Voyage of the Ulysses

[Anarchemitis]

13 players joined.
New players after the game begins may be acceptable, but must be Private Messaged to me.

• Ladies and Gentlemen, mankind of a whole, in this festidius age of peace and prosperity, I with the other powers and counties of this great world, the League of Nations, have commissioned to have created, the grandest, greatest, most powerful, titanic vessel in the history of mankind which will bring us to a new age of discovery, betterment of mankind, and the pursuit of knowledge and happiness.
  --President J. N.Garner, November 15th, 1941

Welcome one and all to the Voyage of the 'Ulysses'.
This Adventure story Role-Play will be about the crew and their adventures into the great unknown in the sea, battle a few sea monsters, and overall have an epic odyssey that shall be revealed as you play. It will be Steampunk-ish as per a 700 meter long Super-submarine (Some under double the length of the largest sea-going vessel in the world modern-day, just a little big) and its journeys. Fantastic entities encountered underwater may or may not include the Leviathan, prehistoric giant pleasiosauri, squid and many pirates.

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This post will be modified to include character sheet basis, all character players, more description of events, backgrounds and the Ulysses itself.

Spoiler: World Background

Following the end of the War to End All Wars, drastic economic action taken by Italy and Spain to revive their allies and surrounding neutral states to reinforce their extensive colonies around the world. As the world stands, the Weimar Republic stands strong over former Kaiser Germany, and the powers of the Earth have became of themselves akin to a group of men staring slightly bewildered at a fistfight they had at each other in World War 1. Seeking to push the status quo forward in the world, the Prime Minister of Britain urged the United States and President Roosevelt to join the League of Nations (the real-world predecessor of the modern United Nations) at which many nations consigned to rejoice in their new found peace from a world of confusion and previously rage. A shipwrights convention and a crazy idea in a bar with a politician lead to a chain of events that resulted in the creation of said Megaproject, the grandest endeavor and triumph of Human Science and Engineering, the UNS Ulysses. Christened to coincide with the new International holiday of "World Discovery Day" on August 1st, 1942.

Spoiler: The ULYSSES

710 meters long, 150 meters tall and 120 meters wide and displacing more than three Empire State Buildings, the Ulysses is a sheer monster of steel and iron. Designed to be the largest (check), most powerful (check), and fastest (er.. not quite) vessel made by mankind. Manned by a hand-picked group of the most excellent and skilled Naval officers of all nations of the world and equipped with many technologies that exist only within the berths of her hull and corridors such as the newly invented 'SONAR' and 'Active Sonic System'. Although the service depth floor is 2000 meters for the main vessel (quite shallow considering the size of the boat), the Ulysses has several mini-sub vehicles that can go deeper and faster.
The boat is armed with two Double-barrel 21 inch guns, ten 15 inch guns and eight CO[sup]2[/sup] fired Torpedo tubes, implicated for whatever reason they may prove useful. Minor armament for a vessel of it's sheer size, but still potent nonetheless. The Ulysses also carries much less ammo than it does fuel and food. Oxygen and water are not problematic supplies as it can scrub, filter or hydrolize seawater and already onboard air. Speaking of which, the vessel is entirely pressurized so that surfacing quickly would never be a problem.
It is not steam powered, Steampunk enthusiasts, it is electric. Steampunk is kind of the spiel in the world around.

Although there are militarial positions aboard, the Ulysses is devoted to Scientific purposes in wider margins than assault is concerned.
Get in the state of mind that The Ulysses is a big version of the DSV Alvin [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSV_Alvin] with a gun aboard, just in case.

Spoiler: Character Sheet

Name: (Something respective of your nationality, and of the era.)
Age: (Between 18 [or "18" aka 17, you eager little Whippersnappers] and 55)
Nationality: (Germany is the Weimar Republic, China is The Chinese Federation, The Ottoman Empire is still around)
Appearance: (Point form or Informal narrative is fine)
Size: (Height/(Width?)/Weight)
Characteristics: (Basically describe your dude and where they're from/what they do/did.)
Occupation: (See Below. Being highly skilled in your particular field is an understatement aboard this vessel.)

Spoiler: Ulysses Occupations

Captain - I shall be Captain of this awesomeness, which will make for a more narrative GM experience than the actual narrator, I think.

