Beyond the Clouds

an Anima: Beyond Fantasy campaign setting to for players level 3+

8 months after The Lady went missing en route to Archangel, Tolgarini made public their own versions of
Lucretio's popular Zeppelins; the Klippers.

The Klippers are far smaller than the Zeppelins which Lucretio produced; They are more akin to small flying
boats than air liners, most usually having a mere 2 decks and averaging about 150 feet long. Also setting them
apart is the far smaller dirigible float above the main 'boat', with an average length of 165 feet long and only 2
stories high. Boasting a near-inexhaustible flight time, the Klippers need only stop at one of the many Towers to
refuel once every few months.

The Towers, commissioned by Tolgarini to be built built by an unknown contractor (of which they are
suspected to have used magical assistance) have 'sprouted' up in almost every major region; with the exception
of those who openly oppose Tolgarini. The Towers are massive 70-story high structures made of local stone and
polished to an extreme shine, making them visible for miles. They serve as the main landing and maintenance
yards for Klippers and Zepplins alike. In response to the increasing usage of airships, the Towers have formed a
small community of workers, travel agencies, and shipping companies, commonly referred to as the 'Upper Plate
communities' by the locals. Equipped with lifts to transport people and cargo between the ground and the 'Upper
Plate', the ride can take between 10 minutes to half an hour, depending on the weight of the load being raised.
Those who are claustrophobic should be sure to come prepared for the ride, or try to reserve a ride on the glass
lift for a few extra copper; the view alone is worth the price!

Now a year since The Lady's disappearance, the sky is dominated by airships, and, as with any other ship-
based economy, there has been concern for the growing numbers of piracy reports, as well as reports of airships
attacking sea-going and airborne vessels transporting expensive cargo. In response to these reports, the Empire
of Abel took it upon themselves to attempt to police their skies, and in doing so captured one of Tolgarini's
Klippers from a known pirate. Inspection of the vessel ensued, and, according to the Office of the Inquisitors,
Klippers are only operating due to heresy by way of magic. This claim was met with mixed reactions, most of
the known world passing the claims off as a bout of jealousy towards the boom in Tolgarini's economy that the
Klippers have brought, while those still loyal to the Holy Empire have since boycotted the use of the Klippers,
electing to instead employ the use of Lucretio's Zeppelins for their airship needs. This, as well as the known-but-
not-proven theft of The Lady by Tolgarini, has caused a severe strain on the political relationship between
Tolgarini and Lucretio, and many say that war is imminent.

You find yourselves resting at Phaion's Tower of Roses, waiting for your departure to the Forneo Archapelago
by way of a somewhat large Klipper named Ibara (the Wild Rose), which the locals recommended highly but
say has a very peculiar captain, and asked you several times if you had any allergies. This last question keeps
playing through your mind as you survey your fellow passengers sitting nearby.

(In case the group has new players/characters from when they completed Shadows Within Dreams, this is
the time where you may want to pause and allow the players to exchange information about their characters,
such as appearance, and allow them to converse.)

[After the conversations die down, a man in a long green leather jacket walks up, accompanied by a woman
wearing a similar jacket. She is holding a sign with a large rose on it surrounded by thorns. He introduces
himself as Ryo Takeshi, the Captain of the Ibara, and with a sweep of his arm motions to his female companion,
stating her name as Ghost, his First Lieutenant. He asks you to accompany him to his vessel, apologizing for the
wait. "The flight checks and refueling are finished, so we can now leave any time."]

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 >[After the conversation dies down, a woman in a long green leather jacket with a matching hood, almost
identical to Ryo's, walks up to [Ryo] and whispers something in [his] ear, and then, turning to face the rest of the
group, pulls her hood back and nods to everyone, apologizing for the wait. Turning back to [Ryo], she says,
"The flight checks and refueling are finished, and we can leave any time." (Those who are returning characters
who would recognize her, this appears to be Ghost, although she seems to have aged several years, and now
looks and acts as though she is a mature lady in her 20's. Ghost will have a slightly-delayed reaction to the
returning characters, and will greet them somewhat excitedly, exclaiming that Ryo saved her a few months back
and is now his First Lieutenant, stating she "will follow him anywhere". If asked about her time since she
disappeared, she will frown, stating that she "would rather not talk about it.")]

