Free Trader - Freeform story based Sci-fi SLGBTQI - still looking for a few folk

[Chrystal]

FREE TRADER]

It is the late 2340s. The Company War has been going on officially for almost half a century, but the fighting started well before then, unofficially! The Earth Company has failed to re-establish control over the Far Beyond, the Beyonder Rebellion has escalated and now Union, with it's capital on the world of Cyteen, has a fleet far greater in numbers than the surviving Earth Company Ships, due largely to the efforts of the Reseune Laboratories in creating Azi - human clones classified as Alpha through Zulu according to intelligence and (inversely) stability.

Vast numbers of soldiers, all with the same face, all taught by deep-teach, all of sufficient intelligence to simply follow orders, man the Union carriers and riders, and wear the Union Marines battle armour. By contrast, the Earth Company Fleet under the command of Conrad Mazian has been cut off and disowned by the world and the company it is fighting for. No new ships are built, no supplies are forthcoming, no replacements for casualties, no spare parts.

And so the Maziani resort to commerce raiding, acts of piracy - except it is a time of war - against civilian ships, taking the supplies they need, conscripting the young people into their crew. The Earth Company Ships justify this by saying that the Earth Company has never rescinded it's ownership of these ships and their cargoes, and as the Fleet represents the Company, they have a right to take what they want.

Of course most of the merchant ships raided do not feel this way. Most of them, however, are sensible enough to realise that to resist is going to get them no-where, but occasionally, for whatever reason, a ship's crew will attempt to fight back. Sometimes this results in the ship simply being destroyed, but if the ship's cargo is something the raiders want, they will take it by force. Again, sometimes the ship will be taken as a prize, crewed by a Maziani crew and used as a supply ship, a scout or a decoy. But more often, the ship will be left drifting, an empty hulk, a navigation hazard and a warning to others that The Maziani do not like to be crossed....

But what happens if there are a handful of survivors?



Welcome, interested player. I hope that the above background has piqued your imagination and whetted your appetite. If not, then thank you for looking and I bide you bon voyage. If so, however, please read on.

Acknowledgements:

First of all, I wish to acknowledge the work of a great Science Fiction Author named C.J. Cherryh. This story is set in the "Allience/Union" universe that she has created and is inspired to an extent by the book "Merchanter's Luck".

Please note that knowledge of Cherryh's works, while helpful, is not required to play the game.

Secondly, I wish to acknowledge Nowherewoman, who posted a thread with an idea seed in it which was so similar to an idea I already had that I could not resist talking to her about it, and she agreed that her seed and my detail would combine very well.

As Ms Cherryh is not particularly into specifying technical details, especially of weapons, but they are sort of required for the purposes of RP, and NW is a self-confessed weapons geek, she has agreed to design that side of things.

Nowherewoman's group game interest thread can be found here.

A thread giving details of the Alliance Union universe can be found here.



Moraline's Group Game Checklist

Game:

• The game will be in N/C Human Freeform Small Groups
• The game is open to all players regardless of gender, sexuality or preference. It will be SLGBTQI friendly
• Players will be young adults who were hidden during a Maziani raid on their ship. The story will be how they learn, survival at any cost, as they are themselves reduced to being only a step away from piracy.
• The story will be set in an adaptation of C.J. Cherry's Alliance/Union universe.
• The Union Merchant Ship Free Trader is a small jump-capable ship, carrying medium haul cargo between two Union star systems (TBD, possibly Viking and Wyatts) when it is attacked at a null-point by ECS2 Australia commanded by Tom Edgar. Riders from the carrier dock with the freighter and marines pour into the ship. They want the cargo and the younger people. But someone is stupid and pulls a gun. The resulting firefight has only one possible outcome and the bulk of the adult crew lie dead or dying on the deck. The loft, haven for the ship's old and young, has been vented, deliberately killing all those inside, to prevent the children being given over to a fate worse than death. Some of the adults attempted to surrender, and the younger, fitter ones were taken back to the carrier.
  
  But in the heat of the raid, the marines searching the ship for survivors were not as thorough as they should have been. A handful of younger folk have survived, hidden in closets, cupboards, behind access panels, in dark corners. As the Maziani leave, they wait to see if they will simply die in a bright flash, or asphixiate as the air rushes out of the ship, but it doesn't happen. They emerge from their hiding places to see the horror of their family and friends massacred.
  
  And then they clean the ship up, dispose of the corpses, and get on with the job of staying alive, by any means they can.
• Character sheets and guidlines will be posted in a post below this one.
• Please bookmark the World-building thread entitled C.J. Cherryh Fandom Universe - Closed, as this thread will contain all necessary data relating to the universe, it's technology, society and history.
• Please endevor to post at least once a week.
• This is a story driven game. There will be room for sexual activity, but it will be secondary to the plot
• Post tagging will be used for all IC posts to indicate where a character is, whom they are with and what they are doing

Game Master Info / GM(s) Participation Level (If/where applicable)

• Nowherewoman is pro-tem Co-GM, although she has expressed a desire not to have the position permanently. The player taking on the role of Ship's Captain will effectively be Co-GM.
• Play will be guided by myself throwing situations at the players and the Captain deciding how best to respond to them.
• The universe is largely pre-created by C.J. Cherryh. Local details will be fleshed out by myself. Individual players will be allowed to "decorate" their cabins on the ship, and possibly create places of interest when the ship is docked at station, but such places should be cleared with myself first.
• On board ship the only NPCs will be PCs of players who have dropped out. These will be made available to any player who wants to take them over. On station, players are welcome to create on-the-fly NPCs to fill in the environment. NPCs that introduce or facilitate sub-plots will be GM controlled.
• As GM, I will have one character on the ship who will be the Engineer. This gives me effective control of all the technical aspects of the vessel. Other than that my primary role will be to create situations that the crew can find themselves in, in order to move the story forward.
• There will be an OOC thread, which will be available for discussion of sub-plots, character relationships, GM announcements, player absence notifications and the like. General chat will also be allowed, however this should not take precidence over game-related discussions
• Please contact me either by posting here (for now) or in the OOC thread when it is open, for public discussion, or via PM for private discussions.
• OOC decisions will be resolved according to my standard Rules of Play - I like to think I'm a firm but fair GM. I'm willing to listen to all sides of an argument, but once I make a decision I expect it to be abided by.
• PVP will be allowed, in the event of IC conflict happening between characters. Please note that mutiny is punishable by death! It probably won't come to that, but you never know.

Additional:

• Players are advised to at least read The Oath of The Drake for Group RPs. Much of this is common sense, but it still is worth reading it over (again if you have not done so recently). Please also be sure to at least glance over the source material and familiarise yourself with what is there even if you don't read it all word for word. Finally, be sure to read my Rules of Play, as submitting a character for the game is taken by me as a declaration that you have read, understood and accepted them.
• This should go without saying, but it is against Eliquiy's rules not to respect other players. Please be sure to at least look at the O/O pages or Prefs matrices of the other players and if you intend to have your character closely involved with another, please ensure you READ that players O/Os-prefs and take them into account.
• Players are asked to try and post at least once per week, or (as I saw someone else put) at most seven days from when it became your turn to post. Real life happens, and things get on top of us, and our muses desert us. If anything like this happens please let us know. Players who drop out will have their characters taken over and offered to any other player who wishes to take them on, or they will be played as NPCs until such time as they can be removed from the game.
• New players wishing to join may do so by one of three methods: If the game has not been running long they may simply appear as having been there all along but as yet unnoticed; If a player wishes they may take over a character of a player who has dropped out; Finally when the ship is docked at a space station new players may "sign on" as crew.
• Players may use whatever tense and point of view they feel most comfortable with.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

As this is a group game with limited appeal and a sealed environment with a small number of players, it is more than possible that a single player dropping out could kill the game, spoiling it for everyone else. As the average drop-out rate on games on Elliquiy is 50% within the first month, it is a condition of play that, if you submit a character, that character becomes the property of the game, and if you drop out or decide not to play after all, the character may be taken over by the GM and/or offered to any other player wishing to take it over.

If this is unacceptable to you, please do not submit a character, or do not drop out! Thank you.

[Chrystal]

RULES OF PLAY

These are my standard OOC rules of play for group games. I put them in every group game I run, usually with minor variations to suit the specific setting. I like to think there is nothing draconian or unacceptable here, and I ask all players to read them. Submitting a character sheet to me implies that you have read and are in agreement with these rules.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH SOMETHING HERE, PLEASE TELL ME!

All rules except two are negotiable!

Story Astrogation!

This is a GM-led Story guided game. What that means is that I as GM have designed a detailed environment that I will slowly reveal to you the players. I will throw a steady stream of events at you and it is down to you to react to them however you see fit.

Please note that if you are confronted (say) with another vessel that appears to be in difficulties, your choice of whether to offer assistance, board it, or blow it out of the sky with your (limited) armaments, will have consequences, which I will NOT allow you to change!

The one exception to this is if your character's actions cut across another player's offs, in which case editing your post becomes mandatory!

Regardless, this is a story-based game so I will be guiding it and offering hints, but players are more than welcome to take the story in a totally different direction should they so choose. Be warned though: I am quite evil!

RULES:

• The GM's word is law. This does not mean I'm not open to discussion, but if it comes to an impasse, if a decision needs to be made, or a discussion is getting out of bounds, I will render a decision that I expect to be abided by. I will do this based upon context.
• Respect other players ons and more importantly, their offs! This is NOT negotiable. Ons and offs are there for a reason. If you feel someone has broken this rule, please PM them first to talk about it. If they will not change their post, then contact me via PM and I will deal with it. Please note that persistently ignoring another players O/Os is grounds for reporting to staff!
• Try to post at least once a week. If you know you will be unable to post for a while please let us know in advance in the OOC. it is a good idea to create an Apologies/Absences (A/A) thread so everyone you are RPing with knows where you've gone.
• If you know you are going to be away for a considerable time (more than a week) please bring any story-arcs you are involved in to a conclusion , or extract your character from them.
• If you find your character is sitting around doing nothing, post something to the OOC, or PM me. If you wait for someone to interact with you, you will wait a long time. Let me know and I will create an event to bring your character into the game.
• If you have any questions about anything in the game, ASK! The only stupid questions are "how many beans make five" and ones that aren't asked!
• The OOC thread will be for people to chat. I have no problems with you guys discussing the latest football results if you wish, (although I'd rather you didn't because I dislike football), because it means you are getting on as a group. However please give priority to game related discussions
• Please tag all IC posts using the code that will be supplied, editing the details as appropriate. This will enable other players and myself to track where everyone is.
• There is no rule 9.
• Players who drop out of the game will have their characters confiscated by the GM(s) and manipulated as NPCs in order to allow the story to continue. The GMs may, at their discretion, offer such characters to another player to continue playing with.
• Please try to post a minimum of 200 words per post. If you post short once in a while, that isn't going to be a problem, but doing so consistently will draw my attention and I will ask you to expand your posts. If the player you are responding to has not given you enough material to write a decent length post from, PM them and ask them to expand their post.
• God-Moding is a big no-no, but in a n/c game a certain amount of "moving the story on" needs to be expected. Use common sense! If you feel you have been god-moded, talk it over by PM, and if you cannot reach a satisfactory solution, bring it to me or the other GMs.
• HAVE FUN! This too is non-negotiable. If you aren't having fun, I would like to know why, so I can change whatever it is that is stopping you having fun!

[Chrystal]

Character Creation

All player characters will be the young adult survivors of the crew of the Free Trader, who's relatives and friends have all been massacred by the Maziani pirates. No player character can be under 16, and if you wish to create one under 18 you will need to PM me to tell me why.

Also, no player character is to be over the age of 24.

As GM, I reserve the right to decline any character for any reason, or even for no reason. I reserve the right not to explain why the character is not acceptable. However I will usually give a reason, and try to give hints as to how the character may be made acceptable. Possible reasons for the character being declined are:

• Mary-Sue/Marty-Stu characters, characters who are too perfect and will always end up saving the day.
• Over-powerful or over-stereotyped characters, the guy with the strength of ten men and the stamina of an ox, even though he may have character flaws coming out his ears. Equally the girl with the 42G-28-36 figure, long blonde hair and the IQ of a plank
• Characters who simply do not fit the setting for whatever reason
• Non-human characters
• Characters who are excessively evil or excessively good - nothing is that black and white
• Canon characters, from this or any other fandom
• Characters submitted on character sheets that have been modified, not filled in correctly, or incomplete. There is no reason for anyone to modify the character sheet or change any of the formatting. The sheet is the way it is for a reason. All information is required unless specified otherwise.
• Characters using poor quality or anime artwork as a pic-base. Photos of people in decent sci-fi settings are few and far between, so I will accept artwork, but I am going to be picky about it Art work must look three-dimensional with proper perspective. No flat, cartoon-like characters and no unrealistic proportions please.
• Characters where the pic-base is inappropriate to the setting - Yes, I'm picky...  A photo of a woman on a beach in a bikini might look nice but there are no beaches in deep space! Just for example. Note that pictures of individuals against a blank background (a wall for example) are acceptable regardless of their clothing

