Putting together a crew

[Orris]

This is something I've wanted to do for a while, and yes a big part of it is boyish fantasy but hey, we are playing a fantasy RPG!

Orris talks a lot about wanting to acquire a ship someday. I don't really expect this to happen but to Orris it's something he thinks could happen someday. As part of that he needs to have a crew, because a single capable sailor cannot operate a ship of significant size. What I'm asking is if there would be any interest among people to go to lessons every now and then to have Orris teach about seamanship, and even assign roles for those who are interested. I would love to have a capable crew ready and able if the opportunity ever comes along that one would be needed, instead of scrambling a bunch of people with no skill and knowledge last minute.

And even if we never get an opportunity to crew an actual ship, it would still be fun social time and a way to form friendships and comaraderie! It would be funny to do practice on the ghost pirate galleon sometimes. We could get our own pendant channel for communicating orders and reports and everything.

[sona]

looks like I'm your crazy carpenter :)

[Orris]

I'm excited that this has already got some attention and interest! Here is a list of some positions that we need, some are already tentatively filled:

Captain: Orris
* The Captain commands the ship's crew and delegates tasks and authority.
Quartermaster: Gad
* The Quartermaster is in charge of procuring, organizing, and distributing provisions, as well as distributing shares of treasure and loot and assessing the value of items. A lot of pressure is on this member of the crew because if they don't manage things fairly, they'll find themselves disliked by the rest of the crew and ousted from their position.
Sailmaster: Orris
* The Sailmaster is concerned with navigation and associated route planning and logistics.
Mascom (Master of Combat): (Invitation Extended)
* Sees to tactics and battle preparation and coordination, the Master Combatant is also an accomplished fighter who personally leads other crewmembers in battle. The Master Combatant may be called on to take point and lead the crew in hostile territories on land as well.
Lookout/Scout: Coanid
* While any able climbers among the crew can be general purpose riggers, this specific position also includes Lookout duty, and the individual must be alert and keen-eyed as they keep watch from the crow's nest for land, ships, sandbars, shoals, rocks, reefs, and other potential hazards. They may also be called on for scouting duties on land as they're light of foot and able to move unheard and unseen.
Cook: Jilliana
* The Cook's importance is often overlooked by landlubbers, but when you're out at sea with no diners, general stores, prey animals, or anything else around to provide food, you need a good cook to make the most of provisions and keep the crew fed and happy. Good nutrition is extremely important at sea, and the quality of meals has an extreme impact on crew morale.
Surgeon: VACANT, possibilities among those invited to join the crew.
* The Surgeon performs tending of wounds and can also be called on to treat illnesses or poisonings as well.
Carpenter: Sona
* The Carpenter is extremely important, as they maintain the integrity of the ship. Should any damage be sustained, the Carpenter performs repairs and, if there are others capable of making repairs, oversees these other workers.
Rigger: Mille, Gad, Coanid
* Riggers see to the ship's sails and rigging. This is a dangerous job, as they have to work up on the yards very high above the deck, and falling could result in serious injuries. Climbing skills are a must.
Fighter: Jilliana (Multiple preferred, invitations extended)
* Fighters are accomplished warriors who stand ready to fight in defense of the ship and its crew. They should be able to act independently when necessary but willing and ready to accept the authority of the Mascom and act under that leadership. They need to be skilled defensively as well as offensively in order to keep the rest of the crew safe. (Of course, the rest of the crew will be expected to assist in combat how they can as well.)
Able Seaman:
* Able Seamen are members of the crew who can take on various roles as needed that aren't covered above.

Other positions also available. If you have a good idea of a role you want to fill that would be appropriate for a ship's crew, let me know.

[jilliana]

I'm putting myself down for combat master or cook.

I do hope this happens. It'll be fun for sure. :)

[Fayne]

Oooooh, how would I go about learning of this IC? I'd be interested to fill one of the available positions and one you kinda neglected. ;)

Edit: Might as well mention the positions. I could be the cook, as I'm constantly working on it whenever I'm bored and can't decide what I wanna do, and also, Castillo may be the surgeon, but you need someone to help with more minor injuries and illnesses common on a vessel, and that's where I come in. It matches Fayne's RP perfectly, being an ex-healer and all.

[Orris]

Jill, Levintus beat you to combatmaster, but I'm happy to have a capable cook! Never underestimate the cook, it's an extremely important position on a ship.

Fayne, I'm putting a post on all the town boards (except Corvus, I can't get in there).

[Fayne]

Oh, well, looks like my positions are covered. Oh well.

