It is now the 26th century. Humanity has left Earth behind hundreds of years ago, spreading out across the infinite dark of space in a frenzy not seen since the discovery of the New World. Human inhabited space is so large now that the human mind simply cannot comprehend the distances, a map showing it's entirety too dense to make out individual planets. Yet for all it's worth, we are barely grasping the straws when it comes to knowing more about the universe and exploring it. As far and wide as the colonized space reaches, it is so sparsely populated that between cultural and economical hubs there might be dozens or hundreds of star systems that have only token infrastructure.
But there is a new frenzy on the horizon. The constant of life has been the same since the colonization frenzy of the 23th century, but it seems that there is a new wave on the horizon. On the outer reaches of human space, on a colony world much the same as what you and I come from, some farmer dug up a piece of stone in their backyard that promises to change history. That farmer was Max Irving, now the head of the Galactic Commission for Alien Life, an entity that brew new life into space travel. And that stone? He named it the Rosetta Stone, just like the rock we found back on Earth that helped us translate ancient languages. Except the languages we found on this one were far, far more ancient than anyone would've ever dared to guess. Because scientists are known for their originality we've named the aliens who left it behind "Precursors", though we're not even sure if it's just one language or more.
That was all over 50 years ago now, and as a civilization we stopped covering the discovery of alien life all over the news. Mostly because we've never found any of them, just the relics that they've left behind. The hunt for knowledge about these ancient aliens, has been out of the public's attention for a while now, but that hasn't stopped intrepid explorers and daredevils from pushing the boundary of space even further than before. The GCAL offers bounties and commissions for exploring new and uncharted star systems and galactic formations: something far easier in the technologically advanced ago than it was for those who laid down the first houses in the city worlds of today. With enough money, just about anyone can buy a used cargo ship and jump around from one system to another with their Setter Drives. Insurance companies make an absolute treasure out of these poor folks, most of whom end up going missing without a trace, only for their bodies discovered a few years later inside their now dead spaceship.
But of course, there are those who are more prepared than these jockeys hoping to luck upon alien artefacts and then sell it to GCAL for a fortune. People like me. We don't like to call ourselves anything, we don't do this for the fame or recognition. But if you ask about the Seekers in any local bar, you'll be sure to happen upon someone like me. It is us, the most daring and adventurous that go out expedition after expedition, making a living by selling charts to investors and colonists. Of course, we all work for GCAL still: they make selling the data much easier, even if at a fee. Of course, we all find bits and pieces: a piece of ceramic in space from a long gone ship, a forgotten amulet on a planet covered in lush greens or just some metal shards from god knows what. While valuable in their own right, we don't get anything for these, not anymore: most people choose to adorn themselves with it while they hope for the next breakthrough with finding something bigger. Something more... expensive.
That's where I come in. There's a system not far from here, goes by the name of Vodyani V, and I got a hint from one of my contacts that it might have something in there. How do they know? I didn't ask and they didn't tell, bartering with information is something that I can't afford. But I'm not in the business still because I don't listen to advices. So, I know my next target. A week's travel in FTL to get there, and then a few more weeks to explore the system. It's a real beauty she is: plenty of planets and gas giants that could hold troves of treasure, not to mention countless moons. Even if I don't find a thing, the charts will sell for a pretty buck. But if my sources are good, and they have been so far, I'm looking at buying a luxury retreat for every month of a standard year, spread out a few parsecs apart so I can enjoy travelling between them on my luxury yacht.
Of course, I can't do this all alone, too much space to explore and not enough eyes and hands to do everything. Got gaps in my crew, and that is where you come in. I've been telling you my story this whole time, but what about you? Join my crew and get rich with me, if you dare.
Welcome one, welcome all! I invite you all on a sci-fi mystery adventure that I am certain you will enjoy if you've enjoyed playing Duskers or if Edge of Tomorrow is one of your favorite movies. But I might've revealed too much already by just saying that, so I will keep quiet about the plot for now!
As I've mentioned already, this RP is to be an adventure with a mystery that needs to be uncovered. I invite you all to become crew members aboard the repurposed patrol ship "Maiden Voyage" to join Sarah Ashton, a renowned Seeker in the sector who is looking for more brave souls to join her on her newest adventure into an unknown star system. This is your chance to make good money by hopping into a dangerous but at times lucrative business, or if you are already a member of the crew, then to add one more tale to your long list that you can tell at a bar once the mission is over.
I'm mostly looking for people who enjoy exploring mysteries and have always liked the idea of exploring and discovering new things in space. While the game won't be about surveying landmasses as I plan on very early on introducing an overarching story, there will be plenty of magnificent things to look at and explore between the close shaves with death your characters will undoubtedly have. The universe is out there to kill you after all, and that is something I want to hammer home as the story progresses. That said, this is also a space drama of sorts, and the relations between crew members will play a large role as the story progresses further towards the end goal, so I'm mostly looking for people who want to experience a story and interact with it, rather than people who want to blow stuff up.
In the end, this RP is more of an experiment. There is a set beginning and end (though if we do finish, I am open to continue it), something that I feel is lacking in a lot of RPs. Hopefully the mystery and the story I'm telling is enough to keep everyone interested and engaged until we see the conclusion of the story. Besides, the most fun in an RP is always interacting with others, so I'm hoping for a diverse cast of characters :)
Now that you've made it past that large volume of rambling text that I can't seem to leave behind, here is a list of crew roles that I think might be important for an expedition like this. Not all of them need to be filled up, and you might have your own ideas as well. It's absolutely feasible that nobody is a "specialist", just knows a thing or two about an area. Still, it might give you some ideas.
- Medic
- Technician
- Xeno-Archeologist/Biologist
- Astrophysicist
- Security/Survival Expert
- Navigator/Co-Pilot
- Linguist
Once you have a basic idea as to what role you might want to fill-in on the ship's crew (maybe I left out something pretty obvious, I'm writing this pretty late after all), here is a handy dandy sheet reference with the most basic details filled in. Feel free to modify it however you like, a good looking CS is always going to impress everyone.
[center] (Name comes here)
[img](Insert image here for shock value)[/img][/center]
[b]NAME:[/b] (or it can come here. Or both. You choose)
[b]AGE:[/b]
[b]ROLE:[/b]
[b]PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:[/b] (everything about the looks of your character comes here that a picture may or may not be able to convey, such as weight, height, but even skill or hair color if you want it changed or specified)
[b]CHARACTER DESCRIPTION:[/b] (Never been a fan of "personality" groups when I've barely known my character. Just give us a basic idea of who your character is here, what they do, why did they join and what they are usually like. Really, just a brief or not-so-brief description of your character. But whatever you want here from skills, through personality to relationships)Pretty simple, right? I always prefer that the IC speaks for itself rather than the CS, but if you wish to add more to it, then feel free to do so. This is more of a suggestion than a strict guideline.
Since this is just the interest check, no need for a full fledged CS if you don't want it. As it stands I'm running out of time for the day to make an example with the character I will be portraying, but that shouldn't be relevant in your interest. If you've red this far I'm willing to bet that you are at least somewhat interested in the idea. I can guarantee you that I will keep everyone occupied with plenty of events in the RP, and that it won't be a super duper moody plot like Duskers or anything from HP Lovecraft, mostly because you won't be alone. But if the people I've already told the story to for review is anything to go by, I'm certain that there will be plenty for you to think about and try to solve, while having exciting plot twists and revelations along the way to want you to keep exploring.
Anyways, that's it for me. You know what to do, if you like the idea then leave a post and I'll be sure to reply to everyone once I wake up. I wish you all a great day/evening/night, and I hope to see you guys in a bit :)
EDIT: Reworked the brief, so it ACTUALLY explains what this is. Hopefully that should clear things up. I'll be inserting the CS for Sarah very soon, so that I can cover most of my bases.
