Welcome to Skyspire

Eight magnificent floating cities sit far above a wild, mist-riddled planet absolutely teeming with horrific monsters. These are the Sky Spires. The eight cradles of humankind sitting far above a miserable planet that tried to destroy them ages ago.

War looms on the horizon for the Sky Spires. Magnificent fleets of solar airships sit ready in sky ports to defend their home spire or attack any who may stand in their way. The citizens of the spires are abuzz with worry and excitement, wondering what each new day will bring in this odd time.

These giant cities rise further into the clouds than perhaps their creators ever envisioned them going. An entire human life can be spent without ever setting foot off the floating base of a single city, staring out at the same sea of clouds day in and day out as the world rapidly changes around someone.

These are some of the main ideas behind Skyspire, a steampunk based setting for D&D 5e and where this campaign takes place.

Plot Hook

It's been thousands of years since the Great Architects created the Sky Spires, the eight floating arcologies (mega cities) that house the whole of humankind following the Great Cataclysm. Once again, the long peace between these monoliths is reaching a breaking point. A multi-spire war seems all but inevitable as it looms on the horizon. However, even in these dark and uncertain times, there are those who wish to cling to something bright and familiar.

Through the advancements of Entropy technology, the Sky Spires have reached the Golden Age of Solar Airships. While the Great Architects constructed the Sky Spires to be self-sustaining, there have been several advancements throughout the years that have made the lives of the citizens of the Spires better. Entropy, a natural source of energy that emerged after the Great Cataclysm, is now used as the main conduit for electrical energy. Entro-electricity now powers virtually everything on the Sky Spires. Entropy didn't come without a cost, however. With Entropy came the ever flowing stream of power that seemingly gave some random individuals Magic. Those with arcane abilities are shunned and often disdained by the general populace. Arcane magic has the side effect of warping the mind of the wielder, causing them to have strange quirks and compulsions. These continue to worsen as the wielder grows in age and arcane power, until they finally become unable to function enough to keep themselves alive. No matter the stigma, however, arcanely talented individuals are tolerated for their abilities to support and augment airships and other Entro-electrical technologies.

On the Spire Atlas the great industrialist Nathaniel J. Blackshaw is hosting the annual Solar Airship Grand Prix. With the cash prize, the prestige that comes with victory, or the military scouts' attention on the line, you've all come to help man one of the many ships Mr. Blackshaw is lending for the race. As a free agent yourself, who knows where a victory under your belt might take you.

This is a D&D 5e game with a steampunk setting. We will be starting at level 3. The only major restriction is that the only playable race is variant human with some variety. All classes are fair game. The game will have a heavy emphasis on airship travel. It would be beneficial for you to make a character at least slightly interested in some type of ship activities. Arcane classes & subclasses (wizard, sorcerer, artificer, bard, warlock, eldritch knight, psi warrior, arcane trickster, etc.) will need to integrate some quirks and compulsions into their character design (under the discretion of the DM, similar to the rules for "Bouts of Madness - Phobias and Manias" in Call of Cthulu). Other than a re-flavoring of certain equipment (longbows into energy rifles, etc) the game will function with no difference to the core mechanics.

Life in The Spires

Creating Your Character

Everyone on the spires is distinctly human, so the races for this campaign are locked to Variant Human Only. The language you get will be determined by whatever spire you choose to originate from as well (see the table above).

While the characters will all be of the same race, humans are perhaps one of the most diverse races in 5e, and you'd be hard pressed to create the same character as someone else in the party. Things like social class, family life, upbringing, aspirations, background, personality, and class will make your character completely distinct!

Perhaps one of the biggest distinguishing factors for the people of The Spires is which spire they grew up on. This determines the kind of culture they grew up in,

For a more detailed look at each of the eight spires, please continue reading on the next page!

Spire Atlas

A bustling city that expands ever upwards (and more recently has been attempting to expand outwards), the people of Spire Atlas live incredibly fast paced lives. There is a large focus on individualism on Spire Atlas. Spire Atlas is a place where no matter who you are, where you come from, or whatever your story may have been up to this point, you can choose how to write the next pages in the story of your life.

Recently, Spire Atlas has been the champion of improving life for anyone and everyone. They've honed their city-spanning transit to a T, with vertical trains that are only rarely late. There's been a large push to make working conditions safer for laborers, and people tend to be at least somewhat informed on different types of social issues. When faced with potential issues of overcrowding, Spire Atlas immediately set to work determining how to navigate the problem with the comfort of their citizens at the forefront of their priorities. They've been experimenting with architecture that expands outwards upon that which has already been built, and are heavily attempting to research the science and magic behind the Spire base as well.

