Chapter 1: An introduction……….……………. 1 Melee Weapons…………………………… …….44 Using this Book……….…………………………..1 Edge Trees by Rank……….…. …….45 Building an Asian Steampunk………………… …..1 Artillery…………………………………… …….48 Continuing a History….…….….….….…….…..…2 New Rule: Indirect Fire…….………… ……..48 On the Writing of Language and Names……… ….3 Fire Arrow…………………………….……..48 Cone Rocket…………………….…….… …..48 Sidebar: A Personal Note from the Professor.……….… ..4 Two-Stage Rocket………………….…… …..48 Vehicles………………………………………….48 Chapter 2: Three Stories From Modern China ..5 Dragon Airship……………….…….…… …..48 Tea Smoke, by Kevin Andrew Murphy……..……..5 Burmese Airboat………………………… ….50 Curse of the Pirate Queen, by Juliann Troi.….… ..13 War Elephant……………………………. ….50 Clockwork Glide, by Bill Wu.………………… …20 Oni ni Kanabō………………………………. ….50 New Racial Template: Oni ni Kanabō…… ….50 Chapter 3: The Apothecary….……….………..28 Understanding the Apothecary…..…….….….…..28 Molybdenum Alloy Spiked Kanabō….….. .….51 Origins and History……………………. ……28 Engineering and Weapons….….…….… ……28 Map of Asia in 1872…………….….….…. ..…..52 Modern Innovations…………………………29 After the Dust Settled………………………..32 Chapter 5: The History of Asia………………..53 Playing the Apothecary……………………… …..33 The Indian Alliance…………………….….…. …53 Apothecary Profession……………… ………33 Part 1 – Origins and Legacies……… ….…….53 Part 2 – The Fall of the Mughals and the Rise of Chapter 4: The Arts of War…………… ………35 the Puppets…………………………… …….54 Martial Arts Overview.…..…………………… …35 Part 3 – Company and Conquest………… ….54 New Maneuvers.…………………………… .35 Part 4 – From Tea to Opium……….…. …….57 Part 5 – The Sikh Empire……………… ……58 Sidebar: Note on Defensive Maneuvers.….…...….…….36 Part 6 – The Tide is Turned…………… ……60 Part 7 – The Company Expelled……….…….61 A Collection of Fighting Styles…… ……………..36 …………………………….…….…. …36 Sidebar: Begum Hazrat Mahal.……….……… ……..62 Bagua Zhang……………..………… ……….37 Bajiquan…………………….…………… ….37 Part 8 – Restoration and Alliance…………….65 Bando………..……………….….……… .….38 Gatka…………………………….… ……….38 Sidebar: Member States of the Indian Alliance..….… ….67 ………………………………… …….39 Kobujutsu………………………….…… …..39 China……………………………………… ……67 Mardani Khel………………………….. ……40 Part 1 – Origins and Legacies………… ……..67 Muay Boran………………….………………40 Part 2 – European Trade and the White Lotus 68 Ninjutsu………………………………. .……41 Sidebar: Wang Cong’er……………….…… ….……69 Sidebar: Shinobi in Popular Culture.….….….…….….41 Part 3 – The First Opium War…………… …70 NitenSample Ichi-Ryu……………………………….42 Part 4 – A Crisis of Identityfile and Leadership …71 Pencak …………………………… …….42 ……………………………… ……42 Sidebar: Excerpts from the Letter to Queen Victoria..…. .71 Taijiquan.…………………………… ………43 Te…………………………………..…… …..43 Part 5 – The Year of the Dragon……… …….73

