Surprise voting opportunity and more info about the characters in the upcoming story!

With the quick response on the first set of votes we're a little over half way through the wait until the next set of crewmen come up for a vote. In order to keep everyone's head in the game I'm going to give the first set of sailors a little jump ahead on the next vote.

After determining the members of the crew readers will also have a say in their backgrounds. I originally planned on presenting all ten at once but considering the extra time we have due to how quickly the votes came in on the first set of sailors I may as well fill the empty air-time with the second portion of their creation!

What follows are the ten characters who are already determined to be members of the crew presented alongside their details. Those readers already familiar with my past stories know that there is a variable nature to them that I include, not just so readers have input but because I like to be kept on my feet. In the Wave Rider these numbers will be summarized by attributes provided on each important character in the story; as with The Lead Crown the attributes will be ranked from one to nine and summarized with S.T.E.A.M. specifically:

Social​ is a rating of how well a character can handle situations where discourse, negotiation, and other verbal interaction is at play. A character with a higher Social score will be better equipped to deal with tasks where dialogue is important.

Teaching​ governs how much a character knows; while a large portion of this may include book smarts and education there is also a certain element of life experience that contributes to this attribute. A character with a high Teaching score will be able to handle riddles, puzzles, and intellectual problems.

Endurance​ determines not just how much physical punishment a character can stand, it also provides a baseline expectation for willpower, mental resilience, and a character's aptitude for survival despite adverse conditions. Adventuring is dangerous business and characters with less Endurance should probably stay at home (or at least on the ship).

Athletics​ is not just a measure of a character's knack for movement in all its forms (swimming, climbing, running, and jumping) it also indicates just how much panache a character might be able to display while acting. Characters with high Athletics tend to be the best for physical challenges and exploring unsettled areas with uneven terrain.

Might​​ ​is a​ pure and unadulterated view of a character's ability to lift weight, deal damage, and apply physical force to problems that may arise. Characters with a high Might score are generally considered to be the heavies, bruisers, and lifters thus no real group is complete without at least one character with a high Might rating.


Here are the ten already-determined characters, info about them, and their STEAM, You will note a listing on each description entitled "Mutable?". Details on that to follow.

Name: Alistair Jacksoni
Nation: Ilyse
Breed: Tiger
Job: Captain of The Wave Rider
Age: Mid-20s
Sex: Male
STEAM: 85665
Mutable? NO
Alistair is the eldest son of famed Ilysian merchant Nico Jacksoni. Unlike his father, Alistair has no interest in business and prefers to use his family's ample fortune in an effort to turn the world into his personal playground. Unlike most carefree children of rich families, Alistair prefers to do something with his antics and so he has chosen to put together a crew who can help his ship cater to his desire for adventure while at the same time exploring parts of the world usually left unseen by civilized man. Another rarity among the children of the rich, Alistair often comes across as a puritan; he takes no part in any vices yet he seems at ease with allowing drinking, gambling, and other questionable activities aboard his ship so long as nothing is done to excess.

Name: Rolf Severna
Nation: Lehsunian
Breed: Prong Horn
Job: Bosun of The Wave Rider
Age: Early-30s
Sex: Male
STEAM: 75675
Mutable? NO
The Eldest of three brothers, Rolf was one of only two who survived childhood; the middle brother, Dennis died shortly after being born. Due to their loss, Rolf's parents became extra protective-- especially his father. Having grown up under the careful watch of his highly religious father, Rolf eventually rebelled in his early teens and took off with Reverend Gustave on an adventure anywhere a sailing ship would take them. He has been at sea almost ever since. In addition to learning all there is to know about sailing, Rolf also studied extensively with Reverend Gustave which means that he is also seen as a junior pastor on board. Many years at sea also helped him hone his skills at swashbuckling works backup for the Wave-Rider's Man-at-Arms in leading the troops.

