The year is 1655. Jamaica has fallen to the might of Admiral William Penn's forces and Santiago de La Vega now goes by a different name: Port Royal. The event shocks nearby Tortuga, governed by the French but swarming with enough pirate scum to make it their de facto base. The politics of the region has changed drastically, and it would seem that life for buccaneers is only going to get better, after all, rumours abound of letters of marque and riches beyond measure to be had if one were to go a-searching in the right places...
The great imperial powers, Spain, England, France and the Netherlands, are embroiled in a dirty political, economic and military conflict for imperial dominance over the new world, and whether peace there be in Europe or war, it is accepted by all who venture into the new world, there is 'no peace beyond the line' (referring to the lines of the tropic of cancer and prime meridian beyond which there is no protection for any nation's shipping.) Here, in the Caribbean, there is no place for the light-hearted, the good dare not prosper here, and heroes come here to die. Cowards, murderers, thieves and robbers have made of these islands a home, from the highest echelons of hypocrites to the lowliest thieving beggar rotting in some alleyway, from the self-righteous conquering navy boys who bring death wherever they sail and missionaries who come bearing their unchallengeable 'light' and 'truth' to the profiteering merchants ever on the look out for buccaneers who sail silent as ghosts, the shadows of shadows and ethereal as the mist from which they emerge. Whatever class of fiend you be, here in the pure new world, on the virgin soil of a new continent, you can defile once more, rise to the zenith of decadence and wealth or fall into the pits of poverty and despair. Whatever your path or destiny, it waits upon the high seas (or alternatively,
between the legs of a tavern wench in a good ol' bottle o' rum, but who am I to say?)
The MapYellow: Spanish Ports (bar Santiago de La Vega which is now the English town of Port Royal)
Red: English Ports
Blue: French Ports
Orange: Dutch Ports
Pinnace: http://www.manlyadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/pinnace.jpg
A very small ship, akin to a rowing boat, usually to be found aboard larger ships and propelled by oars or sails. They are very versatile vessels and can be used for nearly anything whether it be ferrying passengers and mail, communicating between vessels, scouting for anchor, deliver provisions, or carry armed sailors. They can also be used as lightweight smuggling vessels or even as raiders.
Sloop: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LAuCCls0ox8/S-MggAcMFRI/AAAAAAAADFg/kCXQGUl8Alw/s1600/HMS+Pickle.JPG
A small combat vessel with great maneuverability and a small but useful array of cannons. Sloops are capable of outmaneuvering and boarding larger vessels, and are fast enough to catch small vessels as well. While it can rely on its keen maneuvering to confuse enemies while pummeling them with small-but-potent cannon fire, a sloop will be in trouble if hit by a large broadside.
Barque: http://nonprints.com/uploadpic/Montague%20Dawson/big/The%20Old%20White%20Barque.jpg
A mid-sized combat vessel, or alternatively a small trading ship. These vessels display interesting sailing characteristics for their size, and can manage to escape combat with most larger ships. Its cargo capacity and speed are perhaps its most significant advantages as it is nimble enough to protect itself from most ship types, and can survive a broadside or two from an enemy ship without too much trouble, but can also carry a significant amount of cargo.
Fluyt: http://www.modelships.de/Fluyt-Zeehaen/gIMG_8502.jpg
A mid-sized trader with poor maneuverability and speed for its size. Ungainly and relatively weak in firepower, these ships are often seen as easy prey to both pirates and raiders. They have no characteristics worth mentioning aside from their significant cargo capacity. This ship is largely unsuitable as a combat vessel, and is sailed only by Dutch and occasionally English traders.
Merchantmen: http://imageweb-cdn.magnoliasoft.net/nmm/supersize/d7756_2.jpg
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Projects/AT875/previews/487467.JPG
A mid-sized trading vessel with a surprisingly large defensive array of cannons and crew capacity. Considered prey by most combat vessels, the Merchantmen can often put a dent in assailants nonetheless, though it is unlikely to actually outmaneuver or escape any but the slowest opponents. It can carry a large supply of goods, and is not too slow, thus making pirates in Merchantmen quite dangerous.
Brigantine (Brig): http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131218225853/assassinscreed/images/b/b0/AC4_Victoire.png
A family of mid-sized combat vessels, whose forte is their ability to take on any other ship, using either their good maneuverability or formidable firepower as required by circumstances. With ample cargo space and reasonable speed, they are favoured by captains who like the mix between strength and speed these ships offer. Brig class ships are used for many warlike tasks by all factions and the difference between the brig classes is easily the most noticeable, with the smallest ships being significantly more maneuverable than the largest, but the largest being significantly better armed.
