At EN World, I interviewed Miguel Colon about his new project on Kickstarter, Cloudsea: A Primer to Living Atop the Clouds. Done with the help of Kim Frandsen of Beyond the Horizon, Cloudsea offers a campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. Miguel describes the book as:
“Cloudsea is a supplement for 5th Edition which is about 62 pages long at present, which presents a post-apocalyptic world that has rebuilt itself over thousands of years, escaping the radioactive surface world by building massive cities in the sky on the backs of air elementals that are bound into service.”
EGG: This is for 5e, why that system for your setting?
MIGUEL: 5e is a system that is near and dear to my heart. I feel that it is one which quite a lot of people enjoy, and though I have experience writing for other systems, I believed that most people would be open to it were I to make Cloudsea for 5e. That is not to say I am against writing in for other systems, merely that this is where I wanted to start. If this happens to be a success and I have people asking me for a translation to other systems, there would be a good chance that I take them up on it and do my best to make their wishes come true!
EGG: How do characters get from sky-city to sky-city?
MIGUEL: That is a very good question. Within the setting presented, airplanes have been invented as a combination of magic and technology. I wanted to avoid going into a full technological revolution and so the airplanes within the setting are each powered by the core of an air elemental, which as you can tell, is more exploitation of the elementals by the people of the Cloudsea for their own comfort. This was done so as to allow for more sword-and-sandal gameplay with people walking around in plate armor and wielding swords, as I didn’t want there to be guns available for everyone. The society presented simply is not there just yet, even if they are close.
The magically powered airplanes are used to transport people and goods between the three sky-cities… well, I should say two sky-cities. As you read more into the product you’ll learn that there is quite a bit of tension between two of the sky-cities, Dragon and Phoenix, and the newest one, Hydra. What I can say about them is this: not all is necessarily as it seems in regards to the sky-city of Hydra, who is painted as the villain of the setting by the narrator. The unreliable narrator. Make of that as you will.
EGG: The world was rebuilt above the clouds by gnomes. What can you share about them? Are they the “standard” 5e version of gnomes?
MIGUEL: These gnomes are superficially similar. That is to say that the base gnome without any subtypes is the same as the ones you are used to, however, there are three new subtypes to play with. That said, as far as everything else about them, they are completely different.
Gnomes within the Cloudsea are at the upper echelons of society, and are definitely the elite. They may have once earned the respect of the people by being hailed as the saviors of people everywhere, but over time, this power dynamic has morphed and now they are inclined to keep their power through regulating laws and rigging the system against the other races in society. Are there gnomes who don’t engage in this? Why of course, they are not all evil. But most gnomes are born into the system in which they hold all the cards and are definitely unwilling to give it up. Even those who want to fight against the unfair system in place are advantaged by the sheer fact of their race; most gnomes end up being politicians, police officers, and other privileged members of society.
EGG: That’s an interesting combination of elements. On the Kickstarter page, there’s a mention of diving into the Cloudsea. Is this to go back to the surface? If so, what’s that like for the PCs?
MIGUEL: Thank you for asking. The Cloudsea, as aforementioned, is this massive radioactive cloud which covers the surface world. The primary purpose of diving into the Cloudsea would be to gather resources in order to make life more pleasant for those in the sky-cities. The divers, which could include the PCs, have to deal with a radiation which quickly ages them as they spend time within the radioactive cloud in exchange for material reward and prestige. Of course there are other threats which live in the Cloudsea as these unknown “things” have managed to adapt to the radiation, however, these are only hinted at within the initial primer. There is a plan to detail them more accurately and with art provided if stretch goals are met, but unfortunately budget concerns meant that we could only make them this ominous threat at present.
EGG: Kim Frandsen was my editor at Open Gaming Network and a co-columnist at d20 Radio. What is he doing on this project?
MIGUEL: Kim Frandsen is a great person and great friend. Kim has a triple role in this project, acting as the editor, layout designer, and publisher for this project through Beyond the Horizon. Kim is honestly a trooper and this couldn’t have been done without his support and effort.
EGG: Thanks for talking with me about your project. Where can fans learn more about your work?
MIGUEL: I wish I had more of a social media presence to be entirely honest, but the best I can say is that I will be regularly posting to Facebook about this along with some of my friends and co-workers alike. I would also like to sincerely thank you for taking the time to do this with me and wish you all the best.
Cloudsea: A 5th Edition Primer to Living Atop the Clouds from Beyond the Horizon and Miguel Colon
“Live your life on one of three sky-cities, with a Roaring 20s vibe, and a radioactive sea of clouds just below everyone.”
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