When Sky and Sea Were Not Named
A ROLEPLAYING GAME
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This website is being updated with second edition rules—please mind the dust!
A realm of floating islands drifts precariously through the bottomless Skysea.
From beyond the realm's boundaries, raiders and monsters rally for invasion.
From beneath the clouds, undead spirits in clay bodies rise from a lost kingdom.
The forces of chaos and death draw near. The Skysea needs heroes. Who will answer the call?
Hail, heroes!
Hail, heroes!
When Sky and Sea Were Not Named (WSSWNN for short) is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game. To play, you'll need a set of gaming dice, your imagination, and a few friends. One player, the Guide, narrates the story and sets up challenges for the rest of the group. The other players take on the roles of heroes who set forth upon doomed floating islands, rescue people from their fates, and rebuild civilization.
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Download the Game
Get PDF versions of the rules, plus print-friendly hero sheets.
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Welcome to the Skysea
Welcome to the Skysea
When Sky and Sea Were Not Named takes place in the distant future on the planet Jupiter— although characters wouldn't recognize that name. They call their world the Skysea. Countless eons ago, the Skysea shifted its orbit around the sun to descend upon and absorb Earth. The remains of Earth—the Shattered Planet—still drift among the Skysea's clouds as floating islands, serving as terra firma for humankind’s descendants. Only a few sages have any inkling of the true history of their worlds. Earth’s technology, for the most part, is long lost. And a mysterious substance called the Rephaim—which many believe is composed of the undifferentiated souls of the dead—flows along the Skysea's windcurrents, collects in whorls and eddies, and responds to the intentions of those who wield magic.
Bronze Age Science-Fantasy
The game's central setting is Tel-Kanan, a vast cyclone in the Skysea, bordered by the Sea of Death below and the forces of Chaos beyond. A combination of fluid mechanics, magnetism, and the Rephaim's magic has long held the realm’s floating islands aloft—until now. Islands everywhere are drifting out of their once-stable orbits. Bronze Age Science-Fantasy
The realm of floating islands, Tel-Kanan, circles a vast cyclone. Traders and adventurers of diverse origins ply the windcurrents of this cyclone, drifting from island to island in magical hot-air balloons or airships called skyremes.
An empire of science and sorcery rules Tel-Kanan from afar, though its power wanes precipitously. Imperial officials and sentinels are common sights in large towns, instantly recognizable with their animal heads.
A lost kingdom drifts in the bottomless depths below Tel-Kanan. Long ago, its citizens transferred their souls into clay bodies. Some of these bodies stand as statues in the realm above, inert in dreamless slumber—until now.
The turbulence of Chaos surrounds Tel-Kanan, home to fearsome monsters and remnants of ancient technology—and a mysterious dreamtouched people who've somehow tamed these forces.
Illustrations by Sansiia
The Game
The Game
When Sky & Sea Were Not Named is a game about making choices. Your first choice is what role you’ll play: Guide or Hero.
You control the world around the heroes, answer their questions as they explore, ask them what they wish to do, and make sure their decisions determine what happens in the story. You also control other characters the heroes meet, both friends and foes.
You control an exceptional individual defined by key aspects:
Along with these aspects, you’re also defined by your abilities (special talents or traits), your attributes (physical and mental qualities), and the items you carry and wield. All of this is recorded on your Hero Sheet. You can use a premade hero or create your own (see Your Hero). The rest of this Rulebook explains how to play your hero and use their abilities.
Like “levels” or “dungeons” in other games, the floating islands and other strange structures of the Skysea serve as self-contained units of adventure. Each place might hold a mystery for heroes to uncover, a challenge to overcome, denizens to encounter, lore to reveal, and monsters to battle. Some key ideas:
A game of When Sky & Sea Were Not Named might be limited to a single island that players explore in a few hours. Or it can be a sprawling adventure spread out over months of play, with heroes steadily gaining more powerful abilities, items, and conveyances to sail across the Skysea.
Playing the Guide
You control the world around the heroes, answer their questions as they explore, ask them what they wish to do, and make sure their decisions determine what happens in the story. You also control other characters the heroes meet, both friends and foes. Playing the Guide
Playing a Hero
You control an exceptional individual defined by key aspects: Playing a Hero
- Origin: where your hero is from—the culture in which they were born and raised or otherwise came into being
- Calling: a broad archetype or vocation your hero embodies
- Lore: the specific knowledge and skills your hero has accumulated over their lifetime
Along with these aspects, you’re also defined by your abilities (special talents or traits), your attributes (physical and mental qualities), and the items you carry and wield. All of this is recorded on your Hero Sheet. You can use a premade hero or create your own (see Your Hero). The rest of this Rulebook explains how to play your hero and use their abilities.
