The Code of Steam and Steel - A Role-Playing Adventure Game of Scientific Romance

SIMON BURLEY

Character generation

Download a character sheet here:

The-Code-of-Steam-and-Steel--character-sheet

THE WORLD

This adventure is set in an alternative version of the 19^th century – sometime in the 1870’s. The widowed Queen Victoria reigns over the expanding British Empire – which is a powerhouse of civilization and technological innovation. On the streets of London steam-powered carriages – “trackless trains” – share the street with Hansom Cabs and horse-drawn omnibuses.

The air is filled with airships plying to and from the dizzying towers to which they tether – rarely coming to Earth.

Europe is rent by the Franco-Prussian War. It seems likely that Bizmarck’s forces will succeed against the current “Napolean’s” rather rag-tag forces. There is some concern in Parliament that the war should not spill over the channel and representations from both sides for assistance and support are currently falling on deaf ears. However, only a fool would think that more covert agents from both the French and Prussian “Empires” are not currently at work across Britain.

THE CHARACTERS

The characters are adventurers who could be called upon to undertake a mission on behalf of the crown. Adventurers with enough experience, skill and downright spunk to tackle a dangerous errand successfully – but ones who are not directly affiliated with the Government or Royal Family.

Abilities

The player now picks three Abilities. One is used for activities, combat and survival whenever the character is interacting with the world on an ordinary level and/or is unable to use an mechanical equipment or enhanced abilities. (Often, but not always, this applies in close range encounters.)

The second is used for activities, combat and survival whenever the character needs to use extraordinary or unusual means in order to succeed. (This often, but not always, covers long-range attacks).

The third ability is more general one and is used in non-combat situations. It is often just a statement of the characters’ role in society – “Hunter”, “Journalist”, “Scientist” etc.

These can be three apparently unrelated abilities or can all stem from the same basic description.

In an ideal world, the players will have some sort of idea about the character they want to play and will be able to tell the Referee what they want fairly easily.

If they can’t do it, then there is a list of some suggested abilities in an appendix.

ORDINARY ABILITY

The first ability to select is the one which the character relies on when they’re in stress situations where they want to rely upon their native skills. Often this is when they’re in a conflict and their opponents close to hand-to-hand combat range.

Let’s pretend that Gina is sitting down to play a game of THE CODE OF STEAM AND STEEL with her Referee, Jane. Desmond’s probably already there with Colonel MacMillan. Gina needs a character of her own.

She decides she doesn’t want a typical “Upper class” type. She wants an urchin/artisan of some kind. Since this is more appropriate as a General ability, Jane asks her how she survives “on the street”. Gina decides her character will travel with some kind of toolkit. She could choose “spanner” as her ordinary ability – but chooses to keep it broader and opts to use the word “gizmo’s” to describe all the odds and ends in her toolbag.

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY

This is the second ability that most players select. This is the item, technique or skill the character possesses which is beyond the realm of normal humanity. It is something – usually a gadget of some kind - which doesn’t exist outside the steam-punk world, at least not in the time period the game is set in. when they have access to tech technology and its use is appropriate.

Gina decides that one of the gizmo’s in her character’s toolbag is quite remarkable. It is a fully functional, clockwork, flying songbird. She can program it by adjusting the position of the pins on a rotating drum in its chest.

Note that this means that all the other gizmos in her toolbag are merely tools of the kind that could be found around the turn of the century.

HUMDRUM ABILITY

The third and final ability to pick is the Humdrum one. This is a broad description of the character’s position in the world – and often describes a job, occupation or responsibility they fill.

Gina’s character’s Humdrum Ability is “lamplighter”.

At first her Referee, Jane, is a bit taken aback by this as it seems rather limited. However, Gina explains that as her character travels the streets at night lighting the gas-powered street-lamps, this means that she will be “streetwise”. It will also give her access to the “Guild of Lamplighters” who, between them, will know just about all the gossip that there is to be known.

In addition, she also has the skills and abilities to repair the streetlights and other gas-powered devices. This will also give her some characterization as she won’t be fond of this new-fangled “electricity” thing coming in.

