Welcome Aboard the Moaning Molly! (Last Call for Crew! IC Starting Next Week!)

[Chulanowa]

So basically, early Renaissance-level stuff, but with magic and elves and whatnot, then? Marco Polo meets Da Vinci?

[Capone]

The complete historical inaccuracy and inconsistency of a Renaissance Faire would be fitting, yes.

[Eight88]

1.No, it's perfectly understandable. It's largely why I'd much rather refer to Final Fantasy I or IV, as when I think "airships" I think the aesthetic of those games, which is somewhere around that medieval era. Then there's Final Fantasy IX, which is more Renaissance I believe in its appearance.

2.I intentionally wanted to step away from references to pirating best I could, because when I think airships, I don't think of pirates or navy or anything of the sort. My first introduction to the airship was pure Tolkien-esque fantasy (as imagined by Japanese), and so that's the setting's primary inspiration. I also grew up with the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit cartoons, so essentially, my default mentality on "fantasy" is LotR and early Final Fantasy.

3.In other words, it's inspired by false worlds first, then grabs from more realistic equivalents.

4.I say Game of Thrones because it is medieval and has a lot of the same appearance, just closer to real life than the other influences.

5.If it helps, think something along this line, only the option for much less stylized armor and absolutely no whale ship heading for the moon. Or, in a lot of ways I'm envisioning something along these lines, where it straddles between eras (seriously I bet you any Historian could look at that video and point out all kinds of things that are decades or even a century or more apart).

1. Yeah, Final Fantasy IX is definitely the threshold for this sort of adventure I think. Though medieval, I don't think that's a good place to have it at, just because of the aesthetic and context.

2. Fair enough, cool...though Tolkien probably would not have liked the idea of airships in his world, if I recall my english teacher, he said something about his fantasy being colored by his experiences in WW1, which did sour him on many things.

3. ...I would not want to inject any sort of realistic equivalent into this sort of game, or use the two false worlds presented. Game of Thrones more so than Lord of the Rings, like LotR might be more viable, but GoT, that's too hardcore I think. Also the existence of clockwork requires precision I don't think a medieval setting could produce.

4. Yeah, but the details are what I am worried about. This is dirt farming peasants, a near total illiterate population, and the diseases...like this statement is worrying me. "just closer to real life than the other influences" is very scary. I mean the medieval era lasted a 1000 years, and from the 5th to 15th century. Like, medieval London? It's well...watch Filthy Cities Medieval London, a documentary the BBC put out. >.>

5. I would label all that post medieval in flavor, like definitely more Renaissance than medieval. And straight fantasy. Though, yeah, apologies for getting a bit too into the minutia, but seems a bit worrying. Like if we're going for a straight up closer to FF9 feeling, that's going to be much better than Medieval stuff. Or straight up dungeon punk+clockwork punk amalgamation.

[Capone]

Ahh, I think I'm starting to see some of the issue and why you're very much against the comparison between LotR and GoT. One implies Dennis the Peasant farming some lovely filth over here, and the other is much cleaner and pleasant to look at.

So disregard the GoT comparison then. We're goin' light and fluffy, where we can pretend people piss off the side of the ship and it doesn't land in anyone's eye on the ground.

And yes, airships in LotR would go against a lot of Tolkien's ideas, as the work of Saruman and the Orcs tearing down Fanghorn Forest was partially inspired by his thoughts towards industrialization and the damage done to nature (it was also partially inspired by the end of Macbeth, where he believes the trees are attacking because the besieging army chopped down trees and carried them forward as cover).

So if I basically stick to the Final Fantasy videos as "Rough aesthetic that we aim for", would that be fine?

[Eight88]

Ahh, I think I'm starting to see some of the issue and why you're very much against the comparison between LotR and GoT. One implies Dennis the Peasant farming some lovely filth over here, and the other is much cleaner and pleasant to look at.

So disregard the GoT comparison then. We're goin' light and fluffy, where we can pretend people piss off the side of the ship and it doesn't land in anyone's eye on the ground.

And yes, airships in LotR would go against a lot of Tolkien's ideas, as the work of Saruman and the Orcs tearing down Fanghorn Forest was partially inspired by his thoughts towards industrialization and the damage done to nature (it was also partially inspired by the end of Macbeth, where he believes the trees are attacking because the besieging army chopped down trees and carried them forward as cover).

