Steam & Sorcery

A countdown within a countdown has also begun! The long awaited Steam & Sorcery Live Action Role Play (LARP) game is set to release its Investigators Guide Book on New Year’s Day 2023, giving players three and a half months to familiarize themselves with the rules that will bring a level of immersive storytelling yet to be seen at any Steampunk convention.

The game operates on multiple levels. The first level is for Casual Players who will enjoy searching for clues and puzzles to solve some of the weekend’s mysteries. The next level will be the Registered Player Characters (RPCs) who write themselves into the actual narrative fabric of the weekend’s storyline. RPCs develop a character with simple game statistics (details in January’s publication of the rule book) and register the character with the Steam & Sorcery Arbiters (the referees of the game) to enter the deeper levels of the narrative. RPCs will choose skills to help them through their investigation and have the ability to register equipment and weapons in the game.

The equipment and weapons system of the game allows registered players the opportunity to purchase Equipment Licenses that actually make their physical props official items in the game’s narrative. There is a financial system built into the game, RPCs earn currency, and this is used to purchase in-game items. Be warned, however, you may want to keep some currency in reserve for medical purposes; if you get “wounded” and loose too many Health Points (HP), you will need to pay for medical attention to regain health.

Some situations may result in an “injury” that will cost players Health Points, and if players engage in Combat then wounds are inevitable. All physical combat is resolved in the Underground Arena (see map below in Venue section) under the supervision of the Convention Foam Fighting (CFF) group who are running boffer and foam combat over the weekend. Only RPCs who have taken the CFF Basic Training workshop to become certified can challenge other certified players to combat.

It’s a Kinda Magic . . .

The world of Steam & Sorcery also incorporates magic and spells into the game, but we shall have more about that in a future update.

Victorian Fae
at the 1893 World’s Fair

Each year the Chicago Steampunk Exposition hosts a Special Exhibit that sets the underlying “theme” for that year’s convention; for 2023 our special exhibit will be “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Fantastic Discovery of the Fae World” setting the theme of Victorian Fae at the 1893 World’s Fair. This exhibit will feature art, relics, and other items of interest collected around the Fae Academia following Doyle and his father establishing diplomatic contact with the Fae territories. The Exposition will celebrate the many cultures, achievements, and art of Faekind, and be joined by ambassadors and representatives of these magical realms as we welcome them to Chicago. In many ways this will be like Carnival Row (pictured above), but unlike the Republic of the Burgue, Chicago embraces diversity and multicultural exchanges.

PLEASE NOTE that ALL costuming is welcome, not just Fae, and you don’t even have to come in costume; 21st Century “Time Tumblers” are welcome to 1893 as well 🙂

Be a Presenter!

If you have Steampunk related knowledge and expertise that you would like to share at the Exposition, then we invite you be part of the Program and submit your proposals for presentations.

The 2023 Program Thus Far

Exposition Exhibitors

This coming April, the Exposition will offer a wide array of exhibitors and vendors to entertain, educate, and entice you.

A recent change in our planning has been to merge Artists’ Alley and Printers’ Row which will now both be located in Slate Hall with the Art Gallery. For more information visit our Exhibitor page.

If you would like to be an Exposition Exhibitor, please submit an application HERE.

The Venue

Update! More rooms have been added to the room block, so if you were having trouble booking a room, please try again.

The 2023 Chicago Steampunk Exposition is being hosted at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg. This upscale hotel is a short drive from O’Hare International Airport with many facilities both in the hotel and surrounding it, plus FREE PARKING.