Steampunk Dragon Hunting

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Dahrinn (Groucho)

The Wizard
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Male
Genres
Fantasy, Sci fi, anything in which the world itelf is extremely interesting.
Hello and welcome!
This roleplay, as stated by the title, follows the story of Dragon hunters in a steampunk setting.

They travel aboard a large airship, and either fly fighter planes or man the airship's weapons to bring Dragons crashing down, selling their highly valued corpses.
(To make things such as dragon oil, dragon leather, blimps made from dragon wing membranes, etc.)

The airship in question is The Beowulf, a vessel captained by the famous John Caine.
A few of the old hunters were killed recently, so players can be either survivors or new recruits.
If for some reason one would prefer not to hunt Dragons, there are also job openings for other tasks.
(Medic, engineer, cook, ect.)

I'm open to both suggestions and questions, as I'm still deciding on just how advanced technology should get, or if magic should exist. (Sure, dragons exist in this world, but they're just animals, extremely powerful, dangerous, and intelligent animals.)

Once more, Questions and Suggestions are encouraged!
 
Are dragons playable?
 
I'm in! Not sure about the magic but if there was I think it should be technology based and not people shooting fireballs out their hands. Alchemy, stuff like that sounds good.
 
Are dragons playable?
Dragons are animals in this lore, acting on instinct and being incapable of talking.
Unfortunately, dragons are not playable.
 
Interested.
 
What would your post expectations be for this RP? Otherwise, I'm sold.
 
I'm thinking a little around a few times a week or more, medium-quality.
 
I'm thinking the sizes of the posts can vary depending on the situation.
(For example, answering a question would be a bit harder to make into a few paragraphs than say... Sewing back together a rip in the airship's balloon.)
 
Sounds fun. As for magic - how about dragon bones contain a special mineral that forms as small orange crystals that glow faintly. These crystals are responsible for A - the dragon being able to breath fire and B - the dragon being able to fly in the first place (since it's physically impossible for a beast that large to fly normally.) Maybe even blue variants can be found in the northern regions where the ice dragons may or may not live? Anyway, these stones also act as catalysts in certain reactions that wouldn't normally take place and can be considered magical. Thus, no one can wield magic directly, but it allows for 2 things - equipment that utilises magical functions, such as super-efficient engines or much more powerful cannons that can more effectively pierce the dragon's hide, and alchemy, as someone suggested above - turning base metals into gold. Or perhaps for this, turning scrap components into items of equal value. Both or either of these would make the bones a valuable asset to nearly every field of work imaginable, instead of the dragon remnants being useful only as trophies and in much more specific occupations.
 
I'd be down.

I do like the idea that dragons have something inherently magical in their bodies; it provides a more compelling reason to hunt them than "big scary monster GO GIT IT". It implies all sorts of interesting things like a whole sub-economy around the acquisition, trading and use of monster body parts.

I currently have an idea for an academic who is along to study dragon anatomy and maybe believes that dragons used to be way more powerful and intelligent than they are now.
 
I'll certainly be integrating the crystals into the lore, they'd certainly make dragon hunting a job lucrative enough to risk one's life doing, and help to make the dragons more mysterious.

It would also add another possible job aboard the airship; someone who can quickly extract the crystals from a dragon's carcass.

I also have an idea for John Caine's backstory, he's hunted dragons his whole life, but one has eluded him since his career began. This dragon bit a chunk out of his left hand when he first saw it, and he ripped a chunk out of it's upper jaw.

Since then he's been hunting it, and he's fought it twenty three times since then, and each time it left him with a nasty scar before fleeing.

Despite being a smaller dragon, it's unusually large and sharp claws on it's back legs can tear through the balloon of an airship with ease. A news article once called the dragon Daggerfoot, and the name spread around quickly, now even John calls it that.
 
Could someone have two jobs, Say, hunter and medic? On that note, is airship pilot a possible job?
 
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One person could have more than one job. (After all, if the Cook's a good shot, no reason they can't handle a turret.)

And someone would need to steer the ship while John's off inspecting the ship, or planning the next hunt, or throwing darts at a picture of Daggerfoot. So yeah, pilot is available.
 
I'll be working on the sign up thread soon, any last questions or suggestions?
 
I'll be working on the sign up thread soon, any last questions or suggestions?
 
I think my character's going to be someone who has a natural affinity to the dragon crystals, who can easily work with them. Essentially, they'll be the on-board engineer of all things involving the dragon crystals, and an expert on how they work. They'll also act as the appraiser of any given crystal's quality and likely value. It also lets me add any new lore about the crystals through the IC if it's necessary. Also, there ought to be a name for the dragon crystals... I'm thinking something along the lines of Pyrocite and Cryocite for fire and ice dragons respectively?
 
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