So the last blog post suggests that there will be a plethora of factions to influence and scheme against in CE. That's pretty spiffy! In addition to adding depth to the game it also adds robustness to the intellectual property, making the setting perfect for later turn based or real time strategy games, to suggest just two possibilities. While it's been suggested that these factions could just be straight up based on actual historical nations, I think I would rather see them be a little more abstract, based on ideas of how a society should be driven. Something like this: The Clockwork Empire Theme: Her Majesty's Clockwork Service Primary Strength: Clockwork Secondary Strength: Airships You're these guys! Good with steampowered clockwork and neato airships, you work for the queen and advance the empire. The Vohltun Ascendency Theme: Storm Masters Primary Strength: Electrical Technology Secondary Strength: Morale A strange group of people who worship the god Tesla. They invented the Leyden Jar and most of their holy rituals involve mead (although other alcohols may be substituted, consult with your shaman.) The Russoblean Wilderness Theme: Animal Power! Primary Strength: Bioengineering Secondary Strength: Sanity These guys live in grass huts and breed weird crap like squid deer. Upstanding clockworkers tend to avoid them and their froggy experiments. The Warren Theme: Overarching Projects! Primary Strength: Construction Secondary Strength: Clockwork These guys live in one huge, highly automated building and almost never come out. They just build new sections, and if they build over you, well, you're out of luck! The Condottieri Theme: Mercenary Cheifs Primary Strength: Morale Secondary Strength: Military These guys fight a lot. When they can't fight eachother, they'll hire themselves out and fight for you. Mostly, though, they like to party with the money they make. It's just that a lot of fights start in bars and spill out into the streets/cities/nations... The Rising Empire Theme: Banzai! Primary Strength: Military Secondary Strength: Bioengineering Strange people from the east. They have a powerful military in spite of their small size, and a tendencty to do weird things with selective breeding. The Free Colonies Theme: Strength through Disunity! Primary Strength: Personel Secondary Strength: Construction These colonies have declared independence and are trying to run themselves. They can't make up their mind who they want to lead them, so they keep kicking out their best leaders. Who then ask you for work. The Empire of the Sun Theme: Sky City Primary Strength: Airships Secondary Strength: Personel This reclusive group lives on platforms high in the clouds. They are smart and independent, if something like a lot of airheads. The Balancing Scales Theme: Steampowered Abacus = Awesome Primary Strength: Sanity Secondary Strength: Electricity These guys build weird math related doohickies that they claim help them understand science. Silly people, science is getting out there and disecting crap you just shot with your steam powered assult rifles! At least they're pretty level headed and logical, and good with electricity... Thoughts?
I misread this as "Mercenary Chefs", which would actually be a funny thing to have in the game. I thought he was a wizard in Gaslamp's continuity. However, if you're gonna make him a god instead of a wizard, then his followers should HATE wizards; especially Menlo Park wizards.
Mercenary Chefs would distract your enemies with bacon! You're right, that does sound awesome. As for the Tesla thing, he was a wizard in DoD continuity, which will not be the same as CE continuity, IIRC. It's been mentioned in a few blog posts, at least. Really, all names up there are just placeholders, the ideas just spitballing...
