Humans and Dwarves have always known of the other species so long as the two have existed upon the earth, but turned blind eyes to one another, speaking of each other as legends to each generation. In the 13th century, when underground mining using shafts and adits was developed, skirmishes broke out. The humans had infringed upon dwarven lands, the underworld. Again, there was an uneasy peace; the dwarves moved further underground and the humans stayed as near the surface as they could. In the 17th and 18th century, when the demand for coal increased around the world, it became necessary for the races to establish alliances. The result of these alliances were that the Dwarves' exposure to human technology radically revolutionized the advance of industry. Their minds were aptly suited to the mechanization of the age of industry. Within 100 years of the first compacts between humans and Dwarves, the Dwarves had far surpassed humans in machine related skills. They are responsible for the early development of many innovations which came nearly 50-75 years later in our own time stream, the Airship and submersible to name a few.
Dwarves remain in separate societies. They work with humans because it benefits them to do so. Only on rare occasions to Dwarves mingle in human society. In this way they are much like the Amish or Hutterites, choosing to live apart, in great underground cities.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Is this the Summer Wanderer?
Found this while doing a search for more Star Wars Steampunk...looks a lot like what I imagined the Summer Wanderer to look like...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
A proposed approach to magic for Steam Lords
Just some starting thoughts on the subject, working off of Castle Falkenstein (pp. 197-207), the Book of Sigils, and the Victorian Age Magick supplement.
You must belong to a school in order to work magick. The term 'school' is simply a taxonomic device - in Thorower's case, school would equal druidic or shamanic order. Allaister would likely belong to the Templars or the Freemasons, as they work a fair amount with Material Magic, which is what Alchemy belongs to. I like the four major designations of magic in CF: Emotional, Material, Spiritual and Elemental. I'm not sure how we'll work out how these four designations have any impact on our system, but it's something to think about.
Once you've joined a school, you must research using that school's texts. This would fall under the skill section of Lore, not "research" under Science Analytic, as that research is relegated to scientific undertakings. Lore covers research in any area. So you must develop a Lore skill for each separate text you wish to master.
The Thaumic Energy requirements listed in CF should give us an idea of the difficulty level needed to utilize the spells in these books; this would be a skill under the general Magic category; we could call it "gathering power". Each school has book which contain spells which have Thaumic energy requirements ranging from a value of 2-16. We need to come up with a system to mirror these values which works on our chart. Perhaps 2 is equal to the 0 or "somewhat average" designation on our chart, while 16 is Sheer Folly or Absurd.
And finally...once the power is gathered...you cast. Yet another skill, under magic.
Anyhow, some thoughts to get us rolling.
I'm thinking that Ulysses belongs to The Illuminated Brotherhood, what with their mind control spells and all...Allaister is likely a Freemason or Templar. Thorower...Druidic Temple.
You must belong to a school in order to work magick. The term 'school' is simply a taxonomic device - in Thorower's case, school would equal druidic or shamanic order. Allaister would likely belong to the Templars or the Freemasons, as they work a fair amount with Material Magic, which is what Alchemy belongs to. I like the four major designations of magic in CF: Emotional, Material, Spiritual and Elemental. I'm not sure how we'll work out how these four designations have any impact on our system, but it's something to think about.
Once you've joined a school, you must research using that school's texts. This would fall under the skill section of Lore, not "research" under Science Analytic, as that research is relegated to scientific undertakings. Lore covers research in any area. So you must develop a Lore skill for each separate text you wish to master.
The Thaumic Energy requirements listed in CF should give us an idea of the difficulty level needed to utilize the spells in these books; this would be a skill under the general Magic category; we could call it "gathering power". Each school has book which contain spells which have Thaumic energy requirements ranging from a value of 2-16. We need to come up with a system to mirror these values which works on our chart. Perhaps 2 is equal to the 0 or "somewhat average" designation on our chart, while 16 is Sheer Folly or Absurd.
And finally...once the power is gathered...you cast. Yet another skill, under magic.
Anyhow, some thoughts to get us rolling.
I'm thinking that Ulysses belongs to The Illuminated Brotherhood, what with their mind control spells and all...Allaister is likely a Freemason or Templar. Thorower...Druidic Temple.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Character Profile: Clarence Henry Dunnington
Former engineer for the RAF. Apprenticeship under dwarvish engineers - top of his class - the dwarf who taught it often remarked that Clarence was "the tallest dwarf I ever met". Clarence's abilities are largely natural though, via trial and error; he can often be heard to say, "That should have worked. I can't understand why that didn't work," with a puzzled look on his soot-blackened face whilst scratching his head.
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