iii Part 6 – The Xianfeng Restoration…….… ….74 Part 5 – The Reign of Rama V…….….… ….107 Burma………………………………………. …108 Sidebar: Taiping..….….……..….….…… …………74 Part 1 – Origins and Legacies…………… …108 Part 2 – Beware the Banyan Tree….….…. …108 Part 7 – The Dowager Empresses……… .…..75 Part 3 – Work of Kings………………… ….109 Part 8 – World Power and a New War……….77 Part 4 – Reform Rising……………….…. …109 ………………………………………… ….78 Part 5 – Empire Reborn?………….….…. …110 Part 1 – The Land of the Gods…….…… .…..78 Part 6 – Never Side with the Banyan Tree ….111 Part 2 – An Age of War…………….…. …….78 Singapore…………………………………… …111 Part 3 – The Tokugawa “Peace”……….… ….79 Malay States…………………….….….….…. …112 Part 4 – Inventing Traditional Japan…………80 Sarawak…………………………………… .…..113 Part 5 – Dolls and Demons……………… ….81 Sidebar: A Brief Interlude about Pirates.….…..…..….114 Sidebar: Steel Like a Gem………………… …….83-84 Brunei……………………………………… ….115 Part 6 – The Open Lock……………………..84 Part 7 – The Black Ships………………… ….85 Chapter 6: Running the Game….….….…. ….116 Part 8 – Intrigue in the ………. ….87 Thinking about Setting……………………… …116 Part 9 – The ……………… …….87 Thinking about Character………………………117 Part 10 – The End of the …… ….…..88 Using the Scenarios…………………………. …118 Sample Characters………………………… .…..119 Sidebar: Manslayers and Wolves………………… …..89 The Apothecary…………………………….119 The Aviator……………………….…… .….120 Part 11 – Sacred Chaos………………………90 The Gunslinger………………………….….121 Part 12 – A New Age of War………….……..91 The Oni…………………………………….122 The Other …………………………. …….92 The Saboteur…………………………… ….123 The of Ezo……………….…. …….92 The Soldier…………………………… ……124 The Ryukyu Kingdom…………………… ….93 The Steamhand………………………….….125 Korea……………….……………………… .…..95 The Way to Mandalay…………………….… ….126 Part 1 – Cultural Overview…………….… ….95 Across the Deccan…………………….….…….131 Part 2 – Origins, Unification, and Invasion.….95 Part 3 – The French and Russian Incidents, Sidebar: Religion in Roleplaying………………… ….135 Isolationism, and All-Out War………….……96 The Philippines……………………………… ….98 The Invasion of Manchuria………………… ….136 Part 1 – Origins and Legacies………….… ….98 Part 2 – Spanish Conquest……….…….… ….98 Index………………………………………… ..137 Part 3 – ¡Revolución!………………… .….….99 Part 4 – Freedom and Self-Determination. …100 Việt Nam…………………………………… ….101 Part 1 – Early History……………..….… ….101 Part 2 – Fall of the Warlords……………. …102 Part 3 – Cambodian Conflict…………… ….102 Part 4 – The Strange Fragrance from the Precious Mountain……………….……...…. 103 Prathet Thai………………………………… …104 Part 1 – Early History………………………104 Part 2 – Ayuthhaya Kingdom, a Golden Age 104 PartSample 3 – Burmese-Thai Wars: Sacking of file Ayutthaya and Rise of the Thonburi Kingdom …………………………………………..… 105 Part 4 – Rattanakosin Kingdom and the Age of Enlightenment…………….…….….…… …106 iv The region covered by this book is not the entire continent of Asia. The western portion of the continent will be reserved for future volumes. Our demarcation is an imaginary line drawn north from An Introduction the mouth of the Indus River. Everything east of that line has been included, although some nations receive greater attention because they have a larger impact on the world. For more detail, refer to the historical background in Chapter 5.

