Version User Scope of changes
Jun 14 2006, 12:18 AM EDT Naarsael 57 words added
Jun 14 2006, 12:11 AM EDT Naarsael 855 words added

Changes

Key:  Additions   Deletions


Gearpunk Fantasy in the Multiverse


What is Gears and Portals?


It's a Steampunk Fantasy setting (Aldo there's no Steam engine so it's a Gearpunk setting) for use with Risus: the anything Rpg.


The Basic Risus Campaign Rundown:


Genre: Gearpunk High Fantasy
Tone: Serious/Humorous (a little bit of both)
Campaign Options: Hooks and Tales, Pumping Clichés, Lucky Shots
Points/Dice: 10 Dice
Description: In a city in between the Worlds Magic and Technology collide to create wonderful opportunity for adventures.

The Multiverse


The multiverse consist of a infinite number of Worlds, Planes and Alternate Reality all connected by one central point: Porticulis,The city of Doors. It is only in this city that you can change from one world to an other. This a place of passage for travellers and a place of exile for outlaws.

The Portals


You can find them in any shape, size and form in the city. One might not even notice travelling through one. There is 3 major patern of portals : Permanent, Blinking and wild.

Permanent portals

These tend to be big and lead to the major world of the Multiverse. They often have intricate design and are use by many people. They are always active andalways lead to the same place in the same world and most of them are two-ways.

Blinking portals

These portals always in the same place in the city but lead to different places in the Multiverse and are not always active. Some scolar study the patern of those portals trying to predict where the next blink will lead, but this science in far from exact since most of the portal are oneway (countless scientific are just unheard from).

Wild portals

With these anything goes. They can appear anywhere, lead you anywhere and you are lucky if you ever come back to tell about it.

Major world of the Multiverse


Porticulis The city of Doors


This comopolitan city sit in the center of everything. Every reality known, imagined and created has a door to and from Porticulis. The city is a chaotic blend of realities of the different planes of living. Everything can be found or lost if you try hard enough in the City. What make the city complex is that nothing is stable from gravity to time, every part of the city is differents. And it’s said around tavern fire that if someone concentrate enough he might be able to make the city obey him. Some say it’s the city of wonder, other the city of lies or the city of thieves, But nobody that ever visited Porticulis can forget the sight of it. From Porticulis someone can reach any reality in the multiverse and the crowd that populate the city is compose of refugee from many different worlds and portals.

Scrapland the land of Iron


The first thing one’s notice when he set foot on this plane is the vast field of Junk that fill the space. One can walk days without seeing the naked ground. It seem like every lost thing find it’s way to Scrapland. It’s the Homeland of the cogkin and the gobber. It’s also where they wage the war that tear apart those two race. The major settlement on The land of Iron are underground. Vast industrial built tunnels and vault serve as shelter. People of this land have learn to use every ressources that the junk provide so they are expert salvager and tend to wear and use many weird devices “scrapbuilt” from different things.

ARCADIAS The Lifetree


This plane consist of a single gigantic tree wrap in mist. One can see the top nor the roots of the Tree. The denizen of Arcadias have made there home on the branch and around the trunk, building often intricate and complicated structures. This place is Home of the Fayfolk court (home of the fairy queen and king) and is also the land of the simple Treefolk. This plane is somewhat gentle and calm. Aldo the everwatchful spirits of the Lifetree roam…

AETHERIA Elemental Land


This plane consist of a luxurious plethora of archipelago. The people and architecture is reminescent of the Japanese feodalism era. Big part of these island are just savage. This is the land of the elemental forces, so it’s quite usual to see wild elemental roaming the land. They are often worshiped by the Zenjin. This is also the main place to find Elemental crystal shards. Many crystal mine dot the island and the major settlement have seen there share of Outlander on the “Shardrush”. Some of the best Known sorcerer have Tower and School in the Elemental Lands, but the walk to get there is sometime quite deadly.


Major Races of the Multiverse

(NOTE: Aldo you can choose to play G.&P. with the classical fantasy races an effort was made to break the mold of the classic Elves, dwarf, Human, etc.. race choice)

SCRAPLAND (land of Iron)
  • Cogkin: This a race of small folk ( a mix of Dwarf, gnome and halfling) that are Mechanical inclined. They are inventive and tend to get there way around those big Mechanical golem, construct and apparatus. They are often good engineer and love to create new stuff. But many of them tend to lack the social skill, so they often favor the compagny of machine over men..

  • Gobber: They are the distant relative of the cogkin. They have more of a goblinoid look(goblin, kobolt, gremlin and the like). The major difference between the cogkin and the gobber is that where one construct the other one destruct. The Gobber are master in the art of blowing stuff out and of tearing thing to pieces. There are aslo good salvager and some are decent marchant (they have to make a profit of the stuff they break) (Think of the Goblin in labyrinth or of the Gremlins)

ARCADIAS( The Lifetree)

  • Fayfolk:They are the fairy from the tales (more from grimm Tales than from Disney one). Coming in many shape and form. They are keeper of the great Lifetree and of nature in any form. They are often prankster, and tend to sing, dance and drink a lot. They tend to have an optimistic way of getting throught life in general.

