Author Topic: GS&S: Intro and FAQs  (Read 31473 times)

Jubal

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GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« on: June 17, 2012, 01:00:01 PM »


This will include basic info and frequently asked questions.

GENERAL INFORMATION

What is all this about, then?
Guns, Swords, and Steam is a setting I've been working on for a long time. Its primary manifestation is twofold; in an episodic story I've been writing about it, and as a set of tabletop dice-based RPG rules designed around the world. The basic theme is clockpunk, steampunk and gothic inspired; it's a world of vampires, steam tanks, and hardy footsoldiers slogging it out. There are plenty of twists, though; other magical creatures are included, and a magic system primarily based around illusions and mind tricks is also worth watching out for.

THE BACKGROUND

How does magic work in GS&S?
Essentially magic comes in two linked forms, illusion and summoning. Magic can't directly manipulate the physical world; it's essentially a form of communicating with the "astral" - a sort of secondary universe that brushes up close to our own and supplies a lot of the necessaries for conciousness. Summoning basically opens/finds a hole between the universes big enough for some raw conciousness to get through and imbue physical forms with a thinking mind for a time. Illusion uses the astral universe as a shortcut straight into someone else's (or lots of other people's) head or heads, allowing the manipulation of their thought processes.

Will there be technology X...?
- Airships?
> Certainly not common or in frequent use, but probable yes to occasional and somewhat dysfunctional ones being constructed.
- Cyborgs/Robots?
> Confirmed no.
- Hovercrafts?
> Probable no, though I can't say I've looked in every inventor's workshop to check!
- Rifles?
> Confirmed yes, though muskets are still far more common and rifles are hard to produce.
- Spaceships?
> Confirmed no.
- Steampunk body modifications?
> Maybe relatively low-tech ones, I can imagine some barber-surgeons might get fairly experimental at times - it'd certainly be a risky and unusual process.
- Steam-guns?
> Confirmed yes, but they're not nearly as efficient as a modern machine gun and are not seen on most battlefields - tactics still look more like those of the early C18th than the first world war.
- Steam tanks?
> Confirmed yes - they look very much like Da Vinci's tank design, and are known as "Trammechs".
- Submarines?
> Confirmed yes, but they're rare pieces of cutting edge technology. And may or may not run on pedal power.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2013, 07:08:51 PM by Jubal »
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2012, 03:28:00 PM »

Phoenixguard09

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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2012, 04:58:22 PM »
Check out some of the back issues CG. Jub's been writing a story in more-or-less monthly installments.

http://s1.zetaboards.com/A_Call_to_Arms/index/

Look forward to seeing some more GS&S stuff Jubal. :)
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Jubal

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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2012, 05:19:10 PM »
I'll migrate all the episodes over to here I think and have a big locked thread of 'em all, since CtA is effectively dormant. And I need to get round to posting the rules.

CG: Actually, they can do things pretty similar to Jedi mind tricks, yes.  :P
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Cuddly Khan

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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2013, 04:30:04 AM »
So, how common is this magic stuff exactly and how magical is it?
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2013, 11:05:59 AM »
DRAGONS!

Well.. maybe not :P But dragons things can be awesome and there :)
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2013, 02:01:01 PM »
Hovercraft and submarines? Two of the most ridiculous things in the world that fit steampunk quite well.
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2013, 09:30:14 PM »
It's already got subs, if you read the issues of A Call to Arms you'll find out a bit about it.
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2013, 11:40:28 PM »
I'm in the process of reading, think I'm on 4 or 5 atm. Good to hear though :)
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2013, 08:02:53 AM »
Up to 6. It reminds me of the Gaunts Ghost books. We need to see more battles and stuff, like at the start. I enjoy reading it anyway.
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Jubal

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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2013, 05:30:01 PM »
I'll try and shift the rest onto Exilian. I consider it quite badly written compared to things I've spent a decent amount of time on, but glad you're enjoying it - let me know what you think of the world and setting in particular and do ask any questions that spring to mind.  :)

Magic - essentially this comes in two linked forms, illusion and summoning. So magic can't directly manipulate the physical world, it's essentially a form of communicating with the "astral" - a sort of secondary universe that brushes up close to our own and supplies a lot of the necessaries for conciousness. Summoning basically opens/finds a hole between the universes big enough for some raw conciousness to get through and imbue physical forms with a thinking mind for a time. Illusion uses the astral universe as a shortcut straight into someone else's (or lots of other people's) head or heads, allowing the manipulation of their thought processes.

Hovercraft are probably a no, submarine yes but exceptionally rare, a decent submarine would be considered cutting edge military/spy hardware.

Dragons... I'm saying nothing yet.  :P
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2013, 08:20:06 AM »
When it's finished how will it work? Will you run it here, at the A Call to Arms site or create a new site for it?
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2013, 06:11:59 PM »
I dunno - the idea is that it'll be a ruleset such that anyone can run a campaign. Probably if I run a game I'm more likely to do a campaign IRL because I think I'm better at those than running them online which tends to be quite slow & open ended. I've got no specific plans as to games to run though.
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2013, 10:18:37 AM »
We need an Exilian IRL chat than, with multiple channels that we could use for different things. :)
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Re: GS&S: Intro and FAQs
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2014, 09:33:31 AM »
I dunno - the idea is that it'll be a ruleset such that anyone can run a campaign. Probably if I run a game I'm more likely to do a campaign IRL because I think I'm better at those than running them online which tends to be quite slow & open ended. I've got no specific plans as to games to run though.
We are still going to finish Axiosa though aren't we? :( ...eventually... maybe?
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