conversations.from: system
conversations.value: Maybe it came with a rat, or maybe somebody caught it at the last stop,  it doesn't matter anymore. The plague is on the ship, and the crew and passengers are on their own, beyond help: no port will have them, no ship will approach them. 
  
  ***
  
  This game is a test of the rotating narrator feature, with the simple premise above. Non-specific place and time, but technology would be sail and gunpowder & long distance shipping. The idea is to have a dream-like narration, straight realism or low fantasy if one wishes, but in any case not linked to a particular place or time.
  
  Becalmed seas, vast expanses of rotting seaweed, scurvy, paranoia,  doom - that's the kind of stuff that should be in.  Obviously it shouldn't end well for the characters.
   
  I created cards because one has to, but obviously they are mostly placeholders. To enforce the atmosphere, we  did away with character names so just use their function or a distinctive sign instead (the Doctor, the Lascar, etc.).
  
  
  
  
  
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Sailor: Tanned, tattooed, swearing in several languages, gold earring, scars, missing teeth. 
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Doctor: Learned, well-traveled, poor, celibate.
  
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Captain: Older, dignified, risk-taker, responsible.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Passenger: Curious, naive, worried, uncomfortable.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Pilot: Clever, loyal, skilled.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Unflappable: Having seen it all, they won't be easily disturbed.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Enduring: Wouldn't be here if they didn't survive many hardships before.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Penetrating: Sharp, observant, and able to read motives and patterns.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Weak: Of little physical or mental strength.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Oblivious: General inattentiveness and self-denial.
  
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Callous: Inured to suffering.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Survival: Made it so far, will make it through.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Discipline: Order and discipline kept the ship afloat as much as wood and nails.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The body: Pallid, stiff and covered in pustules. Once the carpenter's mate, now just a nasty sight. 
  
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Rumours: A ship was s a small, crowded society in the middle of nowhere. Few things remained secret.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: the Surgeon: Long faced and pessimistic, with an unnerving habit of playing melancholic tunes on the flute in the evenings. 
  
  That said, cheap, sober and reasonably competent.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The funeral: The body was lying on a plank while the Captain was droning about the brevity of life on earth and the necessity to be prepared.
  
  It was then dumped into the sea, and soon disappeared in the waves.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: the Cat: The Cat-O-Nine Tails is a standard instrument of shipboard discipline.  All sailors are on their best behavior once "the cat's out of the bag."
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Foremast Jacks: Sailors are superstitious, talkative, contentious, and given to rumor-mongering.  
  That being so, it's small wonder that some of them have decided that the plague is the result of having that gentleman's corpse in the hold...
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Exercising the Great Guns: A ship as lightly armed as a fluyt has to make the most of the few guns she has.  Periodic exercising of "the great guns" is not only important for improving both accuracy of fire and reloading speed...it can also be a marvelous distraction!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Governor's Coffin: The Jonah. The dead gentleman. Some say, the source of the plague. And now his wife - some say a Jonah herself - draws nigh to it. In the gloom of *Sarspell's* hold, will reason or old beliefs prevail?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Dining with the Captain: A small spot of cultured normalcy so far from home.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: React to the storm: The squall is severe and dangerous. The crew must react quickly and work together to prepare the ship, and themselves, to ride out the storm.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Head Injury: A sharp blow to the noggin has left your wits dimmed.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Repair the ship: The damage to the rigging must be addressed.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Mob: Although only a small group thus far, the impromptu protest is likely to grow larger.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The sick bay: Some air, some light and even a little space for each patient.  
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: bodies: The plague had already claimed some victims. They couldn't be left there to rot, but nobody would volunteer to dispose of the bodies.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Plague victims: Some could recover, maybe, if helped. The Surgeon saw it happen, but not very often.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Lost?: The sun, the stars and unreliable timepieces. That was not much to chart a trip of thousands of miles.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The gentlemen: Even though the ship was a merchant vessel, the officers were proud and touchy.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The victim: An Ordinary Lad, neither popular not disliked, he might have picked the wrong side at the wrong time. The wound was disturbing, a well placed blow to kill, not a random strike in anger.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Kids Say the Darndest Things!: Well, the question is out there, and the world of the Apprentice, dangerous as it is already, is in danger of unravelling entirely!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Keep Order: The longer the ship drifts aimlessly on the calm sea, the more restless the men become. One wrong misstep could send them all into open conflict.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Ghost Ship: Where did that vessel come from? *What* is it?
  
  Something must be done at once, lest horror destroy the already weakened crew.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Moment of Reckoning: The Captain may have restored order for now... but what has his plague-ridden gambit yielded? Who, or *what,* is aboard that mysterious vessel?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Salt and Blood: The Old Man was right. This ship is no phantom -- it is crewed by living men! 
  
