[D&D-5e] Steampunk Samurai 1870

[Stormhammer]

STEAMPUNK SAMURAI 1870

Attention: Deadline for submitting/completing applications is 10:00pm EST Friday 1/13/23

"The frontier stretches west from the Mississippi to the edge of the samurai's sword."

- Matthew McCain, Marshal of Snakebite

System 5e

Flavor Spaghetti Western + Samurai Cinema + Steampunk

Posting Rate 1-3 per week

Number of Players 4-5

Plot Welcome to the Wild West within a divergent timeline. It is 1870. 1840: The Tokugawa shogunate discovered the western shores of North America. Armies of samurai drove the Mexicans southward and established colonies in California and Arizona. An alliance between the Japanese and the Navajo stopped the westward expansion of the United States dead in its tracks. 1851: English mathematician Charles Babbage created a mechanical, steam-powered computer known as the 'analytical engine.' It led to a rash of tech innovations known as the 'Steampunk Revolution.' 1854: Despite roving bands of Comanche, the United States established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. 1860: When several states succeeded from the Union, President Lincoln declared war to suppress the rebellion. After the Confederates hired a Japanese assassin to eliminate Lincoln, Vice President Hamlin continued the war. 1867: Babbage invented a primitive form of 'antigravity' that allows small objects to be levitated; manual labor become more efficient. 1868: The Tokugawa shogunate defeated the Satsuma–Chōshū alliance in Japan. 1869: Babbage discovered the existence of an interdimensional plane, known as 'babbage-space,' that he begins to use to create 'bags of holding' and other strange items. 1870: With Japanese ronin fighting on both sides, the American Civil War has not ended. Rumors abound that a daimyo in the colonies was assassinated in his sleep. The lone assassin leapt from the castle walls into the night. His samurai have yet to capture the unknown assassin. Snakebite, Kansas, is a town that sits on the border between the United States and Japanese, where people have little respect for the law. It is a melting pot of Americans, Japanese, Mexicans, and the occasional Comanche. It has all the problems associated with frontier life: cattle rustling, gunfights, brawls, standover tactics, and land fraud. We begin in the early hours of the morning in the office of a Japanese man named Kimio, a fixer who hires mercs to deal with.. problems. He is a man of twenty-five years, with short black hair and a bum leg that gives him a prominent limp.

Steamhand Mark III™ Charles Babbage is proud to release the Steamhand Mark III™ the best combat tech available in the Wild West. This metal gauntlet has a built-in compass, for navigation, and watch, for telling the time. It has battle-tested servos that augment your quickdraw (+3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with revolvers). Cost: $2,000.00; Weight: 1 lb.

Available Backgrounds Charlatan Criminal Entertainer Folk Hero Guild Artisan Hermit Outlander Soldier Urchin

Available Classes Artificer (spells are replaced with tech powers) Fighter [Battle Master] [Cavalier] [Champion] [Gunslinger] [Samurai] Monk [Open-Hand] or [Shadow] Rogue [Assassin] [Scout] [Thief]

Characters Starting Level: 3rd Ability Scores: 27 points Ability Score Point Cost 8 0 9 1 10 2 11 3 12 4 13 5 14 7 15 9 Starting Wealth: $50.00

Application Name: Race: Human Background: Class: Description: [2-7 Sentences] Personality: [2-7 Sentences] Background: [I prefer quality over length.]

Player	Character	Nationality	Background	Class	Status
Jasontheswift	?	American	Guild Artisan (locksmith)	Monk	WIP

[Stormhammer]

Armor

Armor	Cost	Armor Class (AC)	Strength	Stealth	Weight
Light Armor
A military-issued wool jacket. It comes in two colors: Union blue or Confederate gray.Jacket	$5.00	11 + Dex mod	-	Disadvantage	8 lb.
A long leather coat, worn to protect clothing from dust.Duster	$10.00	11 + Dex mod	-	-	10 lb.
Medium Armor
Hide: American Indian armor that consists of thick furs and pelts.Hide	$10.00	12 + Dex mod (max 2)	-	-	12 lb.
Kusari: Japanese armor that consists of interlocking metal chains, worn underneath clothing.Kusari	$50.00	13 + Dex mod (max 2)	-	-	20 lb.
Heavy Armor
Dou: Samurai armor that consists of strips of metal riveted to leather.Dou	$200.00	17	Str 15	Disadvantage	60 lb.
Misc
Mempo: A metal mask that resembles a Japanese demon.Mempo	$5.00	+1	-	-	0.25 lb.
American Indian shield that consists of hide stretched over a wooden frame.Shield	$10.00	+2	-	-	6 lb.

