The open ocean of the new world, ripe for the taking. The Colonial Elites are busy prepping their ships with supplies, soldiers, and settlers, while privateers and buccaneers make way with what they have. The Colonial Elites look to found new land for their governments and monarchs, while others seek to find wealth, rulership, and adventure, among other things. For everyone other than the Colonial Elites, the only things in their way now are the natives of the New World, and mother nature, with the treacherous seas behind them.
Players may choose a grid location of land anywhere to start, and may send men to explore it, venture with them, and even send their ship out to explore more land if they wish. Players should not expect to know the lay of the land at all, as the charts you currently have are only charts made by old explorers that sailed by the coast - the land is wild and untamed, and you may find carnivorous animals, natives, or other dangers, if it isn't safe.
Not sure if you can do something? Ask your Officer. Otherwise, do whatever you want. Your character can do just about anything solo, with their crew, or otherwise, just make sure to get your Officers insight first, which will lay the foundations of your expedition. The only left is the great unknown, and while we fear it, our curiosity also overpowers that fear.
Captain Clives and his ships had arrived at the location he wanted, merely observing the coast before making any orders. He didn't see the new world as an easy target as everyone else did. The savages on the land were known to exist, and were not called savages because of their uncivilized life styles. He didn't know exactly how to properly seize the land if there would be natives on the land, but he knew the longer he waited, the bigger the chance Pirates would invade the coasts of the New World, so his only choice was to act.
"Lieutenant, I want to prepare all of our able bodied men to grab their rifles and supplies, and start heading to the shore on the jolly boats. We'll keep anchor here, and send a message to the other ships as well, but only one-third of their crew are to leave the ships" Clives spoke, putting away his telescope.
"Yes, sir, and what of yourself, and the mission of the men?" The Ships Lieutenant asked, making sure he understood what all would be happening.
"I will be part of the last group to head to shore, I don't want anyone venturing beyond the shore until I arrive. Just unload the jolly boats and prepare to move out. The land is massive, and we need to plan where we will camp, precisely. Too close to the shore, and we'll be hit by cannon fire. Too far, and it'll be a journey to the ship," Clives responded, turning to look at his crew.
The Lieutenant agreed, and turned to the crew. "Attention men, load the jolly boats and grab your rifles, the Captain has ordered us to take the shore, but only the shore. Come on, then!" The Lieutenant ordered the men and the Sailors got themselves ready, going below to grab crates.
"One more thing," Clives spoke up, getting the Lieutenants attention, "we're going to leave at least one-third of the crew aboard to protect the ship. They have the bell if they need to alert us. Leave one of the Masters on board to lead them." And that was Clives final order for the moment.
Clives ordered 2/3 of his crew on The Pearl, Carrack to take all of its supplies to head to the shore. The Coffer, Sloop and The Swan, Sloop were ordered to send only 1/3 of their crew to the shore with their supplies. All supplies were ordered to go onto the mainland, so none of Clives ships have food or drink for voyages. All ships are protected, the Sloops have Average Manpower, and the Carrack has Medium. The manpower on land is disorganized, but they are capable of fighting.
Captain Flooby Badoop had heard his first mate loud and clear. He had, in fact, seen the land before he did, through his spyglass. Peering through the lens of it, he saw it drifting ever closer into his vision - a large landmass, followed by several smaller islands. The trees were unlike anything he'd seen - their tips were spiked, and their bark was grooved. Strange fruits seem to hang from them.
He'd, of course, heard tales of the tropics from sailors. But nothing could have prepared him for the natural beauty that he saw in this moment. He was in awe of the natural splendor of it all. Such an unspoiled, perfect land, like a little Garden of Eden, untouched by man. What strange creatures awaited them there? Had others settled this land? Were there already natives living there?
And how could he mess it all up?
There was enough supplies in the hull of their fine carrack to support a little settlement. He'd 'convinced' a number of n'er-do-wells, whores, and druken sailors to go with him to this strange new land. They were to be his Christmas elves in this tropical pole - making whatever he needed to cause mayhem.
