I know what I want, I just need advice on what rules/mechanics to make it work. A late steam era level empire is the primary power, magic is still very much in force, and said empire uses a racial tier system. Idea for that is "pure" humanoids are on top, fey, half-orcs, etc various levels below. There will also be clockwork style mecha and airships of different kinds.
Another issues is I want to use some races using the rules for creating races but...they are a bit strong, 2 are monstrous level, and one si advanced.
For reference the social tiering goes: Select humanoid races, half-orcs, teiflings, similar, other mostly humanoid races. then your Kitsune, and other humanoid beast-like races and in last would be lizardfolk, centaurs, magically created races, etc that are beast like or of artificial origins. Lower tier your race, the worse general treatment is.The empire originally started as a confederacy of nation states to combat either evil dragons that suddenly increased in population, or an extra planar threat. I also plan on having flying/floating cities, with an inspiration of part Midgar, part lifted landmass, and part sky fortress Bahamut from Final Fantasy 12. To power these cities, I was thinking of a system using traditional steam sources for the smallest and the largest using a system of portals to the elemental planes of water and fire to create a perpetual steam engine.
I also might have steampunk style mechanized armor. If very rare. And a wide variety of design, from tank-like to steam powered armor, to mechanical mounts.
I am very nervous to share my one race because it might be controversial. Also not sure if should make multiple topics for this.
Make sure your power source cannot be dispelled... you don't want to deal with entire floating cities crashing to the ground.
Custom races can be fun. It's a fantasy game, so don't feel bad making powerful races. Just be sure to up the level of gameplay so it's still difficult for them.
Not sure what can be controversial about a race, but if you think it wise not to share... then don't. It's best just to avoid irritating someone's delicate sensibilities.
I haven't read it so I can't endorse it or not, but there is a third party steampunk supplement here on the paizo site called Pure Steam. Might be worth checking out.
VoodistMonk wrote: Make sure your power source cannot be dispelled... you don't want to deal with entire floating cities crashing to the ground.
Custom races can be fun. It's a fantasy game, so don't feel bad making powerful races. Just be sure to up the level of gameplay so it's still difficult for them.
Not sure what can be controversial about a race, but if you think it wise not to share... then don't. It's best just to avoid irritating someone's delicate sensibilities.
Well, the bigger problem is I gotta rewrite their origin, I don't care about the "controversy" one third-part writer who said he didn't convert his 3.5 or 3rd edition waif-like fox race to 5th because of people lewding it. I more ran into a problem of how mine is supposed to be magically created and that limits bloodline options and they come in multiple subtypes of anthro animals enhanced through alchemy and magic and if they are only created, like constructs, then they could really only have arcane bloodline or maybe a few select others. Which means they can't have the immortality trait. I can still have the originals being altered fey or fey spirits.
First round of play testing has revealed that no, an arcane, non-elemental bolt ability is not op, even with 1d6+1 per 2 levels (max +5), in fact, might not be strong enough later, so might have to add racial feats as well as a direct buff and rewrite the wording of it.
I haven't fully developed it because I already have multiple types of them,with different traits swapped out as maid sense, ability score changes. Could send you a google docs link in dm if you want.
Also I was considering having a few of the districts of some of the cities having some that can be. Just to tempt the PCs. But also one of the interesting aspects is that the steampunk tech of the empire is at odds with an alliance of multiple races, including elves, gnomes, kitsune, goblins, orcs, drow, other humans, etc.Because they focus on specific types of magic, specifically alchemy and psionics moistly, they don't have many arcane casters like sorcerers or wizards. Especially not sorcerers of mixed-race bloodlines... they are gonna ahve a thing about tiered racial superiority and purity, race being a species.
VoodistMonk wrote: Make sure your power source cannot be dispelled... you don't want to deal with entire floating cities crashing to the ground.
Custom races can be fun. It's a fantasy game, so don't feel bad making powerful races. Just be sure to up the level of gameplay so it's still difficult for them.
