Pirates Setting

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=Setting=
Hundreds of years ago a great cataclysm rendered the low lying areas of the world uninhabitable, covered by a deep crimson fog that is poisonous to most forms of life, known as the Smoke. In this time of struggle, humanity took to the skies aboard giant airships. Since then the Tannhaus Dynasty has forged a vast Empire at the centre of the continent, pushing rebels and pirates out into the fringes of the world, out into the Jagged Peaks.
The Jagged Peaks are a region of the world where sharp mountain tops pierce the thick clouds of Smoke, the Empire's reach does not extend to this region of the world. Here the pirate lifestyle has flourished, at one point commanding three great pirate skyships, the Mushmahhu, Ushumgallu, and Bashmu, now the Empire has sunk two of these, and hunts the last of them, only the Bashmu still roams the skies.
Captain Marlinspike and his crew have become known throughout the Jagged Peaks as the last great gathering of adventurers and individuals that feel no love for the Empire. Captain Marlinspike leads his fleet from the bridge of the Bashmu, a Nidhogg-class skyship, similar in size and role to a modern day aircraft carrier, his fleet is comprised of the frigate Cutlass, and the corvettes Tern and Kestrel. Many tales have been told of the great pirate fleets, but all words tell of those with Sun on their backs and the winds of change in their hearts.
Of late, the Empire has declared that the pirate fleets of Captains Albrecht and Marlinspike are the sparks of a greater rebellion that threatens the Empire's very existence. With Albrecht recently defeated and the Ushumgallu destroyed, the Empire is close to putting an end to this life of freedom for good.
More information is available about many aspects of the setting. If your character has the listed skills or qualities (usually a good Lore skill), or other good reason to know more, or if you just want to keep reading and don't mind a bit of meta-knowledge, expand these sections to find out more.
Lore 4+
From myths, legends and historical records it is known that people once lived on a landmass that existed below the Smoke, the decision to move to higher ground, and indeed skyships, seems to have been made over 500 years ago. The most accurate guesses suggest that, at that time, the entire continent was wracked by a great war that ended with the arrival of the Smoke. The six nations from which all current people are derived, were as follows: Gi, Patria, Kainga, Heimat, Vatan and Gazar.
Following the emigration to skyships, the world entered an era with few records, it appears that the skyships banded into several groups, keeping contact with each other within a local area, but losing touch with the other fleets scattered throughout the world. In this time the various races that inhabit the world today first began to appear, diverging from a common ancestral species.
The current world is loosely divided into various states of which the Empire is the largest and most well defined. The many powers of the world engage in trade and war with each other as diplomacy, and the Empire's expansionist policy, permits. Although the Empire is well known, existing (broadly speaking) in the middle of the known world, there are other places that are outside of their remit. To the northwest are the Shimmering Isles ancestral home of the Laiki and to the south east are the Highlands were many Altatierrans can be found. To the northeast are a mass of splintered republics who cooperate together in opposition to the Empire, collective referred to as the Free States. To the southwest of the Empire, on the fringes of the settled world are the Jagged Peaks.
Life on the Bashmu
Shipboard life is not easy for anyone. Maintaining a ship of the Bashmu's size is no easy task when you can't access proper shipyards, and the same goes for a crew of such large size. Although the day is dominated by work most crew members are able to eke out some leisure time each day late at night or early in the morning, and meals are regular, though on duty staff can have their meals when off shift, unless there's a supply shortage which usually indicates a bigger problem. Discipline is rigorous but generally this is accepted as a necessity for continued survival. Despite all this the crew will tell anyone that life on the Bashmu is better than the alternative.
The Bashmu is organised into five main sections: Command, Marines, Engineering, Medical / Research and Intelligence. The command section deals with organisation and ensuring smooth communication and running of the ship. The Marines are essentially the muscle, making up the vast majority of the trained combatants. Engineering keeps the boat in the sky and all vehicles operational, they are very popular. Medical / Research keep people breathing, healthy and all that implies. Intelligence is in charge of keeping the crew well informed and out of any obvious threats.
Captain Marlinspike, and the heads of each of the five sections will be run as GM NPCs for the weekend. You can have a look at their full characters on the forum's character thread (you need to scroll down a bit).
