[OOC] Wissleon County (Wild West Roleplay)

[TJByrum]

Wissleon County

Setting
The Old West, specifically summer of the year 1875. Wissleon County is located west of the Mississippi river, but I am not going to give an exact location since it is a fictional setting. The most notable town is Yornley, your standard western town. Yornley is located on a set of plains, much like the Great Plains. It has a saloon, general store, an abandoned sheriff's office, houses, a doctor's office, among other stores (you may 'make it up as you go'). Their is no sheriff here in Yornley anymore, and it is an almost lawless town but the citizens often stand up for one another (but it desperately needs a sheriff). Far to the north is a mountain range, where most of the goldminers go; to get there you have to travel across the plains and through a forest, but this region is dangerous due to wild animals and Native Americans. To the west and south is more of your standard 'hot and arid' landscape with canyons, gullies, and cliffs. There are a few farms and ranches located throughout Wissleon. The railroad has not yet come through Wissleon.

Plot
Their is no 'official' plot. I will create a lot of plots (or try to) that concern the citizens of Yornley and all of Wissleon County. Your characters may or may not have a role in these plots and their actions/decisions will directly affect the roleplay. I will try my best to mold storylines around your characters and I will use your character's history to affect the events (if you are a bounty hunter looking for someone I will include that someone in the roleplay at some point). I am open to collaborate with you guys as much as possible. If, at any point, you do not like your character you may kill/retire them and come up with a new character. Characters may be whatever you want them to be, so long as its reasonable. Bounty hunter, outlaw, sheriff, saloon keeper, rancher, whatever. The first storyline will be about Butcher Bill and the threat he poses to Wissleon County.

Characters
John Taylors - Wanted - TJByrum - A mysterious bounty hunter, outlaw and drifter, John Taylors is a quiet man with a riddled past. No one quite sure where he came from or what drives him to do the things he does, but he has been known to work on both sides of the law. In some counties people may recognize him as an honorable man of the law, while in other places he may be known as a murderer and thief. He has several outstanding bounties in several counties and is constantly pursued by bounty hunters. Whatever the case, John Taylors has ridden into Yornley with a young girl named Lillie Williams, and is on the warpath to find Butcher Bill.
Lillie Williams - TJByrum - A naive, young girl, only the age of 12. Lillie's mother and father were murdered by Butcher Bill, and Lillie was taken to be ransomed off to a local sheriff. Lillie was rescued, however, by a bounty hunter named John Taylors. He then promised her that he would seek justice and take revenge on Butcher Bill, but perhaps something else was driving him. The duo has since made their way into Yornley.
Alexander Ford - Razqua - A long time British hunter and tracker. With the opening of the frontier Alexander decided it was his chance to take his hunt to the next level. He needed smarted and more dangerous prey; Humans. However not any humans would do. Only those with the dangerous reputations and high bounties would be sufficient to sate Alexanders blood lust. His only love in life is the hunt and everything it entails.
Jeffe "Jeff" Rodriguez - thegreenleafe - After the Civil War Jeffe and his brother Tomas enjoyed the simple, yet fruitful life of vaqueros, hoping one day to own the ranch he worked on. Sometime into their dream a member of the Butcher Bill gang killed Tomas after losing a game of poker. Now the vaquero is out for revenge.
Joshua Hawkes - KnightsTemplar - In effort to gain Statehood, the Territorial Governor and Mayor of Yornley both petitioned the Federal Government to send Lawmen and Judicial Officers to help curtail the raise in Outlaw activities. When Joshua's friend was sent to Yornley and appointed Territorial Judge, he requested and got Joshua appointed as his Marshal.

Butcher Bill - Wanted - A ruthless outlaw, wanted all across the west. Butcher Bill earned his nickname after a series of brutal murders across several counties. He preys on the helpless, raiding settlers and travelers. He has operated in Wissleon County for three years, but his career may have began before that. He is deadly, clever, and extremely aggressive. He is responsible for the deaths of Catherine Taylors, Sofia Taylors, as well as Lillie William's parents.
Reverend David Milton - Local reverend, soon-to-be head of the Yornley Church. A friendly man who only wants to help people in need, and to spread the word of God.

