Hearts of Iron
A Savage Worlds PbP game combining steampunk, fantasy and westerns, run by Panticles.
Contents
The Game
The Characters
Our Heroes
In alphabetical order:
- Black Wren, an elven gambler and shootist played by Shawn_Hagen
- Cristoph Devonian, a mad doctor played by Delacroix
- Frodi Thorvald, a dwarven warrior played by Civil Savage
- Leonard Artaire Mondegreen, a halfling mage played by Delfino
- Samuel Lockett, a former Marine played by Kreenwarrior
- Toff Burgrave, an upper-class twit played by Furmyr
- Will Colder, a one-armed gunfighter played by Max
Major Supporting Cast
In order of appearance:
- Sir Isaac 'Ironhand' Grunton, First Councilor of Legarme - The current employer of our heroes (strictly off the record).
The Setting
Arion
a kingdom formed from the joining of five kingdoms who were each offered a pair of godstones, a large fist sized gem which is the focal point for a god from the outer darkness, like from the Cthulu mythology, which once joined with a willing host becomes the avatar of that god on earth, so there are ten ruling monarchs, a pair from each kingdom, who rule jointly. These gods aren't evil, but neither are they good, they are relatively indifferent but grant their host vast power but at the price of their life. So extended use of their powers drain the life out of their host, shortening their life span. The Royals aren't worshiped as gods even though they exhibit powers that are godlike in scope; most of the Royals are members of one of the various established religions, be it the Orthodox Church of Raab The Redeemer, the White Veil Sect or the Hunters of Verlion. However, it is whispered that those Royals who have children after they have bonded with a godstone produce unholy abominations whose very appearance unhinges the mind of those who look upon them, although there has never been any proof that this is the case, but neither has any godbound Royal produced any children...
Arion has access to the sea to the east but is surrounded by four nations. The first is the Merginon Empire, an imperial nation of halflings, modeled on the French Empire during the Napoleonic era who are expansionist in the extreme. Next is the dwarven Clanholds who are similar to the vikings except that they live underground in tunnelled out strongholds but they raid anybody they can find in their steampowered landships. Then there is the elven Gatherings who dwell in the great forest, although they aren't native to the continent and neither is the forest as it is a product of the elves powerful combination of magic and bio-science. Finally there is the Free Republic, a nation state of monsters and evil humanoids of all kinds where every being is free to do as they will and might makes right, which was created by an order of monks who value freedom and see the nation as a grand experiment and hope that they can bring some of these monsters into a state of enlightenment.
Legarme
The westernmost city in the Kingdom of Arion, a steam-powered industry-driven metropolis of some one hundred and fifty thousand souls, ruled by the High Council.
Merginon Empire
With the coming of the Age of Steam, Merginon was transformed from a tiny nation of tiny people into a bloated nation of tiny people with disproportionately large egos. The halflings were the first to embrace steam engines and incorporate them into siege weapons; rumbling, mountainous tanks with cannons that could level all but the sturdiest of ramparts. The halflings expanded rapidly, but when their neighbors began to copy their inventions, their growth ground to a halt. The spoils of war went to the aristocracy, while the advent of factories and other modern conveniences left the lower classes quite impoverished.
The current emperor, Childebert, longs for the 'golden days' of Mergin expansion, and has been raising taxes on people of all classes to increase production of new war machines. He might have an army large enough to conquer Arion itself within a decade-- if the overtaxed masses do not revolt first!
The Merginon people, being only about three feet tall, generally use smaller and lighter firearms, made in their home country. These weapons fire smaller caliber bullets, but are made with exceptional quality, and prized by assassins and other rogues for being easy to conceal.
- Merginon Jackal (.22) - Range 10/20/40, Damage 2d6-1, RoF 1, Cost 300 (or 150 inside Merginon), Weight 2, Shots 5, Notes: +2 to conceal, Revolver
Houserules
New Hindrances
Potent Backfire (minor)
When this character rolls a 1 on his spellcasting die, regardless of the Wild Die, the spell he was casting backfires in an explosive way. In addition to being shaken as normal, he rolls 1d20, adds the amount of power points spent to cast the spell, and consults the following table.
- 2-5 Shockwave - The caster falls prone and cannot stand up until his next action.
- 6-9 Sonic Boom - The caster is rendered completely deaf for 1d6 minutes.
- 10-13 Combustion - Something suitably inconvenient catches on fire.
- 14-17 Paralysis - The caster is unable to use one of his limbs for 1d6 minutes.
- 18-21 Flashbang - The caster is completely blinded and deafened for 1d6 minutes.
- 22+ Eruption - A firey explosion centered on the caster, dealing 3d6 damage to him and anything nearby.
Resources
- Invisible Castle - the online dice roller of choice
- Savagepedia - the unofficial Savage Worlds wiki
