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EditorAdrian Bott

Development and LayoutRichard Neale

Additional TextAlejandro Melchor

Cover Art Scott Clark

Interior Illustrations Eric Bergeron, Jim Brady, Stephen Cook, Anthea Dilly, Kythera, John McSweeny, Pete Slough,

Ronald Smith, Sami Walu & Leo Winstead

Studio Manager Ian Barstow

Production Manager Alexander Fennell

PlaytestingMark Gedak, Kent Little, Murry Perry, Patrick A. Kossmann, Tammy Gedak, Mark Howe, Mark Sizer, Daniel Scothorne, Mark Billanie, Micheal Young, Alan Moore, Daniel Haslam, Jamie Godfrey, James Sparling, Shannon Sparling, Shannon Sparling, Jimi Braun, Jason

Thornton, Bill 'Urklore' Schwartz

Proofreading Richard Ford, Ian Finch, Fred Herman, Sarah

Quennell & Lucya Szachnowski

OGL Steampunk is 2004 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. OGL Steampunk is

presented under the Open Game License. See page 304 for the text of this licence. With the exception of boxed story text and character names, character creation rules detailing the mechanics of assigning dice roll results to attributes and the character advancement rules detailing the effects of applying experience, all text within OGL Steampunk is declared

as open content. Printed in Canada.

August HahnContents

Introduction 2Character Background 7Classes & Vocations 28Skills 68Feats & Traits 104Equipment & Wealth 132A World Of Adventure 166The Power of Steam 223The Occult 263Index 301License 304

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iimagine a world where computers were developed a century before their time, powered by levers and steam engines instead of microprocessors or even light bulbs; a world where the zeppelin never went out of fashion as new technology made it safer and faster; where brave men and women explored a yet undiscovered world to find the wondrous ruins of lost civilisations or entrances to entirely new worlds; where the mysterious age of magic is slowly fading away to usher in an age of jaded, even cynical reason. This is the world of Steampunk, a shadowy subgenre of fantasy and science fiction that is more devoted to marrying the possible with the improbable than to exploring the future or exploring fantastic themes. Steampunk investigates a fantasy past that might have been, had some things happened a little differently.

The Age That Never Was (And Should Have Been)

Steampunk as a genre grew from revisiting the old scientific romance novels, such as the likes of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Time Machine and The Lost World, which took the spirit of progress, exploration and exploitation prevalent during the 19th Century and translated it into stories of speculation, wonder and excitement. As literature that explored the future as moulded by progress, the scientific romance is the great-grandfather of modern science fiction. At its core, Steampunk is a look back at those times through the eye of imagination.

Steampunk either takes a typical world of the fantasy genre and changes it by adding the darker elements of science and invention, or investigates alternate worlds where technology took a different turn than it has in ours. The subgenre of Steampunk fantasy adds its own ingredients of magic and mythical elements to such a world. In essence, Steampunk is about playing in an age that was not, but could have been.

RetrotechSteampunk stories are dominated by strange technology and weird science. While hard science-fiction bases its principles on proven or theoretical science in our time such as quantum physics and the advances in biotechnology, Steampunk takes a look backwards at the early advances in scientific and technological inspiration.

In the Victorian epoch, phenomena like electricity are beginning to be fully understood, steam and mechanics move most of the ages machinery and telecommunications are being born in the form of the telegraph. One can look even further back; consider that if early inventors had received sufficient funding, the first computer could have been created in feudal times, especially if a Dark Ages

period never occurred. What kind of world may have evolved from networked computing based on clicking machines and mechanical modems? Such are the kinds of questions that you can answer in Steampunk.

Technology in a Steampunk setting is either stylish and elegant or incredibly clunky, using basic mechanisms and primitive wiring to achieve the levels of performance for which modern technology would need far less space, with a wildly different appearance to boot. Brass tubes, wooden handles and incandescent lamps (also known as light bulbs) replace fibre optics, touch screens and LEDs as the materials of choice for machinery. Steam-powered cars roam the streets while monstrous airships crawl through the skies. All the while, the people lost through the cracks in the modern world scratch out a living in the shadows of a concrete nightmare.

The Fantastic and the OccultAnother common element of many Steampunk stories is the presence of magic and the supernatural. In the backdrop of scientific progress, magic begins to enjoy a renaissance, with mediums and magicians practicing a dying art while humanoids wrestle with their own inventions in the wild. Secret societies organise rituals to contact occult powers from beyond time and the stronger communication with distant lands opens the way for an influx of exotic cultural imports, including grossly misunderstood traditions and beliefs.

Magic and the occult are so prevalent that they mingle with science, with the most prominent example being the minds psychic potential. Magic is a palpable reality that the heroes of the day must discover and contend with. Cultists seek to awaken the power of ancient races, alchemists use arcane formulae to power their infernal devices and creatures of legend walk alongside the human occupants of major cities, either adopting the science of the day or enslaved because of it.

The Great MalaiseAbove all, the feeling that dominates Steampunk is a sense of despair, a certainty that while any challenge can doubtless be defeated through ingenuity, this will always be achieved at a terrible cost. The scientific worldview saw Nature more as an enemy to be conquered than as an ally; in the worlds of Steampunk, this is precisely what it has done. There was a pervading sense of adventure, in which the world offered untold opportunities for discovery and exploration; in the aftermath, the great challenges have come and gone. Following a period of relative stability, the dominant people of the fantasy world had a chance to look around and see what surrounded them. They reached out their grasp to chart what had remained unexplored until,

introductionintroduction

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assuming that they had discovered everything, they turned their backs on the rest of the world. In the face of infinite possibility, cities are becoming increasingly cut off.

However, the tangible world is not the only one where Steampunk has spread its dark influence. Interest in magic and the supernatural has become rampant, trying to fill the remaining darkness that science cannot completely illuminate. At the same time, the power of science is swiftly crushing the life from magic by making many of the latters wonders easier to replicate for the common man. Why would an orc shaman waste years of its short life learning to cast a magical missile spell when it could just carry a rune cannon?

Lastly, exploration and discovery brings the people of Steampunk into conflict with other cultures. The most common response when facing a weaker, apparently uncivilised people is, after all, to conquer them and expand the empire. In their hunger to learn about new things, the people of a Steampunk world incorporate, misinterpret and import wholesale aspects of foreign cultures, mostly in the realms of art and culture, as foreign sciences are seen as somewhat inferior if they do not offer clear advantages and improvements over the disciplines already mastered. In this way, even in the wake of amazing new sciences and inventions, the old stresses of elf versus man, man versus orc, and all versus the monsters of the night are not just perpetuated. They are heightened by science to an apocalyptic degree.

Progress and its FlipsideAdvances in investigation as well as invention bring forth a great number of tools and theories that optimise industry and society. Industrialists recite the word progress as a religious mantra and it is in the name of progress that Steampunks most wonderful inventions emerge from their creators labs. The problem is that so-called progress often has quite unsavoury consequences. Very little is shiny brass and polished wood in the world of OGL Steampunk; steeped in the advances of a medieval Industrial Revolution, this technological progress has also given rise to abuse and exploitation.

Industrial machinery is hungry for labour and resources and social progress has lagged painfully behind technological advances. This clash between moral and economic principle is one with which all citizens of a Steampunk world will constantly be confronted. A Steampunk story can be about the struggle to resist the iron fangs of industry just as it can be about exploration, replacing wonder with despair, liberation with oppression, undiscovered virgin land with claustrophobic corridors. This dark contrast is also part of the genre and it usually provides the punk factor to the steam element. Steampunk is more often about man against the machine than man and machine in harmony.

Empire and ExpansionJust as the Industrial Revolution is one of the main backdrops of Steampunk, imperialism is another fundamental tenet of the old scientific romances. People the sylvan expanses of the fantasy Steampunk world with elves who refuse to give up their ancestral homes and wield magic powers beyond humans ken alongside mountain dwarves who compete with humans for the mining of resources; there you have all the makings of a dark epic about expansion and imperialism set amid toxic clouds of steam, smoke and burning blood.