Sheet
Add on as you'd like. If you put a '[' at the beginning of each category it will make it bold.
b]Name:[/b] Any names or aliases you are known by.
b]Occupation:[/b] Bounty hunter, rancher, saloon owner, sheriff, outlaw, what have you.
b]Description:[/b] Your height, weight, age, gender, etc.
b]Appearance:[/b] Your physical description.
b]Clothing:[/b] What your character may wear.
b]Weapons:[/b] Any weapons your character owns.
b]Items:[/b] Any other item your character owns (such as medicine, a map, or a compass).
b]Horse:[/b] If you own a horse, describe it. Does it have a name? Some basic background on it would be okay as well.
b]Summary:[/b] Look up in the Characters section. See how John and Lillie both have those short summaries of their characters? Write one that I can use for yours.
b]History:[/b]

[TJByrum]

Name: John Taylors
Occupation: Bounty hunter, outlaw, drifter.
Description: John is a 30 year old male, stands approximately 5'6, weighs 145 lbs,, and he has an average body build.
Appearance: tanned skin from being in the sun for a long time, dark blue eyes, messy inch-long brown hair, and a rough stubble. He has a young face, but he looks visibly weary.
Clothing: TBA
Weapons: Two revolvers, hunting rifle, and a hunting knife. (more detailed later).
Items: A map and compass (more detailed later).
Horse: A brown steed. John simply calls him 'Boy'.
Summary: A mysterious bounty hunter, outlaw and drifter, John Taylors is a quiet man with a riddled past. No one quite sure where he came from or what drives him to do the things he does, but he has been known to work on both sides of the law. In some counties people may recognize him as an honorable man of the law, while in other places he may be known as a murderer and thief. He has several outstanding bounties in several counties and is constantly pursued by bounty hunters. Whatever the case, John Taylors has ridden into Yornley with a young girl named Lillie Williams, and is on the warpath to find Butcher Bill.
History: John was the son of a rancher, and would inevitably grow up to become a rancher. The only practice he ever had with a gun was hunting, but even then he wasn't exactly special. His main skills included the ability to track animals, and he was a general survivalist, very knowledgeable in the wilderness: a true frontiersman. He grew up with and would later marry the young Catherine, who was two years younger than he was. John married her at the young age of 20, but only because Catherine became pregnant with his child. John continued to work on his father's ranch and hunted the local forests until he acquired enough cash to purchase his own parcel of land around the age of 22.

John, Catherine, and their young daughter Sofia would live on this parcel of land for the next five years. John's financial stability was actually quite decent, especially since his father loaned him a few cattle and other livestock to begin his career. His ranch was an important asset to the community and his family was well-received by the locals. Unfortunately, while John was away selling his wares, a gang of outlaws led by Cassius Green raided his ranch, brutally murdered his wife and daughter, and burned his ranch to the ground. John became a broken man and disappeared.

John had become a bounty hunter of sorts, trying to hunt down and capture anyone associated with Cassius Green. These efforts quickly labeled him a hero by some fo the populace. But then things got a bit murky. He began working alongside some of the outlaws, but his excuse was that they too were rivals of Cassius Green and his gang. These actions labeled him an outlaw and attracted the ire of lawmen and bounty hunters. No one was quite sure which side of the law he was on.

At some point during this time he worked alongside the notorious Butcher Bill. Bill wasn't particularly fond of Cassius, but that's not why he worked with John. He used John, tricking him into committing many dastardly deeds to find Cassius. John eventually saw through Bill and ditched his gang after a brief but heated argument.

John's life as a bounty hunter, outlaw, and drifter lasted for approximately three years. He would finally be captured by rival bounty hunter Brom Tollets, a stout and effective man. Instead of being locked up, however, John was given an opportunity. He was to track down and return a young girl named Lillie Williams to them. It wasn't exactly one of his natural targets but he agreed anyway, lest he be hanged for his crimes.

John set out to find this girl and it didn't take to long to locate her. He was preparing to bring her back to the government agents but quickly changed his course when the girl persuaded him to find Butcher Bill: the man who killed her family.

___________________________________________________________________

b]Name:[/b] Lillie Williams
b]Occupation:[/b] Child
b]Description:[/b] Short, light, and only 12 years old.
b]Appearance:[/b] TBA
b]Clothing:[/b] TBA
b]Weapons:[/b] Basic knife.
b]Items:[/b] TBA
b]Horse:[/b] TBA
b]Summary:[/b] A naive, young girl, only the age of 12. Lillie's mother and father were murdered by Butcher Bill, and Lillie was taken to be ransomed off to a local sheriff. Lillie was rescued, however, by a bounty hunter named John Taylors. He then promised her that he would seek justice and take revenge on Butcher Bill, but perhaps something else was driving him. The duo has since made their way into Yornley.
b]History:[/b] Lillie was born to two God-fearing parents, both of whom attempted to raise her in the same way they had been. Lillie, however, had proved to be difficult. While she didn't show out or disrespect her parents, she never took an interest in the Lord or the Creator. She just wanted to live life to the fullest.

