TEXT: ( North America )
  
  ( North America )
  By Eric Simon
  Art Direction: Jasmin Tomlins
  Cover Art and Interior Sketches: Sarah Benkin
  Steamscapes Logo: LeeAnn Pecina
  Background Design and the Crossed Pistol and Tomahawk: Aaron “Ace” Acevedo
  Zeppelin Sketch: Sam Booker
  Tom and Theresa at the Piano: Cami Woodruff
  Character Art and Original Advertisements: Kelsey Morse-Brown
  Map of North America: Robert Altbauer
  Additional Artwork and Photography courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
  Conceptual Support: Brendan Hutt, Kevin MacGregor, Shari MacGregor, and Christopher Tomlins
  Editing Support: Heidi Sandler
  Index: Shari MacGregor
  Beta Readers and Playtesters: Andrew Best, Joshua Blackketter, Steve Dunteman, Richard Gilbert, Jack Kessler,
  James Klock, Kevin MacGregor, Shari MacGregor, Jacques Marcotte, Heidi Sandler, Jasmin Tomlins, Steven
  Townshend, Rebekah Wanger Key
  This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at
  www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment
  Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability
  for purpose of this product.
  ©2013 Four-in-Hand Games. All rights reserved.
  
  ii
  Steamscapes: North America
  Chapter 1: Introduction…..….…………………….…1
  Using This Book.…….…………………………………1
  Genre - What is Steampunk?.…….……………….……1
  The Steampunk Aesthetic.….…………………………..3
  History - What’s Different?.….……….………………..3
  Chapter 2: Fiction……….………..…………………..4
  Chapter 3: Character Creation..……………………16
  Restricted Skills and Edges…………………….………16
  Professions……………………………………………16
  Aviator……………..…………………………….16
  Gearsmith…………..…………………………….17
  Gunslinger…..…….….….….….…….…….……..17
  Saboteur…….….….………….….………….….…18
  Spark Wrangler..….….….….….……….….….……19
  Steamhand…….….….………….….………..….…19
  New Racial Template: Automaton..……………….….19
  Edge Trees……….……….…….….…….….………..20
  Gearsmith…..….….….….….….….….…………..20
  Spark Wrangler…..….….…….….………….…….22
  Steamhand…..….……………….….…….….……24
  Chapter 4: Gear.….……….…………….……………25
  New Equipment Rules.….…….………….….………..25
  Specialty Weapons..….….….….….…..….….….……..26
  Vehicles..…..…..……...…..….…..….….….….………27
  Apparel and Personal Equipment.….…………….…...28
  Map of North America.….………………………….30
  Chapter 5: Historical Background.….……………..31
  North America in 1770.….……………………………31
  The Last 100 Years.……….…………………………..31
  American Consolidated Union.….…………………….31
  Part 1 - Roots of Independence.….……………….31
  Part 2 - Back From the Brink.…………….……….32
  Part 3 - Economic and Technological Expansion….33
  Part 4 - Expansion by Other Means.………………34
  Part 5 - Growing Pains.….….…….………………35
  Part 6 - The Mechanical Age.……..……,…………37
  Part 7 - Secession and Civil War.….……………….38
  Part 8 - Union.……….…………..……………….41
  Part 9 - Ratification and Nationhood…….……….42
  Confederation of Texas.….….…….…….….…….……45
  Part 1 - Origins.…..…….….…….….…….……….45
  Part 2 - The Republic of Texas.….…….….…….…..45
  Part 3 - Early Troubles.…….…………..…………45
  Part 4 - Boom Times.……….…………………….46
  Part 5 - The Confederation of Texas.…….…….…47
  Part 6 - Abolition and Automatons.……………….48
  Rocky Mountain Republic.…….………………………49
  Part 1 - The Pacific Melting Pot.…………………..49
  Part 2 - The Gold Mountain.….………….…….…49
  Part 3 - Provincehood and Mechanization…..……50
  Part 4 - Growing Towards Independence.…..……51
  Part 5 - The Rocky Mountain Republic.…….………52
  Plains Tribal Federation.……….……………………..53
  Part 1 - Pre-Columbian Development.…...……….53
  Part 2 - Five Civilized Tribes……..…….…………53
  Part 3 - The Black Hawk Federation..…….…..……53
  Part 4 - The Trail of Tears…….….….………….…54
  Part 5 - Red-Cloud’s War….………...….….….…..55
  Part 6 - Sitting Bull’s Ascendancy……….….….…..56
  Part 7 - A Greater Federation..…….….…….……..56
  Other Nations and Territories..….…….……….……..58
  Territoire libre du Québec……….….….….………58
  Mexico………….….….…….….…………………59
  Russian and British America..………….….….……59
  Chapter 6: Running a Steamscapes Game…………60
  Thinking About Setting.…….………………………...60
  Thinking About Character.…….……………………..62
  Using the Scenarios.…….……………………………..62
  Sample Characters…………………………………….63
  The Aviator………………..……………………..63
  The Gearsmith………….………………………..64
  The Gearsmith’s Automaton…………..…………65
  The Gunslinger…………..……………………….66
  The Saboteur………….………………………….67
  The Spark Wrangler…………..…………………..68
  The Steamhand……………..…………….………69
  Scenario: Rivalry.…….………………………………..70
  Scenario: Automatic Murder…………………………..72
  Scenario: Battle of Portersville………………………..75
  Epilogue…………………….……………………….76
  Index.….……………………………………………..77
   ( Contents )
  
  1
  Using This Book
  This is a game book. You presumably knew that, and
  are reading this introduction with some knowledge of
  what that means. If this is your first ever experience
  reading a sourcebook for a role-playing game, then we
  are honored that you have chosen Steamscapes as your
  starting point. We will assume that you have done so
  because of some interest in the steampunk genre, so you
  would do well to begin with the notes in this chapter and
  the short fiction in Chapter 2. Assuming that sounds
  appealing, you may then begin to think about the
  mechanics of actually playing a role-playing game (but
  only if you want).
  Steamscapes: North America is the first of hopefully
  many in a new series of game books devoted to a
  historically realistic steampunk game setting. It contains
  both the core rules and the initial historical overview for
  the world, focusing primarily on North America. Events
  in other parts of the world are suggested, but will be
  addressed in more detail in later volumes.
  The specific game system used is based on Pinnacle
  Entertainment Group's Savage Worlds system.
  Steamscapes is considered to be a licensed setting book
  for that system. For the basic rules, you will need to
  purchase either the Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition or the
  Savage Worlds Deluxe core book. These are available both
  in print and electronically. Chapters 3 and 4 of this book
  outline the modifications that our setting makes to the
  core rules. Chapter 5 details the alternative historical
  background of the setting, and Chapter 6 provides
  starting points for running adventures in the
  Steamscapes world.
  The cardinal rule in all role-playing games is use what
  you want. We have tried to create a setting that is rich in
  detail and opportunities for
  both exploration and conflict.
  However, if you just cannot
  imagine a Wild West game without horror or a Victorian
  game without magic, you may certainly add such things
  into the system for your own purposes. We have not
  balanced the game with these elements in mind, but as
  long as you use existing Savage Worlds rules, you are
  unlikely to run into too much difficulty.
  Genre – What is "Steampunk?"
  The term "steampunk" was coined speculatively in
  the 1980s by science fiction author K.W. Jeter, during
  the height of popularity for cyberpunk literature.
  Cyberpunk, as popularized by authors such as William
  Gibson, Philip K. Dick, and Neal Stephenson, focuses
  on dystopian visions of a near future that includes
  enhanced humans and fully immersive virtual reality,
  among other technological advances. In the same way
  that cyberpunk portrays an extreme technological
  acceleration of the digital age, steampunk portrays an
  extreme acceleration of the industrial age. Gadgetry
  involving steam power, clockwork, and early electrical
  devices abounds. The transportation revolution has
  begun, represented mostly by steamships, ironclads,
  railroads, and airships, although these advances are
  largely pre-diesel.
  Steampunk takes much of its inspiration from late
  nineteenth and early twentieth century speculative
  fiction. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are often cited as
  examples, but Mary Shelley and Charles Dickens are
  equally important in representing the darker side of the
  industrial age. A variety of recent examples of the genre
  include Studio Foglio's Girl Genius comics, the short film
  The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, and
  even the 60s TV series Wild Wild West. Some of these
  sources, however, might be better described as belonging
  to other genres, many of which overlap with steampunk.
  Books like The War of the Worlds, for example, are not so
  much steampunk as they are Victorian science fiction, a
  related but distinct genre that often involves space travel
  and aliens. Pinnacle has an excellent line of Space 1889
  adventures if you are interested in gaming within that
  genre. Girl Genius, though very solidly in the visual style
  of steampunk, bills itself as "gaslamp fantasy," largely
  because it includes semi-mystical elements. Among
  roleplaying games, Castle Falkenstein and RunePunk would
  be more extreme examples of Victorian fantasy.
  In the last few years, there have been a growing
  (Chapter 1)
  
  2
  Steamscapes: North America
  number of short story collections and
  even novels and series that advertise
  themselves as belonging to the
  steampunk genre. These are widely
  varied, with some more fantastic and some
  more realistic.
  Steampunk has been defined somewhat fluidly to
  either incorporate or not incorporate elements from all
  of these sources and more. The steampunk community
  considers itself intentionally flexible and inclusive, so no
  one definition is considered right or ideal. For the
  purposes of the Steamscapes setting, we have defined
  steampunk as a purely technological alternative-historical
  nineteenth century. Advances have been made in steam
  power, electricity, miniaturization, and flight that are
  fictional accelerations of actual period technology. Just
  as in cyberpunk, there may be some elements that
  stretch the boundaries of accurate scientific principles (as
  William Gibson did with monofilament), but many are
  within the realm of possibility, and may have even been
  real at one time.
  As a final note, though "steampunk" was coined by
  Jeter merely as a linguistic connection to cyberpunk, it is
  our intention to fully explore the "punk" side of this
  genre. In an artistic sense, punk is its own movement
  that rejects the elements of romanticism. Too often we
  find that fiction or game settings that claim to be
  steampunk are really "steam romance," celebrating the
  explorations and scientific advances of the Victorian
  social elite with very little attention paid to the racism,
  sexism, and class conflict of the times. For our setting to
  exemplify the qualities that punk embodies, we want to
  heighten the conflict and despair of the era. The
  romanticism may still be there,  but it is tainted by the
  fact that heavy industrialization requires significant
  exploitation of both people and resources. This is the
  dystopian view that allows us to be truly punk.
  A Wells Fargo Zeppelin Braving the Plains
  
  3
  agreement between all those
  who wanted a strong England.
  If Chatham had been successful
  in securing the Anglo-Prussian Alliance, he may still have
  been Prime Minister as colonial tension escalated.
  Chatham would have been much better suited than
  North to working towards reconciliation. This
  reconciliation and subsequent avoidance of the
  American Revolution is the shift upon which all of our
  historical changes are based.
  For instance, with no United States as an ally for
  France and a distraction for England, Napoleon might
  have been more cautious about his progression across
  the European continent, even to the point of avoiding
  his disastrous assault on Russia. The implications of
  those changes in Europe will be explored further in a
  subsequent volume, although you will notice some hints
  of them in this book. For now, you should be aware that
  our France remains strong and does not suffer the
  setbacks that led to the Bourbon Restoration. As a result,
  coalitions remain in place throughout the nineteenth
  century to slow French expansion.
  The history of North America following this shift is
  detailed in Chapter 5. You will note that our history does
  have a number of similarities to yours. This is partially
  due to the aforementioned resilience of personalities and
  events, but it is also due to a need for some familiarity
  on the part of the reader. For this reason, the world of
  Steamscapes is intentionally built with no fictional
  characters. Every person and place is based on actual
  historical models, though they are then altered or
  emphasized as necessary to fit the setting. We have
  drastically changed the world that you know, so we have
  tried as much as possible to give you landmarks to guide
  your understanding. By reading through these events,
  you will have a sense of how our version of 1871 came
  to be.
  The Steampunk Aesthetic
  For fans of steampunk, the visual and aesthetic
  elements are its most important defining aspects. Gears,
  tubes, and electrodes abound, but they must all have a
  purpose. Decoration is fine to a degree, but the do-it-
  yourself attitude demands that function must always
  come before form. If you are interested in this side of
  the genre, you may want to spend some time exploring
  websites like deviantART and Brass Goggles UK,
  especially the forums attached to the latter. These are
  rich communities of like-minded individuals who can
  guide you in finding and perhaps even making wonderful
  steampunk art, clothing, and devices.
  Steamscapes embraces this creative attitude by
  providing a world that explains the aesthetic as
  realistically as possible. Rather than exploring a more
  intensely fictional world, we have focused on the
  possibilities that our own history has to offer.
  Steampunk enthusiasts often enjoy creating rich histories
  for their fictional characters, and we hope that our
  setting will provide an engaging backdrop against which
  those characters may interact.
  History – What's Different?
  Most alternative historical fiction begins with a single
  premise that can normally be summarized by the
  question, "What would happen if...?"  The rest of the
  setting and its key events are then extrapolated as
  cascading effects of that initial change. The
  interdependence of history means that a single shift in an
  appropriate place can have staggering implications when
  carried through a hundred years. On the other hand,
  some personalities and events are more resistant to such
  changes, and they end up with similar roles but in a new
  context.
  Our single premise begins in 1768. Prior to that time,
  you may consider all of the history of the Steamscapes
  setting to be the same as your own. In that year, a pivotal
  figure in deciding future events was William Pitt the
  Elder, Earl of Chatham. As Prime Minister, Chatham
  hoped to reform the Anglo-Prussian Alliance to hold
  back the Austro-Russian Alliance in Europe. His failure
  led to his resignation, allowing for further changes in
  that office that eventually brought to England the
  disastrous Ministry of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of
  Guilford. Lord North was very hostile to the colonies
  and to any cross-party cooperation between Tories and
  Whigs. Chatham was very much the opposite, favoring
  
  4
  Steamscapes: North America
  (Chapter 2)
  Songs Without Words
  by Steven Townshend
  Tom
  The automaton came—first by train, and then by
  airship, and then by coach, and finally by two muscled
  roustabouts—to the McGhee mansion on the South
  Slope of Beacon Hill. Colonel McGhee paid the
  roustabouts with his good hand, bracing his wallet in the
  cradle of the arm with the empty cuff that hid his
  prosthetic hook. Before they departed, the roustabouts
  pried the lid from the wooden casket and hauled it into
  the great hall, where they set it down next to the silent
  Steinway piano.
  By the colonel's orders, no one was allowed to touch
  the piano. Not that Theresa would; she lacked the talent
  her father had cultivated in his youth, before the
  Confederate bayonet took the better part of him away.
  And yet sometimes during the war, when her mother
  was confined to bed, Theresa had gently pressed the
  forbidden keys, banishing the spasmodic coughing with
  the piano's soft sound—each tone a telegraph to her
  father's ear, a plea for him to return home alive.
  Within the casket the automaton slept, a metal
  corpse in a maestro's fine suit. It bore little resemblance
  to the automatons depicted in the Herald—the horrible
  beetle-like monsters of war that won the day at
  Appomattox. Its intricate mechanical hands were made
  of burnished copper, its eyes two oculars of cloudy
  translucent glass. Its face was a graceful mask of
  ash wood, carved and painted in the likeness of
  a handsome man in the blush of youth, a wry, shy smile
  permanently graven upon his lips—such lips as hide
  between the pages of fairy tales, Theresa thought, and
  sing to Rapunzel locked high in her tower.
  The wooden lips would never sing, yet the
  automaton made music all the same. It was a player
  model, and in the weeks that followed it broke the long
  silence of the black Steinway and filled the McGhee
  mansion with Brahms and Beethoven, the
  Mendelssohns, Schubert, Strauss, Liszt and Chopin.
  When it did not play it sat still and voiceless as the
  furniture in the dim quiet of the mansion. Most
  evenings, the automaton played while the colonel sat
  beside it on the bench, swaying in time with the music.
  Sometimes the automaton played the colonel's old
  compositions—the songs he wrote for Theresa's mother
  when he was shy and young and his heart ached with
  dreams—and as it played these songs the colonel closed
  his eyes and the fingers of his left hand twitched in silent
  accompaniment with the music. But whenever the hook
  peeked from his sleeve to brush his leg, or the piano, or
  when the automaton varied the tempo unexpectedly, the
  colonel awoke from his reverie with glistening eyes and
  he sat up, sober and tired, while the automaton played
  on.
  Theresa felt for her father. To have had everything,
  only to lose it in a year: his wife, his hand, his music,
  even 'Honest Abe' whose cause he had fought for; the
  colonel returned from the war to a house of ghosts.
  Even Theresa was a stranger to him now, the precious
  child he adored grown into a young woman eager to
  experience life beyond the mansion's walls. Yet despite
  their strangeness Theresa was all that remained to him,
  and so the colonel kept his daughter close, turning away
  Theresa's callers until the young gentlemen of Boston
  gave her up for a spinster. Together they lived in the big
  empty house with the mechanical man that played the
  colonel's music, and Theresa soon relinquished all hope
  of a life outside the mansion, for her father would not
  hear a word of it.
  The colonel hired private tutors to instruct his
  daughter, and servants to tend to the estate on various
  days throughout the week, but Theresa had no true
  friends. Sometimes the colonel invited his war comrades
  and their daughters to the mansion so Theresa might
  enjoy the company of her peers, but other girls found
  her awkward and shy and peculiar, and after dinner when
  their fathers drank sherry in the parlor with the colonel,
  the girls gossiped to one another of Theresa's unrefined
  
  5
  manners, and giggled at her behind their fans. Theresa loved her father, but they remained an enigma to one
  another, their words strewn across long silences like sparsely scattered seeds. So Theresa passed her time reading
  and rereading the books in the private library and writing in her diary. All of her time alone gave ground to a fertile
  imagination, which endowed everything in the mansion with a personality—the uneven books on the shelves were a
  tribe of storytelling gypsies; the cast iron poker and shovel by the fireplace were a pair of escaped slaves; the gauzy
  curtains in her room were gossips that whispered every secret they heard upon the wind. And then there was the
  automaton.
  One night as Theresa wrote in her diary, her inkwell ran dry and her pen began to scratch empty grooves into
  the page. Careful not to wake the colonel, she crept through the dark house to fetch a bottle of ink and a fresh
  bundle of candles from the kitchen. On her way through the hall she spied the automaton sitting at the piano in the
  midnight stillness of the mansion. No matter which angle she glanced upon the stationary figure, the perpetual gaze
  of the machine's glassy eyes and grinning mask seemed to follow her. As she moved, its head clicked in her
  direction, and the amber candlelight shone upon the hemisphere of its ash wood face. In the unblinking glass orbs,
  Theresa could see herself reflected.
   "You aren't supposed to stare at a lady like that," she said. "It's discourteous."
  The automaton obeyed, averting its stare to the darkness beyond the piano. Theresa placed her finger upon the
  automaton's wooden mask and turned it back to face her. "I'm only teasing," she said, a playful smirk
  meandering at the corner of her lips. "You're just a tom. You don't count."
  
  6
  Steamscapes: North America
  Nothing counted with a tom. They
  weren't human beings, though some—
  like the one her father had purchased—
  were built with advanced decision
  engines made to emulate limited human
  emotion and behavior; there were even toms that
  could speak, and butler toms that wore lifelike faces of
  porcelain bisque. It was all imitation, she once read in
  Scientific American, an array of variables measured by a
  decision engine that determined a tom's persona and
  reactions to infinite circumstances; "a living doll," the
  advertisements said. As a child, Theresa had played with
  the toy dolls her father sent home to her from towns
  where his unit was stationed. What was a player tom but
  the latest toy; an elaborate music box built into a living
  doll for more elaborate playacting. Theresa seated herself
  at the piano bench beside the elegant machine decorated
  in suit and cravat, and played her game with the
  automaton.
  "Tom," Theresa sighed, "would you be my young
  man?"
  When her father wasn't around, Theresa sometimes
  teased it with impossible questions about feelings and
  emotions that a machine could not possess. The
  automaton remained motionless before the piano. Its
  decision engine clicked and sparked behind the glass eyes
  as it struggled to calculate an appropriate response. After
  a long pause, the automaton answered; it raised a white-
  gloved finger and pressed one of the piano's ivory keys
  so softly that it barely made a sound.
  "Oh, you'd have to court me first of course,"
  Theresa said. "Do you know any sonnets?"
  Again the automaton calculated, the subtle ticking of
  its decision engine filling up the mansion's bounded
  silence. Seconds passed. A minute. Cautiously Theresa
  touched the automaton's mask, anxious she had broken
  her father's toy, when suddenly without prologue or
  ceremony the automaton placed all of its fingers upon
  the keys and it began to play a sonata like none Theresa
  had ever heard before. It was not Mozart or Bach or
  Schubert or any musician that had ever composed.
  Sometimes soft and graceful, then immediately violent
  and discordant, the song encapsulated her yearning, the
  vast emptiness of the big, gloomy house; it hinted at a
  bright childhood obscured in the thunder-smoke of
  muskets, resounding clashing dissonance. The
  automaton played the song until Theresa's candle burned
  out, finishing in darkness, the last strains
  stretching out into the night. It was the saddest,
  most beautiful piece of music Theresa had ever heard,
  each tone resonant with her own loneliness, her longing.
  "What was that song?" she breathed into the
  darkness.
  A cold metal digit touched her heart. The chill
  pressed through her evening gown and tingled in the
  space between her breasts. Even in the blind, lightless
  hall she felt the weight of the automaton's gaze as if
  some fervent intellect lurked beyond the mask, inside
  those whirring gears and gauges—as if she shared the
  bench with Frankenstein's monster. Unseen, the grinning
  mechanical entity stared her down, masked in the
  midnight gloom.
  Theresa forgot her ink and candles and fled up the
  stairs to her room, where she lay awake and trembling
  until the sun rose full over the harbor. She did not close
  her eyes until she heard her father's faint footfalls
  patrolling the morning hallways outside her door,
  keeping her safe.
  In the weeks that followed, Theresa shunned the
  automaton when she could, even if she couldn't avoid its
  music. At the colonel's command, the automaton filled
  the house with the compositions of the masters. It
  played with a virtuoso's skill, and even upstairs, muffled
  through Theresa's closed door, the songs evoked vivid
  daydreams and adventurous fantasies, unearthed sacred
  childhood memories all but forgotten; Theresa wandered
  these private internal worlds reluctantly at first, the
  fantastic images conjured in her mind by the music's
  queer alchemy. But for all its remarkable craft, nothing
  the automaton played for the colonel ever matched the
  transcendent beauty of that one nameless sonata it had
  composed for her alone.
  The truth was that as much as the colonel's machine
  frightened her, its uncanny ability to create musical
  pictures in her heart and mind lured Theresa gradually
  out of seclusion, and before long she stole downstairs
  again, late at night while her father slept. Again she sat at
  the piano bench close beside the automaton, and bade it
  compose quietly so as not to wake the colonel. Theresa
  suggested themes, people, and places, and the automaton
  obliged her every whim, creating them for her in the
  music, and the soft melodies it played transported
  Theresa's soul beyond the mansion's encompassing walls
  to all the places her body was forbidden to go.
  On cold winter nights that followed the gray winter
  days when the colonel was in his bitterest moods, she
  leaned in to the automaton and whispered to it beneath
  
  7
  the piano's murmuring tones. "Take me away, Tom," she
  would say. "Take me anywhere but here."
  So they went on outings together. Without ever
  leaving the piano bench, in the dead of January when
  snow and ice frosted the mansion's tall windows and
  caused them to glitter in the candlelight, "Tom" played a
  melody to conjure sun and green grass, singing robins
  and children's laughter tinkling in the high octaves.
  Theresa closed her eyes and he played her
  thunderstorms, he played her parades and royal marches.
  He played her a quiet street in Paris where the moonlight
  shone yellow upon cool blue cobblestones. And in every
  strain of song Theresa imagined that she heard her name
  repeated in the rhythm: Theresa McGhee, Theresa
  McGhee, sweet, sweet, sweet Theresa McGhee.
  One evening as Tom played a melody that evoked
  endless stars reflected in a placid mountain lake, the
  notion to kiss the automaton settled over her delicately
  as the deepening dusk. Caught up in the music, Theresa
  leaned in and kissed it tentatively upon its still wooden
  lips; the swaying automaton played on and on. The
  sensation of her first kiss felt strange, the mask firm and
  unyielding beneath her lips, but not unpleasant.  It was
  only a game, she told herself, a make-believe fantasy
  played out with a doll. It wasn't real. It didn't mean
  anything. It wasn't wrong.
  Theresa McGhee, Theresa McGhee, sweet, sweet,
  sweet Theresa McGhee went the rhythm on the piano.
  Theresa placed her hand upon the automaton's
  fingers and the music stopped, and the incomplete song
  unraveled in the still, quiet dark of the mansion. The
  automaton's hands were cold metal, but the longer
  Theresa rested her own fingers upon them, the warmer
  they became. She wondered if a gentleman's hand might
  feel this way, both cool and warm, as they walked on a
  moonlit street in Paris, or on a summer's day in the park,
  or as they stood side by side gazing into a star-spangled
  lake. But this she could not know, for all she had was her
  imagination and this machine—a machine that stirred
  her heart with its music.
  The more time Theresa spent alone with the
  automaton, the further she pretended. The first shy kiss
  eventually yielded another, and another, until what had
  seemed improper became comfortable, natural. Who
  could guess what the automaton thought of human
  touch, if it could truly think at all. It existed to do her
  bidding, and when Theresa asked Tom to hold her, the
  automaton dutifully embraced her with the gentleness of
  a lover. She sometimes wondered if it were possible to
  love a possession in the same
  way it was possible to love a
  dog, a cat, or the way a
  Southerner might have loved a favorite slave. Still, it was
  important to be discreet, and Theresa worried what her
  father might do if he should catch her canoodling with
  his toy. So one frigid night in February when the music
  swelled within her breast and filled her lonesome,
  awkward heart near bursting, they abandoned the piano
  in the hall, and Theresa led the automaton by the hand
  up the stairs and to her chambers where they sat side by
  side upon her bed, and she stared into the automaton's
  glass eyes and wondered.
  Theresa shivered. Between these close walls the
  candlelight shadows hung from every surface, darkening
  and angling the automaton's slight grin like the smile of a
  seducer. In the privacy of her chambers, Theresa
  rehearsed the usual routine—the mechanical embraces
  and wooden kisses—but now it all felt wrong. The
  sacred solitude of the bedroom begged for some new
  intimacy. Theresa caressed one side of the automaton's
  face, her fingers trailing across a series of small clips that
  held the wood in place. Gears turned and vibrated
  beneath the surface of the ash wood mask, and
  whispering sparks jumped deep inside the machine. One
  by one she unlatched the clips until the mask came free
  of the automaton's copper skull. Carefully, she lifted it
  and placed it on the bed between them. Behind the mask
  was a bare, featureless plate where the automaton's two
  glass oculars stared outward from the place they were
  mounted. Above these, a trapezoidal window displayed
  the remarkable advanced decision engine where
  stuttering gears turned and tiny blue sparks ignited in a
  constant cycle, pure and perfect in their function. This
  was the automaton's true self, its whole being revealed in
  flawless mechanical symmetry. This was the bare nexus
  from which the music originated. It was without doubt
  the most beautiful sight Theresa had ever seen.
  More than anything Theresa wished that she could
  be as perfect, as beautiful. Her skin was spotty in places,
  her eyebrows too thick, her body too awkward compared
  to the mechanized wonder. She did not know what a
  man might make of her glaring defects. She might never
  have occasion to find out. All she had was her
  imagination and the machine. The automaton. Tom.
  Slowly, Theresa unfastened her nightgown before the
  blank, inscrutable eyes of the mechanical man. Then she
  removed her stockings, followed by her drawers
  and finally her chemise. One by one, as each
  
  8
  Steamscapes: North America
  article came free of her body, she
  folded it and placed it on the bed next
  to the mask until she stood bare before
  the machine in all her human
  imperfection.
  "Well?" she said. She felt the blush warm her cheeks,
  her head spinning in this foolish, reckless abandon –
  what was she doing, what did it mean, what did she want
  from this?
  Each gazed upon the other then, free of artifice or
  impediment, two alien beings reaching across a wide
  fathomless gulf. Without its mask, the automaton stared
  without expression, wordless but for its click and spark
  and whir. And then, after a moment that seemed to
  stretch into eternity, it did the impossible. Unbidden, the
  automaton stood. It stepped toward Theresa, and of its
  own volition the automaton reached across that
  unbreachable gulf and embraced the human girl fully
  within its metal arms.
  And for the only time in her life, Theresa knew she
  was not alone.
  It was at precisely this moment when the colonel
  opened her bedroom door.
  Smiley
  The automaton went, first by coach, then by airship,
  then by train, far from Boston's cobblestone streets and
  the quiet mansion on the hill, from the girl whose face
  flickered in the candlelight when the music played.
  There was a market for the new player toms in the
  territories of the American Consolidated Union, and
  Colonel McGhee might have sold the automaton to any
  number of wealthy aristocrats or concert halls—except
  that he needed the machine to suffer.
  The Comstock Lode was nestled among the forlorn
  desert mountaintops of the Rocky Mountain Republic;
  rivers of silver and gold flowed from the mines to the
  saloons and the brothels of Virginia City and on down
  the mountainside. Beneath the windy peaks the
  automaton hoisted pick and shovel for George
  Hearst alongside a team of digger toms, while
  the human miners harvested the ore the tom
  teams unearthed. The automaton's fine black suit fell to
  tatters, the cuffs unraveled, and the bow tie hung slack
  from its neck like the tongue of a dead mustang, lolling
  in the dry desert heat. Fallen rocks scarred the
  automaton's mask, streaking tears into the virgin wood
  beneath cheek and temple. Dust gummed up its brass
  and copper gears so they squealed a discordant metallic
  symphony wherever the automaton went.
  Suffer, the colonel said.
  But an automaton was only a machine after all; it
  could not know despair, only a lightless mine shaft, black
  as the keys of the silent piano far away. It could not
  know sadness, only echoes resounding in the deaf deep
  world like the syncopated notes of a late Beethoven
  sonata. It could not know loss, only a loose gear
  tumbling down the dark shaft, a piece of the whole
  forever absent.
  The digger toms were no consolation. Colossal,
  beetle-like monstrosities with vacuous, staring lamps for
  eyes, the iron-plated goliaths were built for heavy labor
  in the mines. They did not have fine, articulated fingers,
  only simple clamps for holding equipment, or else
  appendages that ended in picks, hammers, drills, or
  hooks. Small, simple parts comprised their decision
  engines, making the mute machines as slow and stupid as
  the herds of cattle the cowboys drove to the railhead at
  Sacramento.
  Suffer, the colonel said. To fall apart by degrees
  buried beneath the world, forgotten. But it wasn't the
  wearing away of the automaton's metal skin against
  unyielding rock, nor the grind and stutter of slipping
  gears that caused the shutdown of the self-preservation
  protocols within the automaton's advanced decision
  engine and hastened its swift deterioration. Rather it was
  the silence. The silence that came at the end of the shift,
  when the rhythm of machinery stopped and the digger
  toms went inert and all sound evaporated from the
  world. The automaton was made to fill silence. It was
  made to evoke human emotion from structured patterns
  of sound. Once, it had done this with the mere press of
  its metal fingers. Once, she had swept back the darkness
  and illuminated its whole world in a single candle's light.
  As the automaton declined, George Hearst had it
  repaired. On days when Hearst's foreman brought the
  automaton through Virginia City to the town's spark
  wrangler or gear shop, the townsfolk gawked at the
  misbegotten mechanical hobo with the crooked grin and
  sad glass eyes. Most had only ever seen digger toms
  before and couldn't help but stare at the staggering
  
  9
  humanlike construct, profound in its degradation. They
  took to calling it 'Smiley' the way they might nickname a
  mongrel, tramp, or stray.
  The foreman's name was Thomas Walker, an
  emancipated slave from Hearst's father's estate. Walker
  was a lean, capable man who spoke in a rich musical
  tenor. Men listened to Walker because his judgment was
  sound, he looked out for his crew, and people said the
  man could smell gold through solid rock. He had
  Hearst's ear, and the boss trusted him; some said it was
  Walker who talked the boss out of selling his claim in the
  Comstock early and thriving on in Virginia City
  throughout the gold and silver years.
  The more time Smiley spent with Walker, the less
  silent his life became. On their travels to and from town,
  Walker talked of his father, of the grandfather he never
  knew, of a native land across the sea that he would never
  know. Sometimes Walker sang songs. He sang about toil
  and hard labor, he sang about poverty, about saviors and
  deliverance, about going home. Walker filled the
  expanses between the rocky peaks with his voice, and
  since Smiley could not answer, he listened. Whenever
  Smiley went into town with Walker to have his gears
  aligned or tweaked, he returned more mended than
  before.
  It was upon one such outing, as Smiley and Walker
  returned from the gearsmith, that Smiley stalled in the
  middle of the street just as Walker was warming up to
  the best part of a folktale involving clever Aunt Nancy
  and wise Uncle Remus; Smiley halted in mid-stride, his
  ash wood face tilted toward the sky.
  Walker surveyed the frozen automaton. He checked
  Smiley's switches and the tension of his clockwork coils
  and examined his winding key, but the gearsmith's work
  was sound, and not a single bolt out of place. "What's
  your trouble, Smiley?" he said. Stumped, Walker peered
  about the street for a coach or cart to haul the
  automaton back to the gearsmith's shop, but the drivers
  would not stop for him. Walker was about to seize the
  reins of a passing stagecoach team when he noticed the
  angle of the automaton's gaze.
  From a second story window of the Washoe Club a
  faint piano melody drifted on the air. It was Chopin's
  "Tristesse," and the smooth legato music fell down upon
  Smiley like sparse desert rain. The wooden mask could
  only grin, but Smiley lifted his head and opened his
  metal arms wide, embracing the music like a pilgrim in
  blissful rapture. For as long as the music played Smiley
  stood rapt, motionless as a
  statue, and Walker did not try
  to budge him.
  From then on, throughout the summer of 1866 and
  into the fall, upon each of their trips through town
  Smiley's step slowed outside the Washoe Club and
  together Smiley and Walker stopped to listen to the
  music that floated from the billionaires' parlors and
  smoking rooms above. And the prospectors, the
  tycoons, the reporters from the Territorial Enterprise,
  the Indians, the trailblazers, the cowboys, the
  shopkeepers, the whores, all of them stopped too, to
  observe the unlikely counterparts—the decrepit
  automaton in the tattered suit and the Negro foreman in
  the dirty overalls.
  One day in late October as they returned to the
  mine, Walker spied an old piano standing in a dusty ray
  of sunlight through the back door of Maguire's Opera
  House. Since that first day outside the Washoe Club
  Walker wondered about Smiley's infatuation with music,
  and like one of the characters in his folktales, the instant
  he spotted the piano Walker's curiosity got the better of
  him. He poked his head through the backstage door and,
  seeing no one around, he guided the automaton into the
  opera house and over to the old piano. "Go ahead,
  Smiley," he said. He peered behind the stage curtain and
  again outside the stage door. "Quick now, before
  somebody come along."
  The ivory keys lay before Smiley like a memory of
  soft skin too precious for his touch. Self-preservation
  protocols turned Smiley's decision gears so rapidly the
  frantic clicking reverberated through the opera house.
  The last time he had played…
  "Go on," Walker said.
  Tenuously, Smiley placed his metal digits upon the
  keys of the worn out old instrument. He touched them
  as if they were soap bubbles that might burst at his
  slightest touch. He experimented with chords like pieces
  of a jigsaw puzzle picked up and then discarded. Soon
  his searching fingers rediscovered the sharp dark ridges
  and pale broad plains that composed the sublime
  landscape of the keyboard, and Smiley began to play.
  His music was different now than it had been at the
  colonel's mansion in Boston. Now he played the
  darkness of the mine and the ponderous movement of
  the digger toms. He played the silences too, the yearning
  and the loneliness. He played the distant strains
  of far off sound, difficult to capture as the
  
