Current Affairs for Steam Age Arcanus Campaign

Yamazaki: When I run Steam Age Arcanus, this is how it starts...

How many years has it been? Five years now?

It's insane to think that this ridiculous war has continued for so long. I guess that's as good of a starting point for this story as any will be. To be honest, however, I don't know all the details. Just rumors and hearsay.

About 11 years ago, the previous Emperor of Tannish passed away. Most said it was from an illness, but the whispers said it was poison. So Emperor Basle III took the throne, the second son of Emperor Jacob. Basle was a cunning man, to say the least, and increased the power of the Inquisition within years of his rule. But things get messier after a few years. That's when the war started.

Peace is something that Tannish is not particularly familiar with, you see. Before the current war, we had only 17 years of peace since ending the war with the Barbarian Tribes to the Northwest. Basle took part of that war and proved himself an able general. Maybe that's why he started this war... But who knows? There's many rumors surrounding the Emperor, with few facts to back it up. Either way, Basle's family was entertaining some Altzan dignitaries one fine summer evening. The 'official story' goes like this - apparently, one of the dignitaries, a young elven man, fell for the eldest daughter of Basle. I'll admit, even I thought she was looker, so who can blame the man? But that's besides the point here. What happened, supposedly, is that this particular dignitary began a courtship of this wonderful daughter. This went on for a few months, and a few people were talking of an alliance in marriage, found in true love. Sounds awesome, right?

But then something happened. Something very bloody.

While the exact details are a mystery, we do know that this daughter was found dead with a knife in her chest in the young elf's room. The knife was identified as his. Witnesses had seen the young elven man the night before the murder, and he was found 2 days later on the way out of the country. A month later, Tannish had him executed and war was declared upon Altza. That was 5 years ago, to this day.

Sure, we can speculate what exactly happened, but that changes little. This war has been going strong, and a new push is being made this week. A convoy of airship just left for the forward camp of Wyrmfang just past the coast of Altza. And something more sinister is in the works as we speak, involving the Ancients and their legendary MysTek.

Thus begins our story...

Historical Lesson of Arcanus

[ excerpt from Isaac Forland's book: Mysteries of MysTek ]

There are a lot of origin stories of our world out there. Most say it was created by the gods. Not my realm of expertise nor the concern of this book. But what we need to cover is the Ancients.

They were a race of superior intelligence, magic, and technology. They created what is known as Mystical Technology, or MysTek – an amalgamation of magic and technology. The secrets of their creation have been lost to the ages, sadly. But we do know this – they are insanely powerful. One can blow away a target with ease with just a bit of magical power. Golems can be constructed in mere seconds. Wounds healed in an instant. Death can be prevented if applied correctly.

This is why everyone is interested in the Ancient Ruins. They hold the secrets of MysTek. Or at least the various Artifacts that were left behind by the Ancients.

So what happened to the Ancients? If they created such a great power, how did they disappear?

There are a handful of stories of what exactly happened, but nothing is certain. Many say the Gods punished them for their arrogance. I say they blew themselves up.

What we do know for certain is this – all of the mana (the stuff that magic is made of) was drawn from the Leylines (the near invisible paths of mana that cover the world) and focused on the southern polar cap. All this magic in one place caused the polar cap to melt insanely quickly and flooded the world. While the Ancients could deal with this disaster, they could not cope without the power of magic. With the Leylines drained of all their mana, there was no way to recharge the Ancients' mighty MysTek Artifacts. And the mana didn't return to the Leylines until 500 years ago...

You can imagine what happened after the Leylines were bled dry – War over what mana was left. This 50 year war is called the Mana Wars, and what was left after that was the dark age of magic and technology – the Age of Darkness. Eventually, this gave birth the the various races that make up the world today: the Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Beastmen.

During this thousand year dark age, the dragons made their move. They took over the world and quietly ruled over all. This was called the Age of Dragons. Towards the end of this age, the mighty Imperial Dragon appeared and forcefully rose to power. He took the Crimson Moon as his throne to rule over all from above.

At some point, the power of magic returned to the Leylines, quietly and subtly. Nobody knows exactly when everyone realized that magic had resurfaced... But we know it changed everything when that realization hit. Especially when they realized that MysTek Artifacts were usable again.

Eventually the races began to chafe under the rule of the Imperial Dragon. Heroes started to gather, armed with the power of magic and Mystek Artifacts. The First Emperor of Humanity and the Black Witch gathered an army, aided by the Lance of the Elves and the Anvil of the Dwarves. These heroes fought the Imperial Dragon until it was weakened. Some say it was slain, others say it was sealed within the Crimson Moon.

