Beneath a Steel Sky
Explore the World Tree, a metal trunk stretching from the steel beneath the earth to the star-studded sky. Solve its secrets, and free its people!
TYPE
SYSTEM
LEVELS
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Wednesday - 11:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–5 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
This is a game of mystery, science, and sorcery, using the rules of Ashes Without Number. You live on the World Tree, a great, towering structure that carries you from one world to another, occupied by mutants, madmen, and madder machines. Start out searching for what your community needs to survive - and then explore the World Tree, uncovering its mysteries and seeking freedom from the mysterious Command-Sorcerers, masters of ancient magic and technology unknown to most mortals. Inspired by Thundarr the Barbarian, Gamma World, and settlement-building survival games, Beneath a Steel Sky presents a broad sandbox for players to explore, with meaningful decisions that can change worlds. Will you free the people of the World Tree? Or rise to conquer them yourselves? Will you lead the people to the World Tree's ultimate destiny, or destroy it, and them, utterly? Only you can decide!
Game style
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(15)
3 years on StartPlaying
374 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Teacher
About me
Mostly GMing for the last 30 years, I've had more ideas than I could ever get to the table. Hopefully, this will be a chance to get a few of them out of my head! I tend towards story-focused games that incorporate player input and plot threads, ranging from comedic tones to horrific ones. A student of myth, history, and true crime, I try to layer in some of the complexities that show up more in reality than in most published games - the forces of good and evil trend more towards the gray spaces in between, even the worst villains may have the best of motivations, and people are shaped by their pasts as much as their place in the story. I find it's a mindset that helps give a bit more depth to the world, and makes things feel a little more epic when done right.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will happen during the first session, with GM assistance. Stats will be rolled using the 4d6-drop-lowest approach, with options to allow a player with a stronger initial concept to select from an array of stats that better fit their concept. Characters will be created and stored using Foundry, primarily out of Ashes Without Number (Deluxe), though elements may be used from other Without Number games with GM approval.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Players will need to join a Discord server and sign up for an account on the Forge that will host the game. Play will be conducted through voice chat on Discord, and the Foundry system for rules elements.
What Jason Leisemann brings to the table
I will provide the play space, conflicts, and decisions that need to be made - players will have to make those decisions and resolve those conflicts as they see fit! As a long-term fan of gonzo apocalyptic media, I recognize the importance of sometimes silly voices, high stakes combat, and some sense of atmosphere, and will provide music and similar tools to help immerse players.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Jason Leisemann creates a safe table
Content limits and veils will be determined in the opening sessions, but are open to editing at any time a player deems it appropriate. Digital safety tools are available, and can be used anonymously if a player wishes. Ultimately, the group will largely determine where the game ends up going through play, so some subjects may come up that aren't in the content warnings, subject to group lines and veils.
Content warnings
Safety tools used