First up, here’s a random bit of Clockworks paraphernalia.  Click the picture for a larger view:

Sir Bloodbourne

Sir Whilom Bloodbourne was the world’s most famous monster hunter, once.  He was the star of 27 novels, 16 audio plays, and was portrayed on film 5 times.    In his day he was a larger than life hero; travelling the world in search of great beasts to slay, and crowds of adoring fans to share his tales with.

Following the Accordance War, public opinion turned against Bloodbourne.  It was revealed that his earlier adventures contained not only the exaggerations and tall tales that many had believed them to hold; but outright lies, fabrications, and adventures that never happened.  As public support waned, his old friends and business partners turned against him; culminating in Bloodbourne’s former bodyguard Benicio Tactence’s scathing tell all autobiography.

In his later years, Bloodbourne fell to alcoholism and anger.  He was known to show up at small town public appearances surly, violent, and drunken.  He died in a hotel in Vano in 235 NDE.

Following his death Bloodbourne’s legend has seen a bit of a resurgence; not as a master monster hunter, but as a legendary showman, charlatan, and brilliant businessman.  His daughters, Violet and Marianne, inherited the remains of his estate and have worked tirelessly to restore their father’s good name and fame.  His books are still widely available in second hand shops, and Violet’s biography of her father is to be released next year.

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Second, I’m looking for a volunteer.  You should be a fan of Clockworks, have time to kill, and perhaps be a bit OCD.

I’d like to set up a Clockworks wiki, to compile all of the world building info, character appearances, and game info.  So when people want to know how to create a Faeblooded character or how magic works or who that Bloodbourne guy is, we can point them to the wiki.

I could post the wiki to Shawntionary.com, but I’d rather post it to wikia or some other public site.  I’d rather avoid being the site admin for the wiki, or giving someone access to a chunk of my server.

This would be a free position, running the Official Clockworks Fan Wiki, but I’m sure I could throw you some goodies eventually.  If you’re interested and you have the time to devote to maintaining a wiki, comment here or shoot me an email.

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That’s it for today, see you guys on Monday for a new blog post, Tuesday for a new comic.

A whole bunch of stuff today!

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I

First up, my basic plan is to do comics every Tuesday and Thursday, world building/Clockworks related posts every Monday and/or Wednesday, and Steampunk/gamer links every Friday.

Unlike the comics, I feel no obligation or duty to keep a regular update schedule for the blog posts.  It’s all bonus stuff as far as I’m concerned, so if I miss a Friday or whatever, I’m not going to worry about it.

Both the RSS feed and my Twitter should keep you abreast of all updates to the comic and blog.

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II

The Clockworks Wiki is up and running!  http://clockworkscomic.wikia.com/

I’m pretty much going to leave it alone now that I’ve set up the basics.  You guys should be able to add/edit anything you want.  If Chesh, Bargamer, or anyone else want the job of Editor and Chief, knock yourself out.  This is a bit of an experiment for me, to see what, if anything, will end up there if I just leave it to you guys.  We’ll see. 

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III

With the Wiki up and running, I figured it would be a wise idea to post some of the basic world building info.  My original goal for the comic was to dole this stuff out slowly, so that new readers would think “Huh, who’s are these guys? Where are these guys? What’s going on here?” and slowly get sucked in to the world over the course of a hundred strips or so.

But with a bunch of fellow gamer nerds as fans, it’s probably a wise idea to toss an infodump here in the blog.  Don’t worry, there are still a lot of mysteries in the world, this really doesn’t reveal any of the big surprises. In a way, the original plan still holds, because new readers will have to stumble on this blog post or the Wiki.

So here we go:

The World of Clockworks

Clockworks begins in the Bronze Gardens neighborhood, in the city of Clorencia, capital of the Great Republic of Roumion, on the continent of Roumion, in the world of Vheld.

Now let’s reverse that and add some detail, from the largest to smallest.

Vheld is the Clorencian word for “land.”  The Old Clorencian name for the world is Laun, a word still used in much of the world.  In Ironian, the name of the world is Malae.  The people of San Khotal and the Vori Islands call the world Tekal.  In Northolme and Bralholme, the world is simply known as Holme.

Vheld has four continents: Roumion, Orulon, Noriun, and Arcolin.  Additionally, the Vori Islands comprise an area wide enough to be considered a continent.  I might post a basic map next week.

The Great Republic of Roumion has existed for 259 years, formed in 0 NDE (New Dawn Era) when the New Dawn Revolution overthrew the Clorencian Empire.  You can find more info on the Great Republic here.