As you walk out onto the Plate, zig-zagging between the cluttered landing pad as workers load their ships with
cargo, Ghost leads you to a 3-deck, 185-foot long custom Klipper covered in what appears to be rose vines. The
190-foot long float is the same hue of green as Ryo and Ghost's jackets, with a Rose (the same rose you seen on
his sign) dominating the sides. Escorting you to the rear of the ship, Ghost stops abruptly, staring at the slightly-
open loading hatch. [Ryo turns to the group; "You all have experience in battle, no? You may need it" and nods
to Ghost] Ghost waves her hand and the door flies open. A scruff-looking man jerks his head towards the now-
visible group, crouching on the other side of the doorway with a knife in hand, and a whistle that falls from his
mouth in surprise.

1. The Cargo Bay

The only entrance to the Ibara is a large rear hatch that lowers down to become a loading ramp. The
hatch opens into the cargo bay, which spans the length of the ship. It isn't decorated, and the walls are covered
with vines. The hold itself is partially filled with large crates and a few large barrels tied down, and there are
several cannons mounted at hatches that can be opened should there be a need for them. Six large pillars hold up
the ceiling. [There are 6 lv3 pirates, one at the door and 5 hiding behind the cargo]

2. 2nd Deck Hallway

This is a red-carpeted hallway with fancy mahogany walls. This hall leads to the 16 crew and passenger
rooms, the stairs to the 3 rd deck, the engine room, and at the end of the hall is the control bridge. [There are 3
lvl3 pirates picking through the first few rooms and 2 at the end of the hall heading towards the bridge]

3. Engine Room
This room extends into the 3rd deck, and is dominated by a large boiler and steam engine that drives the
ship. There are several pipes leading out of this room and into the upper deck, and drive-shafts leading into the
lower deck (presumably to run the winches that open the hatches on the lower deck.) There is no obvious heat
source beneath the boiler.

4. Crew and Passenger Cabins

These are 15' x 25' room lined with the same stained mahogany as the hallway, with a large bed and
dresser, both bolted to the floor. There is a nice mirror on the wall and a 3' x 3' porthole window to the outside.
The forward rooms are reserved for the main crew.

5. Control Bridge
This is quite a sight. The main bridge extends out to the middle of the large glass bubble that encloses the
front of the Ibara. The captain's chair sits free-floating in front of the controls, and connected to several gears
and arms that allow it to pivot and change pitch so as to move in order to take full advantage of the glass front.
The walls and walkways are draped with several different types of vines that seem to come from the upper deck.

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 6. Upper Deck Greenhouse
Instead of wood or metal, the upper deck is walled with one large solid piece of thick glass that connects
to the front control bubble. This entire deck is covered with rows of planters, each with a different thriving plant.
The same vines you see coursing over the outside of the Ibara also course over the planters in here, and originate
from the largest and oddest-looking plant in the greenhouse.

Once the last man is found and subdued, Ghost will walk through pulling the men out the back hatch or
throwing them out the ports. [Ryo will shout to her that they "need to hoist anchor and get airborne fast, before
their buddies come to check up on them"] Ghost runs up towards the front of the ship, motioning for you all to
follow her to the control bridge.

Getting airborne is a somewhat-quick affair, and as you get above the Tower, two small Klippers with
blackened floats can be seen circling from the far end of the Tower, moving quickly along an intercept course.

[The two airships will circle around and attempt to line up with the ship, shooting anchor-cannons into the
sides of the Ibara and attempting to board her. If one gets shot down, a lvl 4 mage with lvl40 wind magic and 3
lvl3 pirates will fly into one of the hatches and start fighting with those in the cargo bay. Should they die, their
ship will immediately stop trying to board and will instead start firing their 5 cannons (per side) at the ship.
They will fight until they have fired their cannons and will turn to run, if able.]

(From this point on it is up to the players as to what happens, should they continue onto their original
destination or try to figure out who is after them and why.)

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 Information about the Setting
This is for GM use only; the Characters should only receive this information
through investigation

Klippers are a scientific anomaly. Try as they may, the math cannot and will not add up if approached in a
scientific way, due to the small size of the floats that are used to hoist the Klippers into the air. The floats are just
too small, and don't hold enough helium or hydrogen to get airborne. Despite this fact, they are still able to fly;
this is due to the process by which they are made. Tolgarini's secret to the Klippers' flight is, as the Inquisition
said, Magic. The float is actually a housing for an Air Elemental. The Elemental is bound initially by a
Summoner and then kept bound by charging the binding glyphs with the special 'Fuel' that can only be
purchased at a Tower.

