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Steamhammer 1950

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Steamhammer 1950:

A request by weaverj for a map of his Warhammer 40k based AU in the 19th Century. Writeup by weaverj.

It is the 20th Centuries. For a hundred years The President has sat immobile in the White House of America. He is the master of Americans by the will of the people, and master of a million cities by the might of His inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Industrial Age of Enlightenment. He is the carrion lord of the Union for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that He may never truly die.

Yet even in his deathless state, the President continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty armies cross the tribal-infested miasma of the plains, the lands sprawling around distant cities, their way lit by electronic marvels, the manifestation of the President's vision. Vast armies give battle in His name, aided by Steam Train and Light Bulb and more. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Rough Riders, Cowboys, raised in the harshest of plains. Their comrades in arms are legion; the Continental Army and countless Militiamen, the ever-vigilant Salem Inquisition, and the Scientist-Inventors of the Founding Fathers, to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from Confederates, Tribals, Liberals
and worse.

The War between the States would be the war that would change the face of the globe. The Idea that the South seceded for States Rights has dissapeared from recent memory and overshadowed by the eternal war that is ongoing. In 1863, a Confederate soldier found a strange book dating back to before the American Revolution. The book was written in an old language similar to Ancient Greek and spoke of gods that men are incapable of imagining, but it also said that these gods could provide help to those who payed tribute. Robert E Lee was against the idea, but Davis believed that they could be useful to the Southern Cause. The Confederates performed the rituals spoken of in the book and were able to summon strange monsters that one could have only imagined appearing in fairy tales: Demonic Cavalrymen, Hellhounds, The ability to raise and control the dead, Basically Demonic type stuff.

The Monsters were unleashed on the Union Army at Gettysburg in another attempt by the south to invade the north. The battle appeared to be successful, as Union troops either defected, surrendered, or retreated en masse. the invasion would be stopped in the Battle of Washington D.C, where the Union army was able to push back the Monsters with ease after finding out that the creatures went down with only one shot to the chest (they didn't find this out before due to the sheer panic of seeing these things coming at them). But the most climactic battle of the war would be in Atlanta. After the battle of Washington, several inventors and scientists came together at the white house to discuss their ideas, and they were able to come up with several new war machines that could counter the South's Magitek. Lincoln was impressed, and authorized the creation of new Steam Punk weaponry. The new "Steam Boys," along with the rest of the Union Army launched an invasion of the south, aiming for Atlanta at the heart of the south. But Atlanta was defended by the Confederacy's Finest as well, and the resulting battle was bloody as hell, literally on the last one. The blood of fallen soldiers on both sides opened up portals to the dark realms of many religions and summoned more and more Monsters, but these monsters were rogue, and attacked both sides, and it was here that it was discovered that everything the book said was a lie. The book had been placed on earth so that someone would read it, and the blood of fallen soldiers would allow them to rip open holes to our world. The bloodshed at Atlanta resulted in the entire City becoming what would be known as "The beacon" (or the Eye of Terror in other English Communities). As more and more monsters poured out of the beacon, it was decided that the South was a lost cause, and the former Confederacy was quarantined by naval Blockade and DMZs.

Lincoln's Presidency would never end after that. 6 days afterwards, John Wilkes Booth, a Chaos supporter, attempted to shoot Lincoln during a speech in an attempt to sacrifice him and summon a Demon in Washington. Booth missed the head, but Lincoln was critically wounded, and his doctors only gave him a few days left to live. But the Scientists had a solution! A Steam Powered Life Support system which would keep Lincoln alive till the end of days, but at a price: Lincoln would not be able to leave the white house. No one knows if Lincoln accepted the life support, or if he was placed in the machine against his own will, but as of today, he remains on the machine in a deathless state, not dead, but not alive either.

In the year 1964, the Union has become the most powerful state on Earth. After Lincoln's internment, the New rulers of America, descendants of the First Republicans, claim that Lincoln’s final wish was simple: Manifest Destiny for the world! America now rules over East Asia, with Japan and Korea having become states early on, and most of China and South East Asia being annexed as colonies, Northern Africa, with Liberia becoming the first American state in Africa, and South America, with the Carribean becoming a military base to quarantine the Chaos. The Union is not Democratic like it used to be, it is now ruled by the Businessman rather than the Common Man, with those who create the weapons being the ones who control the economy. Technology is Tightly controlled by the "Founding Fathers," Descendants of the original inventors of the Steam Tech of the war, Who lovingly maintain the City Sized Factories of the Midwest, which makes thousands of firearms every minute. The Founding Fathers are responsible for many electronic and technological marvels that they use to guide the steam powered Wagon Trains across the Lands of Asia and Africa. The American Army is the largest the world has ever seen, with anyone in the thousands of Union Towns being considered worthy of Conscription, resulting in many different types of soldiers for different kinds of battles, such as the Sahara Desert raiders, The Death Korps of Spain, and of course, the Cuban Shock Troops, who rule the Caribbean, where the conscription rate is equal to the birth rate. But the American Army's finest lies in the "Rough Riders." Rough Riders are similar to Cowboys, only they ride on Steam Powered horse machines and use the best guns the Founding Fathers have to offer, but it takes years of training in the harshest of places to become one, and out of the 300 that try every year, only 5 usually survive to become Rough Riders. Then of course, there's the GBI, better known as the Selma Inquisition. Even during the war, Lincoln was big on censoring those who wrote negatively of him, and now there is an entire State Sec to enforce this! typically investigating households for any Chaos Infiltrators or anyone too far on one side of the spectrum, sometimes purging entire towns just to be sure.

