1. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Messages:
    947
    Likes Received:
    219
    Location:
    Hampshire, UK

    Dark West Discussion Thread

    Discussion in 'Role Play Discussion' started by Fan7asticMrFox, Jun 5, 2017.

    Last edited: Jun 20, 2017
  2. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Messages:
    947
    Likes Received:
    219
    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Hi all, I've just had an interesting conversation about how the game is being run and would like to clarify slightly on the Dark West world.

    To summarise Dark West at its heart is a traditional gritty Western story with a small element of fantasy power intertwined. There are airships and a some in the world have a small control over certain elements, but "magic" per se outside of this is considered strange and unnatural.

    Furthermore all slingers should be equal - so for example if a Master Gunslinger came across a Master Fireslinger, they would have a close fought and equal battle. Elementalists do not have an advantage versus their counterparts, except for their indiviudla ability with their skill. Note that your characters will be good at what they do, but perhaps not the best - these things come with time and adventure!

    If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask!

    Fox
     
  3. obi-sem kenobi

    obi-sem kenobi Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2015
    Messages:
    325
    Likes Received:
    88
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Name: Leena Rosa

    Age: Don’t ask. Younger than she’d like you to think though (just don’t tell her I told you that).

    Gender: Female

    Appearance: A tall but slender woman with long, smooth auburn hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. When she wears her favourite green-brown dress you could almost mistake her for a tree. The darn most gracious tree you’ve ever seen.

    Her smile is kind and her brown eyes burn with a cosy fire, but you always feel like they’re hiding something deeper.

    Personality: Leena loves the wind. She’s just not very fond of its people. She doesn’t mind the way they hide their emotions, but she can’t stand the mere fleeting sense of attachment they seem to have to everything.

    She’s curious. Curious about other cultures, stories from far away, but mostly she’s curious about people. The inner turmoil that shapes the outer image.

    She’s wise, but not as wise as she lets on.

    She’s young so she’ll make rash decisions sometimes.

    She always appears calm and collected, but she burns with a deep fire. She’s gotten fairly good at hiding her emotions, but any real whistler will see everything in her eyes.

    She’s powerful, she just doesn’t know it yet.

    History:
    Born in a small village in the centre of the Whistler Pillar Canyons, the ways of the wind were poured into the core of her being. The people were gracious and kind, but she could never really connect with them. She had a desire to know more, dig deeper, truly get to know someone and love them for who they are.

    So she left. The day after her father died she packed up her things, strapped his old revolver to her hip and hit the road, searching for adventure, knowledge and wisdom. She never even got out of the Canyons.

    She hadn't travelled more than two days when she ran into a group of bandits with less than proper intentions. Her horse was fast and she rode it well, but she knew she couldn't outrun them forever. After half a day's journey she reached a no-good watering hole that called itself a town. She stepped into the saloon hoping to find someone who could help her, but the moment she saw the price of one beer, she knew she had nothing to offer.

    She'd always believed she could hide her emotions rather well, but at that moment her armour cracked. As she stood by the bar, a single tear ran down her cheek. The bartender pretended not to notice, but for the shortest moment his eyes flicked to a man, sitting at a table just off the centre of the room.

    Long story short, he was a wandering gunslinger that was travelling East with about half a dozen other slingers. He agreed to take her as far as Crossroads in return for her father's revolver. Apparently it used to be his gun before he lost it somewhere in Death's Whistle. Only two of them were ever made and he was glad to have them both at his side again.

    Once there he set her up with a stubborn old man who ran a library in a town where nobody could read. Since she started working there though, mostly boys and young men have suddenly taken a renewed interest in the written arts. That was five years ago.

    Slinger Type: Airslinger

    Hometown: Leena comes from a relatively small town in the Whisper Plains just past Death's Whistle called Jacob's Creek. Most whistlers that lived there are engineers working on assembling big airships. Leena is not very technical, which is just one more reason she left.
     
  4. JessWrite

    JessWrite Word Nerd & Proud! Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2011
    Messages:
    4,245
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    My Old Kentucky Home
    Name: Ada Anderson

    Age: 20

    Gender: Female

    Appearance: Miss Ada Anderson is much too pretty for the small town she resides in. Although she looks her best everyday, she doesn't overdo it, lest she tempt or lead men astray. She is highly respectable with her simple long-sleeve dress and silky black hair piled neatly on top of her head. Her skin is fair with numerous freckles permanent from her days in the sun and her small stature, strong and underestimated. Despite all that, Ada's warm smile is by far her greatest feature, reaching to her blue eyes.

