[Mahatatain]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

LOL! I saw "stream" in the title and thought you were doing some kind of podcast.

In my games, Steam is used EXTENSIVELY. For instance, In my world, Krakow doesn't use Ethanol/Methanol fueled generators. These are simply too inefficient to provide power to even a small city. Krakow uses STEAM BOILERS fueled by biomass (wood, coal, peat moss, and garbage) to heat water to steam. That steam flows through a system of large alternators (like those found on boats or heavy machinery like draglines) before the low-pressure steam is used to heat and purify drinking water. The now-exhausted steam recondenses and is cycled back into the boilers. In my game, the boilers were made from liquid propane tanks (the kind on truck bodies) with the ends cut out and a firebox welded into the vessel. Since the tanks were originally "pressure-resistant," the firebox inserted into the center of the tank (by cutting out the back and welding it in there) has less of a chance of rupturing the tank. This design allows water to flow all around the firebox and steam exits from the pressure relief valve installed at the top of the tank body. Eight of these now roughly 4,000-gallon boilers turning the large turbine-style alternators power Krakow.

However, providing that much wood to burn would be problematic. Thus, I have a small settlement several klicks from Krakow that has reopened a small pre-WWII COAL MINE. Krakow provides this settlement with manufactured goods and raw materials from its building salvage operations (like screws/fasteners, & fixtures like pipes and wire), and steel from its Keldo (an electric furnace that melts scrap metal to make new steel). There are weekly convoys to various small settlements where everything from ammo, spare parts, and new steel is traded for the raw materials Krakow needs to survive (like food, coal, salt, and wood). These convoys are Krakow's "lifeblood" and are well protected but also present a "juicy target" for anyone brave enough to face their firepower.

I have most of Krakow's economy being "Salvage," with most of it coming from damaged buildings that are salvaged for pipe, electrical fixtures, and reclaimed steel. But that's a post for a different thread.

I believe that coal mining in Poland is particularly concentrated in Silesia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_Poland) so a particular Margrave might well have control of some resources that Krakow needs, prompting either trade or war, depending on the direction you want your campaign to go in.