Steampunk Suggestions

[Xathan]

Oh, yeah, I thought of those - I'm just curious what the Canon reason is.

If I get a vote, the previously mentioned Nightmare Faeries (Who for some reason I keep calling the Protosidhe or Archaosidhe in my head, partially because it has a nice ring of the archaic evil plus fae, and partially because I love mixing up words) would make for an excellent reason why. Or Dinosaurs. Because everyone loves Dinosaurs, as overdone as they are. :P

[O Senhor Leetz]

haha, since when have dinosaurs been overdone in fantasy, or even steampunk settings? but seems somewhat out of place, so i would say avoid.

[Xathan]

Same - but I had to make the joke. And they're not quite overdone yet, but ever since Eberron they've become increasingly common.

At the same time, steampunk weapons mounted on a triceratops just tickles me in ways I can't explain. :P

[beejazz]

You could also design the natural fauna of your world to be like dinosaurs or other extinct species, but without specific species references. If the game's not straight fantasy, but you want big dumb monsters to fight, giant lizards could easily be the way to go. Bonus points for using a mounted combat system that works.

[Steampunk Knight]

Wee! History! In such a tribal setting, how did the First Wizards begin to meet? Why wasn't society developing on its own?

Interest is most assuredly held.

Tribes are very close to one another. Some are close enough for a person to walk to one and back in a day. I see it starting with a group of wizards who were close enough to meet. Then after they met they wizards would travel home and then make contact to wizards to tribes further out.

I'm going to answer the last question below.

Wee! History! In such a tribal setting, how did the First Wizards begin to meet? Why wasn't society developing on its own?

Interest is most assuredly held.

the danger of monsters, demi-human hordes, and other darker, quieter things could have easily kept humanity in check before magic and the, Im presuming, industrial and steampunk advancement they later made unbalanced the scales.

Your right for the most part, but don't forget about the humans themselves. Now it wasn't the rise of tech that started the creation of society, but the rise of magic that really started things going. Society would become a monoculture under their rule. Then when the wizards started warring amongst themselves and their downfall is when the monoculture would fracture in a varied amount of societies.

You could also design the natural fauna of your world to be like dinosaurs or other extinct species, but without specific species references. If the game's not straight fantasy, but you want big dumb monsters to fight, giant lizards could easily be the way to go. Bonus points for using a mounted combat system that works.

Is there one that works?

[beejazz]

Is there one that works?

I could probably help you cobble one together, gear-head that I am. But I kind of like the idea of treating the mount's turn and the player's turn as one and the same. If the mount moves, that's the player's movement this turn, and likewise for attacks. If you want to attack with both, I'd treat that similar to dual wielding (penalty to both, or however you handle it). And if you want to be realistic, have people target rider or mount, but use "firing into a crowd" type rules that let the other get hit sometimes. That plus options to charge past and trample foes and you're golden. Lots come pretty close to getting this right. It's just the specifics that bog down a lot of rule sets.

Vehicles are a little different. I like the idea of vehicles that keep going the same speed/direction until you act to accelerate, decelerate, or steer.

[Steampunk Knight]

Is there one that works?

I could probably help you cobble one together, gear-head that I am. But I kind of like the idea of treating the mount's turn and the player's turn as one and the same. If the mount moves, that's the player's movement this turn, and likewise for attacks. If you want to attack with both, I'd treat that similar to dual wielding (penalty to both, or however you handle it). And if you want to be realistic, have people target rider or mount, but use "firing into a crowd" type rules that let the other get hit sometimes. That plus options to charge past and trample foes and you're golden. Lots come pretty close to getting this right. It's just the specifics that bog down a lot of rule sets.

Vehicles are a little different. I like the idea of vehicles that keep going the same speed/direction until you act to accelerate, decelerate, or steer.

I like all of those ideas, and when I get into the mechanics of the system I am going to build, I will incorporate those ideas into it.