Crimson Skies: Air Pirates Wanted! (Interest Check)

Started by Sel Nar, February 18, 2011, 12:29:55 AM

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Sel Nar

The Year is 1937. The United States you know is gone. Broken apart by ideology, religion, and distrust of the Federal Government, even as the Markets crashed, sending thousands into the poorhouses. As the States split apart, militias formed, barricading roads and rail lines at state lines, trying to isolate themselves. Within a year, the New lines had been drawn; over twenty nations now existed where, before there had been two.

Slowly, trade began to be reestablished, however, due to the damage to the original infrastructure, it soon became apparent that only air travel and transportation would be able to sustain the fractured nations of America. Zepplins begin to reappear, trading cargo and passengers between major cities. As trade began to boom, soon, Pirates appeared. Some attacked the ships for the purpose of spreading mayhem, some for ransoms, and some disenfranchised souls attacked to spread the wealth.

In response, Militas again formed, using high-powered planes loaded with guns and rockets to battle the pirates in the air. The newsreels crackle with the news, declaring the exploits of legendary pirates, and their heroic counterparts.

Pirates like Jonathan 'Ghenghis' Khan, The Black Swan, 'Marshall' Bill Redmann, and Nathan Zachary, the 'Gentleman Pirate' are lords of the skies, roaming as they please, yet they're countered by the brave men and women who protect precious cargoes and people from their depredations. Lyle 'Showstopper' Crawford, Paladin Blake, Founder of Blake Aviation Security, and Charlotte 'Charlie' Steele are all heroes of the skies.

You, men and women, may encounter any of these legendary pilots, either fighting with, or against, them. Do you have the Moxie, the Skill, and the Daring to take to the skies and make a name for yourself?

(Okay, now that I hopefully have your attention; Trying to set up a free-form Roleplay based on the Crimson Skies universe; Pilots are wanted, questions need to be answered, and, at the end of the day, will you salute your opponent, or load incindieary ammo and try to touch off his fuel tanks? The choices are up to you.)

LadyDiscord

Join my village and make money.
✔✦✘

asmariamoon

Ons/Offs Take the Red Pill

"And crawling on the planet's face,
Some insects called the Human race,
Lost in time, and lost in space,
And meaning"


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BRO FIST...IF YOU DONT POST THIS TO 5 BROS THEN YOU ARENT A BRO

dready

Got it, interested.

My plane's going to be the one below, with it's standard game armament of dual machine guns and its secondary being a shotgun blast.
Curtiss-Write J2 Fury

Character will most likely be a small town pilot who built it from scrap and trade after pilfering it from a failed pirate raid a few years back.
Also:
Airship Pirates

AllieCat

Hmm. interesting.. will have to come up with something :)

Sel Nar

#5
If anyone has any questions about the setting, feel free to speak up; as most of you can guess, It's a lot like the old 'Two-Fisted Tales' our parents used to read in the Pulp comics of the 40's and 50's that inspired movies like Indiana Jones, or characters like Han Solo. (the archetypal 'Dashing Rogue' character, so to speak)

Dready; According to Canon, the Fury you chose has a quartet of .40 calibre MGs in the wings, and an underbody .70 Cannon that's unreliable, but stupefyingly powerful; a bit meaner than just a pair of MGs and a shotgun. :)

Quick vote; Anyone want a beat-to-hell old Carrier zepplin that can carry up to 6 planes?

Edit: a Link to the map of the 'Fractured States', too.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Crimson_skies_map.png

ReijiTabibito

Ah, yes, the familiar world of CS!  I'm definitely interested, I even have a character done up for it.

I've got a link to a site where you can find information on planes.

http://firedrake.org/roger/csarchive/index.htm

Sel Nar

#7
Just a note of warning; If any of you guys pick out a PR-1 Defender or Ford Hoplite, prepare for your fellow air pirates to point and laugh at you even after you get something actually airworthy.