Profession: Command
The command section is comprised of multiple different groups. There is the bridge team, which doesn't just have the Captain, but all those who have a hand in the running of the ship. By convention all the section heads have a role here, but are often too busy with their own departments to make an appearance. The bridge team, typically split themselves into alpha, beta and gamma shifts, though nobody really wants to have gamma shift. There are also the pilots. These are the people that other members of the crew consider marginally crazy, after all, they spend their time jumping off the ship in much flimsier vehicles. Most of the ship would rather have several layers between themselves and the smoke, where possible. Still, having the guts to do that job, tends to bring with it a modicum of authority and respect.
Profession: Marines
Being part of the Marines makes you part of something. That is what they all tell themselves. "Strong Alone, Stronger Together" is their motto. When not fighting battles, they frequently practice together, and play team games like those found at the pirate championship. Nevertheless, it's not all fun and games. Marines often find themselves picking up odd jobs which the other departments don't have time to do. Peeling potatoes, and cleaning the deck are not jobs which they want to do, but when given a task they get things done. Or else, Alexa might give them an even harsher job. They have a clear hierarchy, which is important in the chaos of battle.
Profession: Engineering
Manaia has set two rules for his section. The first rule is "if you're told to do something, you do it". The second is "if it doesn't work, you ain't done". Both rules work rather well for the engineers, who are rarely directly told to do anything in the first place, and who are committed to making broken things work anyway. Generally speaking though, the hangars and workshops are a relaxed place to work when things aren't under attack. That might be something to do with the secret distilleries which they definitely do not have.
Whilst the hangars and workshops are a nice place to work, that is not the case with the engine rooms. Hot, smelly, dangerous, and with a distinct lack of spirits, working in the engine room is either an unlucky fall of the shifts, or more likely light punishment duty. It is also the frequent haunt of Manaia.
Profession: Medical / Research
It is safe to say that anyone who is capable of serving under Dr. Gonzalo Suarez has far more resilience than the toughest of marines. His eccentricities have meant that even dedicated doctors have a hard time. Nevertheless, those who have stuck around, have typically earned some measure of respect. Their barracks are attached to the med-bay, so they can always be on call in emergencies. Whilst some of the medical corps are unwilling to cause any harm, far more have no such reservations, and are more than willing to put their medical knowledge to creative use.
Attached to the medical wing, is the research lab where the scientists and people noted for their smarts, though not necessarily of the street variety, can put their accumulated knowledge to good use. There are a number of sleeping points in the research lab, where sleeping bodies can be placed when they collapse in research exhaustion.
Profession: Intelligence
Headed by Tryphena Stileta, the intelligence service prides itself in gathering any and all information on the Empire and their activities, in order to further their resistance. They recruit anyone who can further these aims, from petty thieves, to Inquisitors of the Celestial Order. Some do their own spying, whilst others are handlers, but for certain: if something is to be discovered then the Intelligence service will be investigating it shortly. The Intelligence service feels it is important to maintain a degree of separation, so that nobody knows all secrets, as such they don't have their own mess or rec-rooms, nor their own barracks. Instead they mingle with the other departments in the crew. Only Tryphena knows everybody's role, but she keeps that information close.
Races
Five different races inhabit the Jagged Peaks. Tannites, rebels and outcasts from the Empire. Laiki, elegant fox people from the wealthy Shimmering Isles far to the north. Myrmidons, broad-set warriors with a great sense of honour and clan, who inhabit the Citadel here in the Peaks. Altatierrans, goat people who love knowledge and exploration, from far off floating islands high in the sky. And Noa, small short lived scavengers and nomads.
To find out more about these races, visit the Races page.
Places of Interest
Since the time of the great cataclysm, people have created many permanent settlements throughout the known world. To find out more about some of the ones you might be visiting, and some of the more important places you wont see, visit the Places of Interest page.
Boats
The standard skyship is a Boyante wood and metal frame attached to a gas-filled balloon and powered by a Shirazi Engine. Boyante wood is a light coloured wood flecked with red veins, it grows only on the Highlands and is ideal for airships as it is almost as light as air.
Most ships boast a healthy roster of crew both civilian and combat. Ships like the Bashmu are geared towards aircraft and are called Nidhogg-class carriers (named after the first ship of their design). While they have few heavy cannons to fire at ships they have a large compliment of bombers, fighters and boarding ships to make up the difference. There are several other classes of large ship with various purposes, as well as smaller classes such as frigates and corvettes, some of which sport the more traditional high seas style of broadside cannonade and use their increased speed and manoeuvrability to bring them to bear against capital sized targets.