    Personality: Most say Miss Anderson is a lovely soul, a kind-hearted teacher with a good head on her shoulders. Others may think she's stuck-up and doesn't teach anything at all useful. If asked about herself, there is little talk. Like books, Ada sticks to the facts. No need for more. Doesn't mean she can't sympathize or offer advice on occasion. Her heart is good and that's what matters.

    History: No one knew where Ada had come from. Just her title, a teacher. Ada has been at The Crossroads Schoolhouse for a year now. Wasn't hard to get the job, they were in desperate need of a teacher and she fit the bill. An answered prayer.

    She only had a couple students, slim pay, and a Schoolhouse made of wooden boards stacked together, complete with a roof and cutout window...but it was something.

    [​IMG]

    A couple days ride from The Crossroads, near a well-off town called Clear Hallow she was raised by her drunkard Pa and mean-spirited Ma. She hardly got by a week without a whipping...a bad girl she was. A bad girl who did the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and farm work. She did as she was told, but the switch still came, leaving the bruises to show for it.

    She missed her school days that were short-lived, but enough to learn reading, writing, and basic arithmetic. She was needed at the Anderson homestead after her father drank himself to death...after her Ma lost her wits.

    She taught herself, secretly buying books during her trips to town, reading in the barn between work and punishment. It was her only solace; a breath of fresh air.

    Ada wasn't sad when she killed her Ma. She made it look accidental...barely got out alive herself. Sympathy followed as word spread. She was taken in by the owners of the General Store she frequented, just until she could get back on her feet. She told them she wanted to be a teacher and seeing as she already knew more than the average, they helped her get a qualification. When she was all set and ready, she sold the homestead to go look for a teaching position, some place where no one knew her.

    Some place like The Crossroads.

    She was not dim-witted like most folks around. Ada would get on well enough, carrying her knowledge and secrets with her.

    Slinger Type: Airslinger
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2017
  5. Myrrdoch

    Myrrdoch Active Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2017
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    171
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    Name: Gareth MacClellan

    Age: 26

    Gender: Male

    Appearance: Slightly below-average height. Pale, even for a Whistler; almost unnaturally so. Dark brown hair, shot through with strands of gold. Light brown eyes. Slender.

    Personality: Alternates between sullen and boisterously outgoing. Mood switches almost at random. Gareth longs to find meaning in his life, but has convinced himself that it is impossible to find. He intensely desires human connection, but he has subconsciously dehumanized his fellow man, and doesn't realize it but treats them as objects. Each person he meets is a puzzle for him to solve, or a game for him to play. Or a trap for him to avoid. And none of these interactions bring him close to anyone else, so he constantly feels alienated and despondent, although he tries to hide those feelings from others.

    History: Gareth MacClellan was at one time known as Paul Radford. He worked cargo on one of Sunderland Industries cargo airships, hauling goods between Farshore and the Teardrop Archipelago. He found the work intensely unsatisfying, and one day for reasons that he still doesn't understand, he decided to take up the gun. He transferred to the Sunderland Rifle Corps, a group of company men that protected Sunderland airships, trains, and wagons.

    He wasn't particularly good at it.

    He had hoped that he'd find some excitement or fulfillment in the Rifle Corps, but he didn't gel well with the corps, and his shooting was mediocre at best. Worst of all, because of his below-average rifle marksmanship, he was transferred out of airships. Grounded and the company weak link, Radford took to gambling. Which seemed to be the one thing he was good at. He began winning small sums in the local Rifle Corps barracks; enough that, along with his salary, he could live somewhat comfortably. However, word of his luck at the card table spread up the company ladder. And Radford learned a hard lesson. Consistently good luck, it turned out, was actually very bad luck.

    Radford was invited to a Command Staff poker game. The buy-in was almost all of the money he'd earned since he'd joined the Rifle Corps, and he found himself sitting at a table with three majors and a colonel. And his luck held. He won hand after hand, making several years' salary over the course of a night.

    He won until one of the majors had nothing left to bet. Nothing, except a revolver. The handgun was bronze, with ivory grips and a silvery inlay. Huge, with a fat cylinder that held eight rounds. It was the most beautiful thing Paul had ever seen. He'd never even touched a handgun before, but he figured it was worth it to put everything he'd won that night up against it.

    And he won again. The grip was smooth against his palm as he hefted it. When the major screamed at him for cheating, Radford was surprised. He never cheated; he'd never had to. When the major drew his service revolver, he was even more surprised. Nobody had ever drawn down on him before, and he had no idea how to react.

