Skysea
Scope
The motivation behind building Skysea
I want a world of high adventure, inspired by the likes of Flash Gordon, Blackstar, Thundarr the Barbarian, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Heavy Metal (the movie), and A Princess of Mars.
The goal of the project
I am writing this world to be used as the setting for an RPG, using the Genesys system from Fantasy Flight Games. I want my players to experience high adventure at high altitude, in a fantastic setting that challenges their expectations.
Skysea's Unique Selling point
Skysea is an endless plane of air. If it has boundaries, the natives have not found them. Within this plane there are floating chunks of land where many different people live. Each island is its own biome, and has it's own people. The smaller islands are blown about on the wind, but the larger ones can become fixed in place. The natives are aware of this, but don't know why. The various peoples have devised ways to travel the skies, mostly by sailing in vessels made of special materials that defy gravity. This allows diplomacy, trade, travel, intrigue, and of course, war.
Theme
Genre
Science Fantasy/Sword & Planet
Magic exists, although its practitioners are often self-interested and willing to use it to get what they want at the expense of others.
Technology is widespread, but applied sparsely. It is available for those who wish to understand it, but arcane to most people. It just works, and few question why.
Neither magic nor technology operate on the large scale. There are no major industries using either to produce good or services, except perhaps the making of flying ships, depending on the methods used.
Reader Experience
Skysea is wonderful and terrible; dangerous, but also exciting. The world itself should feel limitless and expansive. The societies within it should be grounding with familiar expectations, while each having the ability to surprise the audience.
Reader Tone
Skysea is more grey than dark. The poor struggle to make their living, while the rich struggle among each other for position and power. It is the same for nations as it is for their people. Ordinary people usually try very hard to avoid wondrous things, as that wonder is usually accompanied by danger. Stalwarts supply protection and hope by braving the dangers so that others do not have to. Existence is not bleak, but you have to strive for it, and that comes with risk some are not prepared to take.
Recurring Themes
- Skysea is endless; a vast plane of sky and cloud, with no known boundaries
- Flying ships travel between islands of land floating within the sky
- People trade, intrigue, and war among each other, for resources and land
- Swordsmen duel each other while gunners fire at others with powderguns (pistols and rifles using black powder), or beamguns (lasers)
- Flying creatures, large and small, soar the skies while beasts of all sizes, both mundane and monstrous, prowl the land
Character Agency
Individuals with strong enough cause and determination can change the course of nations, or even the whole of Skysea. Those changes will be as permanent as the institutions which those individuals put in place to uphold the changes.
Focus
Drama
One of the seven kingdoms recently conquered another, and now seems poised to continue expanding. They have both magic and technology that others do not.
A new island has drifted into the shipping lanes, and there is a race to discover what resources, people, and secrets it may hold.
Tensions are rising between the major shipping nations. Spies are rampant and it seems all it would take is one match to touch off a new war.
The Vez have been spotted swarming skyward on a ritual hunt for skywhales.
The 74th annual Dalton Jet Stream Run will take place soon. Competitors have been flooding the ports, as locals gawk at their sleek ships and excitedly speculate on which racer will win the cup this year.
Copyright Geoff Washam, 2020
Cover Image by FelixMittermeier from Pixabay