Interest check - Classic Western game.

[Chrystal]

Okay, going to call a halt to this please... Lets let Dhi chose her character in peace without shifting to a discussion of nuns and their bad habits.

[Dhi]

Thank you, but I need to withdraw. I took off with the idea of a tribute to spaghetti western and it seems everyone is looking for something more historically accurate... wouldn't be satisfying to either of us to try to compromise. All the best!

[BeckyAnnn]

Okay, going to go ahead and post my face claim, Susan Coffey

[Chrystal]

Thank you, but I need to withdraw. I took off with the idea of a tribute to spaghetti western and it seems everyone is looking for something more historically accurate... wouldn't be satisfying to either of us to try to compromise. All the best!

Wait, what? I thought Spaghetti Westerns were historically accurate?




No, okay, maybe I should just abandon the idea. Seems people don't want accuracy.

Fine. Bring on the giant mechanical spiders! *eyeroll*

[RedEve]

Hey Chrystal.

Since you do not plan to start this for a couple of months, I might dare to throw my hat in the ring.

I do not want to claim any of the major characters.

What I had in mind was more a saloon girl with a secret back-story (and perhaps a better pistol proficiency than anyone would give her credit for).



But with my lack of involvement in your previous game, I can understand if you would want to hold off on me joining.
It is less of an issue if you only start this in a couple of months, since I hope/expect to have more time by then.

[RedEve]

Wait, what? I thought Spaghetti Westerns were historically accurate?




No, okay, maybe I should just abandon the idea. Seems people don't want accuracy.

Fine. Bring on the giant mechanical spiders! *eyeroll*

Spaghetti westerns are revisionist, though not necessarily purely realistic. Their aim was to discredit some of the (bigoted/narrow-minded) ideas in earlier, classic westerns.
They are obviously more accurate than the kind of steampunk features you refer to, but not yet a truly realistic depiction of Western/frontier life.

"Realistic" westerns would be features like "The Homesman", "Meek's Cut-off", "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", ...

[Chrystal]

Yeah I was being facetious.

At this rate it looks like I won't be starting the game ever, because it seems that whatever I do I'm upsetting people, which takes all the fun out of it for me.

Why should I bother running a game if everyone who expresses an interest then turns around for no apparent reason and says "Oh no, you aren't running this the way I want, I'm out", without even PMing me to discuss the issue?

Dhi, you can choose whatever nun costume you want. You can even have a "African-American" nun!

I give up.

I'll take the weapon, draw-speed and range parameters off the character sheets, if people want, and we can all have six shooters that keep firing indefinitely and can hit a moving target at fifty feet away from the back of a galloping horse!

[RedEve]

Well Spaghetti westerns are more realistic, just courtesy of their design, costuming, etc.
e.g. you do not have absurd things like Nancy Gates dismounting her horse after supposedly riding for an entire day in the desert, yet still looking perfectly coiffed and barely sweating.  :P

[RubySlippers]

Posted with approval of the GM

Player ID: rubyslippers

Character Name: Genevieve Burwell

Nickname (if Any): none

Role: Educated Monied Lady of Good Breeding, School Teacher & Librarian [Burwell's School and Library, when built]

Good, Bad or Ugly: Bad

Gender: Female

Age: 35

Hair Colour: Light Brown

Eye Colour: Green

Sexuality: Lesbian, marriage was of more politics and expectations over her desires but she was fond of "Her John"

Distinguishing Marks: Small scar on belly from appendix removal.

Weapons: Webley Bulldog Pocket Revolver
http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=305
Springfield Model 1870 Rifle

Draw Speed:  Webley Bulldog Pocket Revolver (flap holster, back just off the spine, for a decent draw time) 5 seconds

Accuracy (aimed - each weapon): Webley Bulldog Pocket Revolver 20 yds., Springfield Model 1870 50 yds. (hunting range aimed carefully)
Is not a quick draw but did hunt and picked up shooting from her husband and knows how to aim properly, for a woman.

Other Equipment:  A pretty large personal library, wardrobe (nice but not overly affluent), jewelry she favors simple silver, writing supplies,
several mail order catalogs (up to date), reading glasses, scientific instruments collected over her education (used now in teaching) including a large portable telescope made in Switzerland (some assembly required).

