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Aether Skies: Skyway Outlaws and the Lawless Frontier

The known skies of Aether Skies have thirteen floating cities.

They have merchant guilds, established trade routes, airship laws, military organizations, sky ports, and people who make their living keeping the great vessels of civilization moving between those cities.

But civilization has limits.

Beyond the trade routes are vast regions that remain unmapped. Aether currents become unpredictable. Strange creatures rule the skies. Ancient ruins drift through forgotten clouds. Explorers disappear and entire expeditions fail to return.

And where civilization ends, something else begins.

The lawless frontier.

In our previous article, Aether Skies: Mapping the Uncharted Regions Beyond the Trade Routes, we explored the vast unknown beyond the established routes connecting the thirteen floating cities. Those unexplored regions aren’t simply empty space waiting to be filled in on a map. They’re places where people, creatures, and civilizations have developed beyond the reach of the laws and institutions that govern the known skies.

That makes them the perfect home for outlaws.

Pirates.

Smugglers.

Treasure hunters.

Exiles.

Mercenaries.

Revolutionaries.

And adventurers who don’t particularly care what the law says.

Where the Skyways End, the Frontier Begins

The thirteen floating cities might represent civilization, but they don’t represent the entire world.

The further an airship travels from the established routes, the fewer patrols it encounters. Merchant guilds have less influence. Navigation becomes more difficult. Rescue becomes less likely.

A captain can’t simply radio the nearest city when something goes wrong.

There may not be a nearest city.

That changes how people behave.

On the established trade routes, a pirate might be hunted down by military vessels or bounty hunters. Beyond those routes, a pirate captain might disappear into thousands of miles of unexplored sky.

An outlaw doesn’t necessarily need to hide.

They simply need to go somewhere nobody else wants to follow.

The Outlaws of Aether Skies

Not every outlaw is a pirate.

That’s an important distinction for the setting.

Some criminals are fugitives from one of the thirteen cities. Others are smugglers moving goods around merchant guild restrictions. Some are treasure hunters who refuse to pay taxes or licensing fees.

Others may not actually be criminals at all.

A political dissident could be labeled an outlaw by a city government. An explorer might have broken laws protecting an ancient ruin. A sky beast hunter could be wanted for poaching.

A merchant guild might declare someone a criminal because they discovered a new trade route and refused to sell the information.

The frontier gives all of these characters somewhere to go.

Sky Pirates Beyond the Trade Routes

Sky pirates are probably the most obvious inhabitants of the lawless frontier.

But they don’t need to all be variations of the same villain.

One pirate captain might prey on merchant ships.

Another might attack military vessels.

A third might consider themselves a Robin Hood figure, stealing from wealthy guilds and distributing supplies to isolated settlements.

Another could be completely uninterested in civilization.

Their ship might serve as a mobile fortress, traveling between remote islands and hidden anchorages.

The best pirate crews should have their own cultures, rivalries, traditions, and reasons for remaining beyond the reach of the thirteen cities.

The frontier gives them room to become legends.

Hidden Sky Havens

Outlaws need places to resupply.

That means the uncharted regions should contain settlements that don’t appear on official maps.

A hidden sky port might consist of nothing more than several connected airships permanently anchored together.

Another could be built inside a massive floating cavern.

Perhaps an old skywreck has been transformed into a tavern and repair station.

Or maybe an entire floating island has become an outlaw settlement.

These places can become recurring locations in your campaign.

The characters might visit them when they need something they can’t legally acquire in one of the thirteen cities.

They might find information there.

Hire a crew.

Repair their airship.

Sell forbidden artifacts.

Or simply disappear.

The Lawless Trade

Just because the frontier is lawless doesn’t mean it lacks commerce.

Quite the opposite.

Some goods are more valuable beyond the established trade routes precisely because they are difficult or illegal to obtain.

Ancient artifacts can be smuggled out of forgotten ruins.

Rare sky beast materials can be harvested and sold.

Weapons can change hands without licenses.

Stolen merchant cargo can be resold.

Information can become more valuable than gold.

A new aether current could be worth a fortune.

And someone who knows how to reach a hidden floating island might charge more for that knowledge than they could make from whatever is actually found there.

The frontier has an economy.

It simply doesn’t have many rules.

The Outlaw Code

Even lawless communities develop rules.

They have to.

If everyone steals from everyone else, cooperation becomes impossible.

A hidden sky port might have its own code.

Don’t steal from the dockmaster.

Don’t attack ships while they’re resupplying.

Don’t bring city guards into the settlement.

Don’t reveal the location of the settlement.

Don’t betray a fellow outlaw to the authorities.

