Sea Rats: Sign-up and Discussion, ERA II

[Fraunces]

On 12/29/2023 at 9:51 PM, Ross Fisher said:

I like that. It would be great if we all doubled-down on our identities; Oleon would become a Cult, Corrington would become a Sophocracy, Eslandola would become a Megacorporation, and the Sea Rats would become a movement of freedom fighters. 

We could also just become the Pirate Faction. In real times the Pirates/buccaneers were basically Sea Rats as clever and respected captains would be hired and respected in Dutch/English/French port especially in the early age of sale.

[Ross Fisher]

13 hours ago, Fraunces said:

We could also just become the Pirate Faction

I have been told many times that the Sea Rats are not the Pirate faction, so I avoided that suggestion. That said, Pirates and Maroons were responsible for establishing a number of independent enclaves, so "Freedom Fighters" isn't an entirely inappropriate direction to take things. 

[Capt Wolf]

4 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

I have been told many times that the Sea Rats are not the Pirate faction, so I avoided that suggestion.

Alas, I think that was the biggest mistake in early BoBS: deciding that the Sea Rats weren't all pirates. It should be the pirate faction, IMO.  Hopefully Era III will fix that in some fashion.

[Tezclatipoca]

2 hours ago, Capt Wolf said:

Alas, I think that was the biggest mistake in early BoBS: deciding that the Sea Rats weren't all pirates. It should be the pirate faction, IMO.  Hopefully Era III will fix that in some fashion.

Yes it was a mistake IMO. I agree with you.

I hope the new rules could help players to play some real bad guys by helping them in doing some acts of piracy and real ship attacks without risking to loose too much. I always found too risky to attack by myself the ships passing at my vessel range... 

As it is actually, I find the rules too gentle for the trading actions and too hard for the piracy actions.

[RobTheVan]

Could subfactions be a potential solution?

Like for the Searats there could be subdivisions between aggressive pirates, liberty loving freedom fighters, and independent traders. 

Eslandola could be divided between Conquistador style conquerors and powerful trade companies.

Oleon could have more royalist factions, church minded missionaries or revolutionary enlightenment minded factions.

Could help provide some templates for how you want to play as a faction and also add some internal strife that would guide what the nations become.

[Keymonus]

5 minutes ago, RobTheVan said:

Could subfactions be a potential solution?

Like for the Searats there could be subdivisions between aggressive pirates, liberty loving freedom fighters, and independent traders. 

Eslandola could be divided between Conquistador style conquerors and powerful trade companies.

Oleon could have more royalist factions, church minded missionaries or revolutionary enlightenment minded factions.

Could help provide some templates for how you want to play as a faction and also add some internal strife that would guide what the nations become.

I think in principle it can be a nice solution, and in many cases, we are already doing something similar. In Oleon we have nobility titles and, in parallel, ranks in the clergy (my character is a Count and a Regiment General, but we also have a Bishop in the faction @Ross Fisher). However, the participation at the moment is not very high (3-4 active members per faction, more or less), so we would basically have 1 person per subgroup! 

[Kwatchi]

4 hours ago, Capt Wolf said:

Alas, I think that was the biggest mistake in early BoBS: deciding that the Sea Rats weren't all pirates. It should be the pirate faction, IMO.  Hopefully Era III will fix that in some fashion.

Yep. From my discussions with @SkaForHire, Era 1 Sea Rats were just to be a catch-all for different play styles: pirates, small nations, independent traders, indigenous tribes, etc..  That ran afoul of Era 2 MRCA "targeting" mechanics though, so the Black Flagged system was created to patch over the problem.

HOT TAKE: I have argued in the past that the Sea Rats as a faction are really no longer necessary (shocking, I know).  But being Black Flagged in the main three factions covers that pirate play style and I don't believe anyone is gaming as an NPC nation (I was leaning to do Mardier but no free time) or anything beyond the normal. 

Ok, @Professor Thaum is not exactly normal.

In fact, the present Sea Rat "no ship upkeep" special rule swung things a bit too far for me; where I used to desperately scrounge up coin for operating costs by building land properties/story builds, I can now just sail 'em and forget.  It stopped being a building game and more a simulator.

With the remaining player base so spread out, maybe the time has come to consolidate a bit.  I can't say it won't sadden me to see the faction retired, but it would be for the betterment of the game's health.

[Fraunces]

5 hours ago, Capt Wolf said:

Alas, I think that was the biggest mistake in early BoBS: deciding that the Sea Rats weren't all pirates. It should be the pirate faction, IMO.  Hopefully Era III will fix that in some fashion.

I was enthusiastic in the beginning to be a Sea Rat but as time progressed the need for the faction decreased as many NPC Pirates were the real pirates and we are just a faction of everything else. So it would be logical to change our faction to the pirate faction with some new rules and scrapping the old rules. Traders can just join another faction bc who cares if you're a blue-red-or greencoat if you are just trading and doing harmless adventures? The Pirate Faction would be the place to go if you're a Blag flagger but you wouldn't directly have big trouble with the three main factions if you are harmless I guess. The factions could keep a wanted list like the real Nations had.

1 hour ago, RobTheVan said:

Could subfactions be a potential solution?

 

It could but would not really add anything to make the now unofficial roles per faction official I guess. Also @Keymonus & @Kwatchi's active-player-amount-argument is a valid point.