What Empire provides is a platform for stories, a safe place from which characters can jump into the unknown. Danger does lurk even inside the Empire, but the institution itself is what is important. If danger is outside, the Empire provides the comforting existence of King and Country. If the danger exists within, then Empire is what must be preserved against the forces of internal chaos that threaten to tear it apart. When the tables are turned and the characters are not citizens of the Empire, it then becomes the monolithic enemy, the oppressor whose ravenous advances must be stopped or at least curbed, if the characters want to preserve their way of life.

The notion of Empire is tied with a drive for expansion and colonisation, whether the colonies are in the jungles of some primitive nation, the canals of a distant world in another dimension, or the lost valleys of the forsaken elves. While not impacting directly on the doings of the characters most of the time, imperial expansionism will create many situations that do. Angry natives whose land Empire encroaches upon will not react well to members of the Empire, whatever their intentions.

What is a Roleplaying Game?In general terms, it is a game where you and a group of players build a story together. Specifically, you assume the role of a character, while one of the players (which could be you as well) becomes the Games Master, the person in charge of running the narrative by playing all the secondary characters and steering the games story along.

In OGL Steampunk, each player creates a character following the outlines in the following chapters and the Games Master prepares a story in which the characters will be the protagonists. Either as a group effort or by trusting the Games Masters imagination, you design a setting in which the stories will take place, whether it is the darkest Steampunk era imaginable with weird scientific advances and constantly raging war, or a parallel world similar to Earth with similar developments. This book will give you all the pieces of the puzzle you need to craft your own Steampunk adventures and tell you how to mix and match them.

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What You Need to PlayA roleplaying game is not like any board game. For one thing, there is no board! It is played entirely in your imagination. However, there are some things you need in order to start playing.

A copy of this book. The OGL Steampunk book contains all the rules and information you need to play. You may want to have extra copies for all players but this is not strictly necessary.

One copy of the character sheet for each player. See the back of the book for this. On the character sheet, you write down all the information that defines the character, such as his abilities, skills, equipment and other special features like magic and mechanical companions, if the setting allows them. You will find the character sheet at the end of this book and you can make as many copies as you need.

Dice. The main tool of a roleplaying game, you need at least one set of dice which includes a four-sided die (d4), a six-sided die (d6), an eight-sided die (d8), a ten-sided die (d10), a seldom-used twelve-sided die (d12) and the very important twenty-sided die (d20). Each player may want to have his own dice set, so that curses and maledictions due to bad luck are more personalised.

As an option, you can use figures to represent the characters, so that you know where everyone is during a combat scene. Likewise, the tactically minded may want a battlemat or a flat grid to measure the movement of characters and vehicles. Music is likewise recommended for setting the mood and if you expect your game to last for more than a couple of hours, food and drinks are also good to have around.

Basic RulesThe core of a roleplaying game is the way that characters perform tasks like climbing a rope, building a clockwork automaton, piloting an airship through a storm, reading the future with a psychic power, shooting a rune rifle at a rampaging centaur, avoiding a falling boulder, chanting the words of a magic ritual accurately or fighting with a sword. The rules of OGL Steampunk assume a standardised system for determining the success or failure of any given task. That core mechanic is:

d20 + Modifiers vs. Target Number, usually referred to as Difficulty Class or DC

The game uses a simple task resolution method in which you roll a d20 (a twenty-sided die) to see if the character succeeds at any sort of task. When used for resolving tasks besides attack rolls and saving throws, this test is referred to as a check and this title is thus applied to skill checks, ability checks and caster checks, on which there will be more information later.

The type of task determines the Modifiers and the Difficulty Class. If the result of the d20 roll plus the Modifiers equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class, the test is successful. Any other result is a failure. Other than in combat situations, a natural 20 on the die roll is not an automatic success and a natural 1 on the die roll is not an automatic failure. See the chapter titled A World of Adventure for more details on automatic hits and misses.

You may also need to roll other kinds of dice as described in the rules. The game uses the following notations to determine the type and number of dice you need to roll for any given result:

d4 = four-sided die d6 = six-sided die d8 = eight-sided die d10 = ten-sided die d12 = twelve-sided die d20 = twenty-sided die d% = percentile dice

When there is a number before the d, it means that you must roll that number of dice of that type and add the results together, so 2d4 means you roll two four-sided dice, while 5d6 means that you roll five six-sided dice. When the die designation is followed by a plus or minus (+ or -) sign and a number, it means that you add or subtract that amount from the final die result. In this case, 3d8-4 means that you roll three eight-sided dice, adding together each dies result and then subtract four.

MultipliersCertain modifications to dice rolls exist within the rules that multiply the result instead of adding a set number or an addition die or dice to a roll. These are listed as x2 or some other multiplication value. Multipliers apply to every numeric modifier and to the basic dice involved in the roll but not to additional dice added as a modifier to the roll.

For example, if Heshia has an runic ring of iron-biting fitted on her ornithopters cannon (3d6 damage) which doubles projectile weapon damage against metallic armour types, plus a special shell type that adds 2d6 explosive damage to every shot, then a single attack against an ironclad ship would do the weapons usual 3d6 damage multiplied by 2 plus the 2d6 explosive damage, for a grand total of 6d6 ballistic damage plus 2d6 explosive damage.

Multipliers can stack but regardless of their values, they always stack in a specific way. When a check or value has two or more multipliers, the highest value multiplier is kept and every additional multiplier increases the first ones value by 1. For example, if Gearbolt the automaton were to score a critical hit with his voltaic claws (a 1d4 +1d8 electrical attack, doubled by the critical hit) on a person armoured with a jacket that has a special vulnerability that multiplied all electrical damage by x3,

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any successful attack would inflict 4 times (x3 modified to x4 by the additional x2 critical modifier) the normal damage, not 5 times.

OGL Steampunks Game Concepts

The following is a list of the most common basic concepts used throughout this book. You will find the full explanation in the proper chapters and may reference this list for quick clarification.

Ability: A quality that describes the innate talent of a character. The six abilities are Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence (Int), Wisdom (Wis) and Charisma (Cha).

Amazing (Machine): A piece of machinery created through revolutionary science and technology. Types of amazing machines are automata, equipment, personal weapons, structures, vehicles and vehicle mounted artillery weapons.

Bonus: A positive modifier.

Check: A die roll intended to resolve whether a character succeeds or fails at a given task. Ability checks roll a d20 and add an ability modifier, while skill checks roll a d20 and add the appropriate skill bonus.

Challenge Rating (CR): The measure of how difficult it is to defeat a particular encounter. The higher the CR, the harder it is to overcome the encounter but the richer the rewards will be, should you be victorious.

Class (character class): An archetype a character follows that describes his general aptitudes and abilities. The seven archetypal character classes in OGL Steampunk are the adventurer, the investigator, the genius, the journeyman, the occultist, the scoundrel and the noble.

Class Feature/Class Ability: A special ability or power that a character gains when he reaches a particular level in a character class.

Descriptor: A label that defines a particular subset of a power, a creature, a type of damage or other general concepts. Descriptors are used to determine how certain abilities affect each other.

Difficulty Class (DC): The target number that a d20 roll, along with the appropriate modifiers, must equal or exceed for a task to be considered successful.

Encounter: A particular challenge that characters meet and must overcome. Encounters can be combat, action or social in nature and most of them award experience points.

Experience (and experience points, XP): A measure of what a character has learned in the course of his adventures and how much stronger in his ways he has grown. Characters gain experience points by defeating challenges, adding the points together to make a running total. When this total reaches a specific number, they gain a new level.

Feat: A special ability or quality that a character gains by virtue of his birth, talent, training or other circumstance. A character gains feats at character creation and at every three character levels. The various character classes grant additional bonus feats to characters who belong to them.

Games Master: The player in charge of running the game, controlling Non-Player Characters, resolving disputes and adjudicating results.

Level: A measure of advancement or power relative to other similar areas in the game. A character reaches or gains class and character levels as he gains experience.

Modifier: A value that adds or subtracts a number to and from a die roll. Modifiers of the same kind or which have the same descriptors do not stack together; that is to say, the highest such modifier is used instead of adding them together. See Stacking, below.