• First Mate
  • Helmsman
    • Quartermaster (Periscope Dude)
      • (Navagation Positions)
    Loadmaster (Basically Overall Ship Inspector)
    • TrimMaster (In charge of the Trim aka Buoyancy Tanks & Chambers)
    Chief Engineer
    • (Engineering Positions)
  Commander
  • Gunnery Sargent
    • Anterior Forces (Marine Squads)
  Chief Medical Officer
  • (Infirmary Positions)
  Chief of Science
  • Oceanographer Doctorate
    • (Onboard Scientists)

For the unspecified (---- positions), make up something cool but realistic.

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Spoiler: Players *Updated*

In order of Joined RP.
Some parts of these character sheets have been edited for context.

Name: Vasily Petrov
Age: 28
Nationality: Russian (Soviet Union)
Appearance: thin and short with dark hair and dark eyes, he looks painfully average
Size: 155cm 130 pounds
Characteristics: Vasily joined the Soviet navy as a young man. He originally came form a peasant village and was desperate to leave it. He always wanted to work on a submarine, the idea of having lots of water over his head seemed interesting so when he learned about the chronic shortage of helmsman he decided to try for that position because it was his best shot in getting on a sub.
Occupation: Helmsman

Name: Luthor Emil Novaks
Age: 32
Nationality: German/Austrian. Weimar Republic
Appearance: A fine speciman of a man,with a body and mind built and maintained through a strict regime of pysical and mental excercise. Though prematurely aging, as shown by graying forlocks in his long dark brown hair, he constantly stands tall with pride and hubris. Usually wears his uniform and labcoat, but when in port can be found in dark grey three peice suits. At all time he wears a pin with the Novaks family insignia, a fist holding a lightning bolt.
Size: 5ft 11in, 170lbs.
Characteristics: A scientist first and egotist second, Luthor is nontheless committed to the improvement of man and the ideals of logic and science. When not dismissing everyone in the room or testing his mental faculties with 5 simultaneous games of chess, he can be found in his lab often working for days on end without sleep. The few people he does respect he looks straight in the eye and he never backs down from a challenge. In the few instances when he is nervous he constantly checks a golden pocket watch in his pocket.
Occupation: Chief of Science

Name: Bible (he?s never told anyone his name, so they just call him by the book he carts around everywhere).

Height: 6?7?

Weight: 280 lbs.

Age: 34

Country of Origin: Africa.

Appearance: A huge African man, coal-black and immensely muscular. Is missing a good portion of his face, a huge scar the only remnants of his nose and right eye. Has never told anyone how this disfigurement came about. Has a short patch of hair atop his head, covering his scalp and nothing else.

Characterisitics: Laconic to the extreme. Coaxing more than a nod or a shake of the head out of him is extremely difficult, getting him to speak more than two or three words widely considered an impossibility. He can usually be found either inspecting the weapons or reading the large Bible he carries with him everywhere. Despite this, he is usually respectful and obeys orders. Unfortunately, if he believes the orders to be suicidal or improper, he will choose his own course of action (considering how little he speaks, this often results in a clusterfuck).

Occupation: Gunnery Sergeant.

Name: Henry Wells

Age: 32

Nationality: Welsh

Appearance: Behind his lanky frame, Henry has a rather sly demenor. His hair is a slicked back and an angelic blonde, but his grey eyes hid behind them the look of a gambler, a man who might just make the unsafe bet. He usually is seen wearing a suit under his lab coat, though barely hiding how thin the man is

Size:
-Height: 5' 11"
-Weight: 134 lbs

Characteristics: Though considered kind by many, Henry seems sly and never seems to tell you the full story about his actions. He is a sevant at medicinal purposes, but some times it would seem he's more interested in the reaction then actually curing the patient. He is an incredibally charismatic speaker, and a top-notch arguer.

Occupation: Chief Medical Officer

Name: James "Liuey" Tyrrel

Age: 35

Nationality: British

Appearance: James is a tall, muscular man, who has always trained to be in prime physical condition. His dark brown hair is kept short and his face shows the signs of mild facial hair regrowth. His most noticeable feature is his green piercing eyes that soaks up the gaze of anyone who makes eye contact. When on duty he is rarely seen out of uniform. He is also known to carry around a pocket watch which has the words "Liuey" carved on the back.

Size: 6ft 3in, 160lbs.

Characteristics: Descended from a long line of servicemen and having years of naval experience himself, James, walks with an air of authority. He is thorough, almost to the level of obsession when it comes to attention to detail. He demands efficiency from his crew and sometimes pushes them to the limit but he believes that he knows where the limits of those that serve under him lie. In fact he does care a great deal for those under his command but he would never admit it to anyone. If anything he fears his personal feelings would cloud his judgment and eventually jeopardize the ship and his crew, so he opts to hide behind the tough, no-nonsense exterior. He hopes that the crew views him primarily as an approachable figure, capable of counsel but also as someone who is capable of dealing out retribution to any that cross the line.

