Steam and Cogs

Overview  |  Technology  |  Races  |  The Order  |  Terminology

From computers, space travel and fusion power it was a long way to fall, but inevitable all the same. All things have a cycle of death and rebirth it is just a matter of cause and severity. At one point both were known but now only the fact that a great disaster occurred. Now after centuries, the population of the planet have pulled themselves out of the ashes and reclaimed at least some semblance of civilization it what remains of their world's past. The difference now is, instead of high technology to assist in the reclamation of what was, all is replaced by something far more inferior: power of the atom by steam, electronics and precision machinery by cogs of metal and wood, computer automation by blood and sweat of one's own hands, and most science by alchemy and small amounts of magic.

The only thing that changed in a favorable direction is that normally, humanity typically were on their own. But now others share in the effort of carving out a life in this world of steam and cogs. The Avar; a race of roughly humanoid creatures resembling birds of various species, hair replaced by feather and down, fingernails replaced by razor sharp talons and magnificently large wings; rule the skies and reside in the areas only accessible by them and airship. The Murroch; resembling all manner of furred bipedal mammals are ferocious if threatened but quite civilized and noble in their organization of tribes; reside in the wooded places of the world and are masters of the hunt. Next are those that have no real classification but are called Abominations by The Order. They still resemble humans in a very basic sense, but differ in a myriad of other ways; extra appendages, extra eyes, skin colors ranging the colors of the rainbow, gills, webbed digits the list goes on.

All seek to get their own little piece of this world to make their own but some see things differently. The Order of the Enduring, an organization of religious fanatics that speak out against all forms of high technology and their byproducts seeing it as the cause of raising their deity's ire and striking down the human race. The other three races are lumped in with these things due to fragments of paper labeling each as the result of human experimentation. However due to the fact that they didn't have a say in what they are they are pitied. So instead of destruction but because the Purists see them as less than human they are, to the Order, seen as little better than all the other dumb beasts of the world and are therefore only good enough to be slaves.

Despite the fall there is still much conflict in the world. Though nearly ninety percent of the world's population was destroyed some still feel there isn't enough room for all. The wilds reclaimed nearly everything and time has whittled away the structures of the past. Now adventure and conflict lay before all in this world of Steam and Cogs.

In this world there are remnant pieces of high technology. High Technology or what the Order of the Enduring calls "forbidden fruit", is what we would use on a day to day basis, anything involving circuit boards, modern combustion engines and things we would consider to be science fiction, nanites and things of that nature. Few if any of these things work as they once did and those that do don't work for very long either because they are in disrepair or are dismantled by the Order. No one around really knows how to run any high technology for a couple of reasons. One, that it is all locked away in a few clean rooms scattered over the face of the planet and hidden away. Two, the Order of the Enduring either dismantles it or locks it away soon after its discovery. The available technology can't be any more advance than gears and steam engines.