[Orris]

I updated the list. There are plenty more positions available if those up above fill up, I just figured those would be some of the most important and translate well into the game.

[Orris]

Fayne, now that Orris knows you're a druid or Plant Whisperer as he likes to call you, there's a role you could fill. We're going to need a lot of herbs for medicinal use as well as cooking, and if you're a capable hunter of animals that would figure into the position a well.

[Fayne]

Sure, I could definitely fill that role. I'm a decent hunter for sure. Only time I have much any trouble is when the occassional deer gets a wild hair up its ass and decides to go Rambo on me instead of running for 'deer' life. Hehe

[preiman]

Maric can get his bagpipes and become your shanty man, also Chaplin

[Sneaky]

coanid will gladly be your rigger. His excellent balance and acrobatics would make him perfect for the ropes.

[Fayne]

Hey Orris, I thought you might need some shanties to sing, so here ya go: https://youtu.be/bx5uegVP-78

[qinweiqi]

If you can find Qinweiqi ICly, he'd be a willing general crewman. He certainly shares your affinity for fishing at least, and he isn't too bad at cooking either.

[Orris]

I updated the tentative crew listing in the third post up above. I made up a few positions that I thought people would do well in. If you're not happy with where I've placed you and would rather do something else, just let me know.

[Rias]

l rowb
You see a batterd little rowboat with cracked oars. At the center of the rowboat a narrow pole extends a few pitiful feet upward. The word "MAINMAST" has been scratched into the pole in Common, and a large, dirty cloak has been nailed to the top in some crude imitation of a sail.

Pile in, mateys!

But really, this sounds super fun. I'd call dibs on Sailmaster if I were able to just have fun as a player!

[Orris]

You can join our crew anytime Rias, you can be that one sailor that's usually too drunk to come along but occasionally sobers up enough for a trip now and then.

[Kunren]

I like this a bunch. If I ever had the chance to get online anymore at least... le sigh.

[Fayne]

I found a song for our ship! https://youtu.be/H9KsYy0WgbM

[Orris]

This is getting way more interest and support than I expected! This is short notice, but if anyone who's been contacted to be part of the crew can meet up today at around 1:00 PM in Haiban, that would be great. I'll send letters IC to you all as well. If you can't make it that's okay, you won't be kicked out or anything.

Since more people are interested than I thought there would be, this is what I'm thinking. Trying to get people together in online games is really hard. We have lives, school, jobs, families, girlfriends, boyfriends, waves to surf, and everything else between all of us. I'm going to schedule things as best I can and if you can't make it, you can't make it. I'll try to do things often so everyone has a chance but I'm not going to try too hard to always ensure everyone can make it because that's just really probably never going to happen. If you have a regular schedule of times when you're not going to be available let me know and I'll try to avoid those or at least make sure some of our activities fall on days so that everyone is able to come to at least some of them.

[Orris]

1:00 PM game time.

[Orris]

I've been telling people to brush up on their nautical terms. I am just going to assume people could find this info around the Lost Lands and I might write it up on papers to give people IC, but here is a cheat sheet that should cover most of the basics for our needs.

Port: Left side of the ship from facing forward perspective.
Starboard: Right side of the ship from facing forward persepective.
Bow or Stem: The front of the ship.
Prow: The forwardmost part of the bow.
Stern: The rear of the ship.
Amidships: Near the middle of the ship.
Fore: Toward the bow.
Aft: Toward the stern.
Rigging: Parts of the ship used to harness the wind for movement. Includes ropes, masts, yards, and sails. I usually use it to refer to ropes.
Spar: A pole of wood, such as a mast, boom, or yard.
Mast: A thick vertical spar from witch yards, booms, and sails are rigged.
Yard: A horizontal spar on a mast from which sails are set.
Boom: A horizontal spar along the foot of a sail.
Bowsprit: A horizontal spar that extends out from the prow. Forestays (rigging ropes) are attached to it to keep masts steady.
Helm: The steering mechanism, whether it's a wheel or tiller.
Windward: Direction from which the wind is blowing.
Leeward: Direction away from where the wind is blowing from (opposite of windward).
Bilge: The lowest point of the ship interior. Bilgewater collects here and must be emptied.

[Fayne]

I'm always available after 8PM game time, but anything before that is kinda iffy.

[sona]

weekends are normally bad for me, as I'm at work.

[fawna]

I can usually be on around 11:30am-12:50pm (EST), and then any time after 3:00pm (but before 6:00pm on work days, which are kind of irregular) during the week, pretty much all day weekends.