I'm going to answer a few questions from Watchman over here, now that the topic is unlocked.

Magic - is it commonly used? Does it go by another name?

magic, as such, doesn't exist. some people, mostly the churches, have access to 'psionics', telepathic powers of various sorts. basicly, magic but more new agey. telepathy, psychokinesis, etc. truely powerful psychics can achieve amazing results. Hiegal was killed by psionic power, for example.

for those who've never played games with psionics in, think basicly of stuff jedis can do.

Weapons - read in one teaser they were using guns(Repeaters and Dragoons), yet there are 'knights' so I was wondering would the common run of equipment be pistols or swords.

this was going to get addressed in a future 'teaser', but i'll spell it out now: there are firearms, but they're generally illegal within Alpha Polis proper. most firearms are handguns, as they're easy to conceal. rifling is not yet used for firearms, at least not on anything a civilian would be able to get ahold of.

armor is pretty outmoded, but the various Knights do use it. swords and especially knives are common possessions. someone who's walking around town with a large rifle slung over their back is going to get stopped and asked for permits. someone with a sword would just be given a bit of respectful distance on the street. someone with a giant double headed war axe would be assumed to be a barbarian from the islands, and people would try to sell you beads and things, while others would avoid making eye contact.

someone who goes around town in heavy plate armor and doesn't have the livery of one of the Knight orders would be very much akin to someone going around in military body armor in your neighborhood.

What is Incarnum? Saw it mentioned in a few of the character descriptions but the word meant nothing to me.

Incarnum was a new 'magic' system introduced for the latest edition of D&D. as i'm now looking at going for more of a free form game using mostly original content, i think we can skip that.

still, to explain it properly, in case anyone is interested, Incarnum is 'soul stuff', the essence of souls of creatures living, dead, or merely 'en potentia'. those who are skilled in manipulating it can summon incarnum into various items such as weapons or armor that will give them bonuses on things. say on monday, you decide that you'll summon magic gauntlets that let you punch through rock. on tuesday, you think you'd be better off with magic boots that let you run away from guard dogs. on wednesday, you do better off with funky nunchucks.

that's the rough gist, anyway. as its not open game content, i'll only be using it if someone really wants to and/or if we take a heavy focus on the rules.

technology level - Ornithopters, guns and engineers. Could you name an equivalent period of real world history I should be considering it roughly parallel to? 1890's? Or should I be leaving such heretical thoughts at the door and just see what crops up and what can be gotten away with in the cause of narrative effect Smile

there is, unfortunately, no direct equivalent. we'll see clockwork automatons and mechanics, powered flight, derigibles, firearms... all alongside medieval armor and suchnot. i don't picture steam power being in place yet.

Oh and one last question, what sort of starting level are the new characters going to be at, slightly better than peasants or more developed?

if we stick with a focus on D&D rules, we'll be starting at level 2 or 3. this puts you well above the average peasant, but still pretty green around the edges. the Master Empath could easily read your thoughts and flatten you like a pancake. the average Knight Sargent would be able to cut you down in a fair duel, and shrug off a sneak attack if you tried to fight dirty.

peasants and townspeople would probably stay out of your way for the most part, if you were looking for trouble, but a decent gang of street rangers would provide a surmountable challenge.

anyway, the more 'freeform' we go with this, the less that'll really matter in rules terms and the more it'll be up to you to decide what your character is really like.

i'm gonna try and get another week's worth of teasers up before i'm really ready to get started on planning the campaign, by the way, but please ask any and all questions, as that way i can cover a lot more without having to dress it up all pretty as a story.

"If I wanted to read Wuthering Heights, I'd shoot my self."