Non-Player Character: A character created and controlled by the Games Master, as opposed to a Player Character.

Penalty: A negative modifier.

Player Character: A character created and controlled by one of the players.

Racial Trait: A special kind of class feature, the racial trait is an ability or power that a character chooses from a list determined by his race. He makes these choices at the class levels that indicate that he can choose either a vocation talent or a racial trait.

Race (character race): A characters race does not represent ethnicity but rather a wholesale species. In mundane Steampunk games, the only character race available is human. In more exotic settings, a character may be a hybrid, that is, a crossbreed of animal and human; a construct, or sentient mechanical creature; a revenant, such as a vampire or ghost; or even a member of the faerie race, such as an elf or dwarf.

Saving Throw (save): A special d20 roll made to avoid in full or in part some sort of damage or harm. The three different saving throws are Reflex, Fortitude and Will.

Skill: An area of expertise, in which a character has devoted time to learn or train, which he continues to improve with practice. A character gains skill points during character creation and every time he gains a level. These points can

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There it was again. The grinding sound of metal on metal came from close by. They could not see it, but the orc was still out there.

Damn it, dont they ever get tired? Everyone in the tunnel was thinking the same thing but it was Heshia that gave harsh voice to their frustration. She had a hard time holding her tongue on a good day, and this was definitely not a good day. I thought even orcs had to sleep sometime.

Jerrek looked at the faces of his companions and knew what they were all thinking now. The thing stomping around outside was exactly what they were here to stop. The City Fathers had hoped to transport them here before the orcs had completed their first prototype but they had failed. So much for the elves and their vaulted ripple gates. Science in harmony with the land, his ass, he thought. All the magic had done was to save them all shoe leather. Either the gate had still lost them time or the orcs were much further ahead of schedule than the City Fathers had believed. Either way

Quiet! hissed Knife, the teams scout. He was so far back behind the group that even Jerreks goggles could only barely make him out in this gloom. I thought I heard something. Hang on.

Knife moved just out of visual range, checking out the bend in the sewage tunnel behind them. This was a tight, murky corridor with the stench of its previous purpose still lingering strong in the air. When the orcs took Helmhold seven years ago, they did so much damage with their sky-bombs that the undercity collapsed and took most of the sewers with it. That meant these tunnels were unused, giving Jerrek and his team a way in that would not be seen by the orcs sentinels.

He chanced one more peek out of the small culvert leading into the broken street above. All he could see was the rusted iron surface of a massive metal foot inches away from his face. It had three large toes and a wicked back spike for balance. The huge joints on the toes gave it the almost elegant appearance of a metal birds talons but Jerrek was willing to bet the rest of the monstrosity was anything but graceful. As Jerrek watched, holding his breath, he saw the thing begin to move away slowly. Each step shook the ground around him. The juggernaut moved off at an angle that kept him from seeing it in any more detail. No matter, he did not need it. His own metal arm was testament enough to what those things could do.

There was a sound of sudden, hurried movement.

As one, the group below all turned to watch Knife as he returned from the tunnels, but soon realised it was not Knife that they could hear approaching. It was a single set of footfalls echoed dozens of times. By the time they recognised the noise for what it was, the jag-jawed things were around the corner and on top of them.

Ironrats! shouted Heshia as she hefted her rune guns towards the vicious shapes emerging out of the shadows.

No firing! If that thing outside hears us, we are worg-meat! Jerrek pulled back his axe and swung a massive arc through the mutated rats. From the blood and gore dripping off their metal fangs, he took a grim guess at what must have happened to Knife. Damn. Looks like the orcs didnt forget about the sewers after all.

be used to buy skill ranks, which are the measure of his experience in that skill. The total skill bonus equals the number of ranks plus the key ability modifier.

Stacking: Stacking is the addition together of two or more modifiers of the same kind. Most modifiers do not stack. Instead, the largest modifier of the given kind is applied. For example, if you have a +2 morale bonus to a skill check from one source and a +1 morale bonus to the same check from another source, then you only have a +2 morale bonus to the check, not a +3 morale bonus. The only modifiers that do stack under normal circumstances

are circumstance modifiers, representing the influence of outside factors, and dodge modifiers.

Talent (vocation talent): A special kind of class feature, the vocation talent is an ability or power that a character chooses from a list depending on the vocations available for his class.

Vocation: A specific calling a character can follow within his class. A vocation determines a characters specific abilities within the general description of his class.

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Character Creation SummaryCreating a character for OGL Steampunk is both simple and involving, as the players choose from the various options open to them.

Decide on the Characters Concept: This is the most important phase of character creation, in which the players imagine their characters and think of what and who they want them to be. The classes, vocations, skills, feats and traits are simply ways for players to make their characters into what they have pictured in their minds, whether this is a brave explorer of the wild or a mysterious occultist delving into the secrets of magic.

Generate Ability Scores: Choose a method for generating the characters six ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.

Spend Background Points: Use background points to decide on the characters background, from his race to any initial traits that point towards his upbringing and natural talents.

Choose a Class and Vocation: Choose a character class and a starting vocation that will give a character his starting abilities and powers.

Choose Skills and Feats: Spend skill points granted by traits and character class and purchase feats; one feat for all starting characters, one extra feat for humans.

Calculate Total Values: Use all the information from the choices taken to calculate the different derived values. These include such variables as Defence Value, armour damage reduction, melee attack bonus, ranged attack bonus, initiative, saving throw bonuses, skill bonuses and wealth.

ccharacters in OGL Steampunk have a number of characteristics that set them apart from each other, even if they practice the same profession. This ranges from how strong they are or how smart they can be, to which race they belong to and some other features granted by their upbringing and personal past. This chapter presents players with the first options to choose from when making a character for OGL Steampunk.

AbilitiesEvery character in an OGL Steampunk game has six basic abilities. Each one represents some aspect of that characters mental or physical prowess. Some types of creature may possess a non-ability, such as undead monsters and cogs not truly possessing a Constitution score, this being the ability that governs health. In most cases, a character will have a positive value of some kind in each of the six scores, indicating some development, or lack thereof, in that area.

Generating Ability ScoresTo generate characters in an OGL Steampunk game, there is a standard method and three variants. Beginners are encouraged to use the standard method until they get a good feel for how the numbers work and how they affect character actions and chances for success. After that, the variants exist for games that push the envelope in one direction or the other. None of the variant ability score generation methods are available unless the Games Master specifically approves them for use in a campaign. For Games Masters, all of the options listed here are available for creating Non-Player Characters. A Games Master may also assign such ability scores as he sees fit, in the interests of fleshing out the story, so long as he remembers the importance of game balance.

Standard Generation Method: To generate a set of ability scores for a character, roll 4d6 and discard the die with the lowest face value. This will create a score between 3 (all four dice rolling 1) and 18 (three of the four dice coming up as a 6). Being able to remove the lowest number raises the average value of each score and tends to create characters with higher than average abilities. Repeat this procedure five more times. Once you have generated six values in this way, either assign them in the order rolled to the six corresponding ability scores or place them in any order desired until all six numbers have been used.

Hardcore Variant: This method tends to create widely varied ability scores, with random chance as its only guide. Roll 3d6 and assign the numbers, in order, to the six ability scores as listed below. With no ability to skew the results slightly upwards through a discarded die or the flexibility of assigning scores where they will do a desired class or occupation the most good, this method can be very harsh and unforgiving. Some Games Masters, however, do prefer the hard-edged feel of letting the dice fall where they may.

character character backgroundbackground

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Score Modifier Score Modifier1 5 2425 +723 4 2627 +845 3 2829 +967 2 3031 +1089 1 3233 +111011 0 3435 +121213 +1 3637 +131415 +2 3839 +141617 +3 4041 +151819 +4 4243 +162021 +5 4445 +172223 +6 etc.

Heroic Characters Variant: The opposite of the hardcore variant, this option creates heroic characters with unusually high ability scores, in accordance with their role as exceptions to the laws of nature. While there is still some room for low scores in this method, each character created with it will generally have at least one very high ability and potentially more. Ability scores start at a value of 8 and get a bonus equal to 1d10, rolled separately for each statistic. After generation, the values can be moved between the different categories. This method is very flexible, but it can result in more powerful characters than any other generation variant because characters cannot start with any ability score penalties greater than -1.