QUIRKS

Whenever a character uses an ability, their player rolls two six sided dice. If the player rolls a double, special things happen. One of these is a side effect of their abilities. This should, ideally, be a “one off” wild and wacky event of some kind.

Gina decides that, when she rolls a double on the dice, her character’s sensitivity to vapors will come into play. She calls this “Does someone smell gas?”

Something will happen in the scenario involving gas of some kind which could be beneficial, harmful or just the cause of some coarse humor.

ABILITY SCORES

Time for some numbers.

Different characters can have the same ability, but at different levels. Lots of characters can fire rifles – few of them are marksmen.

To determine the ability level of each of their characters’ three abilities, the players have to do a bit of arithmetic.

They are given the numbers from 1 through 6.

They write them down in pairs on their character sheet next to the abilities – using each number only ONCE.

They MULTIPLY the pairs of numbers to get the score for each ability.

The Highest possible score is 30 and the lowest is 2.

These calculations are really easy to describe and do. However, this system carries a load of implications which will affect how successful the characters are in the game and the players will probably ponder over this for a while to try and work out the best combination.

Gina loves the “Gaslighter” idea she’s come up with for Alison and wants her to be good at that. She’ll rely on other characters to do the physical stuff like fighting, but would still like to have a chance to contribute.

Her “clockwork songbird” is neat but feels it’ll be of limited use.

She’s got the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 to play with. She puts the 1 into her Extraordinary ability.

She puts 4 and 6 into her Humdrum ability and 2 and 5 into her “gizmos”. This leaves a 3 to go into “clockwork songbird”.

This gives her:

Abilities

Ordinary

Gizmos

Extraordinary

Clockwork Songbird

Humdrum

Lamp-lighter

Add up the three scores. This total can vary from 28 up to 44. It doesn’t need to be written on the character sheet as it is only used once.

The more “balanced” a character, the lower the total of their ability scores will be. Characters with a total of 44 will have one ability score at 30 and another one at 2 – a much more extreme spread.

This total is used to calculate the Hero’s starting characteristics.

CHARACTERISTICS

There are three characteristics:

FORTITUDE is measure of the adventurer’s physical status or condition. When a character takes, physical or fatigue damage or similar – this is reduced. Everyone starts off with full Fortitude – usually 6 - at the beginning of each battle but it goes down when they get hit.

Fortitude can represent more than mere cuts and bruises. A character may choose to give up and surrender when their fortitude crumbles in the face of a superior moral argument – for example.

FACULTY is a measure of an adventurer’s mental condition.

Whenever the character receives a shock, such as facing a frightening situation or losing a fight, their Faculty will go down.

FORM is a measure of how the character holds and conducts themselves. Good manners, keeping a stiff upper lip and playing in sporting manner contribute towards this but there are many other factors which can go into considering something “good form” or “bad form”. When events happen which will affect their reputation, such as being forced to cheat to win a combat, their Form goes down.

Each of these characteristics is explained in detail in its own section.

However, basically, they all go up and down during the game to reflect what happens in the character’s life.

All player characters start with three values based upon the total of their Ability scores. Calculate this total and then consult the following table:

Ability Total	Fortitude	Faculty	Form
44	6	3	4
40-41	6	3	5
35-37	6	4	4
31-32	6	4	5
28-29	6	5	5

During play, these scores will never go above 6 and will never go below 1 without the character suffering consequences. If an adventurer’s score becomes negative in any of these ratings, the character is out of the game.

If a score falls to exactly zero, the character is in a bad way but can be saved.

Because Gina’s character has the following scores:

Abilities

Ordinary

Gizmos

Extraordinary

Clockwork Songbird

Humdrum

Lamp-lighter

her total is 37.

Because of this, she starts off with:

FORTITUDE: 6

FACULTY: 4

FORM: 4

DEVELOPMENT POINTS

Players earn development points during play. (They aren’t easy to get!) So this box is left blank at the moment.

CHARACTER STATEMENT

This is a pithy one or two line statement which sums up the character and their background. Players should take a couple of minutes to think about this one before writing it down.