Weapons

Weapon	Cost	Damage	Weight	Properties
Simple Melee Weapons
Bō	$1.00	1d6 bludgeoning	4 lb.	Versatile (1d8)
Brass knuckles	$1.00	2 bludgeoning	1 lb.	-
Kama	$1.00	1d4 slashing	2 lb.	Light
Knife	$2.00	1d4 piercing	1 lb.	Finesse + Light
Spear	$1.00	1d6 piercing	3 lb.	Thrown (range 20/60) + Versatile (1d8)
Tanto	$2.00	1d4 slashing	1 lb.	Finesse + Light
Tonfa	$1.00	1d4 bludgeoning	2 lb.	Light
Tomahawk	$5.00	1d6 slashing	2 lb.	Light + Thrown (range 20/60)
Simple Ranged Weapons
Shortbow	$1.00	1d6 piercing	2 lb.	Ammunition (range 80/320) + Two-Handed
Shuriken	50¢	1d4 piercing	0.25 lb.	Finesse + Thrown (range 20/60)
Martial Melee Weapons
Kanabō	$5.00	1d6 bludgeoning	4 lb.	-
Katana	$15.00	1d8 slashing	3 lb.	Versatile (1d10)
Naginata	$20.00	1d10 slashing	6 lb.	Heavy + Reach + Two-Handed
Nunchaku	$10.00	1d8 bludgeoning	2 lb.	-
Sabre	$10.00	1d6 slashing	3 lb.	Finesse + Light
Tetsubo	$10.00	1d8 bludgeoning	10 lb.	Two-Handed
Wakizashi	$10.00	1d6 slashing	3 lb.	Finesse + Light
Whip	$2.00	1d4 slashing	3 lb.	Finesse + Reach
Ranged Weapons
Blowgun	$1.00	1 piercing	1 lb.	Ammunition (range 25/100) + Loading
Longbow	$5.00	1d8 piercing	2 lb.	Ammunition (range 150/600) + Heavy + Two-Handed
Derringer (.22)	$5.00	1d10 piercing	3 lb.	Ammunition (range 40/120) + Reload (1 shot)
Colt Navy (.36 revolver)	$10.00	2d6 piercing	3 lb.	Ammunition (range 40/120) + Reload (6 shots)
Colt Peacemaker (.45 revolver)	$20.00	2d8 piercing	3 lb.	Ammunition (range 40/120) + Reload (6 shots)
Rifle (breech)	$10.00	2d10 piercing	8 lb.	Ammunition (range 80/240) + Reload (1 shot) + Two-Handed
Rifle (lever-action)	$50.00	2d10 piercing	8 lb.	Ammunition (range 80/240) + Reload (15 shots) + Two-Handed
Shotgun (double-barrel)	$20.00	2d8 piercing	7 lb.	Ammunition (range 30/90) + Reload (2 shots) + Two-Handed
Shotgun (lever-action)	$50.00	2d8 piercing	7 lb.	Ammunition (range 30/90) + Reload (5 shots) + Two-Handed

