Tin Star Thaumaturge

A traditional game of Dungeons & Dragons brings the player into a world of complex high fantasy. Mythical creatures, fantastic races and powerful magic fill the landscape. Far below the surface, drow and deep gnomes toil in the infinite Underdark. In planes beyond, celestials, elementals and fiends plot and scheme to control or benefit mortal kind.   It stands to reason that this world, despite inherent differences, would progress in technology and culture. The ability to craft a steel sword did not spring from nothingness – countless generations of smiths progressed from stone, to copper. They learned to smelt bronze and forge iron. Tin Star Thaumaturge asks the question “What if technology kept progressing?”   In a world of magic and alchemy, explosives are not far-fetched – they readily exist in the original Dungeons & Dragons source material. As such, wizened scholars would refine gunpowder. Intrepid inventors would tame the dangerous material – and violent malefactors would leverage it to gain yet more power. Complex machinery is created through the knowledge of engineering – making work easier through the leveraging of mechanical processes. A steam engine generates movement from heat - the source of which is immaterial. In our world, this heat can come from coal, oil or nuclear power.   In the world of Tin Star Thaumaturge, this heat can be generated by such traditional means – or even from arcane fire produced through the careful rituals of a wizarding cabal. It is a world where magic and technology live side by side, and half of the fun lay in seeing how the two interact.   There is a place for every traditional D&D class in the pointedly American West-flavor world of Tin Star Thaumaturge. Sharasessi Rangers still stalk the desert with their treasured long bows. Canyon dwarf berserkers scream into battle with a warhammer in one hand and a shotgun in the other. The presence of magic mitigates the deadly efficiency of modern firearms – Luddite Sorcerers hex and jam revolvers and rifles.   This is not to say that firearms are not a powerful, world changing technology. Gunfighters can make quick work of the average bandit or mercenary. The powerful range of a long gun allows skilled marksmen to eliminate their opposition from a considerable distance. As always, a delicate balance exists.