Pirates of the Archipalego: Universal Story Setting

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

New topic. I've edited some of the origional text below and added a forward. I'll have more sections to add as I get to them.

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FORWARD

The Pirates of the Archipalego Universal Story Setting is a fictional area placed on Earth between the years 1700 and 1720. It has been written as though it were an actual place that existed and would presumably exist today. Take it as a modifiaction to our own world, if you will.

It is meant to encompass all the greatest things we love about fictional pirate tales - ships, treasure, great men, tremendous battles - but in a new, caribbean-esque setting where one can, quite literally, do whatever the blazes they want to. It is a world for us, Pirate fans, to venture in and shape as we see fit.

But p'raps above all, it is meant to provide a real, true world for the LEGO Pirate lines of years past. No more mucking about in poorly-thought-out rehashes of earth history. This is meant as a real, tangible place for you to sail your ships to and fro in. A place for you, the LEGO Pirate enthusiast, to stake out land of your own, fight for your own cause, and make history up as you go.

The purpose of it is thus, then: a story setting setting. You can do whatever you want here - There is no final call on anything. Build a kingdom, fight for your people, or simply pilliage, raid, and plunder your measly black guts out. I have written this to provide you with a place for your creations and your imagination to run free.

Thus, I would like to announce and open source this project to you, the LEGO Pirate community. May the wind ever fill your sails!

Pirates of the Archipalego: Universal Story Setting

HISTORY AND SETTINGS

--- The Founding of the Archipalego

The Archipalego is a titanic assemblage of islands and islets spanning aproximetly a thousand square miles. It lies almost dead-center in the middle of the Pacific ocean and is placed almost evenly across the equator. It was English explorer Sir Timaeus Turkish who discovered it after sailing around Cape Horn.

Sir Turkish make a brief foray into it, and, upon his return to Britan, requested the immediate audience of the King. He described it as a lush, ripe tropical paradise of unlimited size ready for the taking. Sir Turkish, being one of the Kings most trusted knights, was immediatly ordered to arrange as large of an expeditionary force as he could to claim this island realm.

Sir Turkish and the King knew that this was not something they could keep mum, and so sought to get a jump on the claiming of it. Thus, by the time the King of France was ready to take action on this new knowlage, Sir Turkish was already halfway across the Atlantic ocean. Appaled that both Britan and France were ahead of him, the King of France sent an entire ragtag armada of ships - some two hundred, it is said - poorly stocked and brimming with settlers - both voluntary and not.

It was thus that the Americans did not know of this great realm on the other side of their country until several poorly stocked Spanish ships made anchor in Boston, and it took them several more months to send four poorly equipped ships, all of which were severly damaged by the passage around Cape Horn.

Still, they got it easy - Due to bad weather, the British fleet was held up for almost a month, unable to make the passage. The French and Spanish fleets were not less then a fortnight behind. Realising that, should they catch him up, his excellently manned but rather small fleet would never be able to hold them, Sir Turkish decided to brave the weather. And indeed, less then a fortnight afterword both the French and Spanish fleets were to attempt the passage. Though all three fleets were to make it in the end, the journey from when the first British ship began the passage and the last Spanish ship did was nearly seven months and it is known now that over one hundred ships, from all three factions, were lost to the weather. Thus it was that the British fleet emerged first, but battered, beaten, and disorganized.

Nevertheless, Sir Turkish immediatly took charge of the situation, rallying all of what was left of his fleet and under his superb command they immediatly drove their way to the core of the Archipalego, founding the First Seaway and the beating heart of civilization within the Archipalego, the great Port Cochraine. When the forces of the other three nations arrived, they had to treat the British hold over the Archipalego with respect. 10 years after the discovery, and 8 years after the founding of the first American colony, the Americans, in their desperation to make an effect upon the Archipalego, sent a force of some 1,000 soldiers to claim Port Cochraine. This force was crushed with utter efficiency, silencing any further thoughts by anyone to challenge the British dominion.

It was then that His Majesty established the office of the Lord Admiral - the Supreme Commander of all of His Majesties Vessels in the Archipalego. It was the Lord Admirals duty to keep the British hold firm and to stop any and all forms of corruption and piracy.

