Too Old 4 This

Land of the Chained

gorgenmast said
I think Earl could certainly qualify as a badass.

You're right. Still one out of four in a game that is highly conflict based, is too few. Don't get me wrong, these characters are excellent. Better than I hoped for. We just need one or two more with combat experience to round out the group and make it survivable. That GM bullshit rule cuts two ways. I can't use GM bullshit to fuck with the PCs, but I also can't use it to pull your asses out of the fire.

The United States of Slavery

Update. So we have four excellent characters, but only one of them has extensive combat experience and he is a sharpshooter. What we need to round out the group is one or two characters who have practical combat skills and can handle threats at close range. Gunsligers, bare knuckle boxers, veteran slave runners, Marshals, outlaws, that sort of thing. Usually I get too many bad asses but in the case of this RP, the opposite is the problem.

Land of the Chained

@Crya It looks fine to me, Spanish language skills will definitely be useful to the group. Accepted.

@All Well, the problem I did not consider would be a problem is a problem. Apart from our sharpshooter, there's not many among the PC's who have wartime experience. I want this to be a fairly hardline, gritty game and as of right now, I'm not sure if this group can survive the kind of story I have in mind without GM bullshit on my part.

Long story short, we need a bad ass... or two in order to round out the group. Unfortunately, bad asses are the characters I least like to NPC because they become GM-chaperones very easily. They really need to be PCs.

Land of the Chained

@redPANDA I see, so you want the escape to be in progress at the start of the game. That's cool. Accepted.

Land of the Chained

@Crya Okay... that's an interesting idea. It's a bit of a stretch considering the Maroons were a highly isolated people with no formal education. I have a hard time believing they knew Richmond existed. Still, I might allow it, if the write up is convincing. Remember, though, there really aren't any freedmen outside of scattered runaways and those in hiding. Perhaps your character heard stories of hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters in chains (the Florida stocks?) and has some dreamy notion of freeing them to aid her own people against the Spanish (remember in our alternate timeline the Spanish Empire is in resurgence while the British are in decline)? We'll find some way to make it work. If you want easy mode just have her get recaptured and shipped to America in chains. I'd actually prefer if at least one PC began the game in bondage. Makes things a bit more personal.

Land of the Chained

@DeadbeatWalking Nice work on the character, accepted. That Duncan's a sweetheart. A perfect rolemodel for Gentile youth XD. I do have one worry, though. An organization like the Railsplitters will be unlikely to risk an asset like a doctor on dangerous missions and I'm sure you don't want your character just staying behind all the time.

@redPANDA Everything looks good to me so far.

Land of the Chained

gorgenmast said As for a picture, Jeff Bridges in True Grit provides an okay approximation

He's a little old for a character just turning 40, but I'm not going to be picky. It's not like the interwebs are overflowing with pictures of one-eyed gunfighters.

gorgenmast said Also, do we have permission to post IC yet, or are you wanting to do the first IC post?

Easy, tex. XD First I'd like to get a solid group of at least three players, hopefully five. I'll also write an introductory IC post that will provide some narrative hookage and a more grounded feel for the setting.

Land of the Chained

@Gorgenmast


Well Done Indeed

And you'll be happy to know, you totally got me with that anime pic and modern sniper rifle. GM jimmies successfully rustled. You'd be surprised, though, how often I've seen crap like that in a game. Once had someone submit a pic of an emaciated, sparkly anime girl with a five hundred pound claymore as an elven archer in low magic grimdark fantasy RP. I think he just liked her eyes or something.... creepy.

Seriously, though, that is an excellent write up and I really appreciate the attention to historical detail when it comes to the plains tribes as well as the incorporation of the time line events into the backstory. The only thing I can suggest for this character is you determine what tribal languages you know if any. They might come in handy later on. Also see if you can't find a historical picture. If nothing matches what you're envisioning then use a picture of the rifle your character uses since it is a defining part of his background.

Land of the Chained

@All Made a small edit regarding the trans continental railroad for I realized having it be incomplete would hamper PC movement and very much restrict the group to the East coast. Added a line to the timeline about its completion in 1868. Also added a new topic 'Outlaws and Lawmen' which should be helpful to those considering a character with a criminal or law enforcement background.

Land of the Chained

@All I added, Religion/Culture, to the character sheet. This is important because religious belief plays a huge role in people's lives in the 1800s and the CSA has marginalized some religious groups, notably Catholics, Jews, Quakers and Mormans. Note, that your character does not have to be religious but secular outlooks are far more rare during this time period than they are now.

@redPANDA Looks good. The only problem I see is the archetype. Indentured servant is a little to broad. I wouldn't let an African American character put 'slave' as archetype for the same reason. Perhaps Lady of the Evening? The 1800s is a sexist place which makes coining female archetypes, admittedly, a little challenging. If you can't come up with anything you like, you can stick with Indentured Servant. The more important thing you will need to think about is explaining the origin of your motivation in your backstory. Do you perhaps owe your own freedom from one of the brothel's African American slaves? Maybe you had a multiracial child whom was taken from you? Lots of possibilities.