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Guys and gals, we'd love it if you checked out our project on Kickstarter!
It's steampunk, with plenty of options for low, medium, and high magic.
http://kck.st/zuYmCj
We'll be at most of the Cons this year to show it off, but we need some support to get it into production!
Thanks,
B'omarr Punk
Pure Steam
Guys and gals, we'd love it if you checked out our project on Kickstarter!
It's steampunk, with plenty of options for low, medium, and high magic.
We'll be at most of the Cons this year to show it off, but we need some support to get it into production!
Thanks,
B'omarr Punk
Pure Steam
FYI: created link above.
Looks like this is your first time posting over here. I was wondering whether you had a Paizo presence. I took the liberty of mentioning it here when I first stumbled across it.
This looks like just the thing I've been searching for. I especially like the crafting system independent of magic, that sort of thing is kinda what i've been look for a long time. A question I have thought about the magical systems themselves though, how much detail do you guys go into as far as the various mystical traditions Victorian/steampunk era settings are known for (spirtualism, voodoo, etc)?
Hmmmm... I definitely like the idea. Color me intrigued.
Good to see you posting here about your project (I'm Jonathan).
What are your plans for Origins?
We'll be at Origins; it's near our HQ! We're super indie, so we won't have purchased space, but we'll be running games free of charge.
This looks like just the thing I've been searching for. I especially like the crafting system independent of magic, that sort of thing is kinda what i've been look for a long time. A question I have thought about the magical systems themselves though, how much detail do you guys go into as far as the various mystical traditions Victorian/steampunk era settings are known for (spirtualism, voodoo, etc)?
We are definitely touching on the different religious traditions. In southern Ullera there are tribes which practice voodoo and similar practices. There are still religious orders, some highly superstitious.
And west of the Great River lies a huge monotheistic lawful good theocracy...
Check out our YouTube channel!
Hey guys, I'm the lead developer of Pure Steam, and I first would like to thank all of you for your interest in, and support of, our game. Second, I'm sorry it took me so long to get over here to the forums (busy, busy, busy!), but I'm here now.
To answer some of your questions:
Crafting - With crafting, we plan on using a system similar to Pathfinder's current magic item creation system, but without the spell and caster level prerequisites. We are still planning on having a "crafter level" to keep things balanced, but spell requirements will be replaced with blueprints (roughly the cost of a scroll). Feats will not be required to build steam-tech items, but ranks in certain skills may be.
While we will still have items like our "Belt of Electromagnetic Deflection" (ring of deflection in belt slot), we will also encourage players to invent items for any slot (bracers of electromagnetic deflection?). While you can mechanically do this now in Pathfinder, this ability is usually overlooked by players. Steam Punk is really about creativity and inventions, and we would like to promote that.
In regards to crafting times and checks, we will be offering feats similar to Master Alchemist, where the progress of crafting is calculated in terms of gold pieces, instead of silver. Also, when not in the field, characters will have access to industrial workshops and heavy machinery, giving the character a significant bonus to their crafting checks. This should speed up the process of crafting considerably, making it more relevant and useful between adventures.
Our goal for making a crafting system independent from magic is to really appeal to steam punk fiction and a fan's preconceptions of a steam punk world, while still keeping an equivalent game element mechanically. While magic items and crafting will still exist, it may be more expensive or more difficult to obtain (at least in our current setting).
What else would you guys like to see done with it?
Religion - Something we are still hammering out the details on, but B'omarr already touched on this slightly. While deities and pantheons won't be nearly as prevalent, there will still be a few religious orders. Voodoo and superstitions certainly abound, but shamanism may also be prevalent in many areas.
A cool twist we are putting on clerics is that instead of gaining their spellcasting ability from their deity, they are granted spell access from their order or organization (domains are also determined by organization).
For example, a cleric of the Summit City government (Lawful Neutral) may serve as a government official, an agent, or an enforcer, carrying out the will of that government organization. A cleric's energies may come from the earth and the spirits of the past dead, which the cleric taps into using some sort of "dowsing" device or symbol which is granted by their order, but can also be taken away should the cleric go against his order's regulations or creed. But how do these organizations have such authority over this power? That's for players to find out in our adventure paths or future books.
Much of this is still in development, so its obviously subject to change, but this is our current heading in these areas.