Not sure what can be controversial about a race, but if you think it wise not to share... then don't. It's best just to avoid irritating someone's delicate sensibilities.
That is an interesting point: the advantages and disadvantages of harnessing different forces.
CeilYurei wrote: I know what I want, I just need advice on what rules/mechanics to make it work. A late steam era level empire is the primary power, Late steam. So, internal combustion engines have been invented, but steam is the dominant force. There are airships, but no air planes. Parachutes had been invented a hundred years earlier. Doctors wash their hands, but they don't have antibiotics. Breech loading rifles have been in general use for a generation, and so have Gatling guns. Cannons are rifled. Electric lightbulbs were new. There are electric batteries and generators, but not much in the way of power grids. There would be electric motors. Radio telegraphy is fairly new. Marconi was alive at the sinking of the Titanic.
I guess the first mechanic is to lower the price of firearms, advanced firearms in particular. A revolver should be similarly priced to an Orc Hornbow on the current equipment list.
Medicine for the common folk would be more modern, but definitely Clerics are still much better healers than doctors.
CeilYurei wrote: magic is still very much in force, So, in aerial superiority combat, Airships would be in combat with Magi on flying brooms armed with Wands of Fireballs and dragons with crews operating cannons and gatling guns strapped to their backs and hanging from their bellies.
CeilYurei wrote: I also might have steampunk style mechanized armor. If very rare. And a wide variety of design, from tank-like to steam powered armor, to mechanical mounts. Cool: lightning guns!
You could have steam-powered armor with hydraulics that grant strength assist, maybe with a combination of a powered jump and an unfolding kites that lets you glide through the air. There are already rules in place for assigning prices to magic items that do such things as increase ability scores, grant Energy Resistance and Spell Resistance. You can just use those. Voodooist Monk raises the point that magic can be dispelled. Maybe tech items are more vulnerable to being critically hit. Normally a Sunder attempt does not allow for Crits, but steam tech can be critted?
CeilYurei wrote: Another issues is I want to use some races...
For reference the social tiering... I am very nervous to share my one race because it might be controversial. Also not sure if should make multiple topics for this.
You should be nervous about courting racial controversy. The fantasy genre is rife with racism. The science fiction genre is all about social commentary, and here you are blending both!
Be mindful of how you handle race and racism. You have an opportunity to make meaningful, nuanced, and powerful statements about race and justice. You should take it seriously or give it a seriously wide berth.
I'm willing to hear your ideas, but I can't tell you whether I find them offensive until you offend me or else not. And the same goes for all the other readers. The Internet is not a safe space!
Sadly true. It could be a safe space if people would check there impulses to get offended at every little thing. Not accusing anybody on this thread, everyone seems chill so far. It'd just be great if people would take an extra 30 seconds to stop and think. Then maybe say "I don't care for this idea; here's why . . ." without having that escalate into "because of this one thing I've seen/read with no other context, I deem you to be scum!" Sorry for the mini-rant. Again, nobody on this thread. I'm just a little world weary.
On the actual topic, had a point about the dispelling and tech issue. I played in a similar setting in a different system years ago, but feel this idea could translate over. I'm never for trying to break a game or derail a story/world, but I don't usually go for a lot of tech in my own fantasy, certainly not for most of my characters. So, with the GM's approval, I made a bit of a "me against the world" type character. He was fine with people, but deeply techno-phobic. His primary gimmick was the use of pressurized salt bombs. Basically it's like an EMP for steam tech, or an anti-magic field for magic. The theory is that the salts interact with the water in the steam and tanks on the tech gear to trigger an accelerated rusting of the various metal components. Either the gear becomes brittle and possibly broken, or it seizes up and shuts down. You could do something like this as a discovery for alchemist bombs, a set of spells for casters, or purchasable reagents for characters in general. Could either be useful for NPC opponents to challenge your players, or as another option for your players to use against powerful tech enemies/obstacles. Either way, have fun.
