"Calling all sailors of every creed, nationality, and color. The Port of Basse-Terre on the island of Tortuga welcomes you with open arms.
A letter of marque from the governor of Tortuga is promised to any ship’s captain brave enough to make the journey.
God bless all your journeys! And may the winds carry your sails to Basse-Terre!"
A letter of marque from the governor of Tortuga is promised to any ship’s captain brave enough to make the journey.
God bless all your journeys! And may the winds carry your sails to Basse-Terre!"
1660
The small disputed island of Tortuga off the greater island of Hispaniola is populated by English and French colonies, that after two Spanish invasions continues to rebuild and strive for survival.
But when the governor of the island, Jeremie Deschamps suddenly passes away leaving the island unprotected from another impending Spanish invasion, his daughter Delphine takes matters into her own hands.
She covers up his death, and from there, begins posing as her father and writing letters of marque to pirates to become corsairs, also known as privateers and buccaneers in order to protect the island. To her surprise the scheme works well, very well, and the Port of Basse-Terre becomes a magnet for many of the Caribbean's seafaring brigands.
But when the governor of the island, Jeremie Deschamps suddenly passes away leaving the island unprotected from another impending Spanish invasion, his daughter Delphine takes matters into her own hands.
She covers up his death, and from there, begins posing as her father and writing letters of marque to pirates to become corsairs, also known as privateers and buccaneers in order to protect the island. To her surprise the scheme works well, very well, and the Port of Basse-Terre becomes a magnet for many of the Caribbean's seafaring brigands.
Anne Dieu-Le-Veut | 27 | Filles de Roi | FC: Lily James | OPEN |
Anne is originally from Brittany, France, sent as a Filles de Roi to marry a settler. Anne, unlike other women, is considered a good luck charm on a ship as her husband, Pierre LeLong, has become the most profitable buccanner on the island and rarely suffers damages when boarding ships. Other captains bring her items off their ships, such as maps, telescopes, and even sails and wheels for her to kiss in hopes of being so blessed, which she does for a fee that her husband charges.
(Eventually she gets with Laurens De Graaf and becomes a pirate herself. ;) )
Chevalier de Fontenay | ?? | Step son of Governor | FC: Aiden Turner | OPEN |
Step brother of Delphine Dechamps. His mother was a huegenot who married Jeremie Dechamps after his father's death.
Colette Librice | 30 | Bar owner in Basse-Terre | FC: Jessica Parker Kennedy | OPEN |
Colette is the no nonsense bar owner of The Black Barrel (aka, Le Baril Noir) in Basse-Terre. She knows just about everything that goes on in the port. She is originally a slave from St. Kitts that Jeremie Deschamps purchased out of pity with her father and brought back to Tortuga. Her father, an industrious man, worked as a paid servant to the Deschamps until he opened the Black Barrel in Basse-Terre.
Delphine Dechamps | ?? | Governor's daughter | FC: Alicia Vikander | TAKEN |
Delphine is the daughter of the governor of Tortuga whom she has covered up the death of in order to run the island herself. In a short six months she has turned the island into a haven for pirates in order to protect it from invading Spaniards who claim the island is theirs. She has been writing letters of marque under the guise that her father, away on business has left her in charge until he returns.
Demian Guartem | 31 | Spanish Renegade | FC: Luke Arnold | OPEN |
Demian was born on the Spanish main and is currently a low-ranking Spanish Navy soldier on Don Fadrique’s ship. He was forced into service to pay for his crimes back in Cartagena and wishes to escape.
Edward Collier | 35 | Quartermaster to Henry Morgan | FC: Luke Norris | OPEN |
Edward is an English doctor who originally ventured to the new world to find and document medicinal plants and herbs; that is until one day the ship he was travelling on was boarded by the infamous privateer Sir Christopher Myng. He convinced the unhinged captain to let him live because of his medical expertise and became a crew member at first by force. Here he met Henry Morgan who showed him the ropes of how to be a pirate making Edward his ever-loyal lackey.
Henry Morgan | 30s | Welsh Buccaneer | FC: Luke Evans | TAKEN |
The most successful and feared buccaneer in the Caribbean. Little is known about him, but he did serve under another notorious buccaneer, Sir Christopher Myng, who was politely described as “unhinged and out of tune” and probably inspired Henry's penchant for cruelty. He currently has a letter of marque from the governor of Jamaica.
Jean La Vasseur | 29 | French admiral & engineer | FC: ...... | OPEN |
Jean is a well-educated, high-ranking naval officer originally from France, now presiding in St. Kitts. His quiet and studious nature may mislead some to believe he is more of a pacifist, yet it is to their peril as Jean is actually a master strategist in warfare and fearless soldier.
John Coxon | 33 | English Buccaneer | FC: Tom Hopper | OPEN |
John is a highly regarded captain, who has an unusually mild manner for his line of work and is a devout Protestant. However what civility he has evaporates quickly when it comes to raiding a Spanish ship or settlement, having an ire for Catholics, particularly Spaniards who murdered his family as a young boy. He also goes by the alias of Robert Clarke, having stolen letters of marque from the privateer of the same name so he can sell his crew's pirated goods in Port Royal as well.
Laurens “El Griffe” de Graaf | 41 | Dutch mercenary, & naval officer to Saint-Domingue | FC: Mads Mikkelsen | OPEN |
A deadly mercenary, who is also on the payroll of the governor of Saint-Domingue as a naval officer. He is a stealthy and agile combatant, and also has the fastest ship in the Caribbean, making him a frightening opponent on or off land. His nickname “El Griffe” refers to a person of mixed origin (like mulatto), though oddly he doesn't appear to be mixed at all.
NPC
Fadrique de Toledo Osorio | 50 | Spanish Admiral & Captain General of Navy | FC: James Frain |
Fadrique is a notorious Spanish General who has garnered a reputation of recapturing lands for Spain in the Caribbean. He even managed to expel the French and English settlers from St. Kitts & Nevis many years ago. He is also responsible for the previous two invasions on the island of Tortuga. His urca is the most feared sight to see on the offing, and most would be wise to surrender immediately when being faced with an invasion by the general.
Thomas Modyford | 59 | Governor of Jamaica | FC: Nick Dunning |
Originally hailing from Barbados where he began his successful political career, the insatiably greedy governor of Jamaica has made the island the success it is today. He has grown the island’s wealth largely through a plantation-based economy with the use of African slaves and indentured servants from England. He has also padded the economy and his own personal coffers by employing buccaneers with letters of marque to plunder Spanish ships and ports.
Pierre Lelong | 50 | French Buccaneer | FC: Aidan Gillen |
Pierre is the most profitable buccaneer on Tortuga, though it was not the case until recently. Since his marriage to his young wife Anne, his fortune has turned around and his crew has suffered very little loss leading people to believe she is some kind of sentient good luck charm. Pierre takes advantage of this and uses Anne as a means of profit by charging other buccaneers for Anne to bless their ships.
More information
Buccaneers
Also known as privateers, they are essentially pirates with a license to capture enemy merchant ships and commit acts that would otherwise be deemed illegal. The license known as a letter of marque, was a government document popularly used by the English, Dutch, and French against the Spanish during the mid to late 17th century.
Brethren of the Coast
This was a loose coalition of buccaneers and pirates based off the island of Tortuga. The group was largely made up of English protestants and French Huguenots, although people of many different backgrounds joined their ranks from African sailors to renegade Spaniards.
Every single captain had their own piratical code that his crew signed, but the Brethren as a whole had a code of conduct that favored legislative decision-making, hierarchical command authority, individual rights, and equitable division of revenues that followed their Protestant values.
Despite the Brethren’s organization and legitimization by letter of marque, the line between pirate and buccaneer was an often blurry one. Their values were often incongruous with their lawless lifestyle; and like brothers they fought alongside each other and against one another.
Buccaneers
Also known as privateers, they are essentially pirates with a license to capture enemy merchant ships and commit acts that would otherwise be deemed illegal. The license known as a letter of marque, was a government document popularly used by the English, Dutch, and French against the Spanish during the mid to late 17th century.
Brethren of the Coast
This was a loose coalition of buccaneers and pirates based off the island of Tortuga. The group was largely made up of English protestants and French Huguenots, although people of many different backgrounds joined their ranks from African sailors to renegade Spaniards.
Every single captain had their own piratical code that his crew signed, but the Brethren as a whole had a code of conduct that favored legislative decision-making, hierarchical command authority, individual rights, and equitable division of revenues that followed their Protestant values.
Despite the Brethren’s organization and legitimization by letter of marque, the line between pirate and buccaneer was an often blurry one. Their values were often incongruous with their lawless lifestyle; and like brothers they fought alongside each other and against one another.
Roleplay Guidelines
General Notes:
RolePlayGateway rules are absolute.
This RP will contain adult themes, so roleplayers must be 18+ years of age.
Feel free to have more than one character.
Please reserve any main characters in the OOC thread. Reservations will last 48 hours.
You are also welcome to make any additional characters or NPCs.
Posting Style:
For this rp you must use past tense third-person.
This RP is semi-lit to literate level.
Try to post one paragraph (approx. 5 lines) each post with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
If your reply does not require a paragraph, contemplate making a collaborative post with whom you're interacting.
Long dialogues might also be condensed in a collaborative post, so they do not take too long or consume entire pages.
Etiquette:
There are going to be fights, conflicts, and characters that do not like each other, but keep it civil in the OOC and chat.
If it is your turn to post, try to respond within three days or let us know either in the OOC thread or by PMing a moderator when you will be able to post next.
Please as a courtesy to others, communicate if you will be absent for more than a week.
If it is your turn to post and you have not replied or communicated in a week with anyone on the RP, this is grounds for dismissal.
All the characters here are human, and not everyone knows everything. Outcomes are affected by everyone's actions. Forcing outcomes, ignoring actions to your character, and seeming to magically know everything and respond in a way that prevents an undesirable outcome is considered godmodding and is unacceptable.
General Notes:
RolePlayGateway rules are absolute.
This RP will contain adult themes, so roleplayers must be 18+ years of age.
Feel free to have more than one character.
Please reserve any main characters in the OOC thread. Reservations will last 48 hours.
You are also welcome to make any additional characters or NPCs.
Posting Style:
For this rp you must use past tense third-person.
This RP is semi-lit to literate level.
Try to post one paragraph (approx. 5 lines) each post with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
If your reply does not require a paragraph, contemplate making a collaborative post with whom you're interacting.
Long dialogues might also be condensed in a collaborative post, so they do not take too long or consume entire pages.
Etiquette:
There are going to be fights, conflicts, and characters that do not like each other, but keep it civil in the OOC and chat.
If it is your turn to post, try to respond within three days or let us know either in the OOC thread or by PMing a moderator when you will be able to post next.
Please as a courtesy to others, communicate if you will be absent for more than a week.
If it is your turn to post and you have not replied or communicated in a week with anyone on the RP, this is grounds for dismissal.
All the characters here are human, and not everyone knows everything. Outcomes are affected by everyone's actions. Forcing outcomes, ignoring actions to your character, and seeming to magically know everything and respond in a way that prevents an undesirable outcome is considered godmodding and is unacceptable.