» Mon Oct 07, 2013 1:48 am The Abecean Sea
A 'Group Adventure RP' by ThoseTolerableNoobs
------Introduction-------
Record of the honoured Admiral Aerin Richton, Captain of the most blessed ship 'Hammer of Anvil', on a bearing for the Chain, 6th Frostfall, 4E 437:
It is with no small sense of trepidation that I undertake this cruise, vaunted though it may be by the Emperor from the comfort of the Imperial Isle. Nunnying traders was not quite what I had in mind as to this ship's purpose, when I first saw her drawn out to sea, from my lodgings back in Anvil, but I have been told that our presence is necesary and when given the honour of captaining such a revolution that is all I need. Still, I find myself jumping at every twinkling light on the horizion, hoping that we my find an opponent ready to test our impressive new armaments.
The Chain, to where we are headed, has been a crucial trading post for the past fifty years as far as I understand (coin was never a strong suit for me), serving as a neutral point between Redguards, Imperials and even Misanthropist elves from south of the Blue Divide, but the greed turned up by trade and by coin has rotted through to its core, and it now poses a great problem for our economic designs. The East Empire Company was permited, by Imperial Decree no less, to arm its tradeships, a harmless precaution to ward against the horrors of these waters. After all, no man would sail undefended as far west as the chain without some sort of defense agaisnt the Hellspawn of Thras, Raiders from Stros M'Kai, or paticularly idle Thalmor police-ships scrapping for a intricate social violation to provoke attack. Evidently, this concession was a mistake, for the Company have now fortified themselves in their trading posts, and have begun ruthlessly sinking Imperial and Elven ships alike that have attempted an approach. No doubt they are embittered by a recent, and some say crippling, rise in tax, but I still find this reaction from an Imperial sanctified guild most disturbing.
Our ships have been sent to ensure trading in The Chain continues, but I must note my concern as to the plan. The fact the East Empire Company is indeed Imperial has riled Elven supremacists and driven tensions between the Dominion and the Empire to a remarkable high. Whispers from within the Thalmor council suggest that they suspect these sinkings to be an Imperial ruse - but what effect they think we wish to cause with this I do not know. Perhaps they fear a fleet is amassing there, or are scrapping for war themselves. Either way, I think our fleet would be better served patrolling The Blue Divide for any trangressions of the typical trading routes, or ensuring Stros M'Kai vigilantes don't follow Thalmor logic, and hit at our holdings in Stirk or the surrounding archipleagio.
But since my dispensation comes directly from the Emperess, we head for the chain, and I do not expect much of a battle. I may at least enjoy the pleasures of this craft. I find the subtle humming of its steam soothing, and the dwemer style orrey at the back to be a welcome and beautiful distraction for the mundane journey I undertake.
I will make another entry soon,
Aerin Richton
------Details------
The RP will take place on and around the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:Tam-Maps-West_Tamriel.jpg, on Tamriel's west coast, two hundred years after the events of Skyrim. During this time boundaries have changed little, owing to brief internal strife within the Dominion consisting of what was thought to be a struggle for power, and the informed decision of the Empire to increase their naval power during this time. In this timeline, we will assume that the attempts on the Emperor's life in Skyrim failed, and that the Mede dynasty has continued into a current Emperess. Since Talos worship has been policed, it has moved from a mainstream relgion to a large, declining, underground sect. It has even drawn some disdain similar to that directed to Daedra worshipers, much to Thalmor delight.
Though I may take this feature out if too many disagree with it, technology in the Empire, and now increasingly in the Dominon, has progressed somewhat, with extensive research being made into the workings of Dwemer machinery unearthed in Blackreach. Now, enchanced and near sentient synthetic soul gems provide rudimentary steam power comparable to Morrowind Dwemer ruins - and this has been employed in ships - which use flame spells to evapouate water - as well as to provide rudimentary street lighting and weaponry and production advacements. We're talking 1790s level tech here, nothing too powerful (and certainly not steampunk).
In this RP, the Empire, Hammerfell and the Dominion have been trading on islands called The Chain, used as a neutral zone, as it is difiucult for Dominion citizens to enter the Empire, and vice versa. Recently, the East Empire Company has taken over the largest island in the chain and in a remarkable feat of gurillea tactics have taken it and the small settlement, Grey-Sand Cove, and fortified against any incursion. Our characters will be crewmen aboard Hammer of Anvil , a brand new Imperial Steamboat being sent to clear the rebels from The Chain, or officials related to this conflict in either Stros M'Kai, Anvil, or Firsthold (just to keep things local). There will be many roles to fill aboard the ship, so take your pick from:
- A Navigator
- An Oarsman
- A Soldier
- A Cook
- A Trader
- A Thalmor Justiciar
Or any others you can concieve of. I myself will control the character from the letter, Aerin Richton, descendent of the shamed naval commander Amiel and Captain of the Hammer of Anvil. Whilst on the ship he will be your commanding officer.
When we start the RP we will be at sea, heading into the unknown in a time of high tension, when we could be attacked by any number of things. Perhaps a sea-monster summoned by the Sload will strike the boat, perhaps the Dominion will finally make its move, or perhaps a bored pirate may see a chance for loot to take back to Stros M'Kai. I will try and keep in interesting. Eventually though we will land on The Chain and begin to take it back, though all may not be as it seems...
------Admin------
Character Sheet: (Mine is fairly long, but that is by no means what is expected
)Race:
Age:
Faction and Occupation:
Birthsign:
Skills:
Appearance:
Weapons and Armour:
History:
Rules:
2) No bullying, swearing, or in character real world cursing
3) No Vampires, Werewolves, or overly sixualised or unnecisarly emotionally unstable characters.
