Age of Steel
A Dieselpunk Roleplaying Game
Age of Steel is a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) set in a world much like our own during the 1920s to 1930s. It is a world recovering from its first global war, a world in the twilight years of exploration and adventure, and a world on the brink of another devastating conflict. It is a time of innovation and advancement, as well as a time of chaos and conspiracy. An age when heroes must be as hard as steel.
Age of Steel has been inspired by a number of sources; movies such as the Indiana Jones series, The Mummy and National Treasure; the works of Raymond Chandler; the Uncharted and Bioshock video game series; the works of H.P. Lovecraft and the Hellboy comics and movie series.
It is also a game firmly rooted in the Dieselpunk genre of speculative fiction. Dieselpunk is a genre similar to Steampunk, but instead of the Victorian era, Dieselpunk is inspired by the 1920s to 1950s and features things such as rocket-packs, rayguns and machines that combine futuristic ideas with retro technology in a blend that never existed in our world.
Player Characters
Player characters in Age of Steel are drawn from social groups at the fringes of modern society; mercenaries, spies, private investigators, criminals. They are the people who see the world for what it truly is; a land of opportunity and danger, where playing by the rules will only slow you down.
These people are the only ones who have the opportunity to learn the truth about their world and possibly fight back against the darkness that is slowly infecting the governments of their home nations.
The System
Age of Steel uses a dice-pool system using a number of six-sided dice (d6) to resolve skill checks and combat damage. The system has been created to be lightweight, easy to use, and to help capture the cinematic pulp feel of the setting.
Classless
There are no classes in Age of Steel; characters are created as the player sees fit with any combination of stats, skills, and backgrounds they desire.
Stats
All characters in Age of Steel have three statistics which describe their innate physical, mental and social abilities. These stats determine how many d6 are rolled in a skill check.
Skills
Any character in Age of Steel can make a check against any skill; they do not need to possess a skill to attempt to use it. However, characters who are trained in a skill will find it much easier to succeed. The level of a character’s skill determines what they need to roll on each dice to get a success.
Knacks
Some people are just innately better at a particular skill than others. Every character in Age of Steel has three Knacks; these are attached to three separate skills and represent the fact that those skills are where that character naturally excels. A character using a skill they have a Knack for gains additional dice to their roll.
Moxie
Age of Steel is an adventure game where the characters are heroes who survive dangerous situations at times on nothing but pure luck. To represent this in the game all characters have a limited number of Moxie Points, allowing them to perform incredible feats of skill when most needed.
Equipment
Submachine guns, pump-action shotguns, weird-science rayguns, rocketpacks, and diesel-powered personal mecha are all available to the players. Rules for crafting your own gear are also included, for the countless gadgeteers that populate the world of Age of Steel.
Where to Buy
Age of Steel is available to buy from DriveThruRPG now!