These rules might be enforced more harshly than the laws of the thirteen cities.

Breaking the law in civilization could mean prison.

Breaking the outlaw code might mean being thrown overboard.

Bounty Hunters in the Frontier

Where there are outlaws, there are people willing to hunt them.

Bounty hunters make excellent recurring NPCs in Aether Skies.

Some are professional trackers with specialized airships.

Others might be former military officers.

Some could be former criminals who understand the frontier better than anyone working for the cities.

A bounty hunter might pursue the characters because of something they did in an earlier adventure.

But they don’t necessarily have to be an enemy.

The characters might encounter a bounty hunter searching for someone else.

Perhaps they need the party’s help.

Perhaps they are stranded.

Perhaps the bounty hunter is tracking an outlaw the characters happen to know.

This creates opportunities for complicated relationships rather than simple good-versus-evil encounters.

The Most Dangerous Outlaws Know the Sky

A powerful outlaw doesn’t need the largest ship.

They need to know the environment.

A captain who understands aether currents can lead pursuers into dangerous territory.

They might know where aether storms form.

They might know where sky beasts migrate.

They might know which floating islands are inhabited.

They might know which apparently empty regions contain ancient ruins.

The frontier itself becomes their weapon.

A military ship chasing a pirate into unfamiliar territory may have the advantage in firepower.

The pirate has the advantage in knowledge.

And knowledge wins a lot of battles.

Outlaw Navigators

Navigation becomes incredibly important beyond the trade routes.

A skilled navigator might be one of the most valuable people aboard an outlaw vessel.

They know which currents are safe.

They know where to find shelter.

They know which landmarks can be trusted.

They know where the maps are wrong.

Perhaps they can even navigate by things that civilized navigators don’t recognize.

The movement of sky beasts.

The color of certain clouds.

The behavior of aether particles.

Ancient ruins.

The position of floating islands.

An experienced frontier navigator might look at a completely blank section of a map and know exactly where they are.

The Lawless Frontier Isn’t Empty

This is perhaps the most important idea for the setting.

The frontier isn’t a blank space.

It is simply a place civilization hasn’t mapped properly.

People live there.

Creatures live there.

Cultures exist there.

Communities have developed.

Trade happens.

Wars are fought.

Children grow up never seeing one of the thirteen floating cities.

To them, the frontier isn’t dangerous wilderness.

It’s home.

That creates an important perspective shift for the player characters.

They may believe they’re exploring an unknown region.

Then they meet someone who asks them why they’re trespassing.

Frontier Settlements

Some settlements may have been founded by people who deliberately abandoned civilization.

Maybe they wanted freedom from taxes and laws.

Maybe they were criminals.

Maybe they were religious refugees.

Perhaps they simply wanted to live somewhere nobody could tell them how to live.

These settlements could be rough and dangerous, but they don’t have to be evil.

Some might be surprisingly welcoming.

Others might be deeply suspicious of outsiders.

A remote settlement could become a safe haven for the party.

Or it could become the setting for an entire adventure.

The Guilds Still Have Influence

The merchant guilds might not control the frontier, but that doesn’t mean they’ve given up trying.

A guild could secretly finance an outlaw crew.

Why?

Because pirates can accomplish things legitimate merchants cannot.

They can raid competitors.

Recover forbidden cargo.

Explore dangerous regions.

Sabotage rival trade routes.

Transport goods that would be illegal to move openly.

This creates an interesting relationship between civilization and the frontier.

The people in the thirteen cities may publicly condemn the outlaws while quietly doing business with them.

The Frontier War

Eventually, someone will want to control the lawless regions.

Perhaps one of the thirteen cities begins expanding.

A merchant guild discovers an enormous source of valuable aether.

A military organization wants to establish a new base.

A new floating city is founded.

Suddenly the frontier starts becoming valuable.

And valuable places attract governments.

The people already living there may not appreciate someone arriving and claiming ownership.

This could create an entire campaign conflict.

The characters might find themselves caught between established civilization and people who have lived beyond its borders for generations.

The Outlaw Who Knows Too Much

One of the most useful NPCs you can introduce is an outlaw who knows something nobody else does.

Maybe they have traveled farther beyond the known skies than anyone alive.

They have seen floating islands that don’t appear on any map.

They’ve encountered civilizations nobody in the thirteen cities knows exist.

They know what lies beyond the permanent storm.

But nobody believes them.

Or worse, somebody believes them and wants them dead.

The characters could encounter this person in a frontier tavern, prison ship, hidden settlement, or damaged skywreck.

They might initially look like a common criminal.

