They work best, naturally, on foggy nights, or other misty locations; your first clue there is of a faint red glow in the vapor, which abruptly resolves into the Steamwalker itself, eyes blazing like windows into the fiery pits of damnation. Go to Comment
Glad to have been of inspiration to you. The world needs more steampunk, in my opinion.
Yes; the storytelling bit at the beginning is meant entirely to show how these things behave in practice. When they first show up... Players will expect them to behave like the undead in some fashion. When it suddenly moves in and tears into the guy holding a stolen item, or who was picking a lock, it'll undoubtedly startle them, even more so when it just shrugs off any holy effects. Of course, if the party hasn't actively attacked it by the time it finishes off the criminal, it just turns and walks off... It can be really compelling if it they catch it tearing into a NPC criminal in the middle of the night, outside their bedroom window. Go to Comment
Lets keep the undead, and things that look like them, in the realm of fantasy. Is there even one movie where at the end of the story, the protagonist says Thank Goodness we had these Robot-Zombies? Go to Comment
We should do that in real life to our murderers and sex criminals. And maybe turn captured Iraqi resistence fighters into these things too *evil grin* Go to Comment
I like it. The creep factor could probably be turned up a bit more for extra effect when actually used. I also like the explicit inclusion of, "These are not undead, they merely have similarities." Go to Comment
An excellent piece (and I dont say that just because you credit me...). In a steamfantasy setting, it is also quite logical. Why construct a golem or automaton from scratch when you already have ready-made frames, with all the necessary hinges and articulation - and in great abundance to boot? And I do love the idea of this being a worse-than-death sentence. Not only are you executed, but your remains will be desecrated and forced to serve the very society that killed you.... Mmm, delicious irony..:)
Excellent! Well-thought, and well-explained. I shall be using steamwalkers in my game (and that, I believe, is the highest compliment one can receive on a sub). I have a thief PC who's been getting a little too cocky lately, and the next strange city he visits... Go to Comment
I just stumbled upon this entry and it alone did two things for me...
1. Cause me to sign up so I could get active in this community.
2. Mothball the current d20 modern campaign and kick start that steampunk campaign I first started working on back when I first got into Hordes/Warmachine.
Very nicely written. The small piece at the start sets the mood perfectly and shows just how creepy these things are. The other great thing about them is that my PC's will assume they're undead and waste turnings and other holy items on them. Can't wait to get started with these :) Go to Comment
Acheron is my sci-fi setting, which is relatively hard science; the chief exception being the superluminal skip-drive that lets the system be linked together relatively quickly, out to roughly a light-month or so; you can expect to see more of it showing up periodically.
Siren's already declared his glee at a semi-completed NPC for the setting. Go to Comment
This potent drug is, amusingly enough, the byproduct of a thaumatechnologic process; many factory owners produce the base, unrefined form of the drug, flushing it away nightly as unwanted thaumic pollution, unaware that the clear, vicious sludge washing down the drain is worth more than the rest of their operations combined. It is this alone that keeps the supply of the drug limited, as producers closely guard their secret.
Godsweat is, at the most basic form, thaumic energy distilled into a fluid form. By itself, it has little application, although a Mage may tap it for a boost of power, and a Whisp can happily feed on even a small dose for an extended period. Properly refined, however, it becomes a clear, slightly viscous fluid that has several potent effects, not the least of which is the intense euphoria that accompanies use.
The benefits of Godsweat are enhanced strength and speed, sharpened senses, and wildly creative surges that make the drug popular with athletes, artisans, and thugs alike. Mages also find that the refined form amplifies their spellcasting talent, insulating them from the risk of overloading themselves for a short time.
The detrimental effects are wild and powerful mood swings and the hazard of sensory overload while under the drug's effects; depression and a feeling of sensory deprivation upon coming off the high, as well as a vulnerability to thaumic effects for a short time; and repeated use risks psychological trauma and disease similar to that which can result from long-term exposure to thaumic pollution. Go to Comment
The former. I expect the residents generally make it something like a part of their birthday celebrations; honoring another year of life and light by adding to the Cathedral.
I also expect that in other places, such as Tarralein, there's slang along the lines of 'trying to make a Cathedral' to refer to some overly massive and grand project someone is trying to accomplish; the wealthy baron trying to build a fifty-story-tall statue of himself as a 'present to the city' is the kind of thing. Go to Comment
Lifeforms (Constructed) (City/ Ruin)