One of the things I wanted in Hope & Glory was to offer my players a science fiction game. Much as I loved Castle Falkenstein, I did not want to insert fantasy races and magic in my setting.
Hope & Glory was designed to be a hard science fiction setting, but with a twist: this being a Victorian-ish setting, it would stick to 19th century science.
If it was considered science in the 19th century, we would treat it like real science, and go with it.
So yes, basically I cheated. Continue reading
Category Archives: Books
Hope & Glory – a reading list (fiction)
As you can imagine, the next few days will be focused on promoting Hope & Glory, my steampulp game of exotic adventure. I will try to do this while staying true to the themes and purposes of my blog, because I know not everybody’s a roleplayer out there.
And for a change I will talk books.
Yesterday night, with my co-author Umberto Pignatelli and my publisher Gionata Dal Farra, we tried to make a list of influences for Hope & Glory, and the list went on forever.
So, here’s a brief reading list, covering fiction.
I’ll do another post about the non-fiction, later. Continue reading
Hope & Glory – Game Master’s Handbook
This is not your grandfather’s steampunk.
The Western World was wiped out, the capitals of Europe buried under a thick layer of ice.
In the aftermath of the Catastrophe, a brand new civilization was born in the marriage between Victorian pragmatism and Indian imagination.
Now, after one century of isolation, the Anglo-Indian Raj marches forward towards a future of peace and progress.
It’s a new age of exploration and discovery.
You can be a Soldier of the Raj or a Tai-pan, a sky-pirate or a psychic or a consulting detective, an inventor or a spy, a man of science or a woman of action, a civilized neanderthal or a savage human.
Explore a world changed by a glaciation and salvage its treasures.
Hunt the fierce Sabretooth Tiger and the dread Sumatran Monkey-Rat.
Face the agents of the Czar and their hordes of Neanderthal Cossacks.
Travel to the Astral Plane and meets its ethereal denizens.
Invent a better future, and fight the enemies of progress.
Discover the secrets of the Nine Unknown Masters of the World.
This is Hope & Glory, a steampulp adventure of scientific romance, intrigue, and discovery, in a brave new world.
In this book you’ll find:
- An analysis of themes and styles of Indian Steampunk!
- A Bestiary of creatures and NPCs typical of the Raji!
- A full plot point campaign which will lead you in the skies of half the known world!
- A number of Savage Tales!
- And much much more!
Welcome to a new world… On the 21st of October 1852, the citizens of London and Paris were awed at the sight of the western sky turning suddenly a strange shade of purple and red. The first seismic shocks were felt all over the world in the following hours, and by the dawn of the 23rd of October, the giant waves hit the coasts of Europe. In the evening of the same day, while the tremors continued, catastrophic waves also hit the coasts of Asia. Whole cities, blasted by the earthquakes, were submerged by the sea. Millions of lives were lost. Then the Black Rain began, washing the ruins and leaving behind a thick layer of ashes. Dark, impenetrable clouds hid the sun, and the Thirty Years Winter began. In the Northern Hemisphere crops failed, snow-bound cities went up in flames as the populations rioted and the governments tried to find a solution, the means to survive.
One hundred years have passed now since the Catastrophe, and humanity has survived. In the former colonial domains of Africa and South America. In the blasted plains of China. Among the remains of the Japanese archipelago. In Russian palaces sealed against the howling winds of the steppe. In the land that once was India. With sacrifice and ingenuity, with courage and hope, new nations have crawled back from the brink to claim the new world.
Science is a beacon to the future.
From the frozen wastes of Europe, where the mammoth roams, to the proud Zulu Nation of Africa, from the technological wonders of the Anglo-Indian Raj to the mist-shrouded shores of Lost America, these are the stories of a new, strange world.
Thanks for reading, and have fun!
Hope & Glory – The Player’s Handbook
This is not your grandfather’s steampunk.
The Western World was wiped out, the capitals of Europe buried under a thick layer of ice.
In the aftermath of the Catastrophe, a brand new civilization was born in the marriage between Victorian pragmatism and Indian imagination.
Now, after one century of isolation, the Anglo-Indian Raj marches forward towards a future of peace and progress.
It’s a new age of exploration and discovery.
You can be a Soldier of the Raj or a Tai-pan, a sky-pirate or a psychic or a consulting detective, an inventor or a spy, a man of science or a woman of action, a civilized neanderthal or a savage human.
Explore a world changed by a glaciation and salvage its treasures.
Hunt the fierce Sabretooth Tiger and the dread Sumatran Monkey-Rat.
Face the agents of the Czar and their hordes of Neanderthal Cossacks.
Travel to the Astral Plane and meets its ethereal denizens.
Invent a better future, and fight the enemies of progress.
Discover the secrets of the Nine Unknown Masters of the World.
This is Hope & Glory, a steampulp adventure of scientific romance, intrigue, and discovery, in a brave new world.
In this book you’ll find:
- More than twenty new Edges and Hindrances!
- The Psychic World: a new dangerous dimension and new dangerous powers!
- The secrets of the Kalaripayattu, the indian martial arts!
- Extensive rules for clockwork inventions, prostetics and automathons, including your friendly helpful majordomo!
- A large list of steampunk gear Hope & Glory style, including the (in)famous Goventosa monowheel!
Welcome to a new world… On the 21st of October 1852, the citizens of London and Paris were awed at the sight of the western sky turning suddenly a strange shade of purple and red. The first seismic shocks were felt all over the world in the following hours, and by the dawn of the 23rd of October, the giant waves hit the coasts of Europe. In the evening of the same day, while the tremors continued, catastrophic waves also hit the coasts of Asia. Whole cities, blasted by the earthquakes, were submerged by the sea. Millions of lives were lost. Then the Black Rain began, washing the ruins and leaving behind a thick layer of ashes. Dark, impenetrable clouds hid the sun, and the Thirty Years Winter began. In the Northern Hemisphere crops failed, snow-bound cities went up in flames as the populations rioted and the governments tried to find a solution, the means to survive.
One hundred years have passed now since the Catastrophe, and humanity has survived. In the former colonial domains of Africa and South America. In the blasted plains of China. Among the remains of the Japanese archipelago. In Russian palaces sealed against the howling winds of the steppe. In the land that once was India. With sacrifice and ingenuity, with courage and hope, new nations have crawled back from the brink to claim the new world.
Science is a beacon to the future.
From the frozen wastes of Europe, where the mammoth roams, to the proud Zulu Nation of Africa, from the technological wonders of the Anglo-Indian Raj to the mist-shrouded shores of Lost America, these are the stories of a new, strange world.
Thanks for reading, and have fun!
Guest Post: an Overview of the Italian indie ebook market, pt. 4
Like that guy used to sing, this is the end, and my friend Marina has some final observations about the Italian Indie Ebook Market, and its denizens.
And as two of those denizens, both Marina and I feel very strange about this whole situation. Because we are writers, and writing is what we do.
And seeing the bad state of the market in which we – more or less – live, is a source of pain and of depression.
If it’s so bad why do you keep writing and self publishing?, you might ask.
Because, as Donald Fagen said when he channeled Ray Charles, that’s what I do.
Thank you for reading these posts, and thanks to Marina for writing this chillingly accurate overview.
One last time into the fray, my brave!
Enjoy! Continue reading
Guest Post: an Overview of the Italian indie ebook market, pt. 3
And we are now ready for the third part of Marina’s excellent – and painful – overview of the Italian indie ebook market.
As usual, the comments are open.
Enjoy! Continue reading
Karavansara 