On Sylkaen, civilizations rise, prosper, then vanish. All that remains of them are ruins, silent machines, closed doors. And those who dare reopen them.
Play what no other table offers: a Colossus carved by the Founders, an Eclipsed born of the Strata, an Archaeomancer who reads magic in the ruins. Twenty peoples, fourteen classes — and a world that answers to who you are.
Create your hero →You alone will know the true History of the Cycles. Maps, sixteen cities, fifty original creatures, an adventure ready to run tonight — and mysteries built to fuel whole campaigns without ever closing.
Step behind the screen →Play what the world
has never seen again
Beyond the classic lineages, twelve brand-new peoples: survivors of ancient Cycles, children of the Vestiges, emanations of the Strata themselves. None of them exists anywhere else.
Twelve of the twenty playable peoples — click to open a plate. The eight classic lineages are in the Player's Book too.
Archaeomancer.
Mechanist.
Two fully original classes, born of this world and no other: the Archaeomancer reads the dormant magic of the ruins; the Mechanist reawakens the machines three Cycles could not put out.
And for every classic class, an archetype built for Sylkaen: Warden of the Vestiges, Oracle of Cycles, Plunderer of Ruins, Teller of the Ages, Way of Resonances…
Gods who were once mortal
The Laws are eternal; the gods are merely the ascended — former mortals, each bearing one face of a Law. Fifteen reign today. None of them tells the whole truth.
Sylkaen, a world built
on its own ruins
Sylkaen is no young world resting on fresh foundations. It is a crown-world: a land carried, shaped and rebuilt by successive civilizations, each building upon the remains of the last without ever erasing them. Today's kingdoms occupy only a thin film atop a stack of Cycles.
Lands of the First Furrow
The civilized heart, where kingdoms contend and the Wardens of the Vestiges keep watch.
The Suspended Peaks
The high ranges where aerial cities rise above the clouds.
Canopy of the First Age
The forest-world whose roots touch buried Vestiges.
The Monoliths of Vaor
The primordial bedrock, carved with underground cities and sanctuaries older than the kingdoms.
Sands of the Suture
The lands where two Strata touch — open-air scars of the Cosmos.
The Submerged Fringe
The world-sea that separates — or connects — the five continents, down to its capital beneath the waves.
You will know what no
player must ever know
The true History of the Cycles and the Ruptures. The map of the deep Cosmos. Cities described district by district, Relics that cross the ages, and everything you need to launch your campaign on night one.
The Crown-World
The master map — regions and cities of the realm
Khar-Vel
A black door barred with a line of gold
The Suture Point
A Scar sealed shut around a Vestige
The Bastion of the Seven Locks
HQ of the Watchers of the Silent Threshold
Nyméria
Cities ready to play, district by district
9 Relics of the Cycles
+ 19 crafted items, with the Echo mechanic
Encounters
Creatures of the ruins and the Layers
The Deep Cosmos
Strata, Layers and Thresholds, mapped
Something is rising
from the Deaf Layers
Fifty creatures found in no other bestiary. Rusted titans, forests that remember, things that devour the Cycles themselves. Hover — if you insist.
The first adventure
has arrived
A complete, standalone mini-adventure for 3 to 5 level-2 characters, playable in one to two sessions — no other book required.
Three books. A world to reopen.
Everything you need to play, to run the game, and to face what rises from the depths. Written, illustrated and laid out like true rulebooks — the Complete Bundle gathers them, with both rules editions — 5e and 3.5 — included in every purchase.
The Complete Bundle
All 3 books in one purchase: Player's Book, Game Master's Book and Bestiary — the simplest way to start.
The Player's Book
235 pages to create your hero and roam Sylkaen: its peoples, its classes, its magic born of the ruins.
- 235 pages — readable on tablet, e-reader and game screen
- 20 playable peoples — from the Founders to the children of the Strata
- 12 classes + 2 brand-new — Archaeomancer & Mechanist
- 2 fully original spell families
- 15 ascended gods, portraits & symbols
The Game Master's Book
The other side of the screen: the true History of the Cycles, the deep Cosmos, and the secrets your players will never read.
- 183 pages — the other side of the screen
- Running Vestiges — mystery as the engine of play
- The Crown-World & its cities, maps included
- 9 Relics of the Cycles + 19 crafted items
The Monstrous Bestiary
Fifty creatures that exist in no other universe, ready to haunt your tables — lore and stat blocks fused.
- 170 pages — ready for tonight's session
- 53 original creatures, from the ruins to the Deaf Layers
- Complete entries: narrative codex + stat block
- Pairs with the Game Master's Book for encounters
Nyméria — the City With No Ground
The city the Ruptures spare, described district by district — and the Workshop stacked beneath it, one dead Nyméria per Cycle. The city sourcebook your campaign was waiting for: dozens of NPCs, ready-to-play locations, and enough material to run an entire campaign without ever leaving its streets.
- The High City and the Workshop, level by level
- Dozens of NPCs with their secrets
- Prices, tariffs and daily life
- A full scenario and Game Master appendices
- 5e and 3.5 editions included
The Crown-World
The atlas of the inhabited world: five continents and the world-sea that links them, sixteen cities, their roads, their borders and the grudges handed down along them. What the Founders fight over on the surface, while the rest of the range digs beneath it.
Before opening the first door
What is Vestiges?
Vestiges is a French tabletop RPG of archaeological and cosmic fantasy. Its universe — whose threshold is the world of Sylkaen — is built upon countless vanished civilizations: exploration, discovery and mystery matter as much as combat.
What is the difference between Vestiges and Sylkaen?
Vestiges is the universe: an entire Cosmos, structured in Strata, where ages follow one another through Cycles. Sylkaen is the world where the books take place — the Crown-World, with its five continents, its world-sea and its sixteen cities. It is the threshold where the stories begin: other worlds exist within the Cosmos, and future releases may explore them.
Is an adventure available?
Yes: The Hand That Counts, a complete, standalone mini-adventure for 3 to 5 level-2 characters, is available for free on itch.io. No other book is required to play it.
Do I need to own one of the Sylkaen books to play The Hand That Counts?
No. The scenario is entirely standalone: it provides four ready-to-play characters, five creatures with full stat blocks, and the items to hand out. All you need is dice and the SRD 5.2.1 core rules.
How long does the scenario take, and for how many players?
Plan for one to two sessions with 3 to 5 level-2 characters. The booklet also explains how to adjust it, whether your table has 3 or 5 players.
Is the free adventure connected to the books?
It plays on its own, but it is not isolated: The Hand That Counts is the direct sequel to A Routine Contract, the introductory scenario included in the Game Master's Book — and its ending opens onto the mysteries the line explores. Nothing is required, everything continues.
Was AI used to make these books?
Yes, in full transparency: the illustrations were created with AI tools under human art direction. Part of the content was developed with AI assistance, which was also used for proofreading and translations. The whole — universe, rules, texts — was designed, directed, reviewed and approved by its author.
Can I create fan content (game aids, streams, actual plays)?
Yes, and it is encouraged: game aids, streams and actual plays are welcome, free of charge and crediting the universe (©Sylkaen). For any commercial project, just get in touch — the contact address is at the bottom of the page.
Is Vestiges compatible with D&D 5e?
Yes. The main edition is built on the SRD 5.2.1 (CC-BY-4.0 license): everything you know from 5e works out of the box. A complete parallel edition also exists for D&D 3.5 (OGL) — same universe, converted rules. The content (peoples, classes, spells, creatures) is 100% original.
Do I have to choose between the 5e and 3.5 editions?
No — every purchase includes both editions: the 5e (SRD 5.2.1) and 3.5 (OGL) PDFs come together, at no extra cost. Same universe, same content; play with the system your table prefers, or switch between them.
Are the core rules (5e or 3.5) included in the books?
No — the Sylkaen books contain the universe: peoples, classes, archetypes, spells, items, creatures and everything a GM needs. The core rules are not reprinted: you need to know them or have them at hand. They are freely available — SRD 5.2.1 (CC-BY-4.0) for 5e, SRD 3.5 (OGL) for 3.5.
Is it suitable for beginners?
The universe requires no prior knowledge, and the Player's Book guides character creation step by step. You do need to know the core rules of your chosen edition — 5e or 3.5: if you have played either, you are ready; if not, have a GM who knows them walk you through your first game.
Can I use Vestiges in my existing campaign?
Yes. The 20 peoples, the classes, the Relics and the 53 creatures slot into any 5e- or 3.5-compatible world, depending on the edition you use. And for multiverse campaigns — Planescape first among them — Sylkaen fits right in: one more world behind a portal, with its own laws and its own mysteries.
Are the books physical or PDF?
All three books come as high-definition PDFs, with instant download after purchase — no shipping, no waiting. They are laid out like true printed rulebooks, and available in both English and French editions.
Are PDF updates included?
Yes. Every purchase on itch.io includes free PDF updates: whenever a new version of a book is released (fixes, additions), you simply re-download it from your itch.io library.
Do I need all three books to play?
The Complete Bundle (€19.99) is the entry point: it gathers all three books, with both rules editions (5e and 3.5) included. The three books are not sold separately: they come together in the Bundle. The free adventure lets you try before buying anything, and the Nyméria sourcebook is a separate add-on whenever you want to dig into the city.
Do I need the Complete Bundle to use Nyméria?
Not to read it, yes to play it fully. Nyméria is a setting supplement: the city, its people and its secrets can be read and used on their own, and drop into any 5e- or 3.5-compatible campaign. The game rules, however, live in the Complete Bundle — that is where the peoples, the classes and the setting Nyméria is the capital of come from.
What is inside the Nyméria book?
215 pages in thirteen parts: the High City district by district, the Workshop stacked beneath it (one dead Nyméria per Cycle), society and powers, magic and mechanisms, 47 personalities with their secrets, the Lands of the First Furrow and their kingdoms, the cities and locales of the Furrow, a full scenario, and Game Master appendices with an index. The 5e and 3.5 editions are both included in the same purchase.
What is the Workshop beneath Nyméria?
It is the book's signature. Beneath the High City — the living Nyméria of the First Furrow — sinks the city the survivors found when they arrived; and beneath that one, another, older still. One dead Nyméria per Cycle, stacked. Descending into the Workshop is not going deeper: it is going further back in date. The book has you run it as a dig, not a dungeon — no bottom to reach, no boss, but tiers that cost more and more, and a climb back up that is the real test: you must decide who you declare your find to. Three organizations watch over it permanently, each for a reason the other two condemn.
Can you run a whole campaign in Nyméria?
Yes — that is what the book is written for. The five districts of the High City (the Confluence, the Shared Crown, the Low Port of the Counting Houses, the College of Leagues, the Eastern Ramps) each have their powers and tensions, 47 personalities arrive with their secrets, and a full part is devoted to running the campaign. Beyond the walls, the book covers the Lands of the First Furrow: kingdoms, cities and locales. A complete scenario and Game Master appendices with an index let you start the same evening.
The past is only waiting
to be reopened
The complete collection: the Player's Book, the Game Master's Book and the Monstrous Bestiary together in the Bundle, Nyméria — the world sourcebook — as a supplement, and The Hand That Counts, the first adventure, free. 5e and 3.5 editions included, instant download on itch.io.