Questions tagged [steampunk]
For questions based in worlds where technology is typically steam-powered rather than based on electricity.
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Everything has a tiny nuclear reactor in it. How much of a concern are illegal nuclear bombs?
In this world, basically every structure (building, factory, car, etc...) has a tiny nuclear reactor in it, and operates like a nuclear submarine. There isn't even an electrical grid; every structure ...
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A Sea of Mist and Steam? How would boats move?
How would a boat be designed for sailing through a sea made from mist and steam?
This sea of mist and sea is a naturally occurring place in the world I made, it is in a deep, giant underground cave, ...
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what types for guns and magic would be suited, for a arabian-style steampunk 5e setting? [closed]
I am in the process of doing a homebrew setting for 5e. That is based around a steampunk arabian aesthetic. My setting will include guns alongside magic, though both won't be common nor rare but ...
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Keeping an airship aloft using only propellers (and nuclear reactors)
Airships!
Many people love them, many see them as a flying safety hazard, especially the hydrogen-filled kind. And recently, I've thought about the other alternative:
Propeller-Airships!
I'm ...
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The late-victorian nuclear-thruster
Nuclear fission! How hard can that be? Nuclear reactors have been quietly humming under the earth's surface only a few billion years ago after all.
It's very convenient then, that my planet's quite a ...
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Space-ships and stations...made from cast-iron?
If there's two things i love, it's space-flight, and late 19th century technology, and i hope to implement as much of the latter into as much of the former in my current setting. And one thing that ...
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How to make a hybrid mapping system for aircraft on barren planets without celestial or compass use?
My captains and pirates belt out lots of navigational commands and jargon, but none of it can relate to terrestrial maps. So I’m needing a system they use in transit and combat, that they will ...
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What are the best blackmail and extortion paths for haberdashers in post-apocalyptic Victorian cities? [closed]
In a Victorian city on an apocalyptic world, a haberdasher has gained social power. All things pertaining to the Victorian life circa 1880 would be proper here, save for the equine industry. He has ...
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Optimal Organ Preservation in a Steampunk World?
In a steampunk world where multiple more-or-less humanoid species (with varying levels of intelligence) coexist, organ hunting is prevalent and authorized (outside of cities).
The harvested organs are ...
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There's no space to construct a runway. Are early planes still useful and promising technology?
My setting exists on a huge vertical cliff with no top or bottom, and currently nearing the end of an steampunk-y industrial revolution, putting its tech level somewhere in the range of 1860s to 1910s....
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Believably Enhancing Actuator Machinery Performance through Ground Detection Techniques in Articulated Mechanical Racehorse Hooves
My hero is an ingenious technician held captive in a pirate enclave and serving them in the mechanical maintenance of their steampunk race horses. Similar to pod racing in Star Wars I: The Phantom ...
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What industrial exoplanet machine would serve as the best escape vehicle from a remote secure stronghold?
My world has 18th century society norms with steampunk tech. I have added a scene from the story to the end of this question, just fill in the blank. Some characters become impressed into service with ...
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Is there a physical/structural upper-speed-limit to steam locomotives?
In my world (essentially playing in the late 1920's to early 30's, though with a bit of hand-waved technological and political progress), a rail line exists that spans Eurasia from Lisbon to Bangkok.
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How do I store enormous amounts of mechanical energy?
Imagine a typical steampunk setting. Now, let's make two grand assumptions about it:
Steam engines here are MUCH more efficient than those in our world. Yep, we have to violate laws of physics for ...
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How Would a Spacefaring Civilization Using No Electricity Communicate?
I'm working on a civilization who was born out of a century-long interstellar war with an AI. So they had previously developed electrical and digital technology but now they're avoiding using any of ...
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