Occupation: Commander

Name: Robert McAllister

Age: 46

Nationality: Scottish

Appearance: a slightly hunched man with weary brown eyes, slowly greying black hair, and a beard. his uniform is quite old, quite battered and yet, slightly reassuring. the shoulder patch has been sewn on and taken off quite a number of times. Has a bad back.

Size: 6' 1", 170lbs (though he has not weighed himself for a long while)

Characteristics: A veteran of the Great War, Robert has proven himself as loyal time and time again on quite a few ships, he is very experienced, and yet, every opportunity to take a command post, every single chance of promotion, he has ignored; he has never been fully confident in his ability, he would much prefer to stay in the sidelines, always there to help, but never to take the reigns himself. He dreams of one day retiring, buying a fishing boat, and spending the rest of his days with his wife and child in his native Scotland.

Occupation: First mate.

Name: John Hu.

Age: 26

Nationality: The Chinese Federation.

Appearance: Black hair, brown eyes, not very muscular. Wears a beige t-shirt, blue pants and black boots.

Size: 5'9, 19 inches, 149 pounds.

Characteristics: He originally worked in a Chinese farm, but when he got the opportunity to work on a fishing boat, he decided to join. He travelled the world, and learned how to speak English, albeit bad. He wants to get the money from this job, and own his own farm.

Occupation: Loadmaster.

Name: Harold Blake

Age: 27

Nationality: British

Appearance:
? Stocky, broad shouldered
? Bald, no facial hair
? Blue eyes

Size: 5?10, 15 stone

Characteristics: A promising young sailor slowly forging a naval career. Harry joined up at 17 after his father failed to return from the Great War. He has worked his way up to Quartermaster but is aiming higher. His stocky build hides an analytic mind and sharp eyes, well practiced on the scope.

Occupation: Quartermaster

Name: Adalwolf Von Fleicher

Age: 49

Nationality: Imperial Germany/Weimar Republic

Appearance: Usually, a grimy and filthy man, with a Franz-Joseph style beard and very short graying hair that he almost always hides underneath his naval officers cap. He wears worn army trousers; a very worn leather jacket and a patched shirt; he normally also wears short jackboots. If there is an occasion, however, he will clean up and wear an imperial German Navy Officer's regalia with several medals, including three Iron Crosses.

Size: Rather short, more or less average weight.

Characteristics: A veteran of the first world war, this man has been admired by many officers, soldiers and recruits. Adalwolf was a baron's only son before the war, who's family was killed by revolutionaries after he returned from the war. After this, he left Germany for many years. He wandered the earth as an engineer above many ships and the few comments that could be gathered, he has been described as "hard-working, almost a genius".
He has picked up many bad traits, however. After the war, he was left with a fear of seeing his comrades dying. This has also caused him to become an alcoholic. He is said by many to blend German loyalty (He is still loyal to the Kaiser) and ingenuity. After some time spent searching, "certain people" located him in Tanzania, where they promptly recruited him onto a ship called the UNS Ulysses. He wants to feel the thrill of adventure, the majesty of the sea, maybe, the excitement of combat, hear the sounds of the engines and, perhaps, he wants to find someone from his past...

Occupation: Chief Engineer

Name: Arthur Backman
Age: 27

Nationality: Australian

Appearance: Ordinary-looking He would not stand out in a crowd. Usually seen in non-descript clothing and never wears a hat. Brown hair and Dark blue eyes with a squarish jaw.

Size: 5'11, around average size and weight

Characteristics: Joined the Ulysses under perfectly reasonable circumstances, He has perfectly legitimate authorization to be there however no-one seems to know who got him onto the ship. His dining habits are generally exclusive towards Fine cuts of Meat and and similar foods. Is usually only seen after 11am and goes to bed soon after dinner. Reclusive from many of the crew, he is often seen taking long walks around the Ulysses. When Coerced into talking he is a fairly friendly fellow but reveals little information about himself.

Occupation: Head Bio-Scientist. Edit: (to be less vague here)Arthur was sent by the australian goverment to take part in this. He is not a generic Gman and is in fact one of the top minds in Australia. Australia however was reluctant to join and thus he has been ordered to stay low-key. His job was officaly Head Bio-Scientist but he spends a good amount of time learning about the machinary of the Ulysses aswell.