Equipment

Item	Cost	Weight
Ammunition
Arrows (20)	$1.00	1 lb.
Bullets (50)	$1.00	1 lb.
Needles (20)	$1.00	1 lb.
Shells (25)	$1.00	1 lb.
Gear
Antitoxin (1 dose)	$5.00	-
Backpack	$2.00	5 lb.
Bandolier	$2	2 lb.
Bedroll	$1.00	7 lb.
Binoculars	$10.00	2 lb.
Blanket	50¢	3 lb.
Buscadero	$1.00	1 lb.
Canteen	20¢	5 lb.
Compass	$1.00	-
Crowbar	$2.00	5 lb.
Camera (box)	$2.00	3 lb.
Camera (folding)	$10.00	2 lb.
Chalk (1 piece)	1¢	-
Dynamite (1 stick)	$2.00	1 lb.
Goggles	$1.00	-
Hammer	$1.00	3 lb.
Handcuffs	$2.00	0.5 lb.
Hook (grappling)	$2.00	4 lb.
Ink (1 ounce)	50¢	-
Kit (climbing)	$25.00	12 lb.
Kit (disguise)	$25.00	3 lb.
Kit (forging)	$15.00	5 lb.
Kit (healing)	$5.00	3 lb.
Kit (poison making)	$50.00	2 lb.
Lantern (bullseye)	$10.00	2 lb.
Lantern (hooded)	$5.00	1 lb.
Lock	$10.00	1 lb.
Matches (25)	5¢	-
Mirror	$5.00	0.5 lb.
Newspaper	2¢	-
Oil (lantern)	10¢	1 lb.
Pen (fountain)	$1.00	-
Pencil	1¢	-
Pickaxe	$2.00	10 lb.
Piton	5¢	0.25 lb.
Poison (1 dose)	$10.00	-
Potion (healing)	$50.00	0.5 lb.
Pouch	50¢	1 lb.
Quiver	$1.00	1 lb.
Rations (1 day)	50¢	2 lb.
Rope (50 feet)	$1.00	10 lb.
Shovel	$2.00	5 lb.
Soap	2¢	-
Tackle (fishing)	$1.00	4 lb.
Tent (one-person)	$1.00	10 lb.
Tent (two-person)	$2.00	20 lb.
Tinderbox	50¢	1 lb.
Torch	1¢	1 lb.
Trap (hunting)	$5.00	25 lb.
Typewriter	$25.00	10 lb.
Watch (pocket)	$2.00	-
Whetstone	1¢	1 lb.
Whistle	5¢	-
Clothing
Common	$1.00	3 lb.
Fine	$15.00	6 lb.
Games
Cards	50¢	-
Checkers	$1.00	0.5 lb.
Chess	$1.00	0.5 lb.
Dice	10¢	-
Dominoes	50¢	0.25 lb.
Instruments
Banjo	$5.00	5 lb.
Drum	$5.00	3 lb.
Fiddle	$5.00	1 lb.
Flute	$2.00	1 lb.
Guitar	$10.00	3 lb.
Lifestyle
Poor	20¢ per day
Middle-Class	$2.00 per day
Rich	$4.00 per day
Mounts
Horse (draft)	$50.00
Horse (riding)	$75.00
Bridle	$2.00	1 lb.
Saddle	$10.00	25 lb.
Saddlebags	$5.00	8 lb.
Scabbard (bow)	$5.00	8 lb.
Scabbard (rifle)	$5.00	8 lb.
Shoes	?	?
Stabling	50¢ per day
Saloon
Lodging (per night)	50¢
Beer (glass)	5¢
Wine (glass)	10¢
Wine (bottle)	50¢
Whiskey (glass)	10¢
Whiskey (bottle)	50¢
Services
Carriage (town)	1¢ per mile
Carriage (wilderness)	3¢ per mile
Messenger (town)	5¢ per mile
Messenger (wilderness)	5¢ per mile
Postage	2¢ per ounce
Telegram	1¢ per word
Train (third-class)	2¢ per mile
Train (second-class)	4¢ per mile
Train (first-class)	6¢ per mile
Tools
Supplies (apothecary)	$50.00	8 lb.
Supplies (brewer)	$20.00	9 lb.
Supplies (calligrapher)	$10.00	5 lb.
Supplies (painter)	$10.00	5 lb.
Tools (blacksmith)	$20.00	8 lb.
Tools (carpenter)	$8.00	6 lb.
Tools (cartographer)	$15.00	6 lb.
Tools (cobbler)	$5.00	5 lb.
Tools (glassblower)	$30.00	5 lb.
Tools (jeweler)	$25.00	2 lb.
Tools (leatherworker)	$5.00	5 lb.
Tools (potter)	$10.00	3 lb.
Tools (steamtech)	$50.00	10 lb.
Tools (stonemason)	$10.00	8 lb.
Tools (weaver)	$1.00	5 lb.
Tools (woodcutter)	$1.00	5 lb.
Tools (navigator)	$25.00	2 lb.
Tools (thief)	$25.00	1 lb.
Utensils (cook)	$1.00	8 lb.

