Building for Steamcon

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. It's been a crazy couple of months as we try and get our legs under us and to get prepped for Steamcon.

Steamcon is less than a month away and we've got a boatload of work to get done before then. The scenario is worked out, the pre gen characters are worked out but we still have to get the timing of the scenario nailed down and get the character stats finalized. On that note, we'll give you a bit of a preview of what a pregen character might look like.

Medicine – GREAT
Surgery – GREAT
Bedside Manner – GOOD
French – GOOD
Oratory – GOOD
University Science: Biology – GOOD
Gambling – FAIR
Guns: Pistol – FAIR
Finishing School: Latin – FAIR
University Science: Chemistry – FAIR
University Science: Entomology – FAIR
Writing – FAIR

The idea for the pre gen characters is that the system is simple enough that it can be taught to someone who knows nothing about it in about 10 minutes. To that end, the characters will all have a total of twelve skills with only three levels; GREAT, GOOD or FAIR. There will be no traditional Stats such as Strength, Social or Mental. Similarly, the sytem for conflict resolution will be simple and very fast. The idea is to get the rules out of the way of the role play.
Now, we've pretty well worked over the rules and character ideas and came to the realization that a set of rules for a demo game that would be simple enough to pick up in minutes and fast enough to play are unlikely to be the same rules you would use for a long term series of episodes lasting over a year. So, the decision was made to work up the "Fast Play" rules for the demo games. Now, these will be part of the larger rules system but obviously are a grossly stripped down version. The Series rules will be much more in depth and include things such as rules for constructing in game items. Props and gadgets are a fundamental part of Steampunk and that is something we very much want to promote and so once the Series rules have been finalized there will be a fully developed component to support gadgetry.

At Steamcon, we will have the "Fast Play" rules available which will allow people to take them home and start games of their own. Additional content will be available on the website to help further flesh out the games you create. Most of this information will have to do with setting and suggestions about how to expand the fast play rules to give them more longevity when played outside the tightly constrained format of a demo game. These simple rules will be what allows people to begin to enjoy and create within the Rise of Æster world until we get the Series rules finalized.

So, on to Steamcon. We are working hard on getting set pieces built to allow us to create an immersive environment for the game. The setting will be the interior of the observation lounge on the Æster liner Princess Arianrhod. We are building and staining wooden panels that will transform the room from average con room into this observation lounge. The folks from B. Fuller's Mortar and Pestle will be joining our endeavor to provide tea and service to add to the ambience of the setting. Those who attend will be party to a very different sort of experience than they have probably had before. Opening the doors of the conference room, you will be greeted by a wooden wall with signage directing you to the entry way. It is not until you pass through the curtain at the end of a short entry way that the room will be revealed. The sight lines into and out of the environment have been cut. This will allow people to feel fully immersed in the game and the environment.

Each game will only allow 15 participants due to the constraints of space and we will run the game five times over the course of Steamcon. Twice on Friday and three times on Saturday. In between the games, when we are not preparing for the next game, the room will be open for people to relax and roleplay in the environment.

We will be signing people up for particular game slots at Steamcon to give everyone an equal chance to participate. These slots are likely to fill quickly and so we encourage folks to register early to ensure participation.

Well, I hope this successfully brings you all up to speed on the madness that has been our lives for the last several months. The team has been exceptionally busy trying to keep on top of things and it doesn't seem that it going to change any time soon. Look forward to further updates from myself or others in the near future.

I look forward to seeing those who will be attending Steamcon. I hope to meet those who will not be at Steamcon during our travels in the next year.

Fair Winds and may the Lady be kind on your journeys,

Marshal Hunter

More web comic stuff!

Just got done emailing with Tony and Sarah and the web comic is going swimmingly. We discussed some new content information that will feed into the overall City of Light feel in the future.

Some quick headers on stuff that was discussed that will be coming out in more detail later on.

Lightkeepers are officers of the Cities of Light who draw a salary and can be recognized by the sun symbol badge on their hats with their license number engraved on it.

Rat Catchers are a group of independent contractors who work in the Cities of Light by hunting vermin for particular bounties and individual for-pay contracts. They are highly individualized without uniform or standard issue equipment. Individual Rat Catchers can be identified by personalized and the unique configurations of their equipment.

The farms outside the Cities of Light are enormous greenhouses that grow most of the staple foods required for the cities. Vermin within are controlled by specially bred and trained raptors, and insect are controlled by songbirds and bats. Intensive training to curb the natural instincts of the raptors allows they and the songbirds to operate in the same environment. Training can only go so far and some songbirds do become additions to the raptors diets.

Ravens are the most common bird species seen in and around the Cities of Light.

Snippets and stuff!

Marshal

Web comic in work!

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the Aeroplex.

Tony and Sarah have gotten the first few pages for the web comic sketched out and I'm hoping to get the first one posted in the week or so. I'm very excited about this.

We are beginning preparations for Gencon and Steampunk University #2. SPU2 looks like it's going to be a hoot. Look for more information on that as we get it. Unlike our previous Steampunk U, this one is being designed with outdoor space so that we can do live gun modding classes, and other things that can't be done indoors.

The Beta rule set is in the finishing stages in prep for our Beta test games. Hooray!

And in a slightly off topic note, some of our folks here in Seattle will be participating in the 2009 Zombie Walk. The target is a Guinness Book of World Records record for the largest Zombie gathering or some such thing. Other than that, there will be Zombies, Shaun of the Dead at the Fremont Outdoor cinema and a fine beer to be had across the street! Photos of the undead invasion should be forthcoming!

