Before I do an official sign-up thread, let's get some discussion going here on how everyone would like to see this handled.
First, someone brought up a good point to me about combat balance, and in the interest of keeping most of The Heroes on even footing, I'm going to ask that characters joining this plot either be human (Nepleslian or similar) or humanoid alien. Nekos and other similar "super-soldier" type characters will not be allowed unless their power is limited (I think that the latest Nekovalkyrja models are barred from leaving Yamatai space anyway outside of military duty, and this plot will spend most of its time on the frontiers of society). I will rule on each character individually, so I am willing to have some flexibility, but I wanted to get that out there. How does everyone feel about that?
Second, how would everyone feel about me using a simplified tabletop RPG system like GURPS to decide on characters' success rates at performing certain tasks? I would handle all of the rolling and number crunching on my end, so no one would need to worry about that on the forums, but would anyone be opposed to drawing up characters with quantifiable skills for my own benefit?
Third, let's start working out who wants to fill what role, and the shipboard jobs in general. As stated before, the plot ship will be a
Jinsoku Cargo Runner (images and ship details updated, so have another look). I'm working with Nashoba on getting more detail added to the wiki page, and will be putting together a unique page for the plot ship within the next week or two. This wiki page will also be complete with interior deck maps (to scale) and as much detail on ship systems and locations as possible, and I hope that the players will help me add more as time goes on. The ship, as it says on the page, is very compact, so living space will be very limited, especially on long trips. The Jinsoku can be operated by only one person, but a full complement of six freelancers can fit and live aboard. With that said, I'll mention first that this
particular ship's FTL drive will be limited to a
Continuum Distortion Device, which will give the ship a maximum speed of 10,000c, or 1.15 ly/m. This will mean some longer travel times when the crew is moving between star systems, which gives us more off-duty RP opportunities, as well as requiring a relief pilot and navigator, both of which can be filled by the ship's captain and first mate. Please let me know what you think of this, as well as the expanded list of jobs below:
1.
Captain/Mechanic: Sienna Audrey Shelton
Sienna will be the owner and captain of the ship as well as its outfit of freelancers, responsible for the operation of the ship as well as being the one making the final decisions on what jobs to take and how to perform them. She also is the one controlling the operation's purse strings, as well as choosing who she wants to work for her. She is very much a no-nonsense type of person, speaks only when necessary (for the most part) and says only what's needed, and is quite slow to trust people, so characters joining the ship's crew will have to impress her first. Since it is her ship, she will also take it upon herself to make sure that it is holding together and operating as intended, and while she is quite a capable mechanic herself, she would welcome the extra set of hands and know-how from time to time.
2.
First Mate/Muscle: Gunsight1 (interested)
This character will be Sienna's right-hand man, and the one calling the shots when Sienna isn't around, or saying the things that Sienna might want to say but would rather not. The way I see it, this job would require leadership skills on par with or surpassing Sienna's (which, as a bit of a misanthrope, will be a bit lacking when the plot begins), as well as familiarity with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. The first mate will take the opposite command shift as the captain during long voyages, will frequently be the face of the crew when drops and meetings are arranged, and should have the nerve and stones to stand firm if and when his leadership is challenged, since this is not going to be a formal military operation, but rather, one or two steps away from a pirate ship. My inclination is for the first mate and captain to have a preexisting relationship of some kind (platonic) that would lend itself to her trusting him enough to help her run this operation. Details can be worked out between me and whoever decides to take this role, and I am open to other suggestions.
3.
Pilot/Gunner:
This character's role will be to safely fly the ship from place to place, pulling a few crazy maneuvers from time to time if the situation warrants it. The pilot will also be in control of the ship's weapon systems, and will be trusted not to use them unless necessary. One of the other characters should be at least a competent pilot as well, to act as a relief pilot when the primary one needs to rest or sleep on long voyages. The Jinsoku's cockpit is very small, only having enough room for the pilot and navigator to sit side by side at the control console (think the cockpit of the
Millenium Falcon, only perhaps slightly smaller and more cramped.
4.
Astrogator/Navigator/Comms: Foxtrot813 (interested)
This character will be responsible for plotting warp courses, maintaining the ship's star charts, and keeping track of the ship's location at all times. Space is a big, big place, and getting lost usually means disaster. This job will also be charged with radio and FTL communications (or the jamming/monitoring thereof), although the pilot will also have full access to comms as well as a secondary contact. The Jinsoku's cockpit is very small, only having enough room for the pilot and navigator to sit side by side at the control console (think the cockpit of the
Millenium Falcon, only perhaps slightly smaller and more cramped.
5.
Medic:
This character will be the ship's doctor, and although the ship is too small to warrant the presence of a dedicated medical facility, the ship will have
basic medical supplies on board as well as a modest lounge that can be used as a makeshift operating room if the worst should happen. This character is probably not likely to have the highest-grade formal medical training available, given the much more lucrative career opportunities in more civilized places, but rather have enough field knowledge of medicine and triage to make them effective (barring any crazy RP background this character might have). This character is welcome to have other skills as well, since without them they would be likely to be sitting on the sidelines when no one was injured.
6.
Hired Goon/Thwomper (optional): Homeside 6 (interested)
This character will do the things that no one else wants to do, and will probably like hurting people or smashing things a bit more than the rest of the crew.
Lastly, I'd like to hear what everyone thinks about how to begin this plot. That is, how early in this crew's development would everyone like to begin? Do we want to start with Sienna and the first mate knowing one another and recruiting members one by one, all at once in one location, or would we prefer to sketch out everyone's introductions in character bios or a wiki page, and jump right into the action? Or is there something else anyone would like to see?
Let's hear your thoughts and bounce some ideas off of one another. I'll continue to work on getting the details worked out, and with your feedback, we'll get this show put together.
