I hope we all realise that this could be a really good power boost for the growing divinity of steam if we, (someone with a little touch of the winds) gives prayers during the most magical night of the whole year in an workshop and with the very first concept of a steam engine as a focus point...
Powder, Gears, and Blessed Steam - A WHF Engineering Quest
- Thread starter adwarf
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Pronouns
- He/Him
At the same time, there is a low chance of this happening because there is only one person on the day when the dead speak and walk. No connection to Steam at all.
It's the most magical night of the year, yes it's mostly connected to Morr or Chaos but if there is a time for aethyric(?) resonance then it's now with all the extra magic in the air.
If not, what day/night is more fitting for it? For I don't know of a day that has any connection to steam or engineering?
If not, what day/night is more fitting for it? For I don't know of a day that has any connection to steam or engineering?
Morrslieb might have the best odds of that happening, but that doesn't mean the odds are anything but extremely slim. It's a snowball's chance in the savanna vs one's chances in hell.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
At most we will have demon talking to our ear. I imagine it will take a long while before even spirit of Steam will manifest itself. And at most, I see them appearing as material god similar to Ancenstor Gods.
Why would there be a god of steam? Seriously the only ones who use steam presently are dwarfs who are all warp-repelling Ancestor Worshipers and a handful of people taking care of the Empire's Steam tanks without even knowing how they work.
Once we make steam available enough and it actually starts to change people's lives sure, but right now a god of steam would make as much sense to most humans as a god of tea kettles.
A god? No...
The Spark for one growing in the warp? Maybe...
And I hope we will be able to help it grow more, after all, steam and its engineering already exists in Warhammer and is viewed as partial magical to the (uneducated) population and thus migth have a growing presence in the warp.
Maybe what only need to happen is for someone to give that spark a outlet and start preaches about steam?
That's my thinking anyway.
Edit* to clarify: I don't think it will happen tonight, more that praying will give it a boost so to say.
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Reasonably speaking one person should not be able to create a god and relatively few humans would have even seen a dwarf-made steam engine, thus giving them little reason to wonder at the 'magic' of steam. In so far as some of them may wonder it would be chalked up as 'dwarf magic' same as the runes.
More broadly I think preaching about steam before she actually does something practical with it will get Margret laughed at. There is no getting around the fact that steam is of no practical use to the average human in a way distinct from the way fire or hearth gods are. Steam if the thing that comes off the stew when you cook to most people, not really something that would birth an echo in the warp able to ward us from the dead if indeed their intentions are hostile, which they do not seem to be. There is mention of fear and hate and anger, but even in that context it is 'not aimed at Margret'. I think the dead are trying to communicate something and given that they had to wait for this night to do so they are unlikely to be able to do it once the night is done.
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
On the one hand, Deus Mechanicus.
On the other hand, we might end up summoning Vashtor, that bastard.
Welp, we have a Runed Gun and a (probably) magic necklace, what could go wrong?
[X] Follow their lead.
On the other hand, we might end up summoning Vashtor, that bastard.
Welp, we have a Runed Gun and a (probably) magic necklace, what could go wrong?
[X] Follow their lead.
[x] Follow their lead.
Could also just be a question of economics/logistics; Ostland is, I believe, not exactly wealthy, and doesn't have any native production of firearms or even just blackpowder, which means both weapons, spare parts and ammo would have to be constantly important from Nuln. Given Nuln apparently sells their stuff fairly dearly, that could easily become a major drain on the province's coffers that might hinder its ability to deal with the various issues the province is faced with.
I had to look it up but it seems you gottenit wrong here, the amount of steam engines or things done by steampower in the Empire by the time 2500 rolled around is alot more than the steam tanks.
This is just a user complied list but still...
"Steam powered Canal Locks (RPG 4th edition) "Chartered Engineers are the most trusted in the Empire, called upon to design, test, and build such prestigious imperial commissions like the complex Steam Wheel Locks, which have revolutionized the speed of travel in the canals of the Vorbergland."
Steam Powered Drawbridges (RPG 4th edition) "Today Altdorf is a city of Steam-Powered bridges"
"Steam Powered Water Pumps (Man O' War game/RPG 4th edition) "A rudimentary beam engine drives a pump for putting out fires. It is linked to hoses capable of directing volumes of sea water onto any fire which breaks out on the ship" "Imperial Engineers see the Steam locks and clever-water-pumps as a pinnacle of human engineering"
"Steam Powered Ship Ram (Dreadfleet rulebook) "The Heldenhammer's Steam-powered figurehead may be used against an enemy ship in base-contact."
"Steam Powered Wheel Chair (RPG 4th edition) "Lingering painful injuries confine him to a Steam-driven wheelchair; an irony only the unwise note aloud."