After the Great Dragon Wars, the Heroes went their separate ways and created the Nations and Factions we are familiar with today. The First Emperor of Humanity formed the Tannishian Empire and ruled well until he was slain by his former lover and general, the Black Witch. The Guardian Lance of the Elves still protects the Kingdom of Altza, her spear still striking true against the foes that threaten her homelands. The Anvil of the Dwarves forged the Dwarven Merchant Guilds and then vanished from the world. From the ashes of the dragon's servants rose two other factions – the Dragon Knights, sworn to protect the world from both the dragons and the darkness; and the Council of the Undying – a group of undead who quietly watch over the world and making subtle effects upon it.

Today, the search for the Truth of MysTek is one of the main goals of the Mage's Association. We seek the answers that nobody knows of the Ancients and of their Artifacts. We're also the only ones crazy enough to delve into these ruins that are full of traps and dangerous golems...

[/ exerpt from Isaac's book ]

Isaac Forland is the world's renowned archaeological expert in the field of the Ancient Ruins.  His knowledge would be second to very few.  He has written a handful of books on the topic, and continues exploring the Ruins of the Ancients to this day, and usually does it alone...

[It's about bloody time I added to the Arcanus campaign info...  I have more coming soon!  Again.]

MysTek Artifacts

Now for the post you really weren't waiting for, but should have been ('cause this is the cool stuff):

Mystical Technology Artifacts!

Nobody knows how the Ancients created these Artifacts, or how they work, or how they seem to evolve and unlock new abilities over time as it's user gains experience.  That's a secret that may forever remain in the past.  But really, most people could care less about that stuff.


What are Artifacts?

These items, which have strange angular lines etched along and around, have unique magic circuits.  Unlike the circuits that normal creatures possess, these seem to be ambiguous, and not hard-coded.  It's possible to alter and change how these magic circuits behave and do.  In fact, one can add extra abilities to Artifacts, with the right materials and tools (which have only been found in the Ancient Ruins) and skills.

Often times, most Artifacts have a core ability, one that cannot be changed entirely.  A fire sword Artifact will always be a fire sword.  However, if it has an extra ability to, say, shoot fire balls, or something, this feature could be changed to be a fire shield instead, if you had the tools and know-how.  You could even go so far to add a transformation ability so it become a fire gun, but such Artifacts capable of this are few and far between.  So far, only the Mage's Association has this knowledge, and they guard it fiercely.


Who can use Artifacts?

Thankfully, anyone can.  You just have to be able to use Mana.  That's it.


What kind of Artifacts exist?

The most common ones fall into one of three categories: Offensive, Defensive, and Utility.  Offensive Artifacts come in weapon varieties, like guns or swords.  They inflict damage, as one would assume.  Some even allow the user to take control of Ancient Golems (these are dubbed 'Director Artifacts').  Defensive ones usually appear to be belts, bracers, or pendants, and grant protection - either from damage, or secondary effects (like heat or cold).  Utility Artifacts are the most common, and often do things that normal items shouldn't be able to, like greater storage, communications, sensors, and other handy gadgets.  It should be noted that some Artifacts fall between two different categories.  The really powerful ones will have abilities in all three.

More info coming soon!

The Legions of Tannish

The military of Tannish is expansive and a little more complex than it really should be.  There are a handful of divisions within the Legion, including the Legionnaires (the ground troops), the Sea and Sky Corps, the Engineering Department, the Battle Wizards, and the Inquisition.


The Legionaires: they cover the whole ground forces, including land vehicles.  Almost everyone in the Legion ends up here.  Occasionally, rising to the other divisions happens (and it's not uncommon), especially if you show promise.  There's not a lot of choice when enlisting...  And draftee's have no choice at all.
 * Steam Knights are exclusive to the Legionaries.  It's often considered unwise to pilot one on an airship or boat.

the Sea and Sky Corps: the carriers and battleships that dot the waters and air belong to this division.  The air forces are fairly new, only becoming prominent in the current war against the Elves.
*Dragoons are units that possess special dual propler jump packs that allow them to hop from one ship to the next.  These are some of the bravest and skilled soldiers in the Legion, as it takes balls of steel to jump from a ship thousands of feet in the air onto another one that may be a few hundred feet away.

