Writing Skill: If I repeatedly have trouble understanding what you're saying, we'll have problems.
This reading is optional, it gives flesh to as and why you are where you are.
You don’t know how they got on, but they did. There was no telling how many of the refugees were already infected, but after two days in the sky – surely they’d of shown signs before now? Screams surge down the passageways. You open the door to your cabin, peer out and there one is; it was a man once, but now nothing more than a rabid animal. It snarls at you, lets fly that dreaded teeth-grinding shriek and runs forwards. Slamming the door, you throw every austere piece of furniture you can against it. Soon there is thudding from the other side, more and more hands press against the fracturing woodwork. There is nothing to defend yourself with, apart from a flimsy chair leg.
This is it, this is how you die. Torn to pieces by a pack of infected; or worse, made into one of them. Exhausted from the trials of this nightmare, you finally snap; you become cold and indifferent to your doom. Your crying loved ones mean nothing to you – you’ve failed them, but you can fail them no more. Looking out the porthole, you see other sky ships faced with the same dilemma. Some are listing wildly to one side; their decks covered in flames. Others are contested, as their crew and occupants fight a losing war against their former friends. Rifle smoke and explosions mottle the otherwise beautiful blue sky.
Something rocks the cabin violently; the sound of a deafening thunder bludgeons your hearing. You lose your footing and fall to the floor as everything seems to turn on its head. The last thing you remember, is your face being pressed against the glass of the porthole. You see a small scattering of islands dot the tranquil waters of the Irodian Sea – and they are rapidly increasing in size.
You play the leader of a group of refugees, who have crashed landed upon an uncharted island. Yours was not the only sky ship to have had the misfortune of succumbing to the plaguers, and you will find other groups there too.
Negotiating the harsh and unforgiving jungles, the cannibalistic natives, and sometimes other survivors, you must lead your people to a new life. Water, food, shelter – all things so important, and usually given to you out of a tap, are now non-existent. What of the plaguers? Perhaps they are all dead, killed in the crash or rounded up shortly after by the band of survivors you have gathered to your cause.
If not however, then you must prepare to prevent more than thirst, hunger and exposure.
This is a freeform RP, there are few mechanics, and fewer restrictions. This is not a competition of conquest, it is a story. There will be no children here doing all they can to “win” something. You are the leader of a group of survivors, trying to build a new life against adversity.
A list of things that you will need to bear in mind when forging a future for your people:
- - Your people need water. You can’t drink sea water unless you boil it, so you’ll have to find a river or a lake. Even then, if the tribals or rival survivors poison your supply, you're in trouble. Unless you have the water purifying equipment you salvaged from the crash site (see survivor group sheet).
- The island natives are mostly tribal cannibals, they will likely try to snuff you out. Defence against these hostile inhabitants should feature somewhere; but they do not cover the whole island, and are isolated to a few scattered communities.
- Shelter. You need to build a settlement to house your peoples, or be left to the mercy of tropical rainstorms.
- The wildlife is hostile. Finding food from the vegetation will be a deadly game of trial and error, unless you brought a nature scientist with his mobile lab equipment ( survivor group sheet). The beasts of the land will pray on your people; and some may have a surprising resilience to musket balls. Tread carefully.
- If the plague re-emerges, ensure you have the means to quarantine, and if needs be, destroy the infected.
- When filling out your Survivor Group Sheet, you will be asked to choose a maximum of three items salvaged from the crash site. The items you do not choose, are to be considered unavailable to your people on a significant scale. For example, if you chose ‘Guns’, you would have an abundance of weapons. If you didn’t, then a few of your group may have them, not enough to give you an edge. The rest would have to rely on crude weapons like branches, or flint axes etc.
- There will be NPC survivors, scattered in the jungles, or awaiting to be the guests of honour at some tribal feast. There are no controls over this, if you find someone, that is your choice, but refrain from gathering thousands.
Nothing really. Your peoples didn’t venture into the great unknown of the Irodian See. Of course, there were explorers and adventurers who did, and those that returned told of a great many islands littering the endless blue. Most were said to be uninhabited, but others housed small tribal cultures. You know little of these, and there were never any thorough investigations into them. Perhaps this is why the Government was evacuating in this direction? The plague couldn’t have made it out here, could it?
The weather is tropical, and random. One day it rains, the next the sun is scolding you from afar. This’ll make growing traditional crops a challenge, but some of the more adaptable species will no doubt find a way to prosper.
The island is covered in a thick mass of jungle. There are no discernable pathways or roads; but you have noticed tracks here and there. This confirms your deepest fears – you are not alone. How will the locals see you? Primitive in their culture, they may perceive you as demons in need of some exorcising.
What of the beasts that inhabit the area? You’ve not seen much so far, just some strange looking rodents scuttling around in the shrub. But there are sounds, deep in the jungle, that are made by no animal you’ve ever bore witness to. Keep the children under close guard, who knows what evil lurks in the shadows of every bush and tree? Waiting, watching. Hungering.
