GURPS Steampunk : Iron

[dataweaver]

We've got Dungeon Fantasy, Action, Monster Hunters, and After the End; I could see interesting possibilities for a Steampunk veneer for any of them, though Dungeon Fantasy would be more of a “clockpunk”.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

1. What is the status of France and Russia after the Fashoda War?

Well, of course, they lost, and Britain now controls a huge swath of Africa, though the cost of the war drained their economy. I think that France has retreated from a lot of its colonial ventures, though I expect it still has Indochina. Both countries are preoccupied with the expanding threat of German ambitions; note that Alsace-Lorraine and Lithuania are part of the Reich. I think they've settled down into defensive stances, and their economic growth is hindered by paying for large armies. Both countries likely also have radical movements leaning toward anarchism (inspired respectively by the ideas of Proudhon and Kropotkin).

2. What can be achieved with the computers of the setting? What can the predictive algorithms of Germany, Japan, and the US reliably predict?

Well, the computers themselves are probably comparable to what was available in the early 1950s. They can process large quantities of information at comparatively high speeds, so they're well suited to doing statistical analysis for government agencies. They also can keep track of budgeting. If you can track down a Poul Anderson story, "Sam Hall," it may give you some ideas.

I think there arguably is another side, if you want to go there. Economists of the 19th century, inspired by physics and astronomy, talked about discovering the "laws of motion" of the economy. In this world, Maxwell worked on that instead of electromagnetism, and also, it may be possible for predictive social science to work better than it does in the real world. So governments have some ability to anticipate social trends and plan ahead for future needs. Socialism still has problems, but it works better than it did in the real world.

3. What is the Legality Class of general purpose computers? Have any governments tried to limit the availability of them?

That's going to depend on the government, of course. In Japan and Germany, computers tend to be paid for by governments and used by the military and the bureaucracy. In the United States, various large firms have their own computers; the railroads, some of the banks, and the Pinkertons. Americans are taking the lead in developing smaller machines that are affordable by local organizations. I think in Germany and Japan it's less a question of "forbidden" than of its not occurring to anyone that a private business would fund one. Still, it's possible that they have a requirement for computers to be licensed and need for one to be demonstrated.

What would be more restricted is access to confidential government records kept on computers!

4. I’m trying to design the computers using the rules in Steampunk 2. In GURPS 4th edition terms, would you call these computers Tech Level 5+1 or 5+2?

I lean toward saying that commonly available computers are TL(5+1), that being the level of Babbage's analytical engine and of the ultimate engine. Machines at TL(5+2) are very likely being worked on, but aren't yet commercial; treat them as plot devices. An advanced artillery unit, for example, might have a fire control engine.

That’s all I’ve got so far. I might have more questions, though, if you’re open to them.

Sure. And remember that what I'm saying is speculation; if your campaign needs different assumptions, don't hesitate to make them!

[Derrick_rp]

Thanks for responding! I should have been more specific with my France/Russia question. Was there a revolution in Russia after the Fashoda War? Is it the Czar’s Empire or the People’s Republic?

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

Thanks for responding! I should have been more specific with my France/Russia question. Was there a revolution in Russia after the Fashoda War? Is it the Czar’s Empire or the People’s Republic?

I wouldn't expect a successful revolution in Russia after the Fashoda War. The French clearly took most of the beating there. Russia didn't even give up Finland and Britain was infinitely better positioned to make France hurt.

[scc]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

We've got Dungeon Fantasy, Action, Monster Hunters, and After the End; I could see interesting possibilities for a Steampunk veneer for any of them, though Dungeon Fantasy would be more of a “clockpunk”.

AtF and DF already go together pretty well to an extent, some sort of social or civilization collapse is a good explanation for why there a dungeons scattered all over the place full of loot, and steampunk is probably the sort of tech society is likely to be able to produce post-collapse. And the dungeons can contain Ultra-Tech loot to boot.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

We've got Dungeon Fantasy, Action, Monster Hunters, and After the End; I could see interesting possibilities for a Steampunk veneer for any of them, though Dungeon Fantasy would be more of a “clockpunk”.

Not necessarily. I've seen a couple of versions of Dungeon Fantasy worlds where the dwarves had steampunk technology. Not to mention most of Lindsay Buroker's oeuvre which are filled with dragons, dirigibles and railroad trains.

[Derrick_rp]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

We've got Dungeon Fantasy, Action, Monster Hunters, and After the End; I could see interesting possibilities for a Steampunk veneer for any of them, though Dungeon Fantasy would be more of a “clockpunk”.

I submit that all of these have been done, in some form or another. Pyramid : Travels And Tribulations has the article 'The Department", which is a combination of Steampunk and Action. Pyramid : Monster Hunters has "Pulp Hunters!" which is an adaptation of Monster Hunters to TL 6 (close enough). GURPS Horror has "Blood In The Craters", which is essentially a Steampunk After The End setting. Finally, Pyramid : Alternate Dungeons adapts the Dying Mars setting from GURPS Mars, which is pretty Steampunky, to Dungeon Fantasy.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

Finally, Pyramid : Alternate Dungeons adapts the Dying Mars setting from GURPS Mars, which is pretty Steampunky, to Dungeon Fantasy.

The Dying Mars setting also struck me as pretty DF-like. High Martians are elves, Canal Martians are hobbits/halflings, Cave Martians are dwarves, Sand Martians are orcs, and the other breed, the one that rides around in the deserts, are men.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

We've got Dungeon Fantasy, Action, Monster Hunters, and After the End; I could see interesting possibilities for a Steampunk veneer for any of them, though Dungeon Fantasy would be more of a “clockpunk”.

Steampunk DF could work as an AtE scenario: the Return of Magic caused modern technology to fail (I don't think I have AtE, but I would be surprised if there isn't something similar), but the survivors noticed that steam power and mechanics still work...

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Derrick_rp

Thanks for responding! I should have been more specific with my France/Russia question. Was there a revolution in Russia after the Fashoda War? Is it the Czar’s Empire or the People’s Republic?

Actually there are three choices; Russia could also have gone over to a parliamentary republic or monarchy. But my assumption was that Russia was still under the Tsars. Parliamentary republics are not seen as the Wave of the Future in Iron, even less than they were in the real twentieth century; the centralized administrative state controlled by a technocratic elite is the big trend. And while Russia has some of that, notably in St. Petersburg, which prides itself on being a European city, it hasn't really taken in the country as a whole. Not having its armies torn apart during the Great War has delayed the crisis of confidence that let the Bolsheviks move in with a program of aggressive modernizatiion.