New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Those sound more like Plutocratic Republics with Democratic Elements.

What do you call a plutocrat whose wealth was in large part inherited over several generations?

EDIT: Speaking of medieval Italian republics, though, imagine that late 15th or early 16th century Europe is undergoing an alchemic revolution. Lots of new discoveries being made, and the great cities of the Italian paeninsula are competing to have the best elixirs - and sending spies to make sure of it. Also, think of the effects of large-scale alchemy on Renaissance warfare.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

What do you call a plutocrat whose wealth was in large part inherited over several generations?
.

Sure, you can say that old money are like the aristocracy. But is worth making the distinction between those who merely inherited wealth and those who inherit systemic privileges, especially when the latter doesn't necessarily include wealth (i.e. poor Patricians in Rome)

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Speaking of medieval Italian republics, though, imagine that late 15th or early 16th century Europe is undergoing an alchemic revolution. Lots of new discoveries being made, and the great cities of the Italian paeninsula are competing to have the best elixirs - and sending spies to make sure of it. Also, think of the effects of large-scale alchemy on Renaissance warfare.

Fun idea and a rich culture to provide details, motivations, and subplots. Sound choices all around Prince Charon.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Speaking of medieval Italian republics, though, imagine that late 15th or early 16th century Europe is undergoing an alchemic revolution. Lots of new discoveries being made, and the great cities of the Italian paeninsula are competing to have the best elixirs - and sending spies to make sure of it. Also, think of the effects of large-scale alchemy on Renaissance warfare.

What sort of alchemical effects though? That matters a lot.


I think It'd be cool to have crazy pyrotechnic effects, strength and durability boosting potions, fire protection, healing, and revivification form the core of the elixirs. Access to "true steel" and other material advances could also be cool.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by ericthered

What sort of alchemical effects though? That matters a lot.


I think It'd be cool to have crazy pyrotechnic effects, strength and durability boosting potions, fire protection, healing, and revivification form the core of the elixirs. Access to "true steel" and other material advances could also be cool.

There are many drawings from Renaissance Italy that show that the Italians had a very sophisticated understanding of mechanics. If you gave them alchemically enhanced steel, you'd get a fairly wild clockpunk campaign even with no other alchemical or occult additions.

[Inky]

There seem to be quite a few "alchemical revolution" worlds for Infinite Worlds already, not sure if you're aware of that, Prince Charon. Some of them seem to be set at about this time.

But, as ericthered says, what is done with the alchemy might make a big difference to how it works. I'm not sure what the alchemy in the various alchemy-using Infinite Worlds worlds is used for.

Pyrotechnics and fireproofing sound like they could be normal chemistry rather than alchemy. But if alchemy starts producing impressive results and lots of money is thrown at alchemical research, it seems likely that there'd be faster progress in normal chemistry as a by-product - especially if in this setting they basically are all the same thing. And that could give you your high-quality steel, too. If the rules of chemistry work differently in this setting to allow the alchemy to work, that could justify exaggerating the normal-chemistry things, too!

The Italian clockpunk sounds interesting!

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by ericthered

What sort of alchemical effects though? That matters a lot.

My immediate thought was 'something like the elixirs in GURPS Magic,' along with experiments in High Temperature Alchemy:

Originally Posted by ericthered

I think It'd be cool to have crazy pyrotechnic effects, strength and durability boosting potions, fire protection, healing, and revivification form the core of the elixirs. Access to "true steel" and other material advances could also be cool.

Which would be pretty close to this. I would also think that some cities would be better in some areas than others, or prioritise some areas.

One idea that occasionally passes through my head in regard to alchemic mass production is very, very specialized alchemists making one elixir or a small number of elixirs over and over again in specifically-sized batches. Which elixirs this is done with would depend on which ones the city-state has the most need for large numbers of, though I would expect that all of them would want Janus (alchemical antidote) and Aesculapius (cures disease) - the latter especially would make for BIG changes, due to how much of a killer diseases were at the time, especially in cities.

[Astromancer]

Anthor

I tell you that it is a new age!

Just because an Italian apothecary has come up with a better way to make steel?

Now steel is cheaper than iron used to be. They've made pocket watches that keep time so well that longitude can be accurately calculated with them. I've seen them make gliders that can carry two men on them ten miles!

I'd have been more impressed if they had given some thought to how to land after the flight.

Neither man died.

Basically, it's 1590. The Armada was defeated by the weather ("God breathed and the enemy scattered."), and the new steel is transforming Britain. Many technologies were held back by poor material science. Example: Pocket watches were so inaccurate in 1600 that many had only an hour hand. The watches were so inaccurate that a minute hand was simply useless. In this setting second hands are on even cheap watches. Longitude is as easily calculated as latitude. Sea traffic is accordingly much vaster.

This is a clockpunk world. Selected technologies are TL4+2, and a tiny number of technologies are at TL4+3! In most ways this is a Tech Level four world with Alchemy and Path/Book magic, but the few exceptions are truly wild.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Example: Pocket watches were so inaccurate in 1600 that many had only an hour hand. The watches were so inaccurate that a minute hand was simply useless. In this setting second hands are on even cheap watches. Longitude is as easily calculated as latitude. Sea traffic is accordingly much vaster.

You need more than cheap steel for clockpunk at this date: you need major advances in measurement and standardisation. Having Jacques Besson live past age 33 would be a good start; he invented the screw-cutting lathe but it did not catch on.

[Astromancer]

Spring?

Sire I bring news!

We grant you permission to speak.

The Pale Queen is destroyed! The power that bound kingdoms in eternal winter is shattered!

Who claims the witch's kingdoms?

None know yet.

"Ding dong the witch is dead!" Sadly peace might be dying soon. The Pale Queen kept several kingdoms bound in endless winter. With her death the snowfields are melting quickly and the glaciers more slowly. New lands have opened up. Or rather ancient lands are being reclaimed.

Peasants are building farms, villages, and towns. Kings are determined to tax these lands.

Basically, there are several ways to use this.

1) The PCs are medieval pioneers. Although they might have a couple of hedge magicians with them, the PCs are mainly just farmers seeking new lands. Claiming land, defending those claims, and avoiding threats, would be the point of this campaign.

2) The PCs are adventurers seeking ancient ruins and lost secrets. Fritz Lieber, H.P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith, are good guides here. The better preserved ruins might have minions of the Pale Queen still there.

3) The PCs are military scouts looking for the best way to attack rival claimants to lordship of these lands. But also, good sites for castles, navigable waterways, useful mountain passes, mineral resources, and more. They'll find monsters too, but they don't want to.