Six Weeks until the Exposition!

SIX WEEKS before the convention opens, and work is underway and nearing completion to update the Steam & Sorcery LARP under the new leadership of Tiffany Bellman and Marie S Chase!

Steam & Sorcery –
Live Action Role Playing Game

In this updated edition of the Steam & Sorcery rules the essential piece of playing equipment is once more a pack of regular playing cards, with all 54 cards; yes, the Jokers play a part! Character creation is cross compatible with previous versions of the game with the three core Attributes being Body, Mind, and Spirit. Archetypes remain, but in the updated version they are described as Skill sets, and rather than levels being referred to as coins, they are now points. Item cards remain, but instead of coin bonuses, they will be point bonuses. When playing the game and facing a Challenge, your character will add together:

Attribute Score + Skill Score + Item Bonus = ABILITY SCORE

Players will then get to draw from the shuffled card deck and add the Card Draw number to the total result. Ace = 1, Number Cards = 2-10, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13, and the Joker = Unbeatable (unless it’s a tie with another Joker).

Ability Score + Card Draw = RESULT

Most challenges will be refereed by and against a Non-Player Character (NPC) who will present a Challenge Score (the counter to Ability Score); the NPC will also cut from the deck and add it to the challenge score to reach a result.

Challenge Score + Card Draw = RESULT

For a player to be successful in that round of the challenge, their Result needs to exceed the NPC’s Result; a tie requires another attempt. Depending on the difficulty of the challenge, the number of winning Results to pass the challenge may vary (i.e. best of three, best of five, etc.).

For characters who have an alignment to one of the four Houses (Knight Clubs, Diamond Dogs, Tarts with Hearts, and the Gravedigger Spades), if the card drawn is from your House, you can draw another card and pick the highest card to add to your Ability Score; if the second card, or subsequent card(s), are still from your House, you may continue to draw until you reach one not in your House, but you may only pick one to add to your Ability Score.

Final editing touches are being added to the Steam & Sorcery rules, and should be complete next week!

2026 Chicago Steampunk Exposition SCHEDULE! Please note that a few changes and additions may occur over the remaining six weeks, but for the most part we have the order of events mapped out for this June. Around mid-May, a printable version of the schedule will also be available.

Tea Tickets are still available for Saturday, June 13th

12:00PM – The Madhatter’s Tea Party!
3:00PM – The OTHER Madhatter’s Tea Party!

Additionally, there are still two VIP ticket opportunities left for Leanna Renee Hieber. VIP tickets include an exclusive cocktail party on Friday, VIP banquet on Saturday, and High Tea on Sunday, plus a number of other great advantages such as access to the VIP lounge.

So what else is new this week?

Program Updates

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full schedule online next week!

Exposition Exhibitors

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form