Good to see that the wizard won't be the party crafter much longer
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I'll totally buy in if you promise to support this with modules, and especially a "living" campaign. I love steampunk and Pathfinder; but because of "adulthood" cannot keep to a non-living game. If you give it a living support a la PFS I'm in, almost supported it just to read the rulebook, but couldn't quite justify that if I know I'll never get to play. 3rd parties really need to make living campaigns more often.
I'll totally buy in if you promise to support this with modules, and especially a "living" campaign. I love steampunk and Pathfinder; but because of "adulthood" cannot keep to a non-living game. If you give it a living support a la PFS I'm in, almost supported it just to read the rulebook, but couldn't quite justify that if I know I'll never get to play. 3rd parties really need to make living campaigns more often.
We will absolutely be putting out modules for Pure Steam. We already have plans to produce modules on a regular basis (at least bi-monthly). You can also expect Pure Steam Adventure Paths similar to Kingmaker or Jade Regent in the future, as our first books will only cover a small region of the Pure Steam world, and we are eager for players to explore the rest.
I also love the idea of a living campaign! This will certainly be discussed among the other developers of Pure Steam. Should our project get funded, and Pure Steam becomes popular enough, a living campaign is a definite possibility!
Just peeked in here to see what the status was. I see you're 66% toward your goal. I'm itching for something like this, especially with a 'dead tree' product being made available. I'll have to see what my funds are like at the beginning of May.
Good luck!
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Just peeked in here to see what the status was. I see you're 66% toward your goal. I'm itching for something like this, especially with a 'dead tree' product being made available. I'll have to see what my funds are like at the beginning of May.
Good luck!
I like this product and idea quite a bit as well. I hope to help fund later this week. Good luck!
Thanks guys! Appreciate the support!
I have been speaking personally with ZDPhoenix, and he has asked a few great questions that I'd like to share.
How do you plan to avoid higher end magic completely overriding the Steampunk feel?
I.E. A higher end wizard player floating up, summoning armies of fireballs, wiping out a dozen Airship balloons, before dimension door'ing away.
The exact role of magic in our world is still something we are trying to hammer out. While our world will certainly be a low-magic setting, we aren't banning wizards/sorcerers from play. The solution won't be something mechanical (we won't be designing any rules for it), but will most likely be something stated or lore-related, similar to how Forgotten Realms handles the nature of The Weave. This option puts the decision in the hands of the GM and Players, so they can stick to roleplay as closely, or as far, as they please.
Do you plan to keep Paizo's firearm information, or utilize something resembling a more firearm friendly/compatible campaign?
We will be keeping Paizo's firearm information, but making them cheaper and more available as per Paizo's rules on a "Common Firearm" setting. While yes, firearms pretty much make armor obsolete in game terms, we will be offering counter measures like Ballistic Cloth vests. Plus, the relatively slow reload time for black-powder firearms has its own innate balancing mechanics. The current Paizo firearms keep things gritty and real, which is something we are striving for in our setting.
I love clockworks in our game. I use Rite Publishing's Ironborn race, as well as our own homebrew sentient machine race. Anything planned that's past the standard races?
Currently, the only talk of clockworks have been for Tiny or smaller devices, and perhaps clockwork golems/constructs. We have no plans for a sentient machine race at this time.
As for non-standard races, we aren't rebuking any Pathfinder races from our game (you are free to play whatever race you'd like), but we also aren't supporting many non-standard races in our world's lore. As for Pure Steam-unique races, our world is still new and being fleshed out as we go, so it may be possible that we develop our own unique races in the future.
Thanks for the questions guys. Keep them coming!
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I have donated to this project and am very excited for it. I used to game with B'omarr back in the day, he was the DM of our group, and can personally attest to his storytelling prowess. It was actually B'omarr that directed me to the Pathfinder Beta that my group immediately fell in love with. I have full confidence that these guys will deliver some good steampunk content.
I have been speaking personally with ZDPhoenix, and he has asked a few great questions that I'd like to share.
I know that guy...
Great project from everything I read. Viva La Steam! Kicked up on the $75 backing. Almost jumped on the next one, but it's for retailers only. My party will just have to share with me.
Paizo mentioned on their Reddit AMA that Steampunk probably wouldn't be something they'd have a heavy dip into (citing Distant Worlds as part of their expanding ideas for the PFRPG universe). So if you want some steam in your life, support projects like this! Even if you're like me and do your own world, choice is a beautiful thing. I fell in love with Rite's Ironborn and that totally made me revamp my own Runegear race.