Engineering is in charge of repairing and developing new technology.  These folks are pulled from factory jobs to go up behind the frontlines to insure that tanks, steam knights, and ships are operating.  They receive some combat training to defend themselves in the worst case.
*Artificers are the rare engineer who delves into something stranger than normal.  Telsa weapons are their domain.

The Battle Wizards are the unlucky few went to the Mage's Association who claim Tannish home.  As part of a pact when a Tannishian joins the Association, they must serve the Empire when called upon.  While few in numbers (often times a unit only consists of 2-5 mages), their power is enough to support most war efforts.
*Alchemists, while not full mages, have proven themselves quite adept at battle.  Their bombs and alchemical shells more than compensate for their lack of spells, and doesn't interfere with guns.

The dreaded Inquisition keeps the entire Legion in line and serves as the Emperor's hidden agents.  They rarely operate in the open, and worst yet, they are armed with Artifacts, making them incredibly dangerous.  Deserters and traitors are often put down within days by these Inquisitors. The very fear of Inquisitors is just enough to keep most of the Legion serving the Emperor.

Steam-Age Arcanus: Magic

One would think magic is simple, but it is not.  It's not just waving your hands in a funny fashion with a few silly words to make a fireball.  No, this is mostly mental control and formulas.  Occasionally there's a verbal command involved, but very few somatic or material components, unlike D&D.

But before we describe spell casting, we should discuss mana, the source of magic.  Mana is everywhere.  Some would describe it as the source of life, but this is not true.  Otherwise everyone would be dead after the Mana Wars when magic all but vanished from the world (thank you cataclysmic events for that one).  However, mana is a source of energy that is prominet throughout the world, but some areas have more than others, and while a few rare locations are void of it.  The former surplus is the result of Leylines, walls of pure mana the criss-cross throughout the world.  They are visible during the night, appearing not unlike the Aurora Borealis.  The later is refered to a Dead Zone: an area with no magic and where magic cannot be used.  Nobody knows why.

The next important thing to go over is how mana interacts with people.  All humanoids (humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, etc) have magic circuits - a special nervous system just for using mana.  Now, the average human only has a few (we're talking low single digits here), while elves have more (low 10's).  Mages have a great deal of magic circuits (anywhere from 20-50), while certain creatures have even more (some of the ancient golems have been discovered with over a hundred circuits).  In game system terms, a character with a high Energy Point pool will have more magic circuits than one with a low EP.  Regardless, to use magic or even magic items, one must have mana.  By drawing from those magic circuits while applying certain magical programs, one can cast spells.

The tricky part about spell casting is that they're actually just magical programs.  You have to 'teach' your magic circuits to use this spell before you can actually use it.  Which is harder than you'd hope.  This can take months, if not years, depending on the spell.  The more complex and powerful, the more time it takes for your circuits to learn the spell.  Afterwards, it's a matter of recalling the correct mental commands and directing mana through the right circuits, and the spell is cast.

This is where magic items, especially MysTek Artifacts, come into play.  These items have spells already programed into them, thus you just have to supply the mana to cast them.  Even constant effects may only require the essence of mana to be powered.  This is also how Dragonite is used - it possesses magic circuits that can only produce heat.

In all reality, most mages only know a dozen spells or so.  Only Archmages will know a lot.  It really comes down to the use of the spells, not the number, that's important.  Spells don't always have a singular use.  For example, a telekinesis type spell can be used to move something, or converted into a barrier to use against attacks.

Questions?

Arcanus Briefing

UPDATE 12/24/14 - Adjusted to suit the various runs.

The sound of engines reverberate through the airship.  No matter where you go, you cannot get true silence from these engines, but after a few days of constant flying, you have gotten used to it.  When you look out the windows, you can see the other 3 airships in the fleet heading for Altza territory.  The deck is insanely windy and the air is thin.  You are now only 2 days away from your destination - Camp Wyrmlock.

You, and your party (minus Prisoner) have been gathered for a particular team. You are under the command of Legate [PC Name Here], for one task - to escort the captive [Prisoner Character] (he needs to be alive) to a particular Ancient Ruin 50 miles west of the Altza capital.  You will be operating separate from the Imperial Legion, and most of the Legion is unaware of your mission.  And this mission came from the upper ranks of the Legion and the Inquisition.

What you know about your captive: [Prisoner] is not exactly human.  You have been informed during your briefing that he has some form of MysTek imbued into him. You have not been told why you need to take him to the ruins, but you have been told you will meet up with an agent of the Inquisition at the ruins.