Building an Asian Steampunk In Steamscapes: North America, we discussed the basics of what we mean by “steampunk” with regard to fiction, gaming, and other media. In this book, it becomes important to address some of the core concerns that are often raised about our chosen genre: the Eurocentrism and pro-imperialist Using this Book sentiment that exist as undercurrents in much of steampunk. The imagery and language of the This is a game book. It is the second major steampunk community often subtly and sometimes setting book in a series that began with Steamscapes: overtly support a European (usually British) view of North America and will continue with other similar history and even alternate history. In some cases this volumes in the future. There are other means either romanticizing the time period—by supplementary books and materials, but the ignoring the real struggles of oppressed groups—or continent books act as the core of the Steamscapes romanticizing the people—by presenting European setting world. Steamscapes is a licensed setting for expansion as enlightened and benevolent. This the Savage Worlds system, so you will need the historical blindness can make some potential Savage Worlds Deluxe or Savage Worlds Explorer’s audience members feel unrepresented or even Edition core rules to play. No additional books are unwelcome. required, although the North America book The Steamscapes alternate timeline does not introduced many rules and concepts that are useful shrink from the uglier aspects of real history. We for fleshing out a complete sense of the world, and understand that the fundamental natures of people the rules and background in this book are written and governments are very difficult to change. But we with that book in mind. also take to heart the idea that building a fictional If you are new to steampunk or new to gaming, world offers the possibility of highlighting or even we would encourage you to read all of this raising up those who have historically been introductory chapter and then move on to Chapter 2 marginalized. We have done this in North America to get a sense of the kind of stories one might and in the Gunslinger’s Guide. It is part of our core experience in this setting. If you are interested in philosophy. alternate history—particularly if you want to see how In looking at Asian history, this means a focus this book builds on the background begun in on the possibility of creating an industrialized Asia Steamscapes: North America—we would suggest you without that technological progress being controlled skip to Chapter 5. If you are focused on what new by colonial powers. Some colonial influence is game materials this book offers, Chapter 3 and inevitable, especially because it began long before Chapter 4 are where you will find new rules for the our timeline shift in 1768. However, we can and Apothecary Profession and for martial arts should find ways to minimize and even reverse some respectively.Sample Finally, if you are planning on running a file of the effects of that . What you will see Steamscapes game, Chapter 6 offers sample in Steamscapes: Asia is a continent that is not entirely characters and scenarios.

1 free of European influence but is largely free of Stopping the Raj follows mostly naturally from European control. our shift and the events in North America. With the For readers from Europe and North America— Atlantic colonies still part of the Commonwealth and even for some readers from Asian countries until the 1860s, it follows logically that the British themselves—envisioning the results of that change middle-class families seeking opportunity out in the can be difficult. What does “steampunk” look like world would have gone to America rather than to when it is not driven by Victorian fashion and India. This, combined with more frequent military Victorian sensibilities? Fortunately, there are some conflict in Europe, leads directly to a much smaller resources already available that can help. With this British population in India and a much less cohesive book, Steamscapes is not carving a brand new path military force in the hands of the East India for the steampunk community, but rather following Company. As you will see in Chapter 5, this is critical in the footsteps of some very important pioneers. If for enabling Indian independence. you are interested in steampunk from a more global Stopping the Taiping Rebellion takes a little bit perspective, we would recommend the following more tweaking, but does follow directly from a sources: stronger Sikh Empire and a weaker East India Ÿ Steampunk World, edited by Sarah Hans Company. Japan’s situation is somewhat more th (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939840198) difficult because much of Japan’s trouble in the 19 Ÿ century was self-imposed. However, we can avoid Beyond Victoriana the Treaty of Kanagawa at least by making (http://beyondvictoriana.com/) Commodore Perry (English now, no longer Ÿ Steampunk India American) more conciliatory and by making Japan (http://www.steampunkindia.com/) more ready for industrialization. Ÿ James Ng Art (http://www.jamesngart.com/) The changes in other countries largely stem from the effects of one or more of these changes. Burma, for example, benefits greatly from Indian Continuing a History independence and especially from a weaker East India Company. Việt Nam is affected by the One of the keys to building a consistent alternate changing relations between and England and history is to pick a point of departure from real how that plays out in their interactions with Asian history from which all of your changes can be nations. And events in the Philippines—among extrapolated. With Steamscapes: Asia, we wanted to other countries—hint at a Europe that is too focused make sure that our point of departure remained the on internal strife to put sufficient effort into same, and that we could clearly explain all of the maintaining its colonies. changes on this continent in a way that would line up with what is happening in North America. We hope that the historical backgrounds will be interesting and relatively easy to read. We have taken Another aspect of developing a robust alternate some additional space to set the context of real timeline is to look for critical events in real history to history prior to the 1768 switch, simply because we avoid, events that would force the timeline back know many of our readers will be less familiar with towards our own if they were allowed to happen. In at least some of these histories. Nevertheless, once Asia, the timeline was crafted to avoid three key we pass the switch date in each section, we do not moments: the Raj (specifically the Parliamentary distinguish in the text between real events and takeover in India following the 1857 rebellions), the alternate timeline events. We leave that to you to Taiping Rebellion (which devastated the Chinese discover on your own if you are curious. However, military and enabled England to deal an economic we do guarantee that every person mentioned by death blow in the Second Opium War), and the name in the historical backgrounds is real, although Treaty of Kanagawa (which legitimized the economic their lives may have drastically changed in the exploitation of Japan by the ). Had any Steamscapes world. of theseSample events been allowed to proceed, the file repercussions would have prevented us from reversing the effects of colonialism in any substantive way.

