork Prosthetics (Yes, I said Steamwork Prosthetics), become a mechanist, and become the low-tech version of a Shadowrun Street Samurai. Do you wish to take your mastery of metal to a… higher… calling? The Metalworker prestige class is a devotee of metal to the point of controlling it as only a Divine spell-user could. Want a high-tech knight, wearing the latest in groaning, crunching, Steam-powered body armor?? Become a Steel Knight, and wear that Super-Heavy Armor like it was your regular suit of plate mail instead of wearing a phone booth.

Want to run a different style of campaign? Topics include campaign styles (from low powered and gritty to epic and optimistic), integrations of Steamworks into a game (want to make Tech and Magic exclusive? It’s in here. Want Arcane or even Divine Steam Engines? They’re in here!) and finally, two separate campaign world "seeds" that give a DM an idea of how to make a world of Steam, Steel, and Spell come alive in a believable way.

SUMMARY

The mechanics of Steam and Steel are easy to use (even though one would think the maintenance mechanic to be a drag in play, it doesn’t seem to be), the concepts are not novel, but they are handled well mechanically, and the discussion on incorporating elements into the game are well-written and planned.

I am slightly biased against the product, being one who uses very little to no industrialized technology in any games I run (I keep my tech and fantasy separate, usually), but I find the product well thought-out, and useable no matter how much magic is in a given campaign. I could use these with a d20 Modern Victorian Era campaign as much as I could a D&D variant game.

Henry Link

 

[Capellan]

I've always loved the concept of introducing industrialisation and technology into a fantasy setting, but the amount of work and attention to detail that would be needed in order to do it justice has always daunted me from undertaking the ask.

Thanks to Christopher Allen, I no longer have to.

Steam & Steel is a 124 page PDF with everything you need to drag your fantasy setting into the industrial revolution. It's also one of the most comprehensive, well thought-out RPG books I've seen in a long time.

Before I talk about the contents, I'll mention the last page of the PDF, which notes that not only will there be a follow-up book to this from the same author, but Ronin Arts will also be producing material that is based on Steam & Steel. This last development, I think, is one of the best things to happen to e-publishing. It's good to see a quality PDF product get the same kind of support that has previously been reserved for print products (and only a select few of those).

Broadly speaking, Steam & Steel can be divided into three main sections, plus an introduction. These sections are first, the rules for creating and using steamworks; second, a massive 50 pages of pre-generated machines; and third, new prestige classes and spells.

Reading the introduction, the amount of effort that has gone into this work becomes clear. It offers a comprehensive discussion of how and why steamworks might be introduced into a setting (or be part of a new one), as well as the implications of introducing them, across topics such as industrialisation, warfare, religion and magic. It also covers different styles of play (such as steampunk, Victoriana or 'high steam power') and offers examples of each. Most tellingly, there is also a section on how steam engines actually *work*, which is a very useful and elementary piece of information that would often be overlooked. There are also sidebars sprinkled through the book that suggest how specific races should react to steam power. Personally, I would have preferred to see these all in one place, but that's a minor complaint.

The first main section of the book is then the rules for creating and maintaining steam devices. In terms of 'crunch', this includes the introduction of a new craft (steamworks) skill, a new bonus type (machine), and lots of new technology-related feats. Steam & Steel requires those who wish to manufacture steam powered items (as opposed to simply using them) to invest both skill ranks and feats, which is a good method of balancing the power of technology against magic.

All told, these rules run to about 50 pages. In addition to creating steamworks, they also cover identifying, using and maintaining steam powered devices, as well as the malfunctions they can suffer and how to repair them. There are also rules for sabotage - something that the average group of PCs are likely to want to do at least once . By far the lion's share of this section relates to the creation of new items, however, and once again, this is where the amount of work done by the author becomes clear. There are rules not only for conventional engines (such as oil or coal burners) but also engines powered by alchemical, arcane, 'essence' (elemental or spirit) and necromantic (blood or souls) sources. There are rules for the use of different construction materials, for different levels of sophistication of the device (from crude to highly advanced) and a vast number of new items of equipment, from tools to weapons and protective items, which lead us smoothly into the second main section of the book: examples of the more advanced steamworks that can be created.

This section covers not only the immediately obvious RPG-friendly items, such as constructs and vehicles, but also more mundane but important items, such as elevators, cranes and the printing press: the kind of items which can change a fantasy setting far more than a new kind of monster. Steam-powered or magical, an iron golem is an iron golem. Seeing cranes unload steamships, on the other hand, underlines just how different a steam-powered society may become. There are also rules for steam-powered prosthetics, which some PCs will doubtless find an interesting alternative to more traditional options for replacing lost limbs and body parts. The prosthetics section also includes notes on how to intermingle technological body parts and different levels of magical healing within your game.

