OOC - Maelstrom - A Steampunk Project #3

Okay, so this should be the last one of these Concept Development posts before we compile our ideas and launch the game. My objective here is to organize the discussed ideas, finalize our desired game mechanics, and make sure we are all on the same page with regards to how some of the more foreign concepts work.

What we have so far:

Concept

• Maelstrom takes place in a steampunk/dieselpunk/flagpunk setting where a precious resource called Flagesium powers a grimdark civilization where most of humanity is crammed into one of two cities, the floating utopia of Elesium, or the smoggy city below, Dusk. Flagesium is mined from a great mine called the Delve, where mutant slaves and ship it to Dusk, where it is refined and flown to Elesium to keep the City in the Sky afloat in return for clean food, water, and medicine. This is necessary because a perpetual, extremely potent, toxic canopy called the Maelstrom resides over Dusk and the wasteland that surrounds it. This symbiotic relationship has kept the civilization alive for centuries, but as is the case with every system, some people have been benefitting from it more than others, and many of those that have been getting the raw end of the deal would like to do something about it...

• Much of the technology seen in Dusk, Elesium, and the Delve is quite fantastical, powered by Flagesium and given form and function by thaumaturgy and alchemy.

Locations

• Dusk, a massive city (approximately how many people?), made up of seven districts, which are: Highholm, The Capital (proposed name change: Paramount or Paramount Hill), The Twins, The Steamworks, The Centrum, The Rose District, The Sprawl.

• The Darklands are a desolate wasteland outside of Dusk. Don't go there. Seriously, there is nothing out there. Hopefully.

• The Delve is a massive mine where humanity gets its Flagesium from. Is this under Dusk or a safe distance away? Also, the railway should probably run to the Steamworks. Does it still enter through the south, as originally suggested, which would mean cutting through the Sprawl?

• Elesium is supposedly a utopia where clean food, water, and wealth are abundant. Barely anyone who lives downstairs has ever actually seen Elesium, let alone actually explored it at all, so its hard to say what exactly is up there. But the good food, water, and medicine does come from there, so it has got to be great, right?

• The Nexus is the only known hole in the Maelstrom that people and machines can safely travel to in order to get to and from Elesium and the earth below.

Proposed Game Mechanics

We haven't really discussed this in depth yet, but I believe this is something we really need to consider. In all of the games I have been a part of, every writer writes words exclusively for their characters and NPCs. However, I'm watching games like Oroboros progress at a much faster pace due to writers using each other's characters, and I admit that this is something I want to try. I'm going to propose some rules/guidelines for posting, character creation, post formatting, and such.

• In most cases writers can write words and actions for ANY character, even somebody elses's character, although when writing for someone elses character, please don't make any big decisions or make anything drastic happen to them without the owner's permission. Also, please try your darndest to write EVERY character in a way that they would realistically act.

• Whenever someone creates a new character, that character has three post grace period during which only the creator can write actions and words for the character. This is so that the character's owner can get a feel for and characterize their character the way they want too.

• If someone wants to retain exclusive control of their character, they can put a (P) at the end the character's profile name.

• If someone wants to make a character that they feel should exist, but they don't necessarily want to use the character, they can make the character and put (NPC) at the end of the character's profile name. This character will then be public domain and can be freely used by anybody.

• I think that the opening statement of all posts should detail the approximate starting location and time that the post is taking place at. For example:

==== Evening, Friday, June 1st, 4577 EC. Corbin Street, Centrum ====

This way, it is easier to follow when and where your post is taking place.

Things we still need to discuss

• What exactly is thaumaturgy? What can it do. What can't it do? How does someone do it? Who can do it? Can anyone do it, or only certain people. Why?

• Same questions for alchemy.

• A calandar

• Weapons - I propose that repeating rifles and pistols exist and are fairly popular, but automatic firearms are not exactly portable yet if they are even a thing.

• What does the military even do?

There are probably some other things, but its getting late, so I'll start with those.