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Hazkali
2009-03-11, 12:44 PM
I'm looking at running a Victorian-Edwardian Steampunk game, and I'm not sure what system to use. D20 modern is tempting purely from an "easy" standpoint, as I don't think the power curve or high-powered PCs is quite right. So, is there any good RPG system that I could use? Preferably cheap, easy to DM and quick to learn and explain, but I'd happily sacrifice all three for something just right.

Satyr
2009-03-11, 01:12 PM
What you want is Ghosts of Albion (http://www.edenstudios.net/ghosts/). It was written exactly for the period you aim for, the Unisystem rules it uses are both very easy to learn and to use, while they are still highly versatile and adaptable (and certainly better than any version of D20, for pretty much every game), and since the game is complete with the one core book.
The one drawback is, that the hardcover version of the game was not released yet, so it is only available as a pdf.

Izmir Stinger
2009-03-11, 01:16 PM
I'm looking at running a Victorian-Edwardian Steampunk game, and I'm not sure what system to use. D20 modern is tempting purely from an "easy" standpoint, as I don't think the power curve or high-powered PCs is quite right. So, is there any good RPG system that I could use? Preferably cheap, easy to DM and quick to learn and explain, but I'd happily sacrifice all three for something just right.

Deadlands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlands) takes place during the middle of the Victorian Era and has a rich and interesting Steampunk mechanic, defined by the Mad Scientist player "class" (technically a classless/leveless system, but archetypes are similar). It is intended to set in the American West, though there is no reason you couldn't transplant it to another locale (except for the Indian archetypes). It has lots of rules for gunfighting with the revolvers and rifles common in the era, and some other interesting mechanics that are very flavorful for a Western game, such as gambler-magicians called Hucksters that determine the power of their spells by drawing from a poker deck and making hands, and poker chips used as a consumable resource/reward for players. I enjoy it alot.

It is not easy to DM, or quick to learn and explain, and its popularity suffered as a result. Great setting, fun mechanics and options, but some really BAD core system rules.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-11, 01:52 PM
Anything Unisystem is always good. There's also GURPS, if you are so inclined. I guess Savage Worlds and whatnot? Everything else I can think of would take some serious cobbling-together.

Lycan 01
2009-03-11, 02:14 PM
Call of Cthulhu is a good system, and the rulebook comes with a 1890's setting. Its easy to work with for other stuff, too. Just remove the Cthulhu Mythos, and you've got a decent standard RPG set-up, with realistic gun rules and combat, a very hands-on approach to skills and leveling up, and excellent roleplaying and storytelling material.

Like I said, just take out the Cthulhu stuff, and add in Steampunk stuff. :smallbiggrin:

Waspinator
2009-03-11, 04:37 PM
I'd look at this:
http://www.goodman-games.com/etherscope.html

fusilier
2009-03-11, 04:57 PM
Anything Unisystem is always good. There's also GURPS, if you are so inclined. I guess Savage Worlds and whatnot? Everything else I can think of would take some serious cobbling-together.

I would also suggest GURPS. Lacks the power-curve of the D20 based systems. Basically when I make a GURPS character I consider him done. You only get small amounts of points per session, which are usually used to beef up useful skills. If you've never played GURPS get GURPS Lite and read through that (it's free and you can download it). I still play 3rd ed GURPS, and if you search online you can find the Lite version of that too.

GURPS also has a Steampunk book, that is very useful. I'm not sure how much it will cost you, but I would suggest picking it up no matter which system you decide to run. It's a little weak on period weapons as far as I'm concerned, so GURPS High-Tech may also be in order. There's a small difference between the nomenclature of different kinds of weapon damage between 3rd and 4th editions, but everything works out to be roughly the same. So if you can find a cheap copy of 3rd edition High-Tech I would get that.

Good luck.

NPCMook
2009-03-11, 06:25 PM
Call of Cthulhu is a good system, and the rulebook comes with a 1890's setting. Its easy to work with for other stuff, too. Just remove the Cthulhu Mythos, and you've got a decent standard RPG set-up, with realistic gun rules and combat, a very hands-on approach to skills and leveling up, and excellent roleplaying and storytelling material.

Like I said, just take out the Cthulhu stuff, and add in Steampunk stuff. :smallbiggrin:

So just use the BRP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Role-Playing) then? lol :smallwink:

Kiero
2009-03-12, 05:28 AM
If you can find it, Castle Falkenstein is Victorian-era Steampunk.

Ghosts of Albion has been mentioned. Rippers for Savage Worlds is another alternative.

If you don't mind some DIY, Spirit of the Century (it's SRD (http://www.crackmonkey.org/~nick/loyhargil/fate3/fate3.html)is free) is easily tweaked.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-12, 06:54 AM
So just use the BRP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Role-Playing) then? lol :smallwink:

For just about anything, regular BRP or any other BRP version (RuneQuest 1/2/3, Mongoose's RuneQuest, Elric!, Stormbringer...) beats the stuffing out of CoC. CoC is optimized for Lovecraftian horror, where you don't use the rules and don't deal with combat (which CoC BRP especially sucks at).

Last_resort_33
2009-03-12, 06:58 AM
I personally would use NWoD rules...

Not saying it's the best idea, but it's what I would do.

Artanis
2009-03-12, 11:50 AM
Depending on how many giant robots you want in the game, there's also BESM and (maybe) Heavy Gear.

BESM is a "universal" system like GURPS, but designed less for realism and more for anime-style stuff like, say, ridiculously convoluted death rays and giant steam-powered spider-bots with several dozen of said death rays.

Heavy Gear uses the Silhouette system (like how DnD uses d20), which has vehicle creation rules that are practically a "universal" system for that niche. They're also pretty easy to use, especially given how much you can do with them. The reason I say "maybe" is that Silhouette's dice system can be stupidly complex at times and that I don't know how well the non-vehicle combat would mesh with steampunk.

fusilier
2009-03-13, 03:59 AM
It might help us if you provide a little more detail about the campaign you had in mind. Do you intend to have steam-powered mecha everywhere? Or is it essentially the historical 1882, but with babbage engines? What about magic, etc.? Certain systems will be better at a particular aspects than others.