If the players have any ancillary ideas about their characters, they should be actively encouraged to write them down.

Gina’s character is pretty straight-forward, so she chooses to add a twist into her background to spice things up.

Character statement: If Alison Cooper had been born into anything other than a working class family, she would have received a formal education, been sent to University and may have ended up as one of the country’s great engineers. Instead she’s just the best lamp-lighter and gas technician in the Home Counties.

Quirk: ”Does anyone smell gas?”

NAMES

The player now needs to choose a name for their Hero. There are no rules for this. It depends upon the imagination of the players and the tastes of the Referee.

Gina chose “Cooper” as a typical artisan name. “Cartwright” or “Weaver” would have done as well. Alison is just a classic English Christian name.

THE CODE OF STEAM AND STEEL character sheet

Name:	Alison Cooper

Player:	Gina

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Fortitude	X

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Faculty			X

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Form			X

Abilities

Ordinary

Gizmos

Extraordinary

Clockwork Songbird

Humdrum

Lamp-lighter

Development Points

Quirk: ”Does anyone smell gas?”

APPENDIX 1: ABILITIES

This Appendix contains lists of abilities for players who find it difficult to conceive any themselves. Don’t expect the list of Abilities to be exhaustive. I’m quite intelligent and I’ve read a few novels, but there are literally millions out there. There will be some abilities I’ve has failed to include.

ABILITIES

There are three classifications of Ability in this game – Ordinary, Extraordinary and Humdrum. Ordinary and Extraordinary abilities are used in conflict situations. Humdrum abilities are used in the storyline which develops between those conflicts.

Usually the abilities a linked or related in some way though this isn’t essential. Sometimes the two or three of the abilities are facets of a single Ability.

CIRCUS STRONGMAN could appear on a the same character sheet as both Ordinary and Humdrum abilities.

In this Appendix I’ll list and describe a bunch of Abilities in each category. Some Abilities will appear in more than one category. However, they will have a different description in each.

ORDINARY ABILITIES

Acrobatics

The character is extremely agile which means that they are good at avoiding attacks when in close combat.

Fast recovery/Resistant to damage

The character recovers from damage at a remarkable rate or is extremely tough and can absorb more damage than usual before going down.

Fisticuffs/Martial Arts

Basically the character is good at brawling. They may have been taught by an Oriental Sensei, an Army drill sergeant, or just picked a few skills through fighting in bars. Whichever it is they’re very useful when the fists come out.

Nimble

The character can move extremely quickly, dodging and responding to attacks almost before they happen and ducking under their opponent’s defences.

Social Skills

It is not uncommon for people to try to talk their way out of situations. Whether it’s through charm, negotiation or intimidation, they’ll try and escape without either side taking any actual damage. The exact Social Skill the character uses should be specified on the character sheet.

When this ability is used, the “Fortitude damage” taken by opponents is actually temporary Faculty/Social damage. It is recorded as Fortitude damage as usual but does not represent actual physical harm.

Strength

The character is very strong. They can attack people by throwing things at them or just by hitting them – HARD!

Technical Skills

The character can improvise weapons out of the equipment they carry or the local environment. (Releasing steam from a nearby valve is a typical tactic.)

This Ordinary ability is often teamed up with a matching Humdrum ability and – even – Extraordinary ability.

Weapon

The character has a weapon of some kind which they can use to shoot at targets or hit things with. In the Ordinary category the weapon should be pretty basic:

Rifle, Pistol, Sabre, Cosh, Bow and Arrow, Cross-bow etc.

This is different from Strength or Martial Arts because, in theory, the character can be disarmed. But this just leads to more interesting stories.

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITIES

There is an issue with Extra-ordinary abilities. Which ones are generally acceptable and which ones are not depends upon the degree to which the Referee and Players want to stress the SCIENTIFIC part of the Romance and the degree to which they stress the ROMANCE. Many contemporary books contain characters with abilities which defy Scientific explanation. Invisibility, Vampirism, Resurrection, Immortality, Shape-shifting, Mind reading and the like can all be found in Victorian or Gothic novels alongside the fantastical science of Submarines, Airships, Rockets and the like.

