Post by Dungeon Master on Oct 25, 2007 21:35:10 GMT -5
Giff Navy
David Hart <http://www.darkwood.org/cgi-bin/mailit.cgi?David_Hart>
The existence of a separate Giff Navy is not a commonly understood aspect of Giff society, as giff lack the ability to man helms , and distrust magic enough to avoid using furnace helms. The navy's presence in wildspace though is seen through the presence of fleets of Great Bombards, and Clippers escorting large merchant convoys across the spheres, or engaged in work as mercenary ships. As well the presence of Giff Marines on board help complicates matters in the view of outsiders. The structure, its history, and how the navy operates are unique in wildspace, and the navy operates and thrives in wildspace playing a significant role across the spheres.
Structurally the navy is based around the ship, not the platoon, and as such is much more stable and cohesive. The reason for this is that Giff ships have a solid core of ships crew that changes only occasionally when the crewmembers are shifted out through promotions, transfers and death. Unlike the Corps platoons there is no need to increase or decrease the platoons size to fit an employers needs, the ship itself is hired fully manned and crewed by the giff themselves. Giff ships always have at least one officer on board no matter the size of the vessel be it Dragonfly or Clipper, and the highest non flag officer is the usually the captain of the vessel. This system has created for the navy a two level social structure, the officers and the crew. The crew, even though it may consist of only one member, is headed by the Boson, who keeps the other members of the crew in line. The position of Boson is not an actual rank, but is the title of the highest-ranking non-officer. Under the boson are the master mates, who in larger ships are in control in certain aspects of keeping it running, these include the sail master, "Gunny" or gunnery master, and on vessels with oars, the oar master. The giff as always are inventive in coming up with small degrees in rank between the crew, but there is only one Boson on a ship. Officers start at the rank of midshipman, and can reach from this bottom rank: Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain (Ship, Line, Flag, Post, Fleet), Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Admiral . A Giff officer attains Flag rank in the final stages of the rank of Captain with a personal pendant created and designated for his sole use. For Giff this means that Captain X would not be a Flag officer, but Flag Captain C would, as well as Post-Captain W. Flag Captains can continue to captain a vessel, but some others also take command roles within fleets.
Part of, but under a completely different command structure are the Giff Marines onboard the vessel. The Giff Marines are an essential part of any Giff ship, and play a vital role in manning the ship. The Giff Marines are employed as marines, they are charged with leading boarding parties, and securing the ship from enemy attack. Fierce warriors a full platoon can take on all but the most heavily guarded vessels and take it. The Giff platoons place in the ships command structure is as with all things Giff marked by their love of complex and intricate rank systems, the platoon is under its own separate command, and only takes suggestions from the ships captain. This has lead to occasional clash, but most Giff captains, and the marines leader get along quite well, in fact there are number of pairs who are mates as well. As well by wearing their distinctive red-coated uniforms, the presence of the marines on board Giff ships, has left most non-giff confused as to the true nature of the Giff navy.
To helm their vessels most Giff Captains reluctantly hire on an important, but disliked part of the crew, the helmsman. Viewing most mages with distrust the more traditional and mage fearing Giff Captains hire on priests to man the helm, with priests of Ptah being the most common, followers of gods of war also are found among Giff helmsman are common as well. Any deity that favours smoke powder has hireable priests as well, but because of the limitations of the gods most Giff only hire them for in sphere helming. Among the more open-minded Giff Captains mages can be found as helmsman as well, with Rastipede mages being favoured, along with invokers with the spell fireball .