Clorencia City is the capital of the Great Republic, a mass of smoke, steel, and brick nicknamed by many “The Grey Cloud” or “The Black Mountain.”  I’m going to leave the exact layout of Clorencia City a bit of a mystery for now, although if you’ve read the comic carefully there have been some hints. We’re probably 2 or 3 months away from someone describing the layout of the city, and eventually we’ll get a nice panoramic view of the whole place.

The Bronze Gardens was once one of the nicest and wealthiest neighborhoods in Clorencia, but in the past 300 years it has fallen on hard times.  A few reminders of the area’s former glory can be found, but for the most part the neighborhood consists of lower to middle class housing, factories, abandoned factories, and the occasional shop, tavern, cinema house, or business.

The Bronze Gardens is a working class neighborhood, populated mostly by native Clorencians.  It’s situated between two ethnic neighborhoods and a Faeblooded ghetto.  To the east of the Gardens, refugees from San Khotal have established an exotic and colorful, yet very insular, neighborhood.  To the west of the Bronze Gardens, Ironian immigrants have settled in to a crime ridden, downtrodden neighborhood that constantly threatens to spread across the Gardens.  The Rookery is southwest of the Bronze Gardens, and we’ve seen a bit of that place.

Our heroes work as Private Constables for one Barnabas Varnak, an importer of fine foreign goods who was born and raised in the Bronze Gardens.  Varnak owns several warehouses, a storefront, and a restaurant in the neighborhood.  He pays our heroes see that his businesses and neighbors are well policed.

I think that ’s enough info to cover some of the basics those of you interested in the worldbuilding part of things, without ruining things for those of you interested mainly in the story.

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IV

Please go take the first ever Clockworks Reader Survey.  It’s only 8 questions and has already given me a very interesting view of what you guys think/want. Answers are anonymous, and I don’t have a record of your email address or anything like that.   I’ll share some of the findings next week.

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V

If you’re on the Facebooks, you can now become a Fan of Clockworks!  You should do so.

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I think that about covers it.  See you guys tomorrow when our heroes arrive at the scene of arson.

Whole bunch of stuff I’ve been meaning to write about, but now finally have the time to do so.  Enjoy!

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I

Based on a random bit of joking during the Livestream last week, the lovely and talented Larry Wentzel created a series of Steampunk Rap Artist character sketches.

See more on his Deviant Art page.

You know, I doubt rap music actually exists in the Great Republic (the kids of today are rocking out to the steam guitar, much to the annoyance of their elders), I might have these guys show up in the background next time I do a crowd shot.

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II

The Clockworks Avatar Gallery is now live.  They’re the perfect size for Wordpress or Livejournal or most forums.  You’ll need to crop them down a bit for Twitter.

Be sure to point anyone to the comic when they ask where your awesome user icon came from.

If you’re going to use one of the avatars for your Wordpress Gravatar, please check that none of the regular commenters here are using the same picture, to avoid confusion.

(The other images on the Downloads page are temporarily off line.  They’ll be back soon.)

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III

After the minor reveal in yesterday’s comic and blurb about Clorencia  City in the comments, I figured I’d post something here, so someone can go update the Wiki.

Clorencia (City)

Clorencia City is the capital of the Great Republic of Roumion, and the greatest metropolis in the world.  Clorencia has a population of 15.7 million people, with 1.6 million more living in the surrounding area.

Clorencia City is unique among all of the cities of Vheld in that it is made up of 11 levels.  In 174 NDE construction on the second level began, allowing the royal family and government to move up from Old Clorencia.  Soon, other wealthy citizens of the Clorencia Empire followed suit, and in time the second level completely covered the first.  The third level was built in 33 NDE.  The fourth level was built soon after the New Dawn Revolution; and with the advent of ether technology, especially electromagnetic negativity, the city has reached ever upward.

Today, the 11 levels of the city reach from the mines and ruins of the first level, up through working class areas such as the 5th level, to the modern and wealthy heights of the 11th level.   It is the city’s unique construction and shape that have earned it the nickname “the Black Mountain”

The Great Machine is at the center of Clorencia City, stretching up from through all 11 levels.  Actually tens of thousands of devices, the Great Machine supplies power, plumbing, and communications throughout the city.

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III

Character Creation (finally!) Continues!

Background Edges

Arcane Background (Elemental Magic)
Prerequisites: Spirit d6
Arcane Skill: Each element uses it’s own skill. Characters begin with either Air, Earth, Fire, or Water.  All elmental magic skills are based off Spirit.
The magic of Laun is based on manipulating and controlling the four elements. Elemental Mages begin the game with a d4 skill in their chosen element, which may be raised normally.  New elements can only be learned once a Rank, and even then it is not easy.

Elemental Mages do not pick a limited number of spells they can cast, instead characters with this edge can cast any spell allowed by their element and rank.

(Full details on magic coming eventually.  If you’ve got 50 Fathoms, feel free to use that spell list.)