When her mother and father attempted to move out west in an effort to spread the Word of God, her caravan came under attack by none other than Butcher Bill. Many of the travelers were killed, including her mother and father. Lillie was the only child on the expedition and so when she was about to be killed Bill spared her life. He realized she was more use to him alive than dead. He had planned to ransom her off to the local sheriff for a large cash reward.

Fortunately for her, a bounty hunter by the name of John Taylors had been pursuing Butcher Bill and unknowingly rescued her. Bill held her hostage, forcing John to let him go, but the duo returned to town. John told her he was going to keep heading for Bill, but Lillie wanted to come as well to see him brought to justice. John refused to take her but ultimately chose to when she revealed she had overheard the description of his hideout out in Wissleon.

And so both individuals made their way to the town.

[Razqua]

Name: Alexander Ford (Often goes by the alias of Jeremiah Lexington)
Occupation: Bounty hunter
Description: Alexander is a male who stands at 6' 2, weighs 210 pounds, muscular but not overly so, and is 36 years old.
Appearance: Alexander is a fair skinned man, has brown eyes, short black hair, tiger claw scar on chest, and I handsome mature clean shaven face.
Clothing: Alexander normally wears a professional looking brown business suit and a round brown hat to cover his face. Inside the top piece of the suit two small derringer pistols are hidden.
Weapons: 2 derringers, a revolver, a double barreled shotgun and a long rifle.
Items: A small single horse pulled cart loaded with hunting equipment and dynamite. A tobacco pipe , and a coin purse.
Horse: A black spotted white horse named Chester.
Summary: A long time British hunter and tracker. With the opening of the frontier Alexander decided it was his chance to take his hunt to the next level. He needed smarter and more dangerous prey; Humans. However not any humans would do. Only those with the dangerous reputations and high bounties would be sufficient to sate Alexanders blood lust. His only love in life is the hunt and everything it entails.
History: As a child Alexander and his parents lived off the land on the English country side. Alexander's father taught him how to farm and hunt. Alexander despised farm work but absolutely adored hunting and seemed to have a natural talent for it. On one occasion at the age of 12 Alexander killed a wild boar with a hunting knife by leaping on it from a tree.

After reaching the age of 18 Alexander decided he was done with farm work. He moved to a medium sized town where he made a living off of his hunting skills. He sold meat and hides from the animals he killed. He wore clothes made of animal hides himself. After some time Alexander gained some fame as the local hunting expert.

When Alexander reached the age of 24 Alexander was getting very bored and considering quitting the hunt. He couldn't be bothered with the same old locations and same old prey. Then opportunity knocked. The wealthy owner of a steel mill came to Alexander's home. He was planning a trip to Africa to hunt exotic animals. He wanted a hunting expert with him on the trip. He offered Alexander a large sum of money to be that expert. Alexander accepted the offer wholeheartedly. In truth he would have done it for free.

Alexander became entranced with the land of Africa and the strange animals there were to hunt. It was as if he had started anew in a new world. Alexander led the rich man in a very successful hunt. At one point Alexander and the hunting party were tracking a tiger and it leaped from the trees directly at Alexander. While the animal leaped Alexander quickly raised his rifle and shot the beast straight through the head however it still had it's momentum and it's claw left a massive scar on Alexander's chest. Alexander wanted more experiences like this. He wanted to participate in more struggles of life and death.

After a very successful hunting trip, Alexander became well known among wealthy hunting enthusiasts. Alexander moved to London and began taking frequent hunting trips to foreign lands. He continued this for years. He learned much of the culture of wealthy businessmen and began to become one himself. He stopped wearing animal hides and began wearing fancy suits. He went from being a backwoods farmers son, and became a charismatic gentleman.

At the age of 35 Alexander had amassed a fortune but with nothing to spend it on. He only had one interest. He needed to hunt yet even these foreign lands he frequented began to bore him. He needed smarter prey. Prey that could compete with his intellect. When news found it's way to Alexander about the chaos of western America and the widespread lawlessness of the land he realized his new destiny. He was finished hunting animals. His new target would be the criminals of the wild west.

Alexander now makes his way Yornley due to recent sightings of the infamous Butcher Bill. To Alexander it was just a game and he was always looking for tougher opponents. This Butcher Bill seemed a worthy challenge.

[thegreenleafe]

Name: Jeffe "Jeff" Rodriguez
Occupation: Cow Hand
Description: Jeffe is a 33 year old Mexican that is roughly 5'10 and 180 pounds.
Appearance: Jeffe has short black hair that he often cuts himself with a thick mustache and eyes the color of manure. To go along with his heritage he has tanned skin. He often blends into crowds due to his indistinct features.
Clothing: Jeffe Wears the a loose, once clean long sleeve shirt to prevent dehydration, as well as jeans and boots. Often he wears a poncho to help blend into the desert.
Weapons: Jeffe carries a Colt 1851 Navy Revolver slung across on his waist and a Henry Rifle slung across his back. He also keeps a six inch knife hidden beneath his pancho.
Items: In his satchel he carrires two small cases of ammo, each one contains enough for two more full clips. Also he in his satchel is a canteen and a map of the surrounding area.
Horse: She's no horse, she's a mule, but Jenna is reliable. This hardy grey pack animal is stubborn to leave Jeffe's side and has saved him more than once. Jeffe picked her up right before the civil war and while many of the soldiers in the Confederacy called him a beaner or poorer than a sack of shit she was a solid buy. While their horses ninnied and ran the pack mule charged into the danger, only sustaining minor wounds.
Summary: After the Civil War Jeffe and his brother Tomas enjoyed the simple, yet fruitful life of vaqueros, hoping one day to own the ranch he worked on. Sometime into their dream a member of the Butcher Bill gang killed Tomas after losing a game of poker. Now the vaquero is out for revenge.
History:
Jeffe Rodriguez was born to a Spanish Mother and a Mexican Father on June 4th 1842 in the little town of Dallas. He was almost a splitting image of his father except for his lighten skinned. His father was in Santa Anna's Army at the surrender of San Jacinto, in fact he was the soldier who saluted the General. This led to him leaving Mexico to what would become Dallas. There his father helped organize the efforts of the people to build the first building, a bar. Growing up in a growing town always kept Jeffe and his brother, Tomas, happy. As the carefree years eclipsed into the Civil War the 18 year old joined the fight. The fight took him all the way to Virginia all the way back to Texas to fight in the Battle of Palimino Ranch, which Jeffe put his life on the line to save the owner and his family. After the War Jeffe received a telegram from Tomas about work. It was from the Palimino Ranch. While Rodriguez was a common enough name Tomas talked about his brother's war efforts and may have mentioned it to the Rancher. For the next eight and a half years he worked, trying to buy a piece of the land to support him and his brother. Of course that all changed when Butcher Bill and his gang came into a town nearby and a sore loser ended up killing his brother. It took Jeffe time to track down the gang, but after a year and a half of tracking and reconnaissance he found them in Wissleon County.

[KnightsTemplar]

Name: Joshua Hawkes
Occupation: U.S. Marshal
Description: 6'2", 210, 27, male, Brown hair/eyes.
Appearance: Your physical description.
Clothing: Boots, black dungarees, white button up shirt, black vest, black Cowboy hat, gold pocket watch, U.S. Marshal's badge.
Weapons: Colt .45/ Winchester 73/ Bowie knife.
Items: Saddle bags/ Canteen/ Duster/ Bedroll/ Tinder box/ pouch of tobacco and papers/ 3 day ration of beans.
Horse: Bay quarter horse gelding, 16.1 hands high
Summary:
In effort to gain Statehood, the Territorial Governor and Mayor of Yornley both petitioned the Federal Government to send Lawmen and Judicial Officers to help curtail the raise in Outlaw activities. When Joshua's friend was sent to Yornley and appointed Territorial Judge, he requested and got Joshua appointed as his Marshal.

History:
Born in Virginia and raised up on a farm by God fearing parents, he learned early both the value of hard work and keeping your word and had every intention of marrying and settling down and living the good, quite life of a Farmer. Until the War between the States broke out in 1861, and not long after they lost the crops to scavenger's both blue and gray, then finally the Farm, which Union Cavalry came and confiscated it in 1863. At the age of seventeen, he lost both his parents to fever and with no land to call his own, and with little prospects, he found himself riding with Jeb Stuarts Virginia Cavalry for the last two years of the War. After the surrender, he rode to the Territory of Texas and fell in with the Rangers chasing down, Renegade Indians, Horse Thieves, Cattle Rustlers and Mexican Bandito's. A few years later when a Judge friend moved to Yornley to become the Territorial Judge, he asked Joshua to come Marshal for him.

[Rock Killjoy]

Making my Native American bounty hunter woman.

[Razqua]

Okay my character sheet is done. Feel free to give it look over and tell me what you think.

[KnightsTemplar]

didn't have Federal bounty hunting license back then, all you needed was the wanted poster and the body belonging to the face on the wanted poster to collect the reward.

[Razqua]

Thanks Ill remove that

[TJByrum]

@Razqua: I really like Alexander's motives and past experiences. Reminds me of a short-story called "The Most Dangerous Game", or something like that. Anyway, Alexander is fine and he is accepted.