America's Only ally in the Eternal War is Tsarist Russia. The Tsar supported the north during the Civil War, and to this day, The Union helps to fund the Tsar and keep him on the throne, as the Russians supply soldiers and help with an important front in the war. The Russians have their own version of the Steamboys, who are based off of Medieval Knights rather than Cowboys. Most of Russia is still rather agrarian, which, while it does give them hardier soldiers, sorta makes them reliant on the Americans for heavy industry. The Russians are also somewhat behind technologically, as they worry that "Dirty" Steamtech could destroy their agriculture, or something like that, and most of their Technology is either heavily dated or Imported American Equipment, which is most likely dated as well. In the place of Steamtech, the Russians use a form of Magitek similar to what the South used during the Civil War, only the Russians learned from the CSA's mistakes and are able to use it efficiently in combat to give the Soldiers great strength in combat and even revive dead soldiers, although the spell only works once. While the Americans are weary of what may happen if the Russian Magitek is misused like it was by the South, The Tsar says he has everything under control.
The Eternal War has affected the entire world if you weren't convinced by the previous paragraph, and one of the Countries affected the greatest by the war was the British Empire. Formerly the largest Empire the world has ever seen, The British are a shadow of their former selves. The Beacon caused several "Hellstorms" around the world, producing mass chaos, but the biggest one was on the British Isles. The amount of Crime, Arrogance, and Pollution resulted in the Hellstorm being so big that it devoured the entire UK. Most Britons were able to escape via Boat, with much of the Royal Navy escaping out to sea. Nowadays, the British Empire is beyond Vestigial, most of the colonies now under Foreign Control. But the British still compete with the Americans over dominance of the seas. Most of the Royal Navy ships have become the British Floating Fortresses, which are large enough to serve as both a Military base and a Small Town that is self sustaining and ready to fight. While the Americans were more Steampunk, the British are much more closer to home compared to the other powers in the world. Many of the British are content with living their lives out at sea, but some have ambitions to find a way to stop the UK Hellstorm, retake the Home Island, and recreate the British Empire. Most of Britain's former colonial empire is controlled by the British East India Company, a rogue Slaveocracy that constantly raids Primitive lands for natives that will slave away for the corporates. However, a new front in the war was opened up when a British Floating Fortress found something rather interesting...

That book that was found by the CSA spoke of a city underneath the Atlantic that held immense power. While the CSA didn't really have the tech to find this city, the British did, and they had found it: The lost city of Atlantis. The British performed the ritual to raise the city to find the shiny weapons inside, only to get slaughtered by what was inside. The Atlanteans themselves had been long extinct, but their Technology was still there, specifically Ancient Colonial Enforcer Robots or Robocops and flying mini Drones that saw everybody as a Primitive Barbarian that needed to be subjugated. The various other Machines in Atlantis are controlled by a master computer that survived the submerging of the Continent, and was reactivated by the British on accident. Luckily, the Master Computer can't access the colonies directly from Atlantis and must send machines to activate the various Atlantean Colonies on the Atlantic Rim manually, using any means necessary…

America’s main enemy in the eternal war is France. After the Battle of Atlanta, the Second French Empire fell into revolution. By the 1890s, the French were still divided, but when the Americans prepared to expand their European territories beyond Spain, a major Time Storm covered the former republic, destroying the Invasion force. In 1950, however, the storm
dissipated, and The French were once again united under the Third French Empire. Like America, the current French government was founded on Democratic Ideals, but the fact that they have an emperor is used by the Americans as propaganda that they are not a true Republic, However, the Emperor is merely a figurehead, the real power goes to the Grand Council, a group of people who's origin is unknown, but despite their seemingly laid-back and soft approach to Chaos, the French Empire is actually very prepared to fight Chaos compared to the Americans, who think the French haven't seen Hell like they have. Compared to the other factions, the French use some of the most advanced technology in the setting, as While they may be small compared to the Americans, they have an Ace that the Americans fear: Nuclear Power. Nuclear Bombs have been declared too deadly to be manufactured, but the French still use the Nuclear power to give their Troops great weapons, such as Rayguns, Power Armor, and other stuff which the Americans wish they had. The French Rule all of Continental Europe, except for Spain, which is American, and Eastern Europe, which is a battleground against the Russians, but they intend to spread the light of their revolution to the whole world through any means necessary. Some would say that the French are the good guys of the scenario, as unlike the Americans, you will not be discriminated against for being an immigrant, although they will bomb your city if you do not submit, and Anti-Semitism is still an issue. And despite the rivalry with the Americans, the French have teamed up with the Americans to fight mutual threats in some cases, and there has also been a fad for French artwork and culture in the Union lately, after all, The French helped America gain independence, so the frogs can't be that bad.

