Heavy — Roleplayer Guild

@Sovi3t it's a start and the smuggler idea is a good one considering all the sea going and airship traffic that comes into Ramsgate from the Docks and Scrag Town. It is still a WIP though so I'll point out a few things. 

This is another world all together so France, the French flag, and the alias of Frenchie are out of place. I'll go about making it clearer in the OP and post 5 Misc. but this is a low fantasy world apart from Earth and our world. It is a Shadowrun spin-off but only in concept, the real world is not our setting. To keep that theme, if you would like, you could make the equivalent elven, avian, human, or some other tribe, city, country (be creative) that could fill in for the French concept. 

Also, in this diametrically opposed world a "smuggler" no matter how charismatic would probably never even speak with "sophisticated" people, maybe retainers, go betweens, and functionaries but never the rich themselves.

As to the background, things like unions are more like guilds and schools for the poor don't really exist. Again this is a poor, corrupt, dark, and desperate world and life the characters lead. 

Keep working at it, proof reading, and being creative. It will get easier as I post more Ramsgate info.

"Do you know what a hero is child?"

Coal ash and soot drifted at the feet of two figures that shared a narrow space between the craggy monolithic spires of Ironwood Hill.  Each speck of ashen material twisted with the ebb and flow of the hot sickly smelling breeze that swept through the narrow alley like a foul desert wind through a dying canyon.  Choking gouts of steam drifted in a grey hot haze around them both, prickling the skin beneath their clothing with salty rivulets of sweat.  Fires blazed in forges, hearths, and homes all around the alley, the industrial thrum of electro-coils sizzled in the air, cogs, sprockets, and chain driven gears rattled and ground within the structures around the pair, and above them bridges, pipes, and clothing lines cross hatched what little open sky remained to be seen.  Perpetual twilight was the only lighting offered from the sky through the bulbous clouds and soot colored smog that enveloped the higher reaches of the mountains that ringed the city of Ramsgate.  Most of the alley’s amber gas lamps were unattended and snuffed out, what little orange light the few remaining lamps could cast was swallowed up by soot and shadow.  

Both figures faced each other, determined it seemed to give no ground.  The figure that had spoken first seemed out of place in the decaying alley of Ironwood Hill, he was too neatly dressed, the cut of his silk and cloth cloak was too precise, and the fact that he had a silk and cloth cloak at all was too out of place.  Any gutter rat or ash back from the neighborhoods and factories of Ironwood Hill would spot this noble messenger with ease and know that he was slumming his way into the Lower City.   The Lower City, called Ironwood Hill by the locals after the imposing hillock it was built on that had once been covered in the stout limbed ironwood trees, was no place for the Nobility or their retainers, unless those same retainers were conducting business deemed too unsavory to be discharged in the High City’s Obsidian Halls.  After posing his question, the retainer took a step forward, the faint thrum and click of a fine clockwork leg accompanying his half step approach. 

At the retainers approach the young girl opposite the retainer slide her right foot back along the uneven cobbles, a gesture from her left hand producing a marble sized sparking ball of light in one palm.  She was fair and far younger than the retainer, a pretty form weathered lean and tough from a life spent eking out an existence between the spires on Ironwood Hill.  “That’s far enough.”  She said in a voice that concealed outright fear but did little to cover her anxiety about the situation.  She was nothing but an asset and an object to this retainer, that was obvious from the way he looked at her, the way he appraised the simple worn fabric dress, dirty leather boots, the threadbare corset and blouse.  If she had known no better she might mistake his approach and appraisal for the same kind of lecherous stares and gropes that many a drunken ash back gave her nightly… but know better she did.

Unmoved by the blossom of power in her hand the retainer squared his stance to her, keeping his distance but staying well within speaking range.  As a sign of good will he held out his hands, each wrapped in supple seal skin leather, each revealing nothing but the gloves and the elegant mechanical hands the gloves concealed.  He answered his own question feigning obliviousness to her growing unease.

”A hero is someone who gets all others in their company killed my dear.  My master has heard your name and indeed the names of your compatriots that surround us even now, I suspect.  I implore you, do not be a hero and usher about your friend’s death.  It would be such boorish behavior if I were to be forced to end so many young lives tonight.”  His voice was possessed of a calm that was unsettling, a sound so polished, so cultured, and his delivery so precise as to be nigh unnatural.  The girl remained silent, her friends were indeed in the shadows, eves, and corners around the alley but the retainer couldn’t have possible known that, she knew that bluffing was part of this game.

”It is no bluff my dear…” he said, much to her dismay, as if having read her mind. ”…It is good they join us, my employer has work for you and your friends and he does not need heroes for this task.”

Ramsgate Falling 

The easiest way I can give you a one-liner feel for this story is to say that it will be “a Low Fantasy, Steampunk, Shadowrun spin off”.  The group of characters will be a team of skilled "entrepreneurs" with slight to drastic criminal leanings, caught up in a series of events that are far more consequential to the city of Ramsgate than the characters first expect.

The entire story will take place mostly in and at times around Ramsgate, the city pictured below.

A series of informative post will begin this thread.  They will be ordered as follows.

#1 - Original Post (OP): This is the current post; a general overview, character sheet format, and the basic rules will all be here.

#2 – Ramsgate Dossier: A detailed overview of the city of Ramsgate and the wider world as it concerns Ramsgate will be updated in post 2.

#3 – Clicks and Cogs: A breakdown of the Steampunk technology that permeates Ramsgate.

#4 – The Awakened World: Magic and how it works in Ramsgate will be explained here. 

#5 – A miscellaneous catch all for the questions that are sure to arise. 

Key Points 

What follows are some broad points from the Interest Check that will give you a feel for the story.  Newcomers should read through this info first, those from the interest check will find this is little more than the same review.

1. The party and or characters are not connected to the above vignette and do not have to be (but can be if you want).  That was just a snippet to give you a little taste of the world.  There is a story in the works that does not have to directly involve the characters in those little pieces of fluff I wrote.  Those bits were just a feeler, casting a line to see if I could hook anyone.

2. Always keep in mind that his is an apocalyptic world, wars, famine, poverty, sinister plots, and much more are all common place.  There is very little light at the end of the tunnel for the common person.  Day to day grinding for a living is what is in store for most, a life of crime, guided by a patron or not, is another alternative.  The world is a mess and there will be more on that backstory in post 2.  Suffice it to say, as bad as things are in the lowest parts of Ironwood Hill and Scrag Town, they are far better than being outside the walls of a city like Ramsgate.

3. Power sources.

a. Magic; More will be detailed in post 4. As a short primer it can be said that magic is a very tightly controlled "commodity" held by the powerful only, in theory.  However, in practice thriving black markets related to all things magical thrive and come into conflict with the powers that be all too often.  Great and amazing things can be done with magic in Ramsgate but one always has to be aware of the maxim “Power attracts Power” a dire warning that magic can draw violent and unfriendly consequences.
b. Technology; In Ramsgate technology comes in the form of "steampunk"...  brass, leather, tin, copper, gears, cogs, sprockets, chains, airships, goggles, and all things steampunk.  Again, more will be detailed in post 3 but the primary sources of power are steam and Aether generators.  If you need a crash course Click Here or scroll to post 3.
c. Electro-elemental; Living in a world where mages can call down the power of elemental forces into their hands it stands to reason that it would take little time for an enterprising person to attempt to harness that power with technology.  More will be discussed in post 3 but this is high-tech Marty McFly hover board level stuff.  While 98% of technomancers, gadgeteers, tinkerers, and enginseers deal with traditional steam or Aether power sources and normal mechanical means, the other 2% work with mages, legitimately and illegitimately, to power their devices with bold and dangerous electro-elemental power.

4. In Ramsgate there are all kinds of political, religious, racial, and philosophical groups.  If you can conjure it (within reason) it has a place in Ramsgate.  Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, beast-men, ogres, trolls, goblins, naga, avians and half breeds of all manner fill Ramsgate.  Despite all of this, please keep in mind this is lower fantasy; there should be no "supernatural" (you know what I mean) beings, I'll save those for some of the antagonists.  While it is diverse racially, there is just as much tension and outright hate as there is reconciliation and partnership.  

5. Politically and religiously the city is ruled from the Obsidian Halls on the High City Hill or Black Glass Manor. Despite this rule by Nobility numerous gangs, merchant lords, guilds, militias, theocratic movements, racial movement groups, councils, and fiefdoms all maneuver and power play constantly within the city.  No matter how hard a character tries to stay out of the plays at hand there are just too many moving pieces to avoiding being caught up.  As far as religions go, you name it and someone in Ramsgate probably worships it.

6. Computational analog engines are capable of doing amazing things in this world.  They are also so massive, archaic, and immensely complex, that only the rich and powerful can afford to fund their meticulous care and use.  Technology like airships, full replacement clockwork limbs, electro-elemental weapons (read: guns), airships, mechanical creatures, and automatons are all rare, powerful, and out of your grasp as characters for the moment.  You'll have lower level versions... perhaps.  Steampunk versions of "cyberware" (I told you this was a Shadowrun spin off, I make no apologies) called clickware or cogware are available, at varying degrees of cost (money and spirit) and legality, see post 3. Click Here if you need examples of what clickware or cogware can be, just keep in mind you will have to turn the items in the link from shiny cyberware into clockwork gizmos that fit this setting and pass my say so.  The link is an idea primer, not canon.     

7. The story will take place primarily in and sometimes around Ramsgate. I want to focus on the city and how events take place within it, there won't be a sojourn very far outside the city at all.  The city details are all found in post 2. The plot will center on the team of characters that are contracted out for various work (in somewhat episodic fashion).  At first these jobs will seem unconnected but a larger plot will be reveled concerning a very nasty invasion force that is marching its way north and conquering everything in its path. The missions the characters take and the ways in which they complete the mission will effect a final "scene" when the siege of Ramsgate takes place. The characters may end up being saviors or destroyers of the city and may not even be aware of which until it's too late.

8. You are free to go about everything as you wish as a character, that being said the main plot is centered on a group of characters that form a team of "criminals for hire" called Runners by those that approve of their work and Gutter Runners or just Rats by those that disapprove of the profession.  So with that in mind, the story turns out better if everyone works within something at least resembling a loose confederation if not a tight-knit group.  Going solo may work for a while if you are good but chances are death will visit your character much more quickly than the others.

9. Typically a group of Runners is made of the dredges of society that, for whatever reason, do not or cannot be a part of the normal day-to-day life of Ramsgate.  Criminals, debtors, those being hunted, the marginalized, discriminated against, poor, abandoned, or cast off are the type that turn to the Runner profession.  These can be people with various skill sets and all different kinds of backgrounds, except the nobility in most cases.  A normal Runner team consists of (but is not required to have) a charismatic leader, negotiator, and con-artist type serving as a groups "face".  A face interacts directly with clients or their representatives with or without the input of the rest of the runners (really up to the group dynamic), they may have just enough street savvy, connections, or social graces that they can get by where their criminal brothers and sisters cannot.  You can have all types of others in a Runner team; fighters, bruisers, tanks, enforcers, healers, mages, tinkerers, enginseers, occultists, warriors, scouts, infiltrators, assassins, gangers, alchemists, etc, etc or any combination thereof, obviously within reasonable limits that create dynamic, flawed, diverse, and useful characters.

This team will be presented with numerous options for employment, taking an executing jobs as they see fit, living or dying by their choices, and overall becoming caught up in something much more important than any of the could have imagined.  There is an overall plot that the characters will be swept up in eventually but it will be up to you all as to how you go about that and what direction your characters take.  I am here to provide the left and right lateral limits of the plot, present you with the world and its options, and play a character or two.

Character Sheets 

*If you select “View Raw” in the upper right hand corner of this post you should be able to copy this sheet into a new post or document and fill it out.*

Name: 

Known Aliases: (Not required but alternate identities are useful for Runners) 

Race: (See above – nothing supernatural but any low fantasy is acceptable, ask if you have questions.)

Gender:

Age: (Typical low fantasy restrictions, i.e. elves are long lived beast-men and orcs are shorter lived.)

Physical Appearance: (I am requiring a written description; pictures are welcomed as well.) 

Strengths: (These are your natural born abilities.  Do not overpower your characters, keep in mind your characters will be of the low born masses.)

Weaknesses: (Do not cripple your characters but be realistic, every good character has a lynch pin or two.)

Skills: (Learned techniques and abilities that your characters have acquired over time.  More often than not these are geared to capitalize on a strength or compensate for a weakness.) 

Languages: (You can be creative with this.  Common is universal to all, as are racial languages.  For anything else ensure you have a plausible reason for being knowledgeable or fluent in another dialect. 

Gear: (Your characters will have access to low level clickware and gear, at most one piece of valuable and story driven gear that is of better quality.  Keep in mind your characters have been eking out a living in the shadows of the most crowded, poor, and corrupt city in the region.) 

Background: (The history of the character should go here, work in the who, what, when, where, and the why of how your character came to be.)

Contacts: (The world of a Runner is all about who they know and who owes them a favor.  Almost every Runner has someone that links them to employment.  Other than that contacts run the gamut of social circles and professions.)

Those are the major points as of June 25th 2015.

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