Publisher's blurb:
This is an unofficial source book for Genesys. If you fancy battling with swords and hoverbikes over a sea of clouds, then check it out.
60+ Pages
A Guide to the World of The Cloudlands
Playable Genetic Variants
Cloudland Careers
Cloudland Talents
Cloudland Maps
Cloudland Locations
Cloudland Equipment
Hoverbikes and other Vechiles
Cloudland Adversaries
Dumtar Guide (Magic)
Original Cloudland Art
THE SETTING
Heroes on hoverbikes tear across a sea of cloud, nano-sharpened swords at their sides, as AI drones buzz around them to deflect their enemies’ arrows. The greatest of these heroes call upon a mystical force known as the Dumtar to perform superhuman feats in battle. They tear across the cloudsea to mountain peaks and hilltops that have become exotic islands in a world submerged in mist. A mist that is said to drive those that breath it insane. Deadly creatures now inhabit the cloud covered valleys and lowlands. The old world down there has been abandoned.
The new world of the high ground is ruled by the Corehearts, wealthy beings who have genetically engineered themselves to such a radical extent that they no longer regard themselves as humans. They come in a variety of forms, they may have multiple arms or wings, two heads or the features of a beast; most of them can fly. They live in The Keep, a domed city, a technological utopia within the mining city of Talonroost, cut off from the rest of the population. The ordinary people marvel at the sight of their colorful floating forms much the same way the poor in the past stared in awe at the pomp and pageantry of royalty.
Most of the population live in the slums that make up the rest of the city and that encircle the Corehearts Keep. The Corehearts enforce the ban on firearms and explosives with a fleet of Hoverbots that gun down anyone who breaks the rules. Other than that, if they have workers for their mines and to load the ore onto the airships, then they leave the population pretty much to its own devices, ruling with an almost God-like disinterest. The hoverbots don’t seem to mind if the population murders each other in a variety of spectacular ways as long as they don’t do it with guns.
The population of the slums and the surrounding islands include several different genetic variants. For example, on the one hand you have the Mignye, genetically engineered centuries ago by the Corehearts to fight in wars, they sometimes stand over 11ft tall on two elephant like legs, their faces broad and grey with what humans' regard as deep cut and exaggerated features, and on the other hand, you have the Darklif, who were engineered to scamper around the narrow tunnels of the mines and who can be as tiny as two feet high. Their skin glows in the dark and humans regard them as having jowly dog-like faces. Even the human population is descended from stock that was originally genetically engineered by the Coreheart at a time when they needed humans to serve them in a greater number of ways than they do today, when all the variants primary use appears to be in the mines. It is not therefore unusual to discover that a human excels at a particular skill. It was probably engineered deliberately into one of their ancestors. Most of the genetic variants in Talonroost, human or otherwise, are just trying to survive the life of the slums.
One hope is held out to the slum dwellers. It is said that if one leads a remarkable enough life, then one will get chosen to join the Corehearts and live in The Keep with all its luxuries and wonders. Known as The Neofill, only the most extraordinary heroes are said to be selected. But it is worth noting that no one has successfully completed the Neofill for a least a couple of hundred years.
The Corehearts offer no guidance on what a hero is or what living a remarkable life amounts to. It is therefore left to each adventurer to decide for themselves. There are even those who say that it’s a fool’s errand, a lie told by the Corehearts, that no one is ever picked. But each year a brave few set off on hoverbikes across the cloudsea in search of adventure, hoping they will be selected to join the Corehearts and complete the Neofill.