  10
  Steamscapes: North America
  wind. Now a tinge of loss threaded all
  his songs, and it was Walker's turn to
  stand transfixed, for within Smiley's
  loneliness was his own. He heard the
  sounds of his spirituals in each strain of
  Smiley's song; when Smiley played the mine,
  Walker saw the plantation and the other slaves, their
  chains; when Smiley played the mansion, Walker thought
  of his grandfather's stories of Africa far away.
  "You got the gift," Walker said, brushing at his eye
  with the back of his hand. "Don't know how you come
  by it, or who hid it deep down in those gears, but you
  got it."
  Afterward, Walker explained to the boss about
  Smiley's gift. George Hearst was reluctant to lose the
  automaton he considered the foreman of his digger tom
  team, but once Hearst heard the automaton play, Walker
  had little trouble convincing him to rent Smiley out to
  saloons, clubs, and brothels for a profit. Hearst sensed
  that Walker smelled gold again, and he was right.
  From that day forward, whenever he wasn't working
  his shift in the mines Smiley played piano at the Washoe
  Club or one of the saloons. He even performed at the
  opera house, playing a comic, off-key introduction for a
  Virginia City wit called Sam Clemens at his humorous
  lecture on the Sandwich Islands.
  And Smiley's music changed again, for the people of
  Virginia City did not sit in dark solitude like the colonel,
  brooding over the moody overtures of Beethoven or
  Chopin. They were lively mountain folk thriving on
  dreams of silver and gold. They wanted upbeat tempos,
  tunes they could put words to and sing along. Stephen
  Foster had died penniless and feverish in a New York
  hotel the year Smiley was made, but every year that
  followed, Foster's songs resounded louder than before in
  the throats of the people. Smiley heard them and
  remembered them. He played Foster's songs on the
  piano, adding his own unique variations, and the whole
  town sang along.
  Over the years Smiley became a feature of Virginia
  City. People came from far and wide to hear him play.
  There were other player toms, of course, but none quite
  so famous as Smiley, the Merry Player Tom of Gold Hill.
  Hearst permanently removed Smiley from mine shifts
  and ordered Walker to buy Smiley new garments—a
  button-down shirt and suspenders, brown trousers, a
  coat, and bowler hat. The more he played, the less
  and less Smiley saw of Walker until they saw
  one another hardly at all. Sometimes they
  walked together to the spark wrangler or gearsmith when
  Hearst sent Smiley in for routine maintenance, and
  sometimes Smiley caught Walker's eye across a smoky
  sea of red-faced saloon patrons on nights when the
  people of Virginia City crowded around the piano and
  sang the songs Smiley played. On nights like these the
  people hung their arms around Smiley's skeletal
  shoulders and muttered their drunken secrets. They
  confided in him, they trusted him, and they loved him.
  Beneath the mountain Walker toiled with the digger
  toms that worked the mines, grinding ever on in the
  solitary darkness from which Smiley had come. But now
  he was in the light with the people, where he belonged.
  At last Smiley was one of them.
  * * *
  It happened on a scalding Tuesday afternoon when
  the whole of Virginia City lay covered in a cloud of
  brown dust. Smiley was playing at the Washoe Club
  when the news came about the collapse—fifteen miners
  and a squad of digger toms trapped behind a wall of
  rock. Smiley sat at the piano in his fine clothes, swift
  metal fingers dancing across the keys while all around
  him the wealthy, bearded millionaires of the Washoe
  Club smoked their cigars and drank their whiskey and
  played their cards.
  But when the news of the collapse reached the club,
  the club emptied into the street and the street flowed on
  down to the mine. Once word got around, everyone
  wanted to be there, to have a look or send a prayer;
  everyone wanted to be involved in the miracle or
  tragedy—whichever it turned out to be—unfolding
  before them.
  When Smiley arrived at the mine a multitude had
  already gathered, the story abuzz on everyone's lips: a
  digger tom had tunneled in the wrong direction into a
  pocket of soft silver ore. As the rock above gave way,
  the mine rats started to run—a few at first, and then all
  of them, scurrying up the rocky passages one after
  another in a panicked stampede.
  Smiley had seen his share of cave-ins, the big bass
  boom of collapsing rock like the desperate pounding
  notes that began Schumann's "Aufschwung." The digger
  toms never responded to the noise. The big machines
  always went right on digging, cumbersome mechanical
  bodies moving with the weary alacrity of beaten slaves. A
  human foreman had to shout at them, or beat them with
  shovels or picks to get their attention. Even when Smiley
  
  11
  warned them what was about to happen they only stared
  at him with their wide lantern eyes, decision engines
  churning like ponderous mill wheels. And yet Smiley
  understood them, and in the end they always obeyed
  Smiley, for the automatons were of a kind. If there was
  anyone who could convince the big machines to turn
  around, it was Smiley.
  Jacobson, the crew foreman for the next shift, seized
  him by the arm. "Smiley," he said, "you've got to get
  those digger toms out. If they get buried, we're ruined.
  It'll be back to picks and shovels for the entire claim."
  Smiley cocked his head inquisitively. He walked two
  fingers across the palm of his white-gloved hand. The
  foreman understood. "Walker." He shook his head.
  "Smiley… those boys are dead, and if they're not, they
  may as well be without the digger toms to get them out.
  You can't save them, but you can save the whole damn
  claim if you get those mechanical sons of bitches digging
  in the right direction!"
  The crowd held its breath as Smiley considered. No
  one would enter the mines while a rogue digger tom
  tunneled through the soft earth around an ore deposit.
  Further cave-ins, torrents of scalding water, and toxic
  damps all lurked within the rock, waiting to be released.
  Smiley stood before the people, glass eyes taking in the
  faces of the miners' families and all the faces of the
  crowd gathered around the mine entrance. Familiar
  faces. Faces that opened in song when he accompanied
  them in the saloons and taverns and brothels of this
  town. Smiley took all of them in, and his advanced
  decision engine weighed their desperation and measured
  their worry. Then he nodded to no one in particular,
  removed his bowler cap and his jacket, and entered the
  mine.
  Smiley took the lift down to the deepest levels,
  where the heat from hidden underground springs was so
  intense it sheared sheets of sweat from men's bodies.
  Few but automatons and expert miners could work this
  far down. He struck a match and lighted one of the lift
  station's lanterns. With lantern in hand he proceeded
  into the dark earthen complex honeycombed high into
  the subterranean gloom with thick timber structures like
  the ribs of some gigantic behemoth, until he arrived at
  another station where the shaft forked into two separate
  tunnels–-one for the automaton crew and another for
  the human miners. Splintered timbers lay toppled amidst
  a massive tumble of rock and debris. From the path to
  his right, Smiley heard the faint rumble of the digger
  toms struggling through the collapsed rock. From the
  left, only the silence that so
  long had preyed upon him
  within this dark domain—before
  Walker got him out, before Walker saved him. Picking
  his way over broken timber beams and piles of rock,
  Smiley began down the passage toward the digger toms.
  He had only traveled a few yards toward the rumble
  of the trapped automatons when once again Smiley
  found he could no longer move forward. Something was
  all mixed up inside his decision engine. It froze him dead
  in his tracks, halted and bound him as surely as the
  trapped digger toms, and it would not let him go. There
  was some flaw in his system, some gear out of place,
  some spark that failed to ignite.
  The decision engine clicked and whirred behind the
  smiling mask, deep within his copper skull. Jacobson's
  orders commanded Smiley to go to the digger toms;
  down the other collapsed passage Walker and the human
  miners lay entrapped.
  The automatons were a costly investment for George
  Hearst. More efficient than a human team, they didn't
  have to be paid—they only needed to be maintained.
  They were stupid but reliable. They did not complain,
  they did not strike or negotiate for more money. They
  did not eat, they did not sleep, they did not lie, they did
  not steal what did not belong to them.  They did not
  swig whiskey and arrive late or drunk to their shifts.
  They were sinless, obedient, and dull, the perfect
  followers, the perfect investment.
  But they did not dance, either. Nor did they sing. In
  fact they had no use for music whatsoever. They
  possessed no secrets. For a digger tom there was no such
  thing as loyalty, because a digger tom never considered
  anything that it was told. They barely had memories, only
  scattered images and vague sensations. Their faces were
  uniform: round iron shells and lamp-like eyes. They had
  no mouths, they had no gender, they had no names. In
  the grand scheme they were only machines, and Smiley
  was not one of them.
   Smiley had a name, and an identity. That he might
  create music, his creators endowed him with complex
  mechanical impulses, which his decision engine
  translated into synthetic stimuli to imitate thoughts and
  feelings. He may have come into the world an
  automaton, but they were not his people. Smiley's people
  gathered around his piano; they danced and drank and
  sang and told him their secrets, hopes, fears, and
  dreams. His people gave him a name of his
  own. His people saved him from the mine. His
  
  12
  Steamscapes: North America
  people loved him. And if they were
  still alive, his people needed him now.
  Smiley turned around and
  backtracked along the opposite passage,
  through the wreckage of the mine to the
  blockage on the other side, the passageway where Walker
  and his team lay buried. There, Smiley pressed his fingers
  against the fallen rocks as he would a piano. Deep within
  the stone, tiny irregular vibrations pulsed. Such
  soundless tremors were imperceptible to a human being,
  but Smiley's mechanical body was designed to sense the
  minutest variation in tone and pitch, and in his fingertips
  Smiley recognized the halting staccato of speech.
  The miners were here and they were alive.
  Furiously, Smiley set to work lifting the rocks from
  the cave-in. Walker once told him a piece of news about
  a man from back East named John Henry, who had
  tunneled through a mountain to beat a steam-driven
  digger tom before falling over dead. Smiley wondered
  how John Henry would have fared had he possessed an
  automaton's tireless reserves.
  As Smiley dug, the pistons of his hands played on
  the clattering rocks with the rhythm of a song, and each
  time he came away with a chunk of broken stone he saw
  himself as John Henry carving a hole through the world
  to find Walker. It was in the midst of this thought, when
  Smiley had nearly cleared the rock pile, that from the
  direction of the digger toms there sounded a deafening
  rumble like underground thunder, and a monstrous
  boulder tumbled loose from above and fell toward him.
  Slowly, slowly, the boulder seemed to descend.
  Smiley leapt backwards away from the collapse, but
  inexorably the boulder continued on its path, snatching
  the delicate pistons of his right hand before he could
  escape, smashing them flat and pinning him to the rock.
  Struggle as he might, Smiley could not budge the boulder
  or free himself from its grasp.
  Smiley scratched and tapped and scraped at the stone
  barrier, but all his efforts to reach the miners ended in
  vain. The impulses that traveled from his fingers to the
  decision engine ceased to spark, and soon the vibrations
  of speech within the rock dwindled and died, and the
  only sound was the thrum of the digger toms recklessly
  carving a random path through the brittle earth around
  the silver lode.
  There was no time to lose. Smiley's decision
  engine cycled and sparked, and in the fraction of
  an instant he made his choice. With all the
  strength in his supple clockwork frame Smiley yanked at
  his arm. Over and over he pulled until the metal
  screeched and ground and gave, and with a final effort
  he wrenched himself free of the rock. What remained of
  his right hand was now little more than a flat, twisted
  piece of fingerless broken scrap. Smiley ignored it and
  resumed the excavation.
  Soon Smiley could hear their voices. The trapped
  miners chattered excitedly, shifting rocks on their end,
  calling to him as each picked out the tap and scrape of
  the automaton's impaired digging. "It's Smiley!" Walker
  exclaimed. Within moments, a tiny gap formed in the
  collapse through which the light of a candle shone, tiny
  and fragile as the one a young girl had once borne
  through a dark house to reach his side. A hand
  blackened with dirt and grit reached from the hole and
  Smiley clasped it in his own. Their hands encircled one
  another fast and firm, and Walker's rich voice sounded
  through the hole. "Good old Smiley," he said. "Good old
  Smiley come through in the end. Good old Smiley."
  A loud sharp pop sounded from somewhere in the
  mine. It was followed by a long, burbling hiss—the
  sound of a rogue digger tom tunneling aimlessly into a
  hot water spring.
  In his time in Virginia City, Smiley's ash wood mask
  had tanned a tarnished complexion from the desert dust,
  the lantern and candle soot, the soil of the mines. Now
  the boiling flood of water that coursed through the
  passage scoured it all away. It engulfed Smiley, tore the
  paint from his mask, ripped the mask from his skull,
  trademark smile and all, and carried it away.
  To the automaton, a human scream was like the
  sound a piano made when a child beat its keys with
  closed fists, mismatched tones combined in violent,
  jangled disharmony. This was the thought that pounded
  the automaton's decision engine as the water flooded the
  shaft. The miners screamed as it scalded them, and then
  the torrent stripped away their screams and drowned
  them all in silence.
  The automaton had no mouth to scream, not even a
  face. Only the blank copper plate with the two glass
  oculars remained where once the mask had grinned.
  Hours later, when the mutilated machine emerged from
  the mine, the terrible screamless silence settled over the
  anxious faces gathered around. Stripped of mask, hand,
  and clothing, the decrepit automaton gleamed before the
  crowd like a grisly brass skeleton, gears whirring,
  steaming, glinting in the final gold of sunset.
  
  13
  Walker
  The tom show traveled everywhere its manager, Slim
  Schweitzer, could make a buck, from the Appalachians
  to the Rockies and down to the arid deserts of the
  Confederation of Texas. They played for restless youths
  and world-weary grandparents, for black ex-slaves, the
  Sunday morning church crowd, immigrants and migrant
  workers, they played for everyone who had ears to hear
  or eyes to see. And the people came. They came for the
  gymnasts that flipped and somersaulted across the stage
  in stylized automaton masks. They came for the actors
  decked in scrap metal suits like worker toms, stumbling
  and colliding with one another in slapstick routines.
  They came in droves and they came in legions to the tom
  show. But mostly they came for the shabby copper tom
  that sang songs with a thousand voices and one.
  "Walker" was the name the crowd shouted. Louder than
  pounding piano or chugging locomotive, louder than a
  cave-in, they called him as if they loved him. "Walker,"
  they called again and again.
  Backstage before each show Walker shouldered his
  guitar and ran the delicate mechanical fingers of his left
  hand over the frets and strings. His right hand was a
  fusion of metal parts melted together, ending in a flat,
  curved spur he employed as a permanent pick. Before he
  went on, the faceless automaton hummed a brief scale,
  experimenting with vocal ranges–-bass, baritone, tenor.
  The scale reverberated quietly through the salvaged
  Edison phonographaton integrated into his core
  structure, the device that allowed the automaton to
  record and reproduce sound. Everywhere it went the
  automaton collected voices and vocabularies so that it
  might always speak in the fashion of the region. So that
  it might belong.
  According to legend, the automaton emerged naked
  from out of the West, strumming an old guitar and
  singing new songs the like of which no one had ever
  heard. The complex chord progressions were as nuanced
  as any classical master's; the themes recalled Negro
  spirituals mingled with the insistent motion of a Stephen
  Foster ballad. But the most remarkable aspect of
  Walker's songs was the lyrics.
  Walker sang of hard toil
  and long travel, of exile and
  lost love and the deep ingrained
  human desire—whatever one's lot in life—to belong.
  The songs caught on people's lips and snagged around
  the worn edges of their hearts. Farmers in the South
  sang "Gray Ashes Green" to their fallen soldiers as they
  tilled fields crippled from Sherman's March. In the West,
  saloon troubadours led spirited choruses of "Ten
  Golden Rings" while prospectors hummed "Tonight I'll
  Mine The Sunset" as they sauntered to work, heavy picks
  slung over their shoulders. The melancholy ballads they
  sang in the East were the most popular, however, and
  none as well known as "Sweet Theresa Immaculate," a
  tragic song about the star-crossed love between a
  Confederate officer's daughter and a plantation slave.
  Walker's songs told stories the people had lived. One
  night after a performance, a teary-eyed young man
  clasped Walker's good hand and thanked the automaton
  "for telling the truth."
  All across America, Walker told the truth. His songs
  were not the songs of the ACU or the Rocky Mountain
  Republic, the Confederation of Texas, or any other
  territory. They were the songs of America. They were
  songs of rich folk in mansions and poor folk in mines;
  they were mountain songs and plains songs; songs of a
  native land never glimpsed, a lost history, songs of steel
  mills and factories. When Walker projected his
  phonographic voice over the crowd it became the
  unified voice of all the disparate territories of America,
  and the automaton sang for the people as if it were one
  of them.
  Of course no one believed that the automaton
  actually wrote the songs; the machine was presumably a
  puppet for some reclusive virtuoso that preferred to
  conceal his identity. Many swore that Mark Twain was
  behind the whole tom show—which happened to be
  partly true. Others believed Stephen Foster had faked his
  own death to compose anonymously through the
  automaton–-which was complete nonsense. Whenever
  someone asked Walker who wrote the songs, however,
  the faceless tom always stared back at the questioner and
  through his phonographaton uttered the reply, "You
  did."
  In every part of the land Walker sang his songs,
  telling the truth North to South and East to West, until
  one day in Louisiana a band of men on horseback rode
  into the middle of the tom show. Like Walker,
  these men bore no faces. Without faces they
  
  14
  Steamscapes: North America
  had no ears to hear Walker's songs, no
  mouths to call his name or cheer him
  on. Their peaked white hoods showed
  only their eyes, which narrowed to slits
  as they looked upon the acrobats and the
  actors dressed as toms; which burned with hatred
  when they settled on Walker himself, who stared back at
  the white-robed men in silence.
   "You don't belong here, tom," said one of the
  white-robed men.
  "God didn't make no toms," said another.
  "It's a goddamn abomination," mumbled a third.
  Walker could not see the men's faces, but he knew
  them all the same. In their voices, he heard the timbre of
  outrage. It sounded like cloying smoke, like scalding
  heat, strumming hard across plaintive strings in discord.
  It was a familiar sound, a refrain he knew well. Slim
  Schweitzer emerged from his striped big top circus tent
  to plead with the men, but the faceless hoods had no
  ears to listen, and one of them stopped Slim's speech
  with the butt of a rifle to the manager's cheek.
  Walker stepped forward.
  "Ain't no need for that, fellas," Walker said,
  flawlessly replicating the voice and pattern of the second
  faceless man that had spoken. "We're just a song and
  dance tom show–-don't mean no trouble, ain't worth no
  trouble."
  The leader's dry laugh rustled beneath his hood.
  "Trouble's worth what you put into it, tom. These boys
  got a special talent for serving trouble to carpetbaggers
  and Yanks." Then the hooded man nodded to two of his
  company, who led their horses around the perimeter to
  flank the show grounds.
  "Listen," Walker said. "There's no 'carpetbaggers'
  here, no 'Yanks.' These are good Christian folk, same as
  yourselves and your kin."
  "We ain't in the habit of heeding to machines," the
  second man said. "We don't take no sermons from no
  property."
  Walker knew the time for words was past. He could
  create words to change men's souls in song, but there
  were some men who would never hear.  The hooded
  men rode into the tom show's encampment. With the
  bayonets and the butts of their rifles they bloodied the
  actors and smashed in the tom costumes. The men
  lit torches and set the tom show's colorful tents
  aflame. But when they closed in on the
  panicked audience that came from near and far to hear
  his songs, Walker left words, rhythm, and tone behind.
  He focused all the energy in his mechanical form upon
  his integrated phonographaton. A thunderous boom
  resounded through the clearing, followed by a shrill bolt
  of raw screeching sound so terrible to hear that it ripped
  the ears and spooked the horses, which reared, threw,
  and scattered the white-robed men in all directions. Most
  of the audience escaped on their own, fleeing the
  deafening shrieks and the mounted men that bled from
  the ears—crisp white hoods stained with stark red
  blotches.  Walker released another earsplitting screech,
  and another, and another, until the audience was safely
  away. When they were all gone, his energy spent,
  clockwork coils lax and loose, the automaton collapsed
  to the ground and Walker lay still.
  Eventually the hooded men caught up with Slim
  Schweitzer. They found the manager wandering beyond
  the desolate grounds on the edge of madness, a withered
  balloon drifting among the briars, and marched him back
  to the ravaged site to await their judgment. There they
  discovered the inert machine lying in the trampled grass
  between the toppled stalls and skeletons of smoldering
  tents. Slim blubbered and begged, but the men made him
  watch as they tied Walker's limbs with thick lengths of
  rope and hitched him to four of their strong horses
  facing in opposite directions. When they whipped the
  horses the automaton's senseless copper body wailed as
  metallic limbs screeched asunder and gears and coils
  sprang from his clockwork guts and spilled all over the
  ground; the men scattered Walker's insides across the
  demolished site.
  To seal the deed, they decked Slim Schweitzer in the
  piecemeal remnants of Walker's body until he resembled
  a sad broken tom. Then they gathered up their rope and
  hung the manager from a tree.
  * * *
  The automaton went, piece by piece, from the hands
  of scavengers and junk collectors and into a covered
  wagon. Walker's body dispersed in pursuit of all the
  places that his songs had voyaged. His legs traveled far
  into the West until the country ran out of land, settling at
  last in a gearsmith's shop on the outskirts of San
  Francisco. The automaton's intact left hand was sold to
  an automaton factory in Pittsburgh where the digits were
  disassembled, refurbished, and resold as add-ons and
  replacement parts for luxury model player toms. In St.
  
  15
  Louis, the automaton's beaten and dented copper torso
  was melted down and forged into teakettles, pitchers,
  pots, and pans. The phonographaton that produced the
  songs remained where it had fallen, shattered beyond
  repair; the pieces oxidized and rusted and became one
  with the earth, until green moss and grass grew over
  them all.
  But Walker's songs traveled farther than his body
  ever could. They traveled on the air, borne from the
  mouths of the people that loved them, faster than the
  swiftest airship could fly. They drifted across the
  continent and over the sea; they took root in the songs
  of future generations, though none would ever recall the
  name of the one that had first given them voice.
  The automaton went on, silent and immotile,
  contained within the remarkable decision engine locked
  inside the faceless copper skull. From one place to
  another it traveled on the junk wagon until it reached the
  far Eastern end of the vast American continent, to a
  place where a grand skyline devoured the horizon and
  smokestacks belched their refuse into the smoggy
  heavens. Here, machine parts whirred and presses
  clattered; there, the distant whine of a phonograph, the
  click of a mechanical shutter.
  Factory to factory the automaton went—bought,
  traded, sold. Its decision engine regulated a generator; it
  operated a printing press; it ran the carding, combing,
  and spinning machines at a textile mill. Machines became
  its instruments, the strings and keys upon which it
  played. To the rhythm of industry the automaton
  conducted a chorus of mechanical voices that screeched,
  clattered, and chugged their song into the city's smoke-
  black night, the first opus of a new symphony to
  underscore the coming age of man.
  * * *
  In the foundry of the Steinway Piano Company in
  Astoria, automatons pour molten iron into string frame
  castings. They do hot, rough work, drawing off the iron,
  drilling and japanning the frame. Elsewhere in the
  factory, human cabinetmakers carve the rims, legs, and
  cases of grand pianos. It is a synthesis, a dance to the
  music of manufacturing, each part of the instrument
  integral to another like syncopated notes. The
  automatons do not speak to the men and the men do not
  speak to the automatons. All that needs to be said comes
  out in the end, after the automatons have cut the
  hammers and glued them to shanks and the men have
  fashioned keys of ebony,
  ivory, and pine; after the men's
  soundboards and automatons'
  string frames have been fitted to the case.
  A hideous, battered automaton with a dented copper
  face and a body reconstructed from a hundred
  patchwork parts hunches before each of the completed
  instruments, playing every key in turn with its crude two-
  pronged clamp. If the tones are true, old Henry Steinway
  himself hunches beside the automaton and plays the new
  instrument side by side with the battered tom. In his last
  days, old Steinway plays his life: orphaned childhood;
  prejudice; exile; reinventing name and self; searching far
  and wide for a place to belong.
  The music fills the factory, blows out through the
  smokestacks and into the smog-choked lungs of the city,
  and the automaton sways as it listens.
  
  16
  Steamscapes: North America
  (Chapter 3)
  Character Creation
  The following rules are intended to add specific
  character variations for the Steamscapes game setting. As
  with all rules, players and gamemasters should use only
  those that make sense for their campaign. We hope that
  the additions of the professions and racial template will
  serve to enhance the setting. For examples of characters
  built using the new rules, refer to the game materials
  provided in Chapter 6.
  It is reasonable to expect that players who are more
  familiar with Savage Worlds will be particularly interested
  in building characters with these new rules. However,
  the Steamscapes world includes many types of people
  that the core rules are perfectly capable of representing.
  There are many common steampunk archetypes you may
  wish to portray, such as the worldly explorer, the roguish
  pirate, or the Victorian socialite, all of which can be built
  without the additional rules. The new professions are
  intended to add variety and flavor to the game. They are
  not intended to represent a restricted list of the types of
  characters one might play.
  Restricted Skills and Edges
  The following edges and skills from the basic Savage
  Worlds rules set are either not used or are restricted to
  certain character types:
  Skills
  Ÿ Driving – Steamhand only
  Ÿ Piloting – Aviator only
  Edges
  Ÿ Marksman – Gunslinger only
  Ÿ Trademark Weapon – Gunslinger only
  Ÿ Arcane Background (any) – not used
  Ÿ Arcane Resistance – not used
  Ÿ Gadgeteer – not used (replaced by professions)
  Ÿ All Power Edges – not used
  Note that Weird Edges may still be acceptable within the
  Steamscapes setting, although they should be included
  only at the GM's discretion.
  Professions
  Note about new skills:
  Some of the new skills have two link attributes. For
  the purposes of character creation and advancement, the
  additional cost applies if the skill's die type exceeds either
  of the two link attributes. Each of these profession
  templates may be purchased as a Background Edge in
  character creation. Doing so provides access to the
  profession's unique skill as well as the first point in that
  skill. Some professions also provide access to a unique
  edge tree, which cannot be accessed without purchasing
  the profession. Edge trees are additional edges with
  prerequisites that represent further study within the
  profession. It is possible for a character to purchase
  multiple professions, though some combinations may be
  restricted by the GM. (For reasons of both balance and
  world consistency, we strongly recommend restricting
  Saboteur in combination with most other professions. A
  Gunslinger/Saboteur may be reasonable, but a Spark
  Wrangler/Saboteur is not.) Also, in all cases, characters
  who spread themselves across multiple disciplines are
  likely to be less effective in each one than characters who
  specialize.
  Aviator
  Other than a few eccentric hobbyists, Aviators are
  generally trained by military academies. It is a young
  profession, even for military technology, so there is no
  such thing as a "veteran" Aviator. The oldest have been
  flying no more than seven or eight years, and it is more
  common in the ACU to find Aviators with less than a
  year of actual flight experience. The Plains Federation
  also seems to have some dirigible technology, but no one
  is sure where their Aviators are getting their training, nor
  where they are acquiring the material to construct their
  pirate airships. Aviators are brave, adventurous, and
  
  17
  absolutely convinced of their own immortality. However,
  discharging firearms on a dirigible is not advised.
  Aviators mostly use swords or daggers, though they do
  occasionally wear a revolver for protection away from
  the ship.
  New Skill:  Aeronautical Navigation (Smarts) –
  While Piloting will take care of most of the immediate
  requirements of flying an airship, it takes a different skill
  entirely to fly the airship in the right direction. Winds in
  the sky change even faster than those at sea, and without
  a solid understanding of Aeronautical Navigation, a pilot
  is likely to become quickly and hopelessly lost.
  Gearsmith
  Gearsmiths are the programmers of the mechanical
  revolution. They are responsible for all devices that
  require delicate and complicated clockwork, including
  automatons. Master Gearsmiths always have their own
  personal workshops, though some workshops can be
  fairly large with multiple apprentices.
  Within the game world, a
  player character Gearsmith
  begins with an automaton
  sidekick (without needing to purchase the Sidekick edge).
  This personal automaton is built on a character sheet as
  if it were a normal character using the Automaton racial
  template. The automaton sidekick gains experience and
  advances as if it were a normal character, but is upgraded
  based on the Gearsmith's skill. The sidekick's advances
  are therefore restricted by both its rank and the
  Gearsmith's abilities.
  In addition, the Gearsmith may use a regular action
  to give the Wild Die to the automaton for a round of
  combat. This applies to all actions the automaton may
  take for that round, but it does mean that the Gearsmith
  would incur multi-action penalties on any other actions
  for that round.
  New Skill:  Mechanical Programming
  (Smarts/Agility) – Upon taking this skill, the Gearsmith
  is limited to working with automatons and other
  clockwork devices that do not exceed d4 in the relevant
  attribute (meaning that a novice Gearsmith can work on
  an automaton with a d8 Smarts and a d4 in everything
  else, as long the Gearsmith does not try to work on
  anything related to the automaton's Smarts). The
  Gearsmith's understanding of complex machinery is then
  increased through the Gearsmith Edge Tree. (See
  Chapter 4.)
  Because parts are highly specialized and not directly
  interchangeable, Mechanical Programming rolls suffer
  negative modifiers when a Gearsmith tries to do work
  outside of his or her own well-stocked workshop. Also,
  the McGyver edge cannot normally compensate for lack
  of equipment in Mechanical Programming rolls. Use the
  following sample modifiers as a guide:
  Someone else's workshop: -1
  Steamhand's shop or non-Gearsmith laboratory: -2
  Nothing but your tool kit: -4
  Not even your tool kit: -8
  Ÿ Outside: -1 (in addition to tool penalties)
  Ÿ On a moving vehicle (ship, train, zeppelin): -2 (in
  addition to others)
  Gunslinger
  Many people know how to fire a gun.
  Gunslingers, however, are experts with all
  conventional firearms. They know how to
  A Tuskegee-Trained Aviator
  Resolving a Minor Electrical Difficulty
  
  18
  Steamscapes: North America
  select the right tool for the job. They usually carry a wide
  variety of weapons, many of which they have either
  made or customized themselves. Gunslingers may be
  hired by anybody for many reasons, though it is highly
  unlikely they would be used to fight actual soldiers. They
  are far too expensive for that. Gunslingers come in all
  varieties of appearance and personality. Some are patient
  and cautious, some are wild and unpredictable. However,
  they all share a thirst for fame that separates them from
  common gunfighters.
  New Skill:  Gunsmith  (Agility/Smarts) – This skill
  is used not only to construct black powder weapons, but
  also to customize them and keep them in good repair.
  Many specialized weapons cannot be used effectively
  without constant maintenance and modification. Such
  weapons provide a -4 penalty to both Shooting and
  damage when used by someone without the Gunsmith
  skill, in addition to any individual penalties a particular
  weapon might apply for not meeting its prerequisites.
  Saboteur
  Not everyone is enamored with the new mechanized
  age. Certainly there are many in high society who
  find modern gadgetry to be vulgar and uncouth.
  Saboteurs, however, go much further. They try
  to fight technology, to bring about its downfall, and they
  have learned special skills to help them speed this along.
  Saboteurs in North America tend to fall into one of two
  categories – Indians and social idealists. The former
  gather on the Plains to take part in the strongest
  naturalist government on the continent, while the latter
  tend to remain in cities (where their social power is
  greater), reading Thoreau and Whitman and occasionally
  plotting minor symbolic actions against factories and
  other industrial targets. Mexico is also anti-automaton
  because of its strong Catholic roots, although some
  wealthy landowners are quietly pursuing the technology.
  The most ardent naturalists, whether on the Plains or
  elsewhere, tend to prefer pre-European weapons. Such
  weapons are much quieter, as well as being immune to
  the magnetic field of a spark wand (see Spark Wrangler
  below).
  New Skill:  Sabotage (Agility) – Disabling
  mechanical devices may seem easy. (Smash it enough
  and it stops working.)  However, a skilled Saboteur can
  disable even the most powerful and well-protected
  devices with fearsome efficiency. Sabotage in combat
  often involves some form of targeted attack, with the
  Sabotage skill rolled first to find the correct location to
  target. It is up to the GM to determine the attack
  modifier, but we would suggest that a smaller target area
  should do more damage to the device.
  If the original Sabotage roll is spectacularly
  successful, the GM may want to offer a -4 or more for
  the called shot, but allow successful damage to disable
  the device entirely. Note that making a Sabotage roll and
  an attack in the same turn incurs the multi-action
  penalty.
  Example of play:
  Step 1 – Successful Sabotage roll reveals a vulnerable
  location on the machine,.
  Step 2 – GM applies a -2 for the called shot.
  Step 3 – Damage is rolled ignoring armor. With a hit
  and damage but no raises, the machine is considered
  shaken. Shaken automatons usually roll as normal to
  remove the status, but non-thinking machines must be
  unshaken through operator intervention. If the Saboteur
  gets any raises on damage, the device may lose one or
  more critical functions (can't move, a main gun jams,
  etc.). The GM should select appropriate critical hit
  effects based on the player's cinematic descriptions of
  the attack and the number of raises accrued.
  A Former ACG Soldier
  Turned Gunslinger
  
  19
  Spark Wrangler
  Little is known about the full power or potential of
  electricity, but Spark Wranglers have a strong urge to
  experiment. Public electrification is a plan but not yet a
  reality, so Wranglers typically carry a number of
  condensors (the archaic term for capacitors) to power
  their devices. Spark Wranglers are feared by most of the
  populace, largely because few people – including the
  Wranglers themselves – truly understand the dangers of
  electricity. Every Spark Wrangler carries a spark wand, a
  versatile device that can be used to generate either static
  electricity or electromagnetic induction. The field it
  generates in the second instance is powerful enough to
  freeze nearby automatons, and so wranglers are often
  employed as overseers where the clockwork men are
  being used.
  The wand itself is a custom built electrical device
  that consists of a loop of wire protruding from a handle
  that is then attached by wires to a condensor at the
  Wrangler's belt. Although each is aesthetically unique,
  they are similar enough in design that Spark Wranglers
  are generally able to use each others' wands.
  New Skill:  Electromagnetism  (Smarts) – This
  skill represents both the knowledge and the application
  of the various formulae for electricity and magnetism.
  Most electrical devices are essentially "untamed," in that
  they require constant tuning and upkeep to use them at
  all. Upon taking this skill, the Spark Wrangler is able to
  use the most basic functions of a spark wand. Additional
  functions require advancement on the Spark Wrangler
  Edge Tree.
  Steamhand
  Not long ago, these people who would have been
  blacksmiths. Now, a Steamhand is expected to focus on
  vehicles and weapons more than horseshoes and nails.
  Many work in factories, but a few build their steam-
  powered devices in smaller workshops. Steamhands
  must be very strong, as they work almost exclusively
  with iron. Whether hand-held or mounted on vehicles,
  steam weapons are the new heavy weapons of the
  mechanized age. Hand-held versions typically require a
  steam tank to be carried on one's back. For close
  combat, Steamhands tend to resort to fists or hammers,
  or the butt of whatever weapon they are carrying.
  New Skill:  Steamsmith  (Strength/Smarts) –
  Upon taking this skill, the Steamhand is able to operate
  and repair all steam-powered vehicles, weapons, and
  other devices, though obviously some are more complex
  than others. However, the ability to design new devices
  requires advancement on the Steamhand Edge Tree. For
  many uses of this skill, the Steamhand will need an
  appropriate workshop with common blacksmithing
  tools, including a forge and anvil. Without such tools,
  some repairs and designs may be simply impossible. The
  McGyver edge cannot compensate for the lack of a forge
  and anvil.
  New Racial Template: Automaton
  While there is a great deal of debate about whether
  these metallic men are actually "people" with true
  independent thought or a soul, those automatons who
  have been allowed to think freely do believe that they are
  as alive as humans and will (politely) debate this point
  with anyone who raises it. Even free-thinking
  automatons tend to be somewhat deferential,
  partially out of fear of deactivation but also out
  of respect for the philosophically difficult
  
  20
  Steamscapes: North America
  Edge Trees
  Gearsmith
  The Gearsmith edge tree is devoted to refining both
  the construction and programming of automatons. The
  tree is divided into three basic sections, one dealing with
  the physical attributes of the automaton, another dealing
  with its intellectual capabilities, and a third dealing with
  the Gearsmith's ability to work in adverse circumstances.
  When a Gearsmith buys a new edge in the tree, the
  automaton sidekick is then allowed to purchase whatever
  attribute levels or edges have been unlocked by that
  Gearsmith edge whenever it receives an Advance. This
  means that the automaton sidekick is restricted in its
  available Advances by the Gearsmith's current levels in
  the edge tree.
  Note that an improvement to a PC automaton still
  requires an Advance, and this includes bonuses that are
  not specific edges, such as Complex Joints or Uncanny
  Humanity. (Treat such improvements just like an edge
  for PC automatons.) However, PC automatons are not
  limited in the edges they may purchase. They have more
  flexibility because they do not have to follow the
  advancement path dictated by the Gearsmith tree.
  Well-equipped – The Gearsmith is assumed to have
  parts on hand that apply to the current project. Penalties
  for lack of equipment cannot be more than -2, though
  other location-based penalties may still apply. This edge
  also enables the McGyver edge to apply to Mechanical
  Programming rolls. Such rolls would then suffer no
  penalty at all.
  Leonardo's Legacy (Requires: Well-equipped, d8 in
  Mechanical Programming) – The Gearsmith may make
  much smaller clockwork devices, down to size -2. Such
  devices cannot have any attributes higher than d6, and
  they can have no more than two edges or monstrous
  abilities. For instance, the Gearsmith might create a
  clockwork bird that has Flight and Alertness but no
  other special abilities, though it may still possess basic
  speech like a humanoid automaton.
  Combat Repairs (Requires: Leonardo’s Legacy, d8 in
  Mechanical Programming) – During combat, the Gearsmith
  may use a successful Mechanical Programming roll to
  remove the Shaken condition from any clockwork
  device. This cannot be attempted if the device's Spirit is
  too high for the Gearsmith to work on. (See Basic
  Clockwork and Advanced Clockwork below.)
  questions their existence raises for
  humans.
  The following traits are common to
  all automatons. They account for the
  maximum hindrances and edges allowed for
  character creation of non-humans, meaning that no
  additional hindrances or edges may be taken by an
  automaton during character creation. They may gain
  them as normal during the course of the adventure.
  Construct – Automatons add +2 to recover from
  being shaken, don't suffer from wound modifiers, and
  are immune to poison and disease. Automatons cannot
  heal naturally. To heal an automaton requires the Repair
  skill, which is used like the Healing skill but with no
  "Golden Hour."  Automatons do not bleed out or
  otherwise die, though they can suffer injuries from
  incapacitation. All such injuries are considered
  permanent until repaired. Typically, these repairs require
  additional parts, since the original parts were lost to
  damage. Also, a result of "brain damage" on the injury
  table will be accompanied by significant loss of memory
  and personality that cannot be recovered. Mental and
  social abilities should be reduced or eliminated
  accordingly, at the GM's discretion.
  Man of Iron – Automatons are considered to have 2
  points of armor in all hit locations.
  Less Than Human – Even in the most enlightened
  circles, automatons are not truly accepted as people.
  They suffer a -2 to their charisma when interacting with
  humans normally, and a -4 among humans that are
  particularly opposed to technology.
  Culturally Naive – Automatons are not educated or
  socialized to be like people, and therefore suffer a -2 to
  Common Knowledge rolls. (This may be canceled by the
  Jack of All Trades edge, in addition to that edge's normal
  effect.)
  Clockwork Upgrades –  After character creation,
  automatons may purchase skills as normal, but may only
  increase attributes and purchase edges with the help of a
  fully-equipped Gearsmith. The GM should make this an
  appropriately difficult process with regards to the time,
  skill, and resources required. Some edges may therefore
  be easier to acquire than others. (See the Gearsmith
  Edge Tree for guidelines.) One possible exception to this
  is that it may be relatively easy for an automaton
  character to gain a professional edge, since automatons
  are expected to have a purpose.
  