    Fortunately, his hands had known exactly what to do. And they did it, eight times, until the four officers and their seconds were all laying on the ground with blood pooling around them. In a panic, Radford grabbed as much cash as he could carry and bolted.

    Now calling himself Gareth MacClellan, he settled in The Crossroads. The Gun was stowed under some boards in the room he rented. He's been in The Crossroads for just over a year, and has developed a reputation as being a drunk dandy, and a pushover. He still has a little bit of money left, enough to sustain himself for another month. But before too much longer he's going to have to find a source of income. He also knows that Sunderland is undoubtedly looking for him.

    And above all, he's been trying to avoid a situation where his hands might do the things they do so well. But recently, he's started to feel a sense of foreboding. A pendency. And he's found himself taking The Gun out on occasion, feeling that smooth grip and thinking that something was coming, and that maybe having it buried in his room wasn't the best idea.

    Slinger Type: Gun.
     
  6. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Messages:
    947
    Likes Received:
    219
    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Hey all - so I'm planning to put in a filler post about The Crossroads either today or tomorrow, but in the meantime I am more than happy for you to start integrating your characters to the story and get intro posts in. Add as much or as little drama as you want, the town is basically a sandbox at this point.

    Please make sure you read other posts however, as there could important information about the town created by other players (for example, it's noon in The Crossroads and we have a bartender with a stump in the local saloon). This all helps to make a truly immersive world that flows!
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2017
  7. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    754
    Likes Received:
    186
    Name: Jessie Waters
    Gender: Male
    Age: 32
    Appearance: Short, bulky. Dark skin and hair, blue eyes. Has a thick and short beard. Has a golden tooth, and a missing ring-finger on his left hand

    Personality: Jessie is a wanderer in spirit, always moving from place to place, though it will never be evident by his stoic appearance. He is a stubborn person. When he lets his stoic appearance down, he is a hedonist, who will always enjoy a fine party, food drink and women. However, both are shields for a scarred past.

    While not a kind person, is drawn to pacifism. He will not kill unless necessary, and will use his sharpshooter skills to attempt to wound. Likes to think of himself as a religious person, though his lifestyle shows differently.

    History: Jessie was born the bastard son to Edward Firebeard, one of the last pirates of the oceans beyond the Teardrop Archipelagos. He never knew his mother, a woman from the Craggy Peaks who died when he was born.

    As both a bastard, a halfbreed and the captain's son, Jessie found his place among the pirates. He trained as a sharpshooter, and would usually provide rifle cover from the high masts when in a fight. His skills with a needle also helped plenty in the old ship, which hadn't upgraded to steam just yet.

    The end to that life came when he was twenty. After a successful raid which brought the pirates plenty of wine, they had a party on their ship. In a drunken moment of sadness, his father broke down confessing about all the lives he had taken, including Jessie's mother. Jessie didn't react.

    Once everyone was asleep Jessie ran off. He informed the Rifle Corps about the ship's exact whereabouts. The pirates didn't put up a fight. They were too drunk.

    He spent some years as a hired mercenary, and even served as a sniper in the Firebrand army for some time. During that time he found his interest in religion, and his travels took him down many churches and temples who taught of the Ways. Wanting to play it safe, Jessie embraced them all, which practically means that he actually keeps none of them. He would work wherever work was offered, not distinguishing between legal and ilegal.

    While working in a small gang, he was spotted by the head of the Mid-City mob, a former pirate of his father's crew. Named a traitor, a price was put on his head, and the mob went as far as to give his name to the local police as well.

    Now he is on the run, from both the mob and the local authorities, trying to redeem himself of both the his life as a criminal, and for his treason.

    Slinger type: Gunslinger. While the Whitworth Rifle is his weapon of choice, he is proficient enough with the usual pistol. He will usually carry a pair of revolvers and his rifle hidden on the inside of his case.
     
  8. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Messages:
    947
    Likes Received:
    219
    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Very much got carried away with my post and if I'd had more time it would have been even longer. That will do for now, unfortunately I am away for the weekend so I will be unable to post. When I return I will continue the Sheriff's memories, which should help to add more intrigue to the story. But don't let my absence stop you from writing, let's get some posts up!

    Also just to note, Ryan has lived in The Crossroads all his life and been the Sheriff for about twelve years now. He's a widower, has a teenage daughter and runs with a female Deputy (who I have yet to create properly - if you beat me to it, fair play!). I think the post I just put up gives a brief insight into his morals and the kind of character he is.
     
  9. Myrrdoch

    Myrrdoch Active Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2017
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    171
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    @Domino355 is Jessie's Whitworth a la the muzzle-loader of our world?
     