Steamtech

Item	Cost	Weight
A pair of boots fitted with anti-grav pads (see boots of levitation DMG pg. ?).Antigravity Boots	$100.00	15 lb.
A leather bag that contains a small pocket of babbage-space (see bag of holding DMG pg. ?).Bag of Holding	$100.00	15 lb.
A gauntlet that augments your quickdraw (+1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with revolvers).Steamhand Mark I™	$100.00	1 lb.
A gauntlet that augments your quickdraw (+2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with revolvers).Steamhand Mark II™	$500.00	1 lb.
A gauntlet that augments your quickdraw (+3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with revolvers).Steamhand Mark III™	$2,000.00	1 lb.

[PalladiaMors]

Couple of questions:

• What level will we be starting at?
• Though it isn't in the listed subclasses, would you allow the cavalier subclass for fighter to reflect an ex cavalry officer?

[Jasontheswift]

App - WIP Name: Nationality: American Background: Guild Artisan - Locksmith Class: Monk - Way of the Open Palm Description:     [2-7 Sentences] Personality: Traits: 1. I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can’t help it— I’m a perfectionist. 2. I’m full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion. Ideal: Community. It is the duty of all civilized people to strengthen the bonds of community and the security of civilization. (Lawful) Bond: I owe my guild and father a great debt for forging me into the person I am today. Flaw: I’m quick to assume that someone is trying to cheat me.   [2-7 Sentences] Background Narrative:   [I prefer quality over length.]

[Stormhammer]

Originally Posted by PalladiaMors

Couple of questions:

• What level will we be starting at?
• Though it isn't in the listed subclasses, would you allow the cavalier subclass for fighter to reflect an ex cavalry officer?

• Starting level is 3rd (I added it).
• Cavalier would be fine for an ex-cavalry officer (I will add it).

[Saratek]

Question about a subclass: Would you allow the Scout Subclass(XGtE) for Rogue?

I'm pondering a Comanche Scout, tbh.

[Stormhammer]

Originally Posted by Saratek

Question about a subclass: Would you allow the Scout Subclass(XGtE) for Rogue?

I'm pondering a Comanche Scout, tbh.

Yes, that would be appropriate.

[DAquilina]

How prevalent/accessible is magic? Obviously there are no primary spellcasters here, but something like the Shadow Touched feat seems appropriate for a Monk of Shadows, and that gives two spells. Not sure if the average person would be able to get their hands on the technology to make that possible.

Also, I'm assuming everyone's race is human. Is the variant human allowed? Alternatively, are other races available?

[Snicker]

No Champion or Battlemaster subclasses for Fighter? I always thought they seemed setting-agnostic.

[Seekr34]

since there is magic, I'm going with a dhampir monk

[Seekr34]

Character Sheet: https://www.rpgcrossing.com/profiler/view.php?id=90257
Name: Kyoto Kangsai
Nationality: Japanese
Class: Monk - Monk Tradition: Way of Shadow
Background: Guild Artisan: Cartographer, Surveyor, and Chart-maker
Personality Trait: I don't part with my money easily and will haggle tirelessly to get the best deal possible.
Ideal: Everyone should be free to pursue his or her own livelihood.
Bond: I owe my guild a great debt for forging me into the person I am today.
Flaw: I'll do anything to get my hands on something rare or priceless.
Description: Standing at 5'9, medium build, perhaps a bit on the slender side. Dark brown eyes and dark brown hair with a goatee. Although his skin is tanned, it has a yellowish-bronze hue to it, defining him from the land of the East. He wears no armor, though he does have a sword at his hip and a bow at his back. A dagger sheathed at each thigh. Looks friendly enough, perhaps on the quiet side, and looks as he can take care of himself.

Personality: He's on the quiet side, though he seems to get along with almost anyone. He isn't brash, rather let his actions speak for him. He wears comfortable clothes because he likes it and doesn't believe in flaunting or acting better than others. He wasn't taught that way. However, it does goad him when others may look down on him, acting like he's just some poor low class lad.

Backstory:

 

A city in the country Japan, a young married woman from a noble family, was attacked at her grandfather’s home. It left her mentally scarred. Few months later as she was slowly recovering from that horrific ordeal, her belly was swollen. No one paid no mind as she and her husband had made love only a couple of days before the attack. Besides, the attacker was a vampire. An undead creature.

