It has always seemed rather ironic to me that although a large portion of the roleplaying industry is based on elements from the post medieval / renaissance periods the amount of actual pure RPG material for this time (that not corrupted by the elements of high fantasy) is somewhat lacking. Europe circa 1400-1600 has provided us with the material for everything from AD&D to Lord of the Rings, a time of great armies, chivalry, half-timbered dwellings, swordfighting and military conquest.

The idea for Black Powder & Steel has been percolating inside my head for many years, predominently as part of my research into the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a period in which there is enough intrigue, political manouvering, and evil, than ever needs to be invented.

The decision to go with a D20 based system has also been a tough one. There were many factors to consider but at the end of the day I didn't want the game mechanics to detract from the actual material presented, plus I wanted to be able to present the material in such a way that it was compatible with a large part of the already existing RPG corpus of information - this would mean more gamers would benefit from it, include elements in their regular gaming sessions, and of course provide me with the largest market possible (pure economics I'm afraid). While people may not choose to run their entire campaign in Elizabethan England, taking the Catholic / Protestant conflict, the searching by government or crown forces of dwellings for hiding dissidents is but one concept that can easily be transplanted into any AD&D adventure by a clever GM.

So the purpose of this section of the web site is to allow me to visualise the concept and have easy access to it for inspiration. It will also provide a place to throw ideas and have visitors respond to those ideas. It might also allow potential game distributors and publishers of the material to read through and critique it.