Capt. Lee Tartoga was raised by the nomadic Maghir gypsies who drift through the skies on a ragtag fleet of skyskiffs, trading goods and performing at each port they visited. His mother had been a dancer that had cought the eye of a Captain of the Royal Aerocorps. They romanced for the brief time they shared that port, but each was familiar with the life of changing winds that they lived. Lee knew little of his father and was raised with the other children, growing familiar with a life in the sky himself. When a plague killed his mother and most of the gypsy party, the remaining crew delivered Lee to the Royal Aerocorps Academy. His father had written to his mother earlier, telling her that he now ran the Academy and would like Lee to attend. Commander Titus had little interest in being a father, but he was an honorable man and had decided to give Lee the same chance that his father had given him as a young man. Lee's mixed heritage was obvious enough that he decided to keep his mother's name, despite the odds stacked against him.
Lee excelled far beyond his peers, sons of noble's and merchants, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Aerocorps. Through distinguished service Lee was awarded his own command of a small frigate, the SkS (SkyShip) Long Shot. Captain Tartoga became known for his unconventional style of attack that struck swiftly while maneuvering out of reach of his opponent's guns, garnering him the nickname "Dancing" Tartoga or simply "Dancer." His unique prowess cought the attention of the Aerocorps Grand Administrator who had a suitably unique offer for Lee. The Treaty of Flouer outlined the rules of engagement that prevented national ships from attacking noncombative ships and making unconventional raids. This had made privateering a lucrative career and benefited the Aerocorps when used in tandem. The problem was that privateers were usually little better than pirates and no more reliable. If Lee and his ship were taken off the books, they would be free to pursue their own dark crusade free of the Treaty but powered by the government. Capt. Tartoga agreed and took on the mantle of Dancer, Captain of the SkS "Low" Shot. As Dancer, Lee became a terror in the nightmares of the (insert) Republic. Frustrated by the actions of privateers who hid in Royal skies despite the Crown denying involvement, Republican Inquisitors sent out spies to find a connection. When such a connection was found to the Grand Administer's shadow project, the Crown was forced to renounce Capt. Tartoga as a deserter and a traitor. While his crew stayed loyal, Lee had no where to run. He resorted to the old Maghir routes until Inquisitorial ships found the Low Shot. The following battle was dire and Lee used every dirty trick to criple the enemy ships in order to escape but one managed to close with and board the Low Shot. The crew fought valiantly but resistance was futile. Bloodied, alone, and not a damn bullet left, Tartoga was taken into custody.

Sorry, probably more drivel than anyone wants to read. To sum it up, his name is Lee Tartoga and he is a half Maghir (sky nomad) Gypsy.

Is this going to be more of an RPG where you fight monsters or is this just an exercise in creative writing?

There will be some light action elements introduced by me and some other aspects but it's mainly for story.

Ahh. Was never good at roleplaying for any stretch of time. I'm more of a "throw dice at the DM and steal his beer" kind of guy.

No problem...you can always read along and perhaps chime in in this thread(when we do offtopic/etc) to suggest things and talk in general about how it's going.

With a little bastard left in every port, I can't help but feel nervous when a mysterious little girl shows up.

Thank you, FantasySci5. I have no problem with Clairey and Shudder intertwining. Perhaps it evolves into a mentor/protege sort of dynamic. Shudder is not designed to be a Gandalf type. However, he is seasoned and has gone through a few significant experiences (one of which resulted directly in his current appearance).

GR-

Im fine with the latest rule additions.

I'm chaotic good. and I'm only a ranger, just a rogue-like ranger. It wasn't about being both, it was about fleshing it out. I don't see any requirement to choose any specific type of class, nor do I think I will have some type of advantage from being an intricate character. See no problem with that, but GameRager objects then it's his game.

If you prefer, I could say just a "sneaky" type of Ranger.

Plus the personality stuff is just personality, not really saying much about capability, nor is the "tech" side thing.

l'll be the force of life, ebbing and flowing constantly.

Would anyone like to be the Gnome inventor? See use for an ally in this dark world...

