The New World Gives Us Hope
Our people have faced generations of religious persecution in the Old World. We are accused of being zealous and extreme, of trying to force our views on outsiders. We are continuously tempted towards sin; intentionally, maliciously. They whisper to our children, trying to turn each generation against us. To eliminate us, one by one, by making us like them.
The New World is a fresh start. Its open, empty land is clean and free of sin. There is no government, no outside church there to oppress us and sway us. Our people have established a settlement in the New World, a place called Elderford. Winters are harsh, food is scarce, forests are dark and looming and filled with creatures we do not understand. But, there we are free to follow our God as we choose.
But, There is Corruption in the Forest
A murderer stalk the streets of our young village. Witches dance in the trees at night, casting curses and madness upon the children of God. Monsters disguise themselves as our people and walk among us, spreading dissent. All is not well.
Far from the relative safety of laws and guards, we, the people of Elderford, must take it upon ourselves to root out the evil among us, and though they may wear our faces, we must have no mercy.
About
This roleplay is based heavily on the game Town of Salem and the Salem Witch Trials, and takes place in a fantasy setting roughly parallel to Puritanical New England. Thus, the people, aesthetics, and beliefs are based heavily on Puritanical Christianity, and follows these peoples' struggle as they attempt to flee religious persecution in the Old World and make a new life for themselves in the harsh, uncolonized New World. However, not everyone is here for the same reasons. Supernatural creatures stalk the town, whether for nefarious purposes or simply to try to survive; regardless, the superstitious citizens know that there is magic afoot, and seek to weed it out.
In this roleplay, you must claim one of the predetermined character spots based on Town of Salem character roles (though not identical to them), either as a simple human citizen of Elderford or as something more unnatural. For the most part, you'll have the freedom to make the character as you wish, just with a few parameters (age range, gender, a couple personality traits, etc.). Each character has a rough alignment (for example, regular humans are aligned with the village and thus want all supernaturals dead, while supernaturals may help each other or be out for themselves) and perhaps a more specific goal, but these can be swayed slightly through roleplay.
The Old World, New World, and Religion
The Old World is roughly analogous to colonial-era England. It is ruled by a King- currently, King Gideon III- who also has religious authority over the kingdom. The Divine Church emphasizes that nearly any sin may be forgiven with repentance and service to the Church (including donations). There are a few sects of the religion that follow different beliefs; however, people belonging to these sects are often somewhat ostracized by those of the dominant religion- known as Divined- for a number of reasons. The people who have come to Elderford are some such people.
Elderford was founded by people known as the Unfettered. The Unfettered believe that the Divine Church is corrupted by money and greed- which is certainly not untrue- and seek to purge themselves of earthly greed entirely. This includes nearly all forms of desire- greed, gluttony, envy, and lust first and foremost among them. They are taught to be humble, to never covet the station or belongings of others, to never over-indulge or revel (which includes dancing, drinking alcohol for recreation, sex for any reason besides procreation, singing anything besides prayers and hymns, indulging in needlessly fancy food, dressing extravagantly, etc. etc. except on very rare occasions, mainly religious holidays). As such, they are seen as extremists by outsiders, and quite droll ones at that.
Most characters have fled here to escape social and legal persecution in the Old World, as well as to free themselves from what they consider to be prevalent sin and temptation.
The New World is more or less North America, and in particular, New England; the main difference is the lack of any native inhabitants, because that's a whole different can of worms. Essentially, though, the climate, flora and fauna, and landscape will be pretty much the same as colonial New England.
Character Slots
***characters that don't have a distinct occupation/job (like the governor, doctor, and sheriff) may have any kind of extraneous job or role in the town, such as blacksmith, fisherman, tailor, butcher, farmer, etc. etc. Characters are also welcome to have relationships such as siblings, spouses, parent/child, etc. Some roles may also have duplicates, which will be denoted with a *.