According to his map, they would be landing on the easternmost part of the largest isle. As the Captain stood on the bow, he pulled out his map, and did calculations in his head. "First mate!" he called, "will are landing proceed aplomb? What do you suppose the terrain will be like? And might you think there be any natives nearby that might need dealing with?"
The convoy of three ships remained in close proximity to one another as the Cult of the Siren's fleet directed their efforts towards sailing down a channel between two islands. Mariana Escarabajo stood proudly atop the deck as she surveyed the surrounding lands. A devious smile crossed the woman's face. Despite the great distance of her journey, she was finally ready to begin enacting the Cult of the Siren's grand plan. When a view through her scope spotted a peninsula that the Serpentine was closing distance towards, she called to gather her flagship's crew. From a high perch on the carrack's top deck, she struck a grand pose to deliver her speech.
"Our time amid the vast oceans draws closer and closer to its temporary ending, seawalkers. In turn, the time draws near that the Cult of the Siren establishes its own foothold among these new lands. For the first time in the history of the Siren's followers, we cease running. We find settlements for the followers of our truth. Prepare yourselves to go ashore. Gather supplies. We are no longer running. On this day, our rise begins..." With a tight fist, Mariana dismissed her followers, stepping down from her perch to parley with the Serpentine's officer. Once back in the captain's cabin, the two began to converse.
"Your orders, prophet?"
"Survey the land directly on the peninsula's tip. Prepare the full crew to claim their stake. Send half the men to survey the land for valuable resources. Should we find the land suitable for fortification and sustainability, ferry the supplies to shore. Make haste, for we will arrive soon. Begin preparing to unload the cargo, and prepare a broadside just in case. Dismissed." With that, Mariana stepped on, paying her officer little heed. He had already started scurrying across the deck by the time he called back towards his captain.
"Yes, prophet. With immediacy."
As much as Mariana sought to relax and revel in her ever present success in leading the resilient followers of the Siren, she had not a moment to spare. Her swift steps lead her to the ship's stern. Awaiting her was a boatswain already carrying a set of flags. Mariana wasted no time. "Send word to the Herald to continue down the channel as originally planned to seek out any nearby colonial settlements along the interior of the islands. Once there, they're to moor and send crew to shore. Spread the word of the siren in the ports in the silence of the nights. Find allies... Go now." The boatswain didn't even offer Mariana a reply. She began instead flagging semaphore signals back towards the Herald of the Depths.
Within moments, Mariana could see the sloop open its full sails and cruise ahead, soon to overtake the Serpentine. Two down, thought the flagship's captain. With a will, her next destination was her ship's bow where she met a similar boatswain preparing to signal the Jellyfish that scouted ahead of the Serpentine. Mariana already had her orders in mind: "Send word, boatswain. The Jellyfish continues southward towards the approaching island. A quick survey of resources should be taken before they return. Should valuable commodities be found, the Jellyfish is to hold its position until we can send others their way to assist. All the while, hail the word of the Siren." Mariana's boatswain saluted her with the twisted symbolism of their cult, and with that, he began his message. She had only one more duty before her crew were fully at work. When supplies were loaded on the top deck and prepared in rowboats, the Siren's prophet called out orders to her still working men, devising who would be sent ashore as explorers and who would remain as the skeleton crew to fire readily at any approaching threat.
This was the Siren's time.
All members aboard the Serpentine, Carrack, save for a skeleton crew are to be sent ashore on the nearby peninsula to survey the land for resources and prepare to set camp should the land be found suitable by Mariana. The skeleton crew is to prepare a broadside with the cannons to ward off any passing threats.
The Herald of the Depths, Sloop, is sent full speed ahead to survey the rest of the southern channel between islands for colonial settlements or other visible information. Should they locate an adequately sizable colonial settlement, 1/3 of the Herald's crew is to be sent aboard to preach in the night at the settlement's harbors in an attempt to convert those in the port silently and without disruption to local affairs just yet. Once the sleeping preachers have been deposited, The Herald is to rally with the Jellyfish before returning to the flagship.
The Jellyfish, Sloop, is sent across the channel and to the south, seeking out another nearby peninsula. In reaching their location, a partial crew of the Jellyfish is to be sent ashore and seek out valuable resources. Should they find something, the Jellyfish is to report back to the location of the Serpentine with as much haste as possible. Should they find something of great value, the sloop is to instead stake its claim and hold the position until the Serpentine's reinforcements can arrive. A set time of return has been established to provide the flagship of the Cult of the Siren the information to know if they are needed to reinforce the sloop.