Exactly which of these are acceptable in your game is up to you – and your players. The first is for those who prefer their game with more science and mechanics. The second contains additional options for those who prefer a more fantastical game.

SCIENCE:

Armour/Exo-skeleton

The character has some kind of suit which gives them enhanced abilities – strength or protection, for example - when in a combat situation.

Avatar

The character has a device of some kind – usually a mechanical representation of a natural being or creature - which they can use in combat.

Difference Engine

The character has a calculating device which allows them to analyse combat situations and adopt the most appropriate response.

Energy discharge

The character can produce some kind of energy to blast other people with. The most usual options here are a flame-thrower or electrical blast but other possibilities also exist.

The Energy is created by some device or gadget rather than the character themselves.

Because there are many types of Energy Discharges, the exact one used should be specified on the character sheet. STATIC ELECTRICITY rather than ENERGY DISCHARGE, for example.

Flight

The character has a device which enables them to fly. If they swoop down from above they can deliver what is known as a “power dive” to hurt opponents. Or, they could just lift them up into the air and drop them. (This also covers other movement enhancing devices such Spring-heels.)

Mechanical Enhancement

Most often one or mechanical limbs, the character has suffered some kind of massive physical trauma in the past – often on a battlefield – and has been rebuilt better than ever using the best technology currently available.

Medicine

The character has access to pharmaceutical products (drugs) which give them enhanced abilities – speed, pain resistance etc. – when they are in combat.

Mesmerism

The character is a skilled hypnotist and can use these techniques to befuddle their opponents.

Weapon

The character has a technological weapon of some kind which they can use to shoot at targets or hit things with. Rufus MacMillan’s Steam Rifle is a typical example.

ROMANCE:

The Character Statement on the Character sheet must clearly specify where these abilities come from and how they work.

If a character has one of these then one of the two numbers making up its level must be 1 ie. The ability will be in the range from 2 – 6.

Illusions

They character can create images which can hurt opponents in two ways. They can lead the opponent into dangerous or self-harming situations. Alternatively the illusions are so real that they opponent thinks they’re being hurt, even though they aren’t.

Invisibility

The character is difficult to hit because they can’t be seen and have to be detected by other means. This means they are able to sneak up on opponents and attack them.

Innate

The character possesses one of the Abilities from the SCIENCE list above. However, instead of coming from a device, it is a natural ability. If the character can fly it will be because of wings rather than a jet pack, for example.

Psychic Attack

The character can scramble their opponent’s brains causing them pain.

Seer

The character can see into the future or at a distance. Often through the use of a focus such as a Crystal Ball.

Shapeshifter

Whether a werewolf or an errant scientist whose serum has unwanted side effects, this character actually changes shape into two or more totally different physical forms. The score for this ability is generally used only when the character is in their alternative shape.

Telekinesis

The mental ability to move objects. When used as an attack, this is very similar to an Energy discharge as outlined above.

Teleportation

The character can instantly move from one location to another without passing the intervening space. (Often accompanied by them wrapping themselves in a cloak and disappearing in a puff of smoke.)

HUMDRUM ABILITIES

Artistocrat/Gentleman/Lady

A member of the Upper or middle classes – this character knows how to operate in the more refined echelons of society.

Connections

It doesn’t matter where this character lands, they almost always encounter an “old flame” or someone that owes them a favour.

Construct

The player character isn’t an organic being but is an artificial creation of gears, levers and clockwork. They need to be rewound/refueled rather than eat and need to be repaired rather than recover. They are some other obvious advantages/disadvantages and the player will have to be very clever in specifying their Ordinary ability. This background is far from Humdrum and may not be allowed by the Referee. (I’ll allow it)

Criminal

Whether a gentleman jewel thief or streetwise low-life, this character has a variety of useful skills and contacts.

Doctor

Really? Do I need to explain this one?

Driver/Pilot

This character is comfortable at all manner of mobile mechanical device – from steam trains to ornithopters.

Engineer

Though they can probably repair anything from a railway engine to an airship, this character’s specialty probably should specified on their character sheet.