  21
  Combat
  Repairs
  Mechanical
  Intellect
  Social
  Programming
  Miniaturized
  Processing
  Uncanny
  Humanity
  Decision
  Engines
  Advanced
  Clockwork
  Basic
  Clockwork
  Flexibility
  Complex
  Joints
  Masterwork
  Engineering
  Reinforced
  Musculature
  Hardened
  Exoskeleton
  Advanced
  Structural
  Engineering
  Gearsmith Edge Tree
  Starting Edges
  Edges Requiring d8 in
  Mechanical Programming
  Edges Requiring d10 in
  Mechanical Programming
  Well
  Equipped
  Leonardo's
  Legacy
  Behemoth
  Engineering
  Basic
  Structural
  Engineering
  
  22
  Steamscapes: North America
  Gearsmith may improve an automaton's Smarts and
  Spirit to d12, and may work on automatons for whom
  these attributes are d12 or lower.
  Decision Engines (Requires: Advanced Clockwork) –
  The Gearsmith may grant an automaton the Jack of All
  Trades edge. Note – this edge also eliminates the racial
  penalty to Common Knowledge rolls for automatons.
  Miniaturized Processing (Requires: Decision Engines,
  d10 in Mechanical Programming) – The Gearsmith may
  grant an automaton the Alertness, Linguist, Marksman,
  and Level Headed edges, as well as any improved
  versions.
  Uncanny Humanity (Requires: Advanced Clockwork) –
  The Gearsmith may reduce an automaton's racial
  charisma penalty to 0/-2. (Note that this is an
  adjustment to behavior only. The automaton remains
  obviously mechanical.)
  Social Programming (Requires: Uncanny Humanity,
  d10 in Mechanical Programming) – The Gearsmith may
  grant an automaton any Leadership edges. If used on an
  allied automaton instead of a PC, use the Gearsmith's
  rank to determine whether the automaton meets the
  rank requirement.
  Mechanical Intellect (Requires: Miniaturized
  Processing, Social Programming) – The Gearsmith may grant
  an automaton any Professional edges that do not require
  Arcane Backgrounds. Also, upon reaching Legendary
  rank, the Gearsmith may grant Legendary edges.
  Spark Wrangler
  Although the academic side of electrical study is
  generally conducted in research laboratories, a Spark
  Wrangler is something beyond a research scientist,
  choosing instead to explore the effects of electricity in
  everyday life. Every Spark Wrangler carries a spark
  wand, and this device is the center of the Wrangler's field
  experimentation. The Spark Wrangler edge tree shows a
  series of steps in the understanding and application of
  electricity on both people and machinery. As the
  Wrangler gains edges, the spark wand can be used in a
  wider variety of ways. Every time the spark wand is used,
  the Wrangler must declare which powers are being
  applied in the attack, then make an Electromagnetism
  roll as a ranged attack. This is true even if the intended
  effect is beneficial. If a one is rolled on the attack die
  (not the Wild Die), the condensor explodes, doing 2d6
  damage to the Spark Wrangler and ignoring armor. (This
  may be avoided by rerolling the attack with a Benny.) All
  Behemoth Engineering (Requires:
  Combat Repairs, Reinforced Musculature) –
  The Gearsmith may design much larger
  clockwork devices, up to size +6. Such
  devices may have Strength and Vigor
  attributes as high as d12+6. However, they
  cannot be used as the Gearsmith's automaton sidekick.
  Also, the construction of such devices should be
  appropriately limited by resources and should require the
  assistance of a Steamhand (or perhaps several).
  Basic Structural Engineering – The Gearsmith
  may improve an automaton's Agility, Strength, and Vigor
  to d8, and may work on automatons for whom these
  attributes are d8 or lower (including damage repair).
  Advanced Structural Engineering (Requires: Basic
  Structural Engineering, d8 in Mechanical Programming) – The
  Gearsmith may improve an automaton's Agility,
  Strength, and Vigor to d12, and may work on
  automatons for whom these attributes are d12 or lower
  (including damage repair).
  Hardened Exoskeleton (Requires: Advanced Structural
  Engineering) – The Gearsmith may grant an automaton
  the Brawler edge.
  Reinforced Musculature (Requires: Hardened
  Exoskeleton, d10 in Mechanical Programming) – The
  Gearsmith may grant an automaton the Bruiser, Martial
  Artist, Steady Hands, and Sweep edges, as well as any
  improved versions.
  Complex Joints (Requires: Advanced Structural
  Engineering) – The Gearsmith may grant an automaton a
  permanent +1 to all Agility rolls, including Agility-linked
  skills. (This benefit may only be applied once to a given
  automaton.)
  Flexibility (Requires: Complex Joints, d10 in Mechanical
  Programming) – The Gearsmith may grant an automaton
  the Ambidextrous, Fleet-Footed, Dodge, and First Strike
  edges, as well as any improved versions.
  Masterwork Engineering (Requires: Reinforced
  Musculature, Complex Joints) – The Gearsmith may grant
  an automaton any other non-Legendary physical edge
  and some appropriate racial or monstrous abilities (at the
  GM's discretion).
  Basic Clockwork – The Gearsmith may improve an
  automaton's Smarts and Spirit to d8, and may work on
  automatons for whom these attributes are d8 or lower.
  Advanced Clockwork (Requires: Basic
  Clockwork, d8 in Mechanical Programming) – The
  
  23
  additive power costs stack first, followed by multipliers.
  If the total is too much for the Wrangler's current
  condensor, no attack is possible. Basic condensors start
  out with 10 power points, and can only be improved
  with the appropriate edges. Reloading a spark wand with
  a new condensor requires a full round action. Recharging
  each condensor takes approximately 30 minutes with a
  hand crank generator.
  The basic abilities of a spark wand with no edge
  powers applied are as follows:
  Ÿ Static Discharge (1 power point) – Range 3/6/12,
  Damage 1d6+1, Ignores armor
  Ÿ Electromagnetic Induction (2 power points) – Range
  1/2/4, Target automaton must make a Vigor roll or
  shut down
  Most powers in the edge tree are used to modify one
  of these two attacks, but there are some that add other
  abilities to the spark wand. Note that these rules for
  spark wands replace the rules for electrical powers on
  page 106 of Savage Worlds Deluxe.
  Extended Range (+2 power points) – Doubles the
  range profile of the attack.
  Fork (x2 power points, requires Extended Range) – Attack
  may be directed at two targets. Apply the multi-action
  penalty to both attacks.
  Blast (x3 power points, requires Fork) – Use the cone
  template to determine targets hit by the attack. Apply a
  -2 penalty to all attacks rather
  than the usual multi-action
  penalty. This can be combined
  with Fork to create two separate cones, in which case all
  attacks would be at -4.
  Capacitance (+4 power points) – This power can be
  applied up to three times for additional cost. Each
  application adds a d6 to the Static Discharge attack or a
  -2 modifier to target’s roll on Induction and Stun attacks.
  (There is no effect on Supercharge or Shock.)
  Conductivity (x2 power points, requires Capacitance) –
  Converts the damage die type for all dice to d12 instead
  of d6.
  Advanced Condensors (Requires Conductivity) –
  Allows the Spark Wrangler to make and use condensors
  with 20 power points each.
  Supercharge (new basic ability, 3 power points) – Range
  1/2/4, Target automaton receives a bonus of +2 to all
  Agility, Strength, and Spirit attribute and linked skill
  rolls, including recovering from shaken. This lasts for
  three rounds. However, the automaton must make an
  immediate Vigor roll or it is shaken instead of receiving
  the bonus.
  Shock (new basic ability, 1 power point, requires
  Supercharge) – Range 1/2/4, Target human may make an
  immediate roll to recover from shaken.
  Stun
  Shock
  Supercharge
  Advanced
  Condensors
  Conductivity
  Capacitance
  Blast
  Fork
  Extended
  Range
  Spark
  Wrangler
  Edge Tree
  
  24
  Steamscapes: North America
  Clockwork
  Integration
  Ironclads
  Locomotion
  Multiple
  Expansion
  Engines
  Artillery
  Stun (new basic ability, 2 power points,
  requires Shock) – Range 3/6/12, Target
  human must make a Vigor roll at -2 or
  be shaken. If the target is already shaken,
  the attack does no damage but instead
  renders the human unconscious.
  Steamhand
  The Steamhand edge tree is concerned exclusively
  with the designing of steam-powered devices. Any
  apprentice Steamhand can operate weapons tolerably
  well, and a Steamhand's ability to drive vehicles is
  determined by a separate skill. Unlike Gearsmiths,
  Steamhands tend to fall into one of two categories: the
  practical users and the master designers. This edge tree is
  for the second category. It is a much more simplified
  tree than other archetype edge trees, largely because a
  Steamhand will have other priorities for advancement
  than simply maximizing the ability to customize weapons
  and vehicles.
  In gameplay, these edges should be used to help
  gamemasters determine what a Steamhand can and
  cannot do to modify or enhance vehicles and structures.
  Multiple Expansion Engines – While anyone can
  pick up the basic principles of a double-action piston,
  more advanced applications demand finer detail and
  more precise motion. The multiple expansion engine is
  the core for any significant steam-power engineering.
  Artillery (Requires: Multiple Expansion Engines) –
  Applying steam-power to ballistic weaponry is tricky at
  best. This skill is necessary for designing both hand-held
  and larger heavy weapons that use steam.
  Locomotion (Requires: Multiple Expansion Engines) –
  A Steamhand who has learned this basic art is
  sufficiently skilled to design a railroad engine or wheeled
  steam cart. Such devices typically have decent top speeds
  but terrible acceleration and turning, even off of the rails.
  Ironclads – Steamhands are often called upon to
  retrofit pre-steam vehicles for modern military use. This
  skill allows the Steamhand to apply heavy armor to any
  vehicle or fortification on land or sea.
  Clockwork Integration (Requires: Locomotion,
  Ironclads) – The gears that drive an automaton's decision
  engine are so delicate that steam-powered motion would
  otherwise shatter them and render the mechanism
  useless. An experienced Steamhand knows how to
  construct an appropriate interface to preserve the
  clockwork. This skill is required when working with a
  Gearsmith on a  Behemoth Engineering project.
  Steamhand
  Edge Tree
  
  25
  (Chapter 4)
  Common Use Weapons
  A number of weapons in the Savage Worlds Deluxe
  weapon list are appropriate for use in a Steamscapes
  game. The following are either available in our setting or
  are nearly identical to slightly earlier versions:
  ● Black Powder: Brown Bess, blunderbuss, flintlock
  pistol, Kentucky rifle, Springfield
  ● Pistols: Derringer, Colt Dragoon, S&W .44
  ● Rifles: Spencer carbine, Winchester '76
  ● Other: double barrel shotgun, Gatling
  In addition, we have provided several other firearms
  that are commonly used in our setting. For detailed
  information on those weapons, please refer to the table
  at the end of this chapter. The other weapons described
  below are specialty weapons intended for use by
  particular professions. This should be evident by their
  accompanying rules.
  New Equipment Rules
  Steamhand and Gunslinger weapons add a number
  of new ranged weapon traits to the existing ranged
  weapon rules, many of which are drawbacks and
  penalties for using weapons without meeting certain
  requirements. These weapons are not intended for use
  by untrained individuals, not only because they are
  difficult to aim or fire, but also because they can be
  dangerous to the user.
  Note that some specific additional rules are included
  in the descriptions of various weapons. These are
  indicated in the table at the end of the chapter with the
  words "see text."
  Customized
  All Gunslinger weapons
  have the Custom trait, which
  means that they require constant maintenance and
  adjustment. Gunslingers habitually maintain their
  weapons after every use and have the appropriate skill to
  do so. However, anyone without the Gunsmith skill
  suffers a -4 penalty to both Shooting and damage rolls
  when using a Customized weapon.
  Massive Recoil
  Weapons with massive recoil are denoted by (MR)
  next to their minimum strength rating. Firing such a
  weapon automatically damages any shooter with less
  than the minimum strength. Apply the Shaken condition
  immediately after firing. No attempt to recover from
  Shaken may be made until the following round.
  Minimum Agility
  Some weapons are more complicated than just the
  standard "point-and-shoot" paradigm. They may have a
  variety of switches for different settings, or require a
  specific loading sequence, or simply have a firing
  mechanism that tends to jam. Such weapons are
  designated by (MinAg) followed by the appropriate die
  type in the Notes. A weapon used by someone with less
  than the required agility is reduced to a Rate of Fire of 1
  and requires a full action to reload.
  Misfire Penalty
  Some weapons are unstable and have a higher
  tendency to backfire on the shooter. Weapons with the
  Misfire trait can jam or backfire and potentially damage
  the shooter. When a 1 is rolled on the Shooting die (not
  the Wild Die), the gun misfires. Roll the weapon's full
  damage dice and apply half the result (rounded up) to
  the shooter instead of the intended target. (The intended
  target receives none.) Note that this can be avoided by
  the use of a Benny to reroll the 1.
  Steam Tank
  Most Steamhand weapons have steam-powered
  launching or firing mechanisms, which require the use of
  an attached steam compressor. These tanks are
  extremely heavy (20 lbs fully loaded) and must be carried
  individually on the Steamhand's back. When a weapon
  with the Steam Tank trait reaches its full allotment of
  shots, the tank is spent and cannot be used again in that
  combat. It takes approximately 30 minutes to refill
  and boil a fresh tank back to full pressure.
  
  26
  Steamscapes: North America
  Specialty Weapons
  LeMat Revolver
  The LeMat saw action mostly on the
  Confederate side of the English Civil War,
  but has now gained something of a reputation as a
  frontier mainstay. It is a common starter weapon among
  Gunslingers, who appreciate the versatility of both the
  9-round cylinder and the single-shot smoothbore barrel
  underneath. Unfortunately, the gun was released in
  several different versions with different caliber
  ammunition, and it is difficult to find one with standard
  sized barrels. Gunslingers typically have to cast their own
  bullets for the LeMat, and this fact has prevented it from
  finding more widespread acceptance.
  Colt Revolving Rifle
  The principle behind this weapon's design is very
  simple: combine the power of a rifle with the mechanical
  advantages of a revolver. Unfortunately, the fact that
  rifles – unlike revolvers – are held both at the trigger and
  in front of the firing mechanism means that the shooter
  always has one hand on the wrong side of the cylinder.
  Because early versions still used percussion cap
  ammunition, this often resulted in powder and shrapnel
  damage to the shooter's arm. In the worst cases, the
  ammunition would even chain-fire all the rounds in the
  cylinder at once. These hazards made many people wary
  about the Colt, and thus allowed for the later popularity
  of the more expensive but reliable Henry Repeater. Still,
  some Gunslingers have stuck with the large-caliber
  version of the Colt, swapping out the old percussion
  caps for customized metal cartridges. This eliminates the
  possibility of chain-fire, but there is still the potential for
  splintering that can damage the shooter.
  Starr Revolver
  The revolvers designed by Eban Starr are unique in
  two ways. First, they are currently the only double-action
  revolvers available, though Colt has reported interest in
  developing its own version for the future. The
  mechanism involved allows for the hammer to be pulled
  back by the very action of pulling the trigger. The ability
  to fire quickly does of course come with a significant
  price. The Starr double-actions are extremely difficult to
  aim, requiring a very deft hand. Second, the cylinder in a
  Starr is quickly and easily removable, with no center pin
  to hold it in place. This enables the shooter to carry
  multiple cylinders for exceptionally rapid reloading.
  In game terms, a Starr can be reloaded and fired
  in the same round, and this will only incur multi-action
  penalties if the shooter also moves.
  Duckfoot Volley Pistol
  Originally designed for boarding ships and
  threatening groups of people, this is a gun that only a
  few Gunslingers have in their arsenal and even fewer
  ever use. It consists of five barrels splayed out in a
  configuration that resembles a duck's foot, all of which
  fire simultaneously in a single volley. Accuracy is
  sacrificed in favor of sheer mayhem. When firing,
  choose up to five targets in a cone template. Designate
  one primary target that is resolved normally. All others
  may dodge out of the way as per the normal template
  rules, except that the shooter uses the normal shooting
  roll and does not receive +2. (See Savage Worlds Deluxe, p.
  51) Treat a Duckfoot as a musket for the purposes of
  reloading. It can fire once every three rounds.
  Steam Rocket
  The steam rocket employs pressurized hot water to
  launch a very sturdy metal shell at quite an alarming
  velocity. However, although these rockets are able to
  travel for miles with a good upward arc, their travel path
  is so unreliable that their effective range is little more
  than a standard rifle. Steamhands like to boast about
  their occasional lucky shots, but even the best will tell
  you it's not worth trying. This weapon is mostly
  employed against vehicles, especially armored ones. It
  has even proven effective against ironclad ships. Only
  the most bloodthirsty Steamhand would use such a
  weapon directly against humans.
  Hand Gatling
  The informal name Steamhands have given this gun
  is somewhat misleading, since it possesses only a single
  barrel and does not use powder cartridges. Instead, it
  uses a drop-fed case of spherical pellets approximately
  half an inch in diameter. The pellets are released one
  after the other into a smoothbore launching barrel,
  through which steam is then forced in order to eject
  them at high velocity. As a result, the hand Gatling does
  not have a recoil in the traditional sense. Instead, it
  applies continuous backwards force against the shooter,
  much like a high pressure water hose. Firing this weapon
  requires an inordinate amount of strength, and it is often
  wielded with a certain degree of macho pride.
  Steamthrower
  Steamhands have a healthy respect for the dangers
  that steam poses in its normal use, so it must have been
  
  27
  a particularly malicious individual who decided to turn
  the steam itself into a weapon. The weapon is fairly
  simple, little more than a hose nozzle attached to a steam
  tank. It is difficult to aim, but aiming is beside the point.
  It can be devastating to charging infantry, and typically
  panics even the most sturdy cavalry horse. The
  steamthrower does no useful damage against any kind of
  machinery, although it could reasonably be used to clean
  a road-worn automaton.
  In game terms, the steamthrower works exactly like a
  flamethrower. (See Savage Worlds Deluxe, p. 51.) The
  lower damage is due to the fact that steam has a lower
  temperature than flame and dissipates more quickly.
  Also, there is no chance for affected targets to catch fire.
  Vehicles
  We have included a small number of vehicle stats for
  use in the game. For the purposes of this book, different
  makes of airships and steam carts are similar enough in
  practice to be indistinguishable in their mechanics. The
  skill of the pilot or driver is more likely to have a positive
  or negative effect on a vehicle's performance than its
  hardware will. In future volumes, we hope to present a
  wider variety so that vehicle choice might be strategically
  important. For now, however, apply these base stats to
  all vehicles of a given type, with adjustments made only
  at the GM's discretion. Also, note that we are only
  including land and air vehicles. Seafaring vessels will
  receive their own treatment in later volumes as well.
  Steam Carts
  Whether armored or unarmored, steam carts are
  unwieldy and difficult to maneuver. The common joke is
  that they are only slightly easier to turn than an engine
  on rails. No one but a skilled Steamhand can safely
  handle these top-heavy vehicles on even the most level
  terrain, and knowledgeable drivers still worry about
  rolling over when driving up or down a steep grade.
  Nevertheless, steam carts are often useful in that
  they can handle narrower paths than a horse-drawn
  wagon while still being able to carry a heavy load. They
  do not have a large capacity
  by volume, however, so they
  are best suited to very dense
  cargo such as metal ore or weapons.
  Airships
  At this time on the continent of North America,
  every airship is a unique and individual creation. There
  are few enough that experienced Aviators often
  recognize them by name and shape. However, for our
  purposes, we have divided North American airships into
  two basic categories: courier ships and cargo ships.
  Courier airships are faster and lighter, while cargo
  airships are slower but have a larger carrying capacity.
  Both have a very slow Climb rate (which in Savage Worlds
  also determines the rate of descent), but this can be
  improved briefly by releasing ballast for ascent or gas for
  descent. This is, of course, a temporary solution, as that
  ballast or gas must be replenished at the next
  opportunity.
  It is also important to note that airships must be
  operated by an experienced crew of either two in the
  case of courier airships or three in the case of cargo
  airships. As with seafaring vessels, there is more to
  airship travel than simply steering in a particular
  direction. It is possible for one Aviator to coordinate
  inexperienced passengers in the essential duties of an
  airship crew, but this will almost certainly cause
  distraction and make for difficult piloting conditions. In
  game terms, assign a -2 for each non-Aviator crew
  member to all Piloting and Aeronautical Navigation rolls.
  This modifier stacks further if a non-Aviator is
  attempting to fly an airship and should be added to the
  penalties for unskilled rolls.
  Game Note – Volatility of Hydrogen
  For modern gamers, it may be very tempting when
  considering how to attack a nineteenth century airship to
  try to burn the hydrogen. However, that does not work
  nearly as well as many people think. First of all, sparks,
  lightning strikes, and bullets were not sufficient to
  explode an early zeppelin. The linen and rubber lining
  Carts and Airships
  Vehicle 
  ACC/TS Toughness 
  Crew 
  Notes
  Steam Cart
  5/12
  10 (2)
  1+3
  1 weapon mount
  Armored Steam Cart
  4/10
  16 (3)
  1+3
  2 weapon mounts, heavy armor
  Courier Airship
  15/40
  10 (1)
  2+4
  Climb  -2 (may increase with release of ballast or gas)
  Cargo Airship
  10/50
  14 (2)
  3+10
  Climb  -2 (may increase with release of ballast or gas)
  
  28
  Steamscapes: North America
  when working in a metal shop. Gearsmiths and Spark
  Wranglers favor brass goggles for their more delicate
  crafts, and often attach magnification lenses over one
  eye when working with the smallest parts. Some Spark
  Wranglers have even taken to attaching electrical lamps
  directly onto their goggles for work in darkened spaces.
  Gyroscopic Parallel Synchrometer
  Truly a marvel of modern technology, this device
  combines the functions of sextant and chronometer. It
  calculates latitude and longitude automatically using an
  advanced clockwork difference engine. No matter where
  you are on the Earth, it only takes a matter of moments
  to determine your precise location. The inclusion of a
  Foucault gyroscope allows the Synchrometer to function
  effectively on land, at sea, or in the air.
  Self-Opening Umbrella
  A must for every discerning traveler or city dweller.
  First introduced in Paris in the 1850s, these have now
  made their way to North America.
  Self-Propelled Serving Table
  Essentially a larger and more specialized form of
  clockwork pigeon, this table follows simple commands
  to assist in the hosting of social events or to provide
  some of the finer comforts of home even when
  traveling. It is able to fold into a cube a mere two feet on
  each side, allowing it to be stowed easily onto a railway
  luggage car.
  would have protected the gas from
  external sparks, and a bullet isn't hot
  by itself. Only tracer rounds, which
  were not invented until decades later,
  would be able to both pierce the material
  and ignite the gas in a single attack. It is true that
  leaking gas can be dangerous, and clever party members
  may imagine ways to exploit this weakness. However,
  please try to restrain players from the impulse of firing
  their rifles at every airship they see.
  Apparel and Personal Equipment
  Finally, we have included a small number of distinct
  items to convey the feel of our new mechanized age.
  These are in no way intended to represent a complete list
  of available devices. Rather, we hope they both entertain
  you and inspire you to generate your own amazing
  inventions.
  Clockwork Pigeon
  The term "clockwork pigeon" is actually a catch-all
  for any small, usually animal-shaped automaton designed
  to perform simple tasks. The most common are
  designed by Gearsmiths to carry mail over short
  distances or even to speak messages directly (if they are
  equipped with a phonographaton). The majority of them
  are restricted to land travel, as only the most skilled
  Gearsmiths have succeeded in mechanizing winged flight
  on even a small scale. Cat and dog forms are common
  for the flightless variety.
  Electric Corset
  In an attempt to offer greater flexibility to women of
  different proportions, and of course to capitalize on the
  appeal of modernity, Dr. George Scott has invented an
  electromagnetic approach to the tightening and
  loosening of this ladies' undergarment. Whether it works,
  and whether it is more or less comfortable than
  whalebone remains to be seen. One thing is certain,
  however: no Spark Wrangler would ever wear one.
  Goggles
  In a world of steam-power and automation, goggles
  are an absolute must for anyone who works with either
  dangerous or intricate equipment. The particular variety
  of goggles that someone wears can say quite a lot about
  that individual's profession. For instance, leather goggles
  are frequently worn by Aviators, who often add
  telescopic lenses for aid in aeronautical navigation.
  Steamhands also favor leather goggles, but are
  recognizable by the smoked lenses they employ
  
  29
  Common Use Weapons
  Type 
  Range 
  Dmg 
  RoF 
  Cost* 
  Weight 
  Shots 
  Min Str 
  Notes
  Pistols
  Sharps Carbine (.50) 
  15/30/60 2d10 
  1 
  300 
  8 
  1 
  d6 
  AP2
  Henry Repeater (.44) 
  24/48/96 2d8 
  2 
  400 
  10 
  16 
  - 
  AP1
  Martini-Henry Mark I 
  30/60/120 2d8 
  1 
  250 
  8 
  1 
  - 
  AP2, Snapfire
  Rifles
  Colt 1860 Army (.44) 
  12/24/48 2d6+1 1 
  200 
  4 
  6 
  - 
  Revolver
  Remington Pocket (.31) 08/16/32 2d6 
  1 
  150 
  2 
  5 
  - 
  Revolver
  Remington 1858 Navy 
  15/30/60 2d6 
  1 
  300 
  3 
  6 
  - 
  Revolver
  Artillery
  Revolving Cannon 
  40/80/160 3d6 
  1 
  1200 
  Mounted 
  5 
  - 
  AP4, Hvy Weapon,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  (See cannon shot rules)
  Gunslinger Weapons
  Type 
  Range 
  Dmg 
  RoF 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  Shots 
  Min Str 
  Notes
  LeMat Revolver 
   
   
   
  500 
  6 
   
  - 
  Custom, MinAg d8
       (Cylinder) 
  12/24/48 2d6+1 1 
   
   
  9 
   
  AP1, Revolver
       (Buckshot) 
  05/10/20 1-3d6 
  1 
   
   
  1 
   
  (See shotgun rules)
  Colt Revolving Rifle 
  24/48/96 2d10 
  1 
  300 
  10 
  5 
  d6 
  Custom, AP2,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Revolver, Misfire
  Starr Revolver 
  12/24/48 2d6+1 2 
  400 
  4 
  6 
  - 
  Custom, MinAg d10,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Revolver, see text
  Duckfoot Volley Pistol 03/06/12 2d6 
  - 
  200 
  3 
  - 
  d6 (MR) 
  Custom, see text
  Saboteur Weapons
  Type 
  Dmg 
  Weight  
  Cost 
  Notes
  Tomahawk 
  Str+d8 
  8 
   
  300
  Bartitsu Cane 
  Str+d4 
  3 
   
  200 
  Parry +1
  Steamhand Personal Weapons
  Type 
  Range 
  Dmg 
  RoF 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  Shots 
  Min Str 
  Notes
  Steam Rocket 
  24/48/96 4d8 
  1 
  750 
  15 
  4 
  d8 (MR) 
  Steam Tank, AP5,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Hvy Weapon
  Hand Gatling 
  15/30/60 2d8 
  3 
  900 
  20 
  45 
  d10 (MR) 
  Steam Tank, AP2,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Hvy Weapon, Auto
  Steamthrower 
  Cone tplt 
  2d8 
  1 
  300 
  12 
  10 
  d8 
  Steam Tank, no effect on
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  machinery
  Other Personal Gear
  Clockwork Devices 
   
   
  Cost 
  Notes
  Gyroscopic Parallel Synchrometer 
   
  750 
  +4 to rolls related to analyzing one’s location, such as
   
   
   
   
  Survival, Tracking, and Aeronautical Navigation
  Clockwork Pigeon 
   
   
  600 
  Carries simple messages at verbal command
  Self-Propelled Serving Table 
   
  1500 
  Obeys simple commands, folds for storage or travel
  Clothing and Accessories 
   
  Cost 
  Notes
  Goggles (brass) 
   
   
  150
   - magnification attachment 
   
  150 
  +1 to Notice and Investigation when looking closely
   - light attachment 
   
   
  200 
  Requires a condensor, illuminates small area
  Goggles (leather) 
   
   
  100
   - telescopic lenses 
   
   
  250 
  +1 to Notice and Tracking when looking far away
   - smoked lenses 
   
   
  100
  Electric Corset 
   
   
  400 
  Employs electromagnets for self-tightening
  Self-Opening Umbrella  
   
  200 
  Button-released, twist handle to close
  * “Cost” of equipment is relative to both the setting’s tech level and a character’s starting “funds” of $500. See
  Savage Worlds Deluxe pg. 48 for a detailed explanation of how Cost is used in the Savage Worlds system.
  
  30
  Steamscapes: North America
  
  31
  (Chapter 5)
  North America in 1770
  Although the origins of the various modern North
  American nations reach back to the earliest stages of
  European colonialism, the key defining events for these
  nations have been contained within the last 100 years.
  Nevertheless, it is useful to examine the state of the
  continent before any of these countries existed so that
  the stage may be set for the unfolding of more recent
  events.
  By 1770, the two key European powers that
  remained on the continent were England and Spain. The
  Seven Years War had somewhat reordered the territories
  that belonged to each and temporarily eliminated their
  third rival, France. France had lost significant ground
  along the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes during this
  conflict, and Spain had claimed upper Louisiana in the
  absence of any significant French opposition. The
  European theatre of the Seven Years War had been
  especially costly for France, and Louis XV did not
  greatly value his North American holdings, so all of this
  territory was conceded relatively painlessly. The French
  did maintain a small presence in New Orleans, but upper
  Louisiana would be held in name by Spain until
  Napoleon Bonaparte reclaimed it through the Treaty of
  San Ildefonso in 1800.
  In 1770, there were also large portions of the
  continent still under the control of native tribal nations.
  The once-powerful Iroquois nation was gradually
  shrinking through British encroachment, but the plains
  tribes were largely unaffected by European settlement.
  Other tribes still occupied territory east of the
  Mississippi River and even coexisted in some places with
  the British colonists. Florida had been claimed by
  England only recently, and it would take at least two
  more decades for aggressive
  recruitment to attract
  widespread settlement.
  The Last 100 Years
  The central historical background for the
  Steamscapes setting examines the rise to power of the
  four most influential nations on the North American
  continent: the American Consolidated Union, the
  Confederation of Texas, the Rocky Mountain Republic,
  and the Plains Tribal Federation. Other nations have
  small parts to play as well, but these four act as central
  foci for events in this part of the Steamscapes world.
  American Consolidated Union
  Part 1 – Roots of Independence
  From almost the beginning, the Atlantic colonies
  were a different kind of British holding, distinct from all
  other imperial territories throughout the world.
  Beginning with Jamestown (or arguably Roanoke, but
  very few Englishmen acknowledge the failed first
  colony), the crown encouraged settlement in the New
  World primarily to act as a foothold and a buffer against
  further Spanish expansion. Queen Elizabeth had looked
  with alarm on the speed at which the Vatican-backed
  Spaniards were populating the Americas. Great Britain
  needed to compete and avoid a potential strategic
  disaster. The Jamestown colonists were told to make
  money for England, but more importantly to fly St.
  George's Cross in this untamed new land, to declare that
  England was there to stay. Those first colonists were
  chosen more for their loyalty to the crown than for their
  commercial or agricultural competence.
  However, the Plymouth Plantation settlement
  drastically changed the British view of how the Atlantic
  colonies might be used. The Puritans displayed a
  surprising willingness to continue paying taxes to the
  crown despite their disaffection and huge distance. In
  many ways, they were happier citizens because they were
  no longer in the country proper. Following this success,
  the colonies soon became a dumping ground for
  religious and political malcontents. For the most part,
  these individuals were simply encouraged to move to the
  more "free" range of the colonies, but in a few extreme
  cases they were offered resettlement as an alternative to
  prison. (This practice would later be formalized with the
  establishment of the Australian colonies.)
  