Name: Steven Boslin
Age:23
Nationality:Spanish
Apperance:Medium height, longish black hair, dark brown eyes, broad and strong
Size:5'7 broad and average weight.
Characteristics:All business, never stops working, always wants to help people. but has moments of extreme anger.Came aboard the Ulysses looking for action and adventure and wanted a purpose.
Occupation: Squad Tactician

Name: Will Hansen
Age:27
Nationality:Australian
Appearance:Tall and thin, with short ginger-brown hair.
Size:6'2
Characteristics:Always friendly and relaxed, and given the less than strenuous requirement of his job, is often found hanging about and chatting with other crew members. From this habit, he has, over the years, gained a passable knowledge in even the most obscure of shipboard knowledge
Occupation: Communications Officer

Name: Conrad "Hawkeye" Richards

Nationality: American

Age: 25

Appearance: Small and thin, not a man who looks like he can take much punishment. He passed the Marine Corps training course though. Platinum blonde hair kept in a crew cut, piercing lavender eyes.

Size: 5'6", 120lbs (he is a seriously tiny man)

Characteristics: Joining the Marines shortly before the War ended, Conrad certainly did not expect to be considered the best sharpshot in the entire MC, despite never seeing a battle, having been forced to wait until he was sure that his son could take care of his wife and daughters to enlist. He is an amiable man for the most part, but has a...feral side if you will, something that drives him and can be unleashed if he or something he cares about is threatened. He is not a sniper, but rather a man who can shoot a fly out of the air with his pistol, and can hit a target from 50 yards out with his standard issue rifle. This talent (it is hard to call it a skill, as it seems to be an inborn thing, not something he trained long years for) seems to be compensation for his lack of physical size and strength.

Occupation: Marine Squad Sargent

Name: Malcolm
Age: 32
Nationality: Britain
Appearance: Malcolm is a pretty boy with almost no scars or disfigurements. The one mark of physical content he carries is a large scar to the right of his right eyebrow. He claims he got it when he feel, but some suspect it was a self defense attack from another person. He has short, silky, blond hair, and has deep blue eyes.
Size: 6'2 and 145 pounds.
Characteristics: Malcolm born in the UK led a glorious life with his family. He was the kid that everyone hated because he got what he wanted. His father was a banker who cashed in big, and could afford a life of luxury. Malcolm was also the kid who wanted what he couldn't have. He didn't care about what he did have, for as soon as he got it he lost interest. That would also lead to his three ex wives, and a malnourished son. See Malcolm is a selfish bastard. He will try everything possible to get what he wanted. When his parents died (The way of their death has never been released to the public, and some think Malcolm killed them during one of his rages of lust) Malcolm inherited so much of their money, and invested it to become richer. Using the riches he bought of miles of land, until he was bored of the land. He wanted more. He wanted... The Ocean. That is what lead Malcolm to joining the Ulysses.
Occupation: TrimMaster

Name: Aram Stihl

Age: 50

Nationality: Indo-Chinese French

Appearance: Fair build, black hair and somewhat adolescent facial features.

Size: 5'9", 180 lbs

Characteristics: Immigrated with his father from a peasant life in Siam to France in the earliest part of the century to seek fortune, he soon enrolled in the Navy excelling in authoritative positions, although commonly able to put off people due to his minor child-like synapses of amusement. By no means is he inadequate or immature, he just enjoys many things still in the way a child would.

Occupation: Captain

 

[Adam Jenson]

Anarchy, I am SO in!

 

[Spartan Bannana]

Arrr, it be time for a jaunty sea voyage I think.

 

[the fifth]

Name: Vasily Petrov
Age: 28
Nationality: Russian
Appearance: thin and short with dark hair and dark eyes, he looks painfully average
Size: 155cm 130 pounds
Characteristics: Vasily joined the Soviet navy as a young man. He originally came form a peasant village and was desperate to leave it. He always wanted to work on a submarine, the idea of having lots of water over his head seemed interesting so when he learned about the chronic shortage of helmsman he decided to try for that position because it was his best shot in getting on a sub.
Occupation: Helmsman

is this good?

 

[The Sorrow]

I call the stoic, laconic harpooneer which a penchant for killing things eight times his size.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Awesome, four off the bat!

I call the stoic, laconic harpooneer which a penchant for killing things eight times his size.

Well that's.. viable..? You could definitely be the big guy kind of character, but it's a Exploration/Quasi-Assault Submarine in Alternate 1943, not a Whaling ship from 1890.

must fight urge to make joke about sea men

Fight it and win.
If you lose, you are not strong enough to be of the select crew of the finest Naval officers in the world for a crew of 320.