Explorer/Navigator

This character is skilled at navigating the seas of the world, or exploring uncharted locations on land.

Flim Flam Artist

A fast-talker or grafter used to tricking people into believing they’re whatever the character wishes to be at that particular moment.

Performer - physical

The character is in show business – either on stage or in the circus. They specialize in a physical act – such as Acrobatics or Juggling. The exact act should be noted on the character sheet. Note: If they want to use this ability in combat, they must list it as their Ordinary Ability as well.

Performer – Magician, Escapologist or Hypnotist

The character is in show busines. They specialize in a mental or illusory act. The exact act should be noted on the character sheet. Note: If they want to use this ability in combat, they must list it as their Ordinary or Extraordinary Ability as well.

Performer – Musician or Singer

The character is in show business. They specialize in a musical performances. The exact act should be noted on the character sheet. Note: If they want to use this ability in combat, they must list it as their Ordinary (hitting someone with an instrument) or Extraordinary Ability (using a specially designed instrument as a weapon, or a trained voice as a sonic attack) as well.

Psychic

The character has mental abilities such as telepathy. This background is far from Humdrum and may not be allowed by the Referee.

Scientist

It’s probably unfair to blame all the ills of the world on Scientists and their unrestricted experimentations – but they certainly share some of the responsibility.

Soldier of Fortune

A skilled warrior, this character has probably seen action in a number of wars, on a variety of continents across the world. Very useful in dangerous situations. Not so welcome at a Tea Party.

Trader

Though primarily focused in the seedy world of commerce, this character is a skilled communicator and negotiator who can prove extremely useful on adventures.

APPENDIX 2: MAKING CHARACTERS

In this appendix I give some suggestions for using dice to create player characters. This is for those Players or Referees who need a bit of help with coming up with ideas for their Heroes or their Opponents.

ROLLING ABILITIES

If players aren’t able to invent three Abilities for themselves, or cherry pick ones from novels/films, then hopefully the list given in Appendix 1 will have sparked their imagination. They should be able to pick three to make the kind of character they want to play. If not they can use these systems.

USING ABILITY TABLES

On the next few pages are some tables you can use to help create characters. To find a ability, just roll a 6-sided die and look up the results on the relevant table.

You could roll a 6-sided 3 times to generate three random abilities and then try to work out an idea for a character that uses all of these together. This requires a lot of imagination but can sometimes produce some of the most satisfying and original characters to play.

Usually, however, people roll one six sided die once to get a ability from one of the tables and then choose the other two abilities to fit in with the ability which has been rolled. This is the easier method but is more likely to produce stereotypes.

As there are far more than 6 abilities which can fit into each category, some abilities have been amalgamated into a single entry.

On the Humdrum table, for example, I’ve listed all of the various Performers on the same die roll.

If a players rolls such an amalgamated category, their character doesn’t get all the abilities listed – the player should pick one which is appropriate to their character concept and which fits in with the other abilities rolled.

Some abilities are amalgamated without the individual abilities being listed.

A player who rolls a PSYCHIC ability, for example, will have to decide if their character is a mind reader, seer or a telekinetic. (Assuming the Referee allows this ability.)

If I hadn’t amalgamated the abilities in this way, there’d only be 216 possible combinations of abilities from which to create characters. In reality there are thousands of different possible combinations.

THE SCIENCE VS. ROMANCE CONUMDRUM

I’ve included 4 tables. That’s because I’ve split the EXTRAORDINARY table into those abilities which come totally under the Scientific umbrella and put the more Fantastical and controversial abilities on a separate table.

I don’t expect anyone to roll directly on the Romance table. There is an option on the Science table which directs players to the Romance table.