The Towers are massive constructs that are made through magical means. The 'Tower Squads' are made up of
three Summoners, one Earth mage, and one Creation mage; the Earth mages reshaped the bedrock into the tower
as the Creation mages changed the inner rock's properties and the Summoners summoned as much of the Wake's
mirror image of the Tower as they could to invert it into the Real world. The result is a 70-story tower with an
outer layer of 'real' rock and an inner core of the Wake, through which a pump system connects to the Wake and
pulls it's dense zeon-filled atmosphere into the real world to be used as 'Fuel' to keep the Elementals bound to
the Klippers. Due to its construction, mages of all types are drawn to the Towers' power like a beacon. While
near the tower, mages experience a +10 innate zeon bonus, and while in contact with a tower they gain an
additional +10 innate zeon (for +20 total). The Towers all have their own defenses built into the Upper Plates; a
full armament of cannons, mortars, and their own defense forces (aptly named the TDF: Tower Defense Forces)
armed and trained for ship-to-ship battle. Should any problems arise, they will respond immediately, with an
average deployment time of a minute to a minute-and-a-half.

Like the TDF, Tolgarini is also at a state of constant war-readiness. Aside from their own military, should the
need arise Tolgarini will have no qualms about drafting others into their ranks of soldiers. Klippers that have
been bought through their 'Financing' plans have a clause in the contract stating that any leased, rented, or owing
pilots and their crew can and will be drafted into the Alliance military if war breaks out. This will, of course,
cause quite a bit of unrest between the nations of Gaia, and will threaten to boycott Tolgarini should a Draft
start; but this will not fully happen. Tolgarini will not hesitate to point out what would happen should the Tower
stop operations in any area regarding the area's economy. There will be several movements of rebellion, and
there will also be those who refuse to be drafted. However, Tolgarini has already prepared for this, and the
'Deserters' become fugitives, and are labeled 'Pirates.' This is a precarious position to be in, since they become
unwelcome everywhere; Tolgarini agents will attack and shoot them down, Lucretio will do the same on account
you are operating a Klipper, and the same with the Holy Empire. The only place you become welcome is the
Eye of the Hurricane, who has taken full control of their trade by 'buying' their tower fully from Tolgarini to
prevent their involvement in the war, and keep their hard-earned independence.

In response to the threat of war, Tolgarini's army has become far more powerful than anyone could have
dreamed without actually increasing drastically in numbers. The battlemages have become more powerful
overnight, with their abilities increasing drastically, all thanks to their newest buff; Wake material. Called
Wakification, the mages are given small amounts of the Wake fuel to ingest; the very same fuel keeping the
Elementals force-ably bound to the Floats in the Klippers. This has consequences, of course; the user becomes
immediately dependent on the fuel to operate, and must ingest a small amount daily or slowly slip into a coma.
The daily amount doesn't increase the side effects; however the battle-dose does. It is recommended a
battlemage only take a dozen battle-doses; any more than that and their body degrades into a state of between-
worlds, and their soul will lose it's anchors to the mage's body and try to escape. The mage becomes unable to
operate their body, and the only thing that keeps them whole is a daily battle-dose. When a mage gets to this

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state, he is usually Promoted to the rank of SMC aboard a Tolgarini Battleship.

The Tolgarini Battleships are large, float-less warships five-times the size of Lucretio's Zeppelins, armed to
the teeth with cannons and firing ports. Aboard are several bound Air elementals keeping it afloat, an SMC
(Summoner Mage Cortex, a living over-waked battlemage who has permanently become a part of the ship as its
controller), a platoon of battlemages, and a full battalion of marines trained in ship-to-ship combat. Needless to
say, they are quite a sight to behold, and a power near-unmatched. Lucretio's response to the battleships are their
Broadside Zeppelins; large zeppelins armed and outfitted specifically for war.

Should war break out, the Holy Empire of Abel will soon realize that the sky is where the war will be won,
and will try to find a way to fly on their own; many will receive the aid of Maidens of Light or Light Elementals
to fly, but they will be few and will need support. The proposed and accepted answer is Dragons. Accompanied
by the previously-'lifted' inquisition white-wood ships, the Dragon-riders will pose war in the sky from Abel.

Of course, these mid-air fights will be a bit more challenging to do than normal ship-to-ship battles. To
overcome this challenge, if you are not accustomed to narrative battles, it is recommended to use a white board,
and simplify the relative heights of the ships involved (lvl 1, lvl 2, lvl 3, and so on) to represent that it is a three-
dimensional flight pattern, and that the ships may not always be level with each other. Harpoons with boarding
ropes, anti-ship canons, and deck-guns and mages with flight will all be a regular occurrence when fighting air-
pirates, or fighting as air-pirates, so feel free to use such tactics, however; keep in mind that Klippers are
valuable, and that everyone involved are reluctant to shoot one down outright, so simply shooting the float
(while a quick and easy way to bring down an enemy) should not be an option. Should this happen, most
Klippers will deploy the emergency wings and chutes to glide down to the ground or water below.

This is not to say that every bit of action needs to take place in the air; make sure to have reasons to leave the
airships to have adventures. Theft, sabotage, bounties, and contracts by others are a great way to coax players
off of their ship. This supplement is not meant to replace happenings in the world, but instead meant to add to
them; Gaia: Beyond Dreams holds many great Adventures that are still eligible to be had, with the addition of
War, Intrigue and more open Politics that the players can become entangled with. Have fun with it and mix the
plot up now and then, and boredom or monotony will become less of an issue.

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 Ryo Takeshi and Ghost
Captain and First Lieutenant of the Ibara

Ryo (Technician lvl 4, ), the son of Akio Takeshi [(Acrobatic Warrior lvl 5, ), high representative of the
Takeshi Family in Phaion, and the President of The Merchants Association] is a free spirit obsessed with
nature, mainly roses. His love of nature and hatred of everything that corrupts it has fostered a connection with
the Beryl Azrael (50) and Raphael (50) and has influenced his life's path considerably. After wandering the
world, he ended up on The Lady (if the group has gone through, explain that he was in the opposite wing) and
ended up staying conscious after the crash into the barrier, swimming to a small island off the coast of Corvinus.
He stayed alive through the blessings of Raphael and was eventually found by a fisherman. Making his way
home, he decided he wasn't ready yet, and continued sailing east on his plant-covered clipper the Vine. This
was, of course, a bad idea.

Sailing east, he eventually came upon the Barrier. Not to be deterred, he sailed right through. This bad idea
was nearly fatal when his ship began to break up, but thanks to his ability to command nature (Innate Organic
Psychokinesis) he was able to float to land on a woven vine raft. Steering towards what he thought to be a
lighthouse, he encountered a rather-insane man named Loki (Wizard lvl ?, ). After staying with him a few
months, learning the secrets of Hell, he met Ghost (Warlock lvl 4, ), who furthered his learning and requested
that he take her back to the New Continent.

Upon returning, Ryo took Ghost with him to his home, and they caught up on the events during the time they
were gone, getting an in-depth instruction on the Klippers, and regaled his father and family of the truth behind
The Lady, her disappearance, and the pirates intentions to deliver the zeppelin to Tolgarini. Of course, when the
tale gets to the crossing into Hell and it's features, the family was dead silent; but other than the awkward silence
after the tale was finished, Ghost's introduction to the family was an easy ordeal. Deciding that he wanted to fly
for a change, he took a Trade Klipper and set out with Ghost in tow, who near-immediately realized it's secrets,
befriending the enslaved air elemental called Kora (Sylph Freelancer lvl 6, ) who was bound to their craft..

Taking any run they could get, they crossed the skies going to any tower they could. Now, in this age of air-
piracy, they encountered quite a bit of 'evil-doing,' and, not being able to sit by while it was going on, made
every effort to subdue the pirates, unbind their elementals, and aid those being targeted by them. This earned a
KOS order (Kill On Site) for the infamous vine-covered Klipper, and the Pirate Lords sent their best on recon to
get the regular whereabouts of the Ibara for an ideal ambush spot. They realize that its home port is Phaion and
set out to take the ship and it's captain while on the Plate, and make an example out of them all by hanging them
from the foremasts of their Klippers. This leads us to the beginning of the Module, and the rest of the story is up
to the players and their actions.

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