Post by Ladorak on Feb 16, 2011 12:59:39 GMT -5
Welcome to Stoater and Commander, a naval roleplaying site where you create a character and enlist him in the Royal Welkinite Navy. This site primarily draws its inspiration from three things. The first is actual history around the turn of the 19th Century, an era that saw the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars erupt in Europe. As of the time of writing this, the current date on the site is February 16th, 1794 (2011), and as the site flows in real time, we'll be moving through the years as they go, so in other words, 2012 is 1795, 2013 is 1796, and so on and so forth. Many events and happenings on this site are inspired by real life events, such as the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797, and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. We are primarily following the exploits of the ships that Horatio Nelson captained, as my main character, Captain Ladorak Fugate, is partly based on Nelson and his life.
The second source of inspiration, primarily with some of the nations and historical background, is from the Welkin Weasels series of books by Gary Kilworth, with some Redwall backgrounds thrown in as well. If you haven't read either of these series, that's OK. It's not required, as I've mostly drawn character ideas and country ideas from these series.
The third source of inspiration is my mind. Scary thought, I know. Many nations are based on real nations, with my own made up names, twists and quirks that I've added to them to better fit into this fictional world. You can find a description of each nation under "Meet the Nations" in the General Board, and also look at my crudely drawn map of the section of world we'll primarily be sailing around.
So what should you do when you sign up for this board? First off, know that you will be enlisting on the HMS Agamemnon, which is the ship we're currently following. You can find background information about this ship in the "HMS Agamemnon" section on this site, as well as read the "Ship's Log", which is a record of our current adventures to generally present date (sometimes I fall behind updating it, but mostly I'm good about keeping up). So brushing up on what we've been doing is a good idea before you join.
After you get this background info, it's time to create your character! Think about what species you want this character to be, and come up with what I call a Character Application. You can find sample applications by looking at applications that others have submitted on this site. A good application will include how old your character is, what species he or she is, where they come from, what they physically look like, and a bit of background information on that in what I like to call a biography. It can be as long or as short as you want to make it, but generally the more detailed the better in terms of physical appearance and personality traits.
After you have written this application, you submit it in the Character Applications section, and I review it for approval. I generally approve all applications (unless I see a contradiction somewhere that needs editing, or your fur or scale color is something that's a bit more fantasy than real), and once it's been approved you're good to go!
You can join any current thread we have operating, and we always have at least one if not more running. You will be enlisted as a regular seajack (our term for seaman, as it derives from Welkin Weasels), and if you wish to work your way up through the ranks you will need to demonstrate a steady rate of posting and good writing as you go. If you wish to have a character that starts out as an officer of some kind (be it petty, warrant, or commissioned officer rank), you will need to spend a probationary period of around 3-6 months before you can create an officer character, because I don't want just anyone creating an officer and then quitting the site a few months later, or conversely not being a reliable poster and letting threads sit and sit for days or weeks on end. This probationary period will let me determine how frequently you post, how well you write, and that in turn will help me decide if you will be good officer material or not. Officers are beasts in authority after all, and much of the daily running of the ship relies on them, be it the boatswain, the master-at-arms, the sailmaker, the gunner, etc. The ship needs steady posters and active members to fill its officer ranks.
We strive for a fairly realistic environment here at Stoater and Commander, and thus you'll find that shipboard life here is pretty historically accurate in terms of what life was like aboard an 18th Century man-of-war. You will be given jobs based on your personal preferences, but everyone has to carry out simple duties and gun drills first starting out. As you work your way up and gain knowledge and learn more about ship operation, you'll be able to specialize in a certain field and shoot for a certain petty officer or higher position.
Being that this is a fairly realistic RP, you will also be disciplined for bad behavior (no, don't worry, you yourself will be fine, it will just be your character that gets punished If you break the site's rules, then you will of course face disciplinary action). Discipline usually results in strikes against your future promotion, and if you can't live with your character getting flogged, then don't sign up, as you're making a commitment here to join the navy.
