Re: Steampunk Jammer

><I'm even considering going so far
>as to
>deny characters that hail from the tech-nation the
>ability to use
>magical
>items because the have strayed so far from their
>magical origins.>
>
>Be careful about this.  Magic items are enormously
>important to most characters, a twentieth level
>fighter with only a greatsword and a set of fullplate
>will be solidly trounced by 15th level fighter with
>magical equipment apropriate for their level.

This is true. Only low level magical items will be available on markets and
to the military. Things along the lines of +1 swords and stuff, but beyond
that, higher level magic items are pretty rare.

>If you are going to disallow the use of magic items
>Ironland(or whatever) then you are going to have to
>supply some sort of techno-aclchemical alternative to
>put their elites on the same footing as Magicopia's.
>I  think magic of Faerun or some other Forgotten
>Realms source book has a (gnomish) artificer class
>that is like that (I think they give an example of a
>mechanical arm cover that gives the user bull strength
>with like 50 charges or somesuch)

I never got into FR, so I'm really not familiar with the setting. They do
have technology, and I am going to make a steam powered set of armor
available to the tech's. As far as alchemy goes, I haven't found enough
background on it to make it an alternative to magic.

>As was mentioned earlier you'll need some sort of
>magical (or alchemical) way of moving spelljammers at
>the speeds they do, other wise your nation is going to
>be confined to its one planet at the most.  I liked
>that etherial turbine thing.  Steam technology is only
>going to take you so far, at some point you need some
>kind of magical effect, but alchemy (which is a form
>of magic I guess) can easily provide that.

Well, I made up some mumbo jumbo about them developing a special series of
crystals which, when powered, allow them to travel at sj speeds.