Many smaller types of ornithopters, gyrocopters, and gliders exist, carrying anywhere from 1 to 10 people, these craft are often hand built from mixed timber (though Boyante wood is still dominant). The smaller size means these craft can be built without dedicated dockyards or specialised labour, and this has resulted in a vast array of styles and makes of these vessels.
Lore 4+
The vast majority of skyships on this side of the world were created centuries ago by the up and coming Empire. The Empire has since lost its shipyards to disaster and destruction, but the designs they used are still seen throughout the skies of the Jagged Peaks and beyond.
Hope-class - 1300ft x 750ft - 600-800 crew, 5000-25000 civilian
Floating sky cities, their design and construction pre-dates the Empire and aerial warfare, as such these skyships are purely civilian in design.
Leviathan-class - 1200ft x 550ft - 1000-1200 crew, 3000-8000 civilian
The Leviathan, and other ships of its class, were armoured whales of skyships, a very early design which started the Tannhaus rise to power.
Nidhogg-class - 1050ft x 300ft - 3000-4000 crew
The mainstay capital ship of the Imperial Navy, these ships function as aircraft carriers and command centers. The Bashmu, and its sister ships Mushmahhu and Ushumgallu, are Nidhogg class.
Frigates - 210ft x 50ft - 300-400 crew
Your standard ship of the line, several styles of frigate exist, all about the same size and armament, with traditional broadside cannons.
Corvettes - 90ft x 25ft - 50-60 crew
The smallest recognisable class of skyships, corvettes are fast scouts and gunships.
Engineering 4+ OR Tradecraft 4+
Despite the balloon and Boyante wood, the Shirazi Engines are the only thing that allow such heavy craft to leave the ground, without them skyships would not be possible. Hidden deep within the bowels of all larger skyships, these engines fill hot and fume filled engine rooms with their metal tanks and pipes. The secret to their function is mostly lost to the ages save for few extremely skilled engineers.
Corvette design is unique in that the ship is small enough not to have a Shirazi Engine, instead held aloft by 4 or 5 arcstones embedded into the design of the hull. Ornithopters and gliders are smaller still, requiring no magic or special properties to keep them aloft other than the laws of aerodynamics, and a generous usage of Boyante wood.
Flora and Fauna
The mountains of the Jagged Peaks are home to a wide variety of plants and creatures, many of whom have been mutated by the effects of the Smoke, and many of whom will make your life unpleasant. To be prepared for them, read up on them on the Flora and Fauna page.
Religion
While religion in the peaks is disorganised most follow the path of the seven precepts. Similar to the wisdom of yoga and the bodily chakras, by following the precepts it is believed that one may live in balance and harmony with all around them by knowing the world, knowing others and knowing themselves. The precepts are preached and guided by the many hermit-like and peaceful gurus of many races; some of whom make their homes at the scattered temples of the peaks.
The Empire embrace a differing philosophical belief, based on the idea of people being dedicated to their duty to the Empire and acting as cogs in the "glorious celestial machine".
Lore 4+
Each of the seven precept has a different concept, a verb and a colour, they are as follows:
Crown - cosmic, I know, purple
Eye - spiritual, I see, indigo
Voice - communication, I speak, blue/turquoise
Heart - compassion, I love, green
Soul - emotions, I feel, yellow
Root - desires, I do, orange
Core - balance, I am, red
While there is no official organisation of the religion, there are many practitioners that are thought of as keepers or spreaders of the faith. These individuals are called gurus or guides. They are often partly hermit like individuals who do what they can to tend to the nature of where they live. The temples in the area are often home to small communities of the faithful who take it upon themselves to tend to the temples and their surrounding area.
Empathy 4+
In day to day life, there are seven precepts to live by, they are:
I know - to be always seeking greater knowledge of the world around you
I see - to be always mindful of the deeper meaning of the things we see
I speak - to consider carefully the words that you use, and the impact they have
I love - to be kind and considerate to all
I feel - to accept all emotion as an expression of your true self
I do - to understand what motivates yourself and consider these motivations before acting
I am - to achieve a balance in all aspects of your life
In layman's terms, know the world, know others, know yourself. If one lives by these precepts, they will be in balance with everything.
