The Golden Age of Piracy [UN] | [ON HIATUS]

[Salomé]

NOTICE: It's long, I know, but please read through everything!
The ON HIATUS in the title only means that the roleplay will probably not start any time soon. When I threw this proposal out there, I didn't realize that there would be so much interest, and so many complications involved. I will return with a revamped (hopefully slimmed down) game proposal, some guidelines, and perhaps the rough outline of a plot.
As for the players: I've been reading through all of the character ideas on this thread and sent to me via PM, but I have not yet compiled a definitive list of who will be playing. After I debut with "The Golden Age of Piracy V. 2" I will contact potential players separately, then publish the final list on this thread.


UN for Unsure.
I have absolutely no experience in leading/starting a roleplay game, and I'm relatively new to Elliquiy itself, so if anyone wants to help with moderating/organizing this game, please PM me.

But I am positive that...
· There will be elements of fantasy, myth, and legend present in this roleplay. This means that mermaids, sirens, sea nymphs, sea monsters, etc. can exist, and do exist in this world. However, it still takes place in our world, where humans do not necessarily believe in the existence of fantastical creatures, rather than an alternative universe where fantastical creatures are a given. Essentially what this means is that some of the characters (likely the more 'civilized' gentry-type characters) will not believe in mermaids. Other characters (pirates and seamen) most likely will, but they might go their entire lives without having seen any actual proof of their superstitions. Hope this is clear!

· The piracy represented here will be romanticized, with plenty of bloodshed, ravishing, and pillaging. However, a certain amount of historical accuracy will be required.
This roleplay will take place in the early 1700s, otherwise known as the Golden Age of Piracy.
Whoever and whatever you choose to roleplay must be something that didn't necessarily exist, but could conceivably exist in this era. In the same way,
For example... Norse pirates (Vikings) would not be allowed in this roleplay--they're from an entirely different time and place (700-1000); and both gentlemen and ladies would wear clothes appropriate to the era (Baroque/Georgian).

· I want about four to six players. Please either post here(with brief character descriptions/ideas, questions, etc.) or message me to express your interest. Before you decide to join, however, please keep in mind that if you (1) dislike some amount of research (2) had a hard time reading through the amount of text on this page (3) are not in the habit of putting in lots of time and effort into each post, this roleplay is probably not for you.

· As for the erotic aspect, that's completely up to the players. No limits; I will leave it to the discretion of the players.

· The tentative setting, below:
West Indies, 1723

The port town of Cape Doray, located on the western edge of the Bisnian Gulf, was famed among the colonial cities in the West Indies for not only its prosperity, but its order. Under the rule of an ex-military governor, who ruled with an iron fist in a velvet glove, who was ruthless, yet knew how to compromise, Cape Doray had flourished--financially and culturally. Yet if there was any blemish on the pristine and well-kept streets and buildings of the place, it was Georgie's Wharf. Many objected to the name of the place, feeling that it lowered the dignity of King George I, but in fact the place had been named not after the King of England, but for the man who had staked the place and claimed the area as his own: Captain Georgie Rattler, better known to law-abiding citizens as "the scourge of the West Indies."

Captain Rattler had long since retired to a plantation further inland, richer than the aristocrats who turned up their nose at him, but Georgie's Wharf remained. The area around the Wharf was truly an eyesore; in stark contrast to the cleanly paved High Street, the crooked alleyways around the Wharf were slick with feces and blood. The Wharf itself was rotting and half-falling apart, the wooden slats dark with age. Buxom, painted women smiled toothily from the upper windows, and drunken men leered back from the streets.  Yet the quasi-illegal transactions that went on in this place of filth and depravity made up more than 80 percent of Cape Doray's gross yearly revenue. And so Georgie's Wharf thrived, home to great wealth and little law.


Thanks for reading!

[GrinningHound]

Where would you like the story to go?  :)

I'd kinda like to just be able to write, cooperatively, but with complete freedom besides basic group ettiquettes in what I do with the characters and plot.

Is that a problem?

[Salomé]

Where would you like the story to go?  :)

I'd kinda like to just be able to write, cooperatively, but with complete freedom besides basic group ettiquettes in what I do with the characters and plot.

Is that a problem?

Far from it. I'm not so bothered about a particular plot; in fact, I don't have one right now. :-) The only reason I might even consider trying to cook up a plot is only to ensure that the interaction never gets boring, and to give everyone an opportunity to "shine"--i.e. I don't want everyone gravitating towards one character, and have someone left in the dust. If everyone could do this without the structure of a plot, it would be ideal. :D

[sinera]

Very interesting. Are you intending on this staying on the Wharf, or gathering a crew to go forth and pillage?

Are you going to allow multiple characters? (I can play a pirate and/or a harlot, depending on your preferences ;) )

Either way, I'd like to play!

