World of Greyhawk VSF?

[gloriousbattle]

Been thinking about getting into a Victorian setting recently, but I wonder if it might be an interesting change from Victorian England, Second Empire France and Czarist Russia to set something with steamtech in the WOG.

Say that it is 300 years in the future, and Greyhawk has developed gunpowder and steam, Magic still works and is still powerful, and is in fact partially responsible for some of the crazier "technology" like Land Leviathans, Mole Machines and Ether Flyers.

Some changes:

1. Most demihumans and other monsters have become somewhat more powerful magically, but have receded into their own quasi-plane, which is contacted like Faery in medieval to Victorian Earth. They are still there, but no longer common, and even the dumbest, like orcs, can use some minor magics.

2. I'd want the various nations to parallel Earth to some extent, and thus give the players a frame of reference, so, starting in North Western Flannaess:

Perrenland: Develops a culture like fictional Zenda. A friendly land with both some English and some Eastern European characteristics. Still lawful-good, and a bulwark against Iuz. Perrelnad's fleets patrol Lake Quag.

Wolf Nomads: Develop into something like the Tartars (not much of a change, really). The Khan's horsemen spend a lot of time fighting Iuz and fighting and occasionally trading with Perrenland.

Iuz: The old villain is still around, but his land has developed into a rather dark and repressive version of the German Empire, with a lot of Dracula's version of Transylvania thrown in. Lots of factories gouting smoke, crazily conceived armored war machines, and grim armies, and a vampire nobility that Iuz rules with an iron fist. A few nations have tried to trade with Iuz for its magic technology, but have almost universally been sorry that they did.

Furyondy: Maybe like the British or French Empires? Good guys, like Perrenland, but perhaps a bit too convinced that they should be minding everyone else's business.

Ket: Like the Ottoman Empire, but somewhat darker and not as decadent, with the Sultan ever ready to move his Spahis and Janissaries into more peaceful lands.

Other areas I've thought about:

The Great Kingdom: Now completely broken up into a set of Balkanized, independent city states. Even three hundred years later, rumors of great magical artifacts from the Greyhawk Wars bring treasure seekers here.

Hepmonaland: What would a Victorian adventure campaign be without an analog of Africa? Hepmonaland is the fabled dark continent to which various adventurers and empire builders of the Flannaess have gone in search of death, wonder and glory.

Scarlet Brotherhood: Now more like the Free Masons, they claim to have learned from their past and are now a benevolent society with branches in many nations, seeking the common good of man. But can they be trusted?

I'd be interested in any additions.

Thanks

[Red Orc]

It sounds eminently do-able. I like the idea of taking the setting and advancing it several hundred years (though I know nothing of Greyhawk really beyond some of the names).

Two questions though...

First, have you ever heard of Warhammer?

Second, have you ever heard of Warmachine?

Both these settings have a fantasy-meets-steamtech in a cod-medieval Europe setting. In Warhammer it's just beginning (and it's France, Germany and the Balkans), in Warmachine it's a bit more advanced (and it's England/France, Spain and Russia), but either or both of them could provide inspiration, models, rules, backgrounds and plots.

Good luck with this, I'm certainly intrigued as to how you'll develop it!

[gloriousbattle]

The Warhammer universe I know fairly well, Warmachine not at all.

However, I was less concerned with steamtech (though I know I mention this) and orcs with martini henri rifles than with seeing if I could give the Greyhawk universe a Victorian feel.

Thanks for the reply!

[Red Orc]

I'm sure you can. Don't let my mentions of Warmachine and Warhammer give you the impression I don't like the idea, I think it sounds smashing.

[gloriousbattle]

I'm sure you can. Don't let my mentions of Warmachine and Warhammer give you the impression I don't like the idea, I think it sounds smashing.

I didn't take it negatively, and I hope you didn't find my reply provocative.  Hard to judge such nuances over the web.

[Red Orc]

 :)It's all good. But one never knows exactly what other people are reading into what you're saying. Just didn't want you getting the idea I was saying 'oh, why do that? Warhammer and Warmachine have done it already'.

If you don't know Warmachine, and you're thinking VSF Russians, you're going to flip over 'Khador', the Warmachine Russian/Balkan-type faction. Someone is currently offering a Khador army for sale in the Bazaar of Obscurities (follow this link) and there are other very groovy pics on the Warmachine site (follow this link here).

At least one person on this site is currently using Warmachine armies and rules in a VSF setting - in this case, Khador is Russia, and Menoth is Spain... they've both landed forces on Atlantis of course and are battling there with giant steam-powered automata (as you do...)

Anyway; jolly good to have you on board! Keep us up to speed on how this is all developing, it sounds great!

[gloriousbattle]

Thanks!

[AzSteven]

There was actually a campaign guide about 10 years back in one of the WOTC magazines, Dragon or Dungeon, 'advancing' Greyhawk into the 20th century  I never used it myself, but it was pretty interesting.  I think the VSF version would be even more satisfying.

[Chairface]

As long as Warduke is around, I'm game.