Then they say something that changes everything.

They know what’s beyond the map.

Frontier Treasure

Treasure in the lawless frontier should feel different from treasure found in civilized lands.

Gold is useful everywhere, but the most valuable discoveries might be things civilization doesn’t know exist.

A forgotten magical technology.

A new aether resource.

A map to a lost city.

A strange creature egg.

A weapon from an ancient civilization.

A fragment of an unknown language.

A navigation device pointing toward something beyond the known skies.

The characters might return to one of the thirteen cities with an artifact that scholars can’t identify.

Suddenly everyone wants it.

The Price of Freedom

The frontier can also explore one of the central themes of Aether Skies:

What are people willing to sacrifice for freedom?

The thirteen cities provide safety, commerce, civilization, and stability.

The frontier provides independence.

But independence has a cost.

There are fewer doctors.

Fewer resources.

Fewer rescue ships.

Less protection.

Less certainty.

A person living beyond the trade routes might have complete freedom while knowing that if their airship breaks down, nobody is coming.

That’s a very different kind of freedom.

When the Characters Become Outlaws

Eventually, the player characters may cross a line.

Maybe they steal something from a merchant guild.

Perhaps they discover a secret the government wants buried.

They could accidentally destroy a military installation.

Maybe they are framed for a crime they didn’t commit.

Suddenly, returning to the thirteen cities becomes dangerous.

The characters have become outlaws.

Now everything they’ve learned about the frontier becomes useful.

They know where to go.

They know who to trust.

They know which hidden settlements will shelter them.

They know which captains can be hired.

The frontier stops being a place they explore.

It becomes their refuge.

The Lawless Frontier as a Campaign Setting

The great advantage of the frontier is that it can support almost any kind of Aether Skies adventure.

Want exploration?

Send the characters beyond the mapped skyways.

Want political intrigue?

Put them between a city government and an independent frontier settlement.

Want pirates?

Give them a rival outlaw captain.

Want treasure hunting?

Put an ancient ruin beyond the known routes.

Want survival?

Strand the characters on a remote floating island.

Want mystery?

Have an abandoned airship appear with no explanation.

Want a long-term campaign?

Let the characters establish their own frontier settlement.

The frontier can become whatever your campaign needs.

The Characters Can Change the Map

One of the most satisfying things about an exploration-focused Aether Skies campaign is allowing the characters to leave a permanent mark on the world.

When they discover a new island, put it on the map.

When they establish a safe route, record it.

When they create an alliance with a frontier settlement, give that settlement a name.

When they defeat a pirate captain, mark the territory they once controlled.

When they discover a new aether current, make it part of the world’s trade network.

Eventually, the players should be able to look at the map and see their own accomplishments.

The world is different because they explored it.

Civilization Doesn’t Have to Win

The frontier shouldn’t necessarily be destined to become another part of the civilized world.

Some places should remain wild.

Some communities may refuse outside control.

Some regions might be too dangerous to colonize.

Some mysteries may never be solved.

That’s part of what makes the frontier exciting.

There should always be another place beyond the last known point.

Another current.

Another floating island.

Another outlaw settlement.

Another rumor.

Another map with a blank section.

The Last Outpost

Imagine a floating settlement at the absolute edge of known civilization.

It is the last place an explorer can purchase supplies before entering completely unmapped territory.

Every airship heading farther out passes through it.

The tavern walls are covered in maps.

Some are hundreds of years old.

Others were drawn only weeks ago.

Many have large sections crossed out.

The locals know the risks.

They know which expeditions never returned.

They know which captains came back without their crews.

And they know that every few months, someone arrives asking the same question:

“What’s out there?”

The locals always give the same answer.

“We don’t know.”

Then they point toward the clouds.

“That’s why it’s called the frontier.”

Beyond the Last Law

The thirteen floating cities represent civilization.

The established trade routes represent connection.

The uncharted skies represent possibility.

And the lawless frontier represents everything that happens when people step beyond the reach of civilization.

It’s a place where pirates become legends, smugglers become merchants, explorers become pioneers, and criminals sometimes become heroes.

It’s also a place where the monsters are bigger, the maps are less reliable, and rescue may be days—or weeks—away.

The frontier should never feel like a collection of empty spaces between adventures.

It should feel alive.

People live there.

People die there.

People build lives there.

And some of them have no desire to ever return to the thirteen cities.

The greatest danger of the frontier may not be the pirates, monsters, storms, or ancient ruins.

It may be discovering that you like the freedom.

Because once you’ve learned what exists beyond the trade routes, the civilized world can start feeling very small.

And the sky is enormous.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!