Gears of Empire Read online

  Gears of Empire

  A Steampunk Survival Guide

  By

  Isaac Stone

  RPG Novel

  This book is a new hybrid form of literature known as the ‘rpg novel’. This literary style is a combination of the role-playing game sourcebook and the traditional fiction novel, and is enjoyable to both the casual reader and the active d20 gamer. You will find within these pages a vast storyline and cavalcade of characters that spans from the catacombs of the steam-city Uroborous to the docks of the pirate-city New Mooring. There is magic here, prophecies fulfilled, bizarre inventions, and sword slinging courage too, all presented as a survival guide for the informed adventurer. There are also calculation tables and role-playing rules that allow the gamer-reader to incorporate the story into role-playing. With this book you can sit back and enjoy the story by itself or take up pen & paper and roll the dice for adventures all your own.

  Wizard. Warrior. Cleric.

  This book is your guide across vast empires.

  Artificer. Tinkerer. Pioneer. This book is your blueprint and your map.

  Bard. Assassin. Thief. This book holds secret stories and the keys to every door.

  The Green Age has ended, and the kingdoms claw their way back from the brink of apocalypse. Mutants and monsters raid the fringes while the walled cities of civilization are connected by railroads that spill from the maw of Blackwater Station. The enigmatic trainmen wander the rails, following threads of conspiracy and magic to ends both savage and divine. Mercenaries battle horrific beasts of flesh and iron in the sewer maze beneath Uroborous while clockwork zombies prepare for war in the crypts of the Lychking. Political intrigue covers the land as merchants and nobles play the game of thrones, while the streets are ruled by violence, magic, and machines.

  New Mooring is an artificial island city of bedazzlement and mystery. Where pirates, merchants, and adventurers make their livings among its crowded streets, bountiful marketplaces, and thriving ports. It is both a hub of commerce and culture, and the root of an ancient evil long forgotten. Anything is possible and everything can be had, for a price. Hide your purse and wear your sword at your side, there be a storm brewing.

  The Skyships are the ancient remnants of the great city of Armantua. They are flying warships that share a symbiotic relationship with their various crews of stalwart heros, inquisitive explorers, and hard bitten raiders. Respected by many, feared by some, coveted by all.

  Wormwood There was a time centuries ago, when the wise men say that the gods of the heavens fell to earth, and an apocalypse engulfed the world. Cities that had stood for millennia were destroyed in mere decades of war. Entire landscapes changed as the world tore itself apart. New races of beasts stood upright and demanded their rightful place in what little was left of civilization. The Green Age, the time of the Wormwood Star.

  It began on the darkest of nights, when the twin moons shed not a ray of the light of the sun. There appeared a bright star, so large it was a sun itself, shining with an eldritch green light that seemed to cut straight through the darkness. As this light bathed the world, the great star hanging fixed in the sky regardless of it being day or night, the world began to change. People could not tell how, but the change was there.

  Soon a new sort of magic was sweeping over the land. Until the appearance of the green star only wizards had the power of magic, learned in the schools, from formula and script. However, all across the known world new magic was appearing. People who could perform the same kinds of spells as the wizards were beginning to surface, their power and knowledge springing forth from within. They called it sorcery and demanded recognition. People with strange mental powers also began to come out into the open, and such powers came to be knows as pscionics. Many horrible conflicts raged as the new magic battled with the old for its place in the world even as the old tried to stamp out the new.

  Always there, hanging fixed in the sky, the Wormwood Star continued to shine. People had no doubt that the strange heavenly body was responsible in some way for the changes in the world, though were too busy dealing with those changes to concern themselves with how or why. As the magical battles continued, new beasts and plants began to appear. Warped and deadly beasts began to stalk the unwary, and once fertile forests and fields became twisted and unmanageable. Soon the situation grew so terrible that what few settlements that were not swallowed up in the chaos merged with the larger cities as officials began to close the gates forever.

  When nations and cities began closing their borders even more wars and battles were fought, each person trying to make a stand in what was clearly the end of the world. As unprecedented open warfare spread across the world new races began to emerge. They were not the corrupted beasts that had turned the world into a wilderness, but were actually groups of creatures with similar features and physiology. As time past and the world continued its bloody collapse, these new races banded together and demanded their place in what was left of civilization. After throwing off the perils of life in the wastelands and the terror of the racial pogroms levied against them, three separate races distinguished themselves. Soon the skaas, railith, and hurdu races took their rightful place alongside humanity.

  As the centuries past civilization began to rebuild itself, adapting to this strange new world. Thanks to the diligence and skill of the collective magical communities, cities protected from the seemingly mutagenic powers of the Wormwood Star by powerful magical glyphs etched into the city walls began to form. Some, like Uroborous, upon the ruins of the past. Others, like Mar-Keth, were erected through suffering and the pure will of their rulers. In time the Conductors appeared, blending magic and technology to create the railroad system that reconnected the diaspora that civilization had become. Soon trade and political relationships were formed as the Green Age began to give way to the modern age.