2 tried to follow as closely as possible the name the On the Writing of Languages and Names people did use or might have used for their own This book covers people, places, and historical country. “China” and “the Qing Empire” are used events from a wide variety of regions and nations. interchangeably. “Prathet Thai” (Thai Kingdom) is Even ignoring the western third of Asia, there are used rather than the exonym “Siam” or the more over a dozen major language groups mentioned in 20th century phrasing of “Thailand.” The Sikh the historical background of this book. Each Empire retains its imperial designation because language has its own quirks of spelling and notation “” is too narrow a description for the territory when transliterated into English, so rather than try to it holds in our timeline. The other nations of India develop a consistent phonetic system—or to use are all assumed to return to their previous names, existing systems that are difficult for the untrained with the exception of the “Republic of Sri Lanka,” reader to follow—we have decided to simply use which we named with the supposition that the each transliteration system separately. For languages melting pot created by colonialism would lead to where there are multiple systems, we have tried to similar conclusions about naming (combining the use the most modern one or the one most likely to Tamil and Sinhalese names for the island) even if be used by speakers of that language if they were independence were achieved 100 years earlier. given the choice. Second, it is important to note—for those who In the case of Chinese, for instance, we have are unaware—that emperors in both China and opted to favor pinyin over Wade-Giles because Japan were never referred to by their given names. pinyin more accurately reflects how Chinese speakers Instead, they received a dynastic name. When transliterate into English. Wade-Giles was the only translated into English, it is appropriate to refer to official system in use during the 19th century, but it this dynastic name as either part of the emperor’s nevertheless reflects an imposed Eurocentric title (“”) or as an adjective (“The Meiji understanding of the Chinese language. Had China Emperor”). We use both designations, with a slight entered the industrial world differently, it might have preference for the adjective form. developed the pinyin system sooner and would Finally, there is some controversy regarding the certainly have preferred it over the British Wade- designation of the three eastern provinces (Liaoning, Giles system. Jilin, and Heilongjiang) as “Manchuria.” Technically, Names present their own challenge because this name was invented by the Japanese as part of an naming conventions for places and people vary so effort to justify invasion of that territory, claiming widely across the many cultures of Asia. In some that China itself considered it a separate region both cultures family names come first, in some they come ethnically and politically. This is complicated by the second, and in some they do not even exist. In Sikh fact that the term “Manchu” was originally an tradition, all men bear the name Singh and all artificial word created by Nurhaci to distance his women bear the name Kaur. In Burmese culture a heritage from the outcast Jurchen at the founding of person may have a single monosyllabic name, while the Qing Empire. To be purely technical, there is no in Japanese culture a well-respected samurai or such thing as a “Manchu” ethnicity, yet the daimyo may go through several entirely different designation was used throughout the Qing Dynasty names over the course of his life. Keeping track of to separate the ruling minority from the majority all of these different naming conventions would be Han. For that reason, it does seem appropriate to prohibitively difficult for the casual reader, and allow “Manchuria,” partially because it is connected taking the time to point out each one as they occur with Nurhaci’s region of origin and partially because would bog down the overall narrative. Instead, we it is slightly insulting to the Qing Empire and their have simply named each person and place as use of “Manchu” to oppress other ethnic groups. accurately as possible following the conventions of This obviously does not absolve the Japanese nor the appropriate culture, and we leave it to you to imply that their intentions in the region were research more thoroughly if you wish. benevolent. There are no good nations or bad Samplenations—there are only nationsfile acting in their own That being said, there are a few important self-interest. What you do with that information in naming choices that we do want to call to your your game is entirely up to you. attention. First, with regard to countries, we have

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