updated!





Based on the legend of Libertalia, the general storyline would involve piracy (duh!) and the establishment of a colony of free men and women who would seek refuge from the tyranny of the old monarchies. There would be an accent put on shipboard life, at least initially, survival, as the resources would initially be meager and the island essentially deserted so everything would have to be built from scratch.

ACT ONE: The Hermes Mutiny

1665, the Navy packet ship Hermes leaves England for it's East Indies possession, having on board letters and dispatches for St. Kitts, Nevis, and a handful of passengers headed to the newly acquired colony of Jamaica. The ship never made it's destination. This is it's story.

Shipboard roles after the inevitable happens:

Crew roles:

• Captain: That's me. You're out of luck, you mutinous swine!
• Quartermaster: The quartermaster is next in line after the captain in exercising authority over the pirate crew. His authority on the ship takes up where the captain’s leaves off. Whenever the ship is not in chase or battle, the quartermaster makes most of the decisions regarding the day-to-day ship activities. The quartermaster is elected by the crew, and is expected to represent their interests, for which he receives an extra share of the treasure. His main function is to protect the crew against each other by maintaining order, settling squabbles, and distributing food. The quartermaster usually also keeps the account books for the ship. He can punish the crew for disobedience and frequently mediates minor disputes among the crew. The quartermaster also quite often leads any boarding action, being the first to board the Prize ship.
• Sailing Master: This is the officer in charge of piloting, navigation, and the actual sailing of the ship. He determines the course and looks after any and all instruments needed to navigate the ship.
• Boatswain (said Bos’n): A boatswain’s duty is to supervise the maintenance of the ship and its naval provisions, such as tar, pitch and tallow, spare sails, etc. He must inspect the ship, sails and rigging each day, and report their condition to the quartermaster or captain, as appropriate. The boatswain is also in charge of all deck activities, such as weighing or dropping anchor, and handling of the sails.
• Master Gunner: The master gunner is accountable for the ship's guns and ammunition. This includes sifting the gunpowder, to keep it dry and prevent it from separating; making certain that the cannon balls are free of rust, and that all weapons are in good repair. A knowledgeable gunner is essential to the crew's safety and effective use of the ship’s cannons.
• Surgeon: The surgeon is responsible for the fitness of the crew, and the treatment of the sick and wounded. As a person with critical skills that are sought after in many places, the surgeon is also often an unwilling recruit on a pirate vessel...
• Sailor: The common sailor, who is the foundation of the ship’s operation, needs to know the rigging and the sails. He needs to understand how to maneuver the ship and how to sail under different wind conditions. A good sailor can discern weather patterns, read the stars, and, most importantly, can anticipate the wishes of his commanders. A ship’s crew must work together in careful synchronization to maneuver a large sailing vessel while tacking or wearing the vessel, or while docking or weighing anchor. A capable crew is critical during battle maneuvers, when the exact position of a ship makes all the difference.

Eventually on land:

• Tavernkeeper
• Governor (yes, the colony's governor would be an elected position)
• Perhaps a council of captains, should things go large enough to have more than one crew
• Trader / Fence to trade with other colonies and acquire that which cannot be produced on the island
• Whatever else: These are critical positions, but I'm sure people can think of interesting roles to be!

I don't want to write too much in one sitting because I'd like this to be as much of a collaborative creation as possible. If you have ideas to propose, please, please do. I have not, for example, determined the type of setting. I'm open to gritty realism (actual nations and maps), high fantasy (bring on the knife-ears), Pirates of the Caribbean style... (If you propose to be Jack Sparrow or Mickey Mouse I guarantee you a quick drop and a sudden stop. *points to the noose dangling from the yardarm*)

Welp? What'll it be? Shall this one sail, or be marooned?

May I come aboard (in whatever capacity I can, since I haven't quite thought through my character ideas yet), Cap'n @TheIratePirate? Don't worry, I'll lose the skirt and the pretty hair before I arrive. You'll never know a woman was aboard.

May I come aboard (in whatever capacity I can, since I haven't quite thought through my character ideas yet), Cap'n @TheIratePirate? Don't worry, I'll lose the skirt and the pretty hair before I arrive. You'll never know a woman was aboard.

Nothing I'd like more than to welcome you on board @Lady of Lore!

Considering the stories of Anne Bonny, Mary Read or even Ching Shih, the artifice might not be necessary, and people may yet live to fear the Petticoat Pirate! In fact, there probably is a way to get to that without any subterfuge.

Additional potential lore:

Following ill treatment at the hands of Captain Lawrence G. Hamill, the crew of the mail packet HMS Hermes (a fitting name if any) bound for the colonies mutinies and takes to piracy. Amid the general panic on board, one of the heated topics of discussion among the crew is what to do with those sailors loyal to Hamill and the passengers, among which are women. It may be best that the crew knows from the start, as they might associate a stroke of good fortune with your presence rather than discover that the source of their misfortune was a woman in their midst...

Btw... I do have an idea to make her extremely useful, if you'll have a suggestion.

Color me interested as well. I'm definitely in for the Master Gunner; the precise concepts being somewhat malleable and very much dependent upon the precise year.

Then @JDolan I'll mark you down for a more realistic setting. I like that idea too, personally. I'm thinking of something in the golden age of piracy like 1650s to the 1730s. Before the European nations and their navies get too powerful, especially the Royal Navy's Jamaica Station at Kingston. Does that help?

Yeah, it does help - I knew you meant the Golden Age, I just meant more whether you were leaning towards the early or late periods.

I'm thinking of playing an Englishman, likely Devon or Cornwall regardless. Just the background changes slightly. If early on, a Civil War privateer (more likely a Royalist), who keeps to the Caribbean and Eastern Seaboard, enjoying his work a little too much even after Charles returns to the throne...Later on, just a general pirate who prefers Dutch-flagged ships coming out of Indonesia and India in the course of the numerous Anglo-Dutch Wars of the mid and late periods. Further details pending collaboration with whatever else shows up.

Well, I'm looking at ship types at the moment to find something that would be proper and interesting as a packet ship. It would explain having passengers on board and give us access to piles of correspondence, navy and commercial, and a chance to know of the arrival of other ships. A serious head-start. I'm open to suggestion as to your preference for early or late period, tho early might work best, without the constant presence of frigates around, to form an illegal colony.

Addendum to last post: As discussed earlier to accommodate a woman on board, ship would be a fast but lightly armed Navy packet which mutinies. With something like two officers, two petty officers, a crew mostly composed of pressmen, and passengers to offer the possibility of foreign nationals, it seems like a the ideal scenario. Unless you have a better idea, which I'm totally open to.

I am interested. I might not have time, but count me curious.

It's been waaaaay too long since I've last rped, but im rather interested. Maybe a surgeon whos not too happy about being on board.

@TheIratePirate No, that sounds perfect actually. Earlier would certainly be better to be able to lay low and claim whatever island or spit of land that might take our interest. Plenty of little specks that are possible.

As for the ship, for a packet vessel I was thinking a Bermuda sloop, a xebec, or perhaps an Indiaman for small/midsize ships of reasonable capability. Of them, the Indiaman or sloop would serve as ideal local couriers or cargo ships, while remaining viable for piracy and the like.

This is exciting. <3 All you people and your creative minds, you're exciting.

After some examination (and bouncing ideas with my good ol' friend, @JDolan) of my current offline schedule and the engagements I made prior to pouncing all over @TheIratePirate's pirate-y ideas, I've realized I can't contribute here on the scale I wanted to right now without losing my marbles trying to keep up with everything. So! Perhaps down the road I can play a bigger role.

In the meantime, I've come up with a small one I think I can manage that won't derail the whole thing with my spotty posting times. That's IF you'll have me. :P

A land-based role, sort of come-and-go, not crucial to the big picture but still sort of useful, perhaps something like a tavern wench or brothel gal somewhere they frequent who collects and passes information to the crew an' captain. Maybe she WAS a part of the crew at some point. Or maybe she's being forced to do this? Blackmail?? I don't know. My knowledge of pirates ranges between Pirates of the Caribbean and Black Sails. :P But something tells me no matter her disposition, she wouldn't pass things along out of the goodness of her heart.

@Lady of LoreA shady purveyor of information sounds like a good idea, though Irate would of course be the judge of that.

Hi, I'm new to the site, but a veteran with RP- I would love to take on the role of Sailing Master, or Surgeon. For the former, an astronomer who has settled for the seas though longs for the skies, for the latter, a disgraced female physician denied access to proper medical training past a certain point. Would either be acceptable?

This is exciting. <3 All you people and your creative minds, you're exciting.

In the meantime, I've come up with a small one I think I can manage that won't derail the whole thing with my spotty posting times. That's IF you'll have me. :P

@Lady of Lore, in any capacity I can have you join us, I'll take that! By all means an information broker would be interesting. You may have to NPC other crews to obtain said information (or have a crystal ball?) because nuggets like that don't fall of trees, but do love the idea!

Hi, I'm new to the site, but a veteran with RP- I would love to take on the role of Sailing Master, or Surgeon. For the former, an astronomer who has settled for the seas though longs for the skies, for the latter, a disgraced female physician denied access to proper medical training past a certain point. Would either be acceptable?

Hello @Aviendha!

We could use as many and varied characters as possible of course! Can you play both?
Kidding! I think the surgeon one is the better one as it makes all the sense to me, but only because a sailing master is a profession in it's own right. Usually a sailing master is career sailor who's eventually been made a master's mate and made his way to the rating himself over years. Somehow I doubt that an astronomer would have wanted the years swabbing decks it involves. Unless he was swept up by a press gang while celebrating in a tavern as an astronomy student, which is quite possible. That path would traditionally be male tho. Or s/he might be a passenger. A scientist with an interest in astronomy and natural philosophy on his/her way to study the natural wonders of the americas and look at the stars from another angle and would thus be able to handle charts, taking on the position -after- the mutiny?

@TheIratePirate I'll just play the surgeon, then. When do you think this RP will be up and running?

Soon! I just need time to write a good character and introduction post to set the lore and tone in place, but since I have a new contract beginning on monday, it may take a little. Definitely in the coming week tho!

Definitely interested, probably as surgeon, but other roles work too.

Definitely interested, probably as surgeon, but other roles work too.

Aviendha nabbed Surgeon already, but you're most welcome to Sailing master, Quartermaster, Boatswain, Sailor (there are specialties like a topman for example), ship's cook too! Most welcome tho!