I will be your gnomish, steampunk-cleric inventor!

You can call me Mouse.

The son of a respectable gnomish carpenter, Mouse became well-versed in the art of crafting at an early age. He built all of his own toys (and most of his friends' toys, for that matter), and as he grew, he learned to make tools, wagon wheels, barrels, weapons, and all manner of other useful items. Since the age of twelve he has carried a hand-crafted wooden staff with him for self defense, though a gnome's staff would be little more than a walking stick to a grown man.

Mouse had always harbored a secret fascination for the magical and arcane arts. He read through his few books on the subject countless times but, try as he might, Mouse failed his every attempt at producing even the simplest of charms. His beloved Manual of Beginner's Spellcasting clearly stated that certain people are simply not cut out to be mages, but that did not deter Mouse from spending many long nights poring over his texts on magical theory.

At the age of sixteen, Mouse broadened his sights and began to study the gods and myths of The North, hoping that this might give him an avenue through which to practice magic. He read about a magic based upon belief, which could give its practitioners certain powers over life and the body, the most important being the ability to heal others. Mouse found that this magic had a certain theory behind it as well, but a theory entirely different from that which controls arcane magics. This magic was based upon his own beliefs and the beliefs of others; the power of religion as well as persuasiveness; the psychology of the individual as well as the dynamics between many people.

Mouse, the apprentice carpenter, tried his hand at this healing magic when he was not working for his father. He seemed to be able to generate some small effect when he tried to heal others - he did best with the friends who believed in him the most - but he could never heal himself, or any of the skeptics, with magic alone. Mouse understood that this was because he could never truly bring himself to believe in the ancient myths from which he was trying to draw power. His mind was simply too scientific to accept them in their fullness. Even still, Mouse understood the intent of this power, and he was determined to make it work in whatever way he could.

His craft was something that Mouse could always believe in, and so Mouse set his mind to crafting and inventing tools that would help him improve his mediocre healing power. He studied the clerical powers of his ancestors, and he experimented with ways to produce similar results from the power of man alone. Many inventions failed, but some succeeded brilliantly. The clerics of legend could lay a hand on an open wound and heal it in a matter of minutes. Mouse could instead sterilize the wound with alcohol and select herbs, then stich the skin closed and bandage the area. He would attempt to call upon the gods for assistance, but he knew that the majority of his work was done without divine intervention.

By the time he had reached twenty years of age, Mouse longed to travel the world, learning the myths and technologies of other cultures. He jumped at the opportunity to join with the first world-wearied traveler to pass through his village - a man who called himself Wraith.

So cool! Everyone's writing long and detailed starts to their characters...may I? :)

Dohohoho.......don't be giving me ideas, laddie. :)

*Reminded of Scene from a Shrek film where Puss is off to sea with Shrek when all of a sudden a female feline shows up and he pledges his love to her, and all the other females that pop up at the same time.....* Good, good......and as I said you don't have to interact your major or minor storylines with everyone else's....but you can if you want to....though it has to be with their permission and non fatal to their characters as I said.
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Added to OP post.

IMO it all works and isn't about not being overpowered here as this isn't a stat based RPG for most of it.......just as long as you don't try to upstage everyone with some sort of Deus Ex Machina or something and make us all look like chumps. I better add that to the rule then, brb. :)
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(Added Rule: No one can use some sort of Deus Ex Machina device to influence/change/shape the main storyline in any way without majority player approval and OP approval. Like killing off all enemies with some sort of Vorpal Flaying Canon of Smiteitude and saving the day for everyone involved.)

(BTW TO ALL: I like the backgrounds bout again no posting any initial posts or too complex a background yet until I set the scene with charts/info/map/etc....so that I can have little to conflict with the initial setup or have to shoehorn into the first post of mine.)
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Lol no outright mystical deities allowed for players, sorry. :P

:)
Go ahead, but try not to add too many details at the start so I don't have to ask you or others with such details to change them if I can't add them feasibly to the background history/info of the main storyline & areas.

It's okay, I can do a more detailed post after you set the scene. :)