@thegreenleafe: I like how Jeffe's history and motivations are driving him to be part of the Butcher Bill story. Once it ends, I can see Jeffe seeking more opprotunities in Yornley, such as buying some land and opening his own ranch there - but that's entirely up to you.

@KnightsTemplar: Joshua Hawkes will prove to be in an interesting position in Yornley. As the 'up and coming' Marshall of the county, I can only imagine the difficulties he will face and the allies he will need to obtain in order to stabilize the region.

@Everyone: I will continue to await the other bio and possibly others. I may write up an IC today and revise it within the week, but no guarantees. In all honesty, perhaps I ought to have done more research on the American Frontier, but it ought to be fine.

EDIT: I know it ain't good practice, but I may edit parts of my two bios (John and Lillie). I'm having the awfulest time putting a good backstory together for them. However, for all you bounty hunters out there, know that John DOES have a bounty on his head in several counties.

[KnightsTemplar]

Worse comes to worse, he can have the Judge wire Washington to send a regiment of Cavalry

[TJByrum]

KnightsTemplar said
Worse comes to worse, he can have the Judge wire Washington to send a regiment of Cavalry

Hey, anything can happen. That's the whole basis of this roleplay.

[TJByrum]

IC posted.

I can honestly say I wrote it on the go and did not revise it as I should have. But things might be getting busy for me here soon, so I gotta do what I gotta do.

[Voltus_Ventus]

Name: Howard "The Gentleman" Starkweather
Occupation: Undertaker
Description: he is 6'4", weights 160lbs and is 24 years old.
Appearance: he is a tall slim man with dark brown slicked back hair, he sports a well trimmer mustache and full eye brows. He has green eyes and slightly tanned skin.
Clothing: he wears a pair of black trousers and a white shirt that is rolled up at the sleeves, over this he wears a black suit vest and riding chaps. He has a bandolier and side arm holster around his waist and a long arm holster on his back. He wears a black Stetson hat with white trim and formal riding boots.
Weapons: a 1871 Mauser Bolt action rifle, a webely bulldog revolver and a pair of brass knuckles.
Items: in his satchel he has a tape measure (for bodies and coffins), a pair of round brass glasses to read small finicky writing, a ledger to keep count of his clients and how much they pay, a small wad of cash and charts of the area.
Horse: he has a mare with a brown coat and a darker brown mane, like coffee on chocolate. It has a saddle bag with some clothes and more body measuring equipment. Her name is Theodora.
Summery: Howard has been in the undertaker business his whole life, the trade passed down from generation to generation in his family. He use to make quality coffins for both rich and poor alike at appropriate costs, however due to major leaps In medical advancements, customers have been few and far between, so had to get more clients "creativly". He use to shoot a bandit or two in the middle if the night and the state would pay him to make coffins for them because he was the only undertaker in the area. One day he shot one of Bill's lot and they came to him for revenge, burring down the family workshop, so of course he wanted revenge and all the money that came with it.
History: Born in the spring of 1851 to a family who delt with death, Howard was a fairly normal child inspite of the fact he lived with a family of oddly cheery, undertakers and morticians. He, since his childhood was in the business of handling dead bodies and became accustomed to corpses early on, what good undertaker isn't? He was the offspring of an undertaker and a florist, they together monopolized the death business in Yornley, flowers and coffins always went hand in hand and with these two influences developed an eccentric man, flamboyant and charming like his mothers flowers and sympathetic and compassionate from his fathers coffins. At the age of 18 his parents died of the influenza and he had to take over the business from a ripe young age, however it was going badly, medicine had gotten better and people were dying less, the Starkweather Funeral Company was in shambles and Howard could do nothing to stop it. So he moved to Europe where lots of death was going and got in on the action, he worked for all sides and benefited from all of them. After a few months across the pond he returned to nonexsistant company with nonexistent staff so he started from scratch and got into some "ill practices".

[Voltus_Ventus]

If it's not an inconvenience I'd like to join.

[TJByrum]

This here roleplay could go a lot of different ways, but I would reckon the most likely route is that everyone will be getting acquainted with each other. Perhaps a posse forms soon after?

For now, the saloon is simply "The Saloon".

[KnightsTemplar]

An Undertaker, seems fitting, lol
And original, out of the four or five western RP's I've seen, your the first Undertaker character.

[Voltus_Ventus]

So am I good to go?

[TJByrum]

@Voltus: Howard is accepted. An unsuspecting occupation I must say, but looking forward to him. I expect he'll be busy in Yornley.

[Razqua]

Okay my first post is up.