Welcome to the world of Punk, a land of fantastical creatures and nations fueled by the powers of iron, coal, steam and gears. It is a realm open to endless possibilities as unknown races forge ahead through time and impact the world around them. Create your own race and nation and lead it wisely through the ages. Will you lead your people through times of peace or conquer through war? The future is dictated by your action. The true question is, can you build a nation to stand the test of time?
So after that brief intro, welcome to Punk. This RPG is set in a world of Steam and Clockwork Punk. However, I must stress this in NOT a Diesel Punk. That means no internal combustion. This is a slow world ruled by large lumbering behemoths of metal and boilers. So that means that large blitzkriegs or tanks at lightning speeds are not likely to happen. I also want to quickly clarify, that while it says fantasy in the title, there is NO magic in this RP. The "fantasy" aspect is more akin to the fact that there are a large assortment of creatures. While that does not mean your race cannot have magic-like qualities, there must be a way you can pseudo-scientifically explain, as well as keep your race balanced with weaknesses or nerfs that make the magic-esque qualities a challenge, but not god-like. Also, to touch on the Clockwork aspect of the RP, this has to do with smaller vehicles such as cars and short-range aircraft. Since there is no internal combustion (and that means no fuels that are akin to oil), small engines are difficult to create. However, you can use clockwork powered, wind-up craft so that not everything in the world is expelling out black smog and perpetually attached to coal.
I also wanted to add some form of community building into this RP. So instead of me having a map to give you that we must use, I found several interesting maps and I figured we could have a vote on which to use. So without further ado, here are the maps!
While I realize this is a fantasy and steam punk world and that means that a lot of the "realism" or the RP goes pretty far out the figurative window, I'd still like some aspects of physics in this, even if the physics does not line up with those of the real world. So below I'll list the rules of things such as airships, clockwork planes and other such aspects of the world.
- General Physics: In this world, lighter-than-air gas to keep airships afloat and fuel for steam power to run your armies of metal beasts and boilers are key to the world going round. However, I will NOT limit your choices to things such as helium/hydrogen and coal to be used. You can create new substances to act as replacements for the more conventional substances, so long as you can make a semi-logical fantastical argument on how they are obtained and how they are made. However, I am not allowing EVERYONE to have these mystical substances, or else there would be no trade and everyone would be self-sufficient, which is pretty boring.
- Technology Level: In terms of tech that falls outside the realms of clockwork and steam we shall say that the world is in a post WWI technological level. So there is some rudimentary electricity (clearly generated from steam power plants), radio is in its infancy, and weapons such as bombs and firearms fall into the level found in the 1920's.
- Airships: The poster child of the steam punk realm and lords of the sky, the airship is a dominating feature of any steam punk world. So dominating in fact, that it often is taken to be a substitute for a conventional navy. However, I must stress that there are weaknesses to the airships that do make certain features to a conventional navies. First and foremost, maintaining an airship fleet of a comparable size to a conventional naval fleet is FAR more expensive, as in anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times as much to maintain. Also, airships, as they are ironclad floating monsters, they must have lighter-than-air pockets set up inside of them to maintain their flight. While they are not like zeppelins, which are just begging to be shot down, these pouches are capable of being hidden within the hull of the ships, though they are a vulnerability. Airships also are unable to carry the same amount of cargo as a normal naval vessel, meaning more costly transports must be made to get the same amount of cargo transported. Lastly, airship warships are much more effected by shifts cause by their own cannon fire, so a broadside by an airship can cause twice the shift than a broadside in a normal naval vessel.
- Aeroplanes: My biggest peeve in any steam punk RP is when diesel punk finds its way in. In my opinion, it takes away from the steam punk-esque of the RP, since in many ways internal combustion completely outclasses steam power, especially when compared to planes vs. airships. So that is why I have chosen to completely omit internal combustion. So no speedy cars, no speedy diesel powered tanks, and no aeroplanes! However, I will allow a pseudo-aeroplane creation. These will be ornithopters, which are basically wind-up planes. They will run on gears and clockwork parts. While they have short range, they may have some use in the world, in case you want to find ways around steam power and airships.
- Leviathans and Tanks: In a world where the powers of speedy internal combustion are nonexistent, the land is dominated not by blitzkriegs, but by slow marches of moving fortresses. While I am not saying you can't use tanks, I am not saying you can't have tank-like contraptions, I am saying they will be far less effective than anything used by Germany in WWII.
- Cavalry: When everything moves so slow, it is sometimes nice to have a fast moving force on hand. Thanks to the lack of internal combustion, cavalry still remains one of the fastest ways for troops to get around over land. So they are still very viable in both commercial and military fields!
General Rules:
My rules are pretty standard. Be respectful, try to solve disputes among yourselves, and if I get called in my word as GM is final. No playing god, stay balanced, etc. etc. Really just use common sense and aim to have fun with this!
Nation Sheet Application
Name of Nation: (optional, but fun to have)
Flag:
Demonym of Nation:
Race Description: (more detail if using a created one please, including pictures is even better)
List of Race Perks and Nerfs:
Nation Location: (Decided after map, people who finish nation sheets first get first call)
Description of Nation:
Government of Nation:
Capital of Nation:
Population of Nation: (I'd say anywhere between 10 million and 110 million, but let's try to have some range in there, we can't all be giants)
Economy of Nation: (More-so how they make money than what they use to do it)
Nation's Major Exports: (Remember, you can't have it all)
Nation's Major Imports: (No nation is self-sufficient)
Nation's Military Description: (Details here please. Also, for the most heavily of militarized nations I'd say that no more than 6% of the population can be in the military, and this would cause other areas of the nation's prowess - such as economy and scientific prowess - to fall. More well rounded nations would probably fall in around 2.5 to 3%, while nations that want to be advanced in culture or other areas would be smaller at around 1%. Just some statistics to bear in mind)