Horse: A sturdy two seat carriage with one horse of good temperment, mare, called Nelly.

Likes: Books, Confederate Veterans, Keeping Slaves (see dislikes), Science, Teaching.

Dislikes: Drunkards, Emancipation (took away all her slaves), Ignorance (even coloureds should have "some" education), Laziness, Reconstruction.

Personality: Rather nice for a white woman who hates emancipation and reconstruction and supported the Confederacy she was "good" to her coloureds and still is good to inferiors favoring education to some degree to all people, more for whites and Texicans then others. She is well spoken, polite, intelligent, well educated and believes the superior people rise and inferiors should know their place that is in social circles and race. An advocate of Darwin she applies it to social cultural matters.

History: Born in Texas the daughter of a big land holder related to the Houston family Genevieve Houston and tied to Daniel Gator's family loosely. She met her husband as she attended Nazareth Academy in Kentucky when John Burwell ,who was older, was buying slaves for fhis growing plantation Burwell Manor and she caught his eye. First to him she was a proper lady and second quite educated so could run his affairs. Her parents more than approved it and Genevieve wed him in proper style, becoming mistress of a very large plantation. Settled in she made sure abuse of the slaves was muted, they were well fed and treated IF they worked hard and managed to improve the profits adding a furniture making and whisky making operations on property poor for farming. She met Colonel Gator when his unit was in Virginia preparing to join Lee in the invasion of the North considering him a rough edged gentleman and he comforted her after her husband's death at Gettysburg. Later she lost her son Micah to small pox. After the war she donated the house to house Confederate Veterans, gave land to the free black men with noney for houses and to get set-up in farming keeping a 20% share of the proprty profits (they owned 80% of the land and pay the taxes) and can't sell without her consent in person and written. The two other businesses she sold for good sums on condition her step-children get jobs. Then hiring a trustworthy party for part of her income from her land moved to Gator's Crossing with her prize book collection and money. Spread among Texas Banks or invested for dividends in solid companies rail, food stuffs, alcohol, guns and shipping. Her plans are to open a school and library, maybe with a boarding option for earning a High School Diploma she has the library for it if she can get State approval. She is supporting a rail route through the area and is eager to help Mr. Gator on her end as a significant rail stockholder.

Any Other Info: Holds a B.A. in Natural Philosophy and has a Teacher's License (automatic to those with a college bachelor's degree in Texas at the time). Knows English, Latin, Classical Greek, French and Spanish (learned growing up). Wrote a set of books for pioneer families allowing for education of roughly three years at a prmary school that are published and well regarded Burwell's Primary Textbooks and gets money from them annually donated to aid Confederate Veterans. Her hobbies are playing the Guitar-Lyre, Singing, Reading, Carriage Riding and Gardening. Has four adult step-children but is not on good terms with them she cut them off of all that money but they treated her so got her payback.

[Pipaluk]

I am kind of interest in playing in a western. I think the character of a drifter would be fun. I do have one question, though, and perhaps this will show my ignorance of the genre:

What is good, bad, and ugly? Do I need to have seen that movie in order to understand that reference? Is if their moral standing? So a bad character is someone who is more evil? What is an ugly character? Would that just be the worthless scum of the town? The drunkards, gamblers, etc?

[BeckyAnnn]

I am kind of interest in playing in a western. I think the character of a drifter would be fun. I do have one question, though, and perhaps this will show my ignorance of the genre:

What is good, bad, and ugly? Do I need to have seen that movie in order to understand that reference? Is if their moral standing? So a bad character is someone who is more evil? What is an ugly character? Would that just be the worthless scum of the town? The drunkards, gamblers, etc?

Have a look at reply #2. This is covered there.

[Pipaluk]

Brilliant. Thanks. It's funny, I did read that. And it made sense, but I guess it just didn't really click or it seemed to be more important as people started talking about it. I got it thoroughly now, though. Thanks.

[RubySlippers]

If anyone wants to play a more educated black person my character would hire you, for a man likely a handyman laborer or a woman an assistant for her library and school. At least you would be attached to someone who could reduce your social stigma somewhat and vouch for you. You could be a former slave of hers perhaps. And of course this can work in general for anyone an native American a woman would be best, Mexican heritage etc.

