Over my lunch break I was thinking about how I would use this.

Naturally, the idea came to me in the shower:

At first I though, "Ooh, this would make a cool alt-Western setting." This was closely followed by "Even better, Wuxia Western!" and finally, "Firefly."

According to Hollywood, Hope Floats, so she should... if you hope hard enough!

-clash

Join Captain Mal Reynolds and the crew of the shuttlecock ship Serenity as they try to make a scant living serving the tiny skylands out in the Blue, and themselves, while avoiding the patrols of the mammoth Skyland Association as it seeks to draw all the scattered skylands into itself...

That could work!

-clash

How easy is communication between the SkyIslands?

If they are in visual range, semaphore and mirror flashes make it pretty much light speed. Other wise it would only be by messenger, Paul.

-clash

That's kind of what I was figuring. One possible avenue I'd be interested in exploring, if I were running this game or playing in it-is the possibility of launched messages (Like from a canon) or if it fit the setting winged domesticated creatures. Kind of like the Pony Express with Griffin's or something.

Besides tech questions and the like, my biggest interrogations right away were:


Are the realms floating around randomly? Like, can they collide? Are there "floating patterns"? I imagine right away some kind of analog to astronomy and astrology where there is science is mixed with superstition all based around the Skylands. People trying to chart skylands, trying to predict where they'll go. Maybe some Skylands are commercial partners but are in the vicinity of each other only every 8 year, while others stay close all the time. Or on the contrary, generational wars have been fought since forever. Imagine a conflict like Israel and Palestine, except they only come close every couple of years for a mere few weeks during which each of them have attempted to grab land. There could also be mythical skylands that have not been seen in ages but have been vaguely recorded. Some of them rumored to be paradises full of resources while others might be said to be the home of destructive, unstoppable dark forces. Some of them might be real while others are likely bullshit.

Imagine smaller skylands being at risk of colliding with larger ones. It would be awesome if the smaller ones could try to avoid that by "anchoring" themselves to the world below for a little while, allowing them to get a new course and avoid destruction. What if two gigantic skyrealms are about to collide. Massive exodus might have to take place, with terrible choices such as returning to the world below or becoming refugees on another skyrealm. The more capable individuals might be able to transition rather seamlessly while the more unskilled might be reduced to servitude or slavery.

I would love to play in that kind of world personally.

Yes - the skylands float at the mercy of the winds. They can indeed collide, and that can be a terrible thing. Periodicity is there, but it is not precise, due to the vagaries of the winds. Smaller skylands float faster than large ones - higher mass to surface area ratio - but they seldom change the "belt" they are in. So all of this is there, CD!

-clash

That would be fun to explore indeed!

-clash

Kites I tell, ya. it's kites.