Under their vigilant command, the Archipalego prospered for almost a hundred years, drawing ships and people from the far Northlands (See: Leoten Leopold and his longship, "Leopard") to the privateers of Spain (See: Pirazzo Miragliano and the Alcatani)

Each and every Pirate ship that came into existance was hunted down and destroyed. The trade was prosperous, the shipping lanes free and open, and many were the fortunes made or lost upon these idaelic islands.

---- The Mistakes of Lord Admiral Dorque

Until, that is, that the Lord Admiral Theodore Dorque was given his 3-year command over the Archipalego station. He had lived as captain long enough to become an Admiral by sheer luck, and had become the Lord Admiral of His Britannic Majestys Archipalego station by pulling his many beurocratic strings.

From the day he was enstated, he bungled and mis-managed everything. Seeing his chance, the pirate that would come to be known as Greggef Roterbart seized upon it and quickly raided a number of prime resource locations. With his ships spread far and wide doing menial things, Dorque was in no shape to respond to the attack. Greggefs wife, Bangladesh Dupree, set about sowing displeasure and discord among the people of all the major population centers. Covertly taking over the dockyards, Roterbart had every ship he could lay his hands on converted into a pirate vessel, and sent them out to prey on the thousands of fat merchant ships.

Within a year, the Archipalego was in complete chaos. Ships were being lost to the Pirates by the dozen, and the situation was so far gone that Dorque had little choice but to pull his ships back to Port Cochraine for fear of losing them all.

But in the end, even that did not matter, since the dockyard personel refused to service the ships in any way, and set about destroying the warehouses and docking facilitys in their unrest at the rule of Dorque. Seeing the situation gone completely out of his hands, Dorque boarded the cutter Torins Lookout with his most trusted personel, and made a mad dash for England.

While he sailed, the pirate Greggef Roterbart established himself as Pirate King of the Archipalego, claiming lordship for him and his pirates. It is known that at this time several hundred Pirate vessels were operating in the Archipalego. Merchant trading had ground to a complete halt, with the few uncaptured vessels hiding in reclusive bays, but even they were being hunted down one by one.

Upon his arrival in England, Dorque was treated as almost nothing short of a traitor. With the few remaining British ships stranded and fighting for their lives, English control of the Archipalego was washed away completely. If the Archipalego was to be stopped from sinking into complete and unreversable anarchy, drastic action had to be taken, and it had to be taken now.

The right man in the right place at the right time: Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn

And that drastic action came in the form of Rear-Admiral Helden Ravensdorn. An accomplished sailor, tactician and diplomat, he was the ideal man for the job. The Admiralty gave him emergency powers to do anything he saw fit to challenge the Pirate threat.

In addition, Lord Marshal of the Marines, Gabriel Vostroya, petitioned the government that he and his First Regiment of 1000 men should sail with the fleet. At the insistance of Ravensburg, his request was granted.

Assembling a starting fleet of three frigates, the Pillar of Autumn, In Amber Clad, and Of Atlantis' Fate, as well as a fair number of smaller Sloops, Schooners and Cutters, Ravensburg set off within three weeks of getting his orders.

With the ships stocked and stored to the point of busting their seals, all Ravensburg had left to do was train his ships. And train they did, practicing gunnery and taking sail in and out and tacking and everything else neccessary to know in order to operate a ship perfectly. So great was the amount they trained that only 4 weeks into their 7-week voyage the entire squadron was skilled enough to sail in perfect formation.

By the time they reached the Archipalego, they were ready for anything.

The Pirates unpleasent suprise

And they did not reach the Archipalego a moment to soon. Port Cochraine was in complete anarchy, with the docking facilitys ramshackily rebuilt by the pirates. Word had it that Greggef Roterbart was on his way to claim his throne there, and his flag captain, Brass Storn, had already secured the seas around the port.

So when one of his lookout cutters sailed back and reported a squadron of British ships approaching, Storn almost thought nothing of it. To the best of his knowlage, only four British ships were left loose in the Archipalego anyway - all the others had been captured or destroyed. Bringing his entire fleet to bear, Storn took the fight to the british.

