I was trying to flush out some ideas for my steam-punk setting the other night at work, and something occurred to me. It seems that all the steam-punk works so far have taken things from steam-punk ideas, and placed them into a world with magic and all that already established.
Now, flip it. Set a world up that is in the struggle to keep a steam powered world going, and now bring magic into the mix. Mana-punk.
Magic is new, only a couple hundred years since it's entrance, so the only arcane classes would be sorcerer an witch per say, and the only divine classes would be a "favored soul" type an Oracles.
It's in a rough state so far, anyone have ideas that would run with it, or done something similar to this?
One suggestion is to look at the "Iron Kingdoms" RPG. The PDF's are available for down load on the Paizo site.
Also there are these fan pages for your perusal:
Iron Kingdoms is a world where 'normal' magic is being slowly supplanted by the technological application of mechanisms and steam. Where wizard scrolls are translated into/onto sheet of metal and almost mass produced.
There is also "Dragon Mech" basically a game more focused on giant walking constructs.
Hope those help. :)
I have all the IK books, they do provide some help, but this is going to be a low to semi-low magic world. 4 classes only, 2 arcane, 2 divine, and that will be it.
*PrCs of course will add to this
Sarunia is almost the epitome of this idea. Steam tech is on the verge of becoming commonplace, the base classes are changed to reflect a magic rich world and feats allow even fighters some control over magic.
Start with a single city, say the capitol of an Empire. A fictionalized steam-punk London rule by a technocractic league that keeps the strings of the military might of the nation tightly under control. The hereditary aristocracy have been marginalized, but are used as almost figure heads. The world is filled with steampunk weapons, airships, and eugenically created monsters and servants.
In the last 20 years two things have happened. First, perhaps the result of a reality warping experiment gone wrong, sorcerers are born. Some are marked from birth but others manifest their powers at puberty. The ones that the powers that be can catch are sent to interment camps "for their own protection." In reality they are dissected, or brainwashed to serve empire. A few have fled and created an underground where they refine their powers. Some only want to be left alone, others are preparing a resistance, and some few are working with dissatisfied members of the aristocracy to effect a lasting change.
The second thing, in an atheistic material driven world, the gods have begun speaking again. Perhaps they are long forgotten deities newly returned to the world they made and abandoned long ago. Perhaps they are things new born from the same reality warp that birthed the sorcerers. Either way they too are unhappy with the state of affairs in the empire and are raising up agents of divine power. Some of these agents are demagogs, organizing anti-machine riots and revolutions, others have broader agendas.
This idea might be easier to do with d20 M. I certainly would pick through some of it for mechanics. Remember that the epitome of steampunk is really modern ideas redressed with anochronistic trappings. You don't need mechanics for a steam powered bolt thrower if you have a Gatling gun nor for a clockwork man if you have an android.
Check out the Deadlands RPG, there was even a d20 version published.