Point Buy Variant: Like the Heroic Characters Variant, the characters ability scores begin at 8 but no dice are used in this method at all. Instead, the Player has a pool of points with which to buy statistics. Each additional ability score point above 8 costs one point, with scores above 14 costing two pool points per ability point beyond that value. Some character races can later affect these ability scores in both a positive and negative way. The usefulness of a point buy system lies in its potential for customisation and inherent fairness. Each character in the campaign has the same number of pool points to spend and may purchase exactly the scores he wants at whatever value he can afford. We recommend that the starting value of a point pool be set at 30 but this can be adjusted up or down as the Games Master wishes.

Once ability scores are generated, a character needs a character race and class of some kind. The class is optimally one that suits the characters strongest statistics (adventurer for a high Strength, genius for a high Intelligence and so forth) but this is certainly not a requirement. Some Non-Player Characters are better suited with clashing classes, as this can simulate a bumbling dwarven magician barely able to perform the simplest rituals or an elven guard who only maintains his rank in the military through a highly placed relative.

Ability ModifiersEach ability, after changes made because of race, generally has a modifier ranging from 5 to +5. The Ability Modifiers tables show the modifier for each score. Ability score modifiers can range higher than +5, but they cannot go lower than -5 because the status of a creature or object changes when its ability scores drop to 0. See below for further details.

The modifier is the number you apply to the die roll when the character tries to do something related to that ability. You also use the modifier with some numbers that are not die rolls. A positive modifier is called a bonus and a negative modifier is called a penalty.

The AbilitiesEach ability contributes partially to the description of a character and affects some of his actions.

Abilities are not the sum total of a characters personality or capabilities but they do provide the framework around which skills and d20 checks are typically made, making them a very important part of the characters description.

Strength (STR)Strength measures the characters muscular and physical power. Strength also limits the amount of equipment a character can carry.

The Strength modifier applies to:

Melee attack rolls. Damage rolls when using a melee weapon or a

thrown weapon, including a sling. Exceptions: Off-hand attacks receive only one-half the characters Strength bonus, while two-handed attacks receive one and a half times the Strength bonus. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies to attacks made with a bow that is not a composite bow.

Climb, Intimidate (optional), Jump and Swim checks. These are the skills that have Strength as their key ability.

Straightforward Strength checks, for breaking down doors, bursting manacles and the like.

Dexterity (DEX)Dexterity measures hand-eye co-ordination, agility, reflexes and balance. This ability is important for characters who typically wear light or medium armour or no armour at all and for anyone who wants to be a skilled shot.

The Dexterity modifier applies to:

Ranged attack rolls, including those for attacks made with bows, pistols, rifles and other ranged weapons.

Initiative, to determine who acts first in a given situation.

Defence Value, provided that the character can react to the attack.

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Reflex saving throws, for avoiding explosions and other attacks that you can escape by moving quickly.

Balance, Drive, Escape Artist, Hide, Move Silently, Pilot, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Tumble and Use Rope checks. These are the skills that have Dexterity as their key ability.

Constitution (CON)Constitution represents the characters health and stamina. A Constitution bonus increases a characters hit points, so the ability is important for all classes. Since survival depends on Constitution, it is a must for the characters that have fallen between the cracks of a steam-powered world.

The Constitution modifier applies to:

Each roll of a Hit Die, though a penalty can never drop a result below 1. In other words, a character always gains at least 1 hit point each time he advances in level. If a characters Constitution score changes enough to alter his Constitution modifier, his hit points also increase or decrease accordingly.

Fortitude saving throws, for resisting poison and similar threats.

Concentration checks. Concentration is a skill, important to occultists, that has Constitution as its key ability.

Intelligence (INT)Intelligence determines how well the character learns and reasons. It is important for any character who wants to have a wide assortment of skills. An animal has an Intelligence score of 1 or 2. A creature of humanlike intelligence has a score of at least 3.

The Intelligence modifier applies to:

The number of languages the character knows at the start of the game.

The number of skill points gained each level. The character always gets at least 1 skill point per level, even if he has an ability score penalty for Intelligence.

Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Forgery, Investigate, Knowledge, Navigate, Repair, Research, Ritual and Search checks. These are the skills that have Intelligence as their key ability.

Wisdom (WIS)Wisdom describes a characters willpower, common sense, perception and intuition. While Intelligence represents ones ability to analyse information, Wisdom represents being in tune with and aware of ones surroundings. If a character is to have acute senses, a high score in Wisdom is essential. Every creature has a Wisdom score.

The Wisdom modifier applies to:

Will saving throws, for negating the effect of enticement magic and psychic powers.

Gamble, Listen, Profession, Psychic Control (optional), Sense Motive, Spot, Survival and Treat Injury checks. These are the skills that have Wisdom as their key ability.

Charisma (CHA)Charisma measures a characters force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead and physical attractiveness. This ability represents actual strength of personality, not merely how one is perceived by others in a social setting. Every creature has a Charisma score.

The Charisma modifier applies to:

Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate (optional), Perform and Psychic Control (optional) checks. These are the skills that have Charisma as their key ability.

Checks that represent attempts to influence others.

When an ability score changes, all attributes associated with that score change accordingly. Most of these changes are also retroactive; a character receives or loses additional hit points for previous levels if an increase or decrease in Constitution occurs. One important exception to this retroactive rule regards Intelligence. A character does not retroactively get additional skill points for previous levels if he increases his Intelligence, nor are skill points lost if Intelligence is lowered for any reason.

Ability Score LossVarious attacks cause ability score loss. This can either be ability damage or ability drain. Points lost to ability damage return at the rate of 1 point per day (or double that if the character gets complete bed rest) to each damaged ability and certain chemical or mechanical effects offset ability damage as well. Ability drain, however, is permanent, though some effects can restore even those lost ability score points.

While any loss is debilitating, losing all points in an ability score can be devastating.

Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.

Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid and helpless.

Constitution 0 means that the character is dead. Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot

think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.

Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.

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That was probably the most painful five minutes of his life. As looked over what was left of his team, he reckoned it also the most expensive.

The ironrats had torn Knife and Gailion to shreds and their metal jaws had left deep gashes on the bodies of all the survivors. He grimaced as he poured grain alcohol on his bites. At his lead, the others followed suit. The damnable things were known to eat offal and rotted meat. It was almost guaranteed that the wounds they left would suppurate and become vile with gangrene.

Sound off, people. I need to know whos left and what shape youre in. He did not feel much like being in charge right now but there was no one left for the job. As it was, he would have to pick a new second in command. Damn Gail and his Ill hold them off . Why did the big cat always have to be so brave? Stupid, stupid hybrid

Heshia here. Ill live. That did not surprise Jerrek at all. Very little could quench the elven womans spirits. She was the first one of their kind he had ever seen with even a passing appreciation for machines. Her guns were an obsession. The woman was inseparable from them. When her enthusiasm finally got her killed, Jerrek was determined that he would bury her with them, or else she would probably come out of the grave to get them back.

Thurdin, engineer, wounded but alive. Again, no surprise. He had only worked with a dwarf once before but that one had also been a paragon of endurance. He was quietly confident that there was nothing on this world the dwarves could not take apart and put back together better than before. Personality was another matter. Still, no one on this team actually had to like each other. They just had to follow orders.

Gearbolt reporting, came a metallic din in the corner of the room. I am functional, though my motor functions are impaired by damage in the sixth quadrant. Jerrek looked at the cog and saw that it was referring to a torn joint box on its left hip. The leg was practically dragging and the occasional vent of steam from the ruptured plates meant the mechanical man was losing power. With a quick nod, he sent Thurdin over to repair it.

He took a quick stock of his own wounds, noted that none of them were life threatening and was satisfied. Okay. We are down our scout and some muscle. We can still do this, but well have to change the plan. Can we set the charge under the building instead of forcing our way in through the back?

Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.

Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A characters ability score cannot drop below 0. Having a score of 0 in an ability is different from having no ability score whatsoever. Some effects and abilities impose an effective ability score reduction, which is different from ability score loss. Any such reduction disappears at the end of the effect or abilitys duration and the ability score immediately returns to its former value.

If a characters Constitution score drops, then he loses 1 hit point per Hit Die for every point by which his Constitution modifier drops. A hit point score cannot be reduced by Constitution damage or drain to less than 1 hit point per Hit Die.

Background PointsEvery starting character has 4 background points with which to purchase his background characteristics after generating ability scores. A character can purchase the following with background points.

Race: The characters race varies in cost depending on how powerful it is or the potential it has to become powerful.Ability Point: The character can increase any of his ability scores by 1 at the cost of one background point.Trait: The character can acquire one trait from a trait tree for which his race qualifies. See the Feats and Traits chapter. A character can acquire additional traits as he advances in level. Traits have a variable cost, depending on their power.Bonus Feat: The character can gain one additional feat for which he has the necessary prerequisites. A character can only purchase one extra feat in this way. A bonus feat always costs 1 background point, irrespective of which feat is chosen.

Background PointsCharacteristic CostRace Human 0 Hybrid 1-2 Construct 3 Elf 1 Dwarf 1 Gnome 2 Vampire 3 Ghost 3Ability point 1Trait 1Bonus feat 2

Any background points not spent during character creation are lost. They cannot be stored for later use.

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RacesBe they big or small, all characters have one thing in common; they all belong to a race of some kind.

Monsters, even those with character classes, count as their own racial type and while an elven psychic may have mental powers, he will always be an elf first. Most characters in a standard OGL Steampunk setting fall into one of the basic character races listed in this chapter: human, hybrid, construct, one of the three Eldrath races (elf, gnome and dwarf ) and either of two undead races (vampire and ghost). A Games Master is always free to expand this listing or modify the bonuses and penalties given for the races on it but essential play balance can be achieved by using these racial groups as given. Any modification is best handled on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

Small and Large CharactersCreatures have different sizes, taking normal human stature as Medium-size, although some races offer options to play smaller or larger characters.

A Small character gets a +1 size bonus to his Defence Value, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks. His carrying capacity is three-quarters of that of a Medium-size character. He generally moves about two-thirds as fast as a Medium-size character and must use smaller weapons.

A Large character gets a -1 size penalty to his Defence Value, a -1 size penalty on attack rolls and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks. His carrying capacity is double that of a Medium-size character. He moves as fast as a Medium-size character and must use larger weapons than Medium-size characters. A Large character gains a +4 bonus on grapple checks.

Favoured ClassA characters favoured class does not count against him when determining experience point penalties for multiclassing, for which see pg. 66.

HumansCost: 0 background points

Humans own the world and with every year they claim a little more of it from other races. As diverse in colour as they are in ideology and personality, humans are the driving force of the age of steam thanks to their adaptability and natural curiosity, as well as a seemingly inexhaustible urge to explore both the physical lands beyond the horizon and the intangible boundaries of science and progress.

Personality: To other races, humans appear driven and always on the move. It is this vigour that has helped a race with few other attributes to survive and dominate their environment. As a race, humanity lacks a single defining personality type, as the different scattered people

developed their own customs and values. However, a single trait that worries other races is their drive to conquer and master their surroundings, which has led to the current exploitation of natural resources that fuel the fires of industry.

Physical Description: Humans come in a great variety of builds, ranging from a little below 5 feet to a tad over 6 feet tall, weighing from 125 to 250 pounds and with men being usually taller and heavier than women. Because of constant travel going back through history, humans have acquired a great ethnic variety, with skin tones ranging from fair and pale the further north, to darker complexions further south. Hair ranges from blonde or reddish to auburn and black, with all varieties of thickness. Humans dress according to their cultural customs, although the dominant style of dress is for males to wear some sort of shirt and pants with maybe a tunic and for females to wear dresses and skirts, also with the possibility of tunics and overcoats. Adornments range from the primitive, made with animal remains, to the exquisite, crafted from the finest stones and metals, again, depending on cultural preference.

Relations: Humans have grown haughty with their seemingly unstoppable success and are in a position of dominance over other races. Although racial attitudes are as varied as everything human tends to be, there is a general feeling of superiority towards other races, thanks to the history of constant predation and abuse to which they were subjected by the elves and the marauding undead. Hybrids and Cogs are human creations and therefore most humans see them as servitor races. Occasionally, humans will even deny that these artificial races have sentience.

Human Lands: Empires are the primary human organisation, extending from one corner of the world to the other thanks to breeding rates and innovations. Human institutions change and adapt rapidly in comparison to those of other races and it is the humans who have the largest territories and the ability to manage them. Humans are gregarious, preferring to gather together when they can and as a consequence, their settlements grow almost without control. Large cities have created problems of transport and communication, which have been solved one by one through the clever application of knowledge and technology. The largest cities are cosmopolitan centres where members of all races are at least nominally welcome.

Religion: Humans pursue several religions with varying zeal, although many agree that the age of gods is coming to an end. This is to be replaced by the age of science, in which the answers to the worlds dilemmas are not given by a condescending supreme being but deduced and reasoned through study and rational thought. The role of the ancient gods in contemporary human society is minimal; they are excised from government and relegated to the level of spiritual counsellors and occasional dispensers of

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Jerrek took a moment to consider his reasons for being here.

The orcs were not even threatening his city yet. This whole mission was all dependent upon the word of the City Fathers that they would eventually do so. His people were not the orcs major enemy. Seeing this mission through might be exactly what would turn the orcs iron-ringed eyes towards his kin. He did not want to be in this sewer, planning to blow up a factory that was cranking out weapons designed to kill elves.

Frankly, he thought to himself, with all the grief the elves had caused his people over the years, maybe the City Fathers should be working with the orcs, not against them

small favours. There are fewer devout worshippers blessed with divine magic than ever before, as even magic now obeys set laws that anyone can understand with enough dedication. Secrets that were once abstruse and arcane are now divulged in libraries and texts thanks to the invention of the printing press.

Language: Common is the humans basic language, although higher forms are reserved for nobles and scholars. Human speak is littered with local jargon and borrowed words and expressions from other languages.

Names: The great variety of cultures and customs amongst humanity means that there are no hard and fast rules for naming children that would hold when taken to a neighbouring land. As a result, humans are called nearly anything, with some parents even using elven or dwarven names for their children. The most widespread custom is that parents give their child the name they will bear for the rest of their lives and add to it a family name, with some lands varying the order in which family and given name are spoken.

Characters: Human characters are amongst the most audacious and ambitious, fuelled by their inner drive to excel and succeed at any task. Humans earn glory and fame by championing causes, accumulating wealth, acquiring power and otherwise pushing back the frontiers of achievement.

Racial QualitiesThese are the racial qualities of humans:

Medium: As Medium-size creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Human base land speed is 30 feet. 1 extra feat at 1st level. 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill

point at each additional level. Automatic Language: Common. Bonus

Languages: Any, other than secret languages such as those belonging to druids or special societies. See the Language skill.

Favoured Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, his highest-level class does not count.

HybridsCost: 1 or 2 background points.

Hybrids are a very young race, produced in an early experiment to create life. Although it is unsure whether the original experiment was magical or scientific in nature, the unarguable reality is that it was successful. It produced creatures that were half human and half animal.

The hybrids are no longer created in laboratories, for what with formal breeding programs on the one hand and the efforts of those who ran away and made a life of their own on the other, their population seems to be on the rise. They are mostly dependant on human society to subsist, doing so in the lowest echelons as servants and workers. Ironically, science has moved away from biology towards pure mechanical innovation. Thus, as young as they are, hybrids are already compelled to face the horrible reality of being outdated, redundant and cast aside.

Personality: The temperament of a hybrid is varied, as it is ruled both by its human half and by its animal instincts. Most of them seem to be subservient on the face of things, although they also feel a deep resentment towards their employers or masters. Those who are content with their roles, either as servants or as free beings, express their animalistic nature more freely. For example, canines are typically loyal and generally happy, felines are sensual and mysterious and bears are stolid and tranquil until angered.

Physical Description: It is impossible to confuse a hybrid with anything else. Their body shape is truly humanoid, but their proportions are wrong. They have a feral head resembling that of their animal parent and their bodies are covered with fur. Females are, like humans, shorter and slimmer than males and often have different patterns to their fur. Only hybrids can tell themselves apart when they belong to the same subspecies, although observant people can recognise the facial features that differentiate them. Hybrids dress in the manner of the human society in which they live, although members of an emerging hybrid culture have taken to dying their fur in tattoo-like designs and adapting jewellery to their unique anatomies.

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Relations: Hybrids have a closer relationship with humans than with any other race, although some of them go to the elves in a vain attempt to connect with the wildness of nature that they hold in their hearts. The hybrids with sensitive noses rarely stand the company of undead, whose decaying scent unnerves them. They feel a certain kinship with constructs, particularly those built in the shape of animals, as both races are products of human science running out of control.

Hybrid Lands: There are no hybrid lands. As a created race, they depend on the humans for their own culture. Nevertheless, the newer generations of hybrids are looking for their own identity and are exploring their animal instincts, forming gangs they call packs, prides and herds. Some of these gangs stay in the cities, functioning as a secondary family, while others escape to the wild, planting the seeds of new tribes. A few humans are aware of this. Those who support the hybrids plight seek to protect them, while those who see them as a dangerous threat propose to hunt them down.

Religion: Hybrids bear the religion of the society they grew up in. In the nascent hybrid culture, the worship of nature is emerging as a dominant faith. There is no one particular god or goddess that these hybrids turn to but animism and spirit worship fulfils many of the hybrids basic spiritual needs.

Language: Hybrids speak Common. Contrary to myth, only a handful of hybrids have the ability to speak with animals of their parent species and they do not possess a language of their own.

Names: Hybrids have two names. One is that which humans give them, which they use in polite society. The other is a secret name, which they only give to their family and closest friends. These secret names are guttural sounds, resembling growls and animal calls.

Secret Names: Yurr, Warruf, Rerrk, Horwoo, Skreep, Karrg, Rorrwa, Haff.

Characters: Hybrid characters set out into the world with the primary motive of gaining self-respect and the secondary motive of proving themselves to others. Most hybrids are not thirsty for riches or glory; they yearn more for simple recognition of their worth. The fact that most scientists have already moved past biological experimentation means the hybrids are more desperate than ever to define their role in a world that is at the point of forgetting them entirely.

Racial QualitiesHybrids have racial qualities according to their animal parent. Upon character creation, players choose the animal type: bear, bat, dog, cat, rat, or elk. These types are fairly general and can accommodate any similar animal as the hybrid type. One might use wolf as opposed to dog or lion instead of cat, for instance.

Scent: All hybrids have a fine sense of smell that allows them to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes and track by sense of smell as described under special abilities (pg. 212).

Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Thieves Cant). See the Language skill.

Bat Hybrid Racial QualitiesCost: 2 background points.

-2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -4 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom.

Small: As a Small creature, a bat hybrid gains a +1 size bonus to Defence, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks. His lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium-size character.

Blindsight: Through echolocation, bat hybrids

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Hybrid Background Cost Statistic Modifiers Size Category SpecialsBat 2 -2 Str, +2 Dex, -4 Int, +4 Wis Small Blindsight, GlideBear 2 +4 Str, -2 Dex, -2 Int Large NoneCat 1 +2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Int, +2 Cha Medium ClimberDog 1 +4 Con, -4 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Cha Medium Improved ScentElk 2 +2 Str, +4 Con, -4 Dex, -2 Int Large GoreRat 1 -4 Str, +4 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Cha Small None

This new plan made him nervous. He did not like having to come up with it and he especially did not like the reason the old one had had to change.

Damn it all, Gailion was not supposed to die. He was going to outlive them all, or so Jerrek had always thought. Bigger than anyone else hed ever seen and faster too, the big cat had been his friend longer than Jerrek could remember. They had met in the slums where Jerrek grew up, two castaways no one else wanted around. Now, thinking about Gail back there in the tunnels, gnawed on by a pack of stinking ironrats, turned his stomach.

Gailions sacrifice had probably saved them all.

Jerrek did not really feel like being saved right now.

can see in the dark; see special abilities on pg. 212.

Glide: A bat hybrids wings are not strong enough for flight but they grant a +4 bonus to Jump checks and the characters maximum jump distance is calculated as if he were a Medium-size creature.

Favoured Class: Scoundrel.

Bear Hybrid Racial QualitiesCost: 2 background points.

+4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence. Large: As a Large creature, a bear hybrid suffers

a -1 size penalty to Defence, a -1 size penalty on attack rolls and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks. He gains a +4 bonus to grapple checks and his lifting and carrying limits are double those of a Medium-size character.

Favoured Class: Adventurer.

Cat Hybrid Racial QualitiesCost: 1 background point.

+2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma.

Medium: As Medium-size creatures, cat hybrids have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Climber: Cat hybrids have a +4 bonus to Climb checks.

Favoured Class: Noble.

Dog Hybrid Racial QualitiesCost: 1 background point.

+4 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.

Medium: As Medium-size creatures, dog hybrids have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Improved Scent: Dog hybrids increase the range by which they can detect creatures to 90 feet downwind and 25 feet upwind.

Favoured Class: Adventurer.

Elk Hybrid Racial QualitiesCost: 2 background points.

+2 Strength, +4 Constitution, -4 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence.

Large: As a Large creature, an elk hybrid suffers a -1 size penalty to Defence, a -1 size penalty on attack rolls and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks. He gains a +4 bonus to grapple checks and his lifting and carrying limits are double those of a Medium-size character.

Gore: Elk hybrids have horns that deal 1d4 damage and deal double damage on a successful charge.

Favoured Class: Journeyman.

Rat Hybrid Racial QualitiesCost: 1 background point.

-4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.

Small: As a Small creature, a rat hybrid gains a +1 size bonus to Defence, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks. His lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium-size character.

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Rat hybrid base land speed is 20 feet. Favoured Class: Scoundrel.

C.o.G.S (Creations of Generated Sentience)

The most successful attempt to create life was the Construct race, known colloquially as cogs, the only truly artificial beings. People of financial means will often procure an automaton as a servant, as it lacks the self-awareness that may cause the rebellious feelings in hybrids. Once in a while, however, a fluke in assemblage imbues a cog with true sentience. Ironically, cogs who gain awareness have more chances of being recognised as individuals than hybrids after they pass the Turning Test, a series of exams designed to prove whether the cog is really a sentient being or not.

Personality: A normal automaton does not have a personality. Cogs, as a race, do. They are generally like children given free rein in a candy store, testing the boundaries of their newfound sentience and experimenting with all that they can. It would be a mistake to consider all cogs to be nave, as there are many who are quite aware of their nature as machines and take a more sedate approach to their independence.

There are some cogs that, upon discovering sentience, determine that humans are an inferior species. This causes a massive intellectual breakdown as the cog must then come to terms with the fact that an inferior creature invented them. Most simply decide that this invention was a fortunate accident of serendipity but a few get trapped in a logical loop and are driven mad by it. These cogs become deranged and often homicidal, killing any sentient being they find in order to prove their superiority and to erase the existence of humanity from the world.

Physical Description: Cogs come in all shapes and sizes, although they are mostly humanoid due to their design. Cogs have no gender, though their form may simulate the body of a male or female of whatever species they were created to resemble. The most common cogs are made of brass, bronze and wood. Other more sinister ones are made out of flesh. Whatever materials they may be made from, all are easily recognised as artificial. Most cogs have a badge somewhere in their bodies identifying their status as sentient. Apart from that they use whatever clothes fit them; many cogs prefer not to use any clothing at all.

Cogs do not eat or sleep. Instead, they spend four hours each day performing general maintenance on their bodies and letting their parts and materials rest, which resembles sleeping only in that the cog remains immobile while it is going on. They remain partly aware of their surroundings, incurring only half the penalties that are ordinarily applied to Listen checks while the subject is sleeping.