[Elven Sex Goddess]

PM a character concept for the game.

[Salomé]

Very interesting. Are you intending on this staying on the Wharf, or gathering a crew to go forth and pillage?

Are you going to allow multiple characters? (I can play a pirate and/or a harlot, depending on your preferences ;) )

Either way, I'd like to play!

If you can handle multiple characters, go for it! I want as few rules as possible.
And thanks for your questions, Sinera. They help me realize what I need to clarify :)

Concerning whether the roleplay will take place on the Wharf, or out on the sea--it depends on the players, but it definitely start on the Wharf.

[Salomé]

For those of you interested enough that participation is almost guaranteed, please post character concepts/PM character concepts to me, if you haven't done so already. And sorry that I haven't been responding to the PMs! I have been reading them; I just haven't been able to reply! :-(

By the way, this roleplay is still looking for players. I'm hoping to gather people with compatible(not necessarily similar) writing and roleplaying styles. Thanks for understanding & reading. :-)

[Remiel]

I'm always interested in pirates.   ;D

Obviously, I'd like to play one of the "good" guys (for a given value of "good", anyway), but I would also be willing to play an antagonist (a British Redcoat, perhaps, or a Dutch East India Company enforcer).

Question: to what extent will magic and mythological lore factor in? Would we see Davy Jones, for example, or a wrecked privateer crewed by skeletons? :D

[Salomé]

It's a tribute to how popular & romanticized pirates have become that the British Army is considered 'bad' and pirates 'good', haha. ;D Seriously, however, at this stage, only one person has sent me a concrete character concept of sorts, so you can be anything you'd like.

Question: to what extent will magic and mythological lore factor in? Would we see Davy Jones, for example, or a wrecked privateer crewed by skeletons?

This is completely up to the players, although, since the roleplay is set in 'our world,' it would probably be best classified as 'low fantasy.' If someone wants to cleverly incorporate already-existing legends/myths into the roleplay, that is up to them. :-)

[Salomé]

Maybe it's my fault for having been unclear--by character concept I mean a freeform, tentative 'sketch' of your character. This can be a simple form (with their name, age, physical description, etc.), a vignette, or even a sentence.

I will probably be playing multiple characters. Unfortunately, there hasn't been that much male interest, so I will probably have to play males from time to time. Sorry to all of those who'd prefer not to have crossgender playing, I'll try to be as convincing as possible. :-)

Here is one character I've been working on--

Amongst the great bustle of activity near the pier, face tilted towards the glorious crimson Carribean sunset, Captain Pete "The Knife" Maynard scanned the street before him appreciatively. He'd signed a most lucrative contract with a seedy but legitimate businessman, his ship, the Cilla Gally, was safely docked, and he could finally join his men in one of the numerous pubs for a celebratory drink. God knows he deserved it! On the seas he'd pillaged with the best(or worst) of his men, but in town, he was just Captain Pete Maynard, merchant. And a wealthy one at that: Captain Maynard's flared coat and cut generously long, in mauve velvet, his ruffled shirt and cravat were of silk.

He caught a glimpse of his distorted reflection in a grimy glass window, and could not resist a self-satisfied chuckle. "You handsome dog, you." He said to himself, and it was true. Captain Maynard was but nine and twenty, clean-shaven, and built like a man who worked with his body. And his brown hair did smell of salt, true, but was cleaner than most.

Perhaps his hands were not quite white enough, and his face too, more brown than aristocratic. But Captain Maynard had no aspirations of nobility. The priorities in his life were his ship, the Cilla Gally, his trusty crew, and gold. Empty titles could go drown in poverty and pretension as far as he was concerned.

P.S. I know I seem very inexperienced and a bit unprepared in terms of plots and such as a GM (which is true, I suppose) but if everyone helps out a little I don't think this roleplay will be too difficult to... execute. :-)

Also, spontaneous poll--would everyone prefer that I concoct some sort of plot, or have this roleplay be based completely on and driven entirely by interaction between the characters?

[Remiel]

Here's a very brief, very rough character sketch--

Eric Svornsson was a tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed man of Scandinavian descent.  Although genetically predisposed to be very light-skinned, years and years of working under the hot sun had given his complexion a healthy tan--and quite a lot of freckles.  A tattoo of a howling wolf's head was etched in blue on his right shoulder; that and an ivory fang on a chain around his neck -- his only piece of jewelry -- may have accounted for his nickname, "Eric the Wolf." 

He threw a shirt on, stood up, and hefted a bag over his shoulder which contained all his worldly possessions.  He had years of experience as a first mate--his last billing had been on the Dusky Lady, under a female captain by the name of Elizabeth Claremont.  They'd had a torrid affair for awhile, but the life of a mercenary was not amenable to romance and they'd gone their separate ways. 