So if I basically stick to the Final Fantasy videos as "Rough aesthetic that we aim for", would that be fine?

Yep, like so much so. As that means there are massive sewer systems we can adventure in, and the streets aren't covered in foot thick muck that we'd need shoes for our shoes for...and going to the tannery district won't straight up murder someone...and we can have hot baths in which we entertain some guests. That is what more or less I am worried about, yep. 

Like if you say that, we might one day find ourselves fighting in some extra dimensional space that is the whirling gears of some monstrous alien contraption who's gears slowly tick down to our doom. The other...less so.

[Chulanowa]

The complete historical inaccuracy and inconsistency of a Renaissance Faire would be fitting, yes.

Xena sharign a turkey leg with Ser Loras and Friar Tuck while a pair of steampunk orcs look on. Gotcha.

Did ya see my prior question, about how set you are on players playing same-gender characters? NBD if so, I just have trouble finding fantasy-themed males that suit my aesthetic.

[Capone]

Sorry for the confusion then. My brother was the Historian and I fell in love with video games and film. He learned pragmatic and important information, I learned about game design and cinematography.

I shall better do my research when next coming up with a setting like this for the sake of clarity and understanding for players.

High fives and butt pats, everyone. High fives and butt pats.

Xena sharign a turkey leg with Ser Loras and Friar Tuck while a pair of steampunk orcs look on. Gotcha.

Did ya see my prior question, about how set you are on players playing same-gender characters? NBD if so, I just have trouble finding fantasy-themed males that suit my aesthetic.

Oh shit, sorry dude, totally missed that. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much interest at first, but with the way things are I don't think I'll have to be worrying about keeping the scales from tipping (actually females may outnumber males in regards to interest expressed, but not many character sheets yet). Either way, I think we'll be good if you play a non-male.

[Eight88]

Sorry for the confusion then. My brother was the Historian and I fell in love with video games and film. He learned pragmatic and important information, I learned about game design and cinematography.

No problem. Sent in my character, apologies if it's a bit too out there. It's probably a bit too spread out, probably should maybe trim some things down.

[Eudoxia]

If it's not too late to toss my hat in the ring, consider me interested! I'll get to dreaming up a character right away!

[Roketto]

I just stumbled upon this lovely, lovely, thread of the most amazing sort... right when I'm struggling to stay awake.

I shall return to this when consciousness ceases to elude me, but I have some character concepts that could be fun provided they fit with the setting.

[Chulanowa]

Oh shit, sorry dude, totally missed that. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much interest at first, but with the way things are I don't think I'll have to be worrying about keeping the scales from tipping (actually females may outnumber males in regards to interest expressed, but not many character sheets yet). Either way, I think we'll be good if you play a non-male.

Alright. I'll see what I can come up with. So far the ideas rolling in my head revolve around four occupations; engineer, Morale officer, security, or embarked scholar. Definitely need to narrow the field a bit :)

[Capone]

It's no military boat, so I think "muscle" would be a more suitable title than "security". I also don't think they'd have something along the lines of "morale officer", either. Embarked scholar sounds interesting, and Engineer could cooperate with eBadger's Fey Mechanics I think.

[A Painter]

I'm thinking of making a scout/brothel girl >.>
Might get her in tomorrow

[Rel Mayer]

Sorry about the delay. Going to brainstorm with Lust today and hopefully have something completed soon after!

[mia h]

I also don't think they'd have something along the lines of "morale officer", either.

Oh there are plenty of those, they all work in the brothel 

[Capone]

Oh there are plenty of those, they all work in the brothel 

Now, see, I didn't want to be the one to go there...



Currently at work but found myself brainstorming adventure hooks that I'll be adding to the original post to give folks an idea of what sort of shenanigans to expect.

[Darwishi]

Color me interested, but I really don't understand why Lords have to create male characters and Ladies have to create female characters.  It seems to me that if you're looking to strike a balance between males and females that you could do that as a GM.  If you're getting too many women on board then you could change the recruitment to male characters only or vice versa. 

Mostly, I want to create a female character.

[A Painter]

Color me interested, but I really don't understand why Lords have to create male characters and Ladies have to create female characters.  It seems to me that if you're looking to strike a balance between males and females that you could do that as a GM.  If you're getting too many women on board then you could change the recruitment to male characters only or vice versa. 

