Thar be pirates! (The Blackwater Buccaneers are coming...)

[nephy13]

((Well, being inspired by [thread=26562]Zandrok's comprehensive guild-description[/thread], I thought I'd declare my intention to create my own role-playing guild. Like him I am trying to build up my personal fame before creating the guild so that I can create the guild aligned to Tryker/Karavan. Tryker alignment is sorted, but Karavan fame is much slower to develop. Should be created some time this week based on my rate of progress, but you can express your interest in joining before that, either here or to me (Gwillim) directly. I'm at GMT, but I play too much so it shouldn't be that hard for anyone to catch me))

Who are you and what guild do you represent?
I be Cap'n Gwillim Morgan o' the ship The Slippery Gingo. Leadin' The Blackwater Buccaneers, be what I do!

I've heard of the dispicable Blackwater Pirates – are you they?
No, the Blackwater Pirates are scurvy dogs and beneath our contempt!
((There is an NPC brigand group in Aeden Aqueous called Blackwater Pirates who are, of course, one of our great enemies – I did speak to Zerlin who thought that our name would probably be acceptable as sufficiently distinguishable from this NPC group)).

*EDIT* Apparently, the Blackwater Pirates were in fact a Tyker pirate RP guild from Arispotle back in the day, apparently not being active any more (They aren't on the Arispotle guild list anyway, which is where I checked for similar names before I chose the one I did). Anyway, we on Cho have no links whatsoever to that group, though if any of those old pirates fancy a new life on Cho, they will be made welcome.

I've heard that The Blackwater Buccaneers have actually been active for several decades. Can you tell me more of the history of the group?
For a long time the Matis overlords did not treat their Tryker charges well. Slavery was commonplace and those that openly opposed the Matis government would suddenly "disappear". Those escaping from bondage, or fleeing from persecution, often found themselves banding together in the wilderness. One such group became the Blackwater Buccaneers...

During the war that culminated in casting off the yoke of Matis oppression forever, the Blackwater Buccaneers freely attacked Matis shipping (and caravans) under Letter of Marque from the Tryker state. During this time the crew formed a strong bond with the Corsairs, who were also acting as privateers. Due to our origins as escaped slaves, we freed any enslaved homins we found and, we think justifiably, cruelly murdered their owners. The crew swelled as grateful homins often begged to be recruited soon after their shackles were removed.

At this time, we also ran guns and other supplies, across land and sea, from the edge of the Burning Desert. More conservative Tryker denounced us as war profiteers, but the result of our actions was that the brave Tryker forces were adequately supplied with Fyrosian weaponry. Without those supplies being carried from our allies, the war could have dragged on much longer or else we could all now still be under the Matis boot!

Nowadays, one of our primary aims is to completely destroy the Slavers that still operate in our own lands. We also find that the Tryker authorities turn a blind eye when we raid Kami supporters or others that displease the Governor, Still Tyler.

If you value freedom so much, why then are you allied to the Karavan?
Note the important term there: “Allied”. The Kami are clearly unfathomable monsters intent on destroying all of us and the Matis once enslaved us. The Kitin assail us from all directions; in fact, we have only recently beaten back a massive invasion of Kitin from our shores! We therefore need to keep the Karavan as powerful allies and teachers, whilst rejecting their position as overlords or gods, in order to protect the freedoms that our ancestors fought and died for. Just because we reject the godhood of the Karavan, however, does not mean we revere Jena any less. Jena's divinity is not in question; the fact that the Karavan also worship her should help us to trust them, if not to take them to our bosoms.

If you have our own vessel, The Slippery Gingo, why haven't I seen it already sailing in the lakes?
Well, the authorities don't tend to like pirate-ships sailing around their waters, so we keep it in hidden waterways most of the time. Those who have had the misfortune to spy its black sails have long since been sent to a watery grave, so they are hardly telling tales. The Slippery Gingo is a swift, 32-foot sloop mounting 11 heavy launchers (One fore'ad, 5 per broadside). Additional swivel-guns (auto-launchers) are mounted on deck to dissuade boarding actions. The vessel's low draft means that it can travel throughout the Tryker lake district in any water deep enough to swim in. It requires 16 homins to sail, but can carry additional pirates for a boarding or landing party.
Due to the aforementioned difficulties, day-to-day water travel is limited to swimming or the use of individual coracles ((if you have the imagination)).
((No, we don't have a ship and there are no ships or boats in the game or likely ever to be implemented in the game in spite of them being implied in the background (Tryker are described as "seafarers" and their settlements are described as "ports"). However, there are a lot of things that exist in Atys that are not represented in the computer game, Saga of Ryzom. No-one would dispute the existence of children, food or toilets on Atys so we can still act as though they, along with our ship, were out there in the world. Anyway, historically, the “buccaneers” of the Caribbean (rather than “pirates”) were active on land as well as sea, so we'll have no more arguments...))

