d20 Goodman Games Aerial Adventure Guide - Volume One Rulers of the Sky.pdf - Aerial Adventure Guide - R5700

Table of Contents

Writer: Michael Mearis

Artist: V. Shane

Logo Designer: Andy Hopp

Copy Editor: Joseph Goodman

Graphic Designer: Joseph Goodman

Crashing

Introduction

The Sky Realms

Altitude

Adding to Your Campaign

Sky Ships

In Your Campaign

Adventures

Races

Overview

Arachial

Combat

Avian

Designing Ships

Sample Designs

Sky Elf

Surface Races

Crews

Character Classes

New Monsters

Air Knight

Arachial

Sky Elf Battle Captain

Avian

New Feats

Cloud Lurker

Aerial Combat Rules

Elf, Sky

Leviathan

Aerial Initiative

Facing

Sky Serpent

www.goodman-games.com

goodmangames@mindspring.com

Abstract Movement

Thundercloud

Aerial Combat Options

Winged Creature (Template)

Attacks of Opportunity

Other Monsters of the Skies

Be sure to look for the rest of the Aerial Adventure Guide series!

if you like this book, you might also be interested in these:

Volume 2: Sellaine, Jewel of the Skies (GMG2oo1)

Volume 3: Monsters, Magic, and Sky Ships (GMG2oo2)

Complete Guide to Doppelgangers (GMG3000)

Complete Guide to Velociraptors (GMG1oo3)

Dinosaur Planet: Eroncosaurus Rex Core Rulebook (GMG1ooo)

Introduction

The Sky Realms

Welcome to a world of fantasy and adventure that

quite literally may have been hanging over your cam-

paign's head for years. Flying ships and wondrous cas-

tles floating amongst the clouds have long been a staple

of fantasy. The fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk features

a castle perched high in the sky, while classic fantasy

epics such as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings include intelli-

gent flying races like the great eagles. In a world where

magic makes almost anything possible, perhaps an

"P.. I industrious race of powerful magicians could take to the

sky and settle there permanently, free of the trials and

tribulations of life on the surface. Of course, this being a

game of fantastic adventure, life in the sky comes with its

own set of challenges, villains, and fearsome monsters.

This book posits a simple idea: what if in your cam-

paign world some of the clouds that drift overhead har-

bor small cities, villages, ruins, castles, and other settle-

ments? What sort of creatures would live up there? What

kind of cloud islands could you encounter? How do crea-

tures travel? Do they interact with the surface world?

Chapter 1 provides some guidelines to answering

those questions and maps out some basic ideas for what

a cloud realm may look like.

Chapter 2 details three races that dwell amongst the

clouds: the sky elves, the evil arachial, and the barbaric

avians. Each is given a brief description of their culture

along with complete game rules for playing characters of

those races.

Chapter 3 introduces two new prestige classes that

are at home in the sky and provides guidelines for how

the core classes operate in the air.

Chapter 4 describes new feats useful to aerial adven-

tures and the creatures who dwell in the realms above.

Chapter 5 includes expanded rules for aerial combat,

allowing you to fight out battles in the sky with ease.

Chapter 6 gives rules for sky ships, vessels much

like sailing ships that can soar through the sky and pro-

vide the primary means of transportation in the aerial

realms for wingless creatures.

And of course, no adventuring environment would

be complete without a few monsters to threaten the

heroes. Chapter 7 summarizes the core monsters that are

appropriate to an aerial realm and introduces several new

threats tailored for use in the sky.

There will be two more books that expand on these

concerns. The second volume of the Aerial Adventure

Guide, Sellaine: Jewel of the Clouds, will describe air-

borne settings that you can easily integrate into any cam-

paign. The third volume will introduce even more mon-

sters and items of the air.

So, strap on your wings of flying, board the waiting

Warhawk sky ship, and prepare to explore a new vista of

adventure.

Far above the daily bustle of life, there floats a com-

pletely separate realm atop some of the seemingly inno-

cent clouds that drift through the sky. At the highest

points of the atmosphere, dimensional rifts shunt energy

to and from the elemental plane of air. Occasionally, the

diaphanous cloud materials of the elemental realm drift

through a gate. While these masses appear to be normal

clouds, they are in fact durable bodies of solid material.

In the elemental plane, they serve as floating islands

upon which civilizations grow and prosper. From the

bottom, they look like puffy, white clouds. Anyone view-

ing them from above can see the thick layer of soil and

the small, stunted forests that grow upon them. Within

these verdant realms, wild animals, humanoids, and

other creatures can grow and flourish. Fed by light rain

from even higher clouds and the moist winds that sweep

over them, cloud realms are viable homes for most crea-

tures.

Solid clouds are rare in most worlds of the prime

material plane. The typical barony may see one drift

overhead every decade. However, in some worlds these

formations are much more common, particularly those

that are tightly bound to the elemental plane of air. In

these realms, a full 10% of clouds are capable of sus-

taining life on their upper sides.

In worlds where cloud realms are common, flying

races colonize them. Creatures such as wyvems nest

amongst the clouds, as do griffons and sphinxes.

Dragons who wish to be alone with their hordes find a

suitable cloud realm, burrow a small cave or other shel-

ter into its center, and rest there for years free of bother

from crusading knights, greedy thieves, and other pests.

Cloud realms truly come into their own when intel-

ligent humanoids tend to them. Sleek flying ships craft-

ed by the sky elves soar through the air, glinting in the

sun as they approach to land at a sky town's docks. Brave

adventurers assemble valiant crews to sail across the sky

in search of undiscovered cloud realms that may hold

alien civilizations, forgotten treasure caches, and terrible

monsters. Enterprising halflings use magic and perhaps a

"liberated" sky ship to establish trade between the clouds

and the surface. With a high level of magic, it is possible

for the cloud realms to become as densely settled and as

well traveled as the surface.

Adding Cloud Realms to

your Campaign

As a default, this book presents three races that

dwell almost exclusively amongst the clouds: the sky

elves, the arachial, and the avians. All three races have

little contact with the surface, as travel between the

ground and the sky is rather limited. All are civilized to

varying degrees, and all claim ownership to various

brings far-flung kingdoms and empires into contact.

Before rushing to integrate cloud realms into your game,

be sure to carefully consider the repercussions they may

have. As a rule of thumb, it is best to stick with the first

two options presented above unless you plan to run a sky

campaign from the outset. Introducing these elements

too quickly or on too large a scale into an existing world I

may cause you problems down the line.

Designing Cloud Realms

A cloud realm can take on many shapes and forms.

They can range from miles wide to no more than a hun-

dred feet across. They can be thin and littered with holes

that can drop an unwary traveler to the surface, or thick

and honeycombed with passages and tunnels.

The bottom portion of a cloud realm is composed of

thick, fibrous white material. The upper half on most is

covered in a layer of moist, loamy soil capable of sup-

porting plant life, though some cloud realms feature rad-

ically different terrain. Most clouds have a temperate

environment, though they tend to mirror the climate of

the area beneath them. When a cloud wanders to the

polar regions, it becomes much colder and snowy. Over

deserts it grows dry, while over the ocean it becomes

wetter and warmer.

Clouds generally follow a predictable path over the

course of a year. The high winds push them through the

sky, giving them a regular turn of seasons and sometimes

causing cloud realms to temporarily combine into one

large mass. When two allied communities combine, they

celebrate with festivals and holidays until their clouds

part. If two rivals collide, the clouds are torn by war and

skirmishes until they finally drift away.

cloud realms.

If you want to run a game where contact between

earth and sky is not a common occurrence, then travel to

the skies is incredibly rare. Few if any spellcasters pos-

sess the knowledge needed to construct a sky ship. Items

such as wings of flying are too rare to make travel there

possible for anyone aside from -a few powerful

individuals. The two realms are mostly ignorant of

each other.

The default setting as presented here assumes that

some travel takes place between the two regions but that

travel is too difficult for lasting bonds to emerge. Sky

ships are common amongst the clouds but almost

unheard of on the surface. Sages and other learned peo-

ple may know a bit about their opposite region, but many

commoners on both sides consider the surface or the

clouds to be mythical, mysterious realms. Of course,

cloud dwellers are a bit less leery of the surface world as

most have seen high mountains or caught a glimpse of

the ground while traveling. Still, they consider it a

place best avoided.

If you want a campaign where the sky realms are

just another kingdom or region, then sky ships are com-

mon modes of transportation. Major cities may have

docks set up in their harbors to serve ships that travel

from above and drop anchor beside those that sail the

ocean. In some places, air travel might eclipse ground

movement or ocean voyages as the preferred method of

transportation. Armies march to war with small

flotillas of sky ships soaring overheard, ready to drop

catapult and ballista fire upon their enemies.

Regardless of how you choose to introduce cloud

realms into your campaign, it is best to remember that no

change exists in a bubble. If a nation produces sky ships

for trade, they also use them in war. If air travel is com-

mon, then trade takes place over long distances and

Cloud Communities

Generate cities, towns, and villages just as you

would for a surface region. However, magic is much

more common amongst the clouds. On average, a cloud

settlement's maximum level spellcaster is two levels

higher than those found on the surface. Sky communities

also have large, complex harnesses to catch and hold sky

ships that dock there. Many sky ships are not maneuver-

able enough to hover. Thus, they must have specially

built knding cradles to hold them while they are in port.

Few communities bother with walls unless they are

built on cloud realms where dangerous creatures wander

their wilderness. Most towns feature a low stockade to

impede attackers, but in the aerial realm attacks from

above are far more common. Thus, defensive fortifica-

tions tend to be spread throughout a town or village. The

outer wall features guards and artillery designed to

thwart ground attacks, while taller towers form succes-

sive, concentric rings within the settlement. These tow-

ers are manned by archers and ballistae and serve to repel

aerial assaults.

Most towns require approaching ships to move

directly towards the town docks. Ships sailing above a

settlement risk attack or serious fines. In the wilds of the

sky, it is best to shoot first and apologize later rather than

risk a pirate or arachial attack.