  10. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    754
    Likes Received:
    186
    Yeah it is. I figured if someone was going to bring in a "peacekeeper" then a "whitworth" can also be there.
     
    Myrrdoch likes this.
  11. Myrrdoch

    Myrrdoch Active Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2017
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    171
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    Cool, just wanted to make sure I had the muzzle-loading thing right before I mentioned it in the story.
     
  12. Myrrdoch

    Myrrdoch Active Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2017
    Messages:
    217
    Likes Received:
    171
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    This is hilarious. Our back stories are making this scene so much more than it otherwise would be. How much should Gareth and Jessie notice each other's concern, do you think?
     
  13. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    754
    Likes Received:
    186
    Umm, I think Jessie is good enough at hiding his emotion, especially when talking to a drunk man. Unless Gareth is a good reader of character.

    And I don't think he'd notice Gareth's concern
     
    Myrrdoch likes this.
  14. obi-sem kenobi

    obi-sem kenobi Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2015
    Messages:
    325
    Likes Received:
    88
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Hey guys, I'm really liking the characters and posts so far. I'm working on my next one, but because I'm still on vacation I only have my cellphone to write with.

    Just for the record though, that wind that Ada and Leena felt was really not much more than a light breeze. The real storm is probably still a ways off (I don't know how soon Fox expects the Wanderer to be here, so I just left it at 'soon').

    Also, my grandmother's name is actually Ada and she was a teacher back in the day. :p
     
    JessWrite likes this.
  15. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    754
    Likes Received:
    186
    Whoops. I just went with @Myrrdoch 's post. Same with Gareth noticing Jessie's rifle even though it was in his case
     
    Myrrdoch likes this.
  16. obi-sem kenobi

    obi-sem kenobi Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2015
    Messages:
    325
    Likes Received:
    88
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    No problem, no reason why there shouldn't also have been a stronger gust of wind, just thought I'd mention it. :)
     
    Myrrdoch likes this.
  17. JessWrite

    JessWrite Word Nerd & Proud! Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2011
    Messages:
    4,245
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    My Old Kentucky Home
    That's awesome! I love the name Ada.
    Great posts too, everyone! :)
     
    obi-sem kenobi likes this.
  18. JessWrite

    JessWrite Word Nerd & Proud! Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2011
    Messages:
    4,245
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    My Old Kentucky Home
    Sorry to double post, but I just read your post @obi-sem kenobi. Ada's last name is Anderson, Grant was one of her pesky little students. :p
     
  19. obi-sem kenobi

    obi-sem kenobi Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2015
    Messages:
    325
    Likes Received:
    88
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Oh wow, that's sloppy. I usually double check these things. :bigoops: Sorry, I'll edit right away.
     
  20. JessWrite

    JessWrite Word Nerd & Proud! Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2011
    Messages:
    4,245
    Likes Received:
    289
    Location:
    My Old Kentucky Home
    It's ok! :)

    Can't wait to see how they interact. :D
     
  21. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Messages:
    947
    Likes Received:
    219
    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    I'm back! Nice work folks, great introductory posts and good to see some interaction going on.

    I plan to put some more filler posts with some more story intrigue over the course of today and tomorrow. I reckon that Sunday this week will be the day that the story will progress significantly (partly due to personal appointments and also to give others a chance to join the game if they wish). Happy for you to let your imaginations be let loose, come up with some new characters and small stereotypical western dramas in the meantime.

    EDIT: All current Character Sheets are now linked at the start of this thread for easy reference.

    Fox
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2017
  22. Von_Mitchell

    Von_Mitchell New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2017
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Oklahoma City, OK, USA
    Name: X, formerly Johnny "Handsome Hands"

    Age: 39

    Gender: Male

    Appearance: X is covered head to toe by severe burn scarring and he has had his nose and lips cut off, giving him the appearance of risen corpse. Standing nearly 6'5" tall with broad shoulders and dressed in his smokey duster, X cuts quite the figure. He usually wears a wide brimmed black hat that he keeps pulled low over his eyes and a bandanna that he uses to cover his disfigured nose and mouth. X keeps a massive revolver at his left hip and a double barrel shotgun with his pack and horse.

    Personality: X is a man of few words, though whether by choice or due to his horrible disfigurement only he knows. X spends most of his time alone and prefers to work alone. When he is forced to interact with people, he communicates only what is necessary using terse phrase and sometimes just a gesture. X does not like children. For that matter, X doesn't seem to like much of anyone.