  32
  Steamscapes: North America
  By the early 1700s, with the advent
  of the Scientific Revolution and the
  resultant philosophical period of
  Enlightenment, the American colonies
  became both a haven and a testing ground
  for liberal, anti-aristocratic thought. It was during
  this time that the Canadian territories and the Atlantic
  provinces began to grow apart ideologically. Canada's
  settlements remained more rural, even remote, and as a
  result had little need to distinguish themselves from each
  other or from Mother England. The coastal settlements
  were rapidly urbanizing, but unlike Europe, they were
  doing so essentially without an aristocracy. This led to
  the popularization of a number of quite radical views
  regarding economics and governance, most of which
  could only be pure theory while the colonies remained
  under England's direct control.
  As the Enlightenment gained traction, King George
  III’s government, particularly under Prime Minister
  George Grenville, enacted a number of punitive
  measures to keep the colonists in line. His successor was
  Charles Watson-Wentworth, Lord of Rockingham, who
  repealed some of the acts, but was not able to repeal all
  of them. Rockingham resigned due to internal Cabinet
  tensions and was followed by William Pitt, Earl of
  Chatham. Chatham’s primary focus was on renewing the
  Anglo-Prussian Alliance to retain strong English control
  of Europe. He completed this alliance in 1768, and from
  there it seemed that the Chatham Ministry could rest
  secure in its establishment of British dominance in
  Europe for many years to come. Following the events of
  the Boston Tea Party in 1773, however, Chatham’s
  attention turned back to the colonies.
  Part 2 – Back from the Brink
  Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts
  was alarmed at the brazen anti-Parliament attitudes
  demonstrated by the Boston citizenry. In January of
  1774, he composed a letter directly to the King
  requesting additional military support in anticipation of
  armed insurrection. The tone of his letter suggested his
  belief that the only proper course of action was a full
  rejection of the colonists' rights to independence or even
  representation. Fortunately for England, cooler heads
  prevailed upon George's ultimate decision.
  Lord Rockingham, still one of the most influential
  Whigs, pointed out to Prime Minister Chatham first of
  all that the colonists did still have a legitimate
  constitutional complaint as long as even one of
  the Townshend Acts remained. More
  In the middle of 1775 and at the behest of his Prime
  Minister, King George invited noted thinker Benjamin
  Franklin to visit London. This surprised many, including
  Franklin himself, because he had been responsible for
  publishing a leaked copy of Governor Hutchinson's
  letter following the Boston Tea Party. He was
  considered by many Tories to be the worst of the
  colonial Whigs, mostly because they found him too well-
  reasoned to dismiss him like they dismissed so many of
  importantly, however, he explained the Boston protests
  not as a rebuke of Parliament or the Crown, but of the
  East India Company and the protectionist fiscal policies
  that enabled its monopoly. By Rockingham's reasoning,
  if the colonies were a sufficiently well-established
  economy that they could be used as the "dumping
  ground" for excess inventory, then they were large
  enough to be respected as an economic power in their
  own right. Essentially, he told the Prime Minister,
  England must choose whether to stand with the East
  India Company or with its citizens in the Americas.
  Chatham considered the issue carefully from this
  perspective, and decided that the East India Company
  had essentially worn out its usefulness as a tool of the
  Empire, and that the North American continent
  represented much greater potential for revenue and
  resources. With unprecedented cooperation from both
  Tories and Whigs, he ordered the immediate repeal of
  the tea tax and the end of the embargo against foreign
  tea. Although many  colonists immediately hailed these
  actions as a major political victory, some agitators—most
  notably Thomas Paine—seized the opportunity to
  suggest that further capitulation could be won from
  England. It turned out that Chatham had anticipated
  this, and he already had his next act prepared.
  Benjamin Franklin
  
  33
  the American intellectuals. Nevertheless, Ben Franklin
  decided that he had a moral obligation to explore the
  purpose behind the meeting, so the author and
  philosopher set out for England. The colonists waited
  with great anticipation to see what announcement he
  would make upon his return. In August, Franklin arrived
  in Philadelphia and sent immediate word to each colony
  that it should send delegates for what would be called a
  Continental Congress. The purpose of this gathering
  would be to propose solutions that would allow for
  some measure of colonial autonomy without losing
  political and economic ties to the crown. Essentially,
  King George was allowing the colonies to write their
  own constitution.
  Initially, all fifteen Atlantic provinces from
  Newfoundland to Georgia were invited. However, the
  Newfoundland delegation quickly fell into a bitter
  dispute with South Carolina over the issue of slavery.
  Newfoundland saw the Congress as an opportunity to
  abolish the practice entirely, a prospect which deeply
  offended plantation owners. The argument threatened to
  scuttle the process even before it began. Ben Franklin
  urged both sides to enter into negotiations with an
  attitude of compromise, but his pleas were insufficient to
  stop the conflict. Ultimately, Newfoundland and Nova
  Scotia walked out of the Congress on principle. Other
  Northern provinces decided that autonomy was more
  important than abolition. They were not prepared to risk
  King George's goodwill on idealistic crusades, so they
  stayed, thinking to resolve the slavery issue later.
  With Franklin's guidance, the Continental Congress
  was able to cobble together a proposal in just a few
  weeks. The most critical elements of the agreement
  involved economic autonomy, enabled by a fiscal policy
  called indirect taxation, the brainchild of visiting
  economic philosopher Adam Smith. Smith's plan was to
  create an independent tax authority in the colonies,
  which would be responsible for all levies, licensure, and
  fees of government in America. The colonial
  government would then pay a percentage to the crown.
  Essentially, the provinces would become a holding
  company in which King George was the primary
  shareholder. In return, the provinces would receive a
  significant degree of self-determination, including the
  ability to arm themselves and conduct local elections.
  They would not answer to Parliament, but the King
  would retain executive privileges.
  The proposal was sent to London in December, and
  debated well into the new year. Obviously, many in
  Parliament did not much care
  for it. Nevertheless, the Whigs
  were gaining strength, and the
  argument about the "justice of self-rule" was compelling.
  Finally, the last strains of opposition died away,
  particularly as many Tories realized that this represented
  a convenient way to simply ignore the "colonial
  problem" for the foreseeable future. With consensus
  established, King George agreed to ratify the proposal as
  a full Constitution and send it back to the provinces. On
  July 4th, 1776, the American Colonial Government was
  officially convened.
  Part 3 – Economic and Technological
  Expansion
  The fledgling commonwealth had a number of
  distinct advantages that made its transition to semi-
  nationhood relatively painless. The most obvious of
  these were the established civil bureaucracy and legal
  system. There was no need to make any changes to the
  common law courts that already existed, nor was there
  an immediate need to remove crown-appointed officials.
  Local elections could be prepared gradually, and the
  citizenry could make slow adjustments to the concept of
  self-rule. Federal legislation was handled initially by the
  delegates to the Continental Congress. It would take
  another 10 years for all the colonies to develop election
  procedures for their provincial representatives.
  Despite their respective influences on the formation
  of the new government, neither Ben Franklin nor Adam
  Smith had any political aspirations. Both were frequent
  world travelers, and Smith did not even have a
  permanent residence in the colonies. The provincial
  delegates elected John Hancock as the first Governor of
  the ACG. Hancock quickly set about getting his financial
  affairs in order. With the tensions over taxation so fresh
  in the colonists' minds, he knew that he had to use his
  power sparingly. He was eager to demonstrate to King
  George that the provinces could reliably generate
  revenue, so he requested the crown's permission to
  appoint Adam Smith as Secretary of the Treasury.
  Though loyal to his native Scotland, Smith saw the
  possibilities of realizing his theories through this
  position. With the first volume of his Wealth of Nations
  published in the same year, Smith was granted American
  residency and took on his first government position. By
  contrast, Ben Franklin did not end up being asked to
  join Hancock's cabinet. Nevertheless, Franklin would
  soon have a profound effect on the development
  of the American culture.
  
  34
  Steamscapes: North America
  Adam Smith saw two assets that
  America needed to exploit as quickly
  as possible in order to maximize
  production and revenue: vast natural
  resources and unprecedented economic
  independence. He examined the Constitution
  carefully, and could find nothing in it that required
  America to support the mercantilism of the British
  Empire to which it loosely belonged. Smith quickly set
  about turning America into what he called the "market
  to the world."  He invited all European powers in to
  establish customs and even production facilities in the
  provinces. Merchants began pouring in from countries
  such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Prussia, and
  even France, all eager to take advantage of the minimal
  regulations and tariffs of the ACG.
  phenomenon, like the wind or the tides—something to
  be observed and respected but not harnessed.
  Of much more immediate interest was the work of
  salon member Robert Fulton. Fulton was working on
  refining James Watt's steam engine for the purposes of
  transportation. He suggested that it would be quite easy
  to employ such an engine to power a wheel that would
  drive a riverboat. Ocean travel would be more difficult,
  due to the much more turbulent surface of the ocean.
  However, Fulton even suggested that he might be able
  to make an engine small enough to drive a cart over
  land. The members of the Philadelphia Salon, especially
  an enterprising gentleman named John Fitch, were
  excited by the commercial and industrial possibilities of
  this, and began working on prototypes for both water
  and land vehicles. Franklin himself used his extensive
  government contacts to speed along the many patents
  that Fitch and Fulton required. In 1787, the first Fitch &
  Fulton steamboat made its debut on the Delaware River,
  to the delight of Governor Hancock and the members of
  the Continental Congress.
  On the heels of this marvel, more and more
  European inventors and businessmen began flocking to
  America, creating an unprecedented center of academic
  thought. In 1791, the University of Pennsylvania was
  founded, with Benjamin Franklin as its first president.
  UPenn was unique in that its curriculum focused on
  science and philosophy while most other provincial
  colleges were little more than seminaries for training
  clergy. This made it a driving economic force in the
  American Colonial Government, and firmly established
  Philadelphia as the center of the coming mechanical
  revolution.
  Adam Smith's plan was clearly an outstanding
  success, but he himself had unfortunately not lived to
  see it. He had died of an unnamed illness in the summer
  of 1790. In the same year, Governor Hancock declared
  that he would not seek a fourth 5-year term, and so he
  called for an election to be held in 1791. The Continental
  Congress continued to be dominated by Whigs, largely
  because of the prosperity the party had brought to the
  ACG. The Whigs selected former Massachusetts
  attorney John Adams as their Governor. Adams had
  been an outspoken proponent of natural rights and self-
  rule, so he was a very popular choice. To much praise,
  Adams vowed in his inauguration speech to continue the
  ACG's economic growth "by all possible means."  No
  one was quite prepared for exactly what he meant by
  that.
  Such an open trade environment quickly
  transformed several coastal cities, particularly those in
  the North, into cosmopolitan centers of culture and
  learning. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia began to
  compete not only for business, but also for technological
  innovation. Largely because of its status as the center of
  government, Philadelphia won the initial legs of this
  race. Benjamin Franklin, sensing an unprecedented
  opportunity, began a practice he had seen during his
  time in Paris: the salon. His first "philosophical salon"
  was held in the spring of 1782. By 1785, several of its
  members had been published in European scientific
  journals on a wide variety of topics, and Franklin himself
  was becoming renowned for his work with electricity. In
  that discipline, however, the salon's members were
  unable to see an immediate future. At the time,
  they considered electricity a purely natural
  Philadelphia circa 1790
  
  35
  Part 4 – Expansion by Other Means
  Where Governor Hancock had focused on self-
  governance, Governor Adams decided to shift focus
  towards self-protection. Tensions between England and
  France were growing as the French Revolution
  threatened to destabilize the political power of the
  European aristocracy. Europe was still reeling from the
  bloodbath and instability that had resulted from the 1789
  revolution, and England's attention was almost
  completely turned away from the New World. Adams
  took the opportunity to take several drastic steps
  towards further independence.
  First, he proposed and passed an amendment that
  would change the legal name of the elected governing
  body to the American Continental Parliament. Though
  the shift from "Congress" to "Parliament" seems subtle
  to modern ears, it was a clear statement of equivalence
  between Philadelphia and London. As part of the
  process of distinguishing himself from England, Adams
  also convinced his own party to change its name from
  "Whig" to "Federalist."  The Tories, of course, bristled at
  these changes, but their relevance was dwindling in the
  wake of this new nationalism.
  The second, more overt move that Adams made was
  to appoint a Secretary of War, with the intention of
  mustering an independent American Army and Navy.
  He appointed self-styled "High Federalist" Alexander
  Hamilton to this position, largely to defuse growing
  tensions within the Federalist Party. The High
  Federalists were building the argument that the Colonial
  Constitution had not gone far enough, and that what was
  truly needed was a complete break from England.
  Adams wanted to encourage stronger independence
  among the colonies, but he did not feel that such a
  drastic step was warranted or even advantageous. He
  knew that he needed to divert party members like
  Hamilton, who threatened to plunge the ACG into
  disastrous conflict with both France and England. And
  so, Governor Adams enabled Hamilton to militarize, but
  pointed his aggression away from Europe and towards
  the American continent itself.
  On most maps of European holdings in North
  America, large gaps existed that were often labeled
  "Indian Land" or even "Uncontrolled."  King George
  had considered these gaps valuable in maintaining peace
  on the continent, because they acted as buffers between
  England, France, and Spain. Now that the ACG was
  becoming a nation in its own right, Governor Adams
  decided that these lands represented an important
  opportunity for economic
  expansion. The American
  Army was sent west to secure all
  land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi
  River. With only minimal Indian opposition and no
  international attention, the military aspects of this land
  grab were accomplished easily within John Adams' first
  term. By 1796, both Kentucky and Tennessee had been
  added to the list of provinces, and plans were already
  being made to carve up the newly acquired Northwest
  and Mississippi Territories.
  With the popularity of this expansionist policy and
  the almost complete Federalist control of Parliament,
  Adams easily won reelection in 1796. However, during
  this election, a new party emerged. The Democratic-
  Republicans were founded by Thomas Jefferson and
  James Madison, who managed to entice a number of
  prominent High Federalists with talk of complete
  American independence. Madison even managed to win
  the Governorship in 1801, beginning a long period of
  Democratic-Republican dominance of Parliament. The
  Federalists lost prominence as London became less and
  less interested in America's business aside from the
  monthly revenue checks.
  To be fair, England was primarily worried about
  France. By this time, Napoleon Bonaparte had seized full
  control and was beginning his conquest of Western
  Europe. The ACG was free to act however it wanted to
  further its position in North America. Unfortunately,
  with such an immature but nationalistic party in charge
  for so long, the American Colonial Government began
  to make mistakes. It began to favor short-term gains
  over long-term peace, laying the ground for its own
  future problems.
  Part 5 – Growing Pains
  Two areas of policy in particular have had profound
  effects long after the fact, and both of them were
  conceived out of arrogance and poor judgment. The first
  was the manner in which the British colonials handled
  the "Indian problem."  The fact that they referred to the
  native tribes in those terms was telling, and was quite
  distinct from how the French dealt with them. This
  disparity is a large part of the reason for the current
  political situation. The second area was the problem of
  slavery. The Continental Congress had done its best to
  suppress and ignore the differences between the
  provinces on this issue, but willful ignorance does
  not make for a sustainable strategy.
  
  36
  Steamscapes: North America
  By 1810, westward expansion was
  accelerating at an incredible rate. The
  American population was increasing
  rapidly, through both natural growth and
  immigration from war-torn Europe. In the
  North, land management was controlled, and
  communities were built with clearly intentional civil
  planning. In the South, however, each new plantation
  required as many acres of land as ten or even twenty
  family farms. That land had to come from somewhere,
  and plantation owners knew exactly where it would
  come from: the Indians.
  The provincial governments acknowledged almost
  no legal rights for the tribal residents of what was now
  British land. At first, they claimed that each tribe was a
  sovereign nation, which allowed them to force the tribes
  into signing treaties and ceding territory. However, when
  some tribes such as the Cherokee tried to make legal
  claims to lands based on this very sovereignty, the
  provinces turned around and rejected it. Through all of
  these maneuvers, one aspect remained consistent: the
  American Colonial Government treated the tribes as
  inferior human beings, often referring to them
  patronizingly—almost as children—in its public
  statements.
  From 1814 on, many Americans became increasingly
  convinced that the solution to the Indian problem was
  removal. General Andrew Jackson, who was responsible
  for territorial victories southward into Florida, was an
  outspoken proponent of removal. He led efforts in
  Georgia, the Carolinas, and later Florida to negotiate
  voluntary withdrawal from those tribes that would
  accept it. Several of them did, including some Creek,
  Choctaw, and Cherokee communities. However, some
  tribes grew increasingly resistant and hostile to these
  efforts, leading to outbreaks of actual conflict like the
  First Seminole War. General Jackson was only too happy
  to switch to more direct tactics when treaties failed.
  Public opinion turned increasingly against the
  Indians. Only fifty years previously, many colonists had
  considered allying themselves with tribal leaders in a bid
  for full independence. Now, they talked about the
  continent's native residents as if they were the invaders
  in a land that belonged inherently to England. The
  military incursions escalated for over a decade, until the
  tribes could fight no more. Finally, in 1831, the war-
  weary remnants of the Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and
  Cherokee tribes capitulated. The American Army
  "escorted them" out of British territory, across
  the Mississippi. This relocation became known as the
  "Trail of Tears" because of the thousands of Indians
  who fell ill and died of exposure and starvation on the
  terrible journey.
  While the Colonial Government was celebrating the
  end of the "Indian problem," this action inadvertently
  created a massive population and morale boost to the
  growing tribal independence movement in French
  Louisiana. Without its removal policy, the ACG (and
  later the ACU) would likely have had significantly better
  relations with the future Plains Tribal Federation, if such
  a nation would even have existed. With the tribes as
  allies instead of enemies, the ACG might have even been
  able to take Louisiana for itself. As it stands, the current
  state of nations on the North American continent is in
  no small part due to the expansionist policies of the
  American Colonial Government.
  At the same time, however, this expansionism
  seemed necessary to divert the ACG's attention away
  from the problem that was eating at its core: slavery.
  With the growth of steam-powered manufacturing and
  transportation, the Northern provinces were quickly
  developing into an economic stronghold. World demand
  was still high for cotton, tobacco, and sugar, but almost
  all of the processing of those raw materials occurred in
  the North. The South made money from the factories,
  Andrew Jackson
  
  37
  but the North was where the trading took place. This
  tended to socially isolate the South from the rest of the
  world, and also to provide a convenient way of avoiding
  the topic of slavery.
  Slavery became the South's dirty little secret, and it
  remained so even after the Parliament in London
  supposedly abolished the practice for the whole of the
  empire. America had been intentionally placed out of
  Parliament’s direct jurisdiction. However, it did not help
  that manufacturing interests continued to hold sway over
  the Cabinet, making the Ministers somewhat reluctant to
  remove a source of inexpensive raw materials. Even in
  the Northern provinces, the banks and financiers had
  too much to gain from the continued practice of slavery
  to accept its immediate abolition.
  By the 1840s, the South was growing increasingly
  concerned about the weakening enforcement of slave
  property laws. Northern provinces had passed
  increasingly conciliatory laws to protect foreign and
  freedmen blacks, and the South argued that these
  provisions were actually protecting runaways. In some
  cases, this may have been true, but the problem was
  largely exaggerated. Nevertheless, tensions grew as both
  sides held dogmatically to their perceptions of assault by
  the opposing view. The Parliament in Philadelphia
  debated endlessly on how to resolve this growing issue,
  but could not reach a compromise that satisfied the
  South. However, in 1850, the Southern provinces found
  an unlikely champion in the newly-elected Governor
  from New York, Millard Fillmore.
  Governor Fillmore was quick to see the necessity of
  appeasing the South. As a former Representative from
  the heavily industrial province of New York, Fillmore
  realized that the economic might of the North depended
  on easy access to the raw materials of the South. He also
  was eager to build on Governor James K. Polk's
  progress in adding California to the ACG, and he did
  not want to be distracted by disputes over slavery. As
  part of what became known as Governor Fillmore's
  "California Compromise," California was quickly granted
  official provincial status as a "free" province, and
  Parliament meanwhile passed the Fugitive Slave Act of
  1850. This act greatly strengthened the ability of
  plantation owners to seek redress and recovery of slaves
  that attempted to escape into the free provinces of the
  North. Northern abolitionists were disturbed by
  Fillmore's appeasement strategy. However, the North
  would soon be distracted by a major advancement in the
  Industrial Revolution.
  Part 6 – The
  Mechanical Age
  In the early 1850s, advances in
  steam-powered machinery were combined with advances
  that were occurring in England in the areas of
  mechanical calculation. The Fitch & Fulton Steam
  Company, the manufacturing and transportation giant,
  noticed some of the work that had been discussed in
  Europe regarding Charles Babbage's difference engine.
  The company read the papers of Luigi Menabrea and
  Ada Lovelace regarding this engine, which speculated
  the possibilities of using mathematical criteria to allow
  machines to make simple "decisions."  F&FSC contacted
  Lovelace and Babbage and commissioned them to work
  on what they called a "decision engine."  Specifically,
  they wanted to know if factory work could be fully
  automated. Very quickly, Lovelace determined that in
  fact it could, and she set about designing a series of
  protocols that might be applied to various industries. She
  was delayed slightly by a brief cancer scare, but Fitch &
  Fulton spared no expense in keeping her healthy enough
  to continue her work. In 1853, the first automatic textile
  mill was established in Baltimore, quickly followed by
  the first automatic foundry outside of Pittsburgh.
  The world watched in anticipation as these new
  automated factories went into action. Demand was
  immediately high, and soon even the most unlikely
  industries were clamoring for automated solutions to
  ongoing problems. In 1857, at the request of the
  booming American shipping industry, Fitch & Fulton
  developed the first ever mobile decision engine: an actual
  vehicle that could navigate busy shipping docks on its
  own, carrying loads far too large for normal block and
  tackle systems. This machine, which was known as
  "Babe" for both its size and its blue color scheme, was in
  effect the first independently operating automaton.
  While F&FSC was busy exploring new commercial
  opportunities for these automatons—loggers, miners,
  loaders, and so on—Queen Victoria herself took notice
  of the ramifications of this new technology. France was
  once again on the rise, looking primarily east towards
  Prussia and Austria. There were discussions among the
  various ethnic German territories about a full German
  reunification, and Victoria’s Prime Minister, the Earl of
  Aberdeen, hoped to encourage this as a way of holding
  Napoleon III in check. He saw in this new technology
  the possibilities of a major military advantage, and he
  and his Queen acted quickly in secret to realize
  this vision.
  
  38
  Steamscapes: North America
  Quietly, Aberdeen arranged for
  budgetary maneuvering while Victoria
  set Babbage and Lovelace to work with
  a number of Prussian specialists on
  miniaturizing the decision engine and
  making its algorithms even more complex. Using
  finer and finer gearwork, they were able to expand the
  engine's decision processes exponentially. However,
  Babbage quickly ran into a problem with power. The
  very fine gears could not handle the extreme vibrations
  that normally accompanied steam engines, and coiled
  springs could not provide the sustained energy that
  would be needed in the field. Ada Lovelace decided to
  contact her old friend, Michael Faraday, to see if there
  might be an electrical solution. Faraday was brought into
  the project and was able to develop an appropriate set of
  electrical motors that could store and provide power for
  many hours. Faraday, who was particularly interested in
  lenses and the electrical interpretation of visual images,
  also suggested an optical system to be installed for color
  and terrain recognition. With this final piece in place,
  Victoria’s project was completed and ready for testing by
  fall of 1860. A secret workshop in Cologne began
  producing this new form of military automaton, to be
  distributed equally between England and Prussia.
  Although both countries engaged in secret testing,
  Queen Victoria was eager to bring these automatons to
  an actual field of battle. She could not have guessed
  where that field would be.
  Part 7 – Secession and Civil War
  Despite Governor Fillmore's efforts towards
  appeasement and compromise, tensions continued to
  grow between the North and South throughout the
  1850s. Abolitionists in the North became more strident
  in their demands for human equality. They pointed to
  the rise of the automaton as the future of what they
  called "civilized labor."  However, the South was quick
  to argue that the machines the North relied on so heavily
  were completely unsuited to the tasks of cultivating and
  harvesting delicate cash crops. Once or twice, Northern
  entrepreneurs even made some attempts to disprove this
  claim, with disastrous consequences.
  The South grew increasingly insular and protective in
  response to the economic and territorial explosion of the
  North. In 1859 and 1860, Newfoundland and Nova
  Scotia respectively completed negotiations with England
  to be allowed to join the ACG. This addition of two
  more free provinces—particularly free provinces that
  were often accused by the South of harboring
  runaways—only served to agitate the South further. In
  1861, as an election was underway that seemed destined
  to favor abolitionist-sympathizer Abraham Lincoln, the
  South made its decision. One by one, a total of 10 slave
  provinces made a decision to secede from the Colonial
  Government and form their own, independent nation,
  which they called the Confederate States of America.
  Governor Lincoln, as well as Queen Victoria, saw
  immediately the terrible potential for harm this new
  nation could cause. California was rapidly developing as
  an important new source for raw materials, and the ACG
  and England herself could not afford to lose access to
  the vital transportation conduit that was the Southern
  Pacific. In anticipation of an embargo or even outright
  conflict, England began importing experimental
  zeppelins from Prussia and testing them in flights over
  Canada, Québec, and finally Louisiana. This action
  greatly worried France, and was a significant factor in
  convincing France to support the CSA in the subsequent
  Civil War.
  War quickly became inevitable. Lincoln negotiated as
  much as he could with the Southern secessionists, and
  he did manage to hold on to several pro-slavery border
  provinces, including a portion of Virginia that was
  ultimately more loyal to the Queen than even to the
  Colonial Government. However, the newly-established
  CSA was adamant in its independence. The
  Confederates argued that Americans had been too long
  under an English thumb, and that it was time to establish
  Ada Lovelace
  
  39
  a fully independent nation. Some Northerners who were
  less concerned about slavery than they were about their
  own freedoms found this a compelling point, and they
  operated as spies or even moved South to join the
  Confederate Army. Finally, tensions reached a breaking
  point, and the first shots were fired off the coast of
  South Carolina, at Fort Sumter.
  From those very first shots, it quickly became clear
  that this English Civil War would be a showcase of
  technology. In the days leading up to the conflict, the
  Northern-born soldiers stationed at Fort Sumter near
  Charleston had peacefully vacated it, leaving the outpost
  entirely in Confederate hands. On April 12th, 1861, a
  Northern steam cruiser called the HMS Resolute was sent
  by Governor Lincoln to reclaim what he considered to
  be British property. Seeing surprise as their only possible
  tactical advantage, the Confederate commander ordered
  the fort's cannons to fire, but they completely failed to
  pierce the ship's iron-hardened hull. The Resolute held
  significant firepower, and its initial retaliatory barrage
  was powerful enough to smash gaps through the fort's
  walls.
  The South had anticipated such naval superiority,
  and negotiated early on with France to bring in supplies
  from Louisiana. However, the North soon demonstrated
  its technological superiority on land as well. New
  advances in rifles and pistols made individual
  infantrymen much more effective, and Prussian
  zeppelins were brought in to act as artillery spotters. This
  latter advancement was restricted to relatively clear
  weather, because semaphore remained the only viable
  communication between air and ground. These
  improvements were therefore not necessarily the
  deciding factors in the war. The true tipping point came
  in 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg.  Throughout late
  1862 and early 1863, the South had managed to hold off
  the English Army's incursions, and was beginning to feel
  bold enough for a counterattack. Confederate General
  Robert E. Lee decided to wage a campaign attempting to
  push deep into Pennsylvania that would convince the
  Colonial Government to pull its support for Lincoln's
  war. General Lee was making significant progress up the
  Shenandoah Valley, with English Major General Joseph
  Hooker moving into pursuit. Lee arranged for the two
  armies to meet near Gettysburg, but Lee was unaware of
  the impending arrival of a second Northern force led by
  Major General George Meade. Meade's units arrived on
  the third day of fighting, and quickly crushed Lee's
  forces, sending them into rapid retreat. Meade had
  brought with him the newest
  innovation from the secret
  English/Prussian project that
  Victoria had begun three years prior: the military
  automaton.
  These powerful military machines very nearly
  decided the war right there on that battlefield, and
  Governor Lincoln's address to the troops in the wake of
  Meade's Gettysburg victory was seen by many on both
  sides as a call for surrender. However, Lee returned to
  Richmond to prepare one last desperate gambit that
  would be both diplomatic and military in nature.
  Although France was using the Louisiana Territory
  to funnel supplies to the CSA, control of that territory
  would soon be claimed by a federation of native tribes
  led by the Sioux. The newly-formed Plains Tribal
  Federation initially intended to avoid any involvement in
  the white man's war, but General Lee saw the potential
  for a shared purpose in halting the use of English
  military technology. He sent an envoy to Sitting Bull,
  who agreed to present the information to the council of
  chiefs. With very few exceptions, the tribal leaders were
  outraged at the prospect of battles fought by clockwork
  men and steam-powered artillery. One notable exception
  to this outrage was the Blackhawk contingent, who saw
  these weapons as potentially useful for retaking their
  native Illinois land. The vote was unanimous to support
  the Confederates, and the Blackhawks even convinced
  Sitting Bull to allow them to open a second front at the
  Mississippi. This second front ended up causing
  significant distraction to Northern offensive actions, and
  it did in fact result in the successful acquisition of Illinois
  and the Wisconsin peninsula. However, Sitting Bull's
  other material support had a more dramatic effect in
  slowing down the English onslaught.
  In strategy sessions, the tribal chiefs had realized the
  cost and futility of sending actual warriors to fight
  alongside Lee's armies against the English mechanical
  forces. What they needed was a way to disable these
  monsters without facing them directly, but they also
  knew that no honorable brave would accept such a role.
  On the other hand, sabotage could clearly fall under the
  definition of "woman's work," which clearly included
  both constructing and dismantling functional objects.
  And so Sitting Bull sent a regiment of women volunteers
  who agreed to analyze and exploit the machines'
  weaknesses.
  General Lee was initially skeptical, but the
  Plains saboteur regiment would soon have an
  
  40
  Steamscapes: North America
  opportunity to prove itself. Meade's
  Mechanicals, as the new English
  automaton battalion became known,
  set itself up to push into Virginia in the
  late fall of 1863. Meade believed—mostly
  correctly—that he had surprise and speed on his
  side as he used steam vehicles to move his artillery and
  clockwork troops into position just south of
  Rappahannock Station. From this point, Meade laid siege
  to Lee's forces, who were camped in an area known as
  Mine Run. The shelling had gone on for nearly a week,
  with the automatons able to continue it both day and
  night, when General Lee finally decided to let the
  saboteurs make a counter strike. A platoon of the Indian
  women snuck into the English artillery camp during the
  dark of the night, and quickly realized that the
  automatons did not react to their unexpected presence.
  Seeing no human guards awake, the saboteurs were able
  to examine the various machines, and then set about
  dismantling them one by one. On the morning of
  December 4th, Major General Meade woke to silent
  cannons and a field of inoperative automatons. With no
  further prospect of engaging Lee's army usefully, he
  salvaged as quickly as possible and retreated to Baltimore
  to repair his army.
  Part 8 – Union
  With the opening of the second front and the
  introduction of sabotage as a significant tactic, Lee
  managed to hold off the English assault for another year
  and a half. By 1865, however, the Confederate cause was
  clearly lost. Ultimately, the effectiveness of the saboteurs
  had been limited by their human fragility. Once the
  initial surprise was lost, security in English camps had
  been stepped up. The saboteur units made several valiant
  efforts to apply their skills to the actual field of combat,
  but attrition clearly favored the machines. At the
  beginning of April, under harassment by Major General
  Sheridan's cavalry, Lee attempted one last push through
  at Appomattox, only to find himself faced with Grant
  himself, at the head of an entire division composed of
  automaton infantry and supported by steam artillery. In
  the face of such technology, he had no choice but to
  surrender and disband his army. Grant was gracious in
  victory, urging his soldiers not to celebrate in the
  downfall of an army that was composed of men who
  were once again their countrymen. He pledged to work
  for as smooth a reconciliation as possible, but little did
  anyone know at Appomattox exactly what Grant
  meant by that pledge.
  The Gettysburg Address
  Six hundred and fifty years ago, our
  ancestors brought forth on this Earth a
  great charter, conceived in liberty, and
  dedicated to the proposition that all men
  are equal under the law.
  Now we are engaged in a great civil
  war, testing whether that law, or any law
  so conceived and so dedicated, can long
  endure. We are met on a great battle-
  field of that war. We have come to
  dedicate a portion of that field, as a final
  resting place for those who here gave
  their lives that that nation might live. It
  is altogether fitting and proper that we
  should do this.
  But in a larger sense, we can not
  dedicate—we can not consecrate—we
  can not hallow—this ground. The brave
  men, living and dead, who struggled
  here, have consecrated it, but the
  changes we have otherwise wrought
  from iron and steam have defiled it far
  beyond our power to bless. The world
  will little note, nor long remember, what
  we say here, but it can never forget what
  we have done—to the propagation of
  war, to our land, to ourselves. It is for us
  the living to dedicate ourselves to the
  great task remaining before us—that
  from these honored dead we take
  increased devotion to that cause for
  which they gave the last measure of
  devotion—that we here highly resolve to
  use our newfound iron power so that
  these dead shall not have died in vain—
  and that government of the people, by
  the people,  for the people, shall not
  perish from the Earth.
  
