"I was a highwayman,
Along the coach-roads I did ride,
Sword and pistol by my side.
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade,
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade.
The masters hung in the spring of '25,
But I am still alive."
Deep in the San Berdardino county, a tiny town prospered quietly. Built by the settlers nearly 30 years ago, with it's sheriff, a respectable man of the faith, and it boasted of a creaky shoppe, a skilled carpenter, an absolutely lovely bakery, and a simple church. People didn't care that other villages grew faster, with the prospect of gold spreading all over California. It didn't affect them, and as long as they could keep living life, they wouldn't even give it the time of day.
Of course, the Good Lord had other plans. Right in the Holcomb Valley, a daring prospector discovered a strain of gold. The townfolk tried everything short of breaking the Good Lord's laws to stop it, but the word spread, and soon enough, the miners came, and along with them came everything the town had been trying to escape. All the sins of the east came along, drunken debauchery bringing two saloons, egregious gluttony brought along the butcher, disturbing lechery brought the Octagon house, and murderous rage brought more then 50 murders in only two years. The simple church was quietly forgotten. The original inhabitants grew moody and depressed.
It honestly wasn't a surprise that the goodly sheriff was offed himself. Found with his head blown out in his home, his wife and grandchildren hearing the shot from below. They swear he wouldn't off himself, but... the evidence seems stacked to the contrary. The town, without it's incorruptible sheriff looks ready to split at the seams, just like the country itself. The Negroes may have been freed here in the gold rush era, but their plight is certainly not finished. Not by a long shot.
On the first of May, the town council will elect itself a new sheriff, one the will stand for what the town truly believes in, from the host of deputies remaining. But politics is not the only thing in their minds, as they must find out the truth about the Sheriff's death, and make sure it does not happen to them as well, and, if it truly was a murder, hang those responsible.
But perhaps they truly should have just fought the law. Would probably be better then dying for it...
The name of this town? Why, it's Belleville. The date, 1861, the fifteenth of April. The future of Belleville, and the people in it, rest on your shoulders, deputy. Now take that star, raise your piece, and giddy up. You got some highwaymen to hang.
About the Roleplay
Hey all, it's a Wild West rp, though more accurately it'd be described as a Boom Town political game with (hopefully) just the right amount of True Grit and High Noon to give us that cowboy feel. I feel that in this kind of environment, you get the best of lawlessness, with your villainous big time criminals trying to rig the system (and winning!), while leaving a respectable amount of Law, be it Legal or Moral, that keeps them in check, creating a perfect situation for some small town politics (with big country-wide ramifications, as the Civil War is literally about to erupt) that our intrepid PCs can shape in it's entirety.
Note that there is a steampunk tag to this game, and yet there is none in the vanilla setting. That's on purpose.
Rules
-You're all starting off as Lawmen, and while you may slide down that scale, OOC, my rule is law, and, well, once a lawman, always one.
-No godmodding, powergaming, and other obvious stuff I don't need to state.
-This game can lead to Deputy vs Deputy assuming people side with different factions. Don't lead us down the Player vs Player route though. OOC gotta be civil so we can all have fun, yeah?
Characters
This is not a Good Guys only game, as I expect that being the shining knight in this kind of town will likely lead to the same fate shared by the Sheriff, albeit not necessarily in the same manner. Of course, High Noon was a class because of it being a shining knight facing down his foes after being abandoned by all he saved, but I'm rambling. What I'm saying is that all kinds of characters are welcome, though none can start as already corrupted lawmen, as I want each faction to be introduced fairly and equally.
Anyways, as for the characters, well, you all need to be deputies from the town. Don't have to be native, but in general, deputies are gonna be young 18-21 year olds, and they aren't making the trip from off east to the golden west without a family, so watch for that. The town is now mostly miners and prospectors, with a peppering of their families, craftsmen, and the like. Colored folk, such as the Chinese, Natives, and, obviously, Africans are tentatively allowed. Good ol' 1% chance they get to be sheriff, and they start off massively disadvantaged, but, well, we're playing in the Wild West. Nothing in unheard of here. Hope nobody gets offended if I use Negroes and Indians as the term of choice for the game. Don't think they are naturally negative, but if it's against forum rules, or offends someone, I'll willingly changing it. We're playing alternate history stuff, we can be PC if needs be. (This also means that women can be deputies, suffering the same restrictions as the other three.)
Character Sheet:
Name:
Nature:
Demeanor:
Age:
Race:
Sex:
Appearance: [Written is preferred, though an image in addition is even more so]
Likes:
Dislikes:
Positive Aspects:
[EX]“The righteous hand of God guides my piece true.”
[EX]“People may have laughed at me then, but now, after getting my law degree, watch me return the favor”
[EX]“Them city folk think they so good, but I ain't seeing them ridin' no horses, ha ha!”
Negative Aspects:
[EX]“Forgive me father, for I have sinned again with a woman. May my will grow stronger.”
[EX]“Ha ha, look at them beg! Shouldn't of laughed at me, huh?!”
[EX]“What are these weird scribbles on the toilet paper, pa?”
Quirks, Tells, Tics;
Inventory:
Belt with Six-Shooter revolver and holster, Deputy Badge, Horse, [Add whatever else you think needed]
Father:
Mother:
Sibling1:
Sibling2:
Sibling3:
Back-story:
[Notes:
Aspects just give a more rounded out feel for your character. Like, a remorseful priest being a lecher is different from a miner unable to stop giving away all of his money to the Octagon. I feel they are cooler.
Nature/Demeanor is who you really are, as opposed to how to you act. A typical one might be the two being opposites, Nature: charlatan, Demeanor: Lawman, or it might be the same, Nature: Martyr, Demeanor: Martyr.]
