The Dawn After Steam: Setting

Power: Artisanry

Artisanship imposes one's will on the materials and energies of the world. Wizards, gadgeteers, artificers, and crystal masters are all artisans. What we would call magic and technology are both expressions of imposing one's will on reality. More accurately, in this world, the laws of physics & magic are not differentiated. Someone could smelt ore purely using methods we would consider scientific, but it would be much more efficient to do that while also speaking the right incantations over the metal.

The bigger divide is matter vs. energy. Most of what we would consider technology is dealing with the matter side of the equation: one manipulates inert, lifeless matter until it becomes a powerful item of some kind. Guns, airships, swords, potions ... these are all material imposition. Material effects can naturally arise as well. The weapon of the greatest swordsman in the world will become magical, and the field where a horrible battle took place will become cursed. Creating fireballs, laying on hands, and many other effects we would often call magical are about manipulating energy flows. The farther down this path one goes, the less one can embed the effect in a material form. It's fleeting and often invisible.

The benefit of this path to power is that the artisan (or an artisan community) is in control of their own fate. Unfortunately, this is also a path defined by a degree of hubris. With great power comes an increasingly likelihood that things will go horribly wrong. In many ways, this is the story of the Kingdom of Steam. In the end, it was not defeated by a greater enemy, or even bad luck. It was defeated when its own creations turned against it, destroying it from within.

This world is not industrialized. There are guns, the occasional airship, but no mass production. The physical and social infrastructure necessary for industrialization is simply not there. Some societies are more advanced than others, however. The Kingdom of Steam came close to industrialization, but things ended badly for them. Things would also end badly for people specializing on the energy side of things, or someone who does both.

Power: Patronage

The second path to power is patronage, this setting's version of divine magic. The Patrons are various cosmic forces and concepts. They are single-minded beings that push utterly alien objectives, and they view humans as tools and pawns to further those objectives.

One can gain power by giving one's self to a Patron, submitting to their will. It is common for a community or an individual promise to act in accordance with a Patron's wishes in specific ways (rituals, following taboos, etc.), and in exchange the Patron grants specific boons.

The Patrons love having insane or mindless instruments furthering their cause. While most people do not see anything particularly wrong with a degree of patronage, most view The Listeners as dangerously unhinged.

Religion

Beyond the Patrons, the world does not have institutionalized religions we would recognize. There are a handful of highly mystical religions, but they are not as widespread and they do not offer any forms of divine power. The mystics have diverse views when it comes to artisanship and patronage, and just like all other organizations in this world, there are no mystic faiths that have managed to be truly widespread.