And so now, here he was again, looking for a captain and crew to hire him on as ship's navigator or possibly as ship's mate.   He was proficient with pistol and cutlass; he know how to tie a rope as well as any bo'sun.  He stepped out into the morning sunshine, ready to face anything that the day might bring.

Also, spontaneous poll--would everyone prefer that I concoct some sort of plot, or have this roleplay be based completely on and driven entirely by interaction between the characters?

In my experience, it does help if the GM (and you'd be the GM) has some sort of plot in mind.  Of course, it always helps to be flexible -- and things may not turn out as you expect -- but if the players see that there's a conflict to overcome, a quest to partake in -- they'll be much more likely to stay interested. :)

I'm excited to see where this goes! I'll be watching with interest.

[TheGlyphstone]

Chalk me up as interested, if there's still space. - I'm also technically new to the site, returning after an almost year-long hiatus.

Still formulating a character concept, but I think I'm in the mood to play something unusual, my recent string of characters have been fairly mundane or close to type - so I'm thinking something along the lines of a tribal islander from the Pacific Islands or a jungle-dweller from South America or Africa - I'm leaning towards the South American tribesman more, though how he ended up as a pirate will be fun to decide. A general fighter/crewman, handy with knives/swords and a suitably cool ranged weapon, who's keenly smart but enjoys playing up on his appearance and 'savage' nature to make people underestimate him. If we add a supernatural element, he'll have a tribal guardian spirit of sorts following him around to give protection and advice, that only he can see.

[Salomé]

Thanks for your messages everyone.
Still looking for players. :)

[Esoteric Myobi]

May I ask how many players there are at the moment?

[Kunoichi]

Hmm... I've got an idea for a character, but it's only really a very basic one. ^^; It's for a character forever cursed to sail the seas searching for something, unable to rest until she finds it.  The obvious inspiration would be the first Pirates of the Carribean movie, but I'm hoping to make this curse have a different twist than just 'zombie pirate'

Unfortunately, I'm still working out the details...

[Salomé]

May I ask how many players there are at the moment?

Not sure yet! The most important thing to me as a roleplayer is writing with people whose writing challenges & inspires me, so I'm just waiting around. :-)  Apologies for sounding so vague and somehow simultaneously picky at the same time!

Also, if you've messaged me with character concepts and I haven't responded, it's because I want to read them closely and respond thoroughly and with the same effort you put into writing your sketches. Sorry everyone... I'm probably the worst, most disorganized GM possible, but I'm clinging to the hope that by making this as freeform as possible, and basing everything on the interaction between the characters, and having that form the crux of the roleplay, we can avoid complete disaster. ;)

[Roidecinq]

I have to say I am very interested in the concept. Though I have mixed feelings: I have never done a group roleplay like this, so this loose setting has it's good and bad sides to me.

Before I flesh out a character, it might be useful to check the 'balance'. If you want to keep it freeform, I imagine the scales shouldn't tip too much to any side.

A fresh, and rigid, army officer with orders to clean up the wharf/the whole gulf of pirates and other trash sounds very interesting. Especially when he gets influenced one way or another (depending on the flow), and his new experiences conflict his sober upbringing.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Daddy waaaaaaaaaants!

[Insight]

Hey, I like this idea. Can I play a bad guy?

Since I'm entering so late, can anyone tell me what I can do to help the role best? Like, what character areas we need fleshed out?

[Kanrya]

I was thinking of being a lady pirate. since some of the most notorious pirates were women like Mary Read and Anne Bonny.

[Salomé]

I have to say I am very interested in the concept. Though I have mixed feelings: I have never done a group roleplay like this, so this loose setting has it's good and bad sides to me.

Before I flesh out a character, it might be useful to check the 'balance'. If you want to keep it freeform, I imagine the scales shouldn't tip too much to any side.

A fresh, and rigid, army officer with orders to clean up the wharf/the whole gulf of pirates and other trash sounds very interesting. Especially when he gets influenced one way or another (depending on the flow), and his new experiences conflict his sober upbringing.

That sounds like a very intriguing character idea.
Thanks for the advice on the 'balance'... it's my first time coordinating a group roleplay, and there are all these issues cropping up that I'd never even considered before. I'll be keeping a tally on gender ratio, pirates vs. civilians vs. military ration, etc.

Hey, I like this idea. Can I play a bad guy?

Since I'm entering so late, can anyone tell me what I can do to help the role best? Like, what character areas we need fleshed out?

There are no 'bad guys' and 'good guys' because there is currently no plot and therefore no goal. Not the greatest way for a coordinator to present her own roleplay, but yes... I'll get to this later.

I was thinking of being a lady pirate. since some of the most notorious pirates were women like Mary Read and Anne Bonny.

Another great idea, especially because you can refer to actual historical sources to check up on 'accuracy' and realism.