ORDINARY ABILITY TABLE

1)	Acrobatics or Nimble
2)	Fisticuffs/Martial Arts
3)	Social Skills
4)	Strength or Fast Recovery/Resistant to Damage
5)	Technical Skills
6)	Weapon

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TABLE - SCIENCE

1)	Armour/Exo-skeleton
2)	Avatar
3)	Difference Engine or Flight
4)	Mechanical or Medicinal Enhancement
5)	Mesmerism or roll on Romance table
6)	Weapon or Energy Discharge

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TABLE - ROMANCE

1)	Invisibility
2)	Innate – roll on Science Table
3)	Innate – roll on Ordinary Table
4)	Psychic
5)	Shapeshifter
6)	Teleportation

HUMDRUM ABILITY TABLE

1)	Aristocrat/Gentleman/Lady or Connections
2)	Engineer or Scientist or Construct
3)	Criminal, Flim-flam Artist or Driver/Pilot
4)	Doctor or Psychic
5)	Explorer/Navigator, Soldier of Fortune or Trader
6)	Performer

ROLLING ABILITY SCORES

As well as having a mental block when it comes to choosing Abilities, some people have a problem allocating scores to them.

It is possible to use dice to roll help create these scores.

There are two ways to do this:

1) Roll Once

Decide which ability you are going to roll for. It is usually the Ordinary ability because this comes first on the character sheet.

Roll two six-sided dice. If you roll a double, reroll one of the dice until it shows a different score from the other two.

Write the two numbers down on the character sheet.

Allocate the remaining four numbers as usual.

2) Roll Twice

Decide which ability you are going to roll for. It is usually the Ordinary ability because this comes first on the character sheet.

Roll two six-sided dice. If you roll a double, reroll one of the dice until it shows a different score from the other two. Write the two numbers down on the character sheet.

Decide which ability you want to roll for next. This is usually Extraordinary.

Roll the two dice again. If you roll a double or you roll one of the two numbers already allocated, roll that die again. If one of the dice showing an as yet unallocated number, leave it on the table. Keep rerolling until both dice show different unallocated numbers. Write these two numbers on the character sheet.

Write the remaining two numbers on the character sheet next to the remaining Ability.

Name:	Colonel Rufus MacMillan

Player:	Desmond

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Fortitude	x

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Form			x

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Faculty		x

Abilities

Ordinary

Fisticuffs

Extraordinary

Steam-Rifle

Humdrum

Hunter

Development Points

Character statement: Rufus honed his skills on the plains of Africa but he became a man through serving in the Crimean War.

Quirk: Interference from some sort of animal.

THE CODE OF STEAM AND STEEL character sheet

Name:	Lady Melissa Poole

Player:	Melanie

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Fortitude	X

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Form			X

	6	5	4	3	2	1	0	Neg.
Faculty			X

Abilities

Ordinary

Charm

Extraordinary

Tinkering

Humdrum

Lady

Development Points

Character statement: Scion of the British upper-crust, Melissa Poole knows anyone worth knowing and was destined for a life of luxury. That was before she developed her knack with gadgets and a taste for adventure.

Quirk: Someone admires – or develops a crush on - her.

ORDINARY ABILITY TABLE

1)	Acrobatics or Nimble
2)	Fisticuffs/Martial Arts
3)	Social Skills
4)	Strength or Fast Recovery/Resistant to Damage
5)	Technical Skills
6)	Weapon

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TABLE - SCIENCE

1)	Armour/Exo-skeleton
2)	Avatar
3)	Difference Engine or Flight
4)	Mechanical or Medicinal Enhancement
5)	Mesmerism or roll on Romance table
6)	Weapon or Energy Discharge

EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TABLE - ROMANCE

1)	Invisibility
2)	Innate – Roll on Science Table
3)	Innate – Roll on Ordinary Table
4)	Psychic
5)	Shapeshifter
6)	Teleportation

HUMDRUM ABILITY TABLE

1)	Aristocrat/Gentleman/Lady or Connections
2)	Engineer or Scientist or Construct
3)	Criminal, Flim-flam Artist or Driver/Pilot
4)	Doctor or Psychic
5)	Explorer/Navigator, Soldier of Fortune or Trader
6)	Performer

Initial Characteristic Table

Ability Total	Fortitude	Form	Faculty
44	6	3	4
40-41	6	3	5
35-37	6	4	4
31-32	6	4	5
28-29	6	5	5

RPGs for All

The Code of Steam and Steel Character Generation

THE WORLD

Abilities

APPENDIX 1: ABILITIES

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