Pirates! OOC

[crynsanthum]

So I've been thinking a bit about a pirate story that I think would be fun to SRP. Here's my general thought (in brief):

Set in the mid 16th century.
Serenity was born into nobility and spend her youth being educated. She excelled in all her academic pursuits, especially science, and for fun read romantic novels, many about sailing. However all of this was for not, since no respectable woman would be able to become an academic. After being shunned by the love of her life she decides to steal some money, run away from home and become a pirate. She uses her knowledge of science to invent what is effectively a sloop 60 years before it's really invented. (Sloops can sail swiftly windward due to their triangular fore-aft sails.)
She finds a ship-builder and gets him to help make the ship. They call the ship Nightmare, and paint the sails black. (The idea being to give a creepy effect as the ship seems to sail unnaturally against the wind) They make square sails for coming into port to hide their identity, then get a crew together.

So beside the fact that pirates are awesome, I think this would make a fun SRP setting. Since everyone is stuck within close proximity, everyone would be having to interact with eachother constantly.

Another note, the idea is to sort of work within the historical context of pirates. So the crew democratically decides on a captain, and votes on ship decisions.

Anyway If you are interested post your character ideas, and also post any thoughts you have on how things should be/work/go in the story.

 

[Gabe619]

Info

Hi there

Well the whole Pirate thing really interests me and has done for a lot of years, so sign me up Can you explain a little about what you had in mind for the crew? 99% of Pirate crews were males alone and having women on board was bad luck, I'm assuming in this case though that the crew will an equal mix of men and women ... assuming we get enough applicants, LOL Another thing would be that if they were all men and Serenity is the only girl she is either going to be very busy entertaining, or we could end up with a ship full of man on man action

Anyhow, my idea for a character would be a young Englishman, around 19, who served on board an English Naval ship until he jumped ship in a port close to you. Since then he has been looking for just the right Pirate ship to sign up for. He's knowledgable about the sea and can fight like a devil. Also as he was a gunners mate on the Naval ship he is a first rate gunner. Does this sound ok to you?

 

[Lord Robar]

For those that need it

Here is a nice little page on sloops in general for those that need to brush up on what a sloop is.

Still undesided on a character, or even if I want to do the pirate thing, but thought this would be helpful none the less.

 

[Lord Robar]

Guess Not

Evidently I am not suposed to post urls for support info for a game.

 

[crynsanthum]

Thank you both, if this is done, I'll clearly be needing a mixed crew. Serenity clearly isn't too much about sticking to custom. Information on sloops obviously can be found on Wikipedia.

 

[scorpfemale]

Sign me up. I dig the whole pirate theme and have role-played it in non-online RPG's.

I'd kinda like to be a female (origin still undecided, but I will write up a whole character descrip before we start), who is scientifically-oriented. But, given the time period, she knows there is no way she'll ever be recognized for her talents in "proper" circles. So. . .off to sea she goes. Prior to this crew (to get herself established) she used to disguise herself as a man. But, well. .. as she grew older, that became more and more difficult to do due to Mother Nature taking her course. This person would be rather an experimental type. . .trying to work on blowing things up, catching things on fire. . .developing weapons that are not currently in mass use. Things like that. Also, of course, she can do hand to hand and would be able to help in nagivation (due to her love of all things scientific). Sound good?

 

[BriefcaseRonin]

Hi!

I'd like to join up too if that's alright. I don't have much of a character yet but I will come up with something before the thread starts. Obviously the character will be female as I'm not really sure how to play men well.

 

[crynsanthum]

Scorpfemale, we'll need to diversify our characters between eachother a little I think. That's fine with me... Serenity's education could have been more general or something...

Okay a few more and we'll have ourselves a crew, (albiet a small one).

 

[scorpfemale]

Bad me! I totally skipped that part of yours about "especially science".

Yes. . .well. . .what are your thoughts upon it? Sorry about that.

 

[crynsanthum]

Well honestly I can be a pretty flexible person. So far you are one of 3 women interested in this thread and it seems the three of us might want to chat about this some more.

What is important to me is:
1. Serenity is extremely inteligent, and this is the basis upon which she is a pirate.
2. Serenity due to her inteligence and creativity comes up with (at least in part) the idea of using a 'wing' as a kind of sail. (However she doesn't necassarily entirely have to come up with this on her own.)

I don't have a problem with another girl who's schtick is her mind, (in fact it's kind of awesome that there are other women besides me that think its hot), but I also think it would be kind of wired if all of the women were inclined in the same way.

If we can find a way to make ourselves different that would be fine... perhaps if you go into greater depth in a particular area, I could go into a different area, or something... I don't know.

What do you think?

 

[Gabe619]

Wow, 3 women and my boy young guy on a ship in the Carribean, LOL, will there be any time for pirating merchantmen at all I ask myself I love the idea of strong women, especially on a pirate ship, just look at the legendary Anne Bonney for a Avartar. Be careful with those weapon experiments though ladies, remember we are on a wooden ship with a lot of gunpowder around us already, LOL This is going to be so great!

