Stone, Steel, and Steam Open Beta - Playtesters Wanted

[markgamemaker]

What if the Chinese had discovered America and not Columbus?  What if the Native Americans had developed more advanced technology and complex societies that were better able to resist foreign invaders?  This is not an alternate history - it's an alternate world with unique geography, cultures, and magic - but the core idea is an Age of Discovery going very differently than the Columbian Exchange.  Stone, Steel, and Steam is a low-fantasy, steampunk-influenced RPG about cultures in collision.

The setting is based on years of world travel and historical and ethnological research.  It's fantasy, but each of these cultures feels like it could have existed in Earth's past and remixes several historical counterparts.  Magic is very subtle, more like ESP - a lot of sane, educated people don't believe it exists.  The most advanced nations have the equivalent of 1860's technology, and they've recently discovered and began to colonize a new continent with native Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age cultures.  Unprecedented changes are shaking up every society, and the time is ripe for adventurers to win their fortunes, make great discoveries, and tilt the balance of power.  The setting itself is morally and culturally neutral - the characters may be colonists fighting evil natives or natives fighting evil colonists.  There's plenty of room for diplomacy intrigue, mystery, romance, exploration, action, and adventure in its original sense.

The whole thing is pretty much ready to go.  What it needs right now is extensive playtesting to find and hammer out the kinks and beat the manual into its most usable shape.  Here's the Beta manual that's free to download and redistribute:
Stone, Steel, and Steam RPG Open Beta