  41
  With a few more minor advancing actions, the
  English army was able to secure surrenders from the
  remaining holdouts of the Confederate Army.
  Meanwhile, however, a Confederate loyalist named John
  Wilkes Booth committed one final act of rebellion and
  attempted to assassinate Governor Lincoln. The
  Governor's life was saved by the quick actions of his
  automaton bodyguard, but his spine was severed in the
  attack. Never able to walk again, Lincoln would soon
  retire from politics and the public eye. His last major act
  was to call for all of the former Confederate states to
  send representatives back to Parliament, and he asked
  General Grant to speak at the reconvening of the full
  House.
  Everyone knew this historical first session of the
  reconvened Parliament would be key for setting the tone
  of post-war politics. Both sides worried about the very
  strong likelihood of flared tempers and even the
  potential withdrawal of some Southern representatives.
  Grant, however, had a bold plan to unify them all. He
  began his speech by acknowledging the great cost to the
  colonies on all parts. He acknowledged the unique
  challenges that now faced the ACG, saying, "In meeting
  these it is desirable that they should be approached
  calmly, without prejudice, hate, or sectional pride,
  remembering that the greatest good to the greatest
  number is the object to be attained."  He further added,
  "This requires security of person, property, and free
  religious and political opinion in every part of our
  common country, without regard to local prejudice."
  And then he dropped the bombshell. "I say 'common
  country,' gentlemen," he continued, "because it is our
  land that defines our heritage, and, in this, all who are
  gathered here may say that we are countrymen. But that
  common country, I must tell you, is not England, but
  America. It is America for which all soldiers fought in
  our recent conflict, and America that will secure our
  peace. I stand before you today to humbly request that,
  in accordance with the laws of our land, you would
  convene a Second Continental Congress for the purpose
  of once and for all securing our American
  independence."
  The effect of this declaration could not have been
  more explosive. The representatives of northern
  provinces saw that this would be an opportunity to
  withdraw from the crown's indirect taxation, and the
  representatives of southern provinces realized that Grant
  was handing them equal participation in the redrawing of
  a new constitution. The motion was quickly made and
  passed, and the Second Continental Congress convened
  within days. Although the
  work of the Congress would
  end up taking several months,
  ultimately the resulting Constitution was a close
  adaptation of the one used under the ACG, with just a
  few important differences.
  The most significant change in the Constitution for
  the newly-styled American Consolidated Union came
  about as a reaction to the abolition of slavery. Southern
  representatives knew that they would get no traction on
  any attempts to reestablish the practice. More
  importantly, they were beginning to realize that paying
  wages was often cheaper than housing, clothing, and
  feeding the former slaves. Nevertheless, they were
  reluctant to admit this openly, as well as  looking for
  opportunities to win back some political and
  psychological ground in the new government. Virginia
  representative John Curtiss Underwood, who was
  himself a controversial figure among the Southern
  delegation because of his long-standing abolitionist
  views, came up with a suggestion that would use the
  South's frustration to support his own radical drive
  towards universal suffrage. If the intent, he told his
  fellow Southerners, is to offer retribution that Southern
  farmers now must hire where once they had essentially
  free laborers, why not make Northern factory owners do
  the same? To put the states on more equal footing, they
  could take away what was essentially the North's version
  of slavery by granting citizenship to the automatons.
  With the backing of all of the former Confederate
  states, Underwood proposed an amendment that would
  include, in part, "All persons born, made or naturalized
  in the American Consolidated Union, and subject to the
  jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the American
  Consolidated Union and of the State wherein they
  reside."  This caused an immediate uproar among the
  representatives of the most industrialized states,
  especially Pennsylvania. Days, even weeks of debate
  ensued, and mostly centered around the idea of what
  defined the word "persons."  Representative Simon
  Cameron from Pennsylvania was famously quoted as
  saying, "Where will this end?  Does Underwood want to
  make citizens of cutting boards and sewing needles?"  Of
  course, Underwood had anticipated this difficulty and
  already had a solution in mind from the beginning. He
  suggested what he called the "assertion test."  Essentially,
  a device would be considered a person—and therefore a
  citizen—if it could assert its own individuality,
  whether in speech or in writing. This would
  separate automatons into two classes: the
  
  42
  Steamscapes: North America
  "dumb" machines, which were used
  for repetitive tasks such as factory
  work, and the "free-thinking"
  automatons that were used for more
  complicated and often social tasks. This
  latter class included many of the automaton
  soldiers that had been developed for the English army
  during the Civil War, and Underwood was able to argue
  compellingly for a reward to be given to those
  automatons who single-handedly turned the tide of
  battle. With this argument, northern states began to
  come around, and the amendment soon passed.
  However, Representative Underwood was not
  successful in his larger goal of voting rights for all. He
  attempted to raise the issue of suffrage immediately
  following the discussions about citizenship, hoping to
  include women and automatons as well. However, while
  the Southern states could concede the necessity of
  including black men in the voting rolls, they were not
  prepared to back Underwood on another radical crusade.
  In the end, all males over the age of 21 were granted the
  right to vote, regardless of race, color, or previous
  condition of servitude. Women and automatons would
  have to wait for their day at the ballot box.
  Part 9 – Ratification and Nationhood
  It took the better part of a year to secure most of the
  approvals of the provincial legislatures. Even Nova
  Scotia and Newfoundland were satisfied with the new
  Constitution, now that they could see that the rest of the
  former colonies had become more progressive about
  human rights. The one holdout, however, was the distant
  province of California. The California legislature sent
  message after message with increasingly ludicrous
  demands about tariff supports for minerals and
  homestead rights for residents of the western province.
  The Continental Congress rejected all of these
  amendments, and finally California formally declared its
  intention to refuse ratification and declare independence
  on its own. It turned out that the provincial legislature
  had been talking with residents of the Oregon and
  Yukon territories, and they were preparing to create their
  own nation on the Pacific coast. The Rocky Mountain
  Republic was thus formed largely in reaction to the
  American Consolidated Union, though the two would
  remain economically interdependent for the near future.
  The ACU celebrated final ratification (without
  California) of its new Constitution on September 3rd,
  1867. Soon afterwards, a national election was
  organized, and in 1868, Ulysses S. Grant
  President Ulysses Simpson Grant
  became the first President of the American Consolidated
  Union. President Grant saw the reconstruction of the
  South as the primary task of the new nation. He began
  to channel funds and technology into the southern cities
  to modernize them as quickly as possible. He supported
  educational opportunities for freed slaves, so he founded
  the Tuskegee Institute as both a professional university
  and a military academy. Through this massive
  technological investment, President Grant was able to
  convert parts of the agricultural South into new
  industrial centers. He faced only marginal opposition
  from the former plantation owners, who were beginning
  to see loss of cotton productivity anyway due to the
  crop's destructive effect on the soil. Instead, southern
  agriculture began to focus on food crops to support the
  country’s rapidly growing population. Large-scale
  farmers favored crops like wheat and corn that were
  sturdy enough to be planted and picked with machinery.
  Western states like Ohio and Indiana converted to
  steam-powered farming more quickly, and the southern
  states rushed to catch up. Many former slaves soon
  found that they could not even get work on their former
  plantation lands.
  Most importantly, however, President Grant saw the
  need for continued military cooperation throughout the
  Union. The Blackhawks had by this time solidified their
  hold on Illinois and Wisconsin and were looking across
  
  43
  One of President Grant's first innovative military decisions was designed as a way to offer
  reconciliation and opportunity to freed slaves while accelerating the ACU's technology race. Grant had
  seen firsthand the effectiveness of airborne scouts and spotters during the war. He knew that air power
  represented an important new mode of communication and transport, but finding crews for airships
  was very difficult. German airmen were common in Europe, where zeppelins were quickly becoming a
  battlefield standard, but American soldiers were not as confident about this new technology. In 1869,
  he opened the Tuskegee Normal and Aeronautical Institute to educate black men in a wide variety of
  trades but particularly Aviation.
  Interestingly, by wooing former slaves (many of whom had faced extreme difficulty acquiring either
  employment or homestead land), Grant not only found a ready supply of eager recruits, he
  inadvertently heightened the sense of danger the general public felt towards air travel. Many white
  Americans assumed that the President was providing "expendable" crew members for what must be an
  extremely dangerous assignment.
  In 1871, the first wave of Tuskegee Aviators are taking to the skies for the ACU. Some of them
  have also gained employment with Wells Fargo for the increasingly dangerous trips over Indian
  territory between the ACU and the Rocky Mountain Republic. In addition, a small number of
  commercial airlines have begun operating in the safer urban areas of the east coast, particularly Boston,
  New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. There are a few recreational pilots scattered around North
  America, but they are even more rare than the occasional German immigrants who happen to have
  some zeppelin experience.
  In general, most people still prefer to travel by railroad. It is consistent and comfortable, as well as
  being significantly cheaper. Zeppelins may be trusted for mail and light freight, but it is a rare individual
  who chooses to travel by air.
  Tuskegee Normal and Aeronautical Institute
  
  44
  Steamscapes: North America
  the lake at Indiana and Michigan. Also, the ACU's huge technological growth could only be
  supported with oil from Texas and precious metals from the Rocky Mountain Republic, but both
  of those nations were under constant threat from the Plains Tribal Federation and even Mexico. In
  all of these concerns, the young nation would have to stand on its own. England had reluctantly
  accepted the American colonies' full independence so that it could turn its attention to the growing
  problems of France, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. The Parliament in London had demanded, however,
  that the ACU present itself as a contributing ally to justify its new status.
  As of 1871, the American Consolidated Union has experienced several years of both economic and
  technological growth as well as mild but increasing military conflict. President Grant is nearing the end of his first
  term, and is beginning to see some backlash against his radical modernization of the South. A growing anti-
  technology movement has taken root not only among agriculturalists, but also among those of the intellectual elite
  who are inspired by writers such as Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson to dream of simpler times. Meanwhile,
  scientific thinkers are developing increasingly sophisticated machines, vehicles, and weapons, and are beginning to
  make significant progress towards understanding and harnessing the mysteries of electricity. Whatever happens in
  the coming months and years, the ACU will certainly be at the center.
  
  45
  Confederation of Texas
  Part 1 – Origins
  Texas began its modern existence as just another
  Mexican state. Because of its position bordering French-
  controlled Louisiana, the Mexican government sought to
  actively develop the Texas frontier. As was typical, the
  Spanish aristocrats sent in priests and missionaries to act
  as the first wave of civilization. Missions throughout the
  state began the slow conversion of native tribes, and
  soldiers soon followed to protect trade and supply
  routes. Early settlements arose mostly around these
  missions, though some trade towns sprang up along
  rivers and the Gulf Coast, largely to enable easy trade
  with New Orleans.
  At first, European settlement in Texas was quite
  cosmopolitan. Spanish priests, converted Indians,
  French trappers, and English ranchers all gathered and
  resided in easy harmony, spreading out from each other
  to occupy the wide open Texas plains. In the 1820s,
  however, the Mexican government worried that the
  population was not growing quickly enough to establish
  a firm perimeter against the French, so it instituted a
  homestead act specifically targeted at the English
  colonies. More and more adventurous colonials began
  making their way towards Texas. Although this did serve
  to address the immediate issue of rebuffing France, it
  caused a significant Anglicization of Texas, which would
  soon lead to conflict with Mexico City. At the same time,
  the national government went through a series of rapid
  changes in administration, and soon there were enough
  former Englishmen in the state that they decided they
  had a better way.
  Part 2 – The Republic of Texas
  As the population of the combined state of Coahuila
  y Tejas was becoming more and more English, the
  Mexican national government was also becoming more
  insular. Several minor conflicts arose during the '20s that
  served to polarize the two sides and start Texans
  thinking about full independence. In particular, English
  colonists moving into Mexico often expected to be able
  to keep their slaves, but President Vicente Guerrero had
  abolished slavery throughout the country in 1829.
  Guerrero turned something of a blind eye towards
  Texas, pragmatically focusing on the buffer strategy, and
  allowing abolition to go largely unenforced in the state.
  However, Vice President Anastasio Bustamante
  assassinated and overthrew President Guerrero.
  President (some would say Dictator) Bustamante had
  different views on Texas, and
  decided to crack down not
  only on slavery but also on the
  people trying to sustain it. He halted all immigration
  from the English colonies. Unfortunately for him, the
  French borders to the east and north were far too
  extensive and porous to enforce such a policy. In spite
  of increasing military patrols, intrepid Englishmen
  continued to make their way into Texas.
  The independence movement followed quickly from
  Bustamante's crackdown. Unfortunately for Mexico,
  Bustamante's government was not very stable. Over the
  next several years, General Antonio Lopez de Santa
  Anna conducted a mostly non-violent restoration of
  presidential power. In 1833, the Mexican government
  installed Santa Anna as President. Santa Anna decided
  that Mexico was not ready for a normal democratic
  process. He declared himself Dictator and set about re-
  establishing more normalized governing practices.
  However, the time he spent doing so allowed the Texan
  independence movement to grow significantly, and by
  1836 rebel Texans were prepared to fight not just for
  statehood, but actual nationhood.
  The Texas Revolution did not last as long as some
  might have expected. Santa Anna marched across the
  Rio Grande to quell the rebellion, but between his
  overextended supply lines and his delays at the Alamo
  and at Goliad, he was not equipped to overcome Sam
  Houston's forces at San Jacinto. On May 14th, 1836,
  Santa Anna signed the Treaties of Velasco,
  acknowledging the independence of the Republic of
  Texas.
  Part 3 – Early Troubles
  Sam Houston's new Texas government was almost
  completely crippled from the start by budgetary
  problems. There was an immediate demand for many of
  the basic governmental amenities that Mexico had largely
  failed to provide, particularly regular postal and coach
  service. Texans, however, were typically self-sufficient
  and suspicious of government, so Houston had a
  difficult time convincing his Congress to pass much-
  needed property taxes. In 1837, the primary export for
  the Republic was cattle, with a few farmers trying their
  hand at cotton. However, most exports went through
  either St. Louis or New Orleans, with the French acting
  as middlemen to the lucrative markets of the east coast.
  Texas needed its own seaport, but more
  importantly, it needed a more lucrative
  commodity.
  
  46
  Steamscapes: North America
  At the same time, Texas began having internal
  difficulties with the Cherokee that lived within its
  territory. Mexico had kept relatively positive relations
  with the tribes because it treated them as equal trading
  partners with their own sovereignty. Texas took a more
  proprietary view of the land on which the Cherokee
  lived, so conflict became inevitable. This was heightened
  in 1838 with the election of Mirabeau Lamar as
  President. Lamar initially tried a peaceful resolution to
  what he termed the "Indian Problem," offering the
  Cherokee safe passage into Louisiana. The tribal leaders
  saw this offer as unacceptably self-serving and offensive.
  They began making demands regarding land ownership
  and representation in the Texas government. Lamar's
  response was a very anti-Indian army recruitment
  campaign, and even an offer to the general public of 10
  cents for every Cherokee scalp. The Cherokee were
  quickly overwhelmed by the bloodthirsty whites. They
  fought a valiant rear guard action and retreated into
  French territory.
  President Lamar was hailed as a hero of the
  Republic, having saved it from the "savage red man."
  His campaign, however, had stretched the Texas
  coffers too thin. Lamar found himself having to
  pay his sizeable army largely on scrip and promissory
  notes. He rejected pressure from some lawmakers to
  institute property taxes. In a desperate move, he
  suggested that there was gold in Nuevo Mexico, and sent
  the army to capture Santa Fe. This had the short-term
  advantage of getting the soldiers away from Austin, but
  the campaign lasted less than a year. The bloated Texas
  Army returned to the capital having successfully added
  substantial territory to the Republic, but no new sources
  of income. In frustration, the citizens voted out Lamar
  and restored Sam Houston to the Presidency, putting all
  their hopes in the hands of the legendary general.
  Part 4 – Boom Times
  Sam Houston turned out to be a relatively competent
  economic thinker, but more importantly he turned out
  to be an extremely lucky President. Two major shifts
  occurred during his second term that would make all the
  difference for his nation's viability on the world stage.
  The first shift was purely economic. As Europe and
  the British colonies in North America became more
  focused on steam power, there was an increased demand
  for oil throughout the world. At first, most industrial
  lubricants were based on whale oil, but the whaling trade
  proved unable to maintain sufficiently high production
  levels. Petroleum oil was slightly easier to refine, but
  more importantly came from reliable, stationary sources.
  The price of petroleum-based oil reached a tipping point,
  and it finally became profitable to ship out of the young
  Texas port of Houston. Oil revenues quickly became the
  mainstay of the Texan economy, and President Houston
  was able to pay off the debts to its soldiers. That was
  enough to satisfy most Texans, and Houston would
  most likely have simply reduced the size of the army if it
  had not been for the second major shift.
  In January of 1848, during President Sam Houston's
  third term (second consecutive), gold was discovered in
  the relatively unclaimed territory known as California. In
  theory, California belonged to Mexico, but the Mexican
  presence there was almost non-existent. British, French,
  and even Russian settlers had made their homes across
  the sprawling coast. The only real law of the land was
  tribal law of the various Indian tribes that made up the
  bulk of the region's population. That seemed to work
  fine for a few individuals doing little more than
  subsistence farming, but it would not suffice for the
  inevitable explosion of Europeans that would come
  seeking fortune in gold. Governor James K. Polk, head
  of the American Colonial Government, fully intended to
  Sam Houston
  
  47
  make California English, and he knew that he would
  need the help of Texas.
  Governor Polk moved very quickly at the first news
  of gold in the West. He used his extensive political
  contacts to secure funding for an enormous financial
  endeavor. Queen Victoria herself even participated,
  agreeing with her Governor about the strategic
  importance of his plan. On the Texas side, President
  Houston was able to convince several of the larger oil-
  drilling families to participate as well. The plan was to
  create a massive multi-national company with one aim:
  to build a transcontinental railroad system from
  Baltimore to California. In July of 1848, the Queen
  added what would be the final signature to the charter of
  the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
  By 1849, much of the work was already completed in
  the East, with continuous tracks from Maryland to
  Mississippi. Southern Pacific started pouring personnel
  into Texas, hiring and importing whatever manual
  laborers they could. At first, many soldiers in the Texan
  Army thought this would be a good opportunity for
  peacetime employment, but their President had other
  plans. President Houston and Governor Polk had
  realized that building a transcontinental railroad would
  require either Texas or England to hold all of the land
  on which the tracks ran. England had plans to colonize
  California, but parts of Alta California still belonged to
  Mexico, and then, of course, there was Louisiana.
  Somehow, a path would need to be carved through
  French territory. Politically, it would be very difficult for
  England to start such a war, but France was not paying
  much attention to the upstart Republic on its
  southwestern border. Texas prepared a military one-two
  punch that would add significant territory for building
  the railroad, and also drastically improve the country's
  economic power.
  In August of 1849, a tropical cyclone flooded large
  swaths of the Arklatex region, effectively cutting off
  New Orleans from the more northerly parts of Lousiana.
  In September, Texas invaded the New Orleans Parish,
  surprising the French militia and overwhelming them
  with superior numbers. Texas quickly demanded the
  surrender of land all the way north to Shreveport.
  Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the
  famous conqueror, had just been elected President of the
  extremely weak Second French Republic. The self-styled
  Napoleon III was too busy solidifying his power base
  back home to worry about defending his new world
  holdings, and conceded the land without dispute. Almost
  immediately, the SP
  completed a spur from
  Gulfport to New Orleans, and
  the bulk of the Texas army marched to Houston, where
  it boarded newly completed rail lines bound for Santa
  Fe. Mexico had watched these developments with some
  relief, thinking that Texas was looking northward for its
  expansion, and was therefore surprised when, only a few
  weeks following the French capitulation, the Texan
  Army invaded Alta California. With almost no resistance,
  Texas was able to secure territory all the way to the
  Colorado River, where Houston and Polk had agreed to
  draw the western border between their new holdings.
  As work continued on the Southern Pacific, English
  settlers poured west from colonies into California. Not
  only Mexico but the Indians were soon swamped by an
  influx of prospectors and homesteaders. Seeing little
  alternative, Mexico agreed to sell California to Queen
  Victoria in 1850, and the new colony was immediately
  added to England's North American holdings, with full
  representation in the American Continental Parliament.
  The First Through Train Departs
  Houston for New Orleans
  Part 5 – The Confederation of Texas
  Texas, meanwhile, was thriving economically, but
  running into new troubles politically. The country that
  had previously consisted almost entirely of former
  English colonials now included substantial populations
  of French traders and Mexican farmers, in addition to
  some lingering clusters of Navajo and Pueblo Indians,
  although the bulk of those tribes had already
  begun migrating north into Louisiana after
  
  48
  Steamscapes: North America
  hearing about the Texan treatment of
  the Cherokee. These newly-added
  groups did not strongly identify
  themselves as "Texans," and expressed
  frequent discontent with Austin. This
  unrest was exacerbated by President Houston's
  retirement at the end of his third term and subsequent
  replacement by the much less charismatic Peter
  Hansborough Bell. For two years, President Bell tried to
  appease everyone by offering limited autonomy to the
  Arizona and Orleans regions but no representation in
  Congress. By spring of 1853, it was clear that this
  appeasement was doing little to relieve tensions, and a
  new idea was needed. Bell was voted out and Elisha M.
  Pease was elected as President, promising to resolve the
  conflicts once and for all.
  President Pease had a radical plan, and many
  throughout the Republic resisted it. However, as a native
  of Connecticut, Pease had substantial ties to the Colonial
  Government, and this helped him to persuade many of
  the English Texans to go along. Pease had decided to
  gather a Constitutional Convention to rewrite the Texas
  Constitution in a more inclusive manner. He planned to
  rename the country to the "Confederation of Texas,"
  which would be divided into five states: Arizona, New
  Mexico, North Chihuahua, East Texas, and New
  Orleans. This would offer more equal representation to
  the different ethnic populations. Although there were
  some specifics to iron out, Pease was able to convince
  most of the Convention that his plan would be
  successful. The new Texas Constitution was signed on
  April 21st, 1853, in honor of the Battle of San Jacinto.
  Part 6 – Abolition and Automatons
  With its economic and political foundations firmly
  established, the Confederation of Texas enjoyed several
  years of relative peace and prosperity, particularly in
  comparison to the turmoil brewing on the rest of the
  continent. While the British colonies were pushing closer
  and closer towards revolution over the issue of slavery,
  the practice was gradually phasing out in Texas.
  Avoiding the heated legal and political disputes common
  in the East, the Confederation was able to quietly pass an
  amendment abolishing slavery.
  There were two reasons abolition was so non-
  controversial in Texas. The first was that Texas had
  never been as focused on cotton as it might have been
  with a stronger industrial trading partner earlier in
  its history. The primary agricultural industry was
  cattle ranching, which did not require constant
  maintenance by cheap workers. The second reason was
  the introduction of automatons. During the late 1850s
  and early 1860s, the oil industry began importing
  clockwork men as fast as it could, finding them to be the
  most reliable form of labor available for the hazardous
  tasks of drilling. Texas oil companies saw no need to
  perpetuate human slavery when such a useable
  mechanical replacement existed. Automatons also saw
  significant use in the maintenance of the Southern
  Pacific rail lines, which enabled Texas to provide
  homestead land for a large number of the immigrant
  laborers that had worked for the railroad. Most of this
  homestead land was in the northern parts of Arizona
  and New Mexico, where the Navajo and Pueblo had
  previously lived.
  As of 1871, Texas is a major economic power in
  North America, controlling primary transportation
  arteries as well as some of the world's most productive
  fields of petroleum oil. It therefore has both a financial
  stake in the growing automaton industry as well as a
  continued interest in purchasing the automatons
  themselves. Although Texas had abolished slavery even
  before the American Colonial Government (though after
  England itself), it does not agree with the extremely
  liberal view that the new American Consolidated Union
  has taken regarding the personhood of automatons. To
  Texans, this does not make either philosophical or
  economic sense. Austin has looked with particular
  interest at the weaponized automatons employed
  recently in the English Civil War, and hopes to take full
  advantage of this technology soon. This would definitely
  be for the best, because Texas will need to devote its
  growing military resources to meeting the sudden fury of
  the Navajo and Cherokee raids from the Plains Tribal
  Federation. In fact, its geographic position means that it
  must employ significant resources defending itself from
  both the Plains and Mexico.
  
  49
  Rocky Mountain Republic
  Part 1 – The Pacific Melting Pot
  From the beginning of European settlement, no
  single ethnic group managed to develop a significant
  majority hold on the Pacific coast of North America.
  Although Spanish settlers made initial claims on the
  territory that they called California, there were few large
  settlements north of the Baja Peninsula. Missions in this
  part of Spanish territory were less successful than those
  in Mexico or even Texas. The tribes on the west coast
  tended to travel seasonally, making them more resistant
  to assimilation, and few Spaniards were interested in
  being so far from the cultural centers of Mexico.
  Meanwhile, the French extended their claim of
  Louisiana to the eastern foothills of the Rockies, and a
  few trappers and settlers crossed over the mountains to
  the more fertile plains beyond. Russian whalers operated
  from Alaska as far south as San Francisco Bay. Even
  some English settlers sailed around the Horn to set up
  farms and trading posts, particularly farther north into
  the English-controlled Oregon and Yukon territories.
  There were also a very small number of traders and even
  settlers from China and a few Pacific islands, but that
  migration did not become a noticeable surge until
  Sutter's Mill.
  All of these individuals
  and groups kept almost
  entirely to themselves. The
  Pacific coast was a place of isolation, the ultimate
  frontier. Self-sufficiency was the rule, and residents of
  the area interacted with others as little as possible. To a
  certain degree, they discouraged immigration through
  lack of communication with the outside world. The
  outside world was about to take notice, however.
  Part 2 – The Gold Mountain
  In 1848, the outpost of Coloma, California became
  the epicenter of a massive population and economic shift
  that was later known as the California Gold Rush. The
  discovery of gold flakes at Sutter's Mill quickly turned
  the attention of the world towards the Rocky Mountains.
  England, France, and Mexico raced to make claims on
  territory first in California and then farther north and
  east. Of these three, France was the least effective.
  Napoleon III was in no position to look across the
  Atlantic, particularly in something as speculative as a
  gold race. Mexico should have been more effective since
  it ostensibly controlled the territory, but it could not
  compete economically against the allied might of Texas
  and England in their westward gambit. Ultimately,
  Governor Polk of the ACG was able to offer President
  Valentin Gomez Farias a purchase price that would
  James Marshall, Discoverer of Gold, at Sutter’s Mill
  
  50
  Steamscapes: North America
  allow Mexico to both save face and
  bolster its coffers for a more certain
  economic future.
  Although it seemed the ACG—and
  by extension England—was the clear winner
  in the Rocky Mountain land grab, another migration
  pattern was building slowly but steadily. Fueled by a
  trickle of immigrants from various Pacific islands and
  even as far away as Australia, tales had spread all the way
  to China about "Gum Shan," or "Gold Mountain."
  Because of ongoing strife in Canton Province, many
  Chinese men and a few women decided to try their luck
  in North America. During the first few years, these
  immigrants faced significant discrimination and hostility.
  They were pushed off of claims and into the growing
  cities, where they often worked in hotels, stores, or
  laundry shops. "Anti-coolie" societies formed to try to
  keep Chinese workers out of major industries and away
  from significant business opportunities. They were
  mocked for their stoic work ethic and bachelorhood (the
  male-to-female ratio for the Chinese population was as
  bad as 20:1 by 1850, although this was only slightly
  worse than the ratio for the caucasian population) as
  much as for any apparent racial differences. Such a hard-
  working nature did not always fit in well with the
  frontier ethos of the Rocky Mountain mining towns.
  Ironically, the relegation to support occupations
  would end up leading to domination of city commerce
  by Chinese merchants in the new trade centers of San
  Francisco and Portland. English mining claims yielded
  less gold than hoped, and many English speculators
  ended up working on the Southern Pacific Railroad
  while the Chinese men they had oppressed and rejected
  began to profit off of the continued trade by the few
  sucessful mining consortiums. England might have
  controlled California politically in the years immediately
  following the Gold Rush, but the Chinese were building
  for the future.
  Part 3 – Provincehood and Mechanization
  Governor Polk pushed for immediate provincial
  status for California to establish more direct
  Parliamentary control over the region. He noted in
  several meetings how unruly the settlements in the
  Oregon and Yukon territories tended to be, and he
  emphasized the need for clear enforcement of English
  law in a territory as potentially wealthy as California.
  Some members of Parliament were sympathetic to
  these concerns, but ultimately the disputes over
  whether California would be a "free province"
  or a "slave province" would delay the discussions
  beyond Polk's term as Governor. Millard Fillmore
  eventually reached the "California Compromise" and
  California was granted Parliamentary representation in
  1850. With this compromise, California was made a free
  province, but a very strict Fugitive Slave Law was passed,
  thus binding all English provinces to the institution of
  slavery, regardless of the supposed "free" status of the
  North.
  Governor Fillmore quickly instituted a number of
  public relations campaigns to foster migration and
  settlement into the new province of California. To a
  certain extent, California sold itself. Gold rush fever
  swept through the streets of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
  Boston, enticing especially Irish and German immigrants
  to try their luck in the Pacific wilderness. However,
  Fillmore was worried about the quality of the population
  making its way west. It was much harder to convince
  more established middle-class English citizens to pick up
  their lives and move to what many saw as an isolated
  frontier, which in fact it was. Travel to California
  required either a train excursion through Texas, where
  there was always some risk of bandit attack, or a long
  and dangerous sea voyage around Cape Horn. Injury,
  illness, and even death were constant concerns, and that
  was just for the journey. Legal and financial uncertainty
  then awaited even those prospectors and settlers who
  had otherwise arrived unscathed. With all of these
  factors, very few men of means and even fewer men
  with families ended up following Governor Fillmore's
  entreaty.
  The most significant exception to this was a pair of
  entrepreneurs from New England named Henry Wells
  and William G. Fargo. Although there were earlier
  arrivals in California for both banking and express transit
  services – Wells, Fargo, and Co. was established in 1852
  – the two men brought innovation and technology to the
  Pacific in ways that would change the frontier
  substantially. The company started out using horse-
  drawn wagons just like any other express courier
  company, but it was William Fargo who had the idea to
  employ steam-powered transport. He worked with
  F&FSC to develop a rugged steam wagon that could
  handle the rigors of steep mountain grades. The primary
  advantage of such a contraption over horses was very
  simply the sharper turning radius. This would allow
  wagons to ascend tight switchbacks themselves instead
  of transferring the cargo to mules. The easy availability
  of fresh wood and water for the boilers made the
  Rockies an ideal testing ground for such a vehicle.
  
  51
  The Wells Fargo steam wagons transformed the gold
  mining industry. Ore could be transported very securely
  directly from the mining site to the port. WF&Co. also
  offered secure storage in the port of San Francisco as
  well as steamship transport on both sides of the Panama
  route, which made for a very convenient system. All of
  the most lucrative mining consortia soon worked
  exclusively with WF&Co., and this served to make the
  Wells Fargo bank of San Francisco the fastest growing
  economic institution in the West. However, it faced ever
  growing competition from the well-funded Southern
  Pacific Railroad, which was even now building spurs into
  the largest mining regions. By the late 1850s, the two
  companies were continually looking for every possible
  advantage.
  banking. However, the arrival
  of the English Civil War
  brought with it two
  advancements that would allow Wells Fargo back into
  the game. The first of these was the Prussian "zeppelin,"
  a major advance in ballooning technology that allowed
  for guided flight. These had come as a result of the work
  of Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, who developed more
  and more advanced artillery spotting balloons for the
  English Army. Henry Wells had dreamed of building a
  transcontinental railroad that would compete with the
  Southern Pacific, but now he saw the possibility of even
  faster travel. He contacted von Zeppelin directly to
  develop a long-distance version of these airships, and in
  1864 the first flight was completed from Philadelphia to
  San Francisco. Although the zeppelins could not achieve
  the same speeds as railroad engines of the day, their
  engines and boilers were significantly lighter, meaning
  that an airship did not require as much fuel or as many
  refueling stops as a typical train. This allowed Wells
  Fargo to charge much cheaper rates, especially for light
  cargo and mail. The airship rates were also helped by the
  fact that they did not have to travel through Texas,
  which was charging hefty tariffs on shipments over the
  Southern Pacific. Instead, airships took the cheaper but
  slightly riskier route over Indian territory.
  The second Civil War technology that Wells Fargo
  quickly co-opted was the humanoid automaton.
  Although Southern Pacific had an early lead selling
  mining machinery, many smaller operations saw the
  advantage of the more intelligent but equally tireless
  metal workers. The flexibility they provided turned out
  to be more advantageous for gold prospecting, while the
  larger steam-powered machines were better suited to the
  stability of mining iron ore and other more common
  metals.
  Part 4 – Growing Towards Independence
  The influx of automatons achieved something that
  Governor Fillmore could not: it gave well-educated
  tradesmen an economic incentive to move westward.
  Automaton design and construction was and remains a
  very specialized science, requiring advanced training in
  the newest mathematic and engineering principles.
  Successful gold miners were able to make very attractive
  offers to men and women skilled enough to maintain
  their mechanical workforce. Although many of these
  individuals were apprentices eager to strike out on their
  own, a few master gearsmiths began making their
  way to the growing cultural center of San
  San Francisco circa 1865
  In 1858, the Southern Pacific managed to secure an
  exclusive contract with Fitch & Fulton to supply the
  California mining industry with a new breed of heavy
  machinery—the automaton. Modeled after the original
  "Babe," these devices were able to conduct much of the
  heavy drilling and tunneling that had previously been
  performed either slowly by human hands or with great
  risk by powder explosives. Only the largest mining
  companies could afford these giant steam-driven
  machines, and they soon began to push out many of the
  individual speculators.
  For several years, Wells Fargo's business gradually
  dwindled. Its exclusive contracts dried up, and it was
  relegated to basic courier service and some ongoing
  
  52
  Steamscapes: North America
  Francisco. This in turn made the city
  more attractive for other intellectuals,
  including those who dabbled in the
  new field of electrical arts.
  These scientists tended to be somewhat
  eccentric and reclusive, particularly the electricians, but
  they nevertheless had an overall civilizing effect on this
  wild frontier. However, there was still nothing
  resembling an aristocracy, so class was significantly less
  relevant to social standing than wealth. In this climate,
  the stage was set for the rise of premier businessman and
  politician Leland Stanford.
  Stanford had been a lawyer in Wisconsin, but had
  moved to California in 1856 to pursue business
  opportunities. At that time, he worked with several
  associates to fund the expansions of the Southern Pacific
  Railroad throughout the Province of California and even
  into the Oregon Territory. By 1865, he was one of the
  most prominent figures in San Francisco society, and
  had even served a brief term as provincial governor.
  When General Grant raised his call in Parliament for a
  new American Union, everyone looked to Leland
  Stanford to help them decide how California should
  respond. Stanford explained to the provincial legislature
  that California represented a major economic power on
  the continent, and that without any common ties to
  England it had no particular reason to feel beholden to a
  Philadelphia-based government. He also pointed out that
  the new laws regarding automaton personhood would
  make things very difficult for the most important
  western industries. With Stanford's urging, the legislature
  agreed to a radical course of action.
  Part 5 – The Rocky Mountain Republic
  Stanford commissioned a Wells Fargo airship to
  assist him in a series of urgent diplomatic trips along the
  entire Pacific coast. While the California legislature
  stalled its ratification votes by sending ludicrous requests
  back to Philadelphia, Stanford visited residents in the
  most populated areas of the Oregon, Washington, and
  Yukon territories. He made promises of economic and
  transportation assistance far beyond anything the ACU
  or even England could provide to these remote outposts,
  and they soon agreed to join California's bid for
  independence.
  On his return voyage, Stanford decided to sidetrack
  into hostile Indian territory. In the farthest western
  regions of what had previously been Louisiana,
  Stanford found a number of French trappers
  and settlers who had fled the gathering might of the
  Plains Tribal Federation. They lived in the valleys and
  foothills of the upper basin of the Colorado River, even
  as far east as the San Juan Range. Stanford offered these
  settlers protection from the tribes as well as economic
  growth that would be brought about by railroad and
  mining expansion. The settlers quickly agreed to throw
  in their lot with the rest of the coastal territories.
  Leland Stanford returned triumphant. In gratitude,
  the legislature decided to unanimously approve his
  suggestion for the name of the new nation: The Rocky
  Mountain Republic. Stanford had conceived this title
  during his travels, seeing it as a way to make the far-flung
  territories feel unified. The Republic was divided into
  five states: California, Colorado, Oregon, Columbia, and
  Yukon. The Constitution of the Republic was ratified by
  all states during the first few months of 1866, and Leland
  Stanford was promptly and popularly elected its first
  President. Notably, this was the first written
  Constitution in North America to provide equal rights to
  all its citizens regardless of race or gender, although it
  specifically excluded mechanical men from those rights.
  Québec had granted the same rights in the previous
  decade, but Québec had no written constitution.
  Despite the RMR's relatively small population, the
  young country wields considerable economic power. In
  addition to its significant reserves of ore, it acts as a
  transport gateway to the Pacific Ocean. This may
  become more valuable because of the rising importance
  of the ancient empire of China, whose current Emperor
  Qixiang has shown an inclination towards both
  economic and technological expansion. The presence of
  a large and financially powerful Chinese population in
  California has only served to strengthen ties to the
  Empire, and many businessmen from both the ACU and
  the CT are eager to take advantage of those connections.
  
  53
  Plains Tribal Federation
  Part 1 – Pre-Columbian Development
  For over 11,000 years, civilization developed in the
  Americas almost completely free of interaction with
  peoples from Europe, Africa, or Asia. A very small
  number of explorers from those continents—notably
  Leif Erikson in approximately 1000 A.D—did make
  their way here, but they generally did not stay
  permanently or have much cultural impact. More
  importantly, it was not until Columbus that exploration
  of the Americas carried any economic significance. For
  this reason, the Americas went almost entirely unnoticed
  by the rest of the world for thousands of years.
  In the meantime, those who thought of themselves
  simply as "The People" had spread themselves out
  across both continents, forming many tribes and nations.
  South America was home to the earliest and most
  advanced civilizations, while the peoples of North
  America tended to be more agricultural or nomadic. The
  Mayans were the first to unite many peoples under a
  larger political and economic system, with the Aztecs
  and the Incas developing empires much later. In North
  America, nations were more often formed through treaty
  and common trade than through conquest or
  technology. These trade interactions between peoples
  often centered around cultural exchange along major
  river systems, and major gathering places were often
  marked by mound settlements such as those at Cahokia
  on the Mississippi. (These mounds would later be
  mistakenly attributed by Europeans to mysterious "pre-
  Indian" civilizations.)
  By the time the Europeans arrived, most of the
  tribes and nations throughout both continents were well
  organized and well trained in combat. It should have
  been a small matter to repel a few hostile ships, despite
  the differences in technology. However, the Europeans
  had brought a terrible but accidental weapon: disease.
  Over the course of just two or three generations, 90% of
  the native population of North America was wiped out
  by smallpox and other European diseases. By the time
  the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, the Europeans
  had some reason to believe that the land was
  uninhabited. The coastal tribes that remained were so
  devastated that the few people that remained could not
  make more than a token effort to defend their home.
  Part 2 – Five Civilized Tribes
  As more English settlers gathered along the coast of
  North America, several tribes attempted to live in
  harmony with the white men.
  They signed treaties, visited
  cities, adopted Christianity, and
  even went along with the strange European ideas of land
  ownership. Five tribes were noted by the British
  colonists as being "more civilized" than others because
  of their willingness to adopt European customs. They
  were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and
  Seminole. The inclusion of the Seminole in this list was
  somewhat ironic because of that nation's status as an
  amalgam of refugees from other tribes and its habit of
  welcoming escaped slaves from southern colonies. In
  many ways, these tribes were patronizingly referred to as
  civilized merely to separate them in colonists' minds
  from more hostile tribes.
  After England granted the American Colonial
  Government greater autonomy, the relationships with
  these tribes began to change. The ACG began by forcing
  the tribes to sign treaties confining themselves to
  restrictive territories, then by warring with them to force
  them back even further. In the early 1800s, a Shawnee
  chief named Tecumseh encouraged the tribes to band
  together and take back their lands, but the Colonial
  Army fought back fiercely, killing thousands including
  Tecumseh himself. Colonel Andrew Jackson led an army
  against Tecumseh's federation that consisted not only of
  British soldiers, but also of friendly Choctaw, Cherokee,
  and Lower Creek (Muscogee) warriors, all of whom
  believed that Tecumseh's action would provoke the
  British into greater bloodshed. However, when Jackson
  wrote the terms for the Treaty of Fort Jackson, he
  forced all of the tribes to cede land, including those who
  had fought on his side. For this "heroism," Jackson was
  promoted to Major General. The popularity of this
  action was a key to his later political success as military
  governor of Florida and eventually Governor of the
  ACG.
  This betrayal made it clear to the tribes that no
  amount of appeasement or assimilation would change
  the ultimate attitude of the British colonists. A few
  individuals continued to work with the Colonial
  Government, but for the most part the tribal leaders saw
  that Tecumseh had been right. The only recourse was
  war.
  Part 3 – The Black Hawk Federation
  Around the same time, the policy of westward
  expansion was approaching its natural limits. South
  of the Ohio River, British settlers had spread all
  the way to Mississippi, removing all traces of
  
  54
  Steamscapes: North America
  "Indian territory" between the ACG
  and Louisiana. North of the Ohio,
  there were still holdouts. In 1804, the
  Colonial Government managed to
  negotiate a treaty that forced the Sauk and
  Meskwaki to sell all of their lands between the
  Illinois and the Mississippi. The Sauk leaders did not
  realize how much land was included in the treaty and
  were concerned as more and more white settlers began
  taking up residence in their territory. They became
  enraged when the Colonial Army began building forts
  west of the Illinois River. The chiefs demanded an
  explanation, but the Army officers simply showed them
  the treaty. Not knowing what else to do, the chiefs
  conceded the land and began migrating their people into
  Louisiana.
  One Sauk warrior, however, was not satisfied with
  this conclusion. Black Hawk was a war captain who did
  not agree with the chiefs. He began gathering support
  among his own tribesmen as well as the Meskwaki and
  Kickapoo for an assault on the British. Meanwhile, with
  the ongoing War of the Fifth Coalition, the French were
  looking far and wide for allies to harrass their enemies,
  especially England. Worried that they might lose
  Louisiana outright, the French decided to support the
  most likely defenders of that territory – the Indians. A
  French envoy saw in Black Hawk an opportunity to
  distract the colonies, which would in turn slow the
  recruitment of colonial sailors for the Royal Navy. Black
  Hawk's newly formed "French Band" – as it was known
  to the colonists – was supplied with arms and provisions
  and encouraged to retake the Sauk land.
  The Black Hawk War, which took place largely in the
  summer of 1812, opened another front in the conflict
  between England and France, cost hundreds of
  thousands of pounds and significant military personnel,
  and thus raised further doubts among neutral European
  countries such as Sweden and Austria that England
  could continue to devote its full attention and resources
  to containing Napoleon's Grande Armee. This was ideal
  for France, as it ultimately convinced those countries to
  remain out of the Coalition arrayed against it. For Black
  Hawk's army the outcome was less successful. They were
  unable to make any lasting gains in Illinois and ended up
  retreating across the Mississippi. In addition, many
  members of the Continental Parliament used it as further
  evidence that the Indian could not be trusted to keep his
  word.
  However, France now saw a potential solution to the
  Louisiana problem. Bonaparte had never been as
  interested in the New World as his royal predecessors,
  preferring to focus instead on European expansion. He
  could not risk selling or ceding French American land to
  loyal British colonists, but he also did not wish to devote
  significant resources to defending it. In 1815, a multi-
  tribal federation was created to act as the local governing
  authority of the Indian-controlled areas of Louisiana
  (with New Orleans being the notable exception). It was
  named the Black Hawk Federation in honor of the war
  leader who had made it possible, and Black Hawk
  himself was elected its first Great Chief. The Federation
  initially included several of the larger tribes who had
  been pushed out of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
  Many of the tribes whose homelands were already in
  Louisiana scoffed at the necessity of such an agreement,
  saying that the tribes could govern themselves without
  the white man's permission. In time, even those tribes
  would see the need for unity.
  Part 4 – The Trail of Tears
  Over the next decade, the policy of removal gained
  further momentum in the Continental Parliament, and
  finally it was decided that even the "five civilized tribes"
  were a threat to British sovereignty. Following the Black
  Hawk War, those five remaining tribes had signed
  greater and greater concessions of territory. Ultimately
  these concessions did nothing to appease the colonists,
  Chief Black Hawk (Sauk)
  
  55
  but they did make the eventual forced relocation
  significantly easier.
  In 1830, Andrew Jackson—now Colonial
  Governor—signed the Indian Removal Act, which
  declared unlawful the existence of any sovereign nations
  within the borders of British colonial territory, essentially
  claiming all land east of the Mississippi and south of the
  St. Lawrence Seaway. Parliament then began negotiating
  removal treaties with each of the five tribes. At first the
  Seminole tried to fight to keep their lands, but that
  uprising was quickly and brutally put down. Having
  learned from the Black Hawk War the potential costs of
  tribal war, Governor Jackson sent four thousand troops
  into Georgia and Florida to quell the Seminole
  resistance. The Colonial Army swept through Seminole
  land slaughtering almost indiscriminately. The few who
  managed to escape these massacres—mostly women,
  children, and elderly—could not even flee north but
  instead set sail across the Gulf towards New Orleans.
  After seeing the horror visited upon the Seminole,
  the remaining four tribes quickly fell into line. They
  signed their treaties with Governor Jackson ("Sharp
  Knife" as they knew him) and quickly gathered whatever
  belongings they could for the journey into Louisiana.
  When they got there, they found a warmer welcome than
  they could have imagined. Great Chief Black Hawk
  himself traveled first to Point Chicot, just across the
  river from Choctaw and Chickasaw territory, and later to
  Cape Girardeau, where the Cherokee and Muscogee
  ended up crossing. Each time a new tribal chief entered
  Louisiana, Black Hawk offered him a blanket and a
  tomahawk, saying, "You are welcome to make your
  home in these lands. You are also invited to join us in
  fighting to keep them. No white man will ever again tell
  you where to go." The Choctaw, Chickasaw, and
  Muscogee joined the Black Hawk Federation
  immediately. The Cherokee decided to try their luck
  continuing on into Texas to join segments of that tribe
  that had migrated many years prior. They settled there
  for nearly a decade, but were eventually pushed out as a
  result of President Lamar's anti-Indian campaign.
  Part 5 – Red Cloud's War
  By the early 1840s, the native population of
  Louisiana consisted of two main subgroups. One set of
  tribes still lived on their traditional hunting grounds,
  which were safely within French territory. The other set
  of tribes had been relocated from either Texas or British
  colonial territory, often violently. At that time, all of the
  latter tribes were members of the French-initiated Black
  Hawk Federation while all of
  the former tribes remained
  aloof from that organization. In
  particular, many Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho leaders
  saw the Federation as patronizing and toothless. The
  Federation had floundered somewhat after Black Hawk's
  death in 1838, giving further credence to that view.
  Meanwhile, the ACG was continuing its westward
  expansion, filling in more of the Illinois Territory and
  looking northward towards Lake Superior. Although the
  Mississippi River was a boundary water, the British took
  a very proprietary view towards its commercial traffic. It
  was a major north-south transportation artery, and the
  Colonial Government saw the importance of controlling
  a clear path between the tip of the Great Lakes and the
  Mississippi headwaters. Technically this land was not
  part of Louisiana, so there was no direct conflict with
  France in making this claim. However, the Ojibwe
  people had already been pushed out of Northern
  Michigan and were not eager to lose their sacred land
  around the lake they called the "Great Water."
  The Ojibwe chiefs appealed for help from the Black
  Hawk Federation, which had been founded by tribes like
  the Sauk that were former allies against the Iroquois. The
  Federation was too weak and indecisive to offer anything
  but sanctuary. Finally the Ojibwe swallowed their pride
  and begged for assistance from their longtime rivals, the
  Dakota Sioux. The Dakota chiefs refused to even hear
  the Ojibwe petition. Left with the choice of fighting
  alone or accepting the white man's money, the Ojibwe
  chiefs signed over their homeland and moved west into
  Lakota territory where they joined the clans of the Oglala
  Lakota chief known as Old Chief Smoke.
  One young Lakota man who was being mentored by
  Old Chief Smoke was a war leader named Red Cloud.
  Red Cloud listened with concern to the Ojibwe stories of
  white encroachment. Throughout the early 1850s, more
  and more white settlers established copper mines and
  timber mills in the former Ojibwe territory. More
  alarming to the Lakota war leader, some of these white
  traders were overheard reviving old rumors of gold in
  the Black Hills, the most sacred lands of the Lakota
  Sioux. Red Cloud began voicing concerns in councils
  that their lands would be targeted next. Old Chief
  Smoke agreed that there might be a reason to worry, but
  was not convinced that the Lakota should be the ones to
  start a war. He urged caution and patience, but Red
  Cloud was ready to take matters into his own
  hands.
  
  56
  Steamscapes: North America
  Red Cloud gathered a large
  number of displaced Ojibwe warriors
  and organized harassing raids on some
  of the copper mines near Lake Superior.
  Colonial troops soon had their hands full
  trying to protect the unfortified settlements
  scattered throughout the area. With each success, Red
  Cloud's band grew. More tribes joined in, including
  remnants of the Sauk, Meskwaki, and Kickapoo who
  hoped to encourage Red Cloud to help them retake their
  lands east of the Mississippi. These tribes were so
  intermingled at this point that they had begun referring
  to themselves as the "Blackhawks," a testament to their
  former leader as well as their status as founders of the
  intertribal federation. Red Cloud welcomed them gladly,
  and together these tribes made war on the white man.
  Red Cloud's War was the first completely successful
  native retaliation against the ACG. In total, it lasted
  approximately three years, with the final treaty lines
  drawn in 1859. The treaty was very conciliatory towards
  the Ojibwe, even returning to them northern parts of the
  Wisconsin Territory all the way to Sault Ste. Marie. Of
  course, the timing of the war had been extremely
  fortuitous for Red Cloud in that the Continental
  Parliament had begun pulling troops from its western
  borders in preparation for the threatened secession of
  several southern colonies. Nevertheless, it sparked a
  resurgence in cooperation between tribes as well as the
  first murmurs of independence and nationhood.
  Part 6 – Sitting Bull's Ascendancy
  In 1860, as the British colonies turned their militaries
  upon each other, a number of Lakota chiefs invited tribal
  representatives from all of Louisiana to a council at
  Buffalo Gap. Many of the displaced tribes assumed that
  this was to be a formal declaration by the Lakota of their
  intention to join the Black Hawk Federation, but one
  young chief had a different idea. Sitting Bull had fought
  in the recent war alongside Crazy Horse and Red Cloud,
  and was well-known to the Blackhawks and Ojibwe. He
  was respected as much for his wisdom as for his prowess
  in combat, and he had recently risen to the position of
  chief of the Hunkpapa Lakota.
  When the council was convened, Sitting Bull raised
  his concerns over the tenuous situation in which the
  tribes found themselves. He pointed out that the white
  man's war would one day be over, and whichever side
  was victorious would soon turn its attention to the
  fertile plains in the center of the continent. He
  told stories that had been passed among the
  tribes of the great migration of white men to the western
  coast to look for precious metals. He reminded the
  chiefs how the Texans had treated the Cherokee and
  Apache. When all this was done, Sitting Bull told the
  council that the time had come for true unity, for true
  strength in defense of the lands that remained free.
  Following Sitting Bull's speech, only minor details
  remained to be sorted. All of those gathered agreed in
  principle with everything he had said. Red Cloud was
  chosen to be an envoy to France. He would request that
  the territory of Louisiana be granted to the tribal council
  for the formation of an independent nation instead of a
  mere protectorate. Sitting Bull was unanimously elected
  to lead the great council through this transition.
  Part 7 – A Greater Federation
  Red Cloud returned from Paris in 1862 with a treaty
  agreeing to all requested terms. The great council would
  be granted all remaining French territory in Louisiana
  and in return would grant France certain exclusive
  trading rights. The Plains Tribal Federation was
  established on December 26th, 1862 with Sitting Bull as
  its first Great Chief.
  Soon afterwards, the Federation learned of the
  technological horrors that the British had brought into
  the war. Many tribes had long resigned themselves to
  joining in the proliferation of firearms, but automatons
  were something entirely different. They were
  abominations—soulless metal men made to be slaves to
  Chief Red Cloud (Oglala)
  
  57
  war. It was actually Sitting
  Bull's daughter Many Horses
  who suggested the solution of
  creating a women's regiment of saboteurs to dismantle
  the British war machines. The Lakota had traditionally
  held women equal to men in many respects, so the Great
  Chief encouraged his daughter's ideas.
  Meanwhile, the Blackhawks pressed the council for
  permission to join the war against the British more
  directly. Sitting Bull saw this as an excellent opportunity
  to test his young nation's mettle and foster greater
  camaraderie among the many tribes. He agreed, and the
  Blackhawks themselves led the first attacks across the
  Mississippi. Few Colonial troops remained stationed in
  the area, so the Federation warriors quickly swept well
  past the Illinois River all the way to Lake Michigan, even
  capturing the growing industrial city of Chicago within
  weeks. However, Colonial reinforcements soon arrived
  at Portersville and stalled the Blackhawk advance. Rather
  than pushing further, the tribes decided to consolidate
  their holdings.
  Since the end of the Civil War, the border between
  Illinois and Indiana has held steady with few incursions
  by either side. Unlike other members of the PTF, the
  Blackhawks have embraced many of the recent military
  technological advancements, particularly steam vehicles
  and artillery. American scouts have spotted smoke rising
  from the factory stacks in Chicago, so it is likely only a
  matter of time before Blackhawk steam cannons begin
  firing on Indiana.
  Meanwhile, Sitting Bull has continued training
  saboteurs in preparation for hostilities with the
  neighboring nations, all of whom seem to be employing
  the terrible automatons. Apache and Hopi women have
  been eager to try their skills in raids on the Southern
  Pacific in Texas and the mechanized mines in the Rocky
  Mountain Republic. Several elite saboteur units from
  various tribes have even been sent to France to train
  French soldiers tactics for use against the new
  mechanical armies of England and Prussia. In return,
  France has offered Sitting Bull a number of dirigibles.
  What use the PTF will have for these airships remains to
  be seen.
  White Citizens of the Plains
  Some French traders remained in the
  Plains Tribal Federation after its
  independence, including some who act as
  envoys to maintain political ties with the
  French Empire. However, there is one
  larger group of white citizens that has
  found a uniquely comfortable place
  within the PTF.
  In 1846, following the persecution
  and murder of their founder, the Latter
  Day Saints fled the colony of Illinois into
  Louisiana seeking asylum. They were
  granted land along the Missouri River
  within the tribal lands of the Omaha.
  The Saints had originally intended to
  keep moving after the first winter, but
  the population was so stricken with
  scurvy that additional migration proved
  too difficult.
  The Omaha, seeing their dire
  predicament, began trading vegetables to
  help ward off what the settlers called
  "black-leg." With this help, the LDS were
  able to return their community to general
  health. Their new President, Brigham
  Young, oversaw the construction of
  Florence Mill, which established a more
  permanent residency.  Young was a
  charismatic leader, and convinced his
  people that their long awaited "promised
  land" was this new community of
  Florence.
  Over the years, Florence has grown
  into an independent town that still has
  strong ties with the Omaha. The two
  groups have even begun to intermarry,
  leading to some Omaha conversions.
  
  58
  Steamscapes: North America
  Other Nations and
  Territories
  Territoire libre du Québec
  The Treaty of Paris, which marked the
  end of the Seven Years War between England and
  France, had ceded to England "Canada and all its
  dependencies." This of course had not included the vast
  French holding of Louisiana, but it did clearly include
  the French-speaking territories north of the Great Lakes.
  However, with the difficulties presented by the Atlantic
  colonies, the crown had only had time to unite all of
  those territories into a single province called Québec
  before essentially turning over all administration of
  North America to the colonists themselves.
  The Atlantic colonies did not make any overtures
  towards including Québec in their new American
  Colonial Government, leaving its residents in a strange
  sort of limbo. Their land was held by England, but they
  felt no loyalty or attachment to that country. The ACG
  offered no kinship for them, and France no longer
  claimed any responsibility for them. However, in its last
  act of direct government, the British Parliament had
  passed the Québec Act of 1774, which guaranteed free
  practice of Catholicism in the colony, as well as restoring
  French civil law for its day-to-day governance. The
  residents of Québec were satisfied with this state of
  affairs and saw no reason to abandon their isolated
  existence.
  Québec maintained this very nebulous status for
  over 30 years. During that time there was increasing
  concern about the new expansionist attitude of the
  American Colonial Government. Although this
  expansion had primarily focused on Indian territories, a
  growing movement in Québec was advocating
  nationhood to protect against the possibility that the
  ACG would seek to enforce British control over the
  colony. By the early 1800s, this movement had grown
  into an established political party in the legislative
  assembly known as the Parti canadien. This party set
  itself in opposition to the Parti bureaucrate, the Tory
  pro-British party that had retained control of the
  assembly since its founding following the Treaty of Paris.
  The Parti canadien gained significant popular
  support until finally securing a full majority in the fall of
  1810. The assembly immediately began working on
  drawing up a constitution and declaration of nationhood.
  These documents were finished by early 1813
  and ratified by the end of that year. A
  transitional period ensued, during which another round
  of elections were held. By 1815, the new nation of
  Québec was established, with the young firebrand Louis-
  Joseph Papineau as its Prime Minister.
  Papineau quickly set out to establish Québec as a
  legitimate nation in the eyes of the rest of the world,
  particularly Europe. He first made overtures to England,
  claiming that Québec’s newly declared independence
  need not interfere with their positive relations.
  Unfortunately, King George was by this time
  permanently secluded to treat his madness, and
  Parliament was in the midst of forming a very loose
  coalition led by the  Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool.
  Liverpool had been overseeing the Napoleonic Wars,
  and resented association with any French or former
  French territories. He rejected Papineau’s offers of treaty
  outright and called Québec a rogue state.
  Papineau was enraged at Liverpool’s response. He
  decided to take what he considered to be the most
  logical next course: alliance with France. France well
  understood the value in a northern seaport, as New
  Orleans was very far from much of Louisiana. Also, the
  mood in France was largely filled with both resentment
  towards the Treaty of Paris and strong nationalism in the
  wake of the emperor’s successful military campaigns.
  Many citizens therefore felt that the former Canadian
  territories should still belong to France. In 1816,
  Napoleon embraced Québec as a long-lost son, and
  officially recognized its independence.
  Québec’s relationship with the ACG was more
  tenuous. Early on, the two neighbors largely ignored
  each other. To Québec’s great relief, the American
  expansionists never cast their gaze across the St.
  Lawrence River. For the next two decades, Québec
  stayed out of both the American and British eye, and this
  allowed it to strengthen and grow economically through
  its ties to France. However, when the British Parliament
  abolished slavery throughout its colonies, the ACG
  became more protective of its borders. The American
  Parliament knew that any slave that managed to escape
  would now be considered free even by the crown.
  American abolitionists began helping the slaves escape
  north into Québec. At first this migration was a barely
  noticed trickle, but the number increased significantly
  following the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Québec
  welcomed all escaped slaves, and this did not endear the
  country to the more southern American colonies.
  The diplomatic situation soon grew even worse. In
  1847, Louis-Joseph Papineau reformed his former Parti
  
  59
  canadien into the new Parti rouge, which was fiercely
  democratic and egalitarian. By 1852, some of the goals of
  the Parti rouge had become too liberal even for the aging
  Papineau, and he retired from politics.
  In the elections that followed, the Parti rouge
  formed a coalition with the more moderate Liberal Party.
  Together, they pushed an agenda of universal suffrage
  and citizenship, as well as full electoral governance. In
  celebration of this new inclusiveness, they also changed
  the country’s official designation to "Territoire libre du
  Québec," essentially inviting all American slaves to find
  new homes in the free land to the north. This enraged
  many Americans, and even the more sympathetic
  northern colonies saw the new name as provocative. On
  the other hand, few American politicians took Québec
  seriously enough to actually attack. Their diplomatic
  energies were focused on averting internal conflict.
  During the English Civil War, Québec was quick to
  extend its universal suffrage to automatons as well as
  former slaves. At the time, few Americans were paying
  attention, and only discovered many years later that John
  Curtiss Underwood was following Québec’s model when
  he proposed citizenship for thinking automatons. If the
  Continental Congress had realized where Underwood’s
  inspiration had originated, they probably would have
  been more reluctant to follow his vision.
  Now in 1871, Québec is a minor economic power in
  North America, but the strongest tie the continent has to
  France. A significant amount of French trade passes
  through the nation’s ports, not only for Québec itself
  but also for further trade with the Plains Tribal
  Federation, with whom Québec has formed friendly
  relations. Some have suggested that France, through this
  trade route, is the source of the mysterious pirate
  airships that have attacked commercial zeppelins
  traveling over the PTF. None of these sightings have yet
  been confirmed, so it is as yet unknown whether the
  pirate airships do indeed match the design of French
  dirigibles.
  Mexico
  Economically and technologically, Mexico has fallen
  behind the rest of the continent. However, in many ways
  it has worked through the problems of independence
  from Europe much more thoroughly than the other
  fledgling North American nations.
  Following its break from Spain in 1821, Mexico
  oscillated back and forth through periods of imperial
  rule and democracy, often changing governments
  through civil war or bloody
  coup. Texas found Mexico to
  be weaker than expected during
  its revolution and later land grab largely because the
  Mexican government was so frequently in transition. Yet
  these transitions brought about a particular reform that
  other new American nations had failed to provide: a
  population in which Europeans and Indians were
  theoretically equal.
  This progress was interrupted temporarily by the
  French incursion of 1861. Although the Louisiana tribes
  were friendly to French interests, Napoleon III sought to
  gain a more accessible foothold on the continent, and
  from there perhaps even to retake New Orleans.
  Because of Mexican popular unity, the French were
  eventually beaten back. As a result of that experience
  and their strong Catholic culture, the Mexican people are
  extremely skeptical of Europeans and even European
  technology. They reject air travel and automation as
  abominations before God, and many soldiers have taken
  to carrying out raids across the Texas border, hoping to
  stop shipments of automatons to the Rocky Mountain
  Republic. Mexican raids are one of the most dangerous
  concerns for the Southern Pacific Railroad.
  Russian and British America
  Two European powers still retain some direct
  control over North American territories. However, the
  small portion of the continent that remains in British
  hands is so remote as to be practically unusable.
  Meanwhile, the Plains Tribal Federation has made
  diplomatic overtures to the Inuit, attempting to convince
  them to join the Federation. If they are successful, it is
  unlikely that Queen Victoria would commit the
  resources required to defend her territory. Britain would
  probably abandon the land without dispute.
  Russian America is another territory held essentially
  in name only. The Tlingits and Aleutians far outnumber
  the white traders and explorers, and life there is difficult
  and largely unprofitable. With Russia’s cooperation,
  Western Union has laid an intercontinental telegraph line
  that connects San Francisco to Asia via the Bering Strait,
  but this represents the only industrial development
  currently being pursued in this remote land.
  There are occasional scientific and exploratory
  expeditions into both regions, but until there is a more
  compelling reason to brave these frigid wastelands,
  political and economic interest will remain
  minimal.
  
  60
  Steamscapes: North America
  (Chapter 6)
  Running a Steamscapes Game
  The following sections are designed to assist both
  players and gamemasters in their initial explorations into
  the Steamscapes world. First are a number of sample
  characters that may be used by players wishing to jump
  right in and not worry as much about the details of
  character creation. Alternately, they may be used by
  gamemasters as templates for non-player characters for
  populating the game world.
  This is followed by several plot point scenarios
  intended to give gamemasters a starting point for
  designing campaigns. These plot points should provide a
  sense of how characters might interact more directly
  with the setting. They are not intended to be
  comprehensive or exhaustive in their portrayal of the
  Steamscapes world. Gamemasters are therefore strongly
  encouraged to familiarize themselves with the history
  and background in Chapter 5 before running more than
  a brief introductory game such as those presented in the
  plot points.
  Thinking about Setting
  Just like other genres (particularly fantasy),
  steampunk contains variants that are distinct but equally
  valid interpretations of the setting. There are some
  common elements, but also some very important
  differences that can be used to identify what we are
  calling "high" steampunk and "low" steampunk. The
  critical defining elements of steampunk are of course the
  heightened Victorian technology, especially with regards
  to steam power, clockwork, and electricity. However,
  these elements can be applied in very different ways
  depending on where in the Victorian world they are set.
  High steampunk is typically set among the wealthy or
  the aristocracy, often in England or Europe. In such a
  setting, inventors are well-to-do eccentrics, taking to
  their airships on the slightest whim for wild adventures,
  little concerned about the world below. These are the
  explorers, discovering new lands and new peoples (new
  to Europeans, anyway), and they carry out their
  explorations without much real consequence. They may
  end up as heroes to someone somewhere, but are more
  likely to simply boast of their travels when they return to
  the local Explorers' Club.
  
  61
  Low steampunk tends to be grittier, typically set in
  the American West. Almost everyone is a scoundrel,
  even those who are supposed to be enforcing the law.
  Inventors are not merely eccentric but often
  megalomaniacal or even mad. Their creations frequently
  get out of hand and are stopped more often by a roguish
  gunslinger than by a noble hero.
  The world described in this book is designed to
  allow for both modes of play. If you prefer high
  steampunk, create characters that come from established
  east coast cities. You might play an airship crew that is
  surveying potential trade routes over the Plains, keeping
  a careful eye out for pirates. Or you might play a high-
  society inventor whose new automaton breaks free of its
  bonds at an Exposition. If you prefer low steampunk, try
  setting your adventure in Texas or the Rocky Mountain
  Republic. You could be part of a team trying to protect
  an important railroad shipment from Mexican bandits.
  Or you could play the bandits themselves, trying to
  prevent the spread of unholy technology.
  Regardless of where you focus your campaign,
  however, do keep in mind that the acceleration of
  technology inherent in steampunk does not
  automatically presume social progressivism. There are
  always people who break ground for a particular social
  group (in real life as much as in fiction), and those
  ground-breakers are often very interesting to play as
  characters, but you may assume that nineteenth century
  questions of race, class, gender, and personhood are as
  relevant in the world of Steamscapes as they were in the
  real world. In fact, in some cases, you can see that we
  have tried to heighten the tension rather than reduce it.
  Remember that the Industrial Revolution brought about
  not only the romanticism of Jules Verne, but also the
  cynicism of Charles Dickens. A hyper-industrial world
  makes Dickens more important, not less.
  Above all, explore. You and your fellow players will
  have a much more rewarding experience if you allow
  yourself to see the fullness not only of our world
  but of your own imaginations. And never be
  
  62
  Steamscapes: North America
  afraid to introduce something that
  seems outside of our "canon." We
  want you to think of our setting as a
  framework, not a boundary. If you are
  having fun, we are happy.
  Thinking about Character
  Steamscapes adds a number of professional edges
  and skills to the Savage Worlds rules, and we hope that
  they are interesting and fun to play. However, the world
  of Steamscapes is full of people who are definitely not
  Gearsmiths, Spark Wranglers, Steamhands, and so on.
  Many of them have interesting stories to tell, and those
  characters can be well represented by the basic Savage
  Worlds rules. If you want to play a financier or a farmer, a
  sailor or soldier, feel free to set our additional rules aside.
  You may even consider a scenario in which none of the
  player characters begin with an unusual profession, but
  they might find them along the way.
  Seven character templates are included on the
  following pages as guidelines for creating characters that
  do use the new professions described in Chapter 4.
  They are all created as starting characters, so you are
  welcome to use them as they are or adjust them to fit
  your own roleplaying. They may also be used as starting
  templates for NPCs, although gamemasters may wish to
  add more points to flesh out those characters.
  As useful as we hope these templates are, we also
  hope that not every Steamscapes character starts out
  with identical statistics. We encourage you to focus on
  backstory first, build later. Consider spending points on
  things that may not seem immediately useful. Savage
  Worlds is a system that allows for a great deal of
  "character sheet roleplaying," which is the practice of
  including skills, edges, and hindrances that have little
  purpose beyond fleshing out the character. Of course,
  this means that your gamemaster should encourage such
  behavior by eventually finding ways to incorporate these
  character elements. So if you are acting as gamemaster,
  make sure to look at your players' sheets once every
  game or so to see what they consider important. A
  roleplaying game should always be a collaborative effort.
  Using the Scenarios
  The second part of this chapter includes three
  sample game scenarios to be run as standalone
  games or as part of a larger campaign.
  Depending on how much embellishment the
  players and gamemaster add, we expect them to take
  approximately two hours to play (not including character
  creation or selection). Here are a few tips for using them:
  ● Text in burgundy is intended to be read aloud. You
  can use what we have written or your own
  descriptions and dialogue as you like. [Brackets]
  indicate optional text that may be added or changed
  based on the situation.
  ● At certain points, a scenario may present several
  likely choices that a party might make. These may
  not be all-inclusive. If players come up with other
  options, use the included choices as a guideline for
  potential outcomes.
  ● NPCs have been given a basic list of skills and
  equipment that should be just enough for most
  situations. If something unusual comes up, feel free
  to assume that a given NPC has an appropriate skill
  or item.
  ● Characters with the
   symbol are considered
  Wild Cards. Please see Savage Worlds Deluxe page 62
  for details.
  ● Always read the whole scenario before running the
  game. It is important for the gamemaster to have an
  idea of where the plot is going, because otherwise
  the players will take it somewhere entirely different.
  ● If the players take the plot somewhere entirely
  different, don't worry! If you still want to tell the
  story in the scenario, you might try to use the written
  scenes as markers to find your way back. In this way,
  you may end up with more scenes, but you'll still
  include the ones we intended.
  ● Have fun!
  Note that the third scenario, "The Battle of Portersville,"
  is a mass battle scenario. This is ideal for inclusion in a
  more military campaign, but may not be as enjoyable for
  a group focused on exploration and character
  development. Also, we have left the operational details
  for that scenario minimal so that the players can have
  significant influence over the battle plans.
  