The ensuing battle was a crushing defeat for the Pirates. Their disorderly formation crashed into the British squadron like water on rock. Disciplined longrange cannon fire sunk many of the Pirates' smaller craft before they even got in range, and a swift move on the part of the second half of the british column brought the Pirates sailing into the middle of a U-Shaped formation of british ships and cannon. No pirate ship but Brass Storns flagship survived the engagement, and that was merely because, as luck would have it, Storn was on the back of the Pirate line and managed to evade the trap.

Sailing victorius into Port Cochraine, Gabriel Vostroya quickly landed his 1000 Imperial Guard and, within two days, had the entire island under complete control. Every anarchist or pirate that fought or ran was cut down where they stood. The enslaved civilian population was contained and set back to their home and their work. A complete blockade was enplaced and every pirate ship that dared come near was swept away.

Repairing the damage to their ships, Ravensdorn took stock of the situation. Messangers and vassels from all over the Archipalego flooded in upon the news of a new Lord Admirals arrival. For a full ten days he poured over information and charts and plans. From what he learned, he knew above all that one man was they keystone to the pirate insurrection, a man of equal skill and greater power then himself - Greggef Roterbart.

Finially, he was ready. Sailing his ships out of Port Cochraine, Ravensdorn prepared to take the fight right into the teeth of Roterbart and his men.

The Pirates Retaliation

This news was an unpleasant shock to Greggef Ravensburg. Doing the best he could to organize his disorderly fleets, he set about preparing for the British onslaught. Nomatter how well drilled the British fleet may have been, the Pirates had nothing to loose. It would be a fight to the bitter end.

And so the scene is set for the greatest naval battles of all time in Ye Olde World of Lego.

---------------

FACTIONS

Detailed history, standings, and causes to fight for the Nine Factions of the Archipalego

NOTABLE FIGURES

From King Kahuka to Brass Storn, the notable men and women of the Nine Factions.

NOTABLE SHIPS

Ships that have made a great impression on the Archipalego shall be recounted here.

[Mister Phes]

Dare I ask what Zandur Studios are?

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

Aye. Its my own studio, and "Zandur" is a wordplay off my real name, Alexander. Since I was about 6, any major project I embark in has been a "Zandur Studios Production".

[Mister Phes]

How very fascinating!

So what would like your audience to post in this thread, Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn?

Are you after feedback, suggestions or not really fussed?

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

*Shrug* Whatever they want to post.

[Mister Phes]

Are you going to add images?

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

er... not really anything to add images of...?

[Mister Phes]

Ok then! I don't mean to discourage you, but you do realise that some users won't take to the time to read the entire story? Not because there's anything wrong with the story, its because past trends have shown great volumes of text are a bit daunting for the average user to tackle.

Don't let that stop you from completing the story though as things might have changed since then.

By the way you've introduced "Ravensburg" like this:

"In addition, Lord Marshal of the Marines, Gabriel Vostroya, petitioned the government that he and his First Regiment of 1000 men should sail with the fleet. At the insistance of Ravensburg, his request was granted."

Which makes it a bit confusing with references to "Ravensdorn" in the previous paragraph. Further down you've mentioned "Greggef Ravensburg" though for the most part he's called "Greggef Roterbart" - if I'm following correctly.

Is this intentional because its a bit confusing?

[Norrington]

It is meant to encompass all the greatest things we love about fictional pirate tales - ships, treasure, great men, tremendous battles - but in a new, caribbean-esque setting where one can, quite literally, do whatever the blazes they want to. It is a world for us, Pirate fans, to venture in and shape as we see fit.

But p'raps above all, it is meant to provide a real, true world for the LEGO Pirate lines of years past. No more mucking about in poorly-thought-out rehashes of earth history. This is meant as a real, tangible place for you to sail your ships to and fro in. A place for you, the LEGO Pirate enthusiast, to stake out land of your own, fight for your own cause, and make history up as you go.

You mean that all pirate lego fans are going to go to the caribbean, and start a new settlement? Score!

[Col. Whipstick]

Nice one Ravensdorn!

Personally I await the next move of the vermin piratical scum... let's see what the 'other' side of the lego pirate forum have to say for themselves regarding the next turn of events being as the islands are back in British hands there is little room for me to do the proverbial big behind-kicking as yet but should they retaliate they'll be shown the short sweet butt of an imperial rifle in their grizzly rum-slackened jaws!

