Steampunk Archaeology Ideas?

[Agent 333]

I also intend to use my Giant Octopus Attack in this campaign. A giant octopus grapples someone, then doesn't let go. Not dealing any damage, just latching on and being carried around until it gets bored or they somehow get it off. (Borrowed from the behavior of real giant octopi - for some reason they seem to think that humans are nifty.) And with the strength and eight arms it gets quite a bonus to grappling, too....

The critter is scary, but not aggressive, just curious.

The Auld Grump

For some reason it reminds me of the Old Man of the Sea that Sinbad encountered...

[TheAuldGrump]

I also intend to use my Giant Octopus Attack in this campaign. A giant octopus grapples someone, then doesn't let go. Not dealing any damage, just latching on and being carried around until it gets bored or they somehow get it off. (Borrowed from the behavior of real giant octopi - for some reason they seem to think that humans are nifty.) And with the strength and eight arms it gets quite a bonus to grappling, too....

The critter is scary, but not aggressive, just curious.

The Auld Grump

For some reason it reminds me of the Old Man of the Sea that Sinbad encountered...

Not a bad connection there, actually. Though in Sinbad (and countless other variants - my favorite being Mary Culhane and the Dead Man) there is no malice here, just menace, and that is accidental. If they leave it alone it will ride along for a while, occasionally make a grab for something shiny, then get bored and drift off. If they feed it or play with it on the other hand... they may discover that it has the personality of a Labrador Retriever.... Not particularly useful, but very friendly.

The Wheelman (and eventual Firebrand) wants to know if I will allow him access to something akin to a Laborjack from the Iron Kingdoms. How am I supposed to hint that that is exactly what I hoped he would ask, and that I already have the figure painted up?

The Auld Grump

[MugMug]

How am I supposed to hint that that is exactly what I hoped he would ask, and that I already have the figure painted up?

How about, "I hoped you would ask, and I already have the figure painted."

Walter

[snake]

Giant Octopi and Steampunk.

It can only be:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=20000+leagues+under+sea&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=-OJmSpz3GNC2jAfN99CUAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5


http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=warlords+of+atlantis&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=QeNmStjmGcafjAfz-9WpAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

[TheAuldGrump]

Giant Octopi and Steampunk.

It can only be:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=20000+leagues+under+sea&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=-OJmSpz3GNC2jAfN99CUAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5


http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=warlords+of+atlantis&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=QeNmStjmGcafjAfz-9WpAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

Heh - sort of a cross between 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and an octopus that one of my teachers had as a pet. Mrs. Grundy was a very friendly creature - about six inches across with her tentacles spread. She could, and would 'shake hands', and was more than a bit of an escape artist - managing to get out of her tank, across the room, up a shelf, and into the minnow tank where her lunch was kept. She (Mrs. Grundy may well have been male, but given the name I am sticking with 'she') actually didn't do all that much damage to the minnow population - at a guess she got bored.

For fish, octopi are very intelligent. Just kind of, ummm, icky. Shaking hands with her felt exactly like you would think it would. She could also plop through a hoop - the hoop held above the water, she would grasp it, pull her body through, *plop*, and proudly accept her minnow.

The Auld Grump, you know, looking at it I thought it would be slimy. And it was! Could be worse though - I was once asked to pet a hagfish (also called blen fish or slime eel) once in class....  They can produce six times their body weight in pure snot within seconds. The hagfish is sometimes called' The Most Disgusting of All Sea Creatures' by marine biologists. To add to the fun, their slime can be used as a substitute for egg white. Bleecchhh!

[TheAuldGrump]

How am I supposed to hint that that is exactly what I hoped he would ask, and that I already have the figure painted up?

How about, "I hoped you would ask, and I already have the figure painted."

Walter

Now that's just crazy talk!

Probably what I am going to do, though. I would be lying if I told him that I had painted the figure just for his character though - I have been wanting somebody to do a 'jack handler for ages. His was the first one to actually seem like it was going to be a possibility.

If he wants, later the 'jack can be a companion - most likely some form of a Personal Lieutenant.

The Auld Grump, now what I am I going to do with aover a hundred and fifty Fey-Touched cattle?...

[MugMug]

The Auld Grump, now what I am I going to do with aover a hundred and fifty Fey-Touched cattle?...

Beef, dairy, or a less-specialized combo?

Walter

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh - it is going to take a little tweaking, but I have found a figure for the Wheelman/Firebrand's Enemy (who has not yet shown up in game).

It will not be hard to steam this fellow up at all. The figure is Phat Clark, an upcoming release from the Reaper Chronoscope line.

The Auld Grump

[TheAuldGrump]

And the team is going for a trip to another barrow.

I keep saying that the Scoobypunk group never had any major battles, because I keep forgetting the one with the tree critters at Roundbarrow Hill.

I had forgotten it so much that when I ran across my notes for the site I decided to use in in the Archaeologist game. 

Fortunately, I was able to palm it off as a point of crossover between the two campaigns - and now the team is worried that the partially skeletonized remains of one archaeologist that the Scoobypunk team found encased in roots inside the barrow might have been one of them.

So, it is working out better than I had any reason to hope.

I should have remembered that I had used the site before, though. Especially since I painted up a box of GW Dryads just for the game.... Now that I am remembering I am also remembering why the players did remember it.

The Auld Grump, who seems to have a thing for plastic hordes pouring out of barrows....

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh - somebody has put up Undead Morris Dancers on Wargames FActory as a possible set. I pre-ordered two sprues, on the off chance that they might actually make it to production.

There is of course a place for them in this campaign.

The Auld Grump, who could say no to undead Morris dancers?

[TheAuldGrump]

Taking the hiatus as an opportunity to convert the campaign to Fantasy Craft....

I managed to mistime things on this - my last Steampunk campaign began before Crafty came out with The Big Score as an alternative method of handling gear, with the PCs being free agents, having no agency to provide gear. This time the PCs belong to an organization that does provide gear, but that is not a system that is native to Fantasy Craft. 

I may end up with some bastard offspring of the two systems - but trying to graft the Gear system from Spycraft on to Fantasy Craft is likely to be the biggest problem....

The Auld Grump, oy!

[MugMug]

You might want to consider Stockpile + Loot from The Big Score. Instead of gear picks you could use starting wealth (100s x CL) as the currency with which to buy gear. Prizes/channels could be purchased with Rep.

Walter

[TheAuldGrump]

Because of the Gear situation, plus my feeling lazy, I am not switching the campaign to Fantasy Craft, though I am leaving the option of PCs using classes from the book.

Whenever/Whatever the next SteamCraft campaign is will be switched over, unless I go with the espionage game.

The Auld Grump

[TheAuldGrump]

I have had a full month off on running this game, and am embarrassed by just how little I accomplished on getting ahead of the game. 

It has been fun playing for a change, though.

The Auld Grump, tomorrow may wrap my playing for a while....

[TheAuldGrump]

Names and persons:

Capt. Jebediah Bowdoin USN (ret.), USMM. Eyes glow in dim light, different colors depending on angle of illumination. Seems to ignore cold weather, native of Eastport, Maine USA. Tall, thin, white haired, beard cut to a goatish point, but covers cheeks. A clear Maine accent and an air of command.

Cmd. James Answertruth Lt. USN (ret,), USMM. Short for a man, tall for a dwarf, Capt. Bowdoin's chief engineer. Served with him in the tail end of the ACW. Short, barrel chested, despite age hair and short beard still a deep roan. Can crack his knucles loudly enough that they can be heard across the hold.

Ronald Stephensen ABS HMRN (ret.), Seaman BMN (Apt.) First officer, appointed by patron of the mission. Does not have sea legs despite naval rank. Strange burns on clothes, vinigary smell.

Ships:
USS Willoughby Chase - Capt. Bowdoin's ship, owned in full.
BMN Bellerophon - nicknamed the Flying Unnecessary by Capt. Bowdoin. A ship with an ill kept secret.
BMN Liverpool Judy - a floating drydock, where the Bellerophon was built in her entirety. 

The Auld Grump, the team finally got around to checking Capt. Bowdoin's aetheric signature last week.