Queen of the Pirates

[Psion]

Well, had to take the plunge at some point. Let's see if my setting can hold anyone's interest for any length of time...
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Queen of the Pirates is a hard science-fiction universe set in the 23rd century AD. Humanity has expanded into a small but robust democratic alliance bordering a number of loosely aligned alien monarchies. Further setting information can be found here: Queen of the Pirates (Setting Pitch) - SciFiFur.net Community Forums
The universe is ripe with possibilities for adventure; corrupt trade franchises, space pirates, and intrigue within the various political courts of the galaxy, to name just a few things that could happen to the players.
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Name-
Age-
Species- See "What If I...?" below for specific information.
Citizenship- Characters can be members of the Terran Alliance, outcasts (don't belong anywhere, aren't registered citizens of any stellar nation,) members of one of the five Great Houses (Equid, Vulpid, Ursid, Canid, and Felid,) or a minor house. With the exception of the Great Five, species does not have to determine citizenship
Skills and Abilities- Be specific, focus on things you'd learn as part of a job and be sure to give some explanation as to how you learned your abilities in your biography
Biography- More is better but three paragraphs is good enough for starters.
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What if I...
- Want to be a human?: Humans are generally members of the Terran Alliance, though rare exceptions exist. The Terran Alliance is a fairly benevolent democratic government similar to the Federation but different enough to be interesting. Humans in this universe are not ALL evil by any stretch of the imagination though crime does exist.
- Want to be an otherkin?: Otherkin do not exist in this universe, period. I come up with enough weird stuff to throw into "the stew" without adding dragons or unicorns to the mix. May I recommend players consider taking the opportunity to "break out of their shell" instead?
- Want to be a magic-user?: Magic does not exist though there is the Arthur C. Clark effect, especially with some of the Thoran biotech thrown around. On a related note, psionics or "The Force" likewise are unavailable. Think more Firefly without River or Mass Effect without Biotics then Starwars without Jedi.
- Want to be a avian?: I have not worked with avians so there is nothing "canon" in the universe about them. If a player who wanted to be a bird really wanted to, I would be willing to work with them.
- Want to be a reptile?: I know on the other thread I said I would consider letting players create Thoran characters... I rescinded that decision after some hard thinking. If you want, we can create some story about how you were a bio-engineered slave species cloned into the present era by one of the given parties. Just remember that the Thorans did not put much stock in nonorganic technologies and did a lot with biological machines.
- Want to be a mammal?: Mammalian anthros belong to either one of the numerous political houses in Royals space or are either naturalized or born citizens of the Terran Alliance. There is a write-up for some of the major anthro races to give players ideas coming soon on the linked thread.
Feel free to post or PM any questions.

[Psion]

Battle Cry of the Day: Remember New Portugal!

Some ground rules while we're waiting for a block of time to open up, most of these are common sense but as we know common sense isn't always that common...

- No Mary-Sues: Please, just don't. I try to be a fairly flexible guy and will work with players to modify their characters if I see the potential for a problem but please no "perfect" characters.
- Sidekicks: If your character has somewhere in their bio another character who provides information and occasional aid, they need to have a separate character sheets AND will be controlled by the GM as NPCs.

More as I think of them, it's late at my end.
Edit: I've thought of more things
- Understandably, the "canon" options I've given feel rather limited in some places. Regretfully, that's because the setting was written as a novel first and a role-playing milieu second (anyone who thinks world building's easy hasn't done it, I've been burning my brain for nearly four years to hash out what I have so far.) Generally, I am easy-going enough to let most choices pass without a second glance... however, some things we will have to discuss and possibly haggle on.
If the character comes with a starship, I will want to see the specs. Nothing as detailed as the location of every bathroom is necessary but I will want to know what kind of weapons it has, how many, the ship's relative size (please be specific,) what kind of defenses it has, and anything that might pertain to it's primary function (such as the relative size of the hold on your proposed cargo ship,) and how well known the design specs are.
If the character is a weapon master familiar with multiple firearms, I want to know how big those things are so we can work out how many guns you have at any given time.
- Godmodding: Please, just don't. I've been burned before by it, still reluctant to RP on forums because of it, and REALLY don't like meatbags who think it's their right to do it for whatever reason. If you do it, I will have no problem telling you to leave and writing your character out of the RP. I can be flexible on nearly everything else I posted so far, this is the main exception.

[Yorrick]

Er... is this going to get off the ground? I might be interested, just need some time to fully read the background and create a character. Am thinking of a coyote, who is part tramp, and part story teller... inspiration is Volothamp

of the Forgotten Realms

[Psion]

Well, with you I have four potentially interested parties, some who need a little help getting things together, some who don't. So hopefully this will get going soon.

Thought of the Day: The vigilant shall always be protected...

[Psion]

(OoC: Sorry it took this long, work has finally tampered off and your GM was a screwball. Anyway, at the behest of Kitsune and Yorrick, I'm going to just get this ball rolling. There will be a couple places early on where other players can jump in. After that... it depends on who joins and where we go. With that, let the show begin.)

New Los Angeles, Terran Alliance Borderlands

At one time, this planet was a pristine world. The main continent is sprinkled liberally with small towns, expansive beaches, and open-air malls. Now, after the pirate captain Bloodclaw raided the planet and destroyed the complex control systems keeping the planet clean, all of these things served as a grim reminder of the casualities of piracy and privateers, of slavers and imperialistic corporations. But most importantly, it serves as a reminder to the human settlers that there will always be someone who lusts after what the Alliance creates.
All of this can be seen from behind ballistic glass and jury-rigged shutters as you ride past. The bus is a fairly large self-contained vehicle that has clearly seen better days. The air filter syphoning breathable oxygen out of the otherwise unbreathable miasma leaves the inside with this stale smell that reminds you of old socks. Lighting is a similarly patched together job, each of you barely has enough light to make out the other passengers. The seats, looking like they were salvaged from an old school bus, are pretty much the only thing only thing that are in decent shape.
In the driver's seat sits a stout middle-aged human with short-cropped hair. Looking up in the mirror, he gives you a sarcastic grin and nods as you all start to stir. "Rise and shine travelers! Another day in this polluted hellhole is upon us. I swear, if it weren't for the shipyards we would have all left this worthless rock by now. So, what brings you to New LA? Most folks are doing their best to leave these days."