"Steam Powered Prosthetic (RPG 4th edition) "Only for the exceedingly rich, you commission a work of art from one of the Engineers' guilds, allowing you to completely ignore the loss of an ear, hand, arm, or leg, as steam hisses and machinery clicks in place of blood and muscle"
"Steam Powered Dock Cranes (End Times book Fall of Altdorf) "The great docks were shattered, their steam-cranes tilting into the brine, the loading chains already rusting into nothingness."
"Steam Powered City Gate (End Times book Fall of Altdorf) "A huge clang broke out as chains were hauled over iron wheels. The mighty gears of the gate-doors shunted into position, and steam vented from the brass valves. The doors ground open, running on their iron rails across stone flags."
"Steam Powered Handloom "Mickelbach proposed the steam-powered hand-loom, which he believes will revolutionize the Empire's economy.
The School's officials have suppressed the treatise, fearing it will provoke riots against the college among workers enraged they might be replaced by automata."
"Steam Powered Tunneling machine (very little information) mentioned in 7th edition Empire army book and White Dwarf issue 296.
"Steam Powered air pumps (Warhammer armies Empire 8th edition) "Steam-powered air pumps work night and day to vent the acrid fumes of the blazing foundries, and portions of Nuln are forever wreathed in palls of choking soot and black smoke."
"Steam Powered Threshing machine (Gortrek and Felix)"
"Steam Powered Ship (Sigmars Blood Novel) A huge steam powered ship called Lutipold the Third was used by Volkmar to transport an army. The ship is bristling with cannons."
- Location
- USA
[x] Ignore them and pray next to the Aeolipile.
[X] Follow their lead
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Follow their lead
Possibly a bad idea but I want to see what happens.
Possibly a bad idea but I want to see what happens.
[X] Ignore them and pray next to the Aeolipile.
When there's something strange in the neighborhood, who are you gonna call?
"GHOSTBUSTERS!"
When there's something strange in the neighborhood, who are you gonna call?
"GHOSTBUSTERS!"
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Follow their lead
Crafter of War
The Dorf
- Location
- Bend
[X] Follow their lead
adwarf
Possibly Terrible Writer
- Location
- Trapped with a Keyboard
A note of 4th Edition lore: I'll be a bit hit or miss on implementing some of its setting details since it is a property that has been running after End Times ran its course pretty much and as such hasn't been as restricted by them having to also maintain a single core setting. At least stuff like the prosthetics I wouldn't consider canon to our copy of the Known World.
I definitely agree that the economics of modernizing the State Troops just doesn't work out right now. I actually did some math on this. Hard numbers for the number of State Troops under an Elector Count's command is nigh impossible to find. Still, let's assume that the Count wishes to add a regiment's worth of Handgunners to his order of battle, roughly a thousand men. Assuming that Alric is offering us fair value for our weapons and discounting materials, that would run him about 1,000 Wealth. That's admittedly a lot, but I think he could manage it. It helps that regiments are usually sponsored by wealthy individuals for power and prestige.
The real killer is the powder costs. For the sake of argument, let's assume that all training actions average exactly one point worth of skill gained. Based on the costs for us to train ourselves, it would probably cost about 6,000 Wealth to get them to Riflery 2 (the bare minimum imo), and a whopping 12,000 Wealth to hit Riflery 3 (what I suspect the Road Wardens are at).
You can sorta see why the Elector Count is keeping folks from sponsoring Regiments of Handgunners. The prohibitive training costs means that they'll almost certainly be subpar at using their weapons. All this is before factoring in logistics costs, which I have no real way to calculate at this point.
I don't think the arms makers of Nuln are to blame though. It sounds like they're charging a reasonable rate, as demonstrated by the Road Wardens noting how much cheaper weapons and powder are in Altdorf. No I think that those merchants importing the stuff are charging a hefty markup. Given the difficulties in transporting highly explosive gunpowder across miles of mostly hostile territory, I can't say I blame them. It's one of the reasons why I want to get going on that Ostland gunpowder variant once we can do so without risking blowing ourselves to kingdom come.
- Location
- Midway
[X] Follow their lead
- Location
- Earth
[X] Ignore them and pray next to the Aeolipile.
The merchants are undoubtedly taking their cut, though transportation wouldn't actually be that expensive, since it would be possible to go from Nuln directly to Wolfenburg via rivers, which is pretty much the fastest and cheapest transport option available with the Empire's tech-level. They'd also be relatively safe (for a given value of the term in WHF), compared to over-land routes.
But it still kind of illustrates another perfectly valid reason why the Osterland EC might not be modernizing; if there's currently no native gunpowder-production in Ostland, then any powder for use by the troops needs to come a fairly long way, and if there's any sort of interruption for any reason, then Ostland would be left standing outside in the rain, their shiny new handguns quickly becoming little more than extravagantly-expensive clubs or spears.
Sticking with bows and crossbows, for which ammo can be sourced locally, is a much safer bet in that regard (and incidentally means that inventing a better crossbow might be a better choice for us if we're angling for a contract to arm state troops or just ingratiate ourselves with the local military in general).