37 minutes ago, Kwatchi said:

consolidate a bit

I agree but a Pirate Faction is still very very needed in a game like this one I'd say.  Consolidation is needed but with our current playerbase I'd say it should be in  MAP-size and NPC nations. I'd love for Mardier to come back as the mayor power again and teaming up with or claiming all the small nations back in it's line. We'd have: the big NPC federation Mardier controlling again a lot of islands, and could be used for most storylines (Spanish-empire influence) and the three playable nations: ESL (Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch influence combined), COR (Brits) Oleon (French) and the Pirates (Sea Rats + NPC Pirates which are just solo pirates, basically the same as now).

The new leadership would control the NPC's actions.

Edited January 3, 2024 by Fraunces
wanted to delete and go back in the ERAIII topic but I can't anymore. Sorry guys let's talk more in that topic.

[Capt Wolf]

3 minutes ago, Fraunces said:

leadership would control the NPC's actions

FYI, this is how it worked in Era II, and it is a time sink. (I ran all the NPC pirates, so I know!) I believe the goal for Era III is to avoid the need for NPCs and concentrate on PCs.

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

Cap’n Tongs

Elwood W. Ulch was once a decorated privateer, however the loss of both hands severely limited his usefulness. Lost and searching for his purpose, he became a fisherman. He eventually had two children named Emily and Edward. Once they grew old enough, they learned many skills from their father including fishing and cooking. Some time later they opened a makeshift restaurant right there on the open waters. Because Elwood disconnected himself from the previous faction he was aligned with, he gravitated towards the Sea Rats. He felt like he was an outcast but still wanted to bring delicious cuisine to seafarers like himself. 

The Sea Rats welcomed Elwood and children and gave him the nickname “Cap’n Tongs” due to his metallic hands. And they named the floating restaurant the Sea Rat’s Scullery. 

How did he lose his hands? What faction was he a part of? What happened to the mother of Emily and Edward? These are all stories for another time. 

Edited April 6, 2024 by SevenDeadlyStreamers

[NOD]

The See Rats welcome the Elwood family!   

 

You are not unknown to me:

 

The Sea Rats are the place to be! 

Edited April 6, 2024 by NOD

[Yperio_Bricks]

Welcome to BotBS @SevenDeadlyStreamers

Great characters you have there and the restaurant looks like a nice place to stop by between all the raiding and plundering! And i really want to know how Elwood lost his hands!

[LM71Blackbird]

Welcome to the Brick Seas @SevenDeadlyStreamers!

I'm looking looking forward to hearing more stories about the Elwoods!

[Professor Thaum]

Welcome onboard comrade.

[Bricksbypidy]

Welcome! Good to see new players! Have fun!

[Fraunces]

On 4/6/2024 at 6:53 PM, SevenDeadlyStreamers said:

Cap’n Tongs

Welcome! Refreshing story!

[ImBrickingIt]

After some thinking over a long break (definitely didn’t forget), here is my Sig Fig :

Thomas Tidebourne

 

Born in 597 AE into the prestigious Ravenscroft family in the bustling coastal city of Belson, Thomas Ravenscroft was raised with the expectations of noble lineage. His father, Baron Alistair Ravenscroft, was a high-ranking officer in the Corrington Navy, a fleet known for its discipline and strategic skill. The Ravenscroft family, with its ties to naval service expected Thomas to follow in his father’s footsteps, but since he was young, Thomas felt the weight of his family’s expectations like chains, and the rigid, structured world of Corrington never sat well with him He changed his name to fit his new life (Ravenscroft to Tidebourne) but kept part of his old uniform as a bandana around his neck. As of right now he is in the process of acquiring a vessel of his own, he awaits the unknown of his new life.

Let me know if I have made any errors with any dates locations or anything else, I tried to research most of these as best as possible but I may be wrong.

 

[Ross Fisher]

13 hours ago, ImBrickingIt said:

Born in 597 AE

They grow up so fast. Kid probably doesn't even remember the 90s. 

[ImBrickingIt]

9 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

They grow up so fast. Kid probably doesn't even remember the 90s. 

Yeah the idea was that since I'm new to BoBS I would make my sig-fig young so he would be new to everything. Learning the game with my character is probably the best way to explain it.

[Ross Fisher]

@ImBrickingIt Smart thinking! It makes sense to start with a younger character, so that they can age with the game, gain promotions and earn properties at a logical pace. I started with an already old character seven years ago and the weird uptick in his career at a late stage has always bothered me. Plus now he should be in a retirement home, not roaming the brick seas. 

[Kwatchi]

Nice lighting in the picture.

[Professor Thaum]

On 11/21/2024 at 10:18 AM, Ross Fisher said:

it makes sense to start with a younger character, so that they can age with the game, gain promotions and earn properties at a logical pace.

Mmmmmh. What do you mean ?

Should I take this as a personal attack ?

 

[Ross Fisher]

On 12/7/2024 at 2:51 PM, Professor Thaum said:

Should I take this as a personal attack ?

?

No. I already explained this comment was about my last character? 

[Professor Thaum]

2 hours ago, Ross Fisher said:

?

No. I already explained this comment was about my last character? 

I was joking matey don't worry

[Fraunces]

Most welcome Thomas!