Please be aware of the following when creating your character:

• All player characters were born in the Beyond. They have never been to earth. In fact none of them have ever set foot on a planet! They were all born either on the ship or on a space station.
• Merchant ships are family crewed. That means that most of the characters will be related in some way, however distantly. This is not a hard and fast rule, and there can be characters who are the kids of crew who only joined the ship recently.
• All characters are "unseated crew". They are not qualified to run the ship, they have little to no experience of actually running the ship and at the time the story starts would have been learning one or more specialisations.
• The characters have just been subject to probably the most traumatic event of their lives. How you chose to have your character deal with this is up to you, but be prepared to justify it!
• The universe is a dangerous place!

To use the character sheet, click the "select" link, and press <Ctrl> + c to copy the code. creae a new PM and address it to me, with the subject "Free Trader Character", then use <Ctrl> + v to paste the code into it. Fill in the form, replacing the "sample text" with your answers, and send it to me.

Code Select Expand


[float=right][img height=300 padding=5]Paste image URL here[/img][/float]
[b]Player ID:[/b] Your login ID

[b]First Name:[/b] The name the character is known by

[b]Surname:[/b] If different from the ship's family name which is Fiori

[b]Gender:[/b] Preferably Male or female, but I will accept other genders if you can give me a valid reason!

[b]Age:[/b] Between 18 and 24 Subjective years. I will accept characters between 16 and 18 if you can give me a valid reason.

[b]Height:[/b] In CM. Inches never made it of planet Earth.

[b]Mass:[/b] In KG. Lbs never made it into space either.

[b]Hair Colour:[/b] If not obvious from the pic, or put "As picture"

[b]Eye Colour:[/b] If not obvious from the pic, or put "As picture"

[b]Skin Colour:[/b] If not obvious from the pic, or put "As picture"

[b]Build:[/b] If not obvious from the pic, or put "As picture"

[b]Distinguishing marks:[/b] Scars, tattoos, piercings, especially those not visible in the picture.

[b]Sexual preference / Orientation:[/b] This is the character's preference, not necessarily yours.

[b]Assigned Department:[/b] This is the ship's department within which the character is studying. See list below.

[b]Stated specialisation preferences:[/b] Again, this is the character's stated intent, and is not necessarily where they will end up. See list below.

[b]Likes:[/b] Please list at least five things they enjoy

[b]Dislikes:[/b] Please list at least five things they don't enjoy

[b]Personality prior to the attack:[/b] What was the character like before. How did they relate to people. What pushed their buttons. Please type at least 150 words, and preferably around 200.

[b]How has the attack affected them:[/b] What effect has the trauma of having their ship attacked and almost everyone they know killed had on their personality. Please type at least 75 words and preferably around 100. NOTE: "None", no matter how it is padded, is not acceptable!

[b]Player O/Os:[/b] Please insert a link to your ons/offs page and/or your prefs matrix.

[b]Any Other Info:[/b] Anything else you think might be relevant


NOTES:

Surname: As stated, most people aboard a merchant ship are in some way related, if only by marriage, The ship will have a family surname that most of the crew will have. Not all, however. The family surname is Fiori.

Gender: If you can give me a plausible enough reason for why your girl has a cock or your guy has tits, I will allow it.

Physical characteristics: if something isn't obvious from the picture, please specify - for example if the character is wearing a hat that hides the hair, or glasses, or the image is monochrome, or is a head/torso shot.

Sexuality: You are quite welcome to have your character's sexual orientation the same as your own, however this is not a requirement. However, please note that it is YOUR preference not your characters that will influence the relationships he or she has. So if you are gay, but your character is straight, you should expect him/her to be seduced and/or raped, but ONLY by members of the same sex.