Steampunk Campaign is a GO! (maybe)

Okay, so I'm getting the ball rolling here with my campaign. Slowly. I've cleaned up my old forums, since nobody uses them anymore. Hopefully, with the new forums and with some of the newer functions that proboards have FINALLY added (like sub-forums), things will be a little nicer. Each game, if and when other games are added, can have its own sub-forum. But for now, Steam-Age Arcanius will have full reign of the main RP room. Like you guys care though...

Anyways, linkage to the resurrected forums!

EDIT: Okay, I should record the character creation rules here, before I forget again -.-

300 character points
No Dynamic Powers
Power Flux under GM approval only
Mythic benchmarks: most attributes cap at 5; except for toughness, extra energy, combat techniques, special defense, special movement, and anything else that might make sense (talk to me if you're unsure)
Steam-Punk skill costs

Questions? Ask 'em. You can get ahold of me via forums, facebook if you've friend'd me and some point, or texting my cell.

-Locke Alexander, building his Steam-Punk Mecha Throne from which he shall rule Arcanius from!

Steam-Punk: Technology

Hop on Wiki and search Steam Punk and you'll have a good idea of the tech. But I do have particular examples for this world. Enjoy.

Weapons:

Impact Hammer

This massive hammer, normally used by Steam Knights (although stronger people have been known to wield these two handed), possess a large revolver ammo chamber filled with tank shells. Because of a pressure plate, this hammer will fire a shell upon impact, dealing massive damage. Originally intended as an anti-tank weapon, but it's proven itself to be effective against many different targets. However, it's large size and weight, along with the decreasing weight as shells are fired, it's an inaccurate weapon against smaller targets.

stats:

Weapon lv 3 (hammer): muscle, inaccurate, hands

Weapon lv 3 (shell): linked (hammer), backblast, ammo 1, unreliable

item cost: 1/2([2*3+1-2]+1/2[2*3+1-3])= 3 points

Steam Knight

These 10-12 foot tall steam-powered mechanical armor are the newest and greatest advancement in steam-powered warfare. Because of the dragonite core that helps the armor produce steam, these are somewhat rare (until alchemical sciences have created a stable artificial dragonite). Most units have about a dozen or two. Unlike tanks, these are far more flexible when it comes to mobility and terrain it can cross.

These are the stats for the standard issue Steam Knight with a shield/arm cannon and power claw. More advanced ones will use actual hands and weapons.

stats:

Armor lv 4 (8)

Jumping lv 1 (2)

Super Strength lv 1 (8)

Weapon lv 4 (arm cannon): range 2, area 1, ammo 2, activation 1 (7)

Weapon lv 3 (power claw): muscle, penetrate 1, inaccurate 1 (3)
Shield lv 2, lv 4 armor (8+4)

Awkward Size lv 1 (12 feet tall) (-4)
Impaired Manipulation lv 1 and lv 2 (one usable arm; claw hand) (-3 and -6)
Sensory Impairment lv 1: reduced visibility and hearing (-3)
total item cost: 1/2(8+2+8+7+3+12-4-3-6-3)= 12 points

Next time, we eat clown shoes.
Not really, character creation next time

Steam Age: Factions

UPDATE 12/24/14 - updated the various factions.  Fixed Council of Undying, added Cataclysm Society.

The Golden Empire of Tannishpopulation: 3 million (70% human, 20% half-human, 10% other)
Current leader: Basle Tarnis (17th Emperor since Empire's creation)
Tech status: heavily industrialized
Magic status: strictly controlled

The Empire used to be viewed as what humanity could achieve with hard work and perseverance. But since Emperor Basle took the the throne 10 years ago, the whole country has fallen into decay. His demand for power has brought ruin to the Empire. Only 5 years ago did he declare war upon the elves and began his invasion. Some progress has been made, but the Imperial Legion has been pushed back more times than they'd care to admit.

Industralization started about 25 years ago, and while the Dwarves have the jump on them, the humans are quickly becoming the strongest in steam-tech. Advances in firearms have been lead by the humans, and they are only second to the Dwarves in Steam Knight tech (the Dwarves do tend to keep the best stuff for themselves...)

Astetics: The Empire has a WW1 German fashion to them. However, weaponry has a industralized version of the Roman Empire (IE: gladius, sword and gun legions, etc). Artechure also follows this style.

The Altza Kingdom
Population: 1.5 million (75% elves, 15% half-elves, 5% humans, 5% other)
Current leader: Queen Eyrian
Tech status: light industrialization
Magic status: very prevalent

The long-lived elves have always been patient, but when Emperor Basle began his invasion of Altza territory, the elves quickly proved to be a greater opponent than the humans expected.