More traditional RPG-staple though they may be, the constructs presented in Steam & Steel cover the gamut of challenge ratings, monster types and concepts. Many of these obviously take their inspiration from popular media, or represent technological versions of traditional fantasy opponents, but they are no less interesting an well thought-out for all that.

The vehicles too are comprehensive, ranging from dirigibles to submersibles and all points in between. Even a quick browse through this section produces many ideas for adventures, where it be aloft, afloat or deep underground.

Finally, we have the prestige classes and spells, which range from the obvious-but-necessary (the Inspired Inventor PrC; the awaken machine spell) to the more avant garde: the balloonist is a dirigible-using sharpshooter, the mechanist is a steam-powered cyborg and the metalworker is a divine master of metallurgy.

Comprehensive, generally well-organised, and showing a real depth of thought and effort, Steam & Steel is a superior work. If you have any interest in adding steam technology to your d20 fantasy game, you should pick this up.

 

[John Cooper]

Steam and Steel
By Christopher Allen
EN Publishing product number ENP 3008
127-page PDF, $7.95

Steam and Steel is the new, long-awaited PDF detailing everything you might need to add steamworks into a fantasy campaign. The author, Christopher Allen, does an excellent job providing a "toolbox" approach making the job exceptionally easy on the DM.

The cover is a rather simplistic design, which is apparently the norm in PDF products. It consists of a gear shape superimposed onto a leathery-looking background. While there's really not much more to the cover than that, I'll point out that I did notice that the word "Steam" in the title was done in a "cloudy" (hence, "steamy") pattern and the word "Steel" was made to look metallic. Nice touch there, M. Jason Parent (who's credited with the cover design). The worst thing I can say about the cover is that apparently not a whole lot of thought was put into the color scheme, as the gear is an orange-brown, the background leather purple, and the EN Publishing logo predominantly red...all together, not the most pleasing color scheme possible.

The interior artwork is mostly black and white with one or two pieces showing a bit of color. There are 22 illustrations in all by 4 different artists, and while overall the individual pieces are above average (with one or two truly outstanding pieces, like the battling mechs on page 86), many of them are incredibly small: several of them aren't even a full square inch (like the two gears on page 39, or the mechanical devices on page 69). Furthermore, several pieces of art are used in more than one place, the most conspicuous being the human fitted with a prosthetic arm by a (presumably) gnome inventor that shows up on page 20 and again on page 73. (This picture is also worth pointing out in that it is extremely well done - excellent shading, nice detail on the mechanics of the arm, interesting background with chalk-scribbles on a blackboard - but for the fact that the gnome's nose is about ten sizes too big. Seriously, he's only about one step away from those nasal medication commercials where an allergy sufferer's entire face turns into a giant nose with glasses. This really ruins what would otherwise be one of my favorite pieces in the entire PDF.) The artwork in Steam and Steel is for the most part well done; I just wish there was more of it. (This is especially true in the "creature" section: I'm a firm believer that in any Monster Manual book or section of a book there should be an illustration of each creature portrayed within; sadly, Steam and Steel fails on this count.)

The PDF is laid out in the following manner:

• Introduction: explaining the use of steam technology in a fantasy setting, including sections on different ways its discovery might have occurred; the effects steam technology has on society, industrialization, war, magic, religion (2 new cleric domains - Invention and Steamworks - are introduced, as is a new deity, the Steamlord), and other sciences; and different campaign styles (steampunk, high steam-power, and epic scale)
• Creating and Using Steamworks: the "Craft (Steamworks)" skill (upon which much of the PDF is based), creating, using and maintaining steamwork devices, malfunctions, and 18 new feats
• Engines of Steam: steamwork engines powered by all sorts of things: coal, crystals, alchemical substances, arcane energies, magic items, divine power, sunlight, elemental or Outer Planes energy, sacrifices, souls, corpses, or blood
• Materials and Craftsmanship: using nonstandard materials (such as bone, gold, or adamantine) to create steamwork devices
• Tools of the Trade: 67 different items created by (or useful in the creation of) steamworks technology, 29 weapons of war (with optional rules for firearms variants and breach-loaders), and 15 items used for personal protection (these last include options for "upgrading" super-heavy armor, which would be called a mech in a non-standard fantasy game)
• Edifices of Might: 23 steamwork items used in architecture
• Prosthetics: grafting steamwork devices onto your body, either to replace missing parts or as an "upgrade" (this section also includes details on the blood-metal fever disease that only affects those with prosthetics and a discussion on what changes might be necessary to the standard fantasy campaign to make prosthetics a more likely replacement for magical healing)
• Beasts of Steel - Constructs: 24 new creatures, most of them (naturally) of the "construct" creature type
• Beasts of Steel - Vehicles: 10 different types of vehicle that are made possible using steamwork technology, each with a specific example and a slew of possible upgrades
• Prestige Classes: 5 steamworks-themed prestige classes: the Balloonist, Inspired Inventor, Mechanist, Metalworker, and Steel Knight
• Spells: 12 new steamworks-themed spells
• Appendix: two sample campaigns using different levels of steamworks technology