Relations: Cogs generally have good relationships with all the races. This is partly down to their essential design as subservient beings but also stems from their lack of bias. For them, all other races are something they are not, namely living or at least once-living. They get along particularly well with hybrids because of their shared origin in reckless human inventiveness. Dwarves and gnomes find their mechanisms enthralling, while elves are wary of their artificial life. To humans, vampires, and ghosts, sentient cogs are a curiosity and each one must prove itself worthy of consideration.

Cog Lands: Like hybrids, cogs have no lands to call their own, as they are not even a people and have no tendency to gather in like-minded groups. Cogs are utter individualists who are more concerned with exploring the corners of their artificial conscience than in creating a nation of machines to crush their creators. The only exception here is with the mad ones, who rarely remain sane for long enough to consider organizing themselves against their common foe.

Religion: Cogs are consummate atheists. Their origin and creators are readily identifiable, so they do not need a creation myth. It is still unknown whether they have souls. A few of the more philosophically-inclined speak of a Great Maker of such skill that he created all living things, just as the humans created them.

Language: Cogs speak Common and Clockish, a strange language of whirrs and clicks that communicates concepts with efficiency, economy, precision and no room for misunderstanding. Living beings may learn to understand Clockish, but may never learn to speak it because of the limitation of organic speech patterns. An organic voicebox simply cannot produce the inhuman buzzes, clacks and twangs of a cogs larynx. Even flesh-based cogs can produce the sounds needed to speak Clockish.

Names: Cog names range from serial designations to nicknames or even real human names, depending on the whim of their creator. They are content with the name they receive, even when they gain their autonomy and independence after passing the Turning Test. Cogs seldom have a last name.

Common Names: Hammer, Mr. Click, Gearbolt, Lithia, Maria, Rover.

Characters: Cog characters take to travelling and adventuring in order to explore their limits and capabilities, always hungry to learn and expand their horizons. They have no trouble enduring gruelling conditions but they quickly learn how to repair themselves when necessary. Smart ones never stray far from someone who can fix them in case they are unable to do it themselves.

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This was an illogical mission, Gearbolt determined. Nonetheless, there was no better logical alternative.

As the dwarven engineer fitted a new cylinder to its leg assembly, Gearbolt considered the parameters of the human named Jerreks last suggestion. A bomb placed under the building, assuming these tunnels could provide access to it, might have the added advantage of burying anything remaining underground. The ironrats, however, proved the supposition that the orcs knew about the sewers and were aware of their tactical significance. If there were a point of access to the factory down here, it would surely be guarded.

Knowing sentients the way it did, Gearbolt expressed this possibility vocally. It was never advisable to assume logical deduction on the part of an organic.

Racial QualitiesThese are the racial qualities of cogs:

Low-Light Vision: A cog can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight and similar conditions of poor illumination. It retains the ability to distinguish colour and detail under these conditions.

A cog has no Constitution score and therefore has no metabolism. It is immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude saving throw unless the effect works on objects or is harmless. The cog is also immune to ability damage, ability drain and energy drain and automatically fails Constitution checks. A creature with no Constitution does not become fatigued or exhausted and thus can run indefinitely without tiring.

Material: The player chooses what material the cog is primarily constructed from; each material has its own characteristics, such as an armour bonus or an effect on ability scores:

Material Armour SpecialFlesh +2 -2 Charisma, heals +2 hp

per Repair checkWood +3 -2 DexterityMetal +4 -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma

Cogs do not eat, sleep or breathe. Unlike other constructed objects, cog characters

are subject to critical hits due to the intricacy of their internal mechanisms.

Power Source: The internal power of a cog runs down and must be renewed. Each day, the cog suffers 2 points of battery damage per character level. Battery damage has the same effects as non-lethal damage for constructs. A cog can get rid of 5 points of battery damage by spending one full round rewinding himself. Electrical damage injures the cog normally but also heals battery

damage at a rate of two points of electrical damage healing one point of battery damage.

Cogs cannot heal damage on their own, but must be repaired. A Repair check works exactly like a Treat Injury check would when treating the injuries of living characters or performing surgery, except that a cog may perform repairs upon himself. The application also needs a mechanical kit instead of a surgery kit. The amount of hit points cured is 1d4 for treating damage and 1d6 per level for surgery. Unlike the Treat Injury skill, both of these applications can be used more than once per day.

Since they were never alive, cogs cannot be raised or resurrected.

Favoured Class: Journeyman. A multiclass cogs journeyman class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

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The EldrathEldrathen is a fantastical realm that lies both alongside and within the normal world but is rapidly cutting all remaining contact with the world of science and technology that humans are forging. Eldrath races are in decline. Of the dozens of races that once thrived in the world, only a handful remains behind. These are those still capable of coping with the iron restraints the humans are setting in places of power. Dwarves, elves and gnomes are the only ancient races that remain in sufficient numbers to still have settlements and lands of their own; all others have either retreated to Eldrathen or live in isolation as small groups.

The Eldrath and the story of Eldrathen are suggestions for working the mystical elements of fantasy races into a Steampunk game. They are not required for a setting if some other explanation exists or if the Games Master has other plans for the campaign. Steampunk games can run perfectly well without elves, dwarves, or any kind of non-human race at all. How you play the game is up to you; the Eldrath are presented here for those who wish to use them.

DwarvesCost: 1 background point.

Of the Eldrath races, the dwarves are best able to withstand the onslaught of human industry because they like to think that they are its precursors. Humans hotly contest this, pointing to dwarven unwillingness to share just about anything, let alone technological secrets. Dwarves are excellent engineers and constructors and their building techniques remain amongst the best in the world. They are also staunch warriors of the first order. Their affinity with precious metals and stones is legendary, as is their skill at crafting such materials.

Personality: Dwarves are industrious and have very strong work ethics but they are also gruff and bad tempered with anyone who questions them. They are an aspect of earth and stone; this makes them more than a little stubborn but also unflinchingly loyal and steadfast. He who earns the friendship of a dwarf has a friend forever while he who makes an enemy of a dwarf should beware, for dwarves hold to their grudges as unremittingly as they hold to their loyalties.

Physical Description: Dwarves are short and stocky, standing between four and four-and-a-half feet tall but are so broad and solid that they weigh the same as humans. Males are heavier set than females and sport long and luscious beards, carefully groomed and held together with ornamental pins and clasps. Their skin colour varies from greyish to tan, much like the earth and stone to which they are attuned, with hair colours that go from deep red to jet-black. Their clothing is simple and often resembles armour even if it is made of cloth. They are very comfortable when clad in metal, which is why the advent of the steam age benefits them more than any other gnome species.

Relations: Although they are kin with elves as fellow denizens of Eldrathen, dwarves do not see eye to eye with their fairer cousins; they are on much better terms with humans, whose advances in science and technology caught the industrious dwarves by surprise. They find cogs fascinating, have no real opinion of hybrids and prefer to keep a healthy distance from vampires and ghosts. Elves and dwarves are at odds because the elves believe the dwarves, like the gnomes, were responsible for the spread of metal crafting skills that enabled humanity to destroy so much of the natural world.

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With a final twist of his wrench, Thurdin tightened the bolt holding the cogs leg on. That done, he spoke a short blessing over each of his tools and set them back in his belt loops.

The humans plan was bold, though he had to agree with the metal man about the possible guards. Still, space limitations down here kept the orcs from putting too many troops in their way. Hells of Steel and Fire, it was a better idea than trying to burst in through the back door and letting the damn boarskins surround them!

Dwarf Lands: Dwarves tell of a great subterranean kingdom stretching for miles beneath the ground, adding that it remains in Eldrathen, now almost closed to them save for a few underground entrances that open with increasing rarity. Dwarves organise themselves in clans and dig out their holds along great mineral veins in mountains and hills, preferring to live underground. Many have settled in human cities, having obtainined permission to construct downward provided they reinforce the area around their holdings so as not to damage the city above.