Trading Galleon: http://www.accioncultural.es/virtuales/florida/img/rec/barco_aviles.jpg
This ship is the largest ship sailing the Caribbean, easily dwarfing the tiny Pinnaces and Sloops. Used as general-purpose trade ships by the Spanish, their gigantic cargo holds often contain great riches. While this massive trading vessel has a huge crew complement and room for the most cannons of all ship types - meaning its broadsides are a real threat - it is too slow to put these to good use in most situations due to extremely poor sailing properties. Needless to say, when fully armed a single broadside from a trading galleon will sink or cripple most small or mid-sized ships, but it is still easy to outmaneuver this ship and most of the time the ship wouldn't be at full complement, meaning its completely power cannot be brought to bear.
War Galleon: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Adler_von_L%C3%BCbeck.jpg
A set of heavy combat vessels used by the Spanish to protect their trade routes and assault other factions. War Galleon classes pack a lot of firepower, though their slow turning rate can make those cannons difficult to use properly. Easily out-maneuvered by smaller ships, these hulking beasts rely on their ability to hit the enemy at least once before being boarded. War Galleons also have potential for speed in the lower classes, though that largely depend on the wind direction. The heaviest combat vessel in the Caribbean, it typically sports both a large array of cannons and a large crew, and therefore can cripple most other ships with a single successful broadside.
Frigate: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Frigate_%28PSF%29.png/1024px-Frigate_%28PSF%29.png
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs40/i/2009/054/7/2/Frigate___Liberty___by_uvar.jpg
A heavy but fast combat vessel, designed to take on both large and medium-sized ships. Some of the most heavily armed ships in the Caribbean, frigates are often used by non-Spanish nations to perform their most vital wartime operations. Frigates carry formidable armament and a large crew, but have little trouble sailing against the wind which means that in the right hands they are practically invincible, even when facing much larger, but slower, ships with greater firepower, such as the galleon.
For further information on frigates, Click This is the point of reference:
"Generally, frigates were in the middling class of warships --In between the lightly armed sloops and privateers that took merchant ships and terrorized shipping, and the slow, heavily armed ships-of-the-line that dished it out in line combat. Frigates usually operated independently or in small squadrons, often acting as patrol ships, scouts ahead of the combat line, or as merchant raiders, and also commonly used as escorts. They were the most versatile warship of the day, and probably the first example of a multi-role military unit."
Character Sheet Skeleton: NOTE: Please PM me your Character Sheets. DO NOT post them here or anywhere else another player may be able to see them.
Name: e.g. Edward Teach
Alias/Nickname: e.g. 'Blackbeard' or; Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach or; Ed
Nationality: e.g English/Irish/Spanish/French/Dutch/Cherokee etc. 'Jamaican' or 'Mexican' or 'American' not acceptable.
Sex: e.g. Male/Female
Age: e.g. Thirty Three
Height and Weight: Not fussed about specifics e.g. very tall with a bit of a pot belly/ quite short but heavily built
Appearance: Picture/text or both, I'm not fussed, but if it is a written description I expect something decent.
Occupation: e.g. soldier/pirate/merchant/governor of X town/tavern keeper in X town/Dutch captain etc.
Preferred Weapon/s: e.g. Flintlock pistol, saber, rapier, cutlass or any other weapon from the period. A firearm and a melee weapon would be a good start, and any other weapons can be added as a side note (like a dagger s/he carries around or whatnot.) Do try to be reasonable, Roronoa Zoro-types are not acceptable.
Skills: e.g. fencing skills, instruments they play, charisma etc.
Personality: tell me about yourself (may want to include likes and dislikes, fears, interests, any personality quirks, kinds of values s/he goes by etc.) <-- not an exhaustible list, just a helping hand ;)
Brief History: I'm going to be blunt, I couldn't care less where your character's been, what horrible things happened tot them, how amazingly brave they were and the rest of it. I just want to see if you can put a few decent paragraphs together. If you can stun me with eloquence beyond comprehension that would be a bonus, but just show me you can write decently.
Angelo Ortega (Jangel13)A Spanish pirate, originally from San Juan, who claims to have been kidnapped by the famed pirate William Jackson and raised by him. Little is known about Angelo Ortega, even those who dwell on San Juan claim to have no knowledge of him, though none deny the fact that one of William Jackson's last raids before his disappearance was on San Juan. Some have gone so far as to suggest that he isn't truly from San Juan, but has made up tales about his past to gain more influence through Jackson's infamous name. He has recently docked in Tortuga and his relatively well-armed sloop has received more than a few greedy glances from other good-for-nothings.