Some hours have passed, yet the Jellyfish returns early. A report was given that the crew immediately found hostile natives and had ambushed them the instant they landed on the shore. The Jellyfish could not offer fire support without any cannons, but the officer leading the ship reports they would not have fired due to the natives and the crew being so close. Many of the landing crew were injured, and some lost their lives. One member of the landing party claims the natives wore green and gold jewelry, but they were absolutely hostile savages and sought to kill them on sight. The Jellyfish returned to see what the Siren wanted to do next.
The Herald did not spot any colonial settlements, as it is possible either they were early to the New World, the area was decided to be unsuitable, or any number of other reasons. However, a large ship was seen, obviously military, escorted by two Galleons. It held the English flag, and due to the groups initial contact behavior, they did not persue the ship. They did not interact, as the officer of the ship felt it was a patrol, and was prepared to fight. They were heading south; the Officer may have more intel. Since they did not find the Jellyfish at the aforementioned location, they choose to head back to the location of the Flagship.
The crew of the Serpentine that went ashore claim there is a location with little more than thin trees and vegetation, the other areas they were told to search is all dense tree line, marshes, and full of predators. The thin tree area could easily be cut down. While it would take time, a makeshift town with a location to shelter supplies and establish a base of operations would take a few days. A large camp can be completed within the current day, in addition to the full settlement later down the line, so they have a place to stay, but it would be all tents and no wooden roofing just yet. Other than some firewood, there isn't much in the way of resources. No threats approached.
Red - Stable land with just small, thin trees and vegetation for settlement within designated search area - Other designated locations have dense jungle and marshes
Green - Extremely hostile Natives with green and gold jewelry, armed with spears and bows. Some claim to have seen red and white war paint on the natives.
Blue - Path of the 'large ship,' Officer called it a 'Dreadnought.' Sailors say the ship has three rows of cannons, others say it has more.
Officers or crew may have more information. Officers may be called to give additional information, answer questions, or even bring crew forward to answer questions, or the leader may seek them out themselves.
The Officer had little time to extrapolate information from the rumors of sailors and makeshift charts made by them to accurately answer of the captains questions, butt they did their best. "We certainly have the manpower, Captain! It's not right known exactly where natives settle or hide out, not much surveyin' of the land was done, everythin' was done out at sea, safe from the ambushes on the coast! But we both know natives aren't be well organized as we are! But what it will be like depends on where you want us to start scouting, unless you want us to hit a spot hard and clear it fast. Most of the coast has dense forest behind it, butt some areas might just have vegetation. But as always, we are at risk of being attacked or ambushed by Natives. The closer we are to one of their homes, the more likely and how often they'll hit."
The Officer had little time to extrapolate information from the rumors of sailors and makeshift charts made by them to accurately answer of the captains questions, butt they did their best. "We certainly have the manpower, Captain! It's not right known exactly where natives settle or hide out, not much surveyin' of the land was done, everythin' was done out at sea, safe from the ambushes on the coast! But we both know natives aren't be well organized as we are! But what it will be like depends on where you want us to start scouting, unless you want us to hit a spot hard and clear it fast. Most of the coast has dense forest behind it, butt some areas might just have vegetation. But as always, we are at risk of being attacked or ambushed by Natives. The closer we are to one of their homes, the more likely and how often they'll hit."
"Right, then! Let's take it away from here! First, we have to find the best place to build a settlement. I believe this spot on the map," he points to the small section of land seeming most ideal for settlement, "right here. Then, we'll scout out the area, and hit any gatherings of natives around it hard and fast! They'll never know what's coming! Lastly, we make sure to quickly build a little fortified position. They'll surely be a bit miffed their friends are dead, and will want revenge. Make sure not to spare any women or children. We don't want anyone coming back and making life difficult for us, would we?"
He grins a mischievous grin, and lowers his spyglass, returning to his cabin to gather his weapons. The first mate instructs the crew to do the same.