Spire Atlas primarily focuses on their own logistics, sending trained experts on certain matters to other Spires for a price. Inventions for use in personal life, particularly those that can be marketed as luxury goods, are where Spire Atlas truly shines. Washing machines, entro-electric kettles, moving stairways and sidewalks, all of these have been created by inventors and industrialists from Spire Atlas. Spire Atlas likes to claim it is the Spire that all other humans wished they lived upon.

Given their incredible proficiency in logistics, Spire Atlas is able to maintain a large and well rounded military force. While their naval fleet is not as magnificent as Spire Valiance's, Spire Atlas boasts the largest army of all the Spires, and takes its defense and any threats to its way of life very seriously.

The ruler of Spire Atlas is a President that is democratically elected and then rules for life. Whenever a president dies, the Spire itself (aside from the military) tends to grind to a halt until a new one is chosen.

Given the fact that many people come to Spire Atlas to "make it big", born and bred citizens of the Spire have developed a keen ability to sniff out bullshit from a mile away.

Spire Creencia

A tiered city with a checkerboard pattern of neighborhoods and districts, the people of Spire Creencia have never taken their city for granted. Since the Spire's founding, the people have seen it as a divine gift that has allowed the human race to continue existing. Even now, millenia down the line, the people of Spire Creencia dare not take that fact for granted, and do their best to continue living their lives the way they believe the Great Architects would want them to.

Spire Creencia has always focused on the survival of the human race as a whole. While it may seem counter-intuitive with limited space, they are always willing to aid someone in need. Their healthcare is the best in the world, and the city's layout makes it one of the easiest to keep clean as well. Faced with issues of overcrowding, Spire Creencia has come together and has done their best to make condensing work. They're working on the most sustainable ways to take up as little space as possible, to share spaces among family units, and to keep such things in mind when building anything new.

Spire Creencia is primarily known for it's healthcare. Those that have the ability to may attempt to make the journey here should they need some type of advanced medicine or treatment. However, Creencia doesn't horde medicine and what not to themselves, they have a rather bustling trade for medical supplies to every other Spire, believing that is what The Great Architects would want. They pride themselves on sanitation, and also focus much of their energy on growing food not only for Creencia but for other spires as well.

The people of Spire Creencia are friendly to outsiders, but have learned by now to keep their defenses up, lest their generosity be taken advantage of. As such, they have a decently sized standing army stationed on the Spire, but combat has never been their main priority. They have even less of a naval fleet, with most of the solar ships under the Creencian flag being merchant ships for their very large trade network instead.

The ruler of Spire Creencia is a religious leader known as The "Ajaw". Once appointed, they tend to rule for life. Following their death, the most prominent religious leaders from anywhere in the spire come together to determine who will be the new Ajaw, assigning a new one as soon as possible following the prior's death.

The people of Spire Creencia have been taught from a young age to observe the world around them, to give thanks for what they have, and to always keep an eye out. Whether they're looking out for someone who may need help, or whether they're keeping an eye on things to make sure nothing goes wrong in any given situation, very few things slip past a citizen of Spire Creencia's keen intuition.

Spire Valiance

A towering city with very clear differences between its districts, Spire Valiance is a powerful but somewhat disconnected city full of great wonders and tragedies alike. The people of Spire Valiance have been trained from a young age to have a stiff upper lip regarding pretty much anything and everything, leading the entire place to have a somewhat stoic atmosphere when compared to some other spires. The fact that naval strength reigns supreme on Spire Valiance means that maintaining a "noble" and "prideful" look are some of the keys to succeeding in Valarian society. Those who cannot keep up are swept under the rug to keep the Spire's prideful and strong image from being shattered.

Spire Valiance is a place where tradition, structure, and money rule. The queen's word is absolute law, and how well the military is doing at any given time determines the entire attitude of the country. Despite facing overcrowding like most of the spires, Spire Valiance has elected to ignore the idea of such a thing. Instead, the poor are crammed together in the lowest tiers of the city, while the noble class enjoy as much space as they want in their lavish manors higher up. Spire Valiance's nobility are counting on the fact that every Valarian family must contribute at least one soldier to the war effort no matter what to help keep overcrowding at a minimum.