Arcane Background (Weird Science)
Prerequisites: Smarts d6
Arcane Skill: Weird Science (Smarts)
Weird Science covers the creation and use of strange and powerful devices. The time of Clockworks is one of discovery and invention, and strange new devices are being built every day. Characters with Weird Science are masters at steam powered, clockwork and Etheric devices, often retooling them or creating strange new inventions.

A character need not be a mad scientist himself to take Weird Science.  Characters with this edge could easily be using experimental devices created by another ether technician or cutting edge inventor.

Combat Edges

Dirty Fighter
Requirements: Seasoned
There is no honor among thieves, and Vheld has more than its fair share of unscrupulous bastards. Those with this Edge will do anything to win a fight. This character is particularly deceitful in combat and good at tricks. He adds +2 to all Trick maneuver rolls.

Improved Dirty Fighter
Requirements: Seasoned, Dirty Fighter

This character is extremely skilled in tactical deceit. By describing the trick and spending a benny, he may automatically get the Drop on any single opponent.

Guardian
Requirements: Novice, Agility d8, Fighting d6, Notice d6+
This character might be a professional bodyguard or just intensely devoted, but in either case he can jump in front of attacks intended for another. A character with this Edge must declare whom he is guarding at the beginning of any combat. As long as the guardian stays within 1” of the chosen person, any attack aimed at that person is automatically rolled against the guardian instead. A guardian can switch charges during a battle, but doing so requires an action as the guardian re–focuses his attention.

The character receives a benny each time he takes a wound (not Shaken) while defending another character (Extra or Wild Card.).

Monster Hunter
Prerequisites: Fighting or Shooting d8, Guts d6, Knowledge (creature lore) d6, Tracking d6
Many strange creatures haunt the wilds of Vheld, and a few brave men and women make a living hunting these monsters. Some monster hunters travel the world as big game hunters, always in search of the biggest kill. Others are more localized, defending a certain area or town from insurgent monstrosities.

Monster Hunters gain +2 to hit any creature they’ve previously fought or studied in the field, as well as +2 to any Guts, Tracking, or Knowledge (creature lore) rolls vs. creatures they’ve previously fought.

Peasant Lore
Requirements: Novice, Outsider or Knowledge (Folklore d8+)
This hero has studied the local folklore and superstitions of the country folk of Irone, the Vori Islands, or elsewhere.

When fighting a supernatural creature, the hero can recall a tale about the beast. With a successful Smarts roll (–2), the hero remembers one Special Ability of that monster.

Whack!
Requirements: Seasoned, Engineer
The character can attempt to make an instant Repair roll at -2, by kicking a malfunctioning device or hitting it on the side etc. If the roll fails, the object must be repaired normally.

Improved Whack!
Requirements: Veteran, Whack!, Throwing d6+
The character can attempt to throw a wrench or other object to knock a malfunctioning device back into shape. This works as Whack! but the character can attempt the repair from up to 12″ away. In addition to the repair roll, the character must make a Throwing roll, with the standard penalties for range.

(Clockworks:the Game uses many, many more edges taken from other Savage Settings, but I figured I’d only paste here the ones that are new or our heroes have.)

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See you on Thursday, for another new comic!

Before we get to the gaming stuff, a few quick news items and links.

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I did a guest post  for Wrathofzombie’s gaming blog.  He asked me to talk about how Clockworks came to be and some of the influences and where it’s going, etc.  Read it here.

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Tomorrow’s comic kicks off the next big plot arc.  I’ll be doing a fairly lengthy livestream tonight, probably starting around 7 or 8 Eastern.  Keep an eye on Twitter or Facebook to know once it’s begun.

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Today’s Chainmail Bikini is one of my favorites.  That is all.

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Alright, gamer geekery!  We’ve finished character creation for the most part, although if you make a mage or weird scientist you’ll have to just use the normal rules for now.  It’s time to outfit your characters with some tools of the trade!

Gear

Money

The official currency of The Great Republic of Roumion is the Mark (Mk). Paper currency exists in 1, 10, 50, and 100 M denominations. Coins denoting ½ Mk, ¼ Mk and 1/10 Mk are also used.  All prices  in the Great Republic are rounded to the nearest 1/10 Mk.

Characters begin the game with 500 Marks, which can be increased by spending a Hindrance point or by purchasing the Rich, Filthy Rich or Noble Edges per usual. (Noble characters would come from other nations, such as Bralholme or Paravo.)

Melee Weapons

Firearms

Other Ranged Weapons

Note that in urban areas such as Clorencia, it is a crime to carry the vast majority of these weapons without the proper status applied to your ID papers.  In rural areas, restrictions are more lax.

