Black Opal

Black Opal at a Glance
Midnight Ocean
Last Captain	Despot
Senior Officer(s)	Belgarion, Eiriene, Jorgeo, Rmatey
Politics	Autocracy
Shares	Even
Flag Affiliation	SMT No such flag
Founded	27 October, 2003
Dormant as of 7 May, 2007
Crew Info

Black Opal is a crew that sailed the Azure and Midnight Oceans.

Black Opal on Azure

History of Black Opal

Black Opal was originally founded in July, 2003, by Sparrow. Sparrow was a trading alt of Bronchitis, a high-ranking member of Mad Mutineers and of their flag at that time, Old Spice. Originally envisioned as a trading arm of Old Spice, recruited officers quickly gave the crew its own identity. Since Sparrow was not played often enough to warrant the captaincy, within a few weeks of its founding, the active officer Blair was made its captain.

Captain Blair, a young, spirited mate, had a knack for recruiting inquisitive folk. The early officers of Black Opal set to trying to figure out the game mechanics (not always well-documented in the early days of Beta) and always challenged the conventional wisdom of how to best play the relatively new puzzles.

Since Black Opal grew so quickly, and since Sparrow was completely inactive at this point, the crew lost sight of its primordial ties to Old Spice. Indeed, while most knew that Blair did not found the crew, few (if any) besides him knew the history of its first days. Lacking contacts in Old Spice, unaware of how to become involved at the flag level, discontent grew. Eventually, the first Treasure Hunt pushed tensions to their limits. Black Opal, called upon to serve her flag, aided in the hunt on Mad Mutineer ships. Disagreement as to how the actual engagement of the treasure ship was to be handled led, a few weeks later, to Black Opal's secession from her flag.

In the meantime, Blair became strained by a crew which had grown too large and willful for his leadership and his own loyalty to Old Spice, the flag he'd originally joined. Rather than let this strain affect the crew, which had become rather close, he resigned his position to Piscator. Piscator, already a defining and driving force in the crew, continued his work with new authority.

The rapid growth of Black Opal did not come easily. A group of pirates, upset with internal squabbles and largly incompatible time zones between players, quietly split off via alts to form Yellow Turbans and Red Shift, flying the flag of Sanctioned Insanity.

One morning, Piscator logged off at 7:24 AM, and never logged in again. There were several senior officers, so most crew business could continue as usual in his absence. The inability to raise new SOs in a young crew and to affect crew-level changes (such as changing the share distribution and leaving Old Spice) necessitated a new captain, though. On 24 September 2003, Cleaver intervened to promote Attesmythe to captain. In a policy meeting that evening, Black Opal left Old Spice to rejoin her bretheren in Sanctioned Insanity.

Black Opal on Midnight

History of Black Opal

Black Opal made the switch to Midnight not intact, but with all of her pirates and officers who decided to make the switch to the subscriber ocean. In the last days of Azure, several active officers from crews which were not so fortunate to have their mates continue on in the new ocean also signed aboard. The crew still flew the Sanctioned Insanity, and joined the new flag when they merged with Compass Rose to create Silver Dawn.

Black Opal stayed with Silver Dawn for a long time, through the colonization of Eta Island and beyond. As a colonizing crew, they were granted an iron monger, Bucky Balls.

Attesmythe remained captain throughout, but eventually he no longer felt at home in Silver Dawn. When he left, he left the crew as well, and Whoisyou assumed responsiblity. Black Opal stayed with Silver Dawn for a while, but tensions proved too great. In short order, the crew left to follow the fledgeling Second Foundation.

When it became clear that Second Foundation's goal coincided with the much more established Notorious Fandango, and Attesmythe expressed wishes of joining that flag himself, Black Opal searched for a more permanent home.

Eventually, they reached the same conclusion: that what they were searching for in Second Foundation could already be found in Fandango, and moved the crew there as well.

Azure Monuments

Black Opal appears on the Azure memorial, as well as the Endurance Island monument. You can see the full text of their entry on the Endurance monument.

Public Statement

Black Opal is always open to new recruits. We're always willing to help a new player learn the ropes, whether you're looking for a crew or not.

Promotion Requirements

• Cabin Person: A Cabin Person is a jobber that shows promise. The successful jobber will be pleasant to speak with, follow orders, and be respectful. New players that need or want training are certainly welcome!
• Pirate: A Pirate knows his or her way around a ship. A Pirate should know what stations need to be filled with little or no instruction from the commanding officer.
• Officer: An Officer must fit in with the other officers. The successful Officer will be courteous, and helpful. Officers run a ship with a kind but firm hand, and are good company on and off ship.
• Senior Officer: Senior Officers are everything an Officer is and more. They have the implicit trust of the Captain, and have worked to earn it.