A beautiful and healthy boy was born. He looked like his mother. All was well, the mother was able to put her ordeal behind her. Two years later, the child entered his terrible twos, and the family found that not all was well. When the child was cranky, fangs would appear in his mouth. They had nothing but the best priests looking over the boy. It turns out that the boy was a very rare occurrence, half human, half vampire. Dhampir was what he was. Needless to say, the mother was in shock, but the priests soon put her fears to rest, the boy will never be able to drain a person of their blood they said, he will need food and water to survive like the rest of them.

So, they kept watch on him to see what quirks he might have. The father found himself in a bind, the babe was not his. He loved his wife, did not blame her. There were two silver linings to this, one, the boy looked like his mother, and since no one outside of the family knew, there would be no gossip about the boy’s father. Second, he pretty much appeared as your average human child, the sun didn’t bother him, no pale face. The only thing the boy had to do was keep control of his emotions, so his incisors wouldn’t show, and not to tell anyone that he could see in the dark, for there was no explaining that. When the boy began walking and running around, he was slightly quicker, which was nothing, but he did wind up having a quirk. He had a taste for raw meat. He would have to eat that in private.

His preteen and teen years came without much trouble, except for swimming. Since he didn’t need to breathe, he had to make sure he didn’t stay under water long. He soon became an adult, and the priests were called to the house, they wondered about children he could bare. They assure the family that if he did impregnant a woman, the babe will always be human. Dhampirs were not as fertile, so if he did have children, it would not be many. They mentioned one thing they had forgotten about, Kyoto’s lifespan. After reading and learning about dhampirs, the priests couldn’t really agree how long the boy, now a man, would live. Some say for a thousand years, others proclaim he would be immortal, living forever unless he was killed or had a deadly accident. There was no proven evidence, but the priest thought, a vampire is immortal, but a dhampir was only half vampire, since he was also half human, they figured, the one thousand years would be the better bet.

Well, that wasn’t going to work for the family, what would they tell others when Kyoto wasn’t aging like the rest of them. It would be a huge blow to the family name and reputation. The family came up with a solution, although a bit sad. Kyoto would go to a monastery that was there for monks and they accepted all civilized races and kept their people’s lives private. So, when Kyotom in his mid-twenties, made his sad parting, the family would visit, but didn’t want him to come back until about fifteen years, and not as himself, but as his son.

It was there that Kyoto thrived, with his agility and speed, he became a very good monk, and gone out in a few missions. A few more years went by, he had turned 30, still looking 20 and that reality hit home and hit hard when his family came to visit. While he looked the same before he had left, his parents had aged and his siblings, all younger than him, looked older than he. He wasn’t sure if he would ever go home again, it would be too hard.

He had traveled a bit, being a cartographer. He got word of travelers going to a new land, most of it was untamed and undiscovered. He would go there, who knows what he would find, what kind of world it would be.

It was a long voyage by ship and when he arrived, he was amazed. Such an open country, they traveled through a desert, he wasn’t sure if there was any desert in Japan. The people there was amazing as well. Besides his fellow Asians, there were short and stocky people with brownish skin, who called themselves Mexicans. Then there were Americans, white skinned people, some short, some tall. Then he saw the Indians who lived off the land. Being outside all year around their skin were reddish. The common weapons for them were spears, axes, knives and bows. The Americans and Mexicans had mostly guns, with the calvary having sabres as well. Kyoto was not thrilled about that, more people carried guns than his people did. He has no doubt that the samurais will die out because of these weapons, it will be only a matter of time.

It was now 1870, the Americans were having their civil war, Kyoto still wasn’t sure what it was about. Some say it was about freedom, some say it was about the black slaves. He had never seen a person so black before. It took him back. He was 40 now, but still looked 20. He arrived in a new town and start over again, being 20.

[Seekr34]

App is done. Since we start with $50, how do we equipment cost?

[Rylus]

If we make a gunslinger how are the guns going to work, as in cost and such? Duel wielding colt 45's sounds really fun lol

[Stormhammer]

I'm thinking about posting the equipment list ahead of time instead of waiting until character creation for accepted players.

[girlplay]

I'm planning for Mary Catherine's character sheet build to go heavy on Charisma and related skills. I kind of noticed that the other appropriate classes are not charisma-based characters. As it turns out, I like the talkie-talkie characters best anyway. I know that's not a necessity to have a good charisma to be chatty, but it helps.