Okay...hopefully I don't get banned for this. Be warned I am a furry. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VOcbpAtknSTBjJT-3V1kPx1fOMkgWvcirr3HBY0 WEko/edit?usp=sharing Here, I need to give that description a rewrite, format that better, maybe make the bolt defense a feat and word it better, maybe word it after the the kitsune or phoenix bloodline power. I was trying to get a child soldier and slave vibe.
But also the empire isn't going to be all evil. There is going to be lots of good people in it. And just as many evil people in the alliance resisting them. And the salt/brine magic is a good idea. Since I was going to have a lot fo the other powers playing catch-up in terms of technology. unreliable tech,, secrets being hidden, etc. Or because of cultural differences. A strong druidic culture isn't going to embrace the use of fire and steam well. They might adapt electricity in limited ways, but they would ironically would probably be the first ones, besides elves, to develop renewable energy sources Here the Dwarves and Gnomes are using King Coal to combat this human empire, and these barbarian and hippy elves and druids and liberal bards at their fancy college expecting to use "nature" and the sun to power all their homes.
I might even go so liberal as to skip diesel and use that abyssium skymetal as a fuel. ya know, the one that is basically uranium? Because nuclear power is a form a steam power.
Also I was thinking of doing a rule where no need to confirm a crit on a called shot to a steam powered unit when striking a steam line when it hits as a crit. And electricity does double. to certain ones. Also add a "rupture" effect perhaps. causes a decrease in power by an an attack drop movement speed penalty, etc as appropriate if a pressure line or something is broken.
I wrote: So, in aerial superiority combat, Airships would be in combat with Magi on flying brooms armed with Wands of Fireballs and dragons with crews operating cannons and gatling guns strapped to their backs and hanging from their bellies. I just stumbled across this last night.
Oh. Well I been banned for my personal tastes and targeted for banning for them before.
Also i didn't realize until poking around the wiki to figure out just what the official pathfinder timeline rules for firearms were anyway, did I find out that apparently the lasers and cybernetics and such on the srd not in 3rd party WASN'T just Starfinder sampler content of some kind, but apparently super rare tech from ancient space ships. Including Androids. Which gives me options for my own world. Which isn't going to be Golarion, not even same star system, but could help partly
I am also glad I got the map pack off humble bundle, can help me plan the basics of where everything is.
Since magic still useful i can suggest the implementation of magic Cristal as a source of power for the mechanical device
Each Cristal have a unique effect like ice Cristal will be for cooling system, fire Cristal to Heating Boilers, lighting Cristal to illumination, and other.
As for race you can implement the half golem from ultimate psionic
A few suggestions: Mecha isn't a good concept for Pathfinder. Especially since the 'mech' either replaces a character's stats, or acts just like normal equipment. Having men leading units of clockwork soldiers and a variety of grades of clockworks works better in Pathfinder as they are just more monsters. (it also means the PCs aren't constantly trying to sell captured mecha)
Instead have the Empire invest heavily on Clockworks. Look into Poppets. Have it be common that workers and guards have poppets and CR 1 clockworks at their disposal. Have the clockworks be powered by 'morally objectionable power source 1' that the entire empire commonly uses.
Lets talk about 'morally objectionable power source 1'. I think it gives more of an impact if there is a daily life object that sets the undertone for the Empire. Like you could have the Empire say they are the 'Saviors of Humanity' and 'Leaders of the Golden Crusade' who use demon blood as a power source, farmed in the Abyss and processed in their own version of the World Wound turned into a factory to process demon corpses.
Of course the Empire never mentions that Clockworks aren't used in the Abyss due to Demonic Possession, and that thousands of young men are lost each year in the quest to harvest demons.
Or you could make it sap from the World Tree. Fae Bones. Sky Whale Oil. Souls (human or non). Making it 'coal' just means digging holes which doesn't have much impact to it.
Since Pathfinder jumped to much tech it's reasonable that the mecha concept of clockwork apply.
Pathfinder apply a futuristic tech in numeria, an the most advanced technology is the gun power created by normal means.