What ranks are there within your crew?
Captain ((Leader)) Captain Gwillim Morgan
Boatswain (Pronounced “Bosun”) ((High Officer)) Responsible for the general upkeep of our vessel and acting as quartermaster in the collection and dispersal of stored items within it ((Well, within the guildhall when we manage to steal 10,000,000 dappers to pay for one in Fairhaven))
Pilot ((High Officer)) Responsible for navigation and sailing, but more commonly, the recruitment and trekking of new recruits to the lakelands.
((I'll add more specific posts as membership increases and more High Officers can be created))
Mate ((Officer)) The mates can recruit new seamen and generally support the work of the higher ranking crew.
Sailor ((Member)) The bulk of the crew are common pirates who may, if they so choose, call themselves Cut-throats ((Melee fighters)), Gunners ((Ranged fighters)), Wizards ((Offensive magicians)) or Surgeons ((Healers)).

((Ultimately, I'd also like to introduce democratic selection for the officer positions, since that was important to the historical buccaneers who would actually vote for the post of captain! Have to consider further if that is viable though...))

What is the guild's recruitment policy?
Any homin, regardless of race, who values the Trykers' freedom from oppression and fears the despicable Kami, will be made welcome.
((New recruits must be role-players or seriously interested in exploring role-playing within the game. Since we are a Tryker/Karavan guild, those who are actually aligned with a different race or with the Kami faction will not, of course, be welcome))

What are the guild's aims within the game?
((Please don't expect we will ever take an outpost, since we should never be able to compete with a large, PVP-focussed guild due to our wanting to enjoy the game more than to "win" at it. Hopefully, I and other members will also be able to develop at least a few Ring scenarios that are more interesting than the mainland grind to spice things up. I also hope that we will be able to engage with the other role-playing guilds on the Cho shard as well (Currently Divine Indignation and Nightsong). Day-to-day though, we aim to be a guild that encourages teams and fosters mutual support between our players))

Some of you Buccaneers talk funny – what is that all about?
Yarrrrr! Pirates, we be! Like real pirates, we be speakin'!
((Some people might enjoy talking like a “traditional” pirate. Others might prefer to adopt a Jamaican patois. Neither is compulsory, but can be fun at times, as long as you don't go so far as to be incomprehensible. Even if you don't go full out on a dialect, consider using appropriate terms, such as saying “cutlass” instead of “sword”, to be a little more immersed in the pirate-theme))


Well, I hope that all inspires one or two of you and I look forward to hearing from you. Since the guild is still in the late planning stages, I'd welcome any suggestions or ideas from other players, whether they intend to join us or not.

[zangan]

Har har har!!

This is..

Yeah, sounds awesome!

Oh, I've had something on my mind.. I was thinking that it could be fun to have a couple role-playing guilds have a 'rivalry'. Say one Kami, one Karavan.... Tell me what you think, I'll try to catch you in-game.

Hope you find some followers!! One of the best ideas ever!

[nephy13]

Thanks for the support, zangan! Yeah, in suggesting we interact with the other RP guilds, I did imply that we should hate Divine Indignation, the foul, baby-eating, Kami-licking deviants that you are!

Of course, such rivallry must be carefully managed so it doesn't get ugly and personal, but there is much scope for rant-filled fun!

On another note, you will notice that I posted my intention in spite of the current troubles with Nevrax. I must admit that I was worried about this turn of events since I firmly intend The Blackwater Buccaneers to be a newbie-focused guild, so we can explore the game together (veterans will be very welcome, but I want to make sure that a fair share of the power is in the hands of fresh, new players like myself). I am therefore planning to keenly recruit on the island as well as the mainland, since, for roleplaying purposes, you don't need to be high level and hopefully it will also help to keep people, who are locked on the island, interested in the game until things get back to normal.

[nephy13]

Right! I finished my fame-grinding now and the Blackwater Buccaneers have been created as an aligned Tryker/Karavan guild. Hopefully, we will be able to press-gang, I mean recruit, a few homins now. Don't forget, you are welcome to join, even if you are stuck on the island for the time being.

Yarrrr!