But don't let that discourage you. Here on Stoater and Commander, we have fun by creating characters and living second lives through them. We experience high seas' adventure, combat against foreign enemies, and daily routine that will give you a chance to practice and brush up on your writing, write your characters in fun and entertaining situations, and also develop good communal bonds between fellow writers.
The members here on this site are friendly (even if their characters aren't!), experienced, and will help you get started if you have any questions. I wish you luck in character creation, and look forward to writing with you if you do decide to join!
The second source of inspiration, primarily with some of the nations and historical background, is from the Welkin Weasels series of books by Gary Kilworth, with some Redwall backgrounds thrown in as well. If you haven't read either of these series, that's OK. It's not required, as I've mostly drawn character ideas and country ideas from these series.
The third source of inspiration is my mind. Scary thought, I know. Many nations are based on real nations, with my own made up names, twists and quirks that I've added to them to better fit into this fictional world. You can find a description of each nation under "Meet the Nations" in the General Board, and also look at my crudely drawn map of the section of world we'll primarily be sailing around.
So what should you do when you sign up for this board? First off, know that you will be enlisting on the HMS Agamemnon, which is the ship we're currently following. You can find background information about this ship in the "HMS Agamemnon" section on this site, as well as read the "Ship's Log", which is a record of our current adventures to generally present date (sometimes I fall behind updating it, but mostly I'm good about keeping up). So brushing up on what we've been doing is a good idea before you join.
After you get this background info, it's time to create your character! Think about what species you want this character to be, and come up with what I call a Character Application. You can find sample applications by looking at applications that others have submitted on this site. A good application will include how old your character is, what species he or she is, where they come from, what they physically look like, and a bit of background information on that in what I like to call a biography. It can be as long or as short as you want to make it, but generally the more detailed the better in terms of physical appearance and personality traits.
After you have written this application, you submit it in the Character Applications section, and I review it for approval. I generally approve all applications (unless I see a contradiction somewhere that needs editing, or your fur or scale color is something that's a bit more fantasy than real), and once it's been approved you're good to go!
You can join any current thread we have operating, and we always have at least one if not more running. You will be enlisted as a regular seajack (our term for seaman, as it derives from Welkin Weasels), and if you wish to work your way up through the ranks you will need to demonstrate a steady rate of posting and good writing as you go. If you wish to have a character that starts out as an officer of some kind (be it petty, warrant, or commissioned officer rank), you will need to spend a probationary period of around 3-6 months before you can create an officer character, because I don't want just anyone creating an officer and then quitting the site a few months later, or conversely not being a reliable poster and letting threads sit and sit for days or weeks on end. This probationary period will let me determine how frequently you post, how well you write, and that in turn will help me decide if you will be good officer material or not. Officers are beasts in authority after all, and much of the daily running of the ship relies on them, be it the boatswain, the master-at-arms, the sailmaker, the gunner, etc. The ship needs steady posters and active members to fill its officer ranks.
We strive for a fairly realistic environment here at Stoater and Commander, and thus you'll find that shipboard life here is pretty historically accurate in terms of what life was like aboard an 18th Century man-of-war. You will be given jobs based on your personal preferences, but everyone has to carry out simple duties and gun drills first starting out. As you work your way up and gain knowledge and learn more about ship operation, you'll be able to specialize in a certain field and shoot for a certain petty officer or higher position.
Being that this is a fairly realistic RP, you will also be disciplined for bad behavior (no, don't worry, you yourself will be fine, it will just be your character that gets punished If you break the site's rules, then you will of course face disciplinary action). Discipline usually results in strikes against your future promotion, and if you can't live with your character getting flogged, then don't sign up, as you're making a commitment here to join the navy.
But don't let that discourage you. Here on Stoater and Commander, we have fun by creating characters and living second lives through them. We experience high seas' adventure, combat against foreign enemies, and daily routine that will give you a chance to practice and brush up on your writing, write your characters in fun and entertaining situations, and also develop good communal bonds between fellow writers.
The members here on this site are friendly (even if their characters aren't!), experienced, and will help you get started if you have any questions. I wish you luck in character creation, and look forward to writing with you if you do decide to join!