 

[Anarchemitis]

D'oh!

 

[Adam Jenson]

Should we come up with character concepts now or when your ready?

 

[Anarchemitis]

Should we come up with character concepts now or when your ready?

When I know that lots of people want to be in on this style.

 

[The Sorrow]

Awesome, four off the bat!

I call the stoic, laconic harpooneer which a penchant for killing things eight times his size.

Well that's.. viable..? You could definitely be the big guy kind of character, but it's a Exploration/Quasi-Assault Submarine in Alternate 1943, not a Whaling ship from 1890.

must fight urge to make joke about sea men

Fight it and win.
If you lose, you are not strong enough to be of the select crew of the finest Naval officers in the world for a crew of 320.

Sorry, I'm reading Moby-Dick. I had a kind of Starbuck/Daggoo fusion in mind.

Maybe not literal "harpoon", but just the big guy who hurts stuff.

 

[Adam Jenson]

Maybe not literal "harpoon", but just the big guy who hurts stuff.

May I suggest looking into Mike Mignolas novel "Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire"

Very much what your talking about only with a bit of Ahab in there.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Mm, I was expecting something about the Civil War and Grant...

Ah, I'd like to get into this if it gets off the ground. Can I be the skinny insecure guy who runs the radar?

 

[Anarchemitis]

Certainly, there are tons of positions available. Like, if possible it would be awesome to have thirty or two hundred players. Five is fine thusfar.
Also it would be SONAR underwater, not RADAR.

 

[Higurashi]

Well now... this is tempting to throw Mira into. She'd be the Chief Engineer then. Tempting, tempting...

 

[Siris]

In like flin if this is going to happen

 

[Adam Jenson]

Name: Luthor Emil Novaks
Age: 32
Nationality: German/Austrian. Weimar Republic
Appearance: A fine speciman of a man,with a body and mind built and maintained through a strict regime of pysical and mental excercise. Though prematurely aging, as shown by graying forlocks in his long dark brown hair, he constantly stands tall with pride and hubris. Usually wears his uniform and labcoat, but when in port can be found in dark grey three peice suits. At all time he wears a pin with the Novaks family insignia, a fist holding a lightning bolt.
Size: 5ft 11in, 170lbs.
Characteristics: A scientist first and egotist second, Luthor is nontheless committed to the improvement of man and the ideals of logic and science. When not dismissing everyone in the room or testing his mental faculties with 5 simultaneous games of chess, he can be found in his lab often working for days on end without sleep. The few people he does respect he looks straight in the eye and he never backs down from a challenge. In the few instances when he is nervous he constantly checks a golden pocket watch in his pocket.
Occupation: Chief of Science

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Oh very much interested!. Hmm, commander. Hmmm.....

 

[Lucas113]

Now this sounds good - can I reserve a slot please?

Character sheet will come once I get back from tonight's stand-up gig... [/boast]

 

[The Sorrow]

Name: Bible (he?s never told anyone his name, so they just call him by the book he carts around everywhere).

Height: 6?7?

Weight: 280 lbs.

Age: 34

Country of Origin: Africa.

Appearance: A huge African man, coal-black and immensely muscular. Is missing a good portion of his face, a huge scar the only remnants of his nose and right eye. Has never told anyone how this disfigurement came about. Has a short patch of hair atop his head, covering his scalp and nothing else.

Characterisitics: Laconic to the extreme. Coaxing more than a nod or a shake of the head out of him is extremely difficult, getting him to speak more than two or three words is widely considered an impossibility. He can usually be found either inspecting the weapons or reading the large Bible he carries with him everywhere. Despite this, he is usually respectful and obeys orders. Unfortunately, if he believes the orders to be suicidal or improper, he will choose his own course of action (considering how little he speaks, this often results in a clusterfuck).

Occupation: Gunnery Sergeant.

 

[Siris]

Name: Henry Wells

Age: 32

Nationality: Welsh

Appearance: Behind his lanky frame, Henry has a rather sly demenor. His hair is a slicked back and an angelic blonde, but his grey eyes hid behind them the look of a gambler, a man who might just make the unsafe bet. He usually is seen wearing a suit under his lab coat, though barely hiding how thin the man is

Size:
-Height: 5' 11"
-Weight: 134 lbs

Characteristics: Though considered kind by many, Henry seems sly and never seems to tell you the full story about his actions. He is a sevant at medicinal purposes, but some times it would seem he's more interested in the reaction then actually curing the patient. He is an incredibally charismatic speaker, and a top-notch arguer.

Occupation: Chief Medical Officer