Appearance: Tall at 6 ft and with short, obsidian black hair which barely reaches his green eyes and a well trimmed moustache. He has muscular arms and legs with a bit of a pot belly.
Maria Sántiné (DAWNSTAR)More commonly known as 'Señorita Violeta', Maria is quite a shady character. Captain of the barque
Phoenix, she has been sailing all over the Caribbean in recent years, getting richer and richer. Most see her as just a hard-working merchant, and she has managed to generally avoid the attention of the naval powers that sail the Caribbean and protect ports. Underground, however, Señorita Violeta is much more than a petty merchant. With a smuggling business which is beginning to flourish, mainly due to Maria's well-chosen contacts in various ports, it appears that this particular captain may soon become 'too important' to have to do the dirty work herself, perhaps her current visit to Tortuga is for that very reason...
Appearance:
Riley (Vantas)A relatively unknown man who appears to be Irish, nothing much is known about him other than the fact that the first time he wondered in to the tavern in Tortuga, freshly off some merchant ship, he managed to annoy some pirates there so much with his staring and giggling that they attempted to kill him. Drunk as they were, they ended up attacking each other which eventually led to what is perhaps the grandest tavern fight Tortuga has ever seen to date - the tavern keeper there is only too happy to complain about it should you ever want to hear the full tale of 'Rie's Fight' as it is now known. As it is, Riley appears to have managed to get himself into the crew of the dread pirate Roche Braziliano and has sailed with him ever since. Braziliano's barque has recently made anchor in Tortuga.
Appearance:
James Campbell (Joegreenbeen)Known more commonly as 'Jim' to those he has contact with, this Scotsman quickly became well-renown when his ship was attacked by pirates. Out of all those on the whaling vessel which Campbell worked on, he was the only one who was spared - by direct command of the pirate captain himself, Roche Braziliano. A man who was well known for his cruelty, Braziliano had never spared a victim before, let alone coerce them into joining his crew, as James was. Known for his deadly ability with a harpoon, James has proven himself one of Braziliano's most able fighters - though he has on more than one occasion very nearly brought about his own death by refusing to drink with the cantankerous Braziliano. Braziliano's barque has recently anchored in Tortuga.
Appearance:
Crispin Roberts (TheyMostlyComeAtNight)An English trader down on his luck, Cris appears to have a growing name in underground circles. His desperation for some business has driven him to delve into some smuggling and piracy - and quite successfully at that - though whether he will decide to shed the life of a merchant for piracy or smuggling (or both) has yet to be seen. The merchant has recently docked in Tortuga.
Appearance: Cris has shaggy black hair held in place by a black bandanna. He would have what most would consider a conventionally handsome face were it not for a scar just below his left eye that angles straight down missing the corner of his mouth by perhaps a cm, as a result his smile/grin is lopsided. He wears a white cotton shirt, and black trousers, belted with two black leather belts. He goes without shoes though whether for poverty or want he'd rather keep to himself.
Fir Hampshire (Click This)A recent arrival to the Caribbean, Commander Fir Hampshire is perhaps the only female naval official in any navy the world over. She has recently arrived from England to patrol the waters up and down the English colonies. Though new, she has already made quite the terrifying name for herself, having sunk two pirate vessels within the first week of her arrival. It is clear that this particular commander has no reservations when it comes to hunting down 'enemies'...or at least it would appear so. The Commander has recently completed a patrol from St. Kitts to the recently conquered Port Royal, delivering the new governor and his family to the port aboard the 32-gun frigate HMS Endymion.
Appearance:
Lucy Dunaway (Assallya)More commonly known as 'Loosey Lucy', this rather small woman, still in her early twenties, currently dwells in Tortuga and can usually be found in the tavern. Those in her profession tend to get very little attention in the greater scheme of things, but when a seaman has just returned from a hard journey and needs the loving touch of a woman, then it is the likes of Lucy who are there for them. Though many may brush her off as a mere prostitute, Lucy is well known all over Tortuga for her astounding beauty, singing skill and her ability to play the lute and fiddle. Not only that, but she can sit with the men and laugh just as loudly - and a thousand times more sweetly, if I may add. Though well known to those who frequent the tavern, Lucy doesn't appear to be any more special than the next best looking prostitute in another port.
Appearance:
