Rascal's speakeasy- Roaring 20's rp (Revised Thread)

[Mayakterra]

Hello everybody!

The old thread was so old and getting so flooded I felt the need to make a new one. I've already had a lot of interest in this and so I thought I'd bring it here to see who I could collaborate with or recruit.

  I apologize for my absences lately, finals in college are coming so all the writing i've been doing is academic. I haven't had much time to work here.

Rascal's speakeasy:

Set in 1920's St Louis. Some historical notes about the city in relation to the story:


The Arch has yet to be built.

Heavy losses to the Brewing Industry with the rise of prohibition. Chemical, Textiles, automobiles and other manufacturing however managed to slowly fill the gap.

Commerce has yet to be adversely affected and will not until the Depression hits. For the most part poverty hasn't yet stricken St. Louis and as appropriate with the Roaring 20's times are good financially.  In fact during this era the population of St. Louis is the top sixth in the nation.

In this time the rail system has created a extensive inner city transit system.

During this era there are 5 major gangs:

The Sicilian Green ones: Originated from the farming communities in Italy and were a sub portion of the Sicilian Mafia. Vito Giannola is the head of the gang in St Louis.

The Pillow gang: Named for their leaders habit of carrying a pillow to sit on. Close ties with a portion of the Green ones. Led by Carmelo Fresina

Egan's Rats:  Mostly Irish Americans, mixed with Italian and Jewish immigrants

The Hogan Gang: Also mostly Irish American whose primary form of business was smuggling liquor, Labor, voter intimidation and contract killings. They eventually go to war with Egan's Rats over a bad whiskey deal.

The Cuckoos: Another smaller smuggling gang who was constantly being harassed by the Green ones.


Rascal's and the 'Ton Hotel.

The 'Ton hotel is located about a block from the edge of the Mississippi river, it's a large 6 story building with about 30 rooms 10 suites and a penthouse atop. The site was originally home to a small inn and brothel called the Wayton Inn 70 years earlier, but in the St. Louis fire the building was damaged causing the blackened sign to simply read "ton Inn". With the heavy destruction of the city the Ton was one of the few inns to remain operable despite the slight fire damage. With the boom in business after its competitors were destroyed the nickname "Ton Hotel" became prevalent and eventually Richard Wyton Jr renamed his establishment to the Ton Hotel when he renovated it in 1852 with the boom in money he received from the extra business.

The history of the Ton and its popularity goes deeper however. When the property was originally purchased he discovered that the Mississippi river had formed a large underground cave, sealed off from the river by a tunnel collapse. The family used the cave as a store room for many years until the compromise of 1850 was passed by congress. With the new hostility towards escaping slaves Richard Wyton became deeply involved with the underground railroad using the cave to hide slaves awaiting passage up or across the river. During the construction of the new 6 story Ton in 1852 the foundation was modified to have a secret access to the cave. In addition the cave became secretly connected to the new St. Louis sewer system right near one of the drain pipes emptying into the Mississippi. Wyton continued to be successful passing his business knowledge to his son Richard Wyton III who helped him with the underground railroad while still keeping some of the elite members of society in the upper suites of the Hotel.

The cave once again became a store room after the ratification of the 13th amendment and the secret passages fell into disrepair and were rather forgotten.

With the passing of the 18th amendment and the start of prohibition Richard Wyton V saw a great opportunity for his cave to become useful again. He funded the construction of a bar and lounge within the luxurious cave, complete with gas lighting and support walls. To keep a low profile in the construction he employed illegal Chinese labor via the Hogan Gang and brought supplies from the river through the drain outlet in the sewers.
   In 1922 Rascal's finally opened under the front of the 'ton hotel. With help from the Hogan gang the word of this new secret speakeasy spread around the city and valuable patrons were awarded small  18 karat gold pendants (like a modern "flair" button) bearing the symbol of a six pedaled lotus flower. These pendants were worn on suit coats or in women's hair and were the only way to be allowed into the speakeasy, about 200 of them were made and distributed to the underground populace of St. Louis.
  With the growth of popularity and the culture boom of Harlem reaching across the states, Richard began employing Burlesque and Jazz bands to entertain the guests and served a variety of alcohols to its patrons within the soundproof safety of the cavern speakeasy.

Unfortunately as our story begins, Rascal's isn't doing very well. A few months prior "Big Bubba", Rascals main supplier, was making a pickup of whiskey from a Hogan Gang owned still outside the city. They had been ratted out by Eagans Rat's and a raid hit the still, but in a final act of defiance one of the Gang members set fire to the supply causing a conflagration that completely destroyed the still and killed most of the people inside: Police, Hogan men, Rat mole, and Big Bubba alike. This sparks the already tense relationship between the two gangs and a couple weeks later after a whiskey smuggling deal goes sour a gang war erupts.
With the Hogan Gang tied up in a bloody fight and the alcohol stores waning Rascals is reaching a rather critical point in their business.

As our story begins there is a spark of hope for the 'Ton as the infamous Silvestro Carolla is coming to St. Louis possibly with the intent of striking a new deal that could restore 'Ton to its former glory. At what cost though? Wayton has always managed to stay neutral despite the heavy growth of organized crime, and his deal with the Hogan gang was
World Building

This is a collaboration with all you other 20's fans. I'm completely open to changes or modifications in story to give it more flavor and the characters you want to build can be worked into the speakeasy. Here's some story web I've put together if you are looking for a spot and don't know quite what you want.

----Newest Story Additions (4/8/15)--------

Madmartigan- Silvestro Carolla: A famous crime lord from New Orleans the start of our story will involve a meeting between Richard Wayton V and Silvestro Carolla involving the import of illegal booze up the river from New Orleans. Use this story hook if you need some inspiration to bring your character into the fray.

-----
Richard Wayton V (Mayakterra)- The secret proprietor of the Rascal's speak easy. He generally works around the bar under the guise of "Crazy Dick" a bouncer maintaining the peace. Slightly paranoid by nature he actually has a best friend whom he has pose as himself for his own safety.

Fake Richard Wayton V ( Open) - Richards childhood friend and business partner. He gets a pretty sweet deal of wearing the finest suits and rubbing elbows with the elite of St. Louis posing as the proprietor while Richard works from the shadows.

Richards Squeeze (open) A young woman who is the love interest of Richard. It's likely she will often pose with Fake Richard to maintain appearances but when the music stops and the sun rises its Real Richards arm she hangs on. (optional plot twist, but I thought it might be interesting if Richards love interest has to pose with fake Richard making a bit of a love triangle)

Booze Runner- Someone employed by Rascal's to seek out and arrange the delivery of alcohol into the speakeasy. Needs to be good with a gun.

Entertainers- Whether Jazz musicians or dancers Rascals needs the best of entertainment for its patrons, especially since the booze is so watered down.

Contact within Hogans, or other mafia members and their connections who are friends to Rascals.

Patrons (especially rich and powerful ones)

Like I said any other ideas are welcome, I have the basis for a story but the growth of this will somewhat depend on what you guys want to play.


Character Sheet

Character Sheet:

Picture: A photo for reference of your characters looks.
Name:
Parents Names: Feel free to drop in historical names here, as it is historical fiction. Its possible we can use already developed events in history to guide our story but I'm not going to lynch anybody for changing timelines.

Physical Description: Clothes, scars, hair color, eye color, build, diet, conditions (remember there was very little psychological medical knowledge in this time. Things that we know of like PTSD were seen as "not being man enough" or depression in women was simply "hysteria")

Age:

Year came to St. Louis: Self explanatory if they were born and raised.
Year associated with Rascal's:  The 'Ton has been around for a long time, Rascals construction began in late 1920 and opened in 1922
Association: (client, dancer, booze runner etc)

Drink of choice:
Smoke of choice: Cigs (brand), Cigars, Hookas, Pipes, Chewing,

Favorite Luxury (diamonds, gold, silk underwear, cars etc):

History:

Personality: