Skyraiders of The Floating Realms is our pulpy hi-action fantasy game of Sky Pirates flying between floating chunks of rock looking for loot and adventure. In-play it’s light-hearted evoking the feel and tone of old Holywood Pirate films such as The Crimson Pirate, and the more recent Pirates of the Caribbean. Not really a candidate for Dark November and its horrors, I initially thought. That was until I started thinking about the enemy of all the light and jollity in the Floating Realms, the sinister force that animates the dead, whispers in villains minds driving them to evil – The Darkness.
What Can You Tell Me About The Darkness?
There follows a transcript of questions and answer session given by Professor Verda Goodhope, a renowned Dark-Hunter to a gathering of apprentices in the basement of the Lieg Institute in Black Dog Isle.
What is the Darkness?
In short, it is the enemy of every living thing in the Floating Realms.
It has always been the hidden evil in people’s hearts. The dark desires that they keep far away from others, away from their loved ones. Perhaps those in power, or think mistakenly they have power, who think they can act out desires without recrimination, will act to them.
It can influence people’s actions and manifest physically as demons.
How did the Darkness cause the Shattering?
In the Ancient Times before the Shattering, the hidden dark desires became too much in the teaming cities of that time. There was no release, and people lived their lives in denial without confronting their inner demons. I’ve found evidence in the old ruins that they were encouraged by the religions and philosophies of the day, to repress such desires for the good of civilisation.
A group of magicians who we call Sorcerers emerged in the Ancient Civilisation. They initially hid in plain sight as healers who specialised and the drawing out people’s suppressed desires, freeing them of their pain. All the while, they took the Darkness that they captured to bind to themselves as magical servants.
Somewhere along the line, due to the Sorcerers meddling, The Darkness itself became an entity, self-aware and malignant.
It escaped the inner world and shattered the psychical world into a multitude of pieces, which exist today as the Floating Realms. Civilisations fell into the abyss, and Darkness demons rampaged. The sun of Ancient Times was extinguished, and the world lay in Darkness.
How was the Darkness banished?
We’re not entirely sure. The world was in ruins, the survivors starved of hope when suddenly, a New Sun arose in the skies. A horde of avenging angels flew out of this New Sun and purged the Darkness Demons from the Floating Realms.
Where is the Darkness now?
The onslaught of the Angels of the New Dawn greatly diminished the Darkness from the world but did not eliminate it. It still exists in hidden places in the world. In the black hearts of villains. As Darkness Demons, who stalk the Floating Realms looking for victims. It still corrupts people and turns their actions to evil.
Sky Raiders of the Floating Realms is currently in development for release in 2021. Zero Editoin with a playable set of rules and the barebones of the setting is available from the D101 Games web store.
As part of our Dark November sale, I’ve re-released my long-unavailable adventure for Crypts and Things, Blood of the Dragon, for free in pdf format.