Department & Specialisation: There is a list of departments and specialisations below. Each character has been assigned to a department, for ease of organisation within the crew, so they know who their "boss" is. However, they may be studying for as many as three different specialisations, only one of which must fall within their assigned department. Characters can have one, two or three specialisations, and they may all be from the same department or all from different departments, or two from one and one from another.

Likes & Dislikes: these are character preferences, NOT player prefs. If you put pizza as a dislike, that doesn't mean (s)he cannot be forced to eat pizza in game, with player permission!

Personality & Trauma: Characters will all have been affected in some way by the attack on the ship. This can be whatever you like. They could become aggressive, withdrawn, prone to panic attacks, the only real requirement is that they do not go totally insane because that would really leave the character unplayable.

Ons/Offs: I know some players prefer to discuss RP content on a case by case basis, however in a group game having published ons and offs helps people to know whether to interact with your character and in what ways. Especially in a N/C game, player ons and offs are essential, in my opinion.

List Of Departments And Specialisations:

Operations:
Helm
Navigation
Scan
Comms
Cargo Management

Sciences:
Comp
Economics
Medical
Life support
Cookery

Engineering:
Jump Drive Technology
Main Engine Maintenance
Fabrication
Damage Control

[Chrystal]

Characters we have so far:

Player	Character Name	Department	Main Specialisation
Chrystal	Lena Fiori	Engineering	Main Engine/Jump Drive Maintenance
Blinkin	Samantha Fiori	Operations	Cargo Handling
Riveda	Mark Fiori	Operations	Navigation (Nightwalker)
Cass Yuri	Olivia Fiori	Sciences	Economics/Scan
NowhereWoman	Jayna Fiori	Engineering	Fabrication
OrderNChaos	Cami Denton	Operations	Helm

Posts still available:

Comms tech (Operations)
Medic (Science)
Comp operator (Science)
Life Support (Science)
Cookery (Science)

I'm not really expecting anyone to want to be a life support tech, because that is probably the least attractive job on a space-going vessel, but it is easily one of the most important: Basically you are in charge of turning people's waste products into breathable oxygen and drinkable water!

Cookery is probably the least vital role, and if one of the players with a single specialisation wants to add it as a subsidiary, please do...

[Chrystal]

Threads

This thread is the recruitment thread. This is where people can discuss character concepts and submit character sheets for approval.

The OOC Thread is for discussion of the game, setting up character interactions, working out issues with the plot and the story, and also random non-game-related discussion.

The Character Thread is for approved character sheets only. Please do not post your own character sheets here

The IC Thread(s):

Onboard The Free Trader is the first IC thread. This is where all on-ship action will take place. Other threads may be introduced to represent different locations as and when we get there.

[Chrystal]

reserved

[RedEve]

This is quite interesting, is it a dormant concept or are you still going to recruit for this?

[Chrystal]

I am recruiting for it, but I seem to have zero interest so far...

Mind you, I'm aware that setting up such a specialised game can take time, so if you would like to play, then I would be more than happy to include you, however please note that it could be several weeks before I have enough players to consider starting...

The world-building thread containing the background info is still a work-in-progress, but there should be enough detail there to let people know what sort of thing they are getting into...

[CassYuri]

I still am interested in it.  I've spent quite a bit of time looking for a genre appropriate pic that I could connect with for a character but nothing is jumping out at me. 

I'm confused by this part of your setup:

...
Sexuality: You are quite welcome to have your character's sexual orientation the same as your own, however this is not a requirement. However, please note that it is YOUR preference not your characters that will influence the relationships he or she has. So if you are gay, but your character is straight, you should expect him/her to be seduced and or raped.
...

I assume in the above you mean that if you are gay and your character is straight, then you should expect him/her to only be seduced and/or raped by members of the same sex.

I have a suggestion.  I feel like there are too many departments that are dead-ends in a narrative sense.    I'd suggest combing the basics of several into a base class and then allowing for specializations into advanced classes.  For example you could have a ship tactical base that would cover the basics of helm, navigation, and gunnery (if we were ever to get ship guns).  Any of three specialties could do the basic work of any of the roles, but the specialists would be better.  Sciences could be a base class for Scan, Comp (this could also go in Engineering), Comms (which would also have more Linguistics in it), and Life Sciences.  Engineering could have Jump Drive, Fabrication, and Damage Control Specialities for example.  I think this would also help keep the story flowing as you will be less likely hampered but a key position having a player with real world intrusions.