I want Pathfinder to keep every genre of the d20 playstyle alive and kicking. Since Iron Kingdoms won't be coming back into the d20 fold with their Warmachine game, we need stuff like this to catch on!
Thank you for your continued support guys! We are really excited about this project and how it has progressed thus far.
Keep checking out our kickstarter page for new updates on the project. If you have any additional questions about Pure Steam, feel free to ask them here.
I have donated to this project and am very excited for it. I used to game with B'omarr back in the day, he was the DM of our group, and can personally attest to his storytelling prowess. It was actually B'omarr that directed me to the Pathfinder Beta that my group immediately fell in love with. I have full confidence that these guys will deliver some good steampunk content.
Thanks man! Your endorsement is well appreciated. Now let's get together and roll some dice!
Even if you're like me and do your own world, choice is a beautiful thing.
Yeah, for sure. Even if you don't use our setting info, we have classes and tech you can use for your world!
Have you looked at Girl Genius for inspiration yet? Mad Science is my favorite genre, which I didn't even know until I got into webcomics (since most media don't have enough for it to be a genre), and that's the best of the bunch.
Have you looked at Girl Genius for inspiration yet? Mad Science is my favorite genre, which I didn't even know until I got into webcomics (since most media don't have enough for it to be a genre), and that's the best of the bunch.
We are not pulling inspiration from Girl Genius specifically, but there will be plenty of mad science. For example: we have nonmagical creation rules for golems and undead.
So close to funding now, but only a few days left.
I really hope this project gets funded.
Until they get Fabricate and gain the ability to craft mad science inventions in a few rounds.Good to see that the wizard won't be the party crafter much longer
j
Quit killing my hopes
Until they get Fabricate and gain the ability to craft mad science inventions in a few rounds.Good to see that the wizard won't be the party crafter much longer
j
Quit killing my hopes
Take heart, my friend, as the Gearhead has you covered. An alternate class of the Alchemist (currently), the Gearhead excels at developing those "mad science" Contraptions you speak of, as well as possessing the ability to Tinker with equipment and build mechanical devices with supernatural speed. Armed with his Steamthrower and his Personal Boiler, the Gearhead stands ready to 'dismantle' the competition.
Gearhead breakdown:
- Alchemist Alternate Class
- Uses Steamthrower instead of Bombs; a steam cannon that emanates aoe damage in a cone or line
- Contraptions replace Extracts, but can target others
- Tinkering allows Gearhead to permanently alter the statistics of equipment (similar to making something masterwork)
- All Gearhead abilities draw power from the Gearhead's Personal Boiler, a fluctuating pool of steam points that are consumed each time a Contraption is activated or with each Steamthrower attack. These points can be recovered at the beginning of each day, but also passively generate randomly each turn of combat(about 50% to regain 1 point each turn), as the Personal Boiler boils steam. The Gearhead can also choose to spend time and possibly resources to actively boil more steam.
We are really excited about this class, and we can't wait to open it up for playtesting.
We have fully funded on Kickstarter! And we still have 7 days to go!!! Wooo!!
Actually, you're $200 shy. But I'm sure you'll hit it. :)
I'm going to try to see what I can dig up in the next seven, myself.
Congrats!
Actually, you're $200 shy. But I'm sure you'll hit it. :)
I'm going to try to see what I can dig up in the next seven, myself.
Congrats!
Seems $200 disappeared from the backers. Similar happened yesterday.
Yeah, we had a backer pull his donation. He wanted to make sure we made the deadline, and then realized that we still had 7 days to go. No worries, we will make it for sure now. This is happening.
Stay tuned for more info.
Looking at this, can you detail the concept of the "retailer-only" rewards?
It seems that, with that reward, retailers are basically only paying the price of print copies, and not actually contributing to the funding of the project.
Just curious, as this is a trend I've been seeing lately...
I'm glad that Pure Steam's on track. It would have been great to get more funding from the get-go; but at least there's more than enough interest to get things rolling for it!
Looking at this, can you detail the concept of the "retailer-only" rewards?
It seems that, with that reward, retailers are basically only paying the price of print copies, and not actually contributing to the funding of the project.
Just curious, as this is a trend I've been seeing lately...
Trust me when I say that the costs involved with the books will still be less than what's listed for backers of the retailer slot. They might not make as much, but in a few ways, that's long term growth added. "A FLGS has some new Pathfinder setting that no one local has, or has heard of? It's got airships, guns and new archetypes?! Sweet!"
I am a lil jealous of the retailer category though.