4) Don't mock other people for their writting ability
5) Post fairly reguarly. We're not talking once a day, or once a week, but no multi-month long absences except in extreme
circumstances, okay?
6) Have fun, you kids
Accepted Characters:
Admiral Aerin Richton
Name: Aerin Richton
Race: Imperial
Age: 42
Faction and Occupation: Imperial Navy, Captain
Birthsign: The Lord
Skills: Knows the waters of the Abecean Sea exceeedingly well, having been raised in sailor-merchant family from Anvil. This
makes him an excellent navigator. Is also fairly astute, and has a keen sense of observation. This leads him to be a
decent tactician, getting to know his enemy well, but it can sometimes draw him his crew's ire when he noticed things
are askew. He is also well versed in the new types of magic which allow Dwemer-like mechanical contraptions. A major
shortcoming of his is combat, and he is poor with a sword.
Appearance: Relatively tall, around 6ft 2inches while in full Imperial Naval uniform, with many of the stern, angular features of
the Imperial Race. Aerin has black hair which runs to just below his ears, a manner in which he keeps it so as to
offset his fairly large ears. Grey eyes and a rounded nose are about the only features which one could not find
on the typical stock on Colvians, as otherwise he toes the line between atractive and repulsive at a favourable
average.
Weapons and Armour: Wears the typical steel briast place of Imperial naval officers - a rounded piece configured to give a
little under heavy impact of projectiles emblazoned with the Imperial Dragon and the words
'The Empire is Law, the Law is Sacred'. Beneath this he wears a brighht red tunic, streamlined enough
to drain water though with enough room to move arms comfortably. at the waist he wears black
trousers woven with chain mail, and sturdy steeled boots which make an awful clanging noise when
walking. Around his waste is a belt, and on his right side he wears a scabbard with an orichalcum
shortsword, plain and without much scarring from evident lack of use. Above this sits a small, equally
unused one-shot flintlock.
History: Aerin was born in Anvil, to a family scorned by history, but at least by a history not many people knew. Aerin and his
ilk were descened from Admiral Amiel Richton, a ruthless lap-dog of Tiber Septim who placated the Redguard Crown
kingdoms in a bloody engagment outside Stros M'Kai, only to be dishonourably killed by a piece of low-class redguard
rabble. Nonetheless, Aerin's family clung to their distant hero as an exemplar, of what they could achieve and what they
should aspire to. In the years after Amiel's death, now around 1000 years ago, the Richtons fell from the favour of the
Imperial government, but were able to use the remarkable wealth Amiel accumulated to purchase a sizeable stake in the
East Empire Company, and they turned their hand to trade.
And so, in his youth, Aerin was given two pillars to aspire to. The first, coin, the heartbeat and strength of the whole
Empire. With coin, he was taught, you could control all in the material world, even the minds of others. The second,
Ambition, a trait embodied by Amiel, the family patriarch, taught that one should never be content with what one had.
Aerin, however, was a rebelious youth, and failed misserable to stand up to these moral guidelines. Not only was he
the better part of hopeless in the department of mathematics, and therefore money for much of his tutealage, but
he was also an increasingly modest and timid person, concious of other people's opinions and with large desire to
integrate. So, when he was old enough, his family discharged him to a guild of his choosing, and put their faith instead in
his more rutheless sister, Marta.
At 18, Aerin joined the Imperial Navy, having enjoyed sailing on his families trading ship during his youth, and frequently
making journeys to Rihad, the Chain, and even the Pirate-ridden and tantalisingly exotic Stros M'Kai (a place where he
spent much of his shore leave at the bottom of a bottle, out of coin either from drink or from run ins with thieves). Here, he
was recognised as astute, and passed into a particular line of training which invovled having the particulars of ship building
, regional politics, and even the dreaded coin-studies, taught. When he was finished, he was immediately asigned as first
mate on a wind-and-oar powered ship, Akatosh's Reckoning, patroling the Iliac Bay for troublesome Breton or Reachmen
incursions. It was here that he saw his first taste of battle, during a particulalry bloody but nonetheless irrelevant and
completely expected skirmish between the Kingdoms of Sentinel and Wayrest. The Legion sent his ship to aid in the
skirmish, and Aerin's tactical skills were immediately distingused as he managed to fend off three Rihad ships, even if
the encounter resulted from a mismaneover on his part. The skirmish was repressed, naturally, but not without garnering
some tension between Hammerfell and the Empire.
This tension, however, was overshadowed when in 4E 327, the Thalmor launched a suprise attack along Hammerfell's
southern shores. This was no more than a harrying test of their defences, but it was deemed dangerous enough
to the Thalmor government that they needed to keep the Empire in the dark. While patroling the Abecean Aerin's ship
encountered a Dominion blockade, intended to turn ships away, but through a dificulty with language, the encounter
turned to fighting. Aerin, his ship flanked by two other ships had to evade Thalmor attackers until he could reach a
particularly obscure rocky outcrop, to run the Thalmor aground on. The skirmish was covered up, but the Empire
could not allow it to pass without formally making up with the Elves, and so Aerin was publically brought before a tribunal
and made to appologise to the Thalmor government, before being stripped of his command.
After this, Aerin was stationed as patrol along the safe trade routes between Rihad and Anvil, and enjoyed a mundane
career, becoming jaded as to Thalmor strength and Imperial stupidity. It was a suprise then, when the command of this
new ship was offered, and a mission to liberate The Chain.