The fleets of the Giff aren't lead from a central command like the elves , but instead are spread throughout stars hiring on with virtually all the races of wildspace as ships of war engaged in protecting ports, escorting convoys, hunting pirates, attacking enemy shipping, blockading ports, and any other duties required of them. As well individual Giff can be found working in the throughout wildspace, they are still part of the Giff Navy; they merely are not working on a Giff Naval ship . They are still vital parts of the Giff Navy as most are officers who seek the opportunities to command their own vessel, be it warship, merchantman, or adventuring ships. Maintaining the links in the Giff Navy is the Naval House found in each port, which is home to a number of Giff ships. The Naval House occurs when a Giff Captain decides to put down roots and base himself out a port. Of course this means that a variety of support services are required , but most often the first acquired is an office where the Captain can discuss contracts with various clients. If the Captain is the first to settle down in the port, his office has become the Giff Naval House for the port. Members of the Giff navy in port will come up to the Naval House looking for information on who else is in port, any news of other ships, where the best places in town are etc. Of course the actual location of Naval House can constantly fluctuate depending on what happens in the Giff community, some of the larger more prosperous communities have a large solid building with many services available, while at the other end the Naval House could be no more than a small rented room in a run down inn. If substantial numbers of ships are home ported, the Captains will meet and assign at least one officer to command the Naval House, which is considered a position of great responsibility and the quickest way to get a command.
When a Giff ship is home ported and on a contract remaining in sphere they are expected to forward 5% of it to the Naval House for the use of the Giff community in general. In turn the Naval House in turn spends the monies on maintaining the Naval House, providing services for Giff in port including medical costs, helping them out in case of trouble from port authorities, and saving up to purchase and outfit new ships. As well the Naval House receives 1/4 of the value of any prise ship captured by a Giff naval vessel. The main reason why the Giff navy follows this tradition is that there is a constant demand for new ships among the Giff, as the younger members press for command slots, and the senior Giff resist giving them up. New vessels help relieve this pressure, as well as replace those lost in combat, accident, or old age. Often if the Naval House's treasury is large enough to support it, it will purchase small craft to run messages to other Giff Naval Houses as couriers. A common practice among Giff is to send messages between one another through the Naval House courier system, as well as announcements of new ships, deaths, births, and promotions. When traveling between spheres, Giff ships usually leave a Naval House to which to forward its mail to, if the crewmembers wish to.
As the Giff are deeply interested in all activities martial Naval Houses will often have rooms devoted to practicing skills at arms, and of course put in a firing range to practice with whatever smoke powder weapons they have. As well the more successful Naval Houses will often sponsor series of lectures by noted warriors, tacticians, historians, and sages to help maintain the skills of its members. Another common characteristic of Giff Naval Houses is to build small libraries devoted to military history and tactics. Seekers are often employed to run these libraries, and for the smaller Naval Houses unable to afford libraries access to the Seeker's local library is often sought.
Another oft feared function of the Naval House is the Captain's Board, which is made up of either 3 active ships captains, or officers with the rank of Captain and up. The Board is called any time calls for promotions occur, court martials are held, mediating major disputes between fellow Giff, determining assignments to new vessels, applications for enlistment, and more happily welcoming new born Giff into the community by entering him/her into the official listing of their name and vital information . Appearing before a Board a major event for PC Giff, as they are either being reviewed for employment, or even more feared being called forward for a court martial. Commanders of the Naval House participate in most of the Boards functions, but do not take part in court martials in order to keep the Naval House neutral until the matter has been decided.
Here are a few examples of the Giff Naval Ships:
GS (Giff Ship) Imperious, Damselfly
Under the command of Lieutenant Vanderboom (F 4)
Ships Men: Boson Bombbast (F 3), Sailor Rompta (4hd Giff),
Marines: (4 Giff marines)
Helmsman: 2 priests (1st, 2nd)
GS Tigers Fury, Great Bombard
Under the command of Captain of the Line Ombadidoo (F 7)
Ships Officers: Lieutenant Commander Bompa (XO) (F 5), Lieutenant x 2,
Ensign x 2, and Midshipman x 1
Ships Men: Boson Farsight (F 6), Sail Master, Gunnery Master, Sailor x5
Marines: 12 Marines
Helmsman: 2 priests (1st, 4th) 1 Rastipede mage (3rd)
GS Dunkirk, Clipper
Under the command of Post Captain Hornblower (F9)
With Admiral Fisher embarked (F 12)
Ships Officers: Commander (XO), Lieutenant Commander x 2, Lieutenant x 3,
Ensign x 6, and Midshipman x 4
Ships Men: Boson Davy Jones, Sailmaster, Gunnery Master, and Sailors x 15
Marines: 20 Marines
Helmsman: 3 priests of Ptah (1st, 3rd, 6th)
David Hart <http://www.darkwood.org/cgi-bin/mailit.cgi?David_Hart>
The existence of a separate Giff Navy is not a commonly understood aspect of Giff society, as giff lack the ability to man helms , and distrust magic enough to avoid using furnace helms. The navy's presence in wildspace though is seen through the presence of fleets of Great Bombards, and Clippers escorting large merchant convoys across the spheres, or engaged in work as mercenary ships. As well the presence of Giff Marines on board help complicates matters in the view of outsiders. The structure, its history, and how the navy operates are unique in wildspace, and the navy operates and thrives in wildspace playing a significant role across the spheres.