Serious contenders for 'rugged, reliable, and mean' planes include the following

Hughes Aviation P21-J Mk.III Devastator (Well-armoured, can be easily modified to carry up to 6 guns and has Multiple rocket hardpoints) -> Cramped Cockpit and Difficult to Bail (If you're big, it's a tight squeeze, and a pusher prop means if you're not careful the plane can take a bite out of you when you leap out of its burning wreck midair)

Fairchild F611 'Brigand' (Big guns, big engine, thick skin and a rear-facing turret. An Ideal Fighter-bomber due to maneuverability issues) -> High-Torque Engine and Inferior Range (It's a gas-guzzler and has a tendency to try to rotate left; makes it harder to turn right)

Curtiss-Wright J2 'Fury' (Stupidly large amount of guns with a stupefyingly huge cannon under the body. Maneuverable but thin-skinned) -> Difficult to Bail, Poor Stall Speed, and the .70 Calibre is of Inferior make (in this case, the tail is right above the cockpit; hard to hop out. It's nose-heavy so stalls more quickly than other planes, and that big cannon under its belly has a bad habit of jamming at the worst times)

Sanderson FB-14 'Vampire' (Big, Slow, Oodles of Guns, Twin engines; the A-10 of the Crimson Skies Universe) -> Multiple Engines, Poor Maneuverability, Heavy Stick and Superior Range. (It sips gas, can fly home on one engine, but it's testament to the idea of 'Give a brick enough thrust and it can fly'. Also get a good upper-body workout just keeping the thing steady, or in a turn.)

Bell Valiant Mk II (Tiny, Stupidly maneuverable, hard to hit, but is undergunned; great for hit and run and 'luring') -> Superior Engine, Inferior Range, Dog Basket (The Engine is top-quality; can redline it with much less risk of flooding the cylinders, but the small size of the plane means little room for big fuel tanks. And there's ~Just~ enough room for a small pet to ride up with the pilot.)

All the planes listed have mre detailed information here. (thanks, Reiji, for the link, BTW)

http://firedrake.org/roger/csarchive/universe/planes.htm

ReijiTabibito

Not a problem, Sel.  How are we running this RP, exactly?  Like all the players are part of the same crew, or...?

Also, a really nasty plane is the Grumman Avenger.  Good armor, good speed, lots of guns, the only thing that isn't good about it is its maneuverability, so it gets used as an anti-bomber plane or an interceptor.

Sel Nar

Free-form, same crew situation. An old Zepp came down and decided to pick up some fresh meat from the hayseeds, and the hangars are looking a bit beat up. Gotta make some scratch for repairs, parts, fuel, ammo, and what-have you. :)

ReijiTabibito

Mkay.  That might mean I have to change my own character's backstory...

dready

Quote from: Sel Nar on February 18, 2011, 12:19:16 PMDready; According to Canon, the Fury you chose has a quartet of .40 calibre MGs in the wings, and an underbody .70 Cannon that's unreliable, but stupefyingly powerful; a bit meaner than just a pair of MGs and a shotgun. :)

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF YES! *happy dance with noodle arms* (~nwn)~ ~(nwn~)

And even though the canon is unreliable it's perfect for taking down larger targets, or less maneuverable opponents. I remember this much because it was the airplane that i used the entire game first run through after trying out the other one and was like 'psh, who cares about rockets, this thing gets shot up pretty easily compared to this one with the shotgun.'

You know, standard 'move fast, hit hard, get the crap out of there, then do it again' guerrilla tactics.

lollipop

I think I could very well be interested in this ... hrm ...

Sel Nar

#13
Well, I'll be setting up a 'Character' Thread for you all; though the game is freeform, and there will be absolutely no dicerolling, I'm still using the original Crimson Skies character builds. Everyone has 450 points to feed into five statistics; as follows.

Gunnery, Split into three sections; Quickdraw (How fast you are on the trigger; the higher it is, the easier you get the drop on someone), Deadeye (Putting your bullets where you want them to be), and Steady Hand (Keeping cool under pressure; helps you clear jammed guns, and avoid being shocked or stunned when someone slaps some .60 calibre rounds into the canopy right next to you)

Piloting, Split into Two sections; Natural Touch (How well you can control the plane; doing 'crazy' stunts, redlining the engine without causing it to choke and spit smoke everywhere, and generally pushing it beyond its limits without breaking something) and Sixth Sense (Catch-all, Lets you keep on an enemy's tail, shake an enemy from your tail, Know when to bail out because some idiot managed to hit the fuel tank with magnesium rounds, and generally makes complex acts, like docking with a moving zepplin in a crosswind easier.)

In this case, the point cost to get to level 4 in any of those categories is 140 (10+20+40+70), and a level 5 skill costs 250 (+110 from previous) You can specialize, be a generalist, what-have you, but remember this; Most pilots average around a 2 or 3 on the scale. Legendary Pirates that fought in the Great war, before the splintering have around 8s and 9s.

For character creation advice and such, you can PM me if you have any questions, I ask that your introductory posts be akin to 'something your characters would be doing after a long, hard day', for example, telling tall tales at the local bar.

As a final note, the Start of the story will be in Free Colorado, in a mountaintop city called the Pirate's Haven. Feel free to guess why. ;)

Edit: Also, I have additional information about the planes the crew is most likely to use. I'll post that in the original post mentioning them.

Haibane

#14
Hey, I remember this game! It was a blast. Completely daft but a blast. I'm interested.

Is there a plot though? I think it needs a plot.

I feel like I could play a shady millionairess who owns three or four cargo zeppelins running on a trade network across the states and bringing in enough profit to let her hire 3 or 4 good pilots that ride shotgun on each of her ships. Even though she is every inch a lady and always dresses glamorously she nevertheless captains the flagship, Blue Ridge. As for a name, not sure yet but for an image we'll go with Hedy Lamarr (only with a bigger bust!).

Her trading empire turns a good profit because she pays off the air pirates (protection money) to avoid her ships and even stages mock attacks so that her shippers will pay her high rates when she successfully 'defends' against these dastardly attacks.

EDIT: Eep! I see we have a plot already. My lady could be the zeppelin captain/owner then? Will that fit?

Major Major

I fancy a go at this; always did love alternative history.


Sel Nar

#17
Welcome aboard! Looks like I'll be acting as Narrator (and railroader of the plot on occasion  ;D) So, I guess I'd best get cracking and set up an introduction thread for each of your characters, Right? ;)

Edit: Haibane, those are some good pics, but they're a little Too Small for the CS universe; As a good example, the Pandora, known from the Video game, has 24 engine pods (12 on each side), each with a 750 Horsepower engine and .50 calibre dual MG turret, can reach up to 84 Knots on a clear day, and can carry 14 aircraft internally (6 ready-to-launch and 8 in 10-minute readiness). As a rough comparison of size, it's approximately the same lenght as the Chrysler building is tall, and it's one of the larger Zepplins about.

Most Cargo Zepplins are shorter, but thicker, so they can carry 30-50 Standardized Shipping crates (eg. the trailers on 18-wheelers)

ReijiTabibito

Okay, so, I'm confused.  How are we working this plot, exactly?

Sel Nar

#19
The plot is as such (with a slight modification due to the inspiration Haibane gave me);

Miss Lamarr Was a wealthy heiress, however, due to the machinations of a rival company, her company's fleet was destroyed in a 'Pirate Raid', Leaving her with one damaged Zepplin that can carry a half-dozen (or so) planes. Revenge is a good motivator, at least to start. Hunting down the people that wrought wrack and ruin upon her, for no other reason than 'You're being successful'. well, it's a good idea, yes?

So, heading into Free Colorado, she stops at the Sky Haven (better known as Pirate's Haven) for repairs, Supplies, and bored freelancers that want some money, the freedom to travel as they'd like, and, of course, the opportunity to cause some mayhem of their own.

Edit: Of course, the pirates that do sign on have their own motivations and plots, right? Some may be runaways, chased by angry family members, some may have unpaid debts... And some just want the thrill of flying in combat.

Major Major

Care to toss up a template to work from?

And also, I had an idea for a character, but I'd prefer to discuss them to you in private.

ReijiTabibito

So, wait.  We have to work for Haibane's character?

Sel Nar

Alight; one basic Character Template coming right up:

Name
Age
Hair Colour
Eye Colour
Height
Weight
Birthplace (Eg. New York = Empire State; Please Refer to the Map of the Fractured States I posted earlier)

Plane (If any)
Gunnery
   QuickDraw
   Deadeye
   Steady Hand

Piloting
   Natural Touch
   Sixth Sense

Constitution (How tough you are; everyone starts at '3')

Distinguishing features/ Noticeable quirks:
History they're willing to tell others:

Sel Nar

Quote from: ReijiTabibito on February 21, 2011, 03:30:27 PM
So, wait.  We have to work for Haibane's character?

Have to? No. Remember, Mercenaries and pirates hold loyalty only to one another and to coin. I fully expect your characters to refuse anything that seems insane, immature, or otherwise too risky, regardless of the pay thrown about. And besides, What's a mercenary's favourite song? 'We got paid twice for doing one thing'

ReijiTabibito

Yes, but you said that our characters were getting hired by this Lamarr, who is the character proposed by Haibane.