  Science had been born in the fires of the apocalypse, and the fruits of this birth began to take shape in the form of refineries, magical firearms, steam technology, and coal burning machines. Industry ushered in a time of growth and prosperity as the disciplines of magic, alchemy, and science began to fuse together in the name of progress. Then the stigmata appeared.

  Since the appearance of Wormwood many people who had been exposed to its harmful light had developed physical marks of that corruption. Some manifested this change as additional limbs, elongated features, discoloration of the eyes or flesh, and other mutations. It was through the lack of these stigmata that the creators of the wards around the cities knew that their magic worked. In recent years the appearance of stigmata has increased, some worry that the wards are failing, as several of these new victims of the stigmata are city dwellers. Though their mutations are of all kinds, some monstrous though useful like a third eye or extra fingers, others benign and pointless like glowing eyes or blue skin. Some fear that this development heralds some drastic change in the world, though few know how right they may be.

  Uroborous

  True to its name, the city of Uroborous is a place of contradictions and self-sustained chaos. From its gilded spires to its ichor-stained streets the city is in a constant state of paradox, poised between modern marvel and cesspool of decay. Uroborous was built centuries ago upon what was at the time a mainland plateau, yet during the turmoil of the Green Age the sea swelled as never before, and a city that had once been a mainland hub became a coastal ruin. Over time the inhabitants of the city began to rebuild upon the swamp mired ruins. As the centuries past the skyline of the great city Uroborous rose from the devastation of ages past.

  The city of Uroborous has two histories, two faces, and one future. The most commonly known vision of Uroborous is that of a thriving multi-cultural port city. It is by far the largest and most powerf
ul city in the region. Uroborous is larger than the entire Zel Triumvirate combined, and nearly twice the size of the labyrinth city of Mar-Keth. With no real guiding design the city’s growth has been sporadic and according to the need for space and resources. The result is a sprawling mega-city with no real neighborhood borders or unifying architectural theme. The distinction between wealth and poverty, while stark, is blurred when it comes to who lives where. The districts are haphazardly laid out, with a street of mansion estates only a block away from some of the worst ghettos in the world. While street maps do exist, and can be purchased in shops or at the various rail stations, they quickly become obsolete as new settlements are constructed and others are torn down to make room for others. The best way to get around in Uroborous, if one is not a local, is to hire a guide who knows the city. This is the best option for two reasons, one is that the city changes so rapidly that maps are no substitute for local area knowledge. The second reason is that maps only have street names and perhaps a few attractions listed, no map can tell the ignorant traveler which streets to avoid and which ones are safe for an outsider to tread.

  There is a great deal of wealth coming into the city. There are a plethora of craftsmen, artisans, and scholars who call Uroborous home. Because business, magic, and science all enjoy level of autonomy from the city’s government there is a constant flow of discovery, products, and innovation leaving and entering the city. Granted, the Bureaucracy levies heavy taxes on businesses, products, or services. Though because of this heavy tax there is little incentive for the government to force counterproductive regulations upon the development of new magic, science, and business relationships. With a state of near absolute freedom many scientists, scholars, and businesses have made their fortunes with new discoveries and innovations. Yet the price of progress must be paid, and it is not uncommon to hear rumors of experiments gone horribly awry, terrible magics being loosed into the city, and unscrupulous businessmen taking advantage of the weak without consequence.

  The city also enjoys the privilege of being a part of the core network of rail lines that spring forth from the Conductor’s offshore fortress, Blackwater Station. From this massive train station come the railways that connect the cities in the region, even far off Bet-Arda has its own line. As a result of its location, there is a central hub of rail lines that meet in the center of Uroborous, this place is simply called Torque. This train station is the eventual destination of all railways in the system. Every train in the system passes through this station at some point on its journey, either coming or going. Due to the fact that such a centralized system has its core in the heart of the city, the Uroborous economy has access to the goods and services of every major settlement in the region. The shipping business is also very profitable when based out of Uroborous. While a merchant in the Zel Triumvirate wishing to get a shipment of steel to Mar-Keth, unless he wishes to brave the unwarded wastelands, must send the cargo by rail to the Torque and then onwards to Mar-Keth’s train station, Lychgate. Or the quartermaster in Mar-Keth who wishes to send a fresh batch of zombie workers to the mines of Relish must ship them first to the Torque, then across the Relish line. Merchants in Uroborous, because of their proximity to the central station they pay much less in shipping costs. Consequently, there are many foreign merchants who set up shop within the Uroborous city limits in order to take advantage of the constant flow of goods and services.

  Perhaps it is this chaotic nature of the city that is its primary strength, though its weakness as well. Resettlement in Uroborous is not difficult because of the generally open society, it is this very openness and acceptance that gives way to an indifferent, almost callousness to crime and suffering. As a result the skaas, railith, and hurdu mutant races are drawn to the city because in Uroborous they are not exiled or killed on site. They are usually seen as second class citizens, yet in a city where a perfectly legal auction block may exist right next to a black market clearing house, that prejudice usually only becomes a problem when members of those races try to move up in social status. Thus, most of the mutant races or those bearing stigmata are usually only able to find work on the street level of society as mercenaries, criminals, and laborers.