 

[poohlive]

James Shackleton.

29 years old, has lived on pirate ship ssince he was about 6 or so. Started as a cabin boy, running errands for the captain, moved up to cleaning, maintence on the ship, manual labor, carrying, loading, unloading.

At present, he has taken to being a hired man. A bodyguard for those who wish it on the sea, since it is, in fact, a rough and turbulant place. He has intimate knowledge of the sea and sailing, but his facets of expertise are mostly in combat. Hand to hand, swords, daggers, some archery, and of course, black poweder weapons.

Let's say around 6"2'. Muscular. Curly black hair, cropped, and crystal blue eyes.

 

[scorpfemale]

OK, Alex. . .I'll take exploratory weaponry and. . .ummmm. . .lingusitics, and ummm. . .a bit of astrology for 500 please.

After we get this ironed out, I'll put up a character sketch with details. Did we want to know each other in the developmental stages of your prized concept?

 

[Gabe619]

Well now we have another guy one board we're up to 5, how many do you think we need before beginning this merry adventure on the high sea How about we are already onboard the Nightmare, already part of the crew? Or do we want to be hired and sign on seperately? I'm easy

 

[SheevaKitten]

Ohhhh!!! Pirates!!!

I love this idea! Ok, here we go.

If you would let me in this game I would play....

Samantha, aka Sam. Sam is a petite girl in her late teens. However she was orphaned when she was 5 years old. She found herself wandering the streets alone with no memory of where she came from. A young whore found her and took her home to her gang of whores and thieves. But to escape the fate of a whore she cut Samantha's hair short and dressed her as a lad. The older leader of the gang taught "Sam" to pickpocket, and later to be one of the best cat-burglers around. However he found out Sam's secret and tried to have his way with her. She threatened him with one of her daggers and he backed off, but told her that the next day she'd be on the corner with her friend, making her living on her back as is propper for a lass. That night she ran away and found herself at the docks. Her old teacher, scum that he was, used to be a sailor. She picked up quite a bit from her long talks with him. At least, she thought, maybe enough to sign on as a cabin boy. She spent the night looking for a decent ship to sign up on, and found Serenity's ship. Waking up in a crate near the ship in the early morning, she put on her boy's garb, strapping down her modest breasts, and looked for the captain.

Samantha has pale skin and red-blond hair, short cropped of course for her disguise. Her eyes are pale blue, and she usually keeps her head bowed to hide the femininity of her face. She wears a cap to cover her soft curly hair. And baggy trousers and shirt.

 

[crynsanthum]

Okay that sounds great SheevaKitten. Here is what I'm thinking.

scorpfemale, you should have your character do the science thing, I'll make Serenity particularly fond of philosoph and naval history, and have the idea for the ship come from adapting the concept from junks.

I think a tiny crew will need at least, 4 people to gun and two to steer, so six is the minimum. (Tell me if you think that's silly)

It seems that the people who are sure that they're in are:
SheevaKitten
scorpfemale (sorry 'bout that)
Mistress Jorja
Gabe619
poohlive
BriefcaseRonin
Myself

If this is correct everyone should post completed profiles, and then we'll hopefully start tomorrow.

I'm thinking I'll start off with the crew gathered for the first time.

 

[scorpfemale]

I'm in. *kersniffle*

 

[Gabe619]

Warren Donovan

Age: 19
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 100lbs
EC: Grey
HC: Brown
Nationality: English
Proffession: Gunner

Warren signed on with the English navy as a powdermonkey at the age of 8. He grew up on board frigates and men of war, all ships of the line. Always around cannon and fighting he couldn't help but learn his art with some of the best gunners in the world. Now at 19 he has jumped ship in the same port as the Nightmare and is looking for a berth on a Pirate ship to earn his fortune. Skilled in the art of firing cannon, he is also able to hold his own in melee combat with cutlasses or any other sword. He is calm and a little quiet having been brough up to toe the line on Naval ships, but when around his friends he loosens up and is very loyal to them.

 

[only_more_so]

Anyway If you are interested post your character ideas, and also post any thoughts you have on how things should be/work/go in the story.

I've never done an online roleplaying game like this, so I don't know exactly how they work (if someone could explain, perhaps offline I would appreciate it). Anyway, I was thinking I could be a overly muscular gunner/part-time blacksmith, who fights with sledge hammers (I have role-played before, just not online). Oh, and if no one else has an eye-patch yet, one of those too. I figure not everyone can have eye-patches or peg legs (which could get interesting).