Spire Valiance is famed for it's military strength, particularly that of it's fabled naval fleet. Considering the size of their fleet, Spire Valiance rules the world's skies. They make their money controlling the world's shipping routes, maintaining global trade, and simply commandeering goods where they can. While that may sound rather villainous, nobody particularly wants to start a fight with Spire Valiance and they're well aware of that fact. This isn't only because of their military strength, but also because Spire Valiance's most well-guarded secret and perhaps the basis of its economy is the knowledge of how to alchemically mass-produce Entropy crystals, one of the most sought after resources by all of the spires.

As mentioned prior, Spire Valiance is one of the most war-focused spires of them all. Their naval fleet is matched by none, and their standing is nothing to sniff at either. War is always at the top of Spire Valiance's priority list, meaning even in times of peace, a great amount of resources are put into maintaining all branches of the military, keeping it battle ready.

Spire Valiance has been ruled by the same ruling family since its inception millenia ago. The choosing of the next king or queen is simply hereditary, and the current ruler's firstborn child is always next in line. Firstborn children of the monarchy are perhaps some of the most well-defended people in the world, but most monarchs will have at least two children or perhaps even three if they sense times of war looming. Given one family has always ruled Spire Valiance, the entirety of Valarian nobility has ended up being vaguely related to each other, with entire noble houses stemming from somewhere on the royal family tree decades or even centuries back.

The people of Spire Valiance, whether rich or poor, are taught from a young age that appearances are everything. Thus, as a people, they tend to be rather closed off and abrasive. It is incredibly hard to tell if something actually bothers them, and they are very good at deflecting anything directed at themselves that they don't want to get into.

Spire Proichny

A screw shaped city with a unique architecture and continuously connected districts, Spire Proichny is a champion of industry and the only Spire where the arcanely talented may not be looked on as harshly as elsewhere. The people of Spire Proichny are prepared to weather whatever the sands of time may bring, and have a blunt but rather accepting outlook on life.

Spire Proichny is regarded as quite odd by many other spires. The people here seem to have an entire repertoire of inside jokes and things only they find funny. The closest thing to a noble class that Spire Proichny boasts are those that control the factories and other epicenters of industry, upon which the spire's entire economy is balanced. Unfortunately for the citizens of Spire Proichny, while this could be considered a good thing from the perspective of someone constantly spit on by a higher class, it leaves the common citizens of Spire Proichny often fending for themselves where some actual legislation could really help them. For example, recent overcrowding issues have been completely disregarded by higher government. Unlike the upper echelon of Spire Valiance, who refuse to even recognize such a thing, those that rule Spire Proichny have essentially told their citizens that there will be no formal legislation on such a thing, and have left it up to the citizens themselves.

Spire Proichny thrives on its engineering. Engines, guns, alchemical reactions focusing on metals, Spire Proichny is the leading area in all of these things. The entire Spire is dotted with different factories and manufacturing plants, where the vast majority of the common people spend their days working.

For those that grow disillusioned with factory work, joining the military is always an option in Spire Proichny, which boasts a standing army very close in size to Spire Atlas'. Soldiers of Spire Proichny are proud to put the weapons and engines they manufacture to good use. Their weapons tend to be top of the line and highly sought after by other Spires.

Perhaps what makes Spire Proichny seen as one of the oddest spires is the fact that they are the only spire to allow someone of arcane talent to rule. In fact, they actively encourage it. Spire Proichny is always ruled by a Tsar, someone with a strong affinity for divination magic that has actively proven their gift has aided the Spire at some point. An oracle of sorts. The people of Proichny look more favorably on those who are arcanely talented because of this, understanding that not all arcane powers are strictly destructive. However, even the Tsar themself is not immune to the effects arcane magic has on the human body. As such, when a Tsar takes power, they are quickly matched with someone without any magical talents who helps to keep them grounded, to keep a Tsar as useful and lucid as long as possible. This person is their official spouse, whether or not the Tsar is attracted to them. They are forever bonded as life partners. This isn't a permanent solution, and a Tsar will always decay and become more unpredictable and dangerous. As such, when signs of decay first become alarming, the search for a new Tsar begins immediately.

The people of Spire Proichny share a unique bond due to the way their spire is viewed by outsiders. Most of them are brothers and sisters in labor, and as such are some of the strongest people anyone is likely to come across in The Spires.

Spire Umoja

A spire whose base remains rather empty but well fortified, while the city has kept itself to the upper portions of the structure, taking the shape of a great tree. Attempting to build outwards before realizing the base could only support so much, the people of Spire Umoja do their best to keep the world happy and relations between the Spires peaceful.

