So one of the ideas I had a while back was for a fun, lighthearted steampunk RPG. The premise is very simple. The game takes place in an alternative Victorian era, British empire where steam based technology has exploded in usefulness and popularity. People have gone nuts for technology and have incorporated it into every facet of their life. Automatons walk the streets and airships dot the skies like metallic clouds. But with the increase in of technology there has also been an increase in danger. People pervert science to their own ends, using contraptions to commit crimes in secret, creating massive weapons of destruction and wreaking havoc all over the empire. Luckily there are those that are always looking to answer adventure’s call and will gladly fling themselves in harm’s way to right a wrong or see that a mystery does not go unsolved.

Character Creation –

Character Creation is very simple. Players have a selection of unique templates to choose from, each with their own bonuses. Each template comes with a stat bonus, 2 action bonuses, health bonuses, wealth bonuses, 2 special abilities and a selection of contraptions. It sounds like a lot, but everything is outlined in a streamline fashion. Each player selects 2 templates based on their character concept along with 1 special ability and 1 contraption from each. After that, the players are given 10 points to spend on their characters however they like. They can upgrade any aspect of their character and each aspect has a different point value.

Templates –

I came up with a list of templates that I felt fit with the themes of the game. The reason why I made it a 2 template system is to push the customization aspect of character creation. By having this additional choice, players can fine tune their characters easily without having to search through list after list like they would with a point buy. It also, in my personal opinion, helps with the replay value of the game. You may love one particular template, but with the choice of adding a second template, they can play a bunch of variations of the same character, and not get sick of the game too quickly. Here is a list of the templates:

Automaton

Brigand

Bruiser

Investigator

Mechanic

Member of the Gentry

Outdoorsman/woman

Professor

Stats and Actions –

Full Steam Ahead! uses a roll-keep system. A character’s action scores define how many dice they roll and their stats define how many they keep towards the roll. Special abilities and contraptions augment how many dice you roll and keep. They both have a max of 5. The stats are:

Athletics – used to define how strong, quick the character is along with short range damage.

Intelligence – How knowledgeable and proficient with machinery a character is.

Perception – How keen-eyed the character is and bonus to long range damage.

Instead of skills, the players have scores in how well they can complete various actions. The actions are:

Attack & Defend:

– Attack or defend against an opponent.

– Attack a contraption.

– Avoid incoming danger

Investigate:

– Search for clues.

– Question a character and tell if they’re lying.

– Search for an item or character.

Take a Risk:

– Accomplish something dangerous.

– Find cover (+1 keep).

– Escape a dangerous situation.

Make & Mend:

– Create a new contraption.

– Fix a broken contraption.

– Upgrade existing contraption.

Use Contraption:

– Activate and control a contraption.

– Drive a vehicle.

– Identify a contraption’s purpose.

Sneak:

– Sneak through a location.

– Steal something.

– Act underhandedly (lie during questioning, bribe someone, etc.)

Gameplay

The gameplay emphasizes three things: solving mysteries, escaping large scale calamities and stopping the adversary’s plan. Action is split between completing challenges and engaging in combat. Challenges are obstacles that the players need to get around that have consequences if they fail. They can be anything from a single death-defying leap to escaping through a labyrinth of malfunctioning machines with a series of rolls. Challenges have either a set number of turns and/or a set number of successes required to complete it.

Combat on the other hand works a little more traditionally. The attacker makes an attack roll with their weapon/contraption of choice and the defender makes a defense roll. If the defender has more or an equal amount of successes, they go unharmed, If the attacker has more successes, the defender is dealt damage based on the contraption used.

This game uses multiple kinds of health, Fortitude, Mettle and Clarity (tentative names). Each weapon or contraption will list what type of health it affects. If 1 of these categories is drained to 0, the character receives a penalty based on that health type. if 2 are drained, the character is knocked out. If all 3 are drained, death. Whenever 1 type is drained, the player still takes damage from a weapon that affects that specific type, they just reduce another category and the GM must explain how that makes sense.

Quick example. The player fails a defense roll and is blinded by a flash bang grenade. Their Clarity has been reduced to 0 and they receive a -1 keep to all rolls using Perception. Next turn they fail their defense again and another flash bang goes off. Since the player has no more Clarity, the GM decides that they are taking Fortitude damage instead. They explain this by saying that when the grenade goes off, the player is knocked back into a pile of spare parts, hurting themselves on the huge chunks of metal.

There is a reason why I decided to complicate my health system like this. Since a major factor of steampunk is bizarre doodads and gizmos, I wanted to have a way of making the contraptions, in particular the weapons, have a specific purpose. It makes sense for a pistol to do Fortitude damage, and for a flash bang to affect someone’s Clarity. It allows for a lot more diversity without running into too much redundancy or the need for special rules and conditions.

That about covers the basics of it. I’m still testing Silver Screen Nightmares, so its going to be a few weeks before I have a chance to test this out again. Here’s hoping it goes well.