RPG Carnival: Steampunk & Klokwerks

This month I managed to snag that traveling caravan of gypsies and vagabonds called the RPG Blog Carnival and had them pitch tents outside the Labs.  Last month Roleplaying Pro hosted the carnival and presented the topic, The Future of Roleplaying.  This month the RPG Carnival is dressed in grand Victorian (and Edwardian) style, are firing up the gaslamps, and donning brass goggles in preparation for this months topic:
Steampunk & Klokwerks
Steamnocchio by Fabricio Moraes
Steamnocchio by Fabricio Moraes, CGS Image Master Award winner
Steampunk, like most genres, is difficult to define.  I deem Steampunk anything set in an era with older than current technology, that uses that older technology (usually steam-powered contraptions, elaborate clockwork, or even harnessing electricity from lightning) to create modern inventions that would not normally be considered possible with that technology.  Steam-powered computers, clockwork automatons, and lightning powered Tesla coils are good examples of such anachronistic inventions.
Many considered the Victorian and Edwardian eras are prime time periods for Steampunk because steam engines were in use.  The fashion of those eras are iconic imagery that many Steampunk creations use.  Where Steampunk has come to represent the setting of anachronistic tech, Klokwerks is limited to using clock escapements, weights, and counter-balance to create inventions.
I’ve talked about Steampunk before and it’s one of my favorite flavors of SF/Fantasy, so I figured I’d unleash the subject on the RPG blogosphere and see what kinds of great things our talented community comes up with.  I would like to leave it that and not place further constraints on the topic, but for any bloggers that prefer concrete examples, here are some things that would be interesting to contribute:
  • Adventures/Hooks
  • Characters
  • Classes/Abilities/Powers
  • Costuming/Fashion
  • Encounters
  • Equipment
  • Feats
  • Game Props
  • Locations
  • Media Resources
  • Monsters
  • Opinion Essays
  • Skill Challenges
  • Societies
  • Theory & Design
  • Worldbuilding/Setting

I hope to see some great contributions to this month’s RPG Blog Carnival.  Contributors, please be sure to leave a comment with a link back to your posts in case trackbacks do not register.  I’ll post a round-up of all the contributing articles within the first week of July.

Listening to: Vernian Process – Steam Age Symphony – Ironworks

46 thoughts on “RPG Carnival: Steampunk & Klokwerks

  1. @The Last Rogue: Awesome, looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

    @Greywulf: Hehe, those are some beautiful pieces, please pass my compliments along to the lady.

  2. @Helmsman: Abney Park, I’d love to see those guys live, too bad I haven’t seen any tour dates in the Midwest.

    @Shinobicow: Awesome, can’t wait to see them (and I hope you place in the competition).

  3. http://www.roleplayingpro.com/2009/06/02/visualizing-steampunk-klokwerks-steamboy-the-movie/

    I don’t have a lot of experience with steampunk, other than a little Deadlands. I did recently watch a movie called Steamboy that I thought was surprisingly good. I think for people like me who need help visualizing settings like this can find a lot of help by watching movies like this, watching TV shows, and reading books related to steampunk.

    Samuel Van Der Wall’s last blog post..The Future Of Roleplaying Roundup

  4. I’m running a campaign in a world in which the steam age merged into magic based on infernal conjuring. The basic outline is here and some of the tech is here.

    The basic campaign idea I refer to as “Compromise and Conceit” and my blog has a tag for hunting it down. I am currently running a campaign in 18th century America (during the war of independence) but have previously done a purely Victorian campaign that was a lot of fun. There is a vision for this world from the era of Shakespeare onward, and kind of like the Flashman novels I aim to run campaigns in all the most famous historical junctures of the western world (Plus some others).

    This month’s RPG Blog carnival is a perfect chance to show it off to the rest of you… steampunk meets magic, just like in Bas Lag. Hope you like it…

    faustusnotes’s last blog post..Current viewing: Let the Right One In

  5. The idea of this is simply to write a blog post on the topic of Steampunk, right?

    If so, this is perfect timing… I’ve just started work on a Steampunk setting, possibly for Risus, and I’m putting things up on my blog as I go.

    Nathan Abrahams’s last blog post..*punk begins!

  6. Pingback: Gears of the Golden Golem | UncleBear
  7. I’d just like to thank everyone that has responded so far. I will give some commentary on everything contributed when I do my end-of-the-month roundup. Glad to see Steampunk getting some love!

  8. Pingback: Akronos World » Blog Archive » Steampunk Mage – A Paragon Path - A Fantasy World Building Project
  9. Hi!

    I just finished my contribution to this month’s blog carnival. Alas it’s not as meaty as I hoped it to be, but perhaps some people can get some inspiration for a campaign out of it or at least someone discovers Girl Genius for the first time. It’s a great steampunk comic series!

    Huh, I almost forgot the link to the post: http://www.stargazersworld.com/2009/06/29/girl-genius/

    P.S.: I’ll try to come up with some more GG-related stuff in the future
    .-= Stargazer´s last blog ..Girl Genius! =-.

  10. Some more of my Steampunk posts for the month:

    Steamguns & Blackpowder Clockworks – Rules
    http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/steamguns-and-blackpowder-clockworks-rules/

    Steamguns & Blackpowder Clockworks – Magical Arms
    http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/steamguns-and-blackpowder-clockworks-magical-arms/

    DragonMech – Moruth Ironbeard, Steampunk Cyborg
    http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/dragonmech-moruth-ironbeard-steampunk-cyborg/
    .-= Dyson Logos´s last blog ..[DragonMech] Moruth Ironbeard, steampunk cyborg =-.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.