The dawn of exploration has come. The skies have cleared, and we are still here, still alive. Below us lies the sea of clouds, and impossibly below that, the long forgotten ground. Now it has fallen to us to strike out, by ship or balloon, to near and far, to explore the mountain spires that still hold life. There is life to be found, there is treasure and there is the legend, the telling of how our world came to be.

But there is danger.

The king of Dalaam, and the last court known to us, at the centre of the world, reaches out with an iron fist, with legions of his blue-clad soldiers, o what end, we can only guess at.

And there are others. Simple people–good people–people just trying to get by, who sail the skies to make a better life for themselves and those they care about. The merchants, the privateers and those with nowhere else to go.

So come, the sun is up and the skies are waiting.

--

A long road to here and I'm not even sure what or what not to say. Skies was a long project, spanning about 6 years of development and playtesting that resulted in the Core book and character sheets present here, a filing cabinet of drafts and design, and bled over into 2 novellas (A Simple Story and A Year in the Life of Tuck Lobe: Governor of Wreckhall) and a wealth of other creations. There's a lot in this world, but following the cobbling together of the print book, I needed a break and to focus on other projects. Only now, years later, did I think to upload Skies to Itch, and I hope it finds a few more friends here and there. It's a fun world to play in, and I will likely return to it before long.

On a more practical note, once upon a time Skies had a full roadmap, some closer to finish than others, some merely scraps that would fit well into an antiquarian's detritus. Here are some of the splats and expansions:

Tall Tales - GM tools, World building, some prewritten adventures and the beginning of the metaplot.

Steel & Tooth - Weaponry, smithing, flora, fauna, hunting and bestiary. Rules for Hunters and bonecrafting if your PCs want to start crafting gear and weapons from the monsters they cut down. This is the Monster Hunter/Witcher-influenced splat.

Balloon & Sail; The Airship handbook - Build and maintain the airship in which you live and sail. This one is massive and involves crew positions, group fighting mechanics, new professions, just so much.

Areas & Races - Race-specific professions, histories and culture of the four most prominent races found in the skies. maps of all ten skies to use as a jumping-off point, both for empty skies (fog of war-esque) and full. 

Magic - Spell construction and how to twist the system.

The Blue Handbook - For those who want to play as some bad guys, or those who come from the King's ranks.

Soars & Storms - This is the major expansion. more professions. timeline of the world moves notably forward and what that means to the world. new maps. 

I could ramble for years—and I have to those around me—but let's leave it here for now and I'll try to get back to posting more as it comes up. Feel free to ping me if questions, comments, or asks, and I hope you enjoy.

-a