The elves were slow to take up steam-tech, but after seeing the Empire's general success with it, they followed suit after a decade. They still don't use much steam-tech for war, as mages fill up the majority of their siege methods. Fire arms are quickly becoming very common amongst the half-elves and the occasional Steam Knight appears on the battlefield on the elven side.

Ascetics: Altza are heavily influenced by Ancient China. They like to use chinese long swords, bows, spears, etc. Guns are still at a flintlock rifle style at the moment.

Dwarven Merchant Guilds
Population: unsure (primarily Dwarven, but other races have joined)
Leader: varies from guild to guild
Tech: Heavily industralized
Magic: very little (dwarves make for terrible spellcasters, but they have mages in their employ)

The Merchant Guilds have done a great job of staying out of the war between the elves and the Empire. They've done such a great job that they're supplying both sides with weapons and equipment and profiting heavily. Thankfully, they have done nothing the egg on the conflict, but only stand to profit from it.

The Dwarves invented most of steam-tech. While the humans have improved upon the designed greatly, the Dwarves have learned to reverse engineer this improvements and further enhance their tech. As it stands, they possess the most advanced Steam Knights and have even created giant Steam Titans.


Barbarian Tribes
Population: varies from tribe to tribe (primarily beastmen, orcs, and humans)
Tech: low
Magic: low

The barbarian tribes are dispersed throughout the world. While they've stayed out of the war for the most part, a few tribes have hired themselves out as mercenaries. Some raid towns and villages for resources, while some are nomadic and avoid society at large. 


Bandits, Raiders, and other Outlaws
Population: mostly human or half human
tech: low-mid (varies from one gang to the next)
magic: very low

Bandit gangs exist everywhere throughout the Empire and the world. Usually it's just rebelous folk who are fed up with the Empire, or those who can't make a living otherwise. What little Steam-Tech they use has been pilfered from their victims. 


Council of the Undying
Population: unknown (99% immortal)
Leader: Four Lords who rule the Court
Tech: mid
Magic: high

A tiny faction formed to watch over the world with undying eyes.  Despite their name, most of their members are not undead, but rather immortal.  Four Lords rule the Council at any one time, although no one knows their identities.  Or their goals.  Or even how they affect the world.  But people suspect they do so from the shadows...



Druidic Circle
Population: less than a thousad
Leader: various druids and dryads
tech: none
magic: very high

If anyone will be backing up the elves (and they have in small ways already), it would be the druids. However, they have been staying out of the fray for the most part. They've defended their own territories from the Empire, but never gone on the offensive.


Dragon Knights
Population: barely over a hundred
Leader: Supreme Paladin Shunaka
Tech: low
Magic: low

There are few organizations that are more powerful than the Dragon Knights. Their skills are second to none. They don't need tech or magic to do what they do - it's all spirital powers. They exist to deal with the world greatest threats, such as the Revenants and rogue Dragons. Because of this purpose, they have stayed completely out of the war. However, a select few have left the Knights to join their homeland in this war.

Asetics: Samurai style bad-ass-ness.


Cataclysm Society
Population: a few hundrew
Leader: the Gatekeeper
Tech: high
Magic: high

The secretive Cataclysm Society exists for one purpose - to discover what caused the end of the Ancients.  To this end, they have infiltrated the various other factions, as well as explored the Ruins as best as they can.  While they have no interest in the outcome of the current war, individual members have their own plots and schemes...

The leader of this group, known only as the Gatekeeper, has appeared from time to time throughout history.  It is unknown if it is the same person every time, or if the title is passed down.  Either way, his influence and power is extraordinary.

Steam Age Arcanium

MysTek hasn't been my only campaign project. Over the past few weeks, I have been rolling over a new idea - a Steam-Punk/Fantasy campaign. Here's a little bit of the story for this campaign

You, and your party, were a part of the invading Legion for the Golden Empire of Tarnis. The Imperial Legion's conquest was cut short, as they were pushed back by the Elven Kingdom. During the Legion's retreat through a valley, you were ambushed and seperated from your unit. For some of you, this is a blessing in disguise - you were drafted into the Legion and at this point, you'll be recorded as MIA, which means you can leave the army and return home. For a small select few, this is a chance to prove yourself to the Empire and fight your way back to your unit.

Regardless of your choices, it's going to be a long trip home...

Coming soon: races and factions