In February 2018 porchdrinker created a fantastic guide called ’Roleplaying and Immersion Guide‘ and asked for new suggestions. I remembered an old ruleset for Red Baron II created in the late 1990s / early 2000s. Though Red Baron and FBS are completely different, they have two things in common: Both are simulations and both have virtual squadron mates respectively crewmembers here in FBS. I wondered if it was possible to create a similar ruleset for FBS. So here's my attempt.

In almost all simulations where you have virtual comrades, you start a mission, select your mates to accomplish certain tasks, end a mission, switch to the next day, notice that your mates gain experience over the days / weeks but otherwise, you don't know anything about them. So here's the point where this guide starts. Your crewmembers will have different personalities, are affected by loss of morale, will interact with you as well as with other members, may be severely injured (if you think it's wise to assign someone to manual gutting at Bft. 12) and much more.

When you start a career, you will have to find out, what kind of person you are. To do this, refer to table "1" in the 'Tables' section and note your character in the logbook. Also have a look at the special abilities or limitations of your character, listed in table "1a".

Upon hiring new crewmembers, you should keep in mind they have a personality, too. So hiring the top level guy might be a bad idea if he turns out to be a heavy drinker or choleric. You have chance of 1/6 (a 6 on a 6-sided die) to unveil the personality by looking at his in game character sheet. If you are not successful, you may either look at the other available people or employ him anyway. In this case he will unveil his character upon the first encounter on board. Also refer to Table "1" and "1a". Note Name, character and abilities in your logbook.

Encounters between crewmembers occur at least two times a trip. It is your choice, when this will happen.

• resting
  
• shared work (i.e. stacking, net hauling, …)
  
• you, leaving the wheelhouse (only if you encounter another crewmember)
  If an encounter includes you, you may ignore it.

You and your crewmembers mutual relationship can either be
This relationship can only be modified by encounters (talking). Easily explained: a happy crew which likes and respects each other will have a morale boost, while an angry mob may force you to abandon your current trip. In this case you may decide to walk around and talk to your crew to boost the morale a bit. However also the opposite effect may occur.

First, you might look for new crewmembers. Hire them, if you haven't done this already. Also refit, refuel and - optionally - repair your vessel. Although you can assign crewmembers for maintenance and repairs, it is a good idea to have the repairs carried out in the harbor, if the weatherforecast is bad. Have a look at your logbook / crew sheet and tables 1 to 2. Perform any pre-trip operations if applicable. Now it's time to haul in the mooring lines and leave port.

If your crew is resting, it's a good time to start the first encounter. Remember 2 encounters MUST take place during every trip. Refer to tables 1a to 6 and apply the rules as described in the "Gameplay" section. Eventually you assign your crew to different tasks. In this case refer to table 7 to calculate any effects regarding morale. Also estimate the probability for injuries. Life on board can be dangerous depending mainly on the current weather conditions. The occurrence and severity of injuries also depends on the current task the crewmember is performing. Morover some of your crewmembers (if type = sailor) might be less "vulnerable" in unconvenient weather conditions. Remember to calculate morale and injuries each time you reassign a crewmember to a new task.
If something happens which forces you to abandon your trip, do it immediately. Also make an emergency call, if necessary (injury severity 6 to 8)

Finally you're back from your journey. Remember injured crewmembers may be unavailable / stay at hospital for several months. In this case you have to fire them and assign new crewmembers. Don't forget to reassign them after they have fully recovered.

Generally, you can apply the this ruleset to any existing career, but it is a good idea to start a new one.

1. Start a new career (optional)
   
2. create a new logbook. (see appendix 'Logbook')
   
3. generate your profile / personality (Table 1 and 1a)
   
4. note details to your logbook / crew sheet

1. If necessary hire new crewmembers
   
2. note the details to your logbook / crew sheet
   
3. Before each trip refer to table 2 for pre mission effects
   
4. note them to your logbook / crew sheet
   
5. leave port

Encounters take place at least 2 times a trip. It is your choice, when they will happen. The corresponding members must either be resting or doing shared work such as stacking or hauling.
The procedure:

1. refer to table 1, 1a and 2 for any initial or final modifiers
   
2. refer to table 3 to pick the modifier of the encounter/personality matrix
   
3. refer to table 4 for any outlook modifiers
   
4. add the initial-, matrix-, outlook- and final modifiers.
   
5. roll an 8-sided die and refer to table 6
   
6. note any outlook changes to your logbook / crew sheet
   
7. dont forget to also note the morale changes.

• Level +2 = Friend -> +200 morale points
  
• Level +1 = Like -> +100 morale points
  
• Level 0 = Neutral -> 0 morale points
  
• Level -1 = Dislike -> -100 morale points
  
• Level -2 = Friend -> -200 morale points

1. refer to tables 1a and 2 and table 5 BEFORE assigning different tasks to your crew.
   
2. AFTER each task is completed refer to table 7 and roll the die to discover any changes regarding morale.
   
3. Morale: Apply the morale points immediately to the regarding crewmembers and add or substract them from their current morale-values. Recalculate the overall morale when you're finished.
   
4. note all changes to your logbook / crew sheet.
   
5. repeat for each task / crewmember.

1. BEFORE assigning a task to a crewmember consult tables 8 to 8b to estimate the probability and severity of injuries.
   
2. AFTER the task is completed roll the dice and apply the effects to the appropriate crewmember.
   
3. repeat for each task / crewmember.

(roll a 12-sided die)




(roll a 6-sided die for skipper only)






(roll an 8-sided die)

(roll a 20-sided die)


(roll an 8-sided die)

Your Logbook should consist of the following entries:

For your Skipper and every crewmember:

• Name
  
• Type
  
• Gender
  
• Property
  
• pre trip effects
  
• Injury
  
• Main Position
  
• Personality Morale Bonus
  
• Morale by Outlook
  
• Morale by task
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C1
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C2
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C3
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C4
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C5
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C6
  
• Outlook towards crewmember C7

NOTE:
Currently I am working on a file (xls and Open Document format) which does a lot of calculations automatically. I will post it, when it's complete.