The Shape of Adventure
Like “levels” or “dungeons” in other games, the floating islands and other strange structures of the Skysea serve as self-contained units of adventure. Each place might hold a mystery for heroes to uncover, a challenge to overcome, denizens to encounter, lore to reveal, and monsters to battle. Some key ideas: The Shape of Adventure
- Ask questions like a hero. As you explore the Skysea, your hero’s aspects frame the kinds of questions you should ask about the world, and how the Guide should answer.
- Attributes are dynamic. Your four attributes—awareness, spirit, strength, and grace—represent your core qualities, current conditions, and defenses in battle. They wear down as you take risky actions and suffer blows, leaving you more and more vulnerable.
- Fluid movement. The game assumes constant motion in battle and doesn’t use exact positioning on a grid. But your height does matter, and finding high ground grants major advantages.
- Ideals push you. You can invoke your hero's ideals in dramatic moments, potentially turning failure into success.
- Lore goes deep. Lore isn’t just fluff—it’s integrated with the game’s mechanics and scaffolds many interactions with other characters.
A game of When Sky & Sea Were Not Named might be limited to a single island that players explore in a few hours. Or it can be a sprawling adventure spread out over months of play, with heroes steadily gaining more powerful abilities, items, and conveyances to sail across the Skysea.
Inspirations
Inspirations
The game’s setting is based on the history and mythology of the ancient Canaanites—later known as Phoenicians—and their neighbors in the Late Bronze Age. Other influences include the rich worldbuilding of N.K. Jemisin’s Dreamblood and Broken Earth series, the seafaring adventures in Patrick O’Brien’s Master and Commander series, and the idea of visible soul-stuff in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.The “multiplicative” gameplay and sense of freedom of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a big inspiration for the game’s design. You’ll also find many ideas from other tabletop roleplaying games, especially Agon, Dungeons & Dragons 5e, Exalted, and Quest.
Reviews
Reviews
Note: these cover the first edition of the game. This site features second edition rules, which are more streamlined to play.
The Folks Behind the Game
The Folks Behind the Game
Call me Dan-el. I'm the game's author and designer. When Sky & Sea Were Not Named has been my labor of love since 2020, but I couldn't have gotten this far without a lot of help.
Thank you, playtesters!
Thank you, playtesters!
Aaron "ThonkTank" Wüster
AFriendOfJamis
Alessandro Baccarini
Anchoress
Andrew Barlass
Arth
A Tian
Ben Kenning
Cade
catnipcatnip
Chamberland
Charles F.
Chris M.
Collie Petersen
Dan Strokirk
David Fendt
Doug & Adayr Bellah
Doug Vieira
Eric Clarkin
FoundGoop
FrostyAssassin
GuestiKhan
Ian Roberts
Inkwing Loonwise
Iona B
Jacob D. Luuk
Jacob 'Neur0' White
Joe (Keeper of the Ebon Blades)
Jon Cole
Jonathan Pinchuk
Josh Paterson
KazuhiroSamaDesu
Kevin Townshend Piala (RyMarq)
Kimberly
Lawrence Pelo
Marduk
Marin Veloso
MrDMarx
Morgan Thomas
Nicholas Diaz
Patrick Schultz
Phredd Groves
Rachole
roboticdragons
Russ Rowlands
Ryan Aniello
Ryan Cook
Sal
Sam
Sasquatch
Scalethorn
0Slowk0
Sunrise
Zack Brown
Zane Maddux
Cheers to Raiste for help with Phoenician writing, Getty Ritter for help with Egyptian and Cuneiform, and Yurisei for help with the hero sheet design.
Special Thanks
Special Thanks
- AFriendofJamis, for providing invaluable feedback continuously from the very beginning of development—your belief in this game's potential has truly kept me going
- Ben Kenning, for your wisdom, kindness, and encouragement—and for basically teaching me how to do all this
- Eric Clarkin, for your boundless enthusiasm and creativity, both as a hero-player (so many heroes!) and as a Guide
- Kevin Piala, for tearing the system apart looking for imbalance and nonsense, and all your ideas for fixing it—if you like wuxia even a little bit, check his game, Path of the Peerless!
- Nicholas Diaz, fellow traveler in science fantasy, for sharing so much of your time, ideas, and positivity—if you like skyships and tactical combat, check out his game, Realms of Legacy!
- Chris Maheu II for diving into the game and all your ideas for improving it—if you're looking for a narrative system for any setting with an awesome website, check out his game, Volition!
I'd also like to thank the many fine folks on r/RPGDesign and r/RPGCreation who gave me invaluable feedback and encouragement over the years.
Statement on AI: I don't use it for anything.
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