Name: Reverend Gustave Fischer
Nation: Wyra
Breed: Sea Otter
Job: Missionary Aboard The Wave Rider
Age: Mid-40s
Sex: Male
STEAM: 86655
Mutable? NO
Those who know Reverend Gustave usually like him, and those who do not know him often come to like him. He is a jovial fellow whose loud voice is a perfect herald for his enormous height and commendable girth. Despite the fact that many would call Gustave 'portly' he is still capable of moving when the need calls for it and has proven on multiple occasions to be a skilled warrior. Nevertheless, the good Reverend prefers to avoid violence and would rather spend an evening crossing wits rather than swords. While many stereotypes suggest that otters make poor singers Reverend Gustave loves hymns and even a few select popular songs and spends his spare time humming and singing in a rich, rumbling bass.

Name: Dr. Christine "Chris" Brownell
Nation: Lehsunia
Breed: Mouse
Job: Surgeon Aboard The Wave Rider
Age: Late-20s.
Sex: Female
STEAM: 69555
Mutable? NO
Dr. Brownell has the distinct privilege of being one of the few female physicians acknowledged by the University and she owes that distinction to the fact that her certificate of merit is written to "Chris Brownell". Dr. Brownell has always been the insightful sort and when she applied for classes she did so by correspondence and so nobody at the University knew she was a woman. She is a progressive-thinking mouse who realizes that she has to fight for every ounce of respect due to her sex, and that means she has the heart of a warrior. Despite a rocky start, Chris will soon be celebrating her two year anniversary with her paramour, Tobias Severna. Not only a skilled doctor, Dr. Brownell also has extensive scientific knowledge involving herbs which was taught to her by the tribal people of Lehsunia.

Name: Tobias Severna
Nation: Lehsunia
Breed: Prong Horn
Job: Scientist Aboard The Wave Rider
Age: Late-20s.
Sex: Male
STEAM: 68565
Mutable? NO
The youngest of three brothers, Tobias always grew up in someone else's shadow. He was just starting to grow up when his brother Rolf left home and since his other brother died before he was born that left Tobias as the sole child left in his family; his father was obsessively protective. Even though he grew up in a highly religious household he was always amazed at the wonderful tribal stories his mother told to him and so his love of nature blossomed. Eventually he became a student at the University of Progressive Understanding with the goal of combining the ancient wisdom of the Tribals and the scientific knowledge of the University. During an extended foray out in the field he met Dr. Christine Brownell and after something of a rough period of courting-alternating-with-fighting the two became a couple.

Name: Ash-Moon
Nation: Tribes of Lehsunia
Breed: Jackal
Job: Fist Mate of The Wave Rider
Age: Early-30s.
Sex: Male
STEAM: 35787
Mutable? YES
A member of a tribe that is universally despised by all others within Lehsunia's wild eastern lands, Ash-Moon had seen his fair share of conflict well before his twentieth birthday; he served his tribe for many years as a hunter, a warrior, and a slaver. Before the unification of Lehsunia's tribes Ash-Moon went his own way, desiring to learn more about the settled people of the land. Due to his aggressive and uncivilized nature he spent a fair amount of time imprisoned until, during one of his short bouts of freedom he protected Alistair from a mugging. He's served Captain Jacksoni faithfully for the past three years. After a particularly nasty attack by pirates out at sea the crew gained a new respect (and fear) of the Jackal after they saw him pull a man's heart out of his chest and eat it. It's safe to say that few would willingly ignore an order from the first mate.

Name: Alan Drisel
Nation: Doelich
Breed: Goat
Job: Foreman of The Wave Rider
Age: Early-40s
Sex: Male
STEAM: 44868
Mutable? YES (1 VOTE TO CHANGE)
Although all of Alan's history involved working as a laborer on land for the Jacksoni family, Captain Alistair elected to hire him on as The Wave Rider's foreman. Having worked together for a number of years Alan is able to anticipate almost all of the Captain's needs before they're even spoken. In fact, despite Foreman Drisel's sour disposition and great love of brow-beating anyone who doesn't move fast enough the Goat has nothing but the most pleasant words for the Captain. Many assume that this is just high quality ass-kissery (which usually gets them deck scrubbing duties from the Foreman if spoken aloud) but the truth of the matter is that Alan was one of the few employees of the family business who Alistair respected and so, in return, earned the old goat's respect. Alan is also one of the few people onboard who can reign in the Captain's over exuberant enthusiasm long enough to get the tiger to stop and think... sometimes.