Smoke columns can be seen rising from elsewhere across the island. More downed sky ships! Other survivors must have made it, surely? Maybe they’re working their way towards you as we speak? Though maybe someone, or something else is instead? Best get your guys and gals together, set watches, prepare and survive.
Crash Site: (Choose area number/see map)
Items Salvaged from Crash Site: (CHOOSE THREE OF THE FOLLOWING.)
- - Water Purifying Equipment | Can be used to make sea water drinkable, or to cleanse poisoned water from rivers or lakes.
- Medical Supplies | Can be used to prevent your peoples from succumbing to tropical diseases, food poisoning and other ailments.
- Guns | Crates of muskets, with gunpowder and balls. Use them to destroy your enemies, but be warned – the humid weather can play havoc with their mechanisms. Do not use in rain.
- Seeds | A variety of seeds used by farmers back in your homeland. Some may not grow in this climate, but others will. Use them to fast track your safe and renewable food program!
- Carpentry Supplies | Will help you build bigger and better structures and/or defences.
- Religious Texts | The Holy Books you devoted your life too, once upon a time. Perhaps the tribals can be made to see the “true powers that be”?
- Steam-Powered Generator | A simple but powerful steam generator, requiring only water, wood and fire to harness electricity.
- Expert Fisherman | You find an expert fisherman amongst the wreck; with his trusty rod and nets, he will teach you all to live off the sea.
- Wildlife Professor | Don’t eat those berries, you’ll bleed out your eyes! Will grant you a better insight on the trustworthiness of the local food supplies.
- Linguistics Professor | One of your group is a professor in the world’s languages, both dead and alive. He may be able to communicate with the locals, if they let him, that is.
- Specialised Outdoor Clothing | Tough, but made from lightweight fibres, these overalls will deter the strongest heat, and keep out the fiercest rain. A technological marvel of our time, and look, there’s a whole compartment full of them!
- Chemical Protective Suits | During the outbreak of the plague, doctors and surgeons used these to protect themselves from the bodily fluids of the infected. They cover the body from head to toe in hardened but flexible rubber. Can become very uncomfortable in heat.
- Experimental Plague Vaccine | Before your homeland was overrun by the plaguers, scientists were close to developing a vaccine against infection. You find two boxes full in the wreck, but will it work?
- Broken Life Carrier | Amongst the wreck, you find a smaller sky ship big enough to fit twenty people. Perhaps if you get it operational, you could scour the island without threat of attack – or escape it all together in the event of a crisis. Requires steam-powered generator, water purifying equipment and carpentry tools to repair.
- Large Non-perishable Food Stockpile | Pallets stacked high with tins of preserved meats and vegetables, enough to feed a thousand people for a year. Why catch that weird looking half-cat half-rat creature over there behind the bushes, when you could crack open a can of corned beef?
- Ballistic Armour | Boxes full of leathery jackets, designed to withstand musket shot and cannon shrapnel. Not very effective against close-combat weapons, but you never know if your countrymen from across the way will bring their guns to a knife fight.
- Beast Handlers | Some of those in your group are trained animal handlers, who either worked for the military or the law enforcement before the evacuation. With their skills, you could put to better use your domestic animals – if you have any. They may also be able to provide some educated insight on the island’s native animal kingdom.
- Surgical Tools | Medicine wont cure a broken leg, or remove a bullet from someone's rib cage. You find a stash of surgical utensils in the sky ship's sick bay, along with some sterilising liquids. Even without proper training in their use, anyone would prefer to use them to cut open someone else over a sharpened rock any day!
- Cannons | Your sky ship's armaments are intact, and so you salvage them. Big and clunky, they require ten strong men to haul, and wont be of much help in an offensive battle. However, they'd make a wonderful part of your peoples' defences, or an Ace up your sleeve in certain combat scenarios.
- Military-Grade Tents | Compact, easily pitched and easily repackaged. These tents are used by an army on the move, and offer their occupants basic protection from the elements. You find a stock of them in the cargo hold - enough to set up an entire village. Be warned though, canvas is of little protection against the sharp claws of a predator!
- Oil Lanterns | You find a box of oil lanterns, with a plentiful supply of oil. Common in your homeland, they can provide a powerful and easily deployable light source during the evening hours. Be careful of the highly flammable oil that powers them, though!
- Cooking Supplies and Utensils | Not looking forward to having to gut that fish with your fingers? Why worry, when you have a whole selection of cooking knives, saucepans, spices and frying pans? Not to mention these would make excellent makeshift weapons!
Leader’s Name:
Leader’s Age:
Leader’s Appearance:
Leader’s Former Occupation:
Leader’s Mentality: Is he/she ruthless leader? Perhaps he’s/she’s democratic? Maybe the kind of guy/gal who does what has to be done? Or does he/she try, despite the obvious draw backs, to build a better world no matter the mounting sea of human limitations that confront him/her?
Amount of Survivors at Start: Between 50 and 300.
Survivor Group Type: Are your peoples from the military? Are they a mismatch of refugees? Medical personnel? The wealthy Elite? The sky ship’s crew? Who are they? WHY WONT YOU TELL ME?