  But are they friend or foe: fellow lost souls upon the seven seas, or merciless pirates?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Salt and Brimstone: God and all His Angels preserve us! The Captain was wrong... that ship _is_ something not of this world! 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Choices: The Royal Navy men flounder about in the wreckage. Does the crew of the *Sarspell* come to the rescue, or do they leave the survivors to drown?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Mutineers: These men are healthier than the passengers and crew of *Sarspell*...and far more treacherous.  Not only is there a danger of them trying to seize *this* ship as well...the passengers themselves are not safe.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Land Ho ???: There, on the western horizon, just at sunset.
  
  Is that *land?*
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A Woman's Honor: Honor is not a thing to be given up lightly.  A lady will fight to retain it.  A gentleman will fight to uphold it.  Scoundrels will do neither.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Pistol: One shot, accurate only at close range. 
  
  Make your one shot count!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Aftermath: The Widow had been hurt, and one of the perpetrators was there, knife in hand.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Widow: The woman did not appear mortally wounded, the bullet having mostly grazed her skull, but did she have the will to live?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Island: An opportunity, a threat for some, a moment of decision.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: At home in His Element: You put to sea when when you were only twelve.  You took to the sea, and now it's in your blood, through and through.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: My Ship.  My Command.  My Decision!: *The Devil take this plague, Sir, and you along with it, if you fail to carry out my orders!*
  
  The ship, and all aboard her, are your responsibility.  You may be beset by doubts, but you dare not let the others know.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Captain: Older, dignified, risk-taker, responsible.  Know how merciless and unforgiving the sea can be...yet he wouldn't give her up for all the spices in the Dutch East Indies!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Widow: Wife of a late Governor. Handsome, stately, a bastion of civilized grace in a nest of growing horror. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Womanly Wiles: Schooled in the ways of the gentry, fine and devious alike, you have a way with people and situations - that sometimes cannot be credited entirely to your sex.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Out of Depth: High society ill-prepares one for the dark side of the sea. The travails therein may fell the nerve of even the most resolute lady. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Bring Him Home: Survive the voyage. Do your duty as a wife. Return your husband to the soil of home.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Cabin Boy: Officially the attendant of the Captain, but generally the go-fer for all the ship's officers.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hardy: Your youth grants a certain resilience despite the rigors of sea life.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Whiny: You have the unfortunate tendency to complain, wheedle and otherwise annoy those around you. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Impress the Captain: It's the only thing on your mind...as it's the only way to improve your station in life.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Loyal: To the Captain, the crew, the ship, unquestioning loyalty.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Inquisitive: You seek out and devour new information with startling rapaciousness. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Experienced Leader: Decades of life at sea have given you the ability to read the wind, the waves, the sky...and men.  More often than not, this allows for your better judgment to prevail. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Intuition: They say that in the absence of sight, one senses much. Being the only woman on a man's ship has the same effect. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Aching: A dull pain in the back, the knees, the neck, everywhere in fact.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Aloof: There are times when remaining above the fray is the proper thing for the Captain to do...but sometimes intervention is called for.  This may be one of those latter instances, but you choose to remain aloof nonetheless...
  
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Blindsided: Lots of things happened outside his field of vision.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Judge, Jury, King, and Pope: Your authority, temporal and moral, is absolute.  On the deck of his own ship, a Captain has the moral authority of the Pope, the mandate to rule equal to the King...and of course he is Judge, Jury and--if need be--executioner.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Resilient: As a woman of means and good breeding, you were taught to never bow your head in the face of adversity. Time and again, when all seems lost, you return to this simple precept.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hurried: Rushing about makes you careless...you should stop and smell the roses. Or at least pay more attention to the task at hand
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Apprentice Medic: To become a doctor is a noble profession. Your apprenticeship was purchased just before sailing, and you are an eager pupil, for many reasons.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hide your true identity: You're not who or what people think you are, and the revelation of the truth would put you in grave danger.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Knocked on the Head: It can go both ways:  sometimes the sense is knocked *into* you; other times the sense is knocked *out* of you.
  
  This, alas, is the latter circumstance.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Carpe Diem: The present is all there is.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A Noble Profession: Doctoring is a noble profession with roots going back hundreds of years. Help the sick. Do no harm. You believe in this directive and try to live up to it.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Fairer Sex: Alas that the vagaries of birth may make of one a victim of the times: women are, in *this* time, simply not held equal to the patriarchy of the day. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Selfish: Noblesse oblige is all well and good, until lives and honor are at stake. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Burden of Command: As Captain, you are doomed to be forever isolated, forever aloof, and friendless on your own ship.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Disciplinarian: The sea is a cruel mistress.  Men only survive by virtue of the harshest discipline.  You, as Captain, are the arbiter of that discipline.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Concealment: You have the plague. It must be kept secret. Who knows what the Captain and crew would do if they found out?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Bring Him Home: Survive the voyage. Do your duty as a wife. Return your husband to the soil of home.    
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Duty: Rarely, what must be done would be unclear. Most times, it was obvious.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Marksman: A steady hand and practiced familiarity...this won't work out well for whoever's at the receiving end of the Captain's attention.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Struggle: Me, give up? No way.