    History: Born to a Whistler merchant caravanner whom he would never meet and transient Firebrand prostitute, John was raised among whores, cheats, and killers. Prostitution was illegal in most places so John’s mother worked a circuit, working a town’s men over for a couple of weeks and catching caravan to the next town before the law had a chance to get suspicious. By the time John was ten, he had traveled more than most folks twice his age.

    Every few months, John’s mother would have to settle up accounts with the gang who ran the prostitution circuit in the area. The man who ran the gang, called the Sons of Perdition, was a giant of man aptly named Big Ben Switch. He had a mind like a knife edge but Ben Switch was prone to drinking and fits of violent rage. It was in one of these violent fits that Big Ben beat John’s mother to death in front of him for trying to hold money back from him. Despite this, Big Ben was not without his own unique sense of honor and he resolved to raise John himself.

    Ben taught John how to use a pistol and ride a horse, and they both discovered that John had a natural quick hand and keen eyes. By the time John was fourteen he could shoot better than more than half the grown men in Big Ben’s gang. By the time he was sixteen, John was running caravans with Ben’s most trusted Lieutenants. John’s skill with a pistol combined with a face that made women swoon soon earned him a reputation, and the nickname “Handsome Hands” was stuck to him.

    Over the years, John became more like a Son to Ben, even becoming close friends with Ben’s natural born son who went by the name of Switchblade Rick Switch, named his proclivity for using his switchblade to carve up his victims. The two were practically inseparable and as the gang expanded, the two would-be brothers each took on increasingly important roles. John gained a reputation for knocking over small banks, and even a couple of trains, while the physically weaker Rick stepped into the role of managing the gang’s growing finances.

    When John turned 25, Big Ben came down with a terrible fever. In a matter of days, the sickness tore through and some people in the gang were starting to whisper the worst. It wasn’t long before the whispers were confirmed. Big Ben called his most trusted Lieutenants to him and laid out his will for the gang. To John’s surprise, and to the chagrin of Rick and many of the older Lieutenants, Big Ben named John as his successor.

    For the next several years, Johnny Handsome Hands led the gang in series of high value caravan hits that earned the Sons of Perdition, and himself quite a bit of fame. Yet, Switchblade Rick’s resentment of his long time friend and almost brother only grew with time.

    One night, while John slept, Rick set into action a plan he had been working on for some time. Gathering those of his father’s Lieutenants who still felt that the gang should have gone to him, Rick captured John. They bound him, gagged him, and dragged him to the top of a canyon ridge and tied him to a post they had rigged up. John spat and cursed at them for their betrayal but Switchblade Rick just smiled and took out his eponymous knife. He took his nose first. Then his lips. They mocked him and beat him; saying he wasn’t so handsome anymore. Then, as their final act, they doused John in oil and set him on fire.

    John struggled against his bindings as his screams echoed through canyon. He felt his skin popping and burning. Just as he was about to give in, the fire that was killing John burned through the ropes. As the bindings fell away John stumbled to the edge of the ridge and threw himself into the canyon. He could hear their laughter chasing them as he fell. He bounced once off a rocky outcropping and then fell into the blackness of unconsciousness.

    John awoke nearly a month later. A merchant caravan that had been camped in the canyon had seen John’s flaming body fall from the ridge and into the lake below. When they recovered his body, he was comatose and nearly dead. The caravan brought him to the nearest town and handed him over to the local doctor. The outlook hadn’t been good, but John did survive.

    He lingered a long while in that town, giving in to depression. He was horribly disfigured and the fall had left him with a permanent limp. Then John saw the wanted notices posted on the sheriff's building. He saw his own face there, or how his face had been. Several of the other faces had been members of his gang or gangs he had interacted with over the years. Right then, John resolved to hunt down every last member of his old gang and collect the bounty on them.

    It has been nearly two years since his betrayal. The man who had once been John had come to accept that Johnny Handsome Hands had died that night. This new man found that he was just as good with a pistol as he had ever been, and he put that skill to use building a name for himself bringing in outlaws dead or alive. The lawmen that know him refer to him as “X” for the way in which he signed his name after handing over a bounty.


    Slinger Type: Gunslinger
     
  23. Von_Mitchell

    Von_Mitchell New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2017
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Oklahoma City, OK, USA
    Should have my intro post up later today. I'm like 2/3rds done with the outline as of right now.
     
    Myrrdoch likes this.
  24. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    754
    Likes Received:
    186
    I don't think anyone intended it, but somehow all the guys here like guns and all the ladies make wind
     
    JessWrite, Von_Mitchell and Myrrdoch like this.
  25. Von_Mitchell

    Von_Mitchell New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2017
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Oklahoma City, OK, USA
    Emergent culture?
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice