Trad-fantasy/steampunk world cross idea

[Kishigane]

I've decided it'd be cool to maybe create a world that blends elements of your run-of-the-mill fantasy world (i.e. Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms) with more steampunk-ish elements. Not necessarily Eberron, but rather have where the magitek was lost technology, and after the world was destroyed in a cataclysmic war 1,000 years ago, have a steampunk world be built atop those ruins. The magitek has been salvaged and partially reverse-engineered so that it can be repaired, but not quite to the point where it can be mass-produced like before. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind's another big inspiration, as is Moebius' artwork in general.

[Bohandas]

I think steam might plausibly be replaced with decanters of endless water. That gives you pressurized water to run your mechanisms without the need for fuel or the risk of explosion

[Adamantrue]

I think steam might plausibly be replaced with decanters of endless water. That gives you pressurized water to run your mechanisms without the need for fuel or the risk of explosion

I got this fascinating mental image, of a steampunk city that is mostly underwater/flooded, like Venice, due to the constant streams of water pouring out of every building and vehicle.

[Bohandas]

I got this fascinating mental image, of a steampunk city that is mostly underwater/flooded, like Venice, due to the constant streams of water pouring out of every building and vehicle.

Additionally, maybe the newer parts of the city are all on floats.

[Eldan]

Additionally, maybe the newer parts of the city are all on floats.

I've read steampunk cities that were on boats. For example in The Scar, there's a pirate city that consists entirely of ships, including a few oil-tankers in the center that are used for agriculture.

[thefantodayhtml]

In terms of government in society, the world could be in be in a equivalent to the Early Modern Period, which seems to be comparatively underutilized as a setting (aside from specific aspects like the golden age of piracy and the Italian renaissance) and also has the advantage of being the time frame between the medieval era which trad fantasy is very loosely based on and the 19th century-ish time period that that steampunk genre tends to be based on.

[Accelerator]

I think steam might plausibly be replaced with decanters of endless water. That gives you pressurized water to run your mechanisms without the need for fuel or the risk of explosion

Now that's odd. I myself was thinking of using specialized magitech for heat control which basically meant that steam, thermal engines, and hot air balloons can now be run at a tenth of a cost, but there's a dire lack of fossil fuels needed for diesel. In other words, lots of airships, electric trams, and such, but things like cars and trucks are things used only by the powerful and elite. And each drop of diesel fuel is something that has to be extracted from biomass. i.e. crops.

[paddyfool]

Yeah, that would be cool. I've toyed with the idea of putting D&D into a Victorian/Belle Epoque setting but never done any real work on it. I remember thinking I was going to lean into magitech rather than trying to create and integrate a conventional technological base because, well, it seemed like a lot of extra work. :) Good luck with that and I hope you share some of your work.

Victoriana was quite a fun little RPG that had these kind of schenanigans going on.