Changing Places September 22, 2016 10:27 10 Comments

 

The world in Tephra is incredibly vast and very different from our own. Sometimes, you may decide you want to step away from the Tephra scene and play in a setting that’s easier to relate to. Adapting the Tephra system into a true Victorian Steampunk setting is easy, and I’ll give you some tips on making the necessary changes to our system.


To start things off, you may want to limit race selection. Humans are the go-to choice, but you could also include simulacrons if your setting includes intelligent constructs. Furthermore, you could change the names and histories of Tephra races and attribute them to mad science or eugenics.

How advanced do you want your setting to be? Bio-Zappers may seem too advanced. Maybe firearms are less common than swords. You may decide that different parts of your world may have different levels and types of technology. England may favor subtlety and tradition and focus on developing smaller trinkets and gadgets. Meanwhile, the United States might be experiencing an industrial boom that is churning out automatons and giant land vehicles. You could even adjust crafting costs to account for local strengths and weaknesses.

The second decision you need to make is your beginning point and how your setting diverges. World War I, or the Great War, makes for a memorable point in Victorian time. The Leviathan book series makes use of this period to spur the story, keeping a few events true to history while adjusting others to fit a fictional narrative. Maybe your setting takes place a few years after The Great War. Perhaps the repercussions are drastically different than in our history. Using real history as a guide can help to fill in any gaps. I personally struggle with developing and representing religion in my settings, so I’ll look up different historic faiths from around the world to inspire my writing.

Most importantly, remember that Tephra books exist to suggest rules. If you find that your setting requires adjusting these rules, you are free to make changes as you see fit. Sometimes you may want to give your party a new game mechanic to try out. It’s okay to use your creative liberties and give your party a great story. Don’t worry too much about breaking the game. You can always talk to your group and change things that don’t work.

Thank you all for reading. If you have any questions or tips you would like to share, please comment below or check out our reddit page. Until next time, Cheers and Gears!