So by this the concept of steam it's reasonable, and if he wants to apply mech like jistka and numeria they are so advanced from they time, so the application of clockwork and steam is reasonably in the slow tech of the world
Soul power is an Idea, reminds me of Zoids Genesis where the Bio Zoid pilots were human souls stripped out of bodies to power and pilot the mecha. Except I am thinking the Empire would use "Lesser Races" for that as well as destitute mixed-blood humans, half elves, demi humans Orphans perhaps. By using their charity hospitals, orphanages, and propaganda, they could hide the true purpose. And by actually treating the patients, and only harvesting the souls with the strongest magic, they could supplement other methods of creating and charging the crystals. That could be also where the kinder bestial come from, soul magic experiments on interrupting the natural cycle of souls..I think if I'd place some kind of world wound...I'd place it...under their largest floating citadel, a massive and ancient structure built up over millennia. And only reachable by air now because of the monster infestation of the grounds below. And less of a canyon and more of a blistering sore, at times resembling a volcano, other times a bubbling mass with a deep pit in the center.
Thing is I don't want them to be like traditional contructs. I was thinking something more like the android race rather than something that doesn't need to eat, breathe, sleep, etc.
Dwarves will still use coal, because miners, and it makes sense for them. I also need a name for the world. If only I was better at freaking naming things., I name my Pokemon by basing their name off of the first 1 or 2 syllables of their species name unless I can pick a theme of some kind.
CeilYurei wrote: Soul power is an Idea, reminds me of Zoids Genesis where the Bio Zoid pilots were human souls stripped out of bodies to power and pilot the mecha. Except I am thinking the Empire would use "Lesser Races" for that as well as destitute mixed-blood humans, half elves, demi humans Orphans perhaps. By using their charity hospitals, orphanages, and propaganda, they could hide the true purpose. And by actually treating the patients, and only harvesting the souls with the strongest magic, they could supplement other methods of creating and charging the crystals. That could be also where the kinder bestial come from, soul magic experiments on interrupting the natural cycle of souls..I think if I'd place some kind of world wound...I'd place it...under their largest floating citadel, a massive and ancient structure built up over millennia. And only reachable by air now because of the monster infestation of the grounds below. And less of a canyon and more of a blistering sore, at times resembling a volcano, other times a bubbling mass with a deep pit in the center.
Thing is I don't want them to be like traditional contructs. I was thinking something more like the android race rather than something that doesn't need to eat, breathe, sleep, etc.
If the soul some kind of fuel I suggest you create 2 empire 1 who use soul as a fuel and other who don't because in my point of view using soul it's evil
Zepheri wrote: CeilYurei wrote: Soul power is an Idea, reminds me of Zoids Genesis where the Bio Zoid pilots were human souls stripped out of bodies to power and pilot the mecha. Except I am thinking the Empire would use "Lesser Races" for that as well as destitute mixed-blood humans, half elves, demi humans Orphans perhaps. By using their charity hospitals, orphanages, and propaganda, they could hide the true purpose. And by actually treating the patients, and only harvesting the souls with the strongest magic, they could supplement other methods of creating and charging the crystals. That could be also where the kinder bestial come from, soul magic experiments on interrupting the natural cycle of souls..I think if I'd place some kind of world wound...I'd place it...under their largest floating citadel, a massive and ancient structure built up over millennia. And only reachable by air now because of the monster infestation of the grounds below. And less of a canyon and more of a blistering sore, at times resembling a volcano, other times a bubbling mass with a deep pit in the center.
Thing is I don't want them to be like traditional contructs. I was thinking something more like the android race rather than something that doesn't need to eat, breathe, sleep, etc.
If the soul some kind of fuel I suggest you create 2 empire 1 who use soul as a fuel and other who don't because in my point of view using soul it's evil I was gonna have an allience who didn't use souls for power. thought what would be ironic is you could argue it's on a spectrum because "are you using evil souls?" and stuff and meanwhile there is literally a festering hole in the world and the fabric of reality that is barely being contained.
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