Name: Lt. Karl Jak
Nation: Wyra
Breed: Rottweiler
Job: Gunner of The Wave Rider
Age: Late-30s
Sex: Male
STEAM: 45768
Mutable? YES
Despite over a dozen years of honorable service to the Wyrean Navy Lt. Jack had his commission revoked due to a catastrophic event on board his ship caused by the First Mate; the blame was redirected to the Lieutenant. After being discharged Lt. Jak was ready to lay down and die until the uppity son of a merchant walked into the bar, encountered him and refused to stop talking to him long enough that the Rottweiler had no choice but to respond; that was over five years ago and Karl hasn't lost his liking for Alistair Jacksoni. More than anyone else on board Lt. Jack has the look of a warrior; his fur is crisscrossed with blade scars and numerous patches of furless skin show through areas where he had been wounded by small (and large) arms fire. He often wears a wide brimmed hat to hide the fact that he lost most of his left ear and in the rare instance he smiles the left side of his lower lip peels away to show a split almost the width of a thumb.

Name: Mr. Chen
Nation: Jiuyan
Breed: Housecat
Job: Armourer of The Wave Rider
Age: Mid-30s.
Sex: Male
STEAM: 55596
Mutable? YES
Very little is known about Mr. Chen save that he was, at one time, a master craftsman in Jiuyan. He has served aboard The Wave Rider for the past three years and has done so faithfully and with no complaint. The Cat is neither socialable nor reclusive, simply choosing to focus on his work and ignore everyone else as much as possible. Any visitors are met with indifference; senior offers are spoken to respectfully and with deference though still coldly; underlings and junior officers are usually insulted out of the room (at least, they assume what the Cat is saying are insults-- none of them speak Jiuyani). Most new sailors ignore the Armourer since he does a good job of convincing those not familiar with the ship that he doesn't speak anything but his native language. Those who dare spread rumors about Mr. Chen seem to think he was disgraced and forced to leave Jiuyan because he had a preference for "relations with men" but that hasn't been substantiated and the sailors are too afraid of him to be rude enough to ask him.

Name: Chief Somus Veridius
Nation: Mehnzil
Breed: Dragon
Job: Engineer of The Wave Rider
Age: Late-20s
Sex: Male
STEAM: 58656
Mutable? YES
Despite being young, Chief Somus (he tells sailors to call him Somus or just "Chief" if they feel they have to) is well respected aboard the Wave Rider. Originally hired in an apprentice position to the prior Chief of the ship, Somus saved the crew from a raiding party of privateers who had disabled the ship's sail. While the steam engine aboard The Wave Rider is useful for maneuvering and for slow travel on windless days, Somus used his fiery breath to superheat the boiler, allowing the ship to quickly outdistance their pursuers. The old Chief died in the attack and Somus was granted appointment right then and there. To those familiar with Dragons, it seems odd that Somus breathes fire, especially since that is usually found only among the Priesthood rather than scholars of science-- as are his very elegant wings. Just one more mystery to be talked about on dull voyages, but he weathers it well.

With regard to the "Mutable?" listing: this IS a Reader Driven story, so it wouldn't do to simply have these characters placed right into the story, now would it?

Readers may select ONE character with a "Mutable?" status of "YES". The character with the most votes will be revised and rewritten, given new statistics, new STEAM, and a new backstory. Do you like all the characters as they are? Great! Find one you particularly don't want changed and vote for them to stay the same; you'll counteract the next vote to change them thereby maintaining them in their original glory!

Voting will continue through midnight on Saturday, 4/9. It's not a long time to vote so get your vote in! Sunday the 10th will have the journal post for the final five crewmembers.

Now that you know and your time frame for doing it, have at it! Questions, comments, etc are now fair game!