Spire Umoja is a place of relative beauty compared to some of the other spires. Luxury resources are in abundance, and people have always been at the forefront of Umojan policies. While Umojans aren't as quick to welcome outsiders into their midst as Creencians are, Umojan society focuses on making the world better not from a convenience or extravagance standpoint like Spire Atlas, but from a foundational standpoint, by bringing people together. When faced with overcrowding, Umoja has been diligently researching the best ways to condense space from the perspectives of the people forced to live like that, and takes many different opinions into account.

Spire Umoja is the economic capital of all the spires. Their banks are the best the Spires have to offer, and they host pretty much any and all foreign assets. On top of that, Umoja keeps the secrets to alchemically creating precious metals, jewels, and other resources close to their chest. Gold, diamonds, ivory, all of these things typically come from Spire Umoja, and the other Spires are often willing to pay top prices for such items.

From its prior description, you may be led to believe Spire Umoja is pacifistic in nature. That is absolutely not true. Umoja does keep a military, though a rather small one compared to some other spires. They have a heavy focus on the defense of their trade networks and their banks on the spire, making them incredibly defensively based. However, where Umoja truly shines in military matters are its diplomats. For centuries, Umojans have seen themselves as the peace keepers of the world, and take that idea very seriously. Umojan diplomats are some of the most finely trained to ever walk The Spires, perhaps in part due to their impeccable information gathering network. They somehow always know just what to say or offer to make something happen.

Spire Umoja is led by a democratically elected senate of 9 members. A person must be at least 35 years old to be considered for a senate position. The de-facto leader of the senate, official tiebreaker, and recognized ruler of the Spire is the eldest member of the senate. Senate members are sworn in for life, but may choose to retire or step down at any point.

The people of Umoja live vibrant and luxurious lives compared to common folk from other Spires. Rare luxury resources are the norm in Umojan society, so even those who are poor may appear wealthier than they actually are. They feel lucky to have implemented a ruling council compared to something like the hereditary monarchy of Spire Valiance. While they are very often opposed to war, you'd be hard pressed to find an Umojan citizen who wouldn't give life and limb to protect their home and way of life.

Spire Jinbu

Spire Jinbu followed a tiered approach in its construction much like Spire Creencia. However, while Creencia made the base of their spire house as much as possible, decreasing the size of tiers evenly as it sprouts upwards like some kind of pyramid, Spire Jinbu took a different approach. Spire Jinbu is centralized around a very sturdy vertical base. From that base, square tiers have been built to expand outward as much as they can while being supported by the vertical base. While Spire Creencia's tiers get smaller at an even pace, Spire Jinbu is much more tightly packed and extends each tier out as much as it can, each one above only ever so slightly smaller than the one below it. This has made the entire city look like an incredibly impressive tower of some kind, and the people living within it are just as impressive.

Spire Jinbu is a spire of extremes. Factory floors and incredibly crowded peasant neighborhoods seem to be operating at maximum capacity at all hours of the day, but tranquil rock gardens and fish ponds hardly ever disturbed can be found elsewhere in the towering city. Citizens of Spire Jinbu are just as varied as the environment they live in. From common factory workers to world famous stars to tranquil monks to noble leaders divinely ordained to rule, it feels like every day is different in Spire Jinbu.

Spire Jinbu's main economic strengths are the development of Entro-electronics (such as an airship's solar sails), a flourishing textile industry, and entertainment, being the capital of the arts among the Sky Spires. Because of such a diverse amount of strengths, the people of Spire Jinbu are just as multi-faceted.

Spire Jinbu has a well organized and well rounded military, not focusing too much in one particular area. However, there is a huge disconnect between the leaders of the Spire's military, and the actual ruling class of the spire. The Spire's ruler, an emperor whose family line has been divinely ordained to rule, is looked at much more like some type of deity than a normal person. Thus, day to day things like a military don't often beg their attention.

The emperor and their family lives in the highest tier of the spire, and is hardly ever seen by the common people, their rulings and laws being passed down by other government officials. While it is believed an emperor's bloodline has been divinely chosen to rule Spire Jinbu, sometimes an emperor leads the Spire astray. The people have been known to take that as a sign of failure on the emperor's part, considering their divinity revoked and crowning a new royal bloodline instead.

The people of Spire Jinbu seem to be constantly moving, in a city of so many things, one is never stuck doing the same thing for too long. As such, it is very easy for a citizen of Spire Jinbu to adapt to new things very quickly, learning easily on the fly and picking things up as they go along.

