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Old 01-20-2012, 09:33 AM   #1
Kromm
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Default Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

The clatter of coal
The whistle of building steam
Sounds of the future
— Some hack
Welcome to the future as it might have been . . . or the past as it should have been. Welcome, one and all, to Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk, the most recent e23 release. Witness these marvels of the Age of Industry:
  • Victorian England – the "default setting" for steampunk, if such a thing exists – placed profound emphasis on status, breeding, and proper behavior. In Order of Precedence, Bill Stoddard uses the powerful tools of GURPS Social Engineering to cut through the red tape as if it were so much corset-lacing, showing you how to emulate this complex society in your game.

  • What do you need in a good pulp steampunk campaign? Exotic locations and steam-driven machines, of course, along with a tense backdrop – say, a standoff between powerful nations – that reflects an important moral debate. Across Africa With Iron and Steam is an alternate-historical setting that offers all this and more. And because it's by Matt Riggsby, you know it's as exciting as it is well-researched.

  • Whoever this Sean Punch guy is, he obviously has undead issues. Why else would he find a way to work zombies into steampunk? The crunchy-yet-flavorful Necromenschen! reimagines these shambling horrors as mad-science experiments, powered by strange fluids, compact engines, and even weirder things.

  • If steam-mecha exist, then of course the authorities would make use of them. In The Clankers, David Pulver shares a campaign outline for his SWAT-style "cops with clanks" game, along with a full introductory adventure involving guns, Russians, and giant drills . . . all clashing gloriously (and somewhat violently)!

  • Steampunk vehicles don't have to be steam-propelled. As Michele Armellini shows in A Whisper in the Sky, unpowered gliders aren't merely a perfect fit with mighty airships and coal-driven cars – they fill a key niche that nothing else can! With expanded rules for gliding, detailed descriptions of gliders, and stats for a hangar full of vehicles, this article is a vehicular mini-supplement in its own right.

  • Roaming groups of thugs personify dangerous neighborhoods. But what if the gang members are affluent art aficionados, trying to remake society via dangerous "performances of violence"? J. Edward Tremlett's The Mohocks presents a gang uniquely suited to Victorian steampunk. The GM can use them to threaten the players, add both action and darkness, and bring a ton of unique flavor to his game.

  • And your monthly issue wouldn't be complete without its recurring features, including a Random Thought Table that shows how the GM may be best-off thinking backward when it comes to deciding what tech to include in a setting; a brief Odds and Ends that explores the link between Victorian steampunk and Lovecraftian horror; and a Murphy's Rules that's sure to have engineers adding more, more, MORE to their inventions!
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Old 01-20-2012, 03:47 PM   #2
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

For the curious, on the Pyramid forum Matt Riggsby has posted a bit from his alternate-history article Across Africa With Iron and Steam that ended up on the cutting room floor.

(The reference to Where the Lies Are is the box on p. 13 that talks about how this alternate era diverged from the "real" world.)
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Old 01-20-2012, 04:34 PM   #3
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
  • Whoever this Sean Punch guy is, he obviously has undead issues. Why else would he find a way to work zombies into steampunk? The crunchy-yet-flavorful Necromenschen! reimagines these shambling horrors as mad-science experiments, powered by strange fluids, compact engines, and even weirder things.
At a glance, this reminds me of Father Karras from the old Thief games. I love the concept of science related zombies!
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Old 01-20-2012, 05:59 PM   #4
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

-- I posted my impressions on the Pyramid subforum (http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=87326).

-- Really liked this issue, and I'm not really that interested in steampunk beyond cool-looking hats and canes-with-guns stylings. Two of the articles (Stoddards and Tremlett's) would be shoe-ins for a Best Of compilation.
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Old 01-21-2012, 01:13 AM   #5
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

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Originally Posted by Tzeentch View Post
-- I posted my impressions on the Pyramid subforum (http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=87326).

-- Really liked this issue, and I'm not really that interested in steampunk beyond cool-looking hats and canes-with-guns stylings. Two of the articles (Stoddards and Tremlett's) would be shoe-ins for a Best Of compilation.
So you'd recommend this to the non-steampunk fan? Not that I don't like Steampunk as a setting, but I will almost certainly never run anything in such a setting. Not That I wouldn't play in such a game, mind you... (yes, I'm talking to you greater seattle area!)
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Old 01-22-2012, 05:52 AM   #6
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

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Originally Posted by ULFGARD View Post
So you'd recommend this to the non-steampunk fan? Not that I don't like Steampunk as a setting, but I will almost certainly never run anything in such a setting. Not That I wouldn't play in such a game, mind you... (yes, I'm talking to you greater seattle area!)
I've only been able to read the first article, by Bill Stoddard, and it seems rather Steampunk agnostic and would serve any campaign well. It's also very well written, and oddly enough, inspired some thought about my current MH campaign.
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Old 01-23-2012, 08:27 AM   #7
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

Thanks so much for the thorough and awesome review, Tzeentch; it really means a lot. (And we're definitely glad you liked the issue, too!) :-)
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Old 01-24-2012, 06:23 AM   #8
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Default Re: Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk

Dammit, Kromm. I will never be able to say "I'm Stoked!" again!!!
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