Buildings are normally built from wood and other

organic materials. While trees and other plants flourish

on clouds, stone and metal are both relatively rare. Sky

elf military bases and their ancient, original cities are

small, roofed colonies forged from iron, steel, and

bronze. These wondrous colonies are few in number but

provide a critical line of defense for the elf kingdoms.

Many incursions against the elves have worn themselves

thin with successive, futile assaults against these almost

impregnable fortresses.

Sky elf cities are built with defense first, aesthetics

second. Sky elf commoners learn to wield weapons and

every adult is expected to respond to an alarm, ready to

fight. The town guard in sky elf towns is renowned for its

no-nonsense attitude. A few wrong words can get a sur-

face-worlder or stranger thrown in the stocks.

Trading cities spring up whenever the surface and

sky worlds cross paths. These cosmopolitan centers are

run either by sky elves or by trading companies founded

by a surface merchant guild. These places tend to be

much more lax in terms of security and patrols than sky

elf towns.

Frontier settlements are small, crude communities

founded by independent-minded explorers, settlers,

prospectors, or exiles who would much rather avoid civ-

ilization. Rough-and tumble in the extreme, these towns

sometimes serve as havens for pirates and other crimi-

nals. Sky elf raids on suspected bandit strongholds are

common and have led to tensions and minor wars

between the elf nations and independent cloud realms.

forth what is commonly called a fire cloud. From below,

fire clouds look like thunderclouds that flash and rumble I

with energy. From above, they are heat-blasted, hellish

planes of smoking rock. Most travelers would avoid

them, save for their one important feature. Fire clouds

are rich in iron ore and other metals. The humanoid races

of the skies battle ferociously for the chance to mine

these places. Unfortunately, they are rife with fire crea-

tures, including elementals and stray efreets, and are

havens for demons, devils, and other planar threats. Still,

metal is rare enough in the sky that the potential profits

from extracting ore outweigh the risks.

Fire clouds are shaped much like normal ones. They

are vaguely bowl-shaped form above, though craggy

peaks rise from their central areas. The temperature on a

fire cloud ranges from 90 to no degrees Fahrenheit.

Water is unknown on them, forcing travelers to carry

their own. Hell cloud settlements are heavily defended

against both aerial and ground assaults. Pirates common-

ly lurk near these clouds, waiting for an opportunity to

seize a shipload of ore.

Floating Island: A floating island is a large chunk

of earth that floats through the sky like a cloud. From

below, it looks like a large, dark mass that is far too

opaque to be a cloud. Floating islands result from magi-

cal experiments gone haywire or an attempt to create a

flying citadel, tower, or other structure. Floating islands

kck the natural ecosystem of a cloud realm but tend to

preserve the plant and animal life that lived on the chunk

of rock when it was still earthbound. Most floating

islands include a wizard's tower, castle, or other structure

that was once some powerful archmage's abode. Others

have structures built into them, with wondrous cities

crafted from brass, iron, and wood suspended between

cloud masses. These sky castles serve as trading centers

and resting points along trade routes. Most structures

built on clouds are inhabited, but many fall into disuse

after the owner dies, moves on to a different lair, or

grows bored of life in the sky. Dragons, pirates, and other

marauding creatures favor these places as lairs due to

their defensibility and the presence of pre-built structures

of stone. Obviously rock is a rare commodity in the sky,

making a stone castle atop a floating island the ultimate

fortress. On the other hand such redoubts are not nor-

mally designed to repel aerial attacks, making some of

them quite vulnerable to attacks from above.

Negative Energy Cloud: Similar to the process that

forms fire clouds, a negative energy cloud comes into

being when a dimensional vortex forms between the air,

negative, and prime material planes. These clouds are

inky black masses of frigid matter, with temperatures

dipping below freezing. From below, they look like

slow-moving clouds leaden with rain. They utterly block

out the sun. These clouds are infested with undead crea-

tures and serve as a thorn in the side of all intelligent aer-

ial races. Their upper surfaces are covered in thick, black

ashes. Dead trees, crumbled ruins, and other blasted

wreckage litters the area. Flying undead such as specters

and wraiths plague the surface world below these cloud

land the aerial region all around them. Necromancers,

Types of Cloud Realms

Most cloud realms are as described above: lush

realms that can support crops, settlements, and creatures.

However, the magical nature of these realms makes them

apt to take on strange and unique forms. The following

list categorizes and describes the commonly encountered

cloud realms.

Typical Cloud: The typical cloud realm is covered

with light forest broken up by rolling, grassy plains. In

moist areas, a cloud may have a small lake at its center.

Towards the cloud edges, mountains of cloud material

rise up towards the sky, forming a bowl-like shape. As

metal ores are virtually unknown in cloud realms, most

settlements founded on these places rely on trade with

mining colonies established atop the world's towering

mountain peaks. From below, the typical realm looks like

a white, fluffy cloud.

Fire Cloud: These boiling hot realms are a strange

union of fire, earth, and air elemental energies.

Sometimes, a dimensional vortex forms a gate between

multiple elemental planes. Normally the interplay of

opposing energies annihilates the gate, but in some rare

cases the mixture of air, earth, and fire energy belches

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