As for things to go for in the story, I see a couple of key events aside from sitting around waiting for prey (ARRRRGGG):

-Visiting a pirate town to unload our booty/party/resupply

-Landing on an island for water/hunting/repairs/burying treasure/party

-Attacking a ship (duh)
--taking captives
--looting
--fleeing for out lives

-caught in a storm

-getting lost

There are also a few things that could go on if the story delves into the fantasy area such as:

-sea monsters

-sirens

-mermaids/mermen

-fabled islands (Atlantis)

I hope all of this is in line with what you're thinking

 

[Wolk]

Sounds like a good setup to me.

Now, I know all that stuff below isn't the point of an SRP, as the "S" part suggests. Just thought I'd bring it up.

You're saying it's set in mid 16th century, but I think it's a pretty bad period to set things in. For one, actual "sloops" like you see in pirate movies/games/books didn't make an appearance until mid-17th century, also "science", as in experimenting, wasn't developed until first half of 17th century when Galileo did his experiments. The Carribbean of the 16th century was pretty much all-Spanish and pirates were few and far between. No friendly ports, no way to get more crew or repair ships. So, I'd say go for mid-17th century instead since that was the golden age of piracy when Britain and France encouraged people to attack the Spanish covertly and often rewarded them. Tortuga be one fun town, matey! Arrgh!

 

[Wolk]

Gah! This blows. I just made such a detailed character, but lost the post. So here's a brief verion for you. I'll fill in the details when the game starts.

Name: James Oliver Sheppard
Age: 24
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 175lb
Hair: Brown, cut very short, unlike the fashion of the time
Eyes: Green
Nationality: English.
Occupation: Doctor of Medicine

Student of one of the best doctors in Bristol, James knows his medicine and has saved many men their lives. For that he is very much loved and respected by the crew and has been on every voyage elected as one of the officers, giving him some authority and a significantly larger share of the plunder than a common crewman.

His family was forced to flee from Bristol by one of the many political perturbations of that time. During the trans-Atlantic voyage, James fell in love with the sea and decided to sail. But surgeon's position on one of the King's ships was off-limits and anyhow a mere surgeon's pay was a pittance compared to what a skilled doctor like he should be recieving. Luckily, the pirates were wealthy and not at all stingy with their gold and so James, an offspring of a good English family, entered the fun an adventure-filled life of an outlaw at the age of 22. The gold, the rum, the women, the pure and unadulterated freedom and democracy, as well as the sence of true brotherhood among the pirates made him instantly love it.

 

[SheevaKitten]

Sorry Mates

But I'm gonna bow out of this game. Sounds like a great idea and I wish you luck, but I have too much to do already.

 

[BriefcaseRonin]

Character Background

Elisabeth did not know why she joined this ship. She still doesn't know exactly. A proper young englishwoman, Elisabeth grew up with a secret enjoyment of romance novels and sensual poetry. She hid her naughtier side from her parents and could find no outlet for it. Once they moved to a lovely port town she found herself hanging around the whorehouses as she realized she had a flair for wooing the same sex with her body and her choice romantic words.

As soon as word got out about Elisabeth's lustful addictions to her father he was furious and disowned her. While she wandered the docks she spotted the strangest ship she had ever laid eyes on, she spoke to the captain and now she had found herself on the crew as a sort of informal diplomat and the prevailing cooler head.

~~~~~

I hope this works for background, if you need more just ask.

 

[crynsanthum]

Okay, mid 17th sounds like a better date (I think it's what I was thinking origionally), the sloops are another 15 to 20 years ahead of this date so... I'll start the first post today, everyones characters sound great.

 

[only_more_so]

Character Info

Name: Zale a.k.a. "Hammer"
Age: 28
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 300 lbs. (somewhere between a power-lifter and body builder)
Hair: None, no visible hair (except eyebrows/lashes) above the waist
Nationality: Unknown
Occupation: Blacksmith and Gunner
Eyes: Left eye is blue, right eye is green with a hazel quadrant (often wears an eye patch over the right eye)

Bio: As an infant he was found adrift on a liftboat by greek fishermen off the coast of Italy. Was called Zale which means sea-strength because of the length of time he survived before being found. Multicolored eyes made him an oddity and he was often shunned or called cursed.

Adopted parents died when he was 5 and he lived on the streets in greece. Quickly became known as a scappy and tough fighter. After years of thieving and fighting he eventually enlisted with a mercenary company fighting in Germany. Befriended by the companies blacksmith who was a Spanish Moor (known for their blacksmithing). Learned basics of blacksmithing and artillery before heading to Spain to continue his education in the smithing arts. Hired on to be blacksmith for a spainish colony. A storm at sea was blamed on him (the eyes) and he was put overboard in a rowboat. Picked up three weeks later, mostly dead by a pirate ship.

Despite his size he is equally good with delicate smithing as with large items, and enjoys making blacksmith puzzles and other doodads when not doing serious work. Despite his great skill with blacksmithing and mechanical devices he is a bit slow. He tends to leave the big decisions to his shipmates.

How does that sound?