Upwind RPG

Description

You are an Explorer Knight. You are unique in all the skylands. That’s why the Guild recruited you. You’ve survived the Academy, honed your Potential and now wield extraordinary powers. You have stalwart crewmates, fleets of skyships, supernatural Relics and ancient technology all at your command. Even so, can you survive your first voyage into the Twilight Frontier? Can you survive your first encounter with the Children of the Dark? Can you protect the Kingdoms in the Light and save civilisation? Upwind RPG is a Studio Ghibli-inspired fable — a Tesla-punk roleplaying game powered by the narrative Q system. The stakes-based, playing card-driven mechanics give every encounter consequences with meaningful, story-building outcomes. With it’s simple bidding rules, Upwind plays as fast as you can tell your tale.

The Setting

Upwind presents an unusual setting with strange natural laws where the remains of a long-destroyed world drift through a boundless ether. The skies divide into the Dark and the Light, and the Wind forever blows from one to the other. The Kin, the people of the Kingdoms in the Light, live on the countless islands that float through the sky. Meanwhile, the Children of the Dark dwell far below where the Light does not reach.

The Wind is both a physical and magical element, powering Kin skyships and city arc grids, and is the source of the Potential they all wield. Ancient technology is the currency of the Kingdoms and is scavenged from the remnants of the Masters of the Wind – the lost culture destroyed by the long ago Cataclysm. The young civilization of the Kin has been reborn and struggles with itself and against the Children of the Dark as it strives to recover.

Upwind RPG Characters

Upwind campaigns focus on the Knights of the Explorers’ Guild – a storied, skyfaring brotherhood of explorers, scholars, engineers, elementalists and soldiers who search the Twilight Frontier for the lost Masters’ technology and defend the Kingdoms from both the Children and each other. The player characters are Explorer Knights; unique individuals with exceptional powers and highly trained skills, duty-bound to the Guild. Their duty is to brave expeditions across dangerous skies and into the unfathomed Dark. Upwind has a distinct maritime theme; Wind-powered skyships and their crews serve as the lifeblood of trade and the backbone of defence. There are essential threads of mystery, intrigue, exploration and war all challenging the young civilisation of the Kin. The Age of the Grand Amplifier is drawing to a close; the Children of the Dark threaten from below and the Kin misunderstand the truth about both.