Spire Maerifa

Spire Maerifa stuck well to the traditional idea of a spire, with the city expanding upwards in an ever narrowing cylindrical fashion. However, at the very top of the city, closest to the heavens, sits a magnificent domed district that houses much of the city's higher education and important research. This is where every citizen of Spire Maerifa yearns to be on any given day.

Spire Maerifa has championed knowledge. They seem to have been tasked with record keeping since the founding of the spires, and take that task very seriously. Spire Maerifa is the learning capital of the Spires, and many scholars come from all over to study at it's famed highest tier.

Quite frankly, Spire Maerifa's main economic export is people. Education and higher education are the standard in Spire Maerifa, which creates a surplus of highly trained specialists in a number of different areas. Particularly Architecture, any type of science, and civil service. Many of the other Spires are thrilled to welcome someone with such high credentials, and eagerly welcome workers from Spire Maerifa into their own Spires. Spire Maerifa has also cornerstoned the printing business, with a good chunk of paper based literature of all types originating from here.

Spire Maerifa does keep a well-rounded military, but their top priority is always protecting their accumulated knowledge and acheivements, so it tends to be very defensively based. It is also just as bureaucratic as every other part of their government.

Spire Maerifa is ruled by a primary minister who is chosen based on whoever wrote the most persuasive essay as to why they should rule. After being chosen, they serve a life term. Submissions are typically accepted only from circles of the most highly educated. However, the main problem is that becoming the ruling minister would mean being unable to focus entirely on their own research. This often leads to "election" cycles dragging on as the upper echelon is scavenged for volunteers for a very undesirable position.

The people of Spire Maerifa are the most educated in the world, enjoying Spire sanctioned schooling from a young age. Unskilled labor exists here, but due to societal pressures and expectations, it can be somewhat looked down upon. Regardless of their profession though, if someone grew up in Spire Maerifa, they learned a great number of things about the world from a young age, and are well read on many a subject.

Spire Sa'ili

In competition with Spire Proichny for title of "oddest spire to outsiders", Spire Sa'ili has made it's reputation well known in the rest of the cities. This rounded spire takes on the appearance of a cone, with room to spare for a large number of sky ports. Spire Sa'ili does not seem as impressive at first glance compared to some of the other spires, and this is because not as much has been built on the spire itself. Architecture here is simple and functional, but what they lack in wow factor, the people here make up for with something far more coveted- freedom and space.

Spire Sa'ili is well known for being the only spire brave enough to stake their living on regular trips to the surface of the old world. The people here seem to be a different breed entirely, and citizens from other spires are often intimidated by them, thinking them ever so slightly mad. The citizens of Spire Sa'ili however envy no other spire, free from the struggles of overcrowding, societal burdens, and a number of other things.

Spire Sa'ili's main business is scavenging. They send trained scouting parties to The Old World, searching for the ever valuable wood and other rare resources from the planet's dangerous surface. These goods alone are enough to keep the entire spire's economy afloat, as no other spire is brave enough to send regular recovery parties downwards. Spire Valiance harvests crystals from the guts of giant sky-dwelling monsters through sheer military strength, but even they would not send their prized ships towards the planet's surface.

Spire Sa'ili has always considered itself well defended on the fact that no other spire dares to do what they do, thus making the world reliant on them. However, due to the nature of their work they do keep a rather large, if not disorganized, navy. Primarily, mercenaries from Spire Sa'ili are in high demand, believed to be more rugged and strong than soldiers from anywhere else. As such, their official "military" use primarily skirmish tactics, just as they do on surface missions.

Spire Sa'ili is ruled by the most senior navigator and explorer amongst their fleet, a title designated as Wayfinder. Their terms tend to be shorter than most other rulers, whether by the dangerous nature of the job or the fact that the experience required to lead comes at the point in an explorer's career when they may begin thinking of retirement. Though it is a position held with pride that commands great respect.

The people of Spire Sa'ili envy no one. They live the most free lives of any Spire citizens and have luxuries and freedoms that some would consider dreams at this point. However, that doesn't mean their life is easy. By nature of the way they've decided to live, dangerous missions are the norm. There are those who stay on the spire for safety and other jobs of course, but if a family wishes to thrive there needs to be at least one explorer among them. Unfortunately, each time that explorer sets foot on The Old World, there is a decent chance they do not make it back. This is not something taken lightly in Sa'ilian culture. However, by their very nature, citizens of Spire Sa'ili tend to be much more adept at finding their way around and surviving on their own than the citizens of any other Spire.