Steampunk RP Interest Check and General Ideas

[Lisky]

So, for a few days i've been tossing around the ideas for a steam punk RP, given that DFO has lost a good deal of interest... that, and i love the whole steam punk sub-genre...  I have a story in mind already that could be adapted for several different settings.  So... here's the basic gist of things I'm thinking...

Either:

A modified Furae (so all you who love your creature/being characters) where technology is set in about 1850ish on... So... rail-travel, zeppelins, some type of heat source powering a boiler to create steam for various tasks.  I could go into more detail if it's asked about... but really, this is for an interest check.

Or:

The other setting would be a similar time-frame, but the characters would be very different for arcane elements.  Rather than your general purpose casters as many are used to, it would be more along the lines of channeling an "element" rather than spell casters.

Now, in -this- setting, characters would have the option to be magically capable or not, though, those who have arcane powers are limited to 1 element. The elements being Light, Darkness, Fire, Water, Air and Earth (lightning would be a type of Air magic)  and furthermore, the excessive use would alter your character's appearance.  Given the political undertones, announcing yourself as a caster isn't a good thing.  (something i'll go into if people prefer this setting)

The casters have rather broad abilities in the general sense, but their limited to that single element.  The reason for this is 2 fold, the fact that ones ability to control magic is more a channeling and focusing of an element that naturally reacts to a person in question, rather than forming their own spells.  It also means that players are somewhat forced to work together... you won't have a 1 man army, because a small group of casters could counter and destroy a single skilled caster if they have the proper elemental control.



From those of you who've seen my GMing style, you know that I'm pretty open to new ideas, and, if you're unaware, i do a lot of things by rolling a D20 and working from there.  It adds an element of luck to the game, that i balance with a player's character's skill.

I'll post more more about the story once i figure out which setting RPers prefer.

Anyways... here's hoping i get some , questions, comments, or other ideas... and, Thank you for showing interest

[techmaster-glitch]

Well, uh....

Yeah. You already know what I had to say about this But for anyone else, I actualy cast my vote towards alternate-furrae. The races would be quite mixed up into the several nations he's got, and some races that are hardly seen in the comic would probably be getting alot more screen time...

[SquirrelWizard]

Another possible thing with casters is to have a special Phlebotinum that has fantastic potential, and with the proper tools can create near magical effects.

The substance would best be implemented as a fuel source, an the creation of Phlebotinum would be relatively simple as long as you have the proper materials and facilities. Phlebotinum in itself is very unstable, and as such it has to be properly stored or become a safety hazard (think nitro), also there could be varying grades of Phlebotinum that would result in better reactions.

In common every day stuff, Phlebotinum wouldn't likely be used, due to the unstable nature of the substance (seriously who wants to ride in a carriage powered by nitro? one wrong bump... and boom!)  And the fact that current tech would likely be cheaper over all.

Essentially a person could make a personal force field generator that runs on phlebotinum, or a staff that turns liquid phlebotinum into a gout of fire or so forth.

[Lisky]

Nope, it's legitimately arcane for my idea... it's just that, should we go with the non-Furrae, there are factions who believe that magic and the arcane are the very bane of society.  Other factions wish to harness those elementists for their own purposes, and yet other groups believe that a non-elementist is a lesser being that needs to either be chained or eradicated...

I don't want to go much further, becuase, should we go with the Furrae, replace elementist with creature and you can see how some of the basic ideas are going...

[Ghostwish]

I'm interested in the elementalist idea. But steampunk is freaking awesome too. I'm torn between the idea of a steam-pressured sniper or a darkness element thief.

Well, whichever way the wind blows, count me in!

[SquirrelWizard]

I'd be interested in this as well, the question I have is with steam power, is how fantastic are these designs going to be? will we see steam punk mecha? Lightning Guns? Or are steam engineers specifically limited to mundane stuff?

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php - Awesome Steam Punk Comic.

[Lisky]

Well, it depends on where you go, and who you end up siding with   That said, i guess i should go over the basics of the politics and how they relate to the setting...

I currently have 5 nations thought out, 2 are anti-magic... using magic in these areas is more or less equal to a death sentence
One of these are going for world domination, the other is trying to "better" Man(or Furrae)-kind
There is 1 magic-only nation... they believe those incapable of using magic are cursed, weak, and exist to either be chained and used as tools or destroyed. 
There are 2 nations that are more open to both technology and magic...

The "Greater Good" nation builds technology to increase the survivability of the individual... they have steam-powered power-armor, and some Tesla-like tech

The "World-Dom" group builds large machines to enforce their will upon conquered territory.  Large machines include "Leviathans"- enormous walkers bristling with steam-powered weapons, ranging from basic rifles and cannons, to more interesting devices, like a centrifugal-force machine gun, steam-catapult/ballista.



Airships are commonplace in every region, they range from large balloons filled with hydrogen or helium, carrying 1 or 2 people, to something akin to Castle Wulfenbach... you've also got gyro-copters, gliders, and other technologies as well...

[Arcalane]

<Arcalane> all we need now are underwater cities and mutants!
<Basilisk> ... Arc: what?
<Basilisk> D:
<Arcalane> :D

[Kafzeil]

I'd likely join  either srecnio, quite frankly.

However, would we be able to come up with our own tech ideas and/or Or 'borrow' them?I'm so tempte dto use some of Leondardo da Vinci's unused invnetions, or modified versions of them.

[Arroyo Milori]

I'd probably join as well. Ether plot sounds fine.

[Lisky]

Well, given the preferences i've been hearing here, and in chats, the Furrae seems to be the way i'm going... i'll be getting details and whatnot worked out over the next few days and get an OOC up when i'm ready for it, then...

i'm a bit surprised at the interest level, to be honest, pleasantly surprised, but still surprised...

[Toric]

Expressing interest, in a more concrete form than IRC.

[SquirrelWizard]

obviously i'm interested as well.

[Azlan]

Interestingly, a convention I will be attending this week, 26-28th, has a theme of steampunk and Neni and I just finalized our hall costumes.  This is all in the name of SCIENCE!

I think this would be interesting.  If I can maintain momentum, and the story is engaging, I should be able to be active.

Personally, I prefer to move away from Furrae... especially modified versions.   If the consensus indicates that it is to be the world, then so be it and I will make do.

[Gabi]

It sounds interesting. I could try either. The second alternative sounds more interesting (I've been in 3 furry RPGs already, it's not really something that appeals to me that much), but if that's what most people choose, I can still give it a shot. The schedule may be an issue for me, though.

[WhiteFox]

I sent Basilisk a character for a Furrae setting, and he passed it, but it wouldn't be hard for me to change him to a human.

[Toric]

I'm fine with either setting. My character concept would work for both, the setting would just change the character's appearance.