[hider=1888]
[center][h1][i]~1888~[/i][/h1][/center]
[center][i][color=gold][b]In which we question our moral dignity, and reform the proletariat, insult foreign investors...and also cannibals.[/b][/color][/i][/center][hr]
[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx42SWnERTs][i]Sound[/i][/url][/center]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/GeLCih1m.jpg[/img][/center]
[indent][indent][i]There is a foul blemish upon this land...some say it is the Arcologies themselves, pulling out of the earth whatever resources it can plunder to line the pockets of fat barons. Others believe it is a curse put on this soil by an ancient ruler of the Bloodlands. If your not a fool, and you have two eyes to look for yourself, you'll know that blight has always been there...down deep in the crust of the earth itself, something far deadlier than any Barons Guard or Syndicate assassin...This land is evil, and we are all damned here...[/i][/indent][/indent]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/8EDsaQtm.jpg[/img][/center]
[i][indent][indent]The Industrial Union was shaken by a violent and brutal civil war five years ago. For now, the sprawling industrial city-states known as [b]Arcologies[/b] have settled on an uneasy peace. But the toll has been taken. Our own city, the [b]Arcology of Wix[/b], is in turmoil. The mob of workers grow restless as industry has all but halted. Fear of famine has spread among the rabble as the outlying settlements have failed to produce an adequate crop for several years. Across the sea, the [b]Ban Ki[/b] syndicalists are pressing for repayment of the vast sums of money lent to aid in the war effort. And in the west, a cannibal king named [b]Tuenaxl[/b] has seized the throne of the stepped cities and declared himself ruler of the Blood Confederacy.   

Unfortunately, the former [b]Council of Peers[/b], has either fled the city, met with an untimely demise or simply vanished. It is the year of the Grey Worm, 1888, and a new council has been summoned. [b]You[/b] are one of those summoned.[/indent][/indent][/i]

The world of 1888 is a mixture of dieselpunk, horror, and fantasy with a bit of western weird thrown in for good measure. In this RP, you take control of a Master of the Arcology Wix, a sprawling industrial city-state on the eastern coast of a largely unexplored continent. Other cities want your resources, your wealth and to learn your secrets. Nothing would make them happier than to see your head on a pike and Wix severed from the Industrial Union, to be picked apart by the ghouls and carrion feeders.

Necromancers roam the west. Assassins armed with foreign poison in the shadows. Zombies (and worse) in the wastes. Cannibals and horrors from the deep. Weirdo mutant barbarians with brutal weapons attack and raid. In the south, stepped cities rise from the steamy jungles, ringed by acidic lakes and ruled by a cannibalistic religious sect.  


[h3]The World[/h3][hr]

[h3]Factions of the Industrial Union[/h3][hr]
The Monarchists
 Even though the new world has been settled for some centuries, and the ancient kingdom of Helikos no longer stands, their are those that would see fit to put upon a new throne an heir of Helikos. The Silenced Queen has no court, no army, and no political authority in the Industrial Union, and yet she gathers many followers about her with (absurd) promises of freedom, civil rights, and justice if she were to somehow seize control of a city. Her loyalists are nothing more than terrorists, hell bent on dissolving the Industrial Union and seizing control of an Arcology for themselves. They must be tracked down and punished for their crimes against the true authority of the union, the Council of Peers.  

The Sacred Brotherhood of Balphagor
 Balphagor was a saint in the old world-famous for being burned alive at the stake by the High Inquisitor of Helikos. He has become a modern martyr in the Industrial Union, a holy figure for the faithful. Giving to the poor, helping the sick, 

The Shadow Pact
 Watchers from the dark, the worshippers of the undead believe the hordes of ghouls and geists in the blight are the second coming of their master, Lord Necuratu, the 'Unclean Soul', of folk legend. 
 
[h3]Factions of the World[/h3][hr]
[b]The Industrial Union[/b] has stood for 500 years. It began as a loose trading alliance between mediocre cities, clutching the coastline like scared babes, afraid to venture deeper into the continent. In time, those lifelines to distant shores would bring great profit to the cities of the union, but also jealousy. Arcologies like Basilard, with their groaning airships and drill-tanks seize whatever they wish, while a religious fervor has unsettled the Barony in arcology XXX.

[b]The Ban Ki Syndicate[/b], one of many trading conglomerates across the icy ocean, began to meddle in Union politics, pitting one arcology against the other. They secured favorable trade agreements with one city and then funded their enemies. In 1883, the union was torn apart by civil war. 

[/hider]
[hider=characters]
[b]Fighter[/b]
Fighters are experts in some martial discipline and have an advantage on most other combatants. Fighters must pick a preferred weapon.  
[b]Cleric[/b]
The cleric incurs divine favor for allies or a curse for foes, and have trained for combat in order to travel the world. Knowledge of healing, poisons, and history. 
[b]Sorcerer[/b]
Magic users are
[hider=archetypes]
Possible Archetypes: 

Aristocrat
 There are plenty of noblemen in Arcology Wix; You, however, have managed to outwit or dumbfound your way into a seat on the [b]Council of Peers[/b]. Aristocrats are filthy rich and can pool vast sums of money to get things done. They have contacts in the merchants guilds across the icy sea, the most important being the [b]Ban Ki Syndicate[/b]. Unfortunately, you are also held personally responsible for the debts incurred by the city during the civil war. 

Gearfiend
 Despite the shameful moniker, you have found your mechanical implants very useful in your career, if not absurdly painful. Gearfiends are a product of arcane science wherein certain parts of your body have been enhanced with clock-work like mechanisms. You are less human than your Peers, logical and less-emotive.  

Warlock
 Despite the purges of the 17th century, the ways of the Old Ones have survived. Through ritual of your own devising, your arcane power is feared by any sane man. Unfortunately, your own sanity is at risk the longer you remain in contact with entities not of this world. 

Knight
 A relic of the old world, the knighthood was once a sacred and honorable office. Your marshal prowess is unmatched in all the land, but you are not as wealthy as your peers. Knights once rode stallions into battle; in 1888 Knights use mechanical armor with oversized weapons. 

Devoted
 Their are many religions in the world. Perhaps yours is the one, true path? The devoted incur divine favor, and have many enemies. 
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