- The Governor - the original founder of Elderford; naturally charismatic and does care about the fate of the town, but will do nearly anything to keep his seat of power. (male, age 40+)
- The First Lady - wife to the governor, and equally concerned with him keeping his power [either because she rules from the shadows or simply enjoys the benefits of their station] (female, age 30+)
- The Guard* - hardened and weathered, it's the guard's duty to protect the governor as well as the citizens of the town [but mostly the governor] (male, age 20+)
- The Sheriff - with a strong sense of justice, the sheriff will tolerate no wrong-doing and will go to great lengths to protect the citizens of the city, but can be a bit of a hardass. (male, age 30-40)
- The Doctor* - educated and empathetic, the doctor tends to the medical needs of the town. (male or female, age 25+)
- The Jailor - gruff, tough, and stern, the jailer guards those accused of crimes under his watch. If he sees fit, his prisoners may be "found dead" in their cells.... (male, age 25-60)
- The Detective - working under the sheriff, it's the detective's job to follow leads and investigate suspects to determine their associations and loyalties (male or female, age 25+)
- The Lookout* - she likes to know everything that's going on in town, and she's certainly not above keeping a watchful eye on her neighbors to gather the latest gossip make sure they're staying devout (female, age 14+)
- The Hunter* - making their living trapping and hunting in the woods, they've never faced anything worse than a bear or wolf... but their tracking skills and knowledge of wildlife may still prove useful in weeding out the supernatural (male or female, age 16+)
- The Medium - always seems to know something they shouldn't, whether from dreams or intuition; has the unfortunate ability to speak to the dead, but can never reveal this power or they'll surely be burned as a witch (male or female, any age)
- The Vigilante - discouraged by the current happenings in the town, and the authorities' methods of dealing with it, this citizen decides to take matters into their own hands and judge those they see as wicked on their own terms with or without the law (male or female, age 16+)
- The Priest(ess) - holy and devout, they are the one who interprets and preaches the will of God and ensures that the villagers abide by His laws... but, living in the lap of luxury [as much as an Unfettered in the New World morally can] doesn't hurt either (male or female, 25+, cannot be married)
- The Executioner - no matter the evidence, they're completely certain that [a random character to be determined] is up to no good, and they'll stop at nothing to convince others of that and make sure that person is sentenced to death brought to justice! (male or female, 16+)
- The Werewolf* - somehow or another, they ended up with a terrible curse. Now, they dread each moonrise, never sure when the beast inside will take over or who it'll tear apart next (male or female, any age)
- The Vampire - maybe they're ancient and weathered, come from overseas, or maybe they contracted their... condition more recently. Either way, blood brings them immeasurable power, and they hope to share that power with those who they come to like in Elderford (male or female, age 16+)
- The Godfather - escaping from a life of crime in the Old World, old habits die hard; whether they use it for nefarious purposes or not, the Godfather just can't help gathering a number of loyal and morally-grey followers, and has no qualms about using unsavory methods to get what they want (male or female, age 30+)
- The Mafioso - the right-hand man of the Godfather, their loyal advisor, and their hitman when needed. Maybe they came with them from the Old World, or were recruited more recently (male or female, age 25+)
- The Forger - educated and well-read, the forger knows all there is to know about documents, inks, and paper. They can doctor and fake any document completely convincingly with enough time, and they don't always use this ability for good (male or female, age 30+)
- The Consort* - a beautiful woman who uses charm- or perhaps a guise of innocence?- to act as a spy, lure, or distraction as needed, to make sure targets are where they need to be, or witnesses are out of the way (female, age 14+; if younger than 18, obviously may not engage in sexual activities)
- The Janitor - they have a good eye for detail, making them the perfect candidate to stage crime scenes or wipe them away entirely. Need someone to make a murder look like a suicide? Or make it look like someone just... disappeared? Call the janitor (male or female, age 16+)
- The Sorceress* - she got fed up with the way her life was going and decided to take matters into her own hands. As it turns out, selling your soul opens a lot of doors (female, age 14+)
- The Poisonbrewer - she knows everything there is to know about toxins and what they do to people. Slow acting, fast acting, looks like a heart attack or a disease.... whatever you need, she can make it (female, age 16+)
- The Potionmaster - the potionmaster might not know as much as the poisonbrewer about toxins, but she knows a little more about everything else. From healing potions to truth potions, she probably has a little something for just about any situation. Probably aligns with the witches, but may use her ability for good if so she chooses (female, age 16+)
Geography & Layout of Elderford
*tba if the full rp gets made