Throughout the world, there are people who don’t have their own flags, or their own countries, w
hether they be Chinese, Native American, Arabs, Africans, or some other group, they are like the resistance against American Imperialism. They’re used to use more Traditional Weaponry, but over time they began to take American Weapons, and now they use Steam Tech rather well. American Propaganda portrays them as a dangerous horde of Locusts who will Rape, Pillage, and Burn entire towns for no reason other than being Savages, and nowadays they wage war with each other as well, so there is little chance of the barbarians uniting, Thank Lincoln.

Back in the Americas, What was once the Confederate States is now Hell on Earth. The Beacon still spews out Monsters every day, and every Wednesday, they try to invade the Union, still using materials and Formations from the Civil War, and they always fail. The Beacon has attracted the attention of The Blood God, Lord of Change, Prince of Pleasure, and Plague Father, Four Mad Gods who briefly made the South their domain before losing interest, but they do visit often. Very few humans in the Chaos Zone are unaffected by chaos, and many are enslaved by the now immortal aristocratic plantation owners of the Civil War, growing Lincoln knows what. Many different kinds of beasts and monsters are seen across the Mason-Dixon Line. Zombies are relatively common, Shambling around the wastes typically in groups of 25 or less, but those groups tend to merge and they occasionally approach the Border, and they get tougher every year. And thanks to the power given off by the beacon, the Rotting Corpses are effectively immortal, with some shamblers having fleshless faces dating back to the Battle of Atlanta during the Civil War, In fact, most of the Zombies are dead soldiers from the Battle of Atlanta, as Bites don't spread the infection, all it takes is dying within the Southern Wasteland to come back to life in about 12 seconds. But a bigger Problem is the Vampires. Led by the Enigmatic "Vampire King" Adam (who is believed to be as old as the Egyptian Pyramids), the Vampire armies travel around the south on Undead Horseback (they never heard of the motorcycle) and feast upon the blood of any normal humans that still wander the South, while occasionally sending shock troops to attack the Mason-Dixon line, but they have always failed ever since the Silver Tommy Gun was invented. However, this doesn't stop some from turning Invisible and crossing the Border and preying on the Innocents in the Union, which only gives the Selma Inquisition more shit to do. However, the toughest enemies are the Traitor Legions. Led by the Immortal Confederate Generals, the Traitor Legions still fight the Civil War to this day and are considered the worst enemy of the Union due to them being led by leaders like Stonewall "Hellfire" Jackson and Robert "Ethereal" Lee, and they are equipped with Chaos-powers that can make pistols as deadly and powerful as Grenade Launchers.

But one of the biggest threats would not come from Man, but from Space. Nobody, even after the Civil War, would have believed that Life existed beyond the earth, they were wrong. On the Planet Mars, the Octopi-like Martians(1) are facing the threat of extinction, and their only hope for survival is to carry warfare Sunward. The Martians would actually be first discovered by the British. In an attempt to show their Tech Innovation, they built a Cannon and launched Men to the moon, where they placed the British Flag. Upon their Return, the Aethernauts told the British Government that they had seen Meteors coming From Mars, but these Meteors were actually the First Martian Cylinders carrying the invasion force towards Earth. The first Cylinder, dubbed “The Behemoth,” landed in Egypt in the 1940s, and immediately, the Martians waged warfare with their Tripods and their Heat rays and Black Smoke. The Martians also have the ability to take control of Corpses and use them to undermine Human Society, Making cities easier to capture for the Tripods. Any area captured is covered in Martian Red Weed, which drains Water and destroys Earth Flora, and Humans are used as both Food for Martian Troops, and Fertilizer for the Red Weed. The Union initially thought that the First Cylinder would be the only cylinder to land on earth, but they were proven wrong when Martian Reinforcements arrived to support the first cylinder. Luckily, while the union and its enemies are taking its time to mobilize and think of a strategy, the Martians are busy trying to subjugate the Natives, meaning that whoever wins will leave one less threat for the Union to deal with.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the cries of freedom, of the bold and the beautiful, for so many have been forgotten, never to be remembered. Forget the promises made to the tired and the poor, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the lands, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

(1) recent translations of Martian Texts implies that the Martians may not actually be from Mars however, and that Mars was just the most recent conquest, this information is unconfirmed...

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Imperium of Man + United States of America = Global Union of Man

Forces of Chaos + Confederate States of America = The Eternal Foe

Eldar + Royal Navy = British Empire?

Dark Eldar + British Raj = British East India Company?

Leagues of Votann + Tsarist Russia = Empire of Russia?

Necrons + Atlantis = Atlantean Automated Enforcers

Orks + Native Americans = "Savages"?

T'au + Napoleonic France = Third French Empire

Tyranids + Mars = Empire of Mars