(I really hope we can just copy these tables over to the Wiki without having to worry about the formatting.  Fingers crossed.)

Next week – armor and other equipment, then some notes!

We haven’t really talked much about the technology of Clockworks.  I was going to shoot Mr. of Zombie an email with a few random examples of stuff before his game on Sunday, but I figured I should just write a blog post instead and share it with the rest of you.

Like most of my blog posts, this will be a first draft and perhaps fairly rambly.

Ether!

Ether was first discovered 32 years before the New Dawn Revolution and the founding of the Great Republic.  Ether is an invisible gas found naturally in the air that has a number of unique properties.  Ether Goggles cost about 150 Mk and allow users to see Ether as a smokey, bluegreyish haze.  Ether can be extracted from the air via special machines and then compressed to an even form known as Condensed Ether.  Naturally occurring Condensed Ether is occasionally found in underground veins, but 99% of the Condensed Ether used today is processed by machinery.

Condensed Ether is used to amplify output of almost any kind of energy, from kinetic force to steam power to sound waves.  Condensed Ether is also the key to Elegromagnetic Negativity, the key to airships and the Great Machine that’s allowed Clorencia City to grow to such heights.

Condensed Ether can be unstable, especially if combined with electricity.  Ether amplifies the force of any malfunction of explosion in a device, often to spectacular results.

(Ether runs pretty much entirely on Applied Phlebotinum.  I have no interest in working out the exact hows and whys of it’s chemical properties, it essentially works because the setting and plot demand it.  Although if someone wants to play a scientist bent on discovering the exact physics and properties of Ether, go for it.)

Common Technology

Wireless Telegraph transmits through specific frequencies of airborne ether, reliably sending data up to 500 miles away.  Written text, pictures, and mechanical commands can easily be sent across wireless telegraphs.  Etheric Scientists are still working to perfect the transmition of audio, although progress is made every day.

The most common Wireless Telegraph machines are about 1.5′ by 2.5′, and about 1′ tall.  (Roughly the size of a large suitcase, or an older desktop computer.  If you go back to 00 , that’s a wireless telegraph machine on Burgess’s wall.)

The other main system of communications in Clorencia are the mail chutes, a vast series of pneumatic tubes crossing the city.  At entry ports, users can program the chute to deliver a capsule to a certain address.  On the lower levels, the mail chutes deliver only to Communication Offices, which also feature wireless telegraph services.  On the upper levels, almost every home or office has their own port.  Other cities across the Great Republic have adopted the chutes, but the system in Clorencia remains the largest and most intricate.

Difference Engines are common across the Great Republic.  These computational engines range in size from a machine that could fill a closet or small room to the great military engines that fill entire warehouses.   Any clockbot more complex than a Windup Cat is controlled via Wireless Telegraph by a remote difference engine.

(Wireless Telegraphs actually came about because I wanted to have both stompy robots and giant computers the size of houses in my setting, and really couldn’t reconcile the two ideas.  The it occured to me that the robots should be remote controlled by the giant analogue computers.  So yes, our friend MV#1’s stompy robot was controlled by a room sized Difference Engine, somewhere within 500 miles of Clorencia City.)

Weird Science

Basically, weird science is anything someone might build that’s experimental, a prototype pushing beyond the relatively safe bounds of modern steam and ether technology.  One of the tweaks to the setting is that you don’t need to be the guy who invented something to have the Weird Science edge, you just need to have learned how to use it and be brave enough to try.    I need to write up a newer system for Weird Science for the final setting, and will do so in the not too distant future.

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Well, I think that about covers it.  See you guys on Tuesday!

Fridays are rapidly turning in to the days where I post rambly blogs about the comic or setting.  This might be a trend that continues.  I figured today I’d share a bit about the nations of Vheld, for those of you interested in the world.

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Before we get to that, two thank yous are in order.

Thanks to everyone who’s voted for Clockworks since the start of the month.  We’re currently in the top 50, and a few hundred new readers have come to the comic from topwebcomics.com in the last few days.  So thank you, and please keep voting as often as you can/remember.

Another thanks is in order to those of you who have been keeping the Wiki up to date.  Today’s post is dedicated to giving you more work to do. 

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The major nations of Vheld:

We’ve already covered the Great Republic, so I won’t be repeating that here.  We’ll start with the local nations of Paravo, Anverone, Coran, and Bralholme.  Details beyond the jump.

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Today’s blog post will cover the lands to the north of Roumion, and to the far south.

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First, your reminder to please go vote.

Second, I’ll be doing a Livestream a bit later this afternoon, creating comic #50.  No real spoilers in the art for tomorrow’s comic, so feel free to come out and chat with your fellow fans while I build this mini milestone.

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Details on Northolme, the Ironian City States, and Halos behind the jump.

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