Race: Tannite
The Empire, and many Tannites in general, follow the belief that they are each a cog in a great celestial machine. Each cog is a specific shape for a specific duty. When they mesh and turn fluidly, the machine functions. When cogs are misshapen, forced into the wrong place or refuse to turn they must be discarded or re-forged. Only then will the machine turn once more.
The ultimate belief is that when the machine is large enough, it will be able to ascend to the heavens. During ascension all of the fallen cogs will be gathered and uses for them will be found once more, allowing the machine to work endlessly and travel the stars.
This belief in the celestial machine is a core foundation of much of the Empire's progress and oppression.
Tech
Much of the tech in the jagged peaks is like steampunk, but without the steam or the clockwork. With the limited material resources in the area and overall pre Victorian technological level, industrial scale and machine-tooling are nearly impossible. As such most things are forged by hand over a very long time. Equally without access to vast amounts of combustibles many machines and devices are run with pistons and pump based pressure.
In military terms there is a mixture of hand to hand weapons and firearms ranging from personal to ship sized. Firearms come in both the louder black powder and more modern gas powered variety, though the relative scarcity of firearms overall means that swords axes and spears still have a significant presence in combat. While many believe in the reliability and stopping power of black powder rifles, the semi automatic nature of gas is making them ever increasingly popular. Personal armour is very light-medieval and mostly depends on how much material you can get a hold of, mostly jelly-leather and studs but there are rarer cases of chain and plate metals and ceramics.
Magic
Magic comes in the form of artefacts powered by arcstones, odd shaped metal stones suspended in glass, the glass bauble is then often set within a larger item for practical reasons. Each artefact can do a specific thing but are thematically equivalent to a low level D&D item such as a plus one sword and are very rare (players won't start with these items - they may show up during play). Otherwise, people cannot cast magic or spells.
Lore 4+
The name Zavier Rios is synonymous with the power of arcstones. Originally referred to as philosophers stones, they were created in the great pursuit of alchemy. Zavier Rios was the first true alchemist, and is agreed to be the father of arcstones and arc-technology. Historians are unsure of the exact dates of Rios' life, however he is known to have lived and worked in Patria, the original birthplace of Altatierran culture, well before the great cataclysm. The age of the skyship would not have come to pass without the work of Rios and his contemporaries.
Legends tell that there were once great relics that were incredibly powerful and destructive but it is thought by most to be exaggerations of history and that people were describing the effects of an artefact with much hyperbole.
Engineering 4+
An actual arcstone is a small blob (about the size of a marble) of semi-crystallised red goop (similar consistency to ice cream), the metal casing around the arcstone protects from the majority of the radiation it gives off, while the inside of the casing is elaborately sculpted with intricate and arcane designs that allow the arcstone to resonate within the chamber altering the very fabric of reality around it and generating the specific effect desired. Any given effect would require a given internal design of the arcstones casing, unfortunately the tools, facilities and designs for creating these casings have been lost, and splitting open an existing arcstone would destroy it. On a related note, an arcstone that is split open to reveal the blood red core inside should be disposed of immediately as it will now be leaking plenty of radiation.
The Wilderness
The vast majority of the world exists outside of the confines of human settlements, skyships and other relatively civilised areas. To find out more about the world you might have to adventure in, check out the Wilderness page.
==Useful terms==
If you are having trouble with your jargon.
Mountains
1. Peak. Top.
2. Snow line. Edge of the snow cap. 2500m - 2800m above sea level.
3. Tree line. Altitude up to where trees can still grow. Above here it is too cold for trees, but smaller plants create a tundra terrain, until it become too cold even for them. 1700m - 2100m above sea level.
4. Smoke line. Edge of the Smoke. 1500m - 1700m above sea level.
Boats
1. Balloon. Giant gas filled balloon that helps keep the ship in the air.
2. Quarterdeck. Main open deck, the majority of the top of the ship.
3. Bridge. Where the steering wheel is.
4. Sails. More accurately wings or flight rudders. Covered wooden frames similar to aircraft wings.
5. Bow. Front.
6. Stern. Back.
7. Keel. Bottom.
8. Hull. Outside.
9. Port. Left.
10. Starboard. Right.
11. Fore. Forwards.
12. Aft. Backwards.