Structurally the navy is based around the ship, not the platoon, and as such is much more stable and cohesive. The reason for this is that Giff ships have a solid core of ships crew that changes only occasionally when the crewmembers are shifted out through promotions, transfers and death. Unlike the Corps platoons there is no need to increase or decrease the platoons size to fit an employers needs, the ship itself is hired fully manned and crewed by the giff themselves. Giff ships always have at least one officer on board no matter the size of the vessel be it Dragonfly or Clipper, and the highest non flag officer is the usually the captain of the vessel. This system has created for the navy a two level social structure, the officers and the crew. The crew, even though it may consist of only one member, is headed by the Boson, who keeps the other members of the crew in line. The position of Boson is not an actual rank, but is the title of the highest-ranking non-officer. Under the boson are the master mates, who in larger ships are in control in certain aspects of keeping it running, these include the sail master, "Gunny" or gunnery master, and on vessels with oars, the oar master. The giff as always are inventive in coming up with small degrees in rank between the crew, but there is only one Boson on a ship. Officers start at the rank of midshipman, and can reach from this bottom rank: Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain (Ship, Line, Flag, Post, Fleet), Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Admiral . A Giff officer attains Flag rank in the final stages of the rank of Captain with a personal pendant created and designated for his sole use. For Giff this means that Captain X would not be a Flag officer, but Flag Captain C would, as well as Post-Captain W. Flag Captains can continue to captain a vessel, but some others also take command roles within fleets.
Part of, but under a completely different command structure are the Giff Marines onboard the vessel. The Giff Marines are an essential part of any Giff ship, and play a vital role in manning the ship. The Giff Marines are employed as marines, they are charged with leading boarding parties, and securing the ship from enemy attack. Fierce warriors a full platoon can take on all but the most heavily guarded vessels and take it. The Giff platoons place in the ships command structure is as with all things Giff marked by their love of complex and intricate rank systems, the platoon is under its own separate command, and only takes suggestions from the ships captain. This has lead to occasional clash, but most Giff captains, and the marines leader get along quite well, in fact there are number of pairs who are mates as well. As well by wearing their distinctive red-coated uniforms, the presence of the marines on board Giff ships, has left most non-giff confused as to the true nature of the Giff navy.
To helm their vessels most Giff Captains reluctantly hire on an important, but disliked part of the crew, the helmsman. Viewing most mages with distrust the more traditional and mage fearing Giff Captains hire on priests to man the helm, with priests of Ptah being the most common, followers of gods of war also are found among Giff helmsman are common as well. Any deity that favours smoke powder has hireable priests as well, but because of the limitations of the gods most Giff only hire them for in sphere helming. Among the more open-minded Giff Captains mages can be found as helmsman as well, with Rastipede mages being favoured, along with invokers with the spell fireball .