Okay Pirate scum... do your worst! :-P

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

@Phes: Err, yeah, just poor writing and typos on my part :) I thought I had fixed that "Greggef Ravensburg" part... hm. Oh, by the way, Roterbart is german for Redbeard. And p'raps I can come up with some pictures to make it more interestin' ^_^

[Mister Phes]

You've got to have something to grab the audiences' attention and really interesting pictures seem to do the trick - hence why they're used in advertising so much.

And obviously you've also got to offer your existing audience something new and exciting for when then they return to the thread. So a bit of colour never goes astray.

GO GET EM LAAAAAADDIE!!!

[Norrington]

Assembling a starting fleet of three frigates, the Pillar of Autumn

Has someone been playing alot of HALO recently?

[Mister Phes]

Are there any updates/additions on the horizon, Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn?

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

Aye - Pillar of Autumn and In Amber Clad are a nod to quite possibly my favorite video game universe ever :P

@ Phes: Yes, the

FACTIONS

Detailed history, standings, and causes to fight for the Nine Factions of the Archipalego

NOTABLE FIGURES

From King Kahuka to Brass Storn, the notable men and women of the Nine Factions.

NOTABLE SHIPS

Ships that have made a great impression on the Archipalego shall be recounted here.

sections have to be written up :)

[Mister Phes]

Aye - Pillar of Autumn and In Amber Clad are a nod to quite possibly my favorite video game universe ever :P

I'm not familiar with this video game universe - where can I find more information about it?

[Tordenskjold]

Like the story mr Lorda admiral. just some questions.

1: this area , has the British king claimed all of it or could someone from a new country find them their own island and settle a colony there?

2. are you planning on being completly allone or do you have others with you in making the history /world ?

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

@Phes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_%28video_game_series%29

@Torden: Currently, I am writing it all myself. If someone would like to step forward with their ideas/discuss stuff, jus' drop me a PM or message me on AIM/MSN :)

[Mister Phes]

I don't really follow HALO so I'm confused when I see the Pillar of Autumn seems to be a space ship:

Exactly what does this story have to do with Halo?

[Tordenskjold]

Is this the same idea that you had last year? i think i saw a topic about this last summer. i then wrote you about some mapmaking . im looking forward to see drawings , or maps or mocs from that area.

If it is one thing i dont like that much then its the fact that this is in the pacific . i would like it better if it was in Carribeanso that we could go to plces like tortuga or Port royal :-D just kidding. its your world so you can place it wherever you want :)

[Mister Phes]

Apparently the Pirates of the Archipalego was going to be the basis for some kind of role playing game however nothing has eventuated of that so far and I don't know if this particular thread has anything to do with that.

But Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn shall inform us in due time.

[Tordenskjold]

hmm. me and a friend of mine tried to make a world to fight in with our plastic soldiers. but we ancounted a problem. every time i made a map it allways ended up in a way that favor only one side. we just couldnt be objectiv. thats why i look so forward to see what comes out of this. if i get to a island in that area and he(lord admiral) have already made the islands i then would have to choose what kind of island i like best and then settle there. instead of making a island that suits me perfectly :)

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

This topic is for the revamp of the basic universe setting that I had origionally layed out LAST year - the Archipalego. This here is simply a mythos that I am writing for my own enjoyment and that any and all can use with THEIR Lego Pirates if they so desire.

The Online Role Playing Game idea was "Pirates of the Archipaelgo: The Pirate Throne" or something along those lines. The point was was that after this basic outline was established, we would establish a forum-based RPG that would allow members of the Pirates community to effect the future of the Archipalego with MoCs and Stories.

As for the Pillar of Autumn, yes, it is a big space ship. In the first level of Halo you escape it as it crash-lands on the Halo Ring Installation, and in the last level you blow it up and take all of Halo with it. Furthermore, the "In Amber Clad" is another spaceship in Halo 2 which, to the best of my knowlage, gets rammed into a very, very large building.

This Pirates story has NOTHING to do with halo - I simply named the ships that in dedication to my favorite videogame-fiction universe and my very favorite FPS.