Cloudsea is a setting which puts a new spin on the fantasy D&D setting. More of a steampunk-styled setting over a toxic-cloud-covered wasteland, Cloudsea mixes 20's styling, social and political commentary, and ambiguity of character to leave a lot of options open for DM preparation. All this while providing ample hooks, in-universe perspectives, and everything else a GM could need to run a Cloudsea game.

Outside of minor syntax issues (which were acknowledged and promptly corrected), the contents of the book are balanced next to base 5E material and meant to make your players part of the world, and make Cloudsea come to life.

If you would kindly give it a try, I promise you would not be disappointed.

An absolutely excellent setting delivered in a delightful manner. This book is a setting guide, and it does a great job of giving the reader a sense of what it would be like to live in the world. Many setting guides are written from the perspective of the omniscient encyclopedist, and fail to convey what the average member of a world would know and believe about the setting, however this book spends much of its time conveying the perspective of the typical adventurer or citizen to the world around them, a decision which helps characterization and helps the world feel alive, rather than a collection of facts. The book does pull back the curtain as well, all the crucial details are revealed to the reader, not just left ambiguous as ‘rumors’ or ‘legends.’ Instead, the book will talk about both the common conceptions and the true reality of the world, ensuring that players know what their characters have been exposed to and believe, and GMs will have ample opportunity to reveal the lies they have been fed. Beyond the narrative content this book is filled with all the stat blocks, rules, characters, and hooks a GM might need to run the game, as well as player options for portraying the inhabitants. I haven’t played with all the content yet, so can’t comment on the nitty-gritty, but from a first pass the content is exciting and relatively streamlined. Definitely one of the best setting guides I’ve read, and an excellent source whether you want to run as written, or mine for ideas or content.

Government conspiracies, radiation clouds, and atmosphere so thick you can practically hear the grizzled detective's voice over, Cloudsea is a fantastic take on a roaroing '20s ascetic and a great twist on the traditional D&D setting.

The technology included in the campaign is fun but not overpowered. Desperate battles in the air between sky pirates and PC's are really given an extra kick when you're fighting over a massive cloud of radiation. Yeah, your PC has a feather token, but do you really want to slowly fall into a deadly cloud? Not to mention what waits for you on the surface.

The only thing I really want is more monsters. Rad zombies are, well, rad, but theres alot of room to explore more mutants and hideous creatures that await you on the murky surface.