In addition, scattered liberally throughout the entire PDF are a bunch of short sidebars detailing various intelligent fantasy races' views on steam-powered technology.

I'm not familiar with Christopher Allen's other written works - save his posts on the EN World message boards, where he writes under the screen name "Carnifex" - but he does a fine job here, using a clear writing style. I was very impressed to see the depth of the material presented: Christopher doesn't just gloss over material - he takes the time to list all of the potential ramifications; he doesn't just give you one idea for a given subject - he tosses out half a dozen or more ideas your way. (The best example I can give on this last topic is the numerous different ways he figured out for a fantasy steamwork engine to be powered. In a steamwork book, you might expect that coal-burning engines would just be the standard way of going about it and leave it at that. Christopher provides us with steam engines powered by everything from dragon's blood to soul crystals to magic items!)

If Steam and Steel has one strong suit (and don't get me wrong, it has many), it's the thoroughness with which the various subjects are covered. I feel more comfortable in having "everything I need in one product" with this PDF than I do in most other books covering a single subject. (For example: I really loved WotC's Draconomicon, but there are dragon-related rules I'd definitely want to use from other sources. If I was adding steam power to my campaign, I really don't think I'd need anything beyond what's available in this PDF to do so.)

On the other hand, if Steam and Steel has one weak area, it's in the editing/proofreading. I found it interesting to note that there is neither an editor nor a proofreader listed in the credits page (the closest we get is that M. Jason Parent is the "Layout & Production" guy). It's fairly obvious from the very first sentence (where the word "and" is accidentally used instead of "an") that some extra attention could have been devoted in these areas. Reading further, it becomes pretty evident that the apostrophe is a particular bugaboo for Christopher (as it seems to be to many people nowadays). Not only are there numerous instances where an apostrophe should have been used to denote possessiveness but wasn't, there are just about as many instances where an apostrophe is thrown into a word when it's made plural. Each instance is equally incorrect; I'd recommend perhaps a bit more attention in this area in the future, as well as a closer eye given toward simple typos ("Co8g," "f7orce," "btoh," "rion," "bledn") and layout (there were a couple places where a blank line should have separated two paragraphs). Also, I don't know if this was just a layout problem or what, but all of the fractions in the PDF are missing their numerator: "1/2" comes out as just "/2," "1/4" becomes "/4," and so on. I'm not quite sure what's up with that.

As a final problem area related to the editing job, many of the creature statistics were wrong. I tend to be very critical of messed-up creature stats; I can forgive the odd questionable feat or overpowered/underpowered spell in a gaming book (not that I noticed either of those in this PDF), but when it comes to monster stats, I really think it's a disservice to the user if they're not completely ready to use as-is. With that in mind, and with the caveat that I really liked the concepts behind the monsters provided, the following changes should be made to the stats provided in Steam and Steel:

• First of all, a "generic" criticism: none of the monster stats are "fully" in 3.5 mode; while they have touch and flat-footed AC values, they're still using the 3.0 "Attacks" and "Damage" lines instead of the "Attack" and "Full Attack" format, and nowhere are there any "Base Attack/Grapple" lines. This is a pity, really, as that's useful information that would help the DM considerably.
• p. 84, Large Automaton: AC should be 20, not 19 (-1 size, +11 natural). Likewise with its flat-footed AC.
• p. 84, Colossal Automaton: Average hit points should be 256, not 252.
• p. 85, Behemoth: Damage should be 4d6+67, not 4d6+45 (since it gets one and a half times its Strength bonus).
• p. 89, Iron Juggernaut: Slam attacks and melee weapon attacks should be at +16/+11 melee, not +18/+13 (+9 BAB, +9 Str, -2 size). Ranged attacks should be at +6/+1, not +8/+3 (+9 BAB, -1 Dex, -2 size). Slam damage should be 2d6+13, not 2d6+9.
• p. 90, Iron Shroud: HD should be 7d12+3, not 7d12 (due to the Toughness feat). Slam attacks should be at +8 melee, not +9 (forgot to take the -1 size adjustment into account). Slam damage should be 1d8+9, not 1d8+6.
• p. 92, Mechanised Creature template: The base creature should no doubt have to at least be corporeal; this isn't mentioned.
• p. 92, Scorpion Sentinel: Average hit points should be 107, not 113. The Barbed Bolts Reflex save should be 18, not 16 (following the formula of 10 + half the creature's HD + the relevant ability modifier, in this case Dexterity).
• p. 94, Siege Sentinel: No save given (it just says "Fort Ref Will"); should be Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +5.
• p. 94, Slaughterer: Average hit points should be 79, not 81. The line that reads only "Attacks: 4 claws +" should read "Attacks: 4 claws +12/+7 melee" (assuming you were sticking with the 3.0 "Attacks" line format). Likewise, "Damage: Claw d8+" should read "Damage: Claw 1d8+10." No save given (it just says "Fort Ref Will"); should be Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +5. Poison DC should be 14, not 12.
• p. 96, Steel Sentinel: Melee attacks should be at +11, not +12 (again, it looks like the -1 size adjustment was overlooked). Damage should be 1d8+10, not 1d8+7.
• p. 96, Stalker: Alphabetically, this should be before "Steel Sentinel." Damage should be 1d4+4, not 1d4+3. Will save should be +5, not +3. I'm nitpicking, but the feats aren't alphabetized.
• p. 97, Steam Wurm: Needs a "+" before the "8" in "+13/8" in the "Attacks" line. The creature has 13 HD, yet the advancement listed starts at 13-24 HD. Steam Blast Reflex save DC should be 15, not 16. Should probably have plane shift as a prerequisite for construction, since that's a requirement for the ghost touch special ability (from the Dungeon Master's Guide). And definitely not a criticism, but I just want to point out that Nathan Boyd provides an excellent illustration of the steam wurm; he obviously paid attention to the creature's written description, because he's got all of the significant details spot-on. Good work, Nathan!
• p. 99, Steam Spirit: Slam damage should be 1d6+6, not 1d6+4.
• p. 99, Steamwork Creature template: Again, this should only apply to corporeal creatures. Also, it's worth pointing out in the "Hit Dice" paragraph that a steamwork creature of size Small or larger will gain the bonus hit points of a construct.
• p. 102, Zealot: Damage should be 1d8+10, not 1d8+7.
• p. 110, Ironclad: (note that now we're in the vehicles section) - AC should be 24, not 25 (+22 natural, -8 size).
• p. 111, Submersible: Average hit points should be 122, not 128.

Incidentally, I really like the fact that the vehicles were given pseudo-creature stats; that was a clever way of setting up the relevant information.

The prestige classes were all well thought out; I personally really like the Steel Knight ("mech pilot"), and imagine it would be a real blast running a Steel Knight in his super-heavy armor wading into battle against some heavy hitters like dragons, behirs, or giants.

All in all, I think Steam and Steel does a great job at giving the DM everything he needs to introduce steamworks into a fantasy campaign, and the "toolbox" approach was definitely the way to go, allowing a great deal of versatility. (I'd bet that half a dozen different DMs could use this book and each end up with a very different-looking campaign from the others.) With a bit more attention to the proofreading - and quite a bit more attention focused on the creature stats - this would definitely earn a top rating from me. As it is, it's balanced on the edge between a "4" and a "5," and I'm too much of a game-stat stickler to justify giving a "superb" rating to a product with this many problems in its supposedly ready-to-use monster listings. (I was also a bit disappointed that there weren't any sample creatures for any of the monster templates; that's pretty much an industry standard and stuck out as quite an oversight in a product that was otherwise so thorough - heck, each of the vehicles had a sample upgraded version!) It definitely covers the material it sets out to cover, though, and I can highly recommend it to anyone even considering adding a level of steam-powered technology to their campaign.

(Of course, the advantage of the PDF over a print book is that mistakes like the above can be fixed on the spot. I'd have no problems "upgrading" this review to a "5" once the monster stats were sufficiently cleaned up. I'd even be willing to send in my list of noticed typos and grammar errors if Christopher or Morrus were so inclined. Think of me as a post-production proofreader!)

