A selection of illustrations by Alberto Bontempi for the Hope & Glory RPG.
Enjoy!
(as usual, click on an image to see the full-size picture)
Category Archives: My Projects
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 – the Character Sheet

Character Sheet designed by Francesca Baerald
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.
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.
Hope & Glory – the map

Map and art by Francesca Baerald