Myth & Magic offered up 4 books to the public for $75, as an incentive to be interested in long term with the company. Was kinda hoping for more than one of the Pure Steam books; but at least I know, now that it's funded, that I can buy more books later, instead of being forced to PDF it all, like LPJ Design's stuff.
Looking at this, can you detail the concept of the "retailer-only" rewards?
It seems that, with that reward, retailers are basically only paying the price of print copies, and not actually contributing to the funding of the project.
Just curious, as this is a trend I've been seeing lately...
Yeah, the retailer-only reward is a way to appeal to retailers. As a business your FLGS would go under if they simply backed projects for the warm feeling. But there are a few who are willing to essentially pre-order a small quantity at a deep discount off MSRP. While we don't make much, it does get us the initial cash to produce the books, and it helps us by getting hard copies into stores where people will see them.
Hope this answers the question!
Will the ring of Electromatic deflection work against items without a charge? Will it give a charge after the first hit, or d3 hits? What if I build a sword and give it an opposite charge, will I get a hit bonus?
While we would like to keep things as simple and book-keeping free as possible, that is an interesting idea. We'll keep that in mind. At this time, our only plan for such a device is to simply have it mirror a non-magical Ring of Deflection mechanically. This is still a game, as well as a sci-fi setting, so there has to be some suspension of belief for gameplay to run smoothly.
Will the ring of Electromatic deflection work against items without a charge? Will it give a charge after the first hit, or d3 hits? What if I build a sword and give it an opposite charge, will I get a hit bonus?While we would like to keep things as simple and book-keeping free as possible, that is an interesting idea. We'll keep that in mind. At this time, our only plan for such a device is to simply have it mirror a non-magical Ring of Deflection mechanically. This is still a game, as well as a sci-fi setting, so there has to be some suspension of belief for gameplay to run smoothly.I think you start treading on suspension of disbelief when you start using technobabble. Think about Star Wars. Everyone was good with the Force. It was a psychic power or monasticism or whatever. No one carried. Then they tried to give it a pseudoscience explanation by bringing up the intelligence of the Jedi cellular symbiosis and everyone started booing.
Magic is great because you can say it works because it is magic. When you say something that isn't like magic acts like magic, like the skill to reload a muzzle loading rifle in 2 seconds or the ability to fire 14 arrows in six seconds, and that it is fair because dragons can fly or whatever, people that need or want a coherent narrative get cranky.
If the belt made a novel particle, and the fluff was that the nerds were arguing over how it worked, (magnets or bends space or magic or whatever) you would leave room for suspension of disbelief. By saying, "this is a magnet and it works on wood without a charge," you start trampling on it.
You are very correct, and that is something we can address as development progresses.
Now something like "non-metal weapons ignore the deflection bonus granted by the Belt of Electromagnetic Deflection," is easy enough to incorporate mechanically. I am merely stating, in general, that not everything science-related in our game can be explained mechanically. We will certainly try to provide "fluff text" as to how things work scientifically, but we can't design specific mechanics for every chemical reaction, state change, energy transfer, or particle movement, and still have the rules flow smoothly enough as to not interrupt gameplay. Now that's not to say we won't try to create such mechanics, but if they become too clunky, we won't use them.
I really appreciate you bringing this up, as it pertains to the functionality of our game and setting. And I hope this correctly addressed your concerns. Thank you!
Damn, it, I'm in. Pledged and look forward to seeing how this pans out. :)
Damn, it, I'm in. Pledged and look forward to seeing how this pans out. :)
Thanks!
Sounds interesting but I will miss the final day of the kick start. Looking forward to seeing the finished product though.
Understood, no hard feelings ;)
We are giving our high-end backers the privilege to playtest first, but after that we'll be opening playtest for the summer to everyone, and it'll be a free download here on Paizo, so stay tuned!
B'
49 hours to go and we're just short of the mini-reward!
Yep, only $1,400 short for the free mini reward.
Only 1 hour and $625 away from the double mini reward! Please sign up if you get a chance!
Thank you everyone for your support! Stay tuned for our new website (featuring our playtest forums)!
I will also continue to check back on this string, so feel free to continue to ask any questions you may have.
Thanks again guys!
Question: Will this campaign setting be available in downloadable format only, bound as a book, or will you have both options?
Also, I know you folks just hit your mark for funding but could you give us a rough estimate as to when the first glimpses of your project will be ready for play testing? I know you said you still need to get the website up and running.