[Power 19] - Kaneon

[David Berg]

Cool!  To me, that sounds like a quality d20 sourcebook.  Lots of info about the world and inspirational fiction, with a lot of specific applications of d20 rules (e.g. character classes) tailored to the setting, plus maybe a few new mechanics to integrate with d20 rules. 

I recommend browsing through your game store's d20 worldbooks and seeing which are the most appealing to you in terms of content.  This would probably help you decide what any published (or, y'know, "offered to others" in some form) version of Kaneon ought to include.

If you want to see a distinctive d20 game that takes general D&D play into a very specific new place, I recommend Slaine.  (I should admit that I haven't played it.  I just read it and was impressed.)

[Greg 1]

How large an area of the universe are you going to write up?  Is the scope of your project a nation, or a continent, or a planet, or many planets that the PCs might travel to and fro from on a regular basis?

Do you have a list of your races?  Are they all from the same planet?

[Greg 1]

Oh, also, how do the steam punk elements make an adventurer's life different than what it might normally be in a fantasy game?  Does anyone still use swords and heavy armor, or are they all armed with rifles?  Can you cross a continent in a couple of days by hopping on a train?

[oriondarkwood]

Cool!  To me, that sounds like a quality d20 sourcebook.  Lots of info about the world and inspirational fiction, with a lot of specific applications of d20 rules (e.g. character classes) tailored to the setting, plus maybe a few new mechanics to integrate with d20 rules. 

I recommend browsing through your game store's d20 worldbooks and seeing which are the most appealing to you in terms of content.  This would probably help you decide what any published (or, y'know, "offered to others" in some form) version of Kaneon ought to include.

If you want to see a distinctive d20 game that takes general D&D play into a very specific new place, I recommend Slaine.  (I should admit that I haven't played it.  I just read it and was impressed.)

Hmm I have to check it out. As for Kaneon, I been working on and off for the last 13 years and right now I say Kaneon is about 45% done and that is mainly the detail that I am putting in it.. althought I am starting to really consider putting less detail in the main sourcebooks and detailing it later as market forces dicate.

[oriondarkwood]

How large an area of the universe are you going to write up?  Is the scope of your project a nation, or a continent, or a planet, or many planets that the PCs might travel to and fro from on a regular basis?

Do you have a list of your races?  Are they all from the same planet?

To answer your questions

1. How large? The known universe, since spell jamming vessels do exist on Kaneon and other worlds, the known universe is open.. however most of the sourcebooks are for Kaneon.

Just a quick note, space travel is by spacial teleport (ST) , where a teleport bubble is generated over a period of time based on distance (ST are based on x,y and z ), once the bubble is complete the ship is instantly teleported. Of coruse this process can be speed up with a chance for mis-jumping which is anything from ending up at the wrong location to teleporting to another plane of existance.

2. List of Races

I will post a complete list on my wiki page soon, but here is a partial list

Graven - sentient mecha-magical machines from the age of Bloodrots
Jungle Drawves - drawves that have given up thier underground ways and live mostly in the jungles as "fixers" and guides
Felin - cat/human hybirds
Winged Elves - self explainatory
Grassgul - human/praying mantis hybirds
Qurka - rock men
Renalesar - pacaderm/human race of space faring bounty hunters

3. All the races on Kaneon

No, however the races on other planets I am leaving vague so DM's can create other planets to thier liking..

[oriondarkwood]

Oh, also, how do the steam punk elements make an adventurer's life different than what it might normally be in a fantasy game?  Does anyone still use swords and heavy armor, or are they all armed with rifles?  Can you cross a continent in a couple of days by hopping on a train?

Hmm well everything from the mundane ie a typical day in Derg (the highest tech nation in Kaneon and also the only nation to have a spaceport) a average day could see a character waking up taking a jelly shower (tech/magic device that forces dirty water thur a gelatinous cube and then it rains down on the character, the water is headed by powered kstyals), checking the local citybrain (a tech magic hyper sentient organic computer that is in some of the larger more technological advanced cities) for the time of the tenzor races (air races by steam powered craft that go in excess of 300MPH thanks to a magical coat of oil that reduces friction) and to see if thier spell jamming craft is repaired. Then check thier postbag for mail (custom bag of holding for mail, imagine a portable post office).

However keep in a mind that not all of Kaneon is steampunk, thier are nations that are very stock D&D, even on the borders of the more techonical nations its pretty stock D&D. Also add to the fact that the tech nations all signed and agreed to a treaty that basically treats the non-technological nations and some areas within the tech nations as for lack of better word wildlife game preserves (ie no tech or very limited tech).