  • Treefolk:They are a breed of intelligent talking tree critter from squirel, to oppossum to racoon and koala) they evolved so they can use tools (sword and the like ...) . They tend to be good salvager and thief. They are a very indivialist race except for family ties.

AETHERIA (Elemental Land)

Zenjin: We can categorize the zenjin in 4 subracial group. Each of these group is link to one of the prima element.

  • Air Zenjin: the air zenjin then to have fair skin ranging from bluish white to light tan and they have pale grayish eyes. Their hair is almost always white and its traditional to keep it in long flowing braids. The Air zenjin are the tallest of all the zenjin ranging from 6’ to 7’5’’. They are all slender built.

  • Earth Zenjin: they are the strongest of the zenjin. They tend to have dark skin from ebony black to dark redish browns. They have dark eyes too from black to azelnut brown. They have little to no body hair. They then toward ritualistic marking (Branding, Scarring). They are small but powerfully built ranging from 4’5’’ to 5’10’’.

  • Fire Zenjin: the color of their skin range from fiery red to light orange, it’s the same thing for their hair. They always have black eyes with no visible white in it. They are mostly average height and built. One strange thing about their skin is that when they age the color tend to change making intricate design of red fire.

  • Water Zenjin: they have blue skin ranging from grennish aqua to royal blue. Insteed of hair they have tiny intricate fin that spike their head. They are smaller than the air Zenjin but are still tall ranging from 5’6’’ to 6’9’’. They have webbed feet and hand and sometime they also have webbed arms.


Many many other races live in the diversified Metropolis of Porticulis, so the players can get wild and invent wierd new races. As always the GM is the last judge of the validity of them.

Magic in the Multiverse


How Magic Works:


Magic in the Multiverse is a natural force coming from the raw elemental power. This raw elemental power is store in special crystal that can be found in the caves of the Land of Aetheria. These crystal are extract by crystal miner and shard of them are sold. But only one attuned with the arcane can harvest their true power.

In order to cast spells the “Mancer” must have a shard with enough elemental power of the right element (Water,Earth,Fire and Air). One can try to tap on the elemental force of the land alone but this is an arduous and exhausting task. In risus term if one cast without an suitable shards the difficulty is harder and you lose one level of the magic cliché because the task is tiring.

Shards are often molten and transform into beautiful and useful object by the Shardsmith (the fifth kind of magic user). These object are often useable by “Non-Mancer” thus creating magical Object. "Mancer" often carry their shard in Smithen form (Staffs, wands, rings, Amulets,daggers, etc.)

Particulary powerfull Shard can make the casting of powerfull spell easier (lowering the casting difficulty). Legend often speak of forgotten shard of Positive or negative energy capable of making worlds bloom or decay.



Cliché of the Multiverse


Racials Cliché

(see Major Races of the Multiverse)
  • Cogkin
  • Gobber
  • Zenjin (fire,air,water,earth)
  • Treefolk
  • Fayfolk

Profession Cliché


You can use any of the traditional fantasy Profession cliché as well as some of the more contemporary one... Here some that are specific to the setting

Druids
Keepers of nature ways

  • can speak and command with plants and animals
  • Have a good knowledge the natural means of healing one self.
  • Good at hugging trees

Engineer
Cog and screws workers

  • Operating,repairing and designing, Mechanical construct and gimmicks.
  • Lore of ancient and new mechanical inventions
  • Never knowing why there’s always a screw left

Scavanger
Recycling masters

  • Find anything in piles of junk
  • Jury-rigging things
  • Making friend with rats

Tomb raiders
Finder of old relics and treasures

  • Ancient history Lore
  • Dungeon crawling skills
  • Acurate map navigation
  • Good Evaluating skill
  • Smelling like old dust

Pistoleer
Elemental gunslinger

  • Gunplay and duel skills
  • Lesser elemental Arcane lore
  • Etiquette and Savoir-vivre
  • Knightly charm that make virgin blush

Dragoneer
Fire crackers and demolisher

  • Blowing thing into little pieces
  • Making fire and handling gun powder
  • Knowledge of siege weapon
  • Knowledge of castle weakpoints
  • Smelling like BBQ

SkyDogs
Privateer and pirates of the vast sky

  • Sail the air current
  • Operating an Airship
  • Drink strong Ale
  • Sing-a-long and Old Tales

Headhunter
Bounty collectors

  • Tracking and bringing back felons
  • Knowledge of criminal life and hangout
  • Looking bad ass in leather

DeathTalker
Spirit and undead confessor

  • Communicate with Spirit and Undead
  • Turn Evil spirit
  • Exorcise and control dead
  • Spook the hell out of everyone

MAGIC CLICHÉ:


Pyromancer
  • Fire Mage (needs fireshard to power his spell)

Hydromancer
  • Water mage (need watershard to power his spell)

Aeromancer
  • Air mage (need airshard to power his spell)

Geomancer
  • Earth mage (need earthshard to power his spell)

Shardsmith
  • Magic item maker, Enchanter and Shards Shapper (use any kind of power shards but can't directly cast spell)