[Chrystal]

I still am interested in it.  I've spent quite a bit of time looking for a genre appropriate pic that I could connect with for a character but nothing is jumping out at me. 

I am okay with artwork as well as photos, and in all honesty, if we assume that clothing doesn't change that much in the next 200 years, you could just go with a picture you like, it doesn't need to be genre specific.

I'm confused by this part of your setup:I assume in the above you mean that if you are gay and your character is straight, then you should expect him/her to only be seduced and/or raped by members of the same sex.

OOPS! Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Sorry, that was a mega typo. I will fix it now.

I have a suggestion.  I feel like there are too many departments that are dead-ends in a narrative sense.    I'd suggest combing the basics of several into a base class and then allowing for specializations into advanced classes.  For example you could have a ship tactical base that would cover the basics of helm, navigation, and gunnery (if we were ever to get ship guns).  Any of three specialties could do the basic work of any of the roles, but the specialists would be better.  Sciences could be a base class for Scan, Comp (this could also go in Engineering), Comms (which would also have more Linguistics in it), and Life Sciences.  Engineering could have Jump Drive, Fabrication, and Damage Control Specialities for example.  I think this would also help keep the story flowing as you will be less likely hampered but a key position having a player with real world intrusions.

That is an excellent idea, thank you. I will see how best to go about implementing it.

[thymoit]

Hmm, interesting...  I had a plot bunny running around in my head for a similar story, except I was going to place it in the Traveller universe instead of  a C.J. Cherryh.  That plot bunny never got out to play.  I like the idea of young adults pushed into adult responsibilities.  As well as the confined environment of a ship in space.  Players would be forced to interact and work with each other.  They'd be too short-handed to have any slackers. 
I might sign up for a position, but not interested in the responsibility of being Captain/co-GM.  I would suggest you do a google search for Traveller+Deck+Plans.  The Traveller game system has excessively detailed rules for ship construction, but they also produced a lot of deck plans that are floating around on the internet.  Even if you're not using the system, stealing one of their ships would probably be easier than designing your own.  Something like this perhaps?

http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/map_images/1010009/Free_Trader_Deckplan.jpg

[Chrystal]

Hmm, interesting...  I had a plot bunny running around in my head for a similar story, except I was going to place it in the Traveller universe instead of  a C.J. Cherryh.  That plot bunny never got out to play.  I like the idea of young adults pushed into adult responsibilities.  As well as the confined environment of a ship in space.  Players would be forced to interact and work with each other.  They'd be too short-handed to have any slackers. 
I might sign up for a position, but not interested in the responsibility of being Captain/co-GM.  I would suggest you do a google search for Traveller+Deck+Plans.  The Traveller game system has excessively detailed rules for ship construction, but they also produced a lot of deck plans that are floating around on the internet.  Even if you're not using the system, stealing one of their ships would probably be easier than designing your own.  Something like this perhaps?

http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/map_images/1010009/Free_Trader_Deckplan.jpg

Hi Thymoit.

Well there's two problems with your suggestion, firstly I don't do system games. I cannot get to grips with them, and I cannot afford the time nor the money required to do so.

Your idea of using the ship plans would have had merit, except that in Cherryh's universe artificial gravity is provided the real way, by spinning a cylinder about a central axis, rather than the Trek-Trope way of just assuming that something is holding everyone to the deck and it is still working even when the ship has been derelict for centuries, there is no air and no power to anything else.... (Seriously, the least they could have done was have them on wires!)

However what this means is that the deck of a ship in Cherryh's universe is usually one or two long corridors which if you start from the control room and keep walking, you end up back at the control room!

So that deck plan is totally the wrong shape...

Thanks for the suggestion, but sorry...

If you could have a squint at the "world building" thread it should give you sufficient information to come up with an acceptable character

[Blinkin]

Character submitted, but I'm just posting to make it easier to keep up wth the thread.

[Chrystal]

Blinkin, dear, your character is approved subject to the requested change regarding looking at the stars on the vid screens.

[Blinkin]

That has been changed in the bio that I returned to you. So, I guess Sam is ready to go whenever this starts up.