Mostly, I want to create a female character.

Oh shit, sorry dude, totally missed that. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much interest at first, but with the way things are I don't think I'll have to be worrying about keeping the scales from tipping (actually females may outnumber males in regards to interest expressed, but not many character sheets yet). Either way, I think we'll be good if you play a non-male.

[A Painter]

I think you need to edit that first post, Capone.

ALSO I have my own question, am I allowed to make a 17 year old character?  I wanna play someone who is like crazy energetic and has the [stupid] optimism that usually comes with youthful characters.

[Darwishi]

That youthful optimism lasts for a while for most people. =P  What's the difference between 17 or 18 or 19?  Just my two cents.

Also, thanks for quoting that post. I was skimming posts looking for something addressing it, but I gave up after a while. XDD 

[Chreestafer]

So who all do we have playing the "muscle" on the ship?

[Capone]

Thanks for handling the question, Painter. Yes, I'll be editing the first post.

Thus far I haven't seen many character sheets, so I imagine most folks are still brainstorming. I'm gonna try and bang some information out in the next hour or two that should be able to help folks out.

[Roketto]

Ok, so I've got a couple different character ideas for characters, so I think I'll toss them at the wall and see what sticks.

First off, as this seems to be a fantasy-ish/sorta-steampunk-ish type setting, I've got an idea for the ship's cat.  Well, that wouldn't technically be their position - more of a joke among the crew, really - as their actual job would be the ship's mage/maybe navigator type character.  The character could either be a very effeminate pretty boy/androgynous guy, or a very androgynous intersex character.  Probably something along the lines of a kemonomimi/catboy species that's somewhere between the sort you would see in anime/manga and a little more anthro, but not full on furry.  Very uptight sort of personality, prim and proper, and had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they first signed onto the crew.

Well, either that or they're a passenger that may (will) end up a permanent member of the crew.

Then I've got a sorta middle-aged, cynical, deadpan snarker of a necromancer/healer.  He's human, kind of a jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold, and an exiled nobleman.  He's apparently asexual (he hasn't met the right person yet), though there is speculation that he may be a necrophiliac (he's not, but he seems immune to the wiles of the brothel workers). 

He's very protective of those he considers to be under his care or part of his "group", though he typically shows this by being rather cross with them when they do something stupid or getting themselves sick/injured.

Any thoughts or opinions?

[Capone]

Some notes added to the original post, including the freedom to play whatever gender character you wish, and the Final Fantasy videos as reference for tech/aesthetic (can be viewed here and here).

Also added sample adventure hooks. Don't worry, I've got plenty more in the works, and even some of the obvious seeming ones may have an unexpected twist.

SAMPLE ADVENTURE HOOKS

These are the sort of hooks I look to explore in this game.

• The crew arrives at a floating island’s looking to drop off a delivery, but it turns out the intended recipient is deceased. They, and other key members of local crime families, seemed to be strangled to death at night.
• The crew is transporting several boxes of cargo with explicit instructions to not open. Whether someone bothers to do so or not, a horde of furry creatures with gaping maws manage to break out, trying to eat anything and everything on board the ship.
• The ship ports at a rather nice seeming town, filled with lovely, happy couples and children. However, it turns out many children have gone missing. Is it coincidence that each child’s house suddenly seems to have rats crawling around?
• The Moaning Molly takes aboard a rather odd behaving passenger, a middle-aged scholar that seems keen on examining a lake out in the middle of nowhere. He gives only vague descriptions of the artifact he believes to find. There’s something obsessive about the man, however, and the fog that blankets the lake is awfully unsettling.
• The crew takes a chance to stop on by one of the floating islands, perhaps to find a rare ship-part they need for the Molly, and perhaps to visit or do a favor for a crew member with family there. Upon arriving, the floating port-town seems absolutely deserted. As the crew walks through the empty streets, they begin to find what look like statues of people in a state of fear.

In-progress: finalizing setting details for magic and tech to give an idea of how it works in this world (mostly focused on magic), and maybe tonight I'll get into the general layout of the world and the religions of different cultures (though that's more for flavor, it will not be a requirement for players to care or think about their own character's faith).

[Capone]

Any thoughts or opinions?

Catboy would likely work better than Necromancer. I'll explain once I've gotten more of my notes sufficiently written.