I would be incredibly weary of giving an airship too early unless you have a full world completely built since it gives a lot of freedom to the players.

~SE++

What Squinty said. Why I hate running games in space settings. Nothing worst then a party turning up at a planet and saying 'eh I don't feel like it' and driving off somewhere else.

Yup. But as an addendum to that, if you ask your players to keep it to the city / planet / region and explain that you don't have more yet, then it should be fine if the player can agree.

~SE++

or the next port happens to be a lot like what the first port would have been like if the players had stopped

or the airship springs a leak and reenacts the Hindenburg

I've never DMed Pathfinder and not spent much time in its upper levels though, so my knowledge in that regard is sort of lacking. I can pull plot and setting out of thin air for quite a while but getting the mechanics of fair but challenging fights may be a challenge.

Current as the world stands:
-Firearms are rare but emerging
-Alchemy and Artifice are the primary sources of technology. Magic exists but isn't so common that anyone can hurl a fireball.
-I have ideas for a rail network but it's implementation relies on another big plot decision I've not you made.
-I've considered having NPC 'warforged' steampunk mechs. Or perhaps they were once flesh and have been built into what they are now.

i'd want to be a pirate air or rail or even both....

The players likely wouldnt have control of the airship. It'd be a rather large thing and require quite the crew. PCs would most likely be some sort of security, raiding party, etc etc depending on the plot that got chosen.

There also exists a contingency plan I could implement to make sure that cutting and running with the ship didnt happen excactly that way. But I'm waiting to see what aspects of the world people like.

Depends on your airship. Not all of them have to be a zeppelin, blimp, dirigible.

Both games have the potential for the PC party to be less than righteous.

In dystopia the group could very much focus on inter-gang violence, ignore the 'big bad government' and just try to make money, or even be mercenaries

In clockwork the group could be part of inter-guild conflicts, work with pirates either on land or air, get tied up in the political goings on and pull strings

I'd want to make money to fund my own band of rebels and try to take down the government

ohhh pulling strings sounds fun

It'd be roleplay heavy might be rather combat light if things started getting political. But I'd very much be willing to break away from the normal "5 people hit things with swords until they get gold and money for it"

perfect

You sure?

it's been a while sicne i'd played in a RP heavy type game so yes

Which one was that? Or was it IRL ?

it was IRL a year or so ago

Ah.

There was quite a PBP areas on WotC so I wasnt going to be surprised if it was there and I'd at least hear the name of the game before.

I kinda wish I had traveled over to the Play by Post area on WotC, but from the outside, new forums always feel very insular.

~SE++

Well the way it was set up for the most part you'd come into an area like Setup Zone, sign up for a recruiting game, and then play in it in the Structured area.

If you felt inclined you could rub elbows with people at the tavern and such, but if you didnt want to you could just get to know you team members and DM through the game.

Never really felt they were insular cause for the most part we were all welcoming for new players (always need more DMs) and most of us bounced throughout the seven different areas of PBP plus the Rec Room and D&D boards at minimum.