So you want another story, little one? Can't sleep 'till I've told it to you?
Well, alright. This one's real, little one, so listen closely. It was a long time ago; when men traveled the stars, when the word Honor still meant something.
This is the Ballad of the Stars.
The IC ThreadIt's the year 3013, and Earth is but a distant memory, lost to the tainted scourge known in common parlance as "oni." In a universe far away, intrepid crews travel from one planet to the next in search of honor and fortune, under (or out of, as the case sometimes may be) the watchful eyes of the Imperial Starfleet. Following a period of instability, the code of Bushido has made a stark resurgence among even the lowest ranks of the citizenry. Soldiers are trained in Iaijutsu, Kenjutsu, the awkwardly named Gunkata. Through a neural interface two pilots, each necessarily diametrically opposed to one another, ensure their ship's safety. Shamans, priests, and the odd lone practitioner truck with spirits to enact works of great arcane might. Politicians and scoundrels truck with one another to enact works of credit.
You are a member of a small crew, on a small ship as it travels the stars. Smugglers, mercenaries, soldiers, or adventurers. While the purpose of your ship will be decided by the Captain, your personal goals are your own.
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Role:[/b] The role you take on the ship. See below.
[b]Class:[/b] Soldier, Politician, Mage, or Special. The specifics of your class are decided by your Starsign and Humor- Special indicates a particular affinity with your sign. Despite providing special abilities, class is not entirely important- a well-trained politician could best a soldier in combat, and a particularly affluent warrior might be the better of a courtier in court. In order to work magic, you must be a mage.
[b]Starsign:[/b] One of the twelve signs of the western zodiac. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
[b]Humor:[/b] One of the four classical humors. Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatic.
[b]Description:[/b] A brief physical description of your character, including any cybernetic augmentations.
[b]Background:[/b] A brief description of your character. This should give a good idea of their personality, goals, and skill sets. In addition, Captains should name their ship and outline the purpose of their travels.
[b]Personal Effects:[/b] You may pick any five items. Tech-level isn't much higher than it is right now, and many items from Edo Period japan, especially in the way of weaponry and armor, have made a resurgence. You will be provided other gear based on your class and role.
Actions will be decided using a heavily modified version of Legends of the Five Rings 4th Edition Rules. You are not expected to know or have access to these rules. The basic function is as follows: Your stats and skills, plus gear, add up to form a pool of d10s. You keep the highest of these rolls, based on your attribute score. 10s explode (So a roll of 10 is rerolled to a 3, and thus counts as 13). I'll give your character sheets to you, and rolls will be shown in posts.
The Intrepid CrewThe Captain: Akito Naples, as portrayed by Weirdsound
A Pilot: Greg Dark, as portrayed by Scapheap
A Pilot: Homura Munashii, as portrayed by Hailfire
The Engineer: Aster Red, as portrayed by Deep Waters
The Medic: Leera Choktia, as portrayed by Gotdamnmiracle
The Scientist: Joe "Spaceman" Bridger, as portrayed by Remuthra
A Guard: Kara Fastbursts, as portrayed by Kahn1234
A Guard: Jerrod Hu, as portrayed by Kadzar
The Cook: Trevor, as portrayed by Filiusenox
The Communications Officer: Erick, as portrayed by Firelordsky
The Black Sea
Tonnage Above Average
Tactical Poor
Sensors Poor
Propulsion Poor
Components
Dragonfly Class 3 Series III Frame (DF-3013)
Standard Alloy Shigimetsu Hull (S-SA01334978)
Yamura Class 5 S-Series VTOL Gear (Yamura S-5001)
Firebreath VII Torpedo Turrets
Yamura Class 5 E-Series Realspace Drives (Yamura E-5101)
Quonam VacLas Sensors (Quonam 2000)
Dragonfly Class 3 Series III Warpspace Drives (DF-3110)
Supplies
30 Weeks of Protein Rations
10 Torpedos
10 Envirosuits
Additional roles are possible, but the ship can currently only house a crew of 10.
Characters will
not be accepted on a first come first serve basis. If someone was accepted for a role you wanted, you're free to try for a different one.
The ShipThe ship acts as both a setting and, when piloted or otherwise utilized for rolls, a piece of equipment.
The ship has four stats, each of which can be mapped, roughly, to the first four "rings" that a regular human character has.
Tonnage - (Earth) The ship's bulk. How much it can hold, and how many hits it can take.
Tactical - (Fire) The ship's weaponry reaction time and basic combat ability.
Sensors - (Air) The ship's sensors and on board computing power.
Propulsion - (Water) The ship's speed and maneuverability.
These stats are affected by the ship's hardware, engine, and so on. While the captain, or anyone else, can easily examine the ship's logs to get a basic idea of the ship's load-out, hard numbers can only be seen by someone with the relevant skills. Upgrades can be purchased, and, given that the ship starts out as a hunk of scrap, probably should be.