Interest check: Firefly (TV-series) based roleplay(sci-fi, western, slaves)

[Belisuavious]

If the position isn't taken I'd like to apply to be the Number Two on the ship, or whatever title the First Mate would go by.

He would have grown up on a Ranch on the fringe and fought for the Independents simply because all his friends were fighting them and he didn't want to see his home invaded. Doesn't work out of course, but he couldn't have possibly known that.

As for slavery, he has no real feelings about it whatsoever. He doesn't particularly like slaves but he won't go out of his way to free them or speak up for them.

I am have some personal issues regarding NC, it's not something I really enjoy though like you said, just because this is in the NC section doesn't mean all sexual encounters will be non-consensual. I would prefer a freeform type of game but I wouldn't mind having dice rolled to determine success. Could be as simple as the player rolling a die and the GM or opposing player rolling another die, and whoever gets higher decides how the situation goes. The closer their numbers are, the more narrow the success and that has to be shown in the writing. 

[orderNchaos]

Is there still space on the crew??  Firefly and BDSM combined.....hhmmmm what fun!!!

[SatanKlaus]

Wow, we have very quickly moved from 'interest check' to 'characters' and even beyond. I'm encouraged that you are all so enthusiastic about it but please take it slow. If you go too far, too quickly, then my control will be slipping and you will be left without a GM. Not that that would be neccessarily a bad thing. Just saying.

I propose the following:

You continue to post character bios here while I work on a coherent storyline involving all of you. As there are so many eager to jump in, I don't think we have time to roleplay 'recruitment'. So most of you, especially characters with an important job on board will have been on the ship for some time now and know each other well. The rest will also be on board by the time the story starts; as passengers, stowaways or...cargo.

Just so we have a timeframe: I think people need a little time to make a character and not everyone is as active as the quickest responders. I will continue to monitor the character bio process and flesh out the system we are going to use. Characters will be formally approved and posted in the official thread in a week of real time. That would be the 20th. I can see that you people are eager to start but please bear with me. After all, anyone who is serious about this roleplay must expect it to go on for months. So I'd say a week is fair.

Satan_Klaus

[SatanKlaus]

Vin, I am worried that your focus is for a game that kinda centers around BDSM, which I admit bothers me a bit.  I think sexual elements of any kind shouldn't overshadow the story, especially a single element.

Well, I advertised this roleplay as 'slavery-themed' and 'BDSMy'. Obviously, Vim is familiar with the works of Shan'Yu, while you are not so fond of them. I certainly don't want to run this roleplay as a nonstop orgy of sexual violence, but some of it will happen. If you are not okay with it, then maybe this roleplay is not for you. Please make a decision now. It's better not to start, then to walk away disgusted and dissappointed.

Satan_Klaus

[kckolbe]

Every single sentence of his proposal was about sex.  He said nothing about his character's personality, training, abilities, or background (except that he acquired a sex slave).  If you don't see an issue with that, then I will gladly bow out.

[SatanKlaus]

Every single sentence of his proposal was about sex.  He said nothing about his character's personality, training, abilities, or background (except that he acquired a sex slave).  If you don't see an issue with that, then I will gladly bow out.

I know Vim, I have seen him around before. He is a good writer. He can make a smooth character in any background. And although sex may be his final goal, he can go the extra mile and describe in detail how he got there. (And the 'how he got there' is what you want, the story.)

I do have an issue with him, though: Vim, you tend to hug the spotlight and screentime. You are very active and start a thread with every character. That's not how this is going to work. It stifles the roleplay and intimidates less active players. So if you want to play, play nice. Participate in one exchange or maybe two, but not more. If you feel bored, vent your excess energy in another thread. Don't hog this roleplay.

Thank you,
Satan_Klaus


PS: I have decided to play the captain myself. This seems to be the only way to give this group of drifters and misfits a sense of direction and keep the roleplay on track.

[vin26m]

I like Caela's pilot character and kckolbe's engineer.

I don't know about someone other than the captain being the owner.  I feel like the captain would have to be the owner, for the sake of authority.  Maybe the engineer bought the ship, worked on it, then sold it to the captain or lost it to the captain in a bet (yet another unintentional Han Solo reference). 

Branwen, a genteel scoundrel would be great for a crew of outlaws, I think.  Maybe she is on the run after one of her cons went bad.  She could be a loner looking for a family.  She could be a Companion who lost her "license" but still "practices."

kckolbe, I was just throwing ideas out there.  I can see how they are too sexual.  It's entirely possible to have a game in which slavery, including sex slavery, is a theme but all the sex scenes (when they come up) are consensual.

Maybe their first job is smuggling sex slaves, and the crew has to deal with the morality of it.  Or they could be smuggling one sex slave, who is a player-character.  The captain and crew would ideally find a way to complete the job but also get the slave back (such as kidnapping or purchasing the slave after delivery).

Another possibility is the whole crew has been enslaved (for hard labor and/or sex), but they manage to take over the ship for themselves.

I'm still thinking about the captain character (I focused more on Satan_Klaus' "what kind of action do you want to see" part of his first post rather than the "character you want to play" part).  I feel like the captain should have a background that is connected to or overlapping with at least some of the other crew members, and I wanted to see what other backgrounds would be there.  I would remain true to Satan_Klaus' ideas about his personality and formerly being part of the Independents (I've settled on a male captain instead of female).

[SatanKlaus]

I would be interested just wondering if will be using the serenity system and hmm  I cant decide between a former brown coat sabtoage  artist or a disallusuoned intelligence officer of the alliance that has run to the fringe to live

I never played Serenity system so I'm not confident in GMing it. I think we will work with a barebones storyteller system. This is reasonably simple, reasonably quick and many people are familiar with it. Complex details like ship/vehicle combat and the like will be abstracted by me into challenges for individual characters without resorting to any advanced rules.

Satan_Klaus

[kckolbe]

I could see the engineer selling or loaning the ship to the captain, or making some other type of deal where the captain didn't have to worry about a boss.  In fact, I kinda like the idea of the captain renting the ship, making the engineer a kind of landlord rather than boss.  As long as the captain has the rent on time, he may do pretty much however he likes.

I don't mind there being non con scenes, as they definitely fit with the setting.  I just wanted to make sure that story and character development weren't tossed to the side for sex scenes. 

[SatanKlaus]

I could see the engineer selling or loaning the ship to the captain, or making some other type of deal where the captain didn't have to worry about a boss.  In fact, I kinda like the idea of the captain renting the ship, making the engineer a kind of landlord rather than boss.  As long as the captain has the rent on time, he may do pretty much however he likes.

I don't mind there being non con scenes, as they definitely fit with the setting.  I just wanted to make sure that story and character development weren't tossed to the side for sex scenes.

I do think its weird for the engineer to own the ship. If someone but the captain owned the ship, he would not be flying on it under the captain's command. That's not how the chain of command works. ("That's the chain I beat you with").

So I propose the following: The engineer owns a share of the ship. A lower percentages just means that he gets a bigger share of the profits and carries part of the risk. 50% would mean that he has a real say in matters and probably a lot of friction with the captain. Might be interesting to hear the engineer complain where the captain is going to take (and endanger) 'his baby' this time.

Satan_Klaus

[vin26m]

I know Vim, I have seen him around before. He is a good writer. He can make a smooth character in any background. And although sex may be his final goal, he can go the extra mile and describe in detail how he got there. (And the 'how he got there' is what you want, the story.)

I do have an issue with him, though: Vim, you tend to hug the spotlight and screentime. You are very active and start a thread with every character. That's not how this is going to work. It stifles the roleplay and intimidates less active players. So if you want to play, play nice. Participate in one exchange or maybe two, but not more. If you feel bored, vent your excess energy in another thread. Don't hog this roleplay.

Thank you,
Satan_Klaus


PS: I have decided to play the captain myself. This seems to be the only way to give this group of drifters and misfits a sense of direction and keep the roleplay on track.

I don't think I've ever gotten the impression that I stifle roleplay or intimidate others. 

If anything I've seen roleplay slow to a crawl when I'm inactive and pick back up when I become active again. 

If I like a game, I do get into it, and my goal is to include others, not scare them off.   

I was interested in the captain partly because no one else wanted to play him. 

I'm still interested in the game.  I love Firefly, I haven't yet gotten a good Firefly RP on E, and I really enjoyed previous RP with Caela. 

Not playing the captain opens up a whole bunch of new possibilities, but I will come up with something.  Since we seem to have a full crew (captain, pilot, engineer, muscle), I'm thinking of a passenger, either a female Companion or a male former soldier turned bounty hunter.  Either character could hire the ship's services.

Just to clarify, it's Vin, not Vim.

[Innocence]

If there is still room, I would love to play =D
Firefly has a system's tabletop game so I was just wondering if you were going to use that system or another?
Anyway, if there is room I'd love to play the female version of Jayne's character [I admit, he might have been my favourite]
So I guess that would classify me as the 'Brute/Gunman'?

[Branwen]

Branwen, a genteel scoundrel would be great for a crew of outlaws, I think.  Maybe she is on the run after one of her cons went bad.  She could be a loner looking for a family.  She could be a Companion who lost her "license" but still "practices."

Thank you for the input and idea, Vin.  I shy away from playing a Companion, former or current, because I don't think I'm sophisticated enough to carry it off.  Companions are amazing people and I'd rather someone who really wanted to play one and who was confident enough to play on take on the role.  Plus, they must be very, very uncommon so it's best I leave that one unique slot open for another.  Thank you for the ideas!  They're very helpful.

[SatanKlaus]

From the character lineup, this looks more like a mercenary company than a free trader. Not that that would be a bad thing. We can work with that. Mercenary companies certainly have a place in the 'verse.

Also, the number of players has become rather large. That's not really a problem...it's my experience that about half of the players will quit after a few weeks. I don't like it, but anybody who has played in a group roleplay here knows what I am talking about.

Looking at the two facts above, I propose the following: The play will be split into a shipboard crew and a ground-team for the first part of the introductory 'mission'. So all very 'shooty' characters will be together and the pilot, engineer and captain stay on the ship. Passengers and misfits can start where they prefer, though it will be more logical for most non-combatants to be on the ship.

The overall boss of the company will be the captain, but the ground-team probably has its own leader while they are away from the ship. This could be Jecter, the first mate, or one of the 'grunts'. If anyone likes the position and feels confident that he can keep his people in line and on task, please speak up.

Satan_Klaus

[Branwen]

Innocence, I love the idea of a female Jayne!  That's so cool.  Can you come up with  male name for her that's as funny as Jayne is for him?

[SatanKlaus]

Innocence, I love the idea of a female Jayne!  That's so cool.  Can you come up with  male name for her that's as funny as Jayne is for him?

"Jayne is a girl's name."

[Innocence]

Innocence, I love the idea of a female Jayne!  That's so cool.  Can you come up with  male name for her that's as funny as Jayne is for him?

That's actually a great idea =D
Thanks for the input
I think it shouldn't be a unisex name like Alex or Sam either.
Maybe something like...
Lance [which can become Lacy]
Flex [which can become Lexi]
Elliot
Zachariah

I will look up a picture for her character now and the type of weapons I'd like her to use.
The knock out potion that Saffron uses made me think poisons would be an interesting main weapon choice.

[SatanKlaus]

I will look up a picture for her character now and the type of weapons I'd like her to use.
The knock out potion that Saffron uses made me think poisons would be an interesting main weapon choice.

The reavers in 'serenity' shoot poison darts/syringes, so there is a in-universe precedent.

Please note that I am not going to provide a a 10-page list of gear and weapons. That's not going to work for this roleplay. All weapons and gear will be strongly simplified and I'm not sure if I can make room for the complex special rules you would expect on such a weapon. On the other hand, it means that you can just pick what you like and maybe it will be thrown into a bag with all other 'medium sized guns' or something but at least you will have an effective weapon like everyone else. 

Satan_klaus

[Branwen]

Are we going to play in a pre-Serenity 'verse?  I'd very much like to see the mystique of the Reavers maintained and their chilling status as the ultimate boogeyman upheld.  They're so utterly chilling that way.

[Innocence]

The reavers in 'serenity' shoot poison darts/syringes, so there is a in-universe precedent.

They do? Wow it's been way too long since I last watched firefly... Will need to rewatch it all before starting the roleplay
Anyway~!! If it helps, I can limit myself to maybe 5 different types of poisons, so I'm not one of those characters that conveniently have a magical potion for every situation. I'll run them by you first to see if you think they'll be appropriate.
Is that cool?

Btw, I noticed you said your character would most likely be like a scoundrel [a nice scoundrel though] so I had an idea for how perhaps our characters could be interrelated, if you'd like to hear it out I can either post it here or PM it to you to add to the mystery for the other players?

[Branwen]

Crusts!  I'm sorry, Innocence.  Someone approached me in PM already about me being their slave and we're exploring it.  If that does not pan out, and if you have not already done so, may I return to you with your offer for discussion?

Either way, you rock for making the offer!  Thank you!

[Innocence]

Crusts!  I'm sorry, Innocence.  Someone approached me in PM already about me being their slave and we're exploring it.  If that does not pan out, and if you have not already done so, may I return to you with your offer for discussion?

Either way, you rock for making the offer!  Thank you!

Not a problem =]
As long as everyone's got a good back story I think we'll all enjoy the game =D

[Koekje]

Name: Girias "Cookie" Bomban
Age: 23
Orientation: Straight
Occupation: Grunt

Personality: Girias is a person with anger issues, who easily gets pissed off when not getting his wishes. His anger is only surpassed by his loyalty to a good boss, as he'll never betray those. He tends to make bad jokes and quickly starts insulting people as a way of attracting attention. Having lived a life full of crime, he generally distrusts people and keeps his firearms close at hand.

You will most likely find him walking around the ship as a way to combat boredom and to snoop around for reasons to throw people out of an air lock. If he's not patrolling, he'll be in his cot away from others with a pack of cards or sleeping.

Background: Grew up on a small, rural planet and left on the first ticket out of there for the action and the money. Most of the adult life has been going from one job to the other, sparring with the law and having spent over 7 months in correctional facilities as punishment for past "jobs". Currently recruited, but always looking for the next job in case the previous contract suddenly expires.

[SatanKlaus]

Are we going to play in a pre-Serenity 'verse?  I'd very much like to see the mystique of the Reavers maintained and their chilling status as the ultimate boogeyman upheld.  They're so utterly chilling that way.

The play will definitively be pre-serenity.

Actually, I'm thinking about making it pre-war with the independent planets on the verge of breaking away from the alliance. It would be an explosive atmosphere with occassional militia skirmishes and there would be overlapping juristiction of local vs. federal authorities. Player allegiances would be split over planet rights vs alliance laws. I imagine the group as a whole will lean towards independence or at the very least play both sides. As there are only 2 sides, people might have to choose the lesser evil. For example, I could see some of our players favor the independence, even though they firmly oppose slavery.

Would that work for you guys?

Satan_Klaus

[Koekje]

It'd put a bigger strain on crew relations and add way more potential for conflicts with NPC's.

I'm okay with this! :)