I can't really define it. Apparently any "-punk" setting requires an oppressive government or some kind of post-apocalyptic society. This is not what I have in mind. This world is doing fairly well. There are wars, starving children, animals going extinct, all that good, real-life stuff, but it's not so bad that the entire planet is a wasteland of lawlessness and rampant mega-corporations.
I've been told that Eberron is technically mana-punk with all their magecrafting and warforged factories, etc... But Eberron comes across to me as a bastardized Steampunk/Clockwork with elemental enslavement and an overabundance of magic. The word manapunk brings to my mind a very different image, one of smoothly crafted buildings and decadent society; scrying pools for watching the play at the local theatre without leaving home; rune circles that detect and teleport weapons off of your person to a safe holding area while simultaneously giving you a pick-up ticket; floating street lamps, rent-a-discs (modified floating disc spells for heavy shoppers), fantastic street performers, and terrifying armies of stone and fire.
My vision has dwarves at the center of world power with their golem-craft armies (I know! I said "not Eberron" and I meant it >__<;), rune circle magic, and summoned arcane constructs (a Cortana-like being made from eidolons or some such). They have pretty much the most useful magics, which of course comes from their very utilitarian culture. The largest of dwarven nations would lead by a benevolent ruler (or even a democratic ruler of some sort); he encourages the sharing of magical discoveries but guards the more dangerous sorts.
Elves are old fashioned, and many are close-minded. They prefer the old ways of the world and are considered the outcasts of the world. They live in their tree houses and make things the hard way. Their violent reaction to the dwarven [manapunk] movement often casts them in a barbaric light, indeed terrorism is not unheard of. Some radical elves set out to destroy key structures or individuals who might be involved with dwarven manacraft.
Humans take it all in stride. They're glad to have the accommodations - the ones they can afford anyway. Gnomes - I hate gnomes... So much that I can't even be bothered to come up with a good reason why they no longer exist. They just never did. Halflings I don't have figured out. I can't get the Shire out of my head when I try to think about them, and that is definitely NOT "manapunk."
I have rambled. Apologies. What I am hoping for by dropping this thread in is that you awesome Paizo.com forum-goers might be able to point me in the direction of some artwork that puts you in mind of this, or perhaps an existing setting for an RPG (doesn't necessarily have to be d20 system, but that is preferable, as I only play Pathfinder). Most of my current inspiration is coming from Dragon Age: Origins golems, rune circles from Races of Stone, Blood Elves from WoW, Too Human (though sadly I've never played this game; it didn't get rave reviews), Minority Report, I Robot, Halo (I love the AI construct concept), and am considering some elements of Custom Robo! Remote control golems anyone?
Can people replace lsot limbs with golem-craft limbs?
Can a person decide to put his brain in a crafted body for combat, like a full conversion cyborg?
Is this supposed to be akin to Shadowrun, where life is cheap, becasue it's easy to "fix"?
Gnomes - I hate gnomes... So much that I can't even be bothered to come up with a good reason why they no longer exist. They just never did.
Whats wrong with gnomes? i think they are awesome. a lot better than halfings. they have more style than halflings.
Is this supposed to be akin to Shadowrun, where life is cheap, becasue it's easy to "fix"?
No. There's none of the "urban decay" that Lyrax pointed out, nor any moral dissolution. I'm looking to science fiction settings such as those seen in Minority Report and I, Robot, where things are clean and flashy, and while there is still a poorer caste, it's not any worse than it would be otherwise.
For your other two questions: Yes, golems could be remotely "piloted" via some sort of arcane matrix (not THE Matrix; like a diagram tied to ley lines), and I don't see why they couldn't graft artificial limbs on. It would definitely seem like a niche that needed filling in such a setting, though if they are piloting golems, they may not have too many chances to have their limbs hacked off to begin with.
Forget the whole "-punk" part of it. I think that's the problem I have with settings like Shadowrun and The Matrix. It all makes me think of Total Recall. Ick.
If I wanted the -punk, I'd go with the general consensus of the interwebz, which I do not agree with. I just like the way Manapunk sounds. Alternatives for naming?
Is this supposed to be akin to Shadowrun, where life is cheap, becasue it's easy to "fix"?No. There's none of the "urban decay" that Lyrax pointed out, nor any moral dissolution. I'm looking to science fiction settings such as those seen in Minority Report and I, Robot, where things are clean and flashy, and while there is still a poorer caste, it's not any worse than it would be otherwise.
For your other two questions: Yes, golems could be remotely "piloted" via some sort of arcane matrix (not THE Matrix; like a diagram tied to ley lines), and I don't see why they couldn't graft artificial limbs on. It would definitely seem like a niche that needed filling in such a setting, though if they are piloting golems, they may not have too many chances to have their limbs hacked off to begin with.
Forget the whole "-punk" part of it. I think that's the problem I have with settings like Shadowrun and The Matrix. It all makes me think of Total Recall. Ick.
If I wanted the -punk, I'd go with the general consensus of the interwebz, which I do not agree with. I just like the way Manapunk sounds. Alternatives for naming?
The name is fine, I was just curious what "feel" you were going for.
The TVTropes site refers to it as Magitek and it's page is a good place to look for inspiration.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Magitek
|
well, the -punk naming convention throws me a bit, because of the "split" in SF stories...
Futurama style (not necessarily the cartoon, although that is a decent example): technology is smoothly integrated, clean lines, abundant food/supplies, generally optimistic views of the future. People are People, whether blue, green, or having horns, and the "bad guys" are almost always physically unattractive. Basically, High Fantasy, but set in SF terms.
Cyberpunk (thank you William Gibson / Bruce Sterling), on the other hand, has all the stuff you seem to dislike: dystopian governments, only the really wealthy have anything near like enough food, everyone is heavily armed and ready for violence, and technology integrates clunkily...heavy metal, cogs, and exposed wiring are common.
All that being said, I would look towards the Starship Troopers or Star Trek RPG systems for idea-mines. Lots of tech stuff can very easily be worked over to be "magic" (thanks Clark) easily enough.
Earthdawn (from the same folks that brought us Shadowrun) is out of print (iirc) but had some nice stuff like that.
You could always grab the idea of Mirrodin from Magic: the Gathering. Clean-cut metal cities, but a definite line between the "good" and the "bad". It's pretty cool actually....I think I'm going to take my own advice on this one. Lol