  There is however, a second face of the city, an alternate history known only by those who live with it on a daily basis, one only known in whispers by the wealthy, and behind the closed doors of the Bureaucracy. There is a vibrant underworld that exists beneath the city streets. Because the new city was built upon the swampy ruins of the old, Uroborous is sinking. Though most do not realize it because the city is growing up as well as out. Many buildings tower well above ground level, so much so that entire networks of walk ways exist to handle the traffic between buildings. There are plenty of Uroborous citizens who rarely, if ever, set foot on the ground level of the city. Even as the city sinks further into the marsh, its buildings grow ever upward. On the street level, citizens know that something is wrong. Buildings seem to be getting higher and higher, entire neighborhoods are built over, their residents finding themselves having to climb flights of stairs just to get up to the street, and having to affix additional steps every few years as the concrete sags and cracks. People are disappearing, more than usual.

  The Bureaucracy knows that the city is slowly sinking, they also know that new dangers as yet unimagined lay beneath the city streets. The wards that protect the city from the mutagenic influence of Wormwood appear to be ineffectual in the underworld of Uroborous. Deep underground there are sewer tunnels, old passages, and the ruins of the old city, and the more of the city that is pushed underground the more there is a risk of those that now live below street level of mutating. Teams of mercenaries, those too degenerate to find work topside or too desperate to refuse the low wages, stalk this undercity. They are called Guttermarks, and have several duties. One is to escort architects into the undercity who are looking for weak points in the structure of the area, and if such a weakness is found, protect the architect and work crews while the structure is repaired. Another duty is to go on routine patrols of the undercity directly below street level, preventing vandalism and incursions from whatever dangers might lie in wait below. On rare occasions they are required to penetrate deep into the undercity to either repair a deep structure or purge some putrid threat that comes up from the deep. Most of the Guttermarks know that the wards against Wormwood do not work as well so deep underground, though few fret, as most marks are either members of one of the mutant races, already bear a stigmata, or are simply too callous or desperate to care.

  Thankfully, at least in the minds of the Bureaucracy, most of the people who matter do not know about this alarming development in the city. For most, life goes on as it always has. Factions tend to be those who determine the division of the city’s districts, at least for those who cannot take care of themselves or afford bodyguards. Normally the violence is sporadic and infrequent, with the occasional brawl or skirmish on the border of one or more of the faction’s territories. In general, the factions are business conglomerates or wealthy cabals who employ the gangs local to their territory as enforcers, though on occasion bring in professional mercenaries to act as soldiers in their clandestine wars for territory, technology, and influence. For most citizens of Uroborous, even those with wealth and power, the ever-unfolding conflict amongst the various factions is a daily way of life. Most of the people who live in one faction’s territory are at least nominally loyal to that faction, and as such are either occasionally rewarded or left alone in exchange for their compliance.

  No single faction has attained enough power to hold more than two or three districts in the city, as the Bureaucracy tends to frown on any one faction getting too big. This results in Uroborous functioning more like a myriad collection of little city-states who are all allowed to do as they please, provided that they do not threaten the rule of the Bureaucracy or allow the violence to escalate into open street warfare. The Bureaucracy in reality does not have the economic or military might to suppr
ess all of the factions at once, though does work to keep the playing field even between them, and make a little on the side when suppressing any of the groups that gain too much too quickly. The Bureaucracy maintains several precinct houses throughout the city, garrisoning them with law enforcers who nominally patrol the streets, though for the most part remain within the safety of the precinct walls until major violence spills onto the streets. Most of the factions understand and accept the state of things, though there are a number of them who would participate in open revolt. For the Bureaucrats the unending conflict is good for the city, it encourages the advancement of science, magic, and medicine, as well as generates economic growth. This is not a concern though for the people fighting, dying, and trying to make a living amidst this underhanded struggle.

  There are jails in the city, though they are always full, and as such most petty crimes and even some of the more heinous ones are punishable by a simple fine. Though it is whispered that when the prison’s overflow becomes unmanageable the convicts are sold under the table to the Lychking. They are sold either for his zombie labor force or to die in his gladiatorial circus, an event upon which a great deal of gambling is founded upon, both in Uroborous and Mar-Keth. In Uroborous life on its vibrant streets is fast and hard, its wealthy live a life of power and privilege, yet still it remains the major hub for commerce, culture, science, and learning even as it exists as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous cities in history.

  Mar-Keth Necropolis. City of the Dead. Mar-Keth is a city that has many names, whispered in shadowed corners and behind locked doors. For generations the Lychking has ruled over his city with an undead fist of iron. Once a mighty hero, godlike in his power, the Lychking is now an undead tyrant. His agents and advisors are everywhere, nothing in this city escapes his eyes or ears, or so he would have all his subjects believe. The general populace lives in a state of grinding feudalism, with a strict hierarchical social structure. Everyone has their place, everyone has their function in the Lychking’s plan, and woe betide any who fail to meet his expectations.