 

[JoeGKushner]

Sounds like you should be the proof-reader here. Your eye for catching these errors is fantastic.

 

[Sniktch]

At long last, this is the book that I have been waiting for. ENPublishing brings us "Steam & Steel," by Christopher Allen - a guide to steampunk that any fan of the genre would drool over at first glance.

A glance at the Table of Contents kicked my saliva glands into overdrive. After the Introduction I see chapters listed for Creating and Using Steamworks, different kinds of Steam Engines, Steamwork equipment and tools, Steamwork architecture, Steam-powered prosthetics, Constructs, Vehicles, Monsters, and even a few Spells and Prestige Classes. This really looked like a book I could sink my teeth into, and it was.

The books is very well conceived and written, and is one of the best sourcebooks I have ever seen published. The Introduction is an entertaining and informative read about steam power, introducing steamworks into a campaign, several looks at different campaign ideas within the steampunk genre, at a variety of technology levels, and even an essay on how to bring your game into the industrial revolution. I am currently running a game that is slowly entering the industrial revolution, and I found this material extremely helpful in inspiring new ideas and plotting the course of my campaign.

Following this comes the crunchy parts, which are just as well done and are a completely comprehensive toolbox for adding steam power to the game. The author gives us all manner of steam engines and explains the way a traditional steam engine works, but he doesn't leave it at that. He also goes into detail on other forms of power from arcane flux engines to the dreaded necromantic life-burners. He details several dozen new 'tools of the trade' as well as other technology that you'd expect to develop alongside steam power, such as gunpowder weapons. Steam-powered prosthetic devices, new creatures (mostly constructs), rules for steam-powered vehicles, new spells and prestige classes all receive treatment in the volume. And in each case, the author has covered every permutation I could imagine coming up in my game - when I sit down at the table with my printout of "Steam & Steel" I feel confident that it will address any questions that might come up during play.

If I had any nitpicks or complaints, these would have to be with the layout and design of the product. There are quite a few typographical errors that should not have slipped past an experienced editor. This is particularly pervasive in the new monsters section. In some sections the text seems to fight for space with the artwork. While I feel that some of these issues (note: the new monster section) are probably due to the long delays in the book's release (the initial manuscript was completed well before the release of 3.5), they do mar an otherwise perfect product. Luckily, in the world of electronic documents this should be easily corrected.

This book deserves 5 stars, despite the production and editing problems. The material is balanced, comprehensive, and well thought out. If you have any interest in the steampunk genre or introducing levels of higher technology into your game, this is an absolute must-have. You won't be sorry

 

[Skade]

Steam and Steel: A Guide to Fantasy Steamworks suffered more than its share of production delays and other issues before finally reaching publication, which served to enhance the anticipation I already felt for the book. Written by Christopher Allen the work promises to be a universal guide to the fantasy version of the steampunk genre, which it does admirably, and exhaustively.

Though the course of the book Mr. Allen describes in great detail the mechanics and the rules surrounding such wide subjects as creating steamworks, steam engines, equipment and tools, architecture, prosthetics, constructs, vehicles, monsters, and of course magic and prestige classes suitable for the rules presented through the rest of the book.

The sourcebook is written very much as a treatise on steam power, and its arcane enhanced equivalents or counterparts. The book describes these with a level of detail rarely found in gaming material, explaining the fantasy world mechanics of these devices, and also paying as much attention to the rules and place of the technology within a game. Of particular interest is an essay describing how to bring a campaign into the industrial revolution, an ideal way to also introduce the real themes of steampunk.

While my primary interest in the book was for traditional steam engines, and more historical technology this book also provided great alternative technologies, useful in many campaign worlds where it is thematically appropriate for the villains to have different, darker tech - namely life burning engines, an atrocity sure to give your players some pause when they first learn of it. The author is equally exhaustive in describing the place and game mechanics of each of these alternative technologies as he is with steamworks, which is a wondrous quality in a sourcebook. The result being that nearly any situation or concern I might have in introducing such radical material into a game has been answered.

In it's 124 pages Steam and Steel is easily one of the most comprehensive sourcebooks I have encountered, containing the tools and rules to introduce and maintain steampunk or more sorcerous technology into any campaign setting, or enhance the game play of those settings which already borrow from the genre. As a final note, a great vote of support for this book is in Ronin Arts publication of books using the Steam and a Steel rule, which is the sort of partnership that will really enhance the utility of this already fine work.