Marshal

Character Sketches! Ratcatcher and Lightkeeper

Well, this has been an exciting week for me. Concept art is rolling in and I just found out that the first parts of the web comic are coming together. The next month looks to be extraordinarily exciting.

Tony Hicks, our comic guru, has done concept sketches of both the Ratcatcher and the Lightkeeper. These are just too cool to keep to ourselves.





Ratcatcher Concept by Tony Hicks



















Tony did a really great job of combining the conceptual stuff we'd been talking about with the realized Lightkeeper costume created and worn by Liz Spain at Maker Faire in the Bay area this year.

Lightkeeper concept sketch by Tony Hicks

AEROPLEX ! Sketches from Jordan!

I, like everyone else have been waiting until I could put some of this stuff up for people to see. I've only just seen these myself and may I say, AWESOME! These will also be posted in a larger form on the website and in the gallery.

This is one of the initial sketches that Jordan did to kind of rough out some of the overall visual ideas for the St. Louis Aeroplex.






This is a more detailed study of the lower half of the Aeroplex including some adjacent buildings for scale










This is one of the first overall sketches the was worked with between Jordan, myself and some of the other artists and associates of the project at our Monday night Steampunk meetup in Seattle.


<= Note the airship landing configuration sketching. We were trying to fight out how large airships would dock to the upper airpark of the structure.












This sketch incorporates many of the earlier concepts and idea as well as one of the newest ideas for dealing with the large airships that would dock at the Aeroplex.



Simply awesome stuff!

Marshal

Games!

Well, after a few surprise emails from Desz and Ray, it looks like they are going to be rolling out the minimal rules set we have for test games in Iowa and Canada. Once I have more confirmation on the rules, I'll be putting out the word for our first Seattle beta game.

Be looking for the first game around mid July.

Marshal

Who are we afraid of? Who is the enemy?

Although this isn't something that will have direct effect in our games and the world, it's a very present thing in the minds of the citizens of the British Empire.  Not unlike sudden discussions of Iraq, North Korea or Iran popping up in our present world.

The British Empire is fighting proxy wars in several areas of the world.  Unlike twenty years ago when these were full blown hot wars, they are now not quite cold wars, but are being fought by proxy in several areas of the world.

The two primary adversaries are the Ottoman Turks and the Chinese.  They both threaten India, the Ottoman's in the West and the Chinese in the East.  The Ottomans have been held to Afghanistan by the British proper and Afghan tribesmen being supplied by the British.  Not unlike the current wars the US is fighting in the mountainous areas of Afghanistan, the Ottoman advance into India has been held in these same brutal passes.  This is one of the most challenging fronts in the entire British Empire with the lines shifting dozens of miles literally overnight.

In the East, the Chinese have been held at the Irrawaddy Delta.  Backing the Kingdom of Siam and supplying troops from Burma, the British have been fighting the Chinese to a standstill through the Siamese.  A treaty of mutual protection has served both well to halt Chinese aggression in SE asia as it pushes west.  Attempts by the Chinese to make military forays across the Himalayas have been stopped with heavy casualties in manpower and equipment.  The Chinese have largely abandoned attempts to fight their way across the mountains in the last decade.

There are some notable things which have solidified the Chinese and Ottoman Empires as the primary enemies of the British Empire.  While territorial interests are part of this, despotism and inhumanity are some of the things that  underpin the Empire's battle with these governments.

The Ottoman's use of "War Ghuls" is one of the most despicable acts in the history of warfare.  The use of these Ghuls is the reason why the Afghan tribesmen are strongly allied with the British.  The first report of these terror troops being used was after the Afghans had pushed the Turks out of tribal areas.  During this time, the Afghans were largely equally disposed to both the British and the Ottomans, they would trade and negotiate but at the end of the day they did not want either force in their areas.  That all changed when the Ottomans deployed the War Ghuls.  Afghan prisoners and civilians were intentionally exposed to the Æster and then these Æster mad men, women and children were driven down onto other Afghan villages.  The ensuing chaos was predictable.  This tactic was used again and again by the Ottomans without remorse.  It was this tactic that caused the Mullah's to declare Jihad against the Ottomans.  This forever changed the balance of power in the region.  Afghan tribes became allies of the British and the Ottomans thereafter were unable to hold territory for very long in tribal areas.

The Ottoman's have also bred the Janissaries.  These soldiers grow up breathing a mixture of Æster and opiates.  When in battle, the Janissaries are not Æster mad but have many of the benefits of the Æster mad; this makes them almost unstoppable.  Reports of them continuing to fight with limbs hacked off and literally tearing opponents apart with their hands have made them legendary.  If captured, they quickly die when their breathing media runs out.  Attempts to replicate the formula they breathe have failed utterly and so no attempt is made any longer to take Janissary prisoners.  To kill them outright is kinder than the slow horrific death they would suffer as a result of withdrawal from the Æster opiate concoction.

The Chinese have similarly taken to using inhumane tactics in their attempts to expand.  While they do not intentionally expose their own troops to the Æster, they have been reported as marching entire villages of their own people into the mountains where Æster exposure is almost certain.  The reason for these activities cannot be directly determined, but investigation points to studying the effects of Æster exposure on those people.  The use of Æster warheads by the Chinese is something else that is common knowledge.  These warheads have been devastating against the Siamese.  International outrage has accompanied reports of the use of these warheads against troops. 

The Ottoman Turks and the Chinese pose the greatest threat to the British Empire and way of life. 

Marshal