C.O.G.S: Combat Operations in Generic Steampunk.

I've recently been looking for a generic skirmish level Steampunk/Victorian Sci Fi rule set. Then I started getting ideas and decided to just create my own.

The basic idea of C.O.G.S - Combat Operations in Generic Steampunk - is to produce a 28mm skirmish system which is flexible and generic, giving gamers a clean slate to develop their own Steampunk/VSF units, vehicles and heroes. A little like the way GruntZ allows you to create your own 15mm SF units, only with more steam, rivets and exposed gearing. I am aiming for a 'Penny Dreadful' feel - that's a Pulp feel from an era BEFORE the Pulps existed! To this end, Heroes and their Side Kicks are the focus of the game, and can do really epic things, while units are basically just there to fill out the numbers and provide moving scenery. I envision the game being more scenario driven that points based - I already have plans for Nuns defending mission stations against fiendish natives, and frenchmen in diving suits battling giant sharks. 

At present I only have basic rule mechanics in place, and a lot more development to go. The core mechanics have been tested and work pretty nicely, but there's a lot of balancing and tweaking needed.

I am working on a system for designing your own vehicles with a range of power plants, drive trains and sizes.

Although the system is generic, and encourages players to develop units and vehicles, I am considering making some paper craft starter armies with pre-generated rules for those who are not so interested in developing their own.

Some of my own conversions and scratchbuilds will be appearing on Terrain For Hippos over the month of January.

Gaslight Casebook

Well, the school year is drawing to a close, and I have lots of spare time over summer. Spare time which can be put to good use building terrain and landships, and of course, role playing. I've declared January Steampunk/Victorian Sci Fi month, and I am ready to (finally) run Gaslight Casebook.
Gaslight Casebook started off as an abortive attempt at a play-by-forum game. I say abortive because we never started. now it's time to run it conventionally. A number of the members of the Hampton Games Club (including TopDog Games co-author Matt) have indicated their inclination to participate, and we hope to run the first session soon.
As to the rules, we will be using Oversoul Games's DiceChucker system. I discovered this system a while ago now, and fell in love with it's flexibility and easy learning curve. It's also free. You can't go past that.
As the casebook progresses, I'll be publishing reports along with adventures. Obviously I'm not going to do this until after game sessions to avoid giving any clues! Allow me to post the following teaser however...

It is 1892. A hideous murder has taken place in Mayfair. A man has been throttled with such force that his head has almost been severed from his shoulders. As the dead man was highly placed at the war office, and had secret documents in his possession, a crack team has been formed to investigate...