The fleets of the Giff aren't lead from a central command like the elves , but instead are spread throughout stars hiring on with virtually all the races of wildspace as ships of war engaged in protecting ports, escorting convoys, hunting pirates, attacking enemy shipping, blockading ports, and any other duties required of them. As well individual Giff can be found working in the throughout wildspace, they are still part of the Giff Navy; they merely are not working on a Giff Naval ship . They are still vital parts of the Giff Navy as most are officers who seek the opportunities to command their own vessel, be it warship, merchantman, or adventuring ships. Maintaining the links in the Giff Navy is the Naval House found in each port, which is home to a number of Giff ships. The Naval House occurs when a Giff Captain decides to put down roots and base himself out a port. Of course this means that a variety of support services are required , but most often the first acquired is an office where the Captain can discuss contracts with various clients. If the Captain is the first to settle down in the port, his office has become the Giff Naval House for the port. Members of the Giff navy in port will come up to the Naval House looking for information on who else is in port, any news of other ships, where the best places in town are etc. Of course the actual location of Naval House can constantly fluctuate depending on what happens in the Giff community, some of the larger more prosperous communities have a large solid building with many services available, while at the other end the Naval House could be no more than a small rented room in a run down inn. If substantial numbers of ships are home ported, the Captains will meet and assign at least one officer to command the Naval House, which is considered a position of great responsibility and the quickest way to get a command.
When a Giff ship is home ported and on a contract remaining in sphere they are expected to forward 5% of it to the Naval House for the use of the Giff community in general. In turn the Naval House in turn spends the monies on maintaining the Naval House, providing services for Giff in port including medical costs, helping them out in case of trouble from port authorities, and saving up to purchase and outfit new ships. As well the Naval House receives 1/4 of the value of any prise ship captured by a Giff naval vessel. The main reason why the Giff navy follows this tradition is that there is a constant demand for new ships among the Giff, as the younger members press for command slots, and the senior Giff resist giving them up. New vessels help relieve this pressure, as well as replace those lost in combat, accident, or old age. Often if the Naval House's treasury is large enough to support it, it will purchase small craft to run messages to other Giff Naval Houses as couriers. A common practice among Giff is to send messages between one another through the Naval House courier system, as well as announcements of new ships, deaths, births, and promotions. When traveling between spheres, Giff ships usually leave a Naval House to which to forward its mail to, if the crewmembers wish to.
As the Giff are deeply interested in all activities martial Naval Houses will often have rooms devoted to practicing skills at arms, and of course put in a firing range to practice with whatever smoke powder weapons they have. As well the more successful Naval Houses will often sponsor series of lectures by noted warriors, tacticians, historians, and sages to help maintain the skills of its members. Another common characteristic of Giff Naval Houses is to build small libraries devoted to military history and tactics. Seekers are often employed to run these libraries, and for the smaller Naval Houses unable to afford libraries access to the Seeker's local library is often sought.
Another oft feared function of the Naval House is the Captain's Board, which is made up of either 3 active ships captains, or officers with the rank of Captain and up. The Board is called any time calls for promotions occur, court martials are held, mediating major disputes between fellow Giff, determining assignments to new vessels, applications for enlistment, and more happily welcoming new born Giff into the community by entering him/her into the official listing of their name and vital information . Appearing before a Board a major event for PC Giff, as they are either being reviewed for employment, or even more feared being called forward for a court martial. Commanders of the Naval House participate in most of the Boards functions, but do not take part in court martials in order to keep the Naval House neutral until the matter has been decided.
Here are a few examples of the Giff Naval Ships:
GS (Giff Ship) Imperious, Damselfly
Under the command of Lieutenant Vanderboom (F 4)
Ships Men: Boson Bombbast (F 3), Sailor Rompta (4hd Giff),
Marines: (4 Giff marines)
Helmsman: 2 priests (1st, 2nd)
GS Tigers Fury, Great Bombard
Under the command of Captain of the Line Ombadidoo (F 7)
Ships Officers: Lieutenant Commander Bompa (XO) (F 5), Lieutenant x 2,
Ensign x 2, and Midshipman x 1
Ships Men: Boson Farsight (F 6), Sail Master, Gunnery Master, Sailor x5
Marines: 12 Marines
Helmsman: 2 priests (1st, 4th) 1 Rastipede mage (3rd)
GS Dunkirk, Clipper
Under the command of Post Captain Hornblower (F9)
With Admiral Fisher embarked (F 12)
Ships Officers: Commander (XO), Lieutenant Commander x 2, Lieutenant x 3,
Ensign x 6, and Midshipman x 4
Ships Men: Boson Davy Jones, Sailmaster, Gunnery Master, and Sailors x 15
Marines: 20 Marines
Helmsman: 3 priests of Ptah (1st, 3rd, 6th)