Religion: Dwarves worship their own patron gods, great beings that made the dwarves from iron and stone and set them to be the prime builders and constructors of the world. This faith is being shaken in the light of human science and technology and many quietly fear that humans may now be the favourites of the dwarven gods, even if they do not acknowledge them as a pantheon.

Language: Dwarves have their own language, which they speak in addition to Common. This runic language script is simple and straightforward and is easy to learn even if it is not so easy to pronounce by non-dwarves. Many dwarves learn the rest of the languages of their Eldrath cousins as well as the elemental languages of fire and stone.

Names: Much like humans, dwarven children receive their names from their parents in a solemn ceremony and they accompany it with the name of their clan or their clanhold.

Male Names: Dorf, Rurik, Haldin, Thurdin, Heridrin, Zwolf, Krald, Drzig.Female Names: Helda, Brunhild, Sirif, Ilasa, Droieda, Haan, Tariag, Khole, Mellken, Annir.Clan Names: Roragast, Hammerholm, Ironmarch, Dolzik, Athorik, Stoneclap, Thundershield, Merrkethor, Khulthereth.

Characters: Dwarven characters venture from their clanholds mostly out of a desire to acquire wealth and honour for their family name. They are curious about what the humans are doing to the world and, in some cases, they want to help, adapting to human society readily if that means they will learn the secrets of amazing technology.

Racial QualitiesThese are the racial qualities of dwarves:

+2 Constitution, 2 Charisma. Medium: As Medium-size creatures, dwarves have

no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However,

dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armour or when carrying a medium or heavy load, unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations.

Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only but it is otherwise like normal sight. Dwarves can function perfectly well with no light at all.

Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.

+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison. +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and

spell-like effects. +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and

goblinoids. +4 dodge bonus to Defence Value against

monsters of the giant type. Any time a dwarf loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Defence Value, such as when it is caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus too.

+2 racial bonus on Knowledge checks that are related to stone or metal items.

+2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.

Automatic Languages: Common and Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc and Terran.

Favoured Class: Adventurer. A multiclass dwarf s adventurer class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

ElvesCost: 1 background point

The royalty of the Eldrath look on with dismay at the rapid pace of technological progress. Nigh immortal, they live slowly, savouring every moment of the present and so adapt poorly to the quick changes that the age of steam has brought with it. Romantics at heart, elves are lovers of art and fine pleasures. Just as the dwarves are aspects of earth and stone, the elves have affinity with trees and forests. The spread of iron across the world has caused the elves great consternation, as has the dwindling of magic in its metal wake. As their planet is poisoned by degrees and their ancient powers begin to fail them, the elves may be a dying breed.

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Personality: There are two kinds of elves, personality-wise. There are the ones that embrace the pleasure of living regardless of its guise and there are the ones that entrench themselves in ancient tradition. Most of them are moved by beautiful things and know a song or two, which they sing when they relax. Despite their apparent light-heartedness, elves are very serious when it comes to personal relations, particularly when they are wronged.

Physical Description: Elves are thin and short, standing between four-and-a-half and five-and-a-half feet, with men standing slightly taller than women. They are graceful of body but rather weak in constitution. Their skin is pale and their hair is the colour of the forest, including auburn, hazel and green, although white is also present in a few individuals. They like to wear their hair long, with males letting it run straight or in ponytails and women fashioning it in a variety of braids. They favour light and comfortable clothing in gentle colours, preferably blues and greens and wear little jewellery save for a few delicate necklaces and rings, some of them carved from wood.

Elves do not sleep like humans do. Instead, they enter a state of trance that lasts four hours during which they dream by performing mental exercises that grant them insight into the happenings of the previous day, much like actual dreams do for humans, with the difference that elves have the ability to recognise the messages of dreams.

Relations: Elves are the ambassadors of the Eldrath and the higher caste of their fantastical realm, so they try to forge good relations with the other races, although they maintain an attitude of superiority. They regard humans as reckless and unrefined, hybrids as pitiable, cogs as little more than abominations and vampires and ghosts as intriguing yet suspicious. Dwarves, the only other trusted ancient race to be left in the world in considerable numbers, are held as close friends. They are smelly and loud allies, to be sure, but allies nonetheless. Elves despise gnomes on general principles, but they are all Eldrath and family counts for something.

Elf Lands: Away from Eldrathen, elves build small villages in woodland areas that blend with the grace and beauty of their surroundings. Given their long life and low childbirth rate, their families tend to be small. They follow elders, renowned for their wisdom, who gather in councils and elect a ruler from their numbers. Elven villages have little contact with the outside world, with diplomats and daring individuals occasionally venturing forth to see what the world is up to. They return with bad news more and more frequently.

Religion: Elves follow gods and goddess of life and the arts; some of their priesthoods have been confused with organisations of performers and bards, such is the elven manner of worship. They treasure the things that grow, seeing the humans scientific and technological prowess as an affront to their faith. Nature, they insist, must be

allowed to keep its secrets and technological progress is not an excuse for overexploiting natural resources.

Language: Elves speak their own language in addition to Common. Elven is fluid and beautiful and it is almost sung as often as it is spoken. Elven script flows across a page and it is also the official language of Gnome races. Elves learn dwarven as soon as they can so that they can communicate with their allies.

Names: Elves have two names; their childhood name and another one they choose when they come of age. Their adult name is unique. The elf creates it when he chooses it, although he may find inspiration in the names of people he admires. In addition, elves have family names formed of two or more elven words, which they translate out of courtesy when speaking with non-elves.

Male Names: Elleron, Lathariel, Cierain, Aladair, Eolain, Belthanor, Oldain, Ieross, Olothar, Dielon.Female Names: Kheiried, Maedbh, Diethren, Adalia, Marithia, Heshialiira, Sophienne, Nidia, Sariss, Anathiel.Family Names: Moonstar, Gladesong, Greenbreeze, Farbrook, Starwind, Wintersun, Riverbend, Dreamsong, Longtree, Windflower.

Characters: Elf characters are possessed of a certain wanderlust that drives them away from their homes and keeps them on the road. They prefer to live at their own pace, without having to adapt to human rhythm. Elves have a love/hate relationship with airships and railroads, which shorten travel time but because of that keep them from enjoying the trip itself. The latter is especially detestable because it lays tracks of hated iron across the world, cutting its lines of power in twain and killing the planet by degrees.

Racial QualitiesThese are the racial qualities of elves:

+2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution. Medium: As Medium-size creatures, elves have no

special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Elf base land speed is 30 feet. Immunity to magical sleep effects and a +2 racial

saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.

Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish colour and detail under these conditions.

Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow) and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.

+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within five feet of a secret

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He could tell by Heshias reaction that she disliked the idea. Hells, he disliked the idea, but he knew better than to take the elf womans reaction too much to heart. As far as he could tell, the disagreeable woman did not like anything.

Well, he reflected, that was not entirely true. She liked her guns. She liked them very much indeed. That was so odd, since as far as he knew elves hated all technology; but she was inseparable from them. Maybe that was why he could get along with her, though he rather hoped the City Fathers would assign her to another team with this was all over. Elves made him nervous in general, but beautiful women with twitchy trigger fingers made him downright paranoid.

or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if he were actively looking for it.

Psychic Prowess: Elves can enter a psychic trance as a free action with a Concentration check (DC 10).

In the world of Steampunk, elves have developed a tragic allergy to iron because of its effects on magic. Any hit with an iron weapon deals an additional point of damage to an elf. While they are in skin contact with cold iron in any form, it deals one point of damage per round. This damage cannot kill them, but it can drop them to -1 hit points and force them to go unconscious, after which time they stabilize automatically and will not awaken until the iron is removed.

Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc and Sylvan.

Favoured Class: Occultist. A multiclass elf s occultist class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

GnomesCost: 2 background points. While many of the Eldrath races recede back into the depths of Eldrathen, gnomes find themselves in a position where they can travel between their home and that of the world of men with relative ease. Still magical enough to jump back and forth through the minute tears and rips in the fabric that forms the boundaries between the two realities, the gnomes can, quite literally, enjoy the best of both worlds. Even so, they are finding