As a little question... the ships are usually crewed by families, are people sent off to other ships, or brought in for marriages or relationships, or is the bloodlines broad enough that becoming involved with someone on the ship acceptible? IE, how prevelent is incestous relationships. Not talking about parents or siblings, but if nearly everyone is related, it brings up the question.

[Chrystal]

Ah... that was the next post I had planned to do in the World Building thread, but hadn't, because it seemed no-one was interested...

I will see about putting that info up.

[Blinkin]

It may take a few days. I've watched threads sit for nearly a week, then suddenly explode, so it's still early.

[Chrystal]

I know... I've been doing this long enough to have learned by now that impatience gets you nowhere...

And yet I am still impatient!

LOL

[Blinkin]

One of my favorite lines in The Mummy...

Evy, kneeling before the rosetta stone,*In a sing song voice* Patience is a virtue"
Rick,*Looking down at the hordes of mindless servants of the Mummy, "Not right now it isn't!"

Patience has never been one of my top virtues... but then, I can't think of any virtue that is.

[thymoit]

Well there's two problems with your suggestion, firstly I don't do system games. I cannot get to grips with them, and I cannot afford the time nor the money required to do so.

Your idea of using the ship plans would have had merit, except that in Cherryh's universe artificial gravity is provided the real way, by spinning a cylinder about a central axis, rather than the Trek-Trope way of just assuming that something is holding everyone to the deck and it is still working even when the ship has been derelict for centuries, there is no air and no power to anything else.... (Seriously, the least they could have done was have them on wires!)

However what this means is that the deck of a ship in Cherryh's universe is usually one or two long corridors which if you start from the control room and keep walking, you end up back at the control room!

So that deck plan is totally the wrong shape...

I wasn't reccomending the Traveller system.  Yuck.     I like the Traveller universe, but I would never use the Traveller system.  It's garbage.  I was just suggesting the deck plans and not the system.  However, I didn't know about the no artificial gravity.  Which I have to agree makes sense.  There is one Traveller ship that uses rotation for artificial gravity:
http://classictraveller.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/labshipfull.jpg

But it is probably not at all accurate for a cargo ship.  I would expect a cargo ship to be more a pencil and ring design, with the cargo and drives in the pencil and the crew quarters in the ring.  And I've seen the rules and I'm contemplating a character concept.

[Chrystal]

Ah, sorry, I misread your post. I think Traveller's "Jump drive" and Cherryh's version are significantly different...

That deck plan is close, but to be honest, it's not that hard to create a deck plan in paint, just using straight lines. I did one for a one-on-one game set in a variant of this universe - actually closer to Elizabeth Moon's version. It's not suitable for this ship for a number of reasons, but it will give you the idea, until I can do the proper one.

https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/78/Ship%2C_Rotation_Cylinder_deck_1.png

Oh and the render of the ECS-5 (Later, Alliance Warship) Norway that I found and put in the opener of the World Builder is as near as dang-it to the sketch Cherryh herself did in the front pages of "Downbelow Station", so even though that is a a warship, a Country-Class jump-carrier, it gives you the general idea of what a jump-ship looks like from the outside.

[CassYuri]

I'll put together a character this week.  I might even be willing to play the co-GM captain role.   I'll look over the background material some more, I think I remember playing a board game called "Company War" or something like that, that was based on the books.  Haven't read the books though :(

[Chrystal]

I'll put together a character this week.  I might even be willing to play the co-GM captain role.   I'll look over the background material some more, I think I remember playing a board game called "Company War" or something like that, that was based on the books.  Haven't read the books though :(

Love to have you, Cass.

There's a board game? OH hey, COOL! http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3376/company-war *drools* Not sure if this will hot-link, but I have the map clicksaved anyway... It's just what we need for this so I'm yoinking it!

[Chrystal]

Interestingly, I never read the book "Tripoint". I wish I had.

Two things. That map is wrong! Tripoint is a jump point between Pell and mariner AND Pell and Viking (and thus between Mariner and Viking)!

Secondly I found a wikipedia entry for Jump Drive... It actually includes something I only knew peripherally, and that is that very rare humans can be what is known as a night-walker - someone active during jump.

If anyone wishes to be a nightwalker, I will accept ONE (and only one) such character, and you need to justify it! Probably the best way is by having read Tripoint!

[ElvenKitten]

Can't believe I missed this! While not familiar with this series I have been reading the Foreigner series by the same author.