Dolphineer Guidelines

Definitions

The Dolphin Contract

Dolphinic Responsibilities

1. Answer the call of the sea-bell
2. Guard human beings on or near the water, to the best of their abilities, even to the cost of their own lives
3. Assist in all sea rescues of humans
4. Inform humans of on-coming weather conditions and warn them of sea hazards, including the presence of dangerous sea creatures
5. Aid humans with their abililties to detect earthquakes and track tsunami waves
6. When asked, spot schools of food fish and inform fishing boats where they are to be found
7. Honorary: escort the bodies of the human dead, buried at sea, to their final resting place

Human Responsibilities

1. Teach and talk to any dolphin
2. Rescue dolphins in distress
3. Restore to sea any beached dolphins
4. Cure sickness and mend wounds
5. Remove bloodfish/parasites that attach themselves to dolphins

Rules

• Keep in mind that your characters age. Although apprentices (calves) can be accepted at any age, it takes a minimum of one Turn to complete the training.
• Attend all of the mandatory classes and as many of the non-mandatory ones as possible. These classes are intended to help you learn about your character and the dolphins in the pod. It also provides a central roleplaying base.
• Get permission from the Ranger (or Kes) before proceeding with any dolphineering-based pranks.

• Alcohol is strictly prohibited, especially near the water. It impairs judgement and reflexes which must be sharp whenever a dolphineer is in the water.
• No matter what age a calf is accepted into training or how long they've been training, a calf will not graduate to the rank of dolphineer until the Ranger determines they are ready (or, in lieu of a PC Ranger, Kes). There is a minimum age requirement before a calf can graduate: 16 Turns.
• Pranks, if discovered, will be punished (IC'ly) in accordance with the severity of the prank. This applies to "known" pranks as well (those that have been cleared with the Ranger or Kes). Regardless, pranks are excellent plot developers and punishment can be fun.

Lessons

Apprentice

First Year

• Physical Fitness
  • Calisthenics: pull-ups, squats, push-ups, lunges, sit-ups, and laps; starts out short and basic, gets more intense and longer as time passes.
  • Basic swimming: Calves are provided with light swim gear and allowed to swim in a controlled environment without dolphins; eventually graduate to swimming in a controlled environment with dolphin partners. Gear care, swimming lessons in a controlled environment with dolphins. Dolphin Contract topic: Dolphinic Responsibility 2. Lesson 1
• Dolphin history: Learning about how the dolphins came with the Ancestors, the Dunkirk Crossing, etc. Lesson 2
• Dolphin Contract: The humans' responsibilities as outlined in the Contract.
• Intro to dolphins: Meeting the dolphins in a controlled environment and learning to identify the local pod on sight and sound.
• Oceanography: The oceans and their currents and inhabitants. Learn the science of the weather, both above and below the water. Dolphin Contract topic: Dolphinic Responsibilities 4 and 5. Lesson 3

Second Year

• Physical Fitness
  • Calisthenics: Continuing to get more intense
  • Swimming. Swimming becomes more intense training and replaces the jogging/laps in calisthenics; supervised open ocean swimming is permitted. Involves full life-guard training and life-saving techniques. It also covers how to wear, repair, and use their entire swim kit. Dolphin Contract topic: Dolphinic Responsibility 3.
  • Weights: Following with the dragonriders' training, sandbag tossing, gradually getting larger and heavier weights.
• Dolphin Contract: The dolphins' responsibilities as outlined in the Contract.
• Dolphin Physiology: Learning about dolphin health, habits, anatomy and physiology; feeding, cleaning, bloodfish removal, etc. Dolphin Contract topic: Human Responsibilities 1, 4, and 5. Lesson 4
• Seamanship and Ship Care: Calves need to learn the structure of all boats so that, in the event they need to participate in foundering ship rescues, they are familiar with the layout and the most likely locations to look for survivors. They also should be familiar with at-sea repairs so they can patch leaks. Dolphineers may be expected to travel with ships along shipping routes or out fishing. Dolphin Contract topic: Dolphinic Responsibility 6. Lesson 5

Journeyman

First Year

• Physical Fitness
  • Calisthenics: Continued intensification
  • Swimming: Unsupervised open-ocean swimming is allowed; supervised local ship sailing/accompaniment allowed (diving off the ship to swim with the dolphins, etc.). Shifting from focusing on humans to focusing on dolphins. Dolphin Contract topic: Human Responsibilies 2 and 3.
  • Weights: Sandbag tossing moved into water (starting light and getting heavier - goal is to learn to tread water, catch bundles, sink and come back up to toss again - getting used to being driven under the water). Lesson 6
• Dolphin Psychology: Learning about dolphin's behaviors, intelligence, activities (and reasons behind them). Lesson 7
• Cartography: Learning to map shorelines from the water or near the water; especially mapping what appears under the water so that boats know where it's safe to sail, etc. Lesson 8

Second Year

• Journey I - Local/Land-based: Dolphineer is assigned to a seaside Hold to help fishing trawlers, local shipping (between nearby neighboring holds), mapping local regions and keeping track of changes to the oceanic terrain (currents, weather, deltas, etc.). Lesson 9
• Journey II - Traveling/Ship-based: Dolphineer is assigned to escort/accompany a larger ship that travels between major Holds and across oceans. Lesson 10