To answer your gun question, Not everyone since guns are unstable (mis-fires on a 1 or 2), and are pricey (a stock brass pistol 1d6 damage, 3 shots a round) will set you back 200GP and bullets are 20GP a round. Lastly stock bullets are considered normal missiles. And bullets can only be enchanted to +2 (note, their is a Gunslinger class which allows for the character to hit magical creatures with normal bullets and to ignore the usual protections from normal missles).

To answer your last question, yes thier are rail engines (steam powered lev trains), dragonfliers (aircraft that looks like dragons) and airships (think Final Fantasy)

[Greg 1]

Hmm well everything from the mundane ie a typical day in Derg (the highest tech nation in Kaneon and also the only nation to have a spaceport) a average day could see a character waking up taking a jelly shower (tech/magic device that forces dirty water thur a gelatinous cube and then it rains down on the character, the water is headed by powered kstyals), checking the local citybrain (a tech magic hyper sentient organic computer that is in some of the larger more technological advanced cities) for the time of the tenzor races (air races by steam powered craft that go in excess of 300MPH thanks to a magical coat of oil that reduces friction) and to see if thier spell jamming craft is repaired. Then check thier postbag for mail (custom bag of holding for mail, imagine a portable post office).

Interesting!  I am no expert on D20, but I don't recall seeing something like this for it.  If I were you, I would focus on presenting Derg and the other high-tech cities.  For areas that are more "stock" D&D, you are competing for attention with every other "stock" D&D setting.  Even if your "stock" stuff is better, people won't know that unless they read it in the first place.  Derg, on the other hand, has a "hook" that might get people reading.

[oriondarkwood]

Hmm well everything from the mundane ie a typical day in Derg (the highest tech nation in Kaneon and also the only nation to have a spaceport) a average day could see a character waking up taking a jelly shower (tech/magic device that forces dirty water thur a gelatinous cube and then it rains down on the character, the water is headed by powered kstyals), checking the local citybrain (a tech magic hyper sentient organic computer that is in some of the larger more technological advanced cities) for the time of the tenzor races (air races by steam powered craft that go in excess of 300MPH thanks to a magical coat of oil that reduces friction) and to see if thier spell jamming craft is repaired. Then check thier postbag for mail (custom bag of holding for mail, imagine a portable post office).

Interesting!  I am no expert on D20, but I don't recall seeing something like this for it.  If I were you, I would focus on presenting Derg and the other high-tech cities.  For areas that are more "stock" D&D, you are competing for attention with every other "stock" D&D setting.  Even if your "stock" stuff is better, people won't know that unless they read it in the first place.  Derg, on the other hand, has a "hook" that might get people reading.

I see your point, kinda like Forgotten Realms where they have a core book and then kingdom books like Mazaitan, Waterdeep, Dales etc.. etc..  Is that what you are getting at?

For the record here are the kingdoms of Kaneon

Derg - Already talked about, arrogant to outsiders
Torg - Very miltaristic kingdom, the least techonlogical of the tech kingdoms
Talon - techongical kingdom, prefers to resolve issues via diplomacy
Kitha - great plains land, the people are mainly a normadic people
Sila - strong theocratic kingdom, ruthless merchants and assassins
Norda - strong proud people of the frozen wasterlands
Legbeth - Island chain of people very linked to nature, also know for the Kraken rift where kraken come to spawn
Kaganmoor - Island chain famous for being a dragon breeding ground, its people are very mutated due to the high magicotive levels

[Greg 1]

What about starting with a writeup focussing on Derg (and Talon, if the technological kingdoms are neighbors) with just basic information about the other nations.  Then, as followups, you could write up the other nations.  Derg has an immediate hook in the steampunk element.  That hook sets is aside immediately from other settings (that I know of).  If people like it, then the hooks for later writeups would be that they occur in the familiar world-of-Derg.

[oriondarkwood]

What about starting with a writeup focussing on Derg (and Talon, if the technological kingdoms are neighbors) with just basic information about the other nations.  Then, as followups, you could write up the other nations.  Derg has an immediate hook in the steampunk element.  That hook sets is aside immediately from other settings (that I know of).  If people like it, then the hooks for later writeups would be that they occur in the familiar world-of-Derg.

I will get a map up on my wiki the next couple of days, but Talon and Torg are close together (think Talon as the US and Torg as Canada) with Derg being roughly 6,000 miles to the northwest of west coast of Talon. So my layout should be

Kaneon Sourcebook
Kingdom of Derg sourcebook
Kingdom of Talon sourcebook
Kingdom of Torg sourcebook
etc.. etc..

And in the kingdom sourcebook have something like
History of kingdom
Geography of kingdom (more details than in the sourcebook)
Politics
Groups
Talents (think feats)