  63
  The Aviator
  Attributes
  Agility - d8
  Smarts - d6
  Spirit - d4
  Strength - d6
  Vigor - d6
  Skills
  Aeronautical Navigation - d6
  Climbing - d6
  Fighting - d8
  Knowledge: Geography - d6
  Notice - d6
  Piloting - d8
  Survival - d6
  Hindrances
  Curious
  Overconfident
  Edges
  Ace
  Alertness
  Aviator Profession
  Equipment
  Leather Goggles
   
  Telescopic Attachment
  Saber
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  0
  6
  6
  5
  
  64
  Steamscapes: North America
  The Gearsmith
  Attributes
  Agility - d8
  Smarts - d8
  Spirit - d6
  Strength - d4
  Vigor - d4
  Skills
  Investigation - d8
  Knowledge: Science - d8
  Lockpicking - d4
  Mechanical Programming - d8
  Notice - d6
  Repair - d8
  Shooting - d4
  Hindrances
  Bad Eyes (minor)
  Curious
  Pacifist (minor)
  Edges
  Gearsmith Profession
  Basic Structural Engineering (Gearsmith Edge Tree)
  Advanced Structural Engineering (Gearsmith Edge Tree)
  Equipment
  Brass Goggles
   
  Magnification Attachment
  Gearsmith’s Tool Kit
  Remington Pocket Revolver
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  0
  6
  2
  4
  
  65
  The Automaton
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  -4/-2 6
  6
  7(2)
  Attributes
  Agility - d8
  Smarts - d4
  Spirit - d4
  Strength - d8
  Vigor - d6
  Skills
  Climbing - d8
  Fighting - d8
  Healing - d4
  Notice - d4
  Repair - d4
  Shooting - d8
  Throwing - d8
  Hindrances
  Clockwork Upgrades
  Culturally Naive
  Less Than Human
  Edges
  Construct
  Man of Iron
  
  66
  Steamscapes: North America
  The Gunslinger
  Attributes
  Agility - d8
  Smarts - d6
  Spirit - d6
  Strength - d4
  Vigor - d6
  Skills
  Gunsmith - d6
  Intimidation - d6
  Notice - d4
  Persuasion - d4
  Riding - d8
  Shooting - d8
  Streetwise - d6
  Tracking - d6
  Hindrances
  Arrogant
  Enemy (minor)
  Vengeful (minor)
  Edges
  Gunslinger Profession
  Quick
  Quick Draw
  Equipment
  Gunsmith’s Tool Kit
  Horse
  LeMat Revolver
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  0
  6
  2
  5
  
  67
  The Saboteur
  Attributes
  Agility - d8
  Smarts - d6
  Spirit - d6
  Strength - d8
  Vigor - d4
  Skills
  Climbing - d4
  Fighting - d6
  Healing - d4
  Sabotage - d8
  Stealth - d8
  Survival - d4
  Swimming - d4
  Tracking - d6
  Throwing - d6
  Hindrances
  Code of Honor
  Heroic
  Edges
  Brave
  Fleet-footed
  Saboteur Profession
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  0
  8
  5
  4
  Equipment
  3 Knives
  Saboteur’s Tool Kit
  Tomahawk
  
  68
  Steamscapes: North America
  The Spark Wrangler
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  -2 6
  2
  5
  Attributes
  Agility - d4
  Smarts - d10
  Spirit - d6
  Strength - d4
  Vigor - d6
  Skills
  Electromagnetism - d10
  Knowledge: Science - d8
  Notice - d6
  Persuasion - d6
  Repair - d6
  Hindrances
  Anemic
  Delusion (Major)
  Ugly
  Edges
  Spark Wrangler Profession
  Capacitance (Spark Wrangler Edge Tree)
  Extended Range (Spark Wrangler Edge Tree)
  Equipment
  3 Condensors(10 power points each)
  Leather Gloves
  Spark Wand
  
  69
  The Steamhand
  Attributes
  Agility - d6
  Smarts - d6
  Spirit - d4
  Strength - d8
  Vigor - d6
  Skills
  Boating - d4
  Driving - d6
  Fighting - d6
  Knowledge: Engineering - d4
  Notice - d6
  Repair - d6
  Shooting - d6
  Steamsmith - d6
  Throwing - d4
  Hindrances
  Habit (minor)
  Hard of Hearing (minor)
  Loyal
  Stubborn
  Edges
  Brawler
  Steamhand Profession
  Ironclads (Steamhand Edge Tree)
  Equipment
  Blacksmith’s Tool Kit
  Leather Welding Gloves
  Sledgehammer
  Steamthrower
  Charisma 
  Pace  
  Parry  
  Toughness
  0
  6
  5
  5
  
  70
  Steamscapes: North America
  Rivalry
  Prologue
  You have found yourself in New
  Orleans, a bustling port town in the
  Confederation of Texas with lingering French influence
  everywhere. The streets are populated with an eccentric
  mix of businessmen, laborers, ranchers, and even
  tourists. The prostitutes call out to all of them equally as
  you make your way toward the Wells Fargo office, where
  you have been directed by a help wanted sign to look for
  an opportunity.
  When you arrive, you are pointed towards the back
  office and told to wait for Mr. Gilbeau. You notice that
  there are other people waiting here as well. Some have
  seen the same help wanted signs you saw and some came
  here on the urging of a local bartender, but none of you
  know any details of the job itself.
  After a few minutes, a small man enters. He is
  wearing tailored pants and a brown wool vest with white
  shirtsleeves. His hair is slicked back and he peers
  through round wire-rimmed glasses at the group
  gathered in the office. "Ah. Hmm," he begins, apparently
  not completely pleased, "I was hoping...well I suppose I
  should have expected a motley assemblage with so little
  information provided." He waves his hand. "It'll have to
  do."
  "Gentlemen [and...hmm...ladies], there has been a
  robbery of one of our stagecoaches. It was due to arrive
  in New Orleans from Mobile several days ago, and no
  word has come in of what might have happened.
  Unfortunately, this stagecoach held a particularly
  valuable shipment bound for the Rocky Mountain
  Republic. We need to recover this shipment as quickly as
  possible."
  Conversation points
  Ÿ The shipment in question is a new type of
  automaton that will be used for copper mining.
  Ÿ It is likely that the coach made it as far as the bayou
  areas north of the city.
  Ÿ There are one or two people in town that might
  know where such an item could be resold illegally,
  but Mr. Gilbeau does not know any of them
  personally, nor could he find them if he wanted. If
  the players feel inclined to visit the seedy parts of
  town, that's their business. But he will have no
  part of it.
  Scene 1 – Investigation
  Option A: The Fence
  Using Streetwise and other related abilities, the party
  may locate the man known as Monsieur Blaireau.
  Blaireau has not seen anyone moving such an item out
  through the port, but he has noticed some extra security
  at the Southern Pacific yard lately. He wonders if they
  are having similar difficulties.
  Option B: Looking for Evidence
  Using Tracking and other related abilities, the party
  may travel out into the bayou and look for evidence of
  the stagecoach itself. They will eventually find an
  abandoned and empty Wells Fargo stagecoach just a few
  miles from town, just outside the Southern Pacific
  railyard.
  Scene 2 – The Railyard
  When the party starts asking around the railyard,
  they are told in no uncertain terms to leave. Several
  thugs with crowbars and even a couple of gunmen with
  Colt 1860s will attempt to stop the party from
  investigating around the railyard. The party may bypass
  them with stealth, persuasion, or force. Assuming they
  do, they will find empty Wells Fargo crates in a
  warehouse and see a short cargo train beginning to pull
  away towards the west. They will be unable to catch it on
  foot.
  Interlude – Back to the Office
  Mr. Gilbeau paces back and forth as you explain the
  situation. "The railroad is protecting these bandits?
  Hmm. Unconscionable. You will have to go after that
  train. You won't be able to catch it before it stops in
  Avondale, but they're unlikely to be unloading the item
  there. And then it should take another five hours to
  reach Lafayette. Hmm."
  Option A – Horses and Steam Carts
  The party may opt to ride quickly overland to try to
  catch the train out of Avondale. If the party includes a
  Steamhand, Mr. Gilbeau will offer the use of a Wells
  Fargo steam cart. (The cart is neither armed nor
  armored.)
  Option B – Airship
  If the party includes an Aviator, Mr. Gilbeau will
  offer the use of the Wells Fargo airship stationed nearby.
  (The usual pilot is currently unavailable.)
  
  71
  Whichever option the party takes, it will be difficult
  to board the train while it is moving. However, it has
  picked up passenger cars in Avondale, so it is moving
  more slowly than it would as just a freight. The more
  successful the pilot or driver is, the farther forward on
  the train they can begin. The box they are seeking is in
  the farthest forward mail car, which is locked at both
  ends.
  Scene 3 – Complications
  The party begins searching the train car by car. While
  they are doing so, a band of Apache warriors rides in
  from the north. These are horse-riding braves who are
  also carrying several women Saboteurs on their horses.
  The Saboteurs will attempt to disable whatever vehicle
  the party has brought, or the braves will attempt to take
  over any horses. The Saboteurs will then board the train
  as well and attempt to disable the automaton before the
  party can retrieve it.
  SABOTEURS
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6, Spirit d8,
  Vigor d6
  Pace: 6, Parry: 6, Toughness: 5
  Skills: Fighting d8 Sabotage d8
  Equipment: Tomahawk (Str +d8)
  BRAVES
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Strength d8, Spirit d6,
  Vigor d8
  Pace: 6, Parry: 5, Toughness: 6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Riding d8, Throwing d6
  Equipment: Horse, Spear (Str +d6)
  Meanwhile, among the passengers on the train are
  several Gearsmiths. One mistakenly believes that the
  party is after his automaton, which is stored in the
  second mail car. He will try to secretly follow the party
  and call out the activation commands to his automaton.
  This automaton will attempt to defend itself as the party
  passes it by. They can disable, destroy, or avoid it. (It is
  unlikely to follow them up onto the roof, for example,
  since it will no longer feel threatened.)
  ROGUE AUTOMATON
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Strength d8,
  Spirit d6, Vigor d8
  Pace: 6, Parry: 5, Toughness: 8 (2)
  Skills: Climbing, d6, Fighting d6
  The final complication is the lock to the mail car. It
  is a gearwork lock, designed to be very difficult to open
  without the key. (Copies of
  the key are held at the train's
  terminal destinations, not on the
  train itself.) It is possible to overcome the lock with a
  difficult Mechanical Programming or Electromagnetism
  roll (-4). The Lockpicking skill could be used, but would
  receive an additional -2 for not having the appropriate
  skill to work with gears. Alternately, the party may try to
  dismantle or otherwise destroy the door. It has a
  Toughness of 9 (2) and three wounds, so this will be
  very difficult. Some tools or skills may be considered
  "armor piercing" if they are appropriate for this task. In
  all these cases, cooperative rolls can apply.
  Aftermath:
  Mr. Gilbeau is thrilled to have recovered the
  package, but clearly disturbed that the Southern Pacific
  Railroad itself seems to be responsible. "I have heard of
  other shipments being lost on their way to the Rocky
  Mountain Republic," he says. "We attributed those losses
  to bandits or even the rumored Indian air pirates. But
  now I wonder if there's something else going on. Would
  you be interested in a trip out west to investigate
  further?"
  You haggle furiously, and the clerk finally agrees to
  an extravagant fee with expenses included. You make
  preparations to leave New Orleans within the week.
  [Note: This is the first scenario in an extended plot
  point campaign that will be released in the coming
  months. Please watch our website at steamscapes.com
  for more details.]
  
  72
  Steamscapes: North America
  Automatic Murder
  Prologue
  For one reason or another, you have
  found yourself among the Baltimore social
  elite.  Perhaps you are from here, or perhaps you are a
  prominent visitor. Through your local connections you
  have received an invitation to a private scientific
  exposition at the home of a previously unknown
  gearsmith by the name of Mortimer Bracques. You have
  heard that Mr. Bracques intends to unveil a new
  invention this evening, and you believe that this party
  will be an ideal place to make further connections in the
  city.
  If the players require some help developing plot-
  hooks for their presence at the party, here are some
  possible suggestions. Feel free to adapt and add to this
  list:
  Ÿ Competition: You are another scientist, perhaps
  another gearsmith. The introduction of a new
  inventor to the area could threaten your ability to
  find patrons. You need to see this invention for
  yourself and maybe take Mr. Bracques down a notch
  Ÿ Mentorship: You may be either a fellow inventor or
  a wealthy patron. You believe that more science is
  always good for the world, and you would love the
  opportunity to take this undiscovered gearsmith
  under your wings.
  Ÿ Social Climbing: You may be a businessman or
  socialite. You have found out that the Mayor will be
  in attendance. This is an opportunity for you to
  hobnob with very important people and advance
  your own position.
  Ÿ Investigation: You may be a lawman or just a gun-
  for-hire. Something about this seems very suspicious
  to you. Why would this gearsmith come out of
  nowhere? How could someone hide that kind of
  work?
  Ÿ Denunciation: You are a reader of Thoreau and
  Whitman, and you believe that "thinking machines"
  are a debasement of nature. You are here to see the
  latest abomination so that you can publicly proclaim
  the dangers of science.
  Scene 1 – The Party
  When you arrive at Bracques's townhome, you
  are ushered up to the gallery by an automaton
  servant. (Mr. Charles, if asked.) There you see the party
  already gathering, but you are told that the host will
  make his appearance shortly. [This is an opportunity for
  the players to introduce themselves.] There is a curtain
  concealing a small semicircular dais at one end of the
  room.
  Other notable party-goers:
  Ÿ Miss Eliza Brown – Mortimer's assistant. She skitters
  nervously about the room, making sure that
  everything is ready. She will talk if pressed but soon
  moves on to her other activities. If the players pay
  particular attention to her, they may Notice (at a -2
  to the roll) that she seems to have some trouble
  seeing, as if she should be wearing glasses.
  Ÿ Joshua Van Sant – Newly-elected Mayor of
  Baltimore. (Also the former representative for
  Maryland at the Constitutional Convention.) He is
  happy to see Baltimore's scientists achieving new
  breakthroughs, as he would like his city to rise in the
  world's esteem to compete with Philadelphia. He
  likes to talk about Baltimore's recent electrification
  of its streetlights, making sure to point out that
  Philadelphia still uses gas.
  Ÿ Johnathan Stearns – A proper gentleman, he is often
  surrounded by well-groomed ladies. He is Mortimer's
  patron and seems to be very smug regarding the
  events about to transpire. He speaks mostly with the
  ladies (including any attractive female player
  characters), but he will spare some time to gloat to
  any gentlemen as well. He remains ostentatiously
  secretive about the unveiling. A very difficult Notice
  roll (at -6) will let the players realize that he tends to
  avoid addressing the automaton servant directly or
  even looking at him.
  After time allowed to mingle, the automaton servant
  tells everyone to gather in front of the dais. A small
  weaselly man with longish, slicked hair steps up in front
  of you. He massages his hands as he speaks. "Good
  evening all. I am thrilled to be joined by such austere
  personages. As some of you may know, I have been
  working on advances in clockwork far beyond the
  current standards of automated intelligence. It is my
  privilege this evening to introduce to you my crowning
  achievement, Mr. Selden." At this, he nods to Miss Eliza,
  who pulls a cord on the side of the dais. The curtain is
  drawn aside to reveal a brightly polished brass
  automaton, whose features you can't help but feel are
  almost human.
  
  73
  "Mr. Selden is a brilliant thinker, as you will discover
  when you meet him in person. He is prepared to engage
  in conversations about anything you may wish, be it
  science or politics or the events of the day. You will see,"
  he waves his hands towards one side of the room, "that
  we have prepared a number of chess boards should you
  wish to try his tactical prowess. If you have any other
  tests of intellect you would like to suggest, merely ask
  myself or Miss Eliza and we will provide them." He
  waits for applause, bows slightly, and then enters the
  party.
  At this time, the players may mingle further or
  observe Mr. Selden as they like. Mortimer will circulate
  rapidly, accompanying Mr. Selden through various
  conversations. He will talk politely with the players,
  answering questions as much as possible, but he is
  focused on the intelligence tests. Finally, at some point
  either the players or another party-goer will offer a game
  of chess. The crowd will gather around to watch. Mr.
  Selden makes a few moves to begin, but then runs into
  trouble when he wants to move a bishop. Mortimer
  looks at him concerned, wondering what's wrong, and
  Mr. Selden explains that he has forgotten how that piece
  moves. Mortimer apologizes to the opponent and asks
  nervously for everyone's kind indulgence while he
  retreats to the workshop to check a minor programming
  error.
  Mortimer and Mr. Selden disappear, letting the party
  continue. After a few minutes, Miss Eliza nervously
  glances towards the door and asks to be excused to see if
  Mr. Bracques needs any assistance. A few moments later
  there is a piercing scream and the entire party rushes into
  the workshop to find that Mortimer is dead.
  Scene 2 – The Workshop
  In the workshop, Mr. Selden is standing over
  Mortimer, his brass forearm splattered with blood. The
  top of Mortimer's head has clearly been crushed. Miss
  Eliza is standing at the other end of the workshop, still
  screaming. When anyone tries to approach Mortimer,
  Mr. Selden moves to protect the body, saying brokenly
  that he must protect Mr. Bracques. The automaton will
  attack if anyone gets too close. Mayor Van Sant yells for
  the automaton to be detained and then rushes out of the
  room to have one of his aides run to the nearest police
  station. The party may enter combat and try to subdue
  Mr. Selden. If they use weapons to damage it, Miss Eliza
  and Mr. Stearns will yell for the automaton not to be
  harmed. The players may ignore these pleas, or attempt
  to disable Mr. Selden with a
  spark wand or mechanical
  programming roll. After they are
  successful, the police will arrive and carry away the body
  and the disabled automaton. The players will then notice
  that many of the party-goers have dispersed, including
  Miss Eliza and Mr. Stearns.
  MR. SELDEN
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Strength d8,
  Spirit d10, Vigor d8
  Pace: 6, Parry: 6, Toughness: 8 (2)
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d10
  Edges: Alertness, Jack-of-All-Trades, Uncanny
  Humanity
  Scene 3 – The Investigation
  Players may seek out and interrogate any of the party
  attendees, including Mr. Selden. The most important
  information will come from Mr. Selden (assuming the
  party has not completely disabled him), Miss Eliza, and
  Mr. Stearns:
  Ÿ Mr. Selden – The automaton remembers very little
  of the incident at the party. He remembers that he
  tried to protect Mr. Bracques, but is vague on the
  details of how he did so. A difficult Notice roll (-4)
  will allow the party to realize that he has been slightly
  damaged through the back of his head. A difficult
  Mechanical Programming roll (-4, as well as any
  penalties for lack of workshop) will allow the party
  to repair the damage. If this is done, he will be able
  to recall that he believed that Mr. Bracques was on
  fire and he tried as hard as he could to put him out.
  Ÿ Eliza Brown – Miss Eliza is quite distraught at the
  incident. She breaks down frequently, having great
  difficulty talking. She implies by some of her
  comments that she and Mortimer were involved
  romantically. However, a difficult Persuasion or
  Intimidation roll (-4) may reveal that she is actually
  hiding something. In truth, Eliza was not interested
  in Mortimer at all, but she has been hiding that she
  was the real programmer of Mr. Selden. When
  confronted, she will deny that she caused Mortimer's
  death to steal the limelight, explaining that she just
  wanted to work behind the scenes.
  Ÿ Johnathan Stearns – The estate of Johnathan Stearns
  is outside of town on a rural road. A Notice roll (no
  modifier) will reveal that the gate is subtly
  decorated in fleur de lis. As the party
  
  74
  Steamscapes: North America
  arrives, servants will attempt to delay
  them at the front door, insisting that
  they be given time for Mr. Stearns to
  make himself presentable. In reality,
  Stearns is starting up an airship parked in
  the nearby woods. A Notice roll (no modifier)
  will let the players hear the engines firing. If they
  rush around to the woods, they will meet Stearns and
  a number of Aviators equal to the party size. The
  airship is of an unknown make. A fight will ensue. If
  it takes too long to defeat all the Aviators, Stearns
  and the remaining pilots will board the airship and
  attempt to release the ballast to escape. The party
  can follow him on, but after defeating him they will
  then have to land the airship themselves.
  JON STEARNS, MASTER SABOTEUR
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Strength d8,
  Spirit d8, Vigor d8
  Pace: 6, Parry: 5, Toughness: 6
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Notice d6, Sabotage
  d10, Stealth d10
  Equipment: Rapier (Str +d4)
  AVIATORS
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Strength d6, Spirit d6,
  Vigor d6
  Pace: 6, Parry: 4, Toughness: 5
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d8, Piloting d8
  Equipment: Dagger (Str +1d4).
  Aftermath:
  It turns out that Stearns was a French spy and
  Saboteur, eager to subvert and destroy Mortimer's work.
  He had observed the construction of Mr. Selden, asking
  many questions about its programming. When the
  opportunity presented itself, he was able to damage the
  automaton's optics and protection protocols enough to
  confuse him. He had been hoping to simply discredit the
  Gearsmith when the automaton ran amok, but the
  murder was an acceptable alternative. Now that he is
  captured, the ACU has reason to pursue more direct
  diplomatic sanctions against France. In the meantime,
  officials cannot assume Stearns and his associates are the
  only group of spies currently operating on the continent.
  Would you be interested in more counter-espionage
  work?
  
  75
  The Battle of Portersville
  Prologue
  The American Consolidated Union has begun to
  move troops towards its western border in preparation
  for an extended campaign to liberate Illinois and
  Wisconsin. However, the collection of Indian tribes now
  known as the Blackhawks have solidified their hold on
  the city of Chicago. Portersville, Indiana is the last
  railroad station still within friendly territory, and so
  Portersville station has been chosen as the staging
  ground for the American Army. [Historical Note:
  Portersville is the original name of the town now known
  as Valparaiso. In the Steamscapes history, the name of
  the town has not changed.]
  Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have sent spies into
  Indiana and have caught wind of the troop movements.
  ACU cavalry have managed to capture a few scouting
  parties and have determined through interrogation that
  the Indians are preparing to attack Portersville station
  before the heavy artillery arrives on an upcoming freight.
  The ACU must defend the railhead or face further losses
  of territory.
  The ACU defense is being led by Lieutenant Colonel
  George Custer, a decorated hero who nevertheless has
  numerous black marks on his record. He is a sometimes
  reckless and unreliable commanding officer, which is
  why he was stationed in rural Indiana. Unfortunately, the
  ACU now must rely on him until higher ranking officers
  can arrive. The ACU forces are approximaely 80%
  infantry and 20% cavalry. The infantry have set up
  defensive positions in and around the station itself.
  The Blackhawks consist of three groups. The
  mounted braves, comprising approximately 60% of the
  forces, are led by Keokuk of the Meskwaki, part of the
  Black Hawk Federation. The scouts are led by Black
  Coyote of the Cheyenne, and comprise 35% of the
  Blackhawk forces. The last 5% is a small Saboteur
  contingent led by Black Coyote's wife, Buffalo Calf Road
  Woman.
  Setup
  This scenario is intended to use the rules for mass
  battles on pages 92-93 of Savage Worlds Deluxe. Players
  may set themselves up on either side of the battle, based
  on character background, roleplaying choices, and
  profession. (A Gunslinger, for instance, might end up on
  either side as a gun-for-hire, but a Gearsmith would only
  fight with the ACU.)
  If the characters
  themselves do not have
  Knowledge (Battle), you may use
  the following leader's skill levels for each side:
  ● Lt. Colonel George Custer (Wild Card): Agility d8,
  Smarts d6, Strength d8, Spirit d6, Vigor d8. Parry 5,
  Toughness 6, Fighting d6, Shooting d8, Knowledge
  (Battle) d8.
  ● Chief Keokuk (Wild Card): Agility d10, Smarts d6,
  Strength d8, Spirit d8, Vigor d6. Parry 6, Toughness
  5, Fighting d8, Throwing d10, Knowledge (Battle)
  d8.
  The Blackhawks have a significant advantage in
  numbers, but the ACU has a semi-hardened position to
  defend. The beginning layout should be as follows:
  ● 10 troop tokens for the Blackhawks (representing
  approximately 100 warriors each)
  ● 6 troop tokens for the ACU (representing
  approximately 100 soldiers each)
  ● The Blackhawk side receives a +4 for troop
  advantage, but a -3 for terrain (attacking fortified
  buildings) for a net total advantage of +1
  ● Neither side has artillery or air support
  ● The ACU side will continue to have a +2 on Morale
  rolls unless it leaves its position for some reason
  The players should then be asked to make their
  contributions as they like, both in describing their
  suggestions to the battle plan (which their commander
  may or may not utilize) and participating directly in the
  battle (as specified in the section "Characters in Mass
  Battles"). Consider allowing skills beyond simply
  Fighting or Shooting. For instance, a Gunslinger might
  use Gunsmith to help maintain the soldiers' weapons.
  Play until one side is victorious.
  Aftermath
  Although you have established your control over
  Portersville Station, this is merely the first skirmish in
  what will undoubtedly be a much larger conflict. The
  growing war between the ACU and the PTF will be a
  significant hot spot for years to come. The ramifications
  of this dispute will certainly reach across the continent
  and around the world.
  
  76
  Steamscapes: North America
  Epilogue
  When Henry Steinway finally
  passed, the automaton sat alone on the
  bench in the piano factory. Once, it could
  have played a funeral dirge to send the old
  man's soul to heaven. Those hands were now long gone.
  In their place, two heavy clamps made for lifting and
  carrying and pouring molten iron for string casings. The
  silence came back again, descending over the automaton
  as subtly as a rainstorm drifting in from Bowery Bay.
  What would happen to it now that the old man was no
  more? Time and again the automaton was scrapped and
  rebuilt, piece by piece by piece by piece. When did it
  end?
  But Steinway's sons believed that tradition was vital
  to keeping their father's legacy alive. They kept the
  automaton on, and whenever a new piano rolled out of
  the factory they brought the automaton before it, and
  the machine hunched over the keys and played note after
  note, testing each tone to perfection just as it had done
  for Henry Steinway. In all their time together, the old
  man never heard a sour note; it was the automaton's job
  to file and needle the voicing hammers prior to the
  presentation, and its mechanical ear had no equal.
  When the Steinways began to offer tours of the
  piano factory, they decided that the beaten old tom that
  tested the pianos was too ugly for the public eye. This
  was it, the automaton thought, the end of its use;
  perhaps it would dwell in the foundry now, or the scrap
  heap at long last. But this was not to be.
  Steinway's sons ordered parts from several tom
  factories and commissioned a stainless steel body to
  house the automaton's clockworks. Over this solid shell,
  the automaton wore the fine black suit of a maestro. It
  was fitted with the articulated fingers of a luxury player
  tom, and a golden mask was cast into the old bearded
  likeness of Henry Steinway and fixed to the automaton's
  copper skull. The mask hinged at the jaw, so that the
  mouth moved when the automaton used its new
  phonographaton, a mechanized approximation of Henry
  Steinway's voice. In this way, the sons immortalized their
  father.
  Tours of the Steinway factory began. As each
  audience reached the end of the tour, a golden Henry
  Steinway appeared before the wondering crowd and
  welcomed them to his factory. The automaton recounted
  Steinway's history, covering all the events that led
  to the foundation of the factory. Finally, it sat
  down before a brand new piano and played. It did not
  play the songs that people expected. It expressed their
  lives in song and showed them who they were, as if the
  Steinway's tones were bright torches illuminating all the
  secrets they hid.
  The tours were enormously successful. People came
  from all corners of the world to hear the "Golden
  Steinway" play, not only in the factory, but in the
  Steinway concert halls as well. The Golden Steinway
  played for ambassadors, princes, and kings, and never
  did it falter or glitch except once, on a routine tour on a
  bright autumn day when the crowd was sparse.
  On this particular day, the Golden Steinway came
  out before the small audience and gave Steinway's usual
  speech with all its irregular charm. The audience warmed
  to the automaton because it was something of a
  showman. But this time, just as it was about to play, the
  Golden Steinway paused and stared out into the crowd.
  It fixed on a young mother and her two children and
  silently stared. The crowd shifted uncomfortably, all
  except for the young mother, who gazed curiously at the
  golden automaton with the face of the old man. Then
  the automaton began to play.
  It did not play the regular, abstract expressions that it
  had become famous for. Instead, it played another song.
  An older, rougher tune with as much silence as sound.
  There was something distinctly familiar about it, and the
  minds of the audience scrambled to find the words. It
  was a song of quiet, candlelit midnights, placid starlit
  lakes, and Parisian streets. When it was over no one
  knew what to think, but they applauded anyway in the
  way that audiences do—for although the music was
  beautiful, for the first time in its esteemed career the
  Golden Steinway's music seemed to have nothing to do
  with any of them.
  Any of them except for the young mother, that is,
  who approached the piano when it was all over, and
  touched the bearded golden visage, and embraced the
  automaton in front of everybody.
  
  77
  ( Index )
  1, rolling. See Rolling one.
  1768
   
  alternative history begins, 3
   
  Anglo-Prussian Alliance, 32
  1770, American history, 31
  1773, Boston Tea Party, 32
  1774, Québec Act, 58
  1776, American Colonial Government, 33
  1782, first salon held by Franklin, 34
  1787, first steamboat, 34
  1789, French Revolution, 35
  1790, Adam Smith dies, 34
  1791
   
  ACG elects John Adams, 34
   
  U of Pennsylvania founded, 34
  1796
   
  Hamilton reelected governor, 35
   
  Kentucky and Tennessee join ACG, 35
  1801, James Madison ACG governor, 35
  1810
   
  expansion of ACG, 36
   
  Parti canadien majority in Québec, 58
  1812, Black Hawk War, 54
  1813, Québec constitution, 58
  1814, A. Jackson wants to remove tribes, 36
  1815
   
  Black Hawk Federation formed, 54
   
  Papineau Prime Minister Québec, 58
  1816, Napoleon recognizes Québec, 58
  1820s, Mexican homestead act, 45
  1821, Mexico breaks from Spain, 59
  1829, slavery abolished in Mexico, 45
  1830, Indian Removal Act, 55
  1831, Trail of Tears, 36, 54-55
  1836, Texas Revolution, 45
  1837, cattle primary export of Texas, 45
  1838
   
  Black Hawk dies, 55
   
  Lamar elected Texas president, 46
  1846, LDSs seek asylum in Louisiana, 57
  1847, Parti rouge forms in Québec, 59-60
  1848, California Gold Rush, 46-47, 49-50
  1849, France, Mexico cede land to Texas, 47
  1850
   
  California joins ACG, 50
   
  Fugitive Slave Act passes, 37
   
  Mexico sells California, 47
   
  Millard Fillmore ACG governor, 36
  1852
   
  Prime Minister Papineau retires, 59
   
  Well, Fargo, and Co. established, 50
  1853
   
  Confederation of Texas created, 48
   
  first automatic factories, 37
  1857, first independent automaton, 37
  1858, mining automatons developed, 51
  1859
   
  Newfoundland joins ACG, 38
   
  treaty ends Red Cloud's War, 56
  1860
   
  military automatons completed, 38
   
  Nova Scotia joins ACG, 38
  1861
   
  Abraham Lincoln ACG governor, 38
   
  ACG civil war starts, 39
  1862, Plains Tribal Federation formed, 56
  1863, battle of Gettysburg, 39
  1864, first transcontinental airship flight, 51
  1865
   
  ACU formed, grants automatons
   
  citizenship, 41-42
   
  San Francisco, photo of, 51
  1866, Rock Mountain Republic formed, 52
  1867, ACU constitution ratified, 42
  1868, Grant elected 1st president of ACU, 42
  1871
   
  first Tuskegee aviators, 43
   
  map of North America, 30
   
  status, ACU, 44
   
  status, Confederacy of Texas, 48
   
  status, PTF, 57
   
  status, Québec, 59
   
  status, Russian and British America, 59
  7 years war. See Seven years war.
  A
  Aberdeen, Earl of, 37-38
  Abolition
   
  American slavery, 41
  Confederacy of Texas, 48
  effect of Britain's on ACG, 36
  effect on Québec, 58
  See also Slavery.
  Academies, military, aviators, 16, 42-43
  ACG
   
  and Québec, 58
   
  buys California, 49-50
   
  establishment, 33
   
  name change to ACP, 35
   
  transcontinental railroad, 47
   
  See also ACP or ACU.
  ACP
   
  California joins in 1850, 47
   
  name change from ACG, 35
   
  See also ACG or ACU.
  ACU
   
  constitution, 41-42
   
  formation, 41
   
  history, 31-44
   
  map, 30
   
  status in 1871, 44
   
  See also ACP or ACG.
  Adams, John, 34
  Ads. See Advertisement.
  Advanced,
   
  clockwork, gearsmith edge, 21-22
   
  condensors, spark wand edge, 23
   
  structural engineering, 21-22
  Advancement, character. See Characters.
  Advances, gearsmith automatons, 20
  Advertisement
   
  clockwork animals, 28
  Dr. Brown's goggles, 60
  electric corset, 19
  gyroscopic parallel synchronometer, 44
  self-opening umbrella, 61
  Aeronautical
   
  Institute. See Tuskegee.
   
  navigation, new skill, 17
  navigation, unskilled, 27
  Agility
   
  gunsmith, 18
  mechanical programming, 17
  minimum, for weapons, 25
  sabotage, 18
  Air travel, attitudes towards, 43
  Airmen. See Aviators.
  Airships
   
  attitudes in Mexico, 59
   
  cargo, 51
  carts and, stats table, rules, 27
  Alamo, Texas Revolution, 45
  Alertness edge, for automatons, 22
  Aleutians, 59
  Alta California, Texas invades, 47.
  See also California.
  Ambidextrous edge, for automatons, 22
  America
   
  Confederate States of. See CSA.
   
  map, 30
  American
   
  Colonial Government. See ACG.
  
  78
  Steamscapes: North America
   
  Continental Parliament. See ACP.
   
  Consolidated Union. See ACU.
   
  independence, post civil war, 41-44
   
  Revolution, alternative history, 3
  Anglo-Prussian Alliance
  completed, 32
   
  pivotal alternate moment, 3
  Animals, clockwork, 28-29
  Anti-technology movement, start, 44
  Apache, female saboteurs, 57
  Apparel & personal equipment, rules, 28-29
  Appomattox, 40
  Arapaho, attitude to federation, 55
  Arcane
   
  background, restricted edge, 16
   
  resistance, restricted edge, 16
  Arizona, CT state, 48
  Armor
   
  applying, steamhand, 24
  automatons, 20
  Armored steam cart, stats table, 27
  Army, American, creation, 35
  Artillery
   
  revolving cannon stats, 29
  steamhand edge, 24
  Artwork. See Illustrations.
  Asia, telegraph to San Francisco, 59
  Asian, settlers on Pacific coast, 49-50.
  Assassination
   
  attempt on Lincoln, 41
   
  Mexican President Guerrero, 45
  Assertion test proposed, automatons, 41-42
  Attack, ranged, electromagnetism, 22-24
  Attacking airships, note on strategy, 27-28
  Attributes, link
  raising for automatons, 20-22
   
  character creation and advancement, 16
  Austin. See Texas.
  Austro-Russian alliance, 3
  Authors, cyberpunk, 1
  Automatic murder, scenario, 72-74
  Automation, factory work, 37
  Automatons
   
  animal forms, 28-29
  attitudes in Mexico, 59
  bonus from spark wand, 23
  character template, 65
  controlling by spark wrangler, 19
  disabling with sabotage, 18
  edges, 22
  effect on Texas, 48
  farmers, unsuitability, 38
  first independent, 37
  for gearsmith characters, 17
  free-thinking, definition, 41-42
  gearsmith illustration, 64
  granted citizenship, 41-42
  illustration, 74
  Lincoln's bodyguard, 41
  military, 39-40
  mining, 51
  Steamscapes fiction, 4-15, 76
  suffrage, ACG, 41-42
  suffrage in Québec, 59
  template for character creation, 19-20
  template illustration, 64
  tribal attitudes, 56-57
  Aviators
   
  character creation, 16-17
  character template, 63
  piloting, restricted skill, 16
  Tuskegee, illustration, 17
  Tuskegee Institute, 43
  Aztecs, 53
  B
  Babbage, Charles, difference engine, 37
  Babe, first independent automaton, 37
  Background edge, purchasing profession, 16
  Banking, Wells Fargo, 51
  Bartitsu cane, stats, 29
  Basic clockwork, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Basic structural engineering, edge, 21-22
  Battle of Portersville
   
  scenario, 75
  note about scenario, 62
  Behemoth engineering
   
  gearsmith edge, 21-22
  steamhand skill, 24
  Bell, Peter Hansborough, 48
  Black Hawk Federation, formation, 53-54
  Black Hills, gold rumors, 55
  Black powder weapons, making, 18
  Blackhawks, 39
  expanding, 42, 44
  origin, 56
  Blacks, aviators, 43
  Blast, spark wand edge, 23
  Bonaparte
   
  Charles L. Napoleon. See Napoleon III.
   
  Napoleon. See Napoleon Bonaparte.
  Booth, John Wilkes, 41
  Boston Tea Party, 32
  Bounty, for Cherokee scalps, 46
  Bourbon restoration, alternative history, 3
  Brackets, text in scenarios, 62
  Brass goggles
   
  website, 3
   
  See also Goggles.
  Brawler edge, for automatons, 22
  Britain, Great. See Great Britain.
  British America
   
  1871 status, 59
   
  map, 30
  Brown, text color. See Burgundy.
  Bruiser edge, for automatons, 22
  Burgundy, text in scenarios, 62
  Burning hydrogen, airships, 27-28
  Bustamante, Anastasio, 45
  C
  Cabinet, 1776 ACG, 33
  Cahokia mounds, 53
  California
   
  Compromise, 37
   
  English plans and gold, 46-47
  gold rush, 49-50
  RMR formation, 42
  RMR state, 52
  sold to Great Britain and joins ACP, 47
  See also Alta California.
  Called shot, sabotage, 18
  Cameron, Simon, 41
  Canada, ceded by France, 58
  Canadian territories, 1700s, 32
  Cane, bartitsu, stats, 29
  Cannon, revolving, stats, 29
  Canton, emigration to California, 50
  Capacitance, spark wand edge, 23
  Carbine, Sharps, pistol stats, 29
  Cargo airships. See Airships.
  Carts
   
  and airships, stats table, 27
   
  steam, 27
  Cat, clockwork, 28-29
  Catholicism
   
  Mexico, 59
   
  practice in Québec, 58
  Cattle, primary export of Texas, 45
  Characters
   
  advancement, link attributes cost, 16
  ( @ )
  
  79
   
  men. See Automatons.
   
  upgrades, automatons, 20
  Clothing and equipment, rules, 28-29
  Coahuila y Tejas, 45
  Coloma, California, gold rush, 49
  Colonial
   
  settlement of Texas, 45
   
  Government, American. See ACG.
  Colorado
   
  River, new border for SP, 47
   
  RMR state, 52
  Colt
   
  1860 army pistol, stats, 29
   
  revolving rifle, 26, 29
  Columbia, RMR state, 52
  Combat repairs, gearsmith edge, 20-21
  Common knowledge roll, automatons, 20
  Common use weapons, 25, 29
  Companies
   
  East India, 32
  F&FSC and SP mining automatons, 51
  F&FSC and WF steam wagon, 50-51
  Fitch & Fulton Steam, 37
  Southern Pacific, 47, 50
  Wells, Fargo, and Co., 50-51
  Western Union, 59
  Company. See Companies.
  Complex joints, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Condensers. See Condensors.
  Condensors
   
  advanced, spark wand edge, 23
   
  exploding in spark wands, 22-23
   
  use by spark wranglers, 19
  Conductivity, spark wand edge, 23
  Confederate States of America, See CSA.
  Confederation of Texas, 30, 47-48.
   
  See also Texas.
  Congress, Continental.
   
  See Continental Congress.
  Consolidated Union, American. See ACU.
  Constitution
   
  2nd Continental Congress, 41-42
  2nd, ratification, ACU, 42-44
  colonial independence, 33
  Québec, 58
  RMR, 52
  Construct, automaton trait, 20
  Constructing guns, gunsmith skill, 18
  Continental
   
  Congress, first, 33
  Congress, second, 41-42
  Parliament, American. See ACP.
  Coolie, anti-, societies form, 50
  Corset, electric, rules, 28-29
  Cost
   
  character advancement, 16
   
  equipment and weapons, 29
   
  spark wand powers, 23-24
   
  transcontinental transportation, 51
  Courier airships. See Airships.
  Couriers, express, Wells Fargo, 50-51
  Crazy Horse, 56
  Creating characters, 16-24
  Crossed gun and tomahawk, meaning, 62
  CSA
   
  army surrenders, 41
   
  formation, 38
  CT. See Texas.
  Culturally naïve, automaton trait, 20
  Custom trait, gunslinger weapons, 25
  Customized, gunslinger weapons, 25
  Cyberpunk
   
  authors, 1
  definition, 1
  D
  Damage
   
  massive recoil, 25
   
  misfire penalty, 25
   
  spark wand attacks, 23-24
   
  weapons, 29
  Decision engines, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Democratic-Republicans, emergence, 35
  Depot, Houston, illustration, 47
  Designing
   
  devices, steamhand, 24
   
  new devices, steamsmith skill, 19
  deviantART, website, 3
  Devices
   
  design new, steamsmith skill, 19
   
  design, steamhand, 24
   
  See also Mechanical.
  Dick, Philip K., 1
  Die, wild, for gearsmith automatons, 17
  Difference engine, development, 37
  Dirigibles
   
  given PTF by France, 57
   
  Québec, 59
   
  See also Zeppelin.
  Disabling machines, sabotage, 18
  Discharge, static, spark wand power, 23
   
  advice, 62
   
  automaton template, 65
  aviator template, 63
   
  creation, 16-24
  gearsmith template, 64
  gunslinger template, 66
  saboteur template, 67
  spark wrangler template, 68
  steamhand template, 69
  Charisma, automatons, 20, 22
  Chatham. See Earl of Chatham.
  Cherokee
   
  adopt European customs, 53
   
  and Black Hawk, 55
   
  raids on Texas, 48. See also PTF.
   
  relations with Mexico and Texas, 46
  Cheyenne, attitude to federation, 55
  Chicago, captured by tribes, 57
  Chickasaw
   
  adopt European customs, 53
   
  Black Hawk Federation, 55
  Chief
   
  Black Hawk, 54
  Old, Smoke, 55
  Red Cloud, 55-56
  Sitting Bull, 56
  Tecumseh, 53
  See also Governor, President or
  Prime Minister.
  Chihuahua, North, CT state, 48
  China, Emperor Qixiang, 52
  Chinese, settlers on Pacific coast, 49-50
  Choctaw
   
  adopt European customs, 53
   
  Black Hawk Federation, 55
  Chronometer, device, 28-29, 44
  Citizens, white, in PTF, 57
  Citizenship
   
  granted automatons, ACG, 41-42
   
  Texas view for automatons, 48
   
  universal, Québec, 59
  Civil War
   
  ACG, 38-40
   
  and PTF, 57
   
  technology effect on RMR, 51
  Climb rate, airships, 27
  Clockwork
   
  advanced, gearsmith edge, 21-22
   
  animals, 28-29
   
  basic, gearsmith edge, 21-22
   
  integration, steamhand edge, 24
  ( # )
  
  80
  Steamscapes: North America
  Engines
   
  decision, gearsmith edge, 21-22
   
  multiple expansion, edge, 24
  England. See Great Britain.
  English Civil War. See Civil War.
  Enlightenment, effect on colonies, 32
  Epilogue, Songs Without Words, 76
  Equal rights
   
  Mexico, 59
   
  RMR constitution, 52
  Equipment rules, 25, 28-29
  Erickson, Leif, 53
  Ethnicity, RMR, 49-50
  Europe, 1768 alternative history, 3
  European customs, tribes adopting, 53
  Europeans
   
  in PTF, 57
   
  Mexican attitude towards, 59
  Examples, steampunk genre, 1
  Exoskeleton, hardened, edge, 21-22
  Expansion
   
  effect on tribal nations, 36
   
  engines, multiple, edge, 24
   
  policy of ACG, 35
   
  to support transcontinental railroad, 47
  Experience, 16, 17
  Exports, cattle, Texas, 45
  Express couriers, Wells Fargo, 50-51
  Extended range, spark wand edge, 23
  F
  F&FSC
   
  develops mining automatons, 51
  develops steam wagon for WF, 50-51
  Fitch & Fulton Steam Company, 37
  Factories, automated, 37
  Faraday, Michael, 38
  Fargo, William G. 50-51.
   
  See also Wells, Fargo, and Co.
  Farias, Valentin Gomez, 49-50
  Federalist, name change from Whig, 35
  Federalists, split into new party, 35
  Federation
   
  Black Hawk, formation, 53-54
   
  See also Plains Tribal Federation or
  Confederation of Texas.
  Females. See Women.
  Fiction, Steamscapes, 4-15, 76
  Fifth Coalition, war of the, 54
  Fillmore, Millard, 36, 50
  Firearms. See Weapons.
  First
   
  Seminole War, 36
   
  strike edge, for automatons, 22
  Fitch, John, 34. See also F&FSC.
  Flamethrower, relation to steamthrower, 27
  Fleet-footed edge, for automatons, 22
  Flexibility, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Flight
   
  paths, 1871, 43
   
  training, aviators, 16
  Florence Mill, LDS, 57
  Florida, status in 1770, 31
  Fork, spark wand edge, 23
  Fort Jackson, Treaty of, 53
  Fort Sumter, start of ACG civil war, 39
  France
   
  alternative history, 3
   
  and Québec, 58, 59
   
  cedes territory to Texas, 47
   
  envoy Red Cloud, 56
   
  supports CSA, 38
   
  territories held in 1770, 31
  Franklin, Benjamin, 32-33, 34
  Free-thinking automatons, definition, 41-42
  French
   
  Band, Black Hawk, 54
   
  civil law, Québec, 58
   
  traders, in PTF, 57
   
  effect on Mexico, 45
   
  See also France.
  Fugitive Slave
   
  Act, 1850, 37
   
  Law, California, 50
  Fulton, Robert, 34. See also F&FSC.
  Fumble. See Rolling one.
  G
  Gadgeteer, restricted edge, 16
  Gamemasters. See GM.
  Gatling, hand gun, 26, 29
  Gearsmith
   
  character creation, 17
  character template, 64
  edge tree, 20-22
  clockwork animals, 28-29
  German, gold rush settlers, 50
  Gettysburg, 39-41
  Gibson, William, 1
  Disease
   
  course on tribal history, 53
   
  role in LDS history, 57
  Dodge edge, for automatons, 22
  Dog, clockwork, 28-29
  Double-action revolver. See Starr revolver.
  Drawings. See Illustrations.
  Driving, restricted skill, 16
  Duckfoot volley pistol, 26, 29
  E
  Earl of Chatham
   
  Boston Tea Party response, 32
   
  Pitt the Elder, 3
  Earl of Guilford, Frederick North, 3
  East India Co., and Boston Tea Party, 32
  East Texas, CT state, 48
  Eban Starr. See Starr revolver.
  Economic expansion, 1770s ACG, 33-34
  Edge tree
  for professions, 20-24
  overview, 16
   
  spark wrangler, 23
  steamhand, 24
  Edges
   
  automatons and gearsmiths, 20-22
   
  McGyver, 17, 19, 20
  restricted, 16
  See also Edge tree.
  Electric
   
  corset, advertisement, 19
   
  corset, rules, 28-29
   
  lamp, goggle attachment, 28-29
  Electrical powers, and spark wand edges, 23
  Electricity
   
  Michael Faraday, 38
   
  used by spark wrangler, 19
  Electromagnetic
   
  induction, spark wand, 23
   
  induction, used by spark wrangler, 19
   
  corset, 28-29
  Electromagnetism
   
  new skill, 19
   
  ranged attack, 22-24
  Emperor Qixiang, 52
  Engineering,
   
  behemoth, 21-22
   
  masterwork, gearsmith edge, 21-22
   
  steam devices, 24
   
  structural, advanced or basic, 21-22
  ( @ )
  
  81
  Hancock, John, 33-34
  Hand Gatling gun, 26, 29
  Hardened exoskeleton, edge, 21-22
  Healing, automatons, 20
  Henry repeater pistol, stats, 29
  High steampunk, defined, 60
  History
   
  alternative premise, 3
   
  Steamscapes world, 31-59
  HMS Resolute, 39
  Hooker, Joseph, 39
  Hopi, female saboteurs, 57
  Houston
   
  rise of the port, 46
   
  Sam, 45-46
   
  train depot illustration, 47
   
  See also Texas.
  Humanity, uncanny, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Hunkpapa Lakota, 56. See also Lakota.
  Hutchinson, Thomas, 32
  Hydrogen, volatility for airships, 27-28
  I
  Igniting hydrogen, airships, 27-28
  Illinois, Indiana border, 57
  Illuminations, attached to goggles, 28-29
  Illustrations
   
  1865 San Francisco, 51
  ACG soldier turned gunslinger, 18
  Ada Lovelace, 38
  Andrew Jackson, 36
  automaton template, 65
  automaton, Vitruvian 74
  aviator template, 63
  Benjamin Franklin, 32
  Chief Black Hawk, 54
  clockwork pigeon, 28
  Dr. Brown's goggles, 60
  electric corset ad, 19
  first train Houston–New Orleans, 47
  gearsmith edge tree, 21
  gearsmith template, 64
  gunslinger template, 66
  gyroscopic parallel synchronometer, 44
  James Marshall discovers gold, 49
  map of North America, 30
  Philadelphia circa 1790, 34
  President Ulysses Simpson Grant, 42
  Red Cloud, 56
  saboteur template, 67
  Sam Houston, 46
  self-opening umbrella, 61
  spark wrangler edge tree, 23
  spark wrangler template, 68
  steamhand edge tree, 24
  steamhand template, 69
  Tuskegee aviator, 17, 43
  Wells Fargo zeppelin, 2
  Improving automatons, edges, 20-22
  Incas, 53
  Independence
   
  American, post civil war, 41-44
  colonies, 33, 35
  PTF, 56
  Québec, 58
  Texas movement, 45
  Indian Removal Act, 1830, 55
  Indiana, Illinois border, 57
  Indians, equality in Mexico, 59. See also
  PTF, Tribal nations or Native peoples.
  Induction, electromagnetic,
   
  spark wand, 23
   
  used by spark wrangler, 19
  Injury, healing automatons, 20
  Institute, Tuskegee. See Tuskegee.
  Integration, clockwork, steamhand edge, 24
  Intellect, mechanical, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Inuit, recruitment by PTF, 59
  Invasion, by Texas, 47
  Irish, gold rush settlers, 50
  Ironclads, steamhand edge, 24
  Iroquois nation, status in 1770, 31
  J
  Jack of all trades edge, automatons, 20, 22
  Jackson, Andrew, 36, 53, 55
  Jefferson, Thomas, creates new party, 35
  Jeter, K. W., 1
  Jobs. See Professions.
  Joints, complex, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  K
  Kentucky, joins ACG by 1796, 35
  Key, to scenarios, 62
  Kickapoo, 54
  Knife, Sharp, Andrew Jackson, 55
  Knowledge roll, common, automatons, 20
  GMs
   
  advice for included scenarios, 62
  running Steamscapes, 60-62
  Goggles
   
  advertisement, 60
   
  rules, 28-29
  Gold
   
  discovered in California, 46-47
  rumored in Black Hills, 55
   
  Rush, 49-50
  Golden Hour, healing automatons, 20
  Goliad, Texas Revolution, 45
  Government, American Colonial. See ACG.
  Governor
   
  Adams, 35
  Fillmore, 50
  Hamilton, 35
   
  Hancock, 33-34
  Hutchinson, 32
   
  Jackson, 36, 55
   
  Lincoln, 38-41
  Madison, 35
  Polk, 46-47, 49-50
  See also Chief, President, or Prime Minister.
  Graf von Zeppelin, 51
  Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 40-44
  Great Britain
   
  American transcontinental railroad, 47
   
  history with Americas, 31-59
   
  passed Québec Act, 58
   
  territories held in 1770, 31
  Great Chief. See Chief.
  Grenville, George, 32
  Guerrero, Vincente, 45
  Guilford. See Earl of Guilford.
  Gulfport, SP railroad, 47
  Gum Shan, gold mountain, 50
  Gun, crossed with tomahawk, symbol, 62.
   
  See also Weapons.
  Gunslinger
   
  character template, 66
   
  profession, 17-18
   
  weapons, custom trait, 25
  Gunsmith, new skill, 18
  Gyroscopic parallel synchrometer
   
  rules, 28-29
   
  advertisement, 44
  H
  Hamilton, Alexander, 35
  ( # )
  
  82
  Steamscapes: North America
  Marksman edge
   
  for automatons, 22
   
  restricted, 16
  Marshall, James, discovers gold, 49
  Martial artist edge, for automatons, 22
  Martini-Henry mark I pistol, stats, 29
  Mass battle, 75
  Massachusetts, Boston Tea Party, 32
  Massive recoil, explanation, 25
  Masterwork engineering, edge, 21-22
  Mayans, 53
  McGyver edge, relationship to
   
  mechanical programming, 17
  steamsmith skill, 19
  well-equipped, 20
  Meade, George, 39-40
  Meade's Mechanicals, 40
  Mechanical
   
  Age, 37-38
   
  animals, table, umbrella, 28-29
   
  devices, disabling with sabotage, 18
   
  intellect, gearsmith edge, 21-22
   
  programming, new skill, 17
  Menabrea, Luigi, difference engine, 37
  Meskwaki, 54
  Metallic men. See Automatons.
  Metals, precious, RMR and ACU, 44
  Mexico
   
  and Texas, 45
  history, 59
  Texas invades Alta California, 47
  threat to Texas, 48
  Military academies
   
  training aviators, 16
   
  Tuskegee, 42-43
  MinAg, minimum agility explained, 25
  Miniaturization, gives rise to automatons, 38
  Miniaturized processing, edge, 21-22
  Minimum agility, explanation, 25
  Mining, automatons for, 51
  Misfire penalty, explanation, 25
  Mississippi
   
  territories, 1796, 35
   
  British claims, 55
  Mobile decision engine, first automaton, 37
  Modifiers
   
  airships, 27
  automaton charisma, 20, 22
   
  explanation of misfire, 25
  for mechanical engineering, 17
  for shooting and damage, 18
  gearsmith lacks equipment, 20
  reloading and firing, 26
  sabotage skill, 18
  spark wand rolls, 22-24
  using customized weapon, 25
  using weapon without agility, 25
  Modifying guns, gunsmith skill, 18
  Mormons. See LDS.
  Mound settlements, tribes, 53
  Moving vehicle, modifier, 17
  MR, massive recoil explained, 25
  Multiple expansion engines, edge, 24
  Multiple professions, purchasing, 16
  Muscogee
   
  adopt European customs, 53
   
  Black Hawk Federation, 55
  Musculature, reinforced, edge, 21-22
  N
  Napoleon III
   
  cedes territory to Texas, 47
   
  threat to Europe, 37
  Napoleon
   
  alternative history, 3
   
  recognizes Québec as nation, 58
   
  treaty of San Ildefonso, 31
   
  war in Europe, 54
  Nationhood. See Independence.
  Native peoples
   
  Hopi, female saboteurs, 57
   
  Hunkpapa Lakota, 56
   
  Inuit, recruitment by PTF, 59
   
  Iroquois nation, status in 1770, 31
   
  Kickapoo, 54
   
  Lakota, 55
   
  Mayans, 53
   
  Meskwaki, 54
   
  Oglala, Red Cloud, 56
   
  Ojibwe, relocation, 55
   
  Pueblo, 48
   
  Sioux, 39, 55
   
  Apache, female saboteurs, 57
   
  Arapaho, attitude to federation, 55
   
  Aztecs, 53
   
  Blackhawks, 39, 42, 44, 56
   
  Cherokee, 46, 48, 53, 55
   
  Cheyenne, attitude to federation, 55
   
  Chickasaw, 53, 55
   
  Choctaw, 53, 55
   
  Incas, 53
  L
  Lakota, 55
  Lamar, Mirabeau, 46, 55
  Lamp, goggle attachment, 28-29
  Latitude, calculating, 28-29
  Latter Day Saints. See LDS.
  LDS, in PTF land, 57
  Leadership edge, for automatons, 22
  Leather goggles. See Goggles.
  Lee, Robert. E., 39-40
  LeMat revolver, 26, 29
  Lenses
   
  suggested as optical system, 38
   
  used in goggles, 28-29
  Leonardo's legacy, gearsmith edge, 20-21
  Less than human, automaton trait, 20
  Level headed edge, for automatons, 22
  Liberal Party, coalition with Parti rouge, 59
  Light, goggle attachment, 28-29
  Lincoln, Abraham, 38-41
  Linguist edge, for automatons, 22
  Link attributes. See Attributes, link.
  Liverpool, Lord, 58
  Location, device for determining, 28-29
  Locomotion, steamhand edge, 24
  Longitude, calculating, 28-29
  Lopez, Antonio, de Santa Anna, 45
  Lord Rockingham, 32
  Louisiana
   
  Black Hawk Federation, 54
  cedes territory to Texas, 47
  Cherokees pushed into, 46
  effect on Mexico, 45
  supports CSA, 38
  tribal independence movement, 36
  Lovelace, Ada, 37-38
  Low steampunk, defined, 61
  M
  Machines, disabling with sabotage, 18
  Madison, James, creates new party, 35
  Magnetism. See Electromagnetic induction.
  Magnification lenses, goggles, 28-29
  Mail, via airship, 51
  Maintaining guns, gunsmith skill, 18
  Man of iron, automaton trait, 20
  Many Horses, Sitting Bull's daughter, 57
  Map, North America, 30
  ( @ )
  
  83
  O
  Oglala, Red Cloud, 56
  Oil
   
  automatons in industry of, 48
  effect on Texas, 46
  Texas and ACU, 44
  Ojibwe, relocation, 55
  Omaha, and the LDS, 57
  One, rolling. See Rolling one.
  Optical system, suggested by Faraday, 38
  Ore, transporting during gold rush, 50-51.
   
  See also Gold.
  Oregon
   
  RMR formation, 42
  RMR state, 52
  Orleans, New. See New Orleans.
  P
  Pacific coast. See RMR.
  Pacific, Southern, company. See SP.
  Paine, Thomas, 32
  Papineau, Louis-Joseph, 58
  Parallel synchrometer, gyroscopic, 28-29
  Parasols. See Umbrellas.
  Paris. See France.
  Parliament, American Continental. See ACP.
  Parti
   
  canadien and bureaucrate, 58
   
  canadien, forms Parti rouge, 58-59
   
  rouge, formation, 58-59
  Pease, Elisha M. 48
  Penalties. See Modifiers.
  Pennsylvania, University of, founding, 34
  People, The, 53
  Personal automaton, gearsmiths, 17
  Personhood of automatons. See Citizenship.
  Philadelphia, 34
  Philosophical salons. See Salons.
  Photo. See Illustrations.
  Pigeon, clockwork, 28-29
  Pilot. See Aviator.
  Piloting
   
  relation to aeronautical navigation, 17
   
  restricted skill, 16
   
  unskilled, 27
  Pistol, crossed with tomahawk symbol, 62.
   
  See also Weapons.
  Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, 3, 32
  Plains Tribal Federation. See PTF.
  Points, power, spark wand, 23-24
  Policy, ACG, effect on early growth, 35-36
  Political parties, Steamscapes history, 31-59
  Polk, James K., 46-47, 49-50
  Portland, Chinese merchants dominate, 50
  Power
   
  edges, restricted, 16
   
  points, spark wand, 23-24
   
  storing electrical, 38
  Pre-Columbian development, PTF, 53
  Prerequisites, professional edges, 20-24
  President
   
  Bell, 48
  Bustamante, 45
  Farias, 49-50
  Franklin, of university, 34
  Grant, 42
   
  Guerrero, 45
  Houston, 46-48
   
  Lamar, 46, 55
   
  Napoleon III, 37, 47
  Pease, 48
   
  Santa Anna, 45
  Stanford, 52
  Vincente, 45
  Young, of LDS, 57
  See also Chief, Governor or Prime Minister.
  Pre-written, scenarios. See Scenarios.
  Prime Minister
   
  for Queen Victoria, 37-38
  Grenville, 32
  Lord Liverpool, 58
  Lord North, 3
  Papineau, 58
  Watson-Wentworth, 32
  William Pitt, 3, 32
  See also Chief, Governor, or President.
  Processing, miniaturized, edge, 21-22
  Professional edges, for automatons, 22
  Professions, new, 16-20
  Programming
   
  mechanical, 17
   
  social, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Prussian Alliance, Anglo-.
   
  See Anglo-Prussian Alliance.
  PTF
   
  and the LDS, 57
   
  formation, 39
  map, 30
  Plains Tribal Federation, history, 53-57
  recruiting Inuit, 59
   
  Muscogee, 53, 55
   
  Navajo, raids on Texas, 48
   
  Sauk, ceding land, 54
   
  Seminole, 36, 53, 55
   
  Shawnee, Tecumseh, 53
   
  Tlingits, 59
   
  See also PTF or Tribal nations.
  Native tribes, ACG early treatment, 35-36.
   
  See also PTF or Tribal nations
   
  or Native peoples.
  Navajo, raids on Texas, 48
  Navigation, aeronautical, 17
  Navy, American, creation, 35
  New equipment rules, 25
  New Mexico, CT state, 48
  New Orleans, 47, 48. See also Louisiana.
  New professions
  aviator, 16-17
  gearsmith, 17
  gunslinger, 17-18
  multiple, 16
  saboteur, 18
  spark wrangler, 19
  steamhand, 19
  New skills
   
  aeronautical navigation, 17
  electromagnetism, 19
  gunsmith, 18
  mechanical programming, 17
  sabotage, 18
  steamsmith, 19
  New template, automatons, 19-20
  Newfoundland
   
  Continental Congress, 33
   
  joins ACG, 38
  Non-player characters. See NPC.
  Normal, Tuskegee, and Aeronautical
   
  Institute. See Tuskegee.
  North
   
  America, alternate to actual history, 3
   
  map, 30
   
  Chihuahua, CT state, 48
   
  Frederick, alternative history, 3
   
  post civil war, 40-44
  Northwest territories, 1796, 35
  Nova Scotia
   
  Continental Congress, 33
   
  joins ACG, 38
  NPC, use templates for, 60, 62
  See also Templates.
  ( # )
  
  84
  Steamscapes: North America
  Restricted edges and skills, 16
  Revolution,
   
  American, alternative history, 3
   
  French, 35
   
  Industrial, 37-38, 61
   
  mechanical, 17, 34
  scientific, effect on colonies, 32
  Texas, 35, 59
  Revolver
   
  LeMat, 26, 29
  Starr, 26, 29
  tomahawk crossed, symbol, 62
  Revolving
   
  cannon, stats, 29
   
  rifle, Colt, 26, 29
  Reward, for Cherokee scalps, 46
  Rifle, Colt revolving, 26, 29
  Rights, equal, RMR constitution, 52
  Rivalry, scenario, 70-71
  RMR
   
  ethnic mix, 49
  formation, 42, 52
  history, 49-52
  map, 30
  Rocket, steam, 26, 29
  Rockingham, Lord, 32
  Rocky Mountain Republic. See RMR.
  Rolling one
   
  shooting die, 25
   
  spark wand attack, 22
  Rules, Savage Worlds. See Savage Worlds.
  Running, Steamscapes, 60-62
  Russian
   
  America, 1871 status, 59
  America, map, 30
   
  whalers on Pacific coast, 49
  S
  Sabotage, new skill, 18
  Saboteurs
   
  character template, 67
  profession, 18
  Plains, historical beginnings, 39-40, 57
  Salons, establishment by Franklin, 34
  San Francisco
   
  Chinese merchants dominate, 50
  growth, 51-52
  telegraph to Asia, 59
  Wells Fargo bank, 51
  See also RMR.
  San Jacinto
   
  battle, anniversary, 48
   
  battle, Texas Revolution, 45
  Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez de, 45
  Santa Fe, Texas army captures, 46
  Sauk, ceding land, 54
  Savage Worlds
   
  building characters with, 16, 62
   
  core rules, 1
   
  costs, 29
   
  electrical powers, replacing, 23
   
  flamethrower, rate of descent, 27
   
  mass battles, 75
   
  shooting roll, 26
   
  weapons from, 25
  Scenarios
   
  included, 70-75
   
  text to read aloud, 62
   
  using included, 62
  Scientific
   
  advance, early salons, 34
   
  revolution, effect on colonies, 32
  Scurvy, role in LDS history, 57
  Secession and civil war, ACG, 38-40
  Secretary of War, first appointment, 35
  Self-opening umbrella, rules, 28-29
  Self-propelled serving table, 28-29
  Self-protection, Governor Adams, 35
  Seminole
   
  adopt European customs, 53
   
  and Jackson, 55
   
  War, First, 36
  Serving table, self-propelled, 28-29
  Seven Years War, 31, 58
  Sextant, device, 28-29, 44
  Shaken
   
  automatons, 20, 23
   
  humans, 23, 24
   
  machines, sabotage rules, 18
   
  massive recoil, 25
  Sharp Knife, Andrew Jackson, 55
  Sharps carbine pistol, stats, 29
  Shawnee, Tecumseh, 53
  Sheridan, Major General, 40
  Shock, spark wand edge, 23
  Shooting, 26. See also Weapons.
  Shop. See also Workshop.
  Shot, called, sabotage, 18
  Shreveport, 47. See also Louisiana.
  Sidekick edge, for gearsmith automatons, 17
   
  threat to Texas, 48
   
  tribes. See Native peoples.
  white citizens, 57
  Pueblo, 48
  Punk, as related to Steamscapes, 2
  Purchasing skills or edges, automatons, 20
  Q
  Qixiang, Emperor of China, 52
  Québec
   
  history, 58-59
   
  map, 30
  Queen Victoria
   
  role in mechanical age, 37-38
  transcontinental railroad, 47
  R
  Racial template, automatons, 19-20
  Railroads
   
  illustration, Houston-New Orleans, 47
   
  transcontinental, 47
   
  travel, attitudes towards, 43
  Range
   
  extended, spark wand edge, 23
   
  spark wand powers, 23-24
  Ranged attack, electromagnetism, 22-24
  Rate of fire, reduction for MinAg, 25
  Ratification, 2nd constitution (ACU), 42-44
  Read aloud, scenario text, 62
  Recharging, spark wand condensor, 23
  Recoil, massive, explanation, 25
  Reconstruction
   
  backlash, anti-tech movement, 44
   
  post civil war, 42
  Red Cloud, war, 55-56
  Red, text. See Burgundy.
  Refilling, steam tank, 25
  Reinforced musculature, edge, 21-22
  Reloading, spark wand condensor, 23
  Remington rifles, stats, 29
  Repairing
   
  automatons, 20
   
  during combat, 20
   
  guns, gunsmith skill, 18
   
  machines, steamsmith skill, 19
  Republic of Texas, formation, 45
  Republic, Rocky Mountain. See RMR.
  Republicans, Democratic-, emergence, 35
  Resolute, HMS, 39
  ( @ )
  
  85
  Speeches
   
  Gettysburg Address, 40
  U.S. Grant, postwar, 41
  Stanford, Leland, 52
  Starr revolver, 26, 29
  States, Confederate, of America. See CSA.
  Static discharge, spark wand power, 23
  Steady Hands edge, for automatons, 22
  Steam
   
  carts, rules, 27
   
  rocket, 26, 29
   
  tank, rules, 25
   
  wagon, Wells Fargo develops, 50-51
  Steamboat, debut, 34
  Steamhands
   
  character template, 69
  edge tree, 24
  profession, 19
  restricted skill, 16
  Steam-powered machines. See Machines.
  Steam-powered vehicles. See Vehicles.
  Steam-powered weapons. See Weapons.
  Steampunk
   
  aesthetic, 3
  authors, genre examples, 1
  definition, 1-2, 60-61
  websites about, 3
  Steamscapes
   
  alternative historical premise, 3
   
  fiction, 4-15, 76
   
  history, 31-59
  map, 30
  new skills and professions, 16-20
  running, 60-62
  templates, 63-69
  Steamsmith, new skill, 19
  Steamthrower, 26-27, 29
  Stephenson, Neal, 1
  Strategy, note for attacking airships, 27-28
  Strength, steamsmith, 19
  Structural engineering edges, 21-22
  Stun, spark wand power, 24
  Suffrage
   
  granted blacks, 42
  in Québec, 59
  proposed, women & automatons, 41-42
  Sumter, Fort, start of ACG civil war, 39
  Supercharge, spark wand edge, 23
  Surrender, Confederate army, 40-41
  Sutter's Mill, gold strike, 49
  Sweep edge, for automatons, 22
  Symbols, defined for scenarios, 62
  Synchrometer, gyroscopic parallel, 28-29
  T
  Table, self-propelled, 28-29
  Taxation, colonial proposal, 33
  Tears, Trail of, 36, 54-55
  Technology
   
  anti-, movement, 44
   
  Blackhawks, 57
   
  expansion, 1770s ACG, 33-34
   
  sabotaging, 18
  Tecumseh, Shawnee chief, 53
  Telegraph, San Francisco-Asia, 59
  Telescopic lenses, goggles, 28-29
  Templates
   
  automaton characters, 65
  aviator characters, 63
  gearsmith characters, 64
  gunslinger characters, 66
  saboteur characters, 67
  spark wrangler characters, 68
  steamhand characters, 69
  Tennessee, joins ACG by 1796, 35
  Territoire libre du Québec
   
  history, 58-59
   
  map, 30
  Test, assertion, proposed, automatons, 41-42
  Texas
   
  Confederation of, 47-48
  formation of republic, 45
  invades New Orleans, California, 47
  origin of confederation, 45
  tariffs on rail shipments, 51
  transcontinental railroad, 47
  Tintype, soldier turned gunslinger, 18
  Tlingits, 59
  Tomahawk
   
  crossed with gun, symbol, 62
   
  stats, 29
  Tools, modifiers, gearsmith, 17
  Trademark weapon, restricted edge, 16
  Trail of Tears, 36, 54-55
  Trains. See Railroads.
  Traits, automatons, 20
  Transcontinental railroad, 47
  Travel, air, rail, attitudes towards, 43
  Treaties
   
  of Velasco, Texas Revolution, 45
   
  of removal, 55
  Sioux
   
  attitude to federation, 55
   
  leading federation, 39
   
  See also Lakota.
  Sitting Bull, 39, 56, 57
  Size, clockwork devices, 20, 22
  Skills
   
  new for Steamscapes. See New Skills.
   
  purchasing for automatons, 20
   
  restricted, 16
  Slavery
   
  abolition in America, 41
   
  abolition, Confederacy of Texas, 48
  abolition, effect on Québec, 58
   
  civil war, 38
   
  effect of ACG policy on growth, 36-37
   
  effect of Britain's abolition on ACG, 36
   
  Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, 37
   
  Fugitive Slave Law, California, 50
   
  issue at Continental Congress, 33
  Smallpox, and tribal history, 53
  Smarts
   
  aeronautical navigation, 17
  electromagnetism, 19
  gunsmith, 18
  mechanical programming, 17
  steamsmith, 19
  Smith, Adam, 33
  Smoked lenses, goggles, 28-29
  Social programming, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Soldier, turned gunslinger, illustration, 18
  Songs Without Words, fiction, 4-15, 76
  South, post civil war, 40-44
  Southern Pacific Railroad Co. See SP.
  SP
   
  competition with Wells Fargo, 51
  gold rush speculators working on, 50
   
  Mexican raids on, 59
  railroad company formed, 47
  tariffs on Texas shipments, 51
  Spain
   
  1770, territories held, 31
   
  1821, Mexico breaks from, 59
  Spanish, settlers on Pacific coast, 49
  Spark wand, powers, 22-24
  Spark wranglers
   
  character template, 68
  edge tree, 22-24
  profession, 19
  Specialty weapons, 26-27, 29
  ( # )
  
  86
  Steamscapes: North America
  W
  Wand, spark, powers, 22-24
   
  See also Spark wrangler.
  War
   
  Black Hawk, 54
   
  civil, ACG, 38-40
   
  First Seminole, 36
   
  of the Fifth Coalition, 54
   
  Red Cloud, 55-56
   
  Secretary of, first appointment, 35
   
  Seven Years, 31, 58
  Watson-Wentworth, Charles, 32
  Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith, 33
  Weapons
   
  designing, steamhand, 24
  modifiers for using, 25
  skill to make guns, 18
   
  trademark, restricted edge, 16
  types, 25-27
  Websites, about steampunk, 3
  Weird edges, usage, 16
  Well-equipped, gearsmith edge, 20-21
  Wells, Fargo, and Co., 50-51
  Wells, Henry, 50-51
  Western Union, telegraph, 59
  Westward expansion. See Expansion.
  WF&Co, Wells, Fargo, and Co., 50-51
  Whale oil, supplanted by petroleum, 46
  Whigs
   
  influence of, 32-33
   
  name change to Federalist, 35
  White citizens, in PTF, 57
  Wild cards, symbol in scenarios, 62
  Wild die, for gearsmith automatons, 17
  Women, as saboteurs, 39-40, 57
  Workshop modifiers, gearsmith, 17
  Workshops, steamhands, 19
  Wrangler, spark. See Spark Wrangler.
  Y
  Young, Brigham, 57
  Yukon
   
  RMR state, 52
   
  territory, RMR formation, 42
  Z
  Zeppelin
   
  and Wells Fargo, 51
  illustration, 2
  Tuskegee illustration, 43
  Britain tests in 1860s, 38
  See also Dirigibles.
  Treaty
   
  ends Red Cloud's War, 56
   
  of Fort Jackson, 53
   
  of Paris, cedes Canada, 58
   
  of San Ildefonso, 1800, 31
   
  See also Treaties.
  Trees, edge. See Edge tree.
  Tribal Federation, Plains.  See PTF.
  Tribal nations
   
  effect of early ACG policy on, 35-36
   
  independence movement, 36
   
  Plains Tribal Federation, 39-40
   
  status in 1770, 31
  Tribes. See PTF or Native peoples.
  Tuskegee
   
  aviator, illustration, 17, 43
   
  Institute, founding, 42-43
  U
  U.S., alternative historical premise, 3
  Umbrella, self-opening
   
  advertisement, 61
   
  stats, 28-29
  Uncanny humanity, gearsmith edge, 21-22
  Underwood, John Curtiss, 41-42, 59
  Unification, tribes, Sitting Bull, 56
  Union
   
  after civil war, 40-42
   
  American Consolidated. See ACU.
  United States, alternate historical premise, 3
  University of Pennsylvania, founding, 34
  University, Tuskegee, 42-43
  Unskilled rolls, flying airship, 27
  UPenn, founding, 34
  Upgrades, automatons, 20
  V
  Vehicles
   
  attitudes about travel, 43
  designing, steamhand, 24
  moving, modifier, 17
  stats, 27-28
  steam wagon for Wells Fargo, 50-51
  water, first steamboat, 34
  Velasco, Treaties of, Texas Revolution, 45
  Victoria, Queen. See Queen Victoria.
  Vocation. See Professions.
  Volatility of hydrogen, for airships, 27-28
  Voting. See Suffrage.
  ( @ )
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/Steamscapes/Savage Worlds - Steamscapes - North America.pdf