And she will invest in businesses at simple terms.

[Chrystal]

Well Spaghetti westerns are more realistic, just courtesy of their design, costuming, etc.
e.g. you do not have absurd things like Nancy Gates dismounting her horse after supposedly riding for an entire day in the desert, yet still looking perfectly coiffed and barely sweating.  :P

And this is the realism I want!

I want the heroine to have to pack her bloomers with old rags for five days out of every twenty eight! I want people to have to go piss three times a day! I want a game where the Winchester repeating rifle was so new that people were actually wary of the technology, and the damn things were so expensive anyway that most cow hands couldn't afford one. I want a game where "African-American" people are still not exactly sure what it means to be "free" and still call white folks "Massa" and "Missus" because that's what they've always done!

But mostly, I want a game that is going to be fun to play in, because it's an historical setting and the players I've attracted want to write in that setting!

I have said all along that I want the game to be "as realistic as possible". That doesn't mean every single tiny detail has to be historically accurate - Gators Crossing is a fictional town somewhere between Austin and San Antonio according to the map, but should actually be further West than that. Women did dress up as men, (Martha Jane Canary being a prime example), and men dressed up as women too, notably escaped slaves and escaped POWs. There were homosexuals, because there always have been. They just kept it quieter. But the "hero" being a woman, while not beyond the realms of possibility, does not fit neatly into the genre.

So, let's leave the questions regarding realism to one side, okay? Just submit the character and if I like it I'll approve it, and if I don't I'll tell you why and that is the point at which you can say "Oh well I'm not interested then". Two people have dropped out because their characters supposedly did not meat some fictional requirement that they had imposed upon themselves. They had not sent the characters to me for approval, so I have no idea whether those characters met my requirements...

I am kind of interest in playing in a western. I think the character of a drifter would be fun. I do have one question, though, and perhaps this will show my ignorance of the genre:

What is good, bad, and ugly? Do I need to have seen that movie in order to understand that reference? Is if their moral standing? So a bad character is someone who is more evil? What is an ugly character? Would that just be the worthless scum of the town? The drunkards, gamblers, etc?

Have a look at reply #2. This is covered there.

Brilliant. Thanks. It's funny, I did read that. And it made sense, but I guess it just didn't really click or it seemed to be more important as people started talking about it. I got it thoroughly now, though. Thanks.

Thanks Becklett *squidgies*

Hi Pipa, nice to see you. Now all we need are some straight girls and some guys!

The game isn't even going to start unless I get some male characters!

[Paladin101]

Interested. :)

Wanted to check my concept before I fleshed it out though. Was thinking of taking the General Store owner slot. Character concept is former member of the Iron Brigade, a noteworthy unit in the civil war that hailed from Wisconsin. Was thinking he had decided to stretch out and go live on the frontier, leave the war behind him and start fresh as it were type character. Thinking he'd be undecided at first, just trying to live his life and not get involved, but would lean towards the good camp.

[RedEve]

Player ID: RedEve

Character Name: Missy Lane

Nickname (if Any): Red

Role: Saloon girl, occasional chanteuse

Good, Bad or Ugly: Good

Gender: Female

Age: 27

Hair Colour: Red

Eye Colour: Green

Sexuality: Straight

Distinguishing Marks: /

Weapons: Remington model 1858, a knife tucked behind her garter

Draw Speed: Doesn’t usually carry the weapon in a holster. She is more accurate than quick with it anyway.

Accuracy (Aimed and drawn - each weapon): aimed: 20 yards – drawn – N/A

Other Equipment: Large travel suitcase with several outfits for her shows, make-up, perfume, small pouch of gold coins, cartridges for her revolver

Horse: She came in by stagecoach and does not currently own a horse

Likes: Jewelry, expensive things, fine bourbon, handsome men, Southern courtesy, high rollers

Dislikes: smelly men, rude men, jealousy, puritanical/narrow-minded folks

Personality: It is hard to properly pigeon-hole Missy as a person. On the surface, she is a flirtatious, frivolous saloon girl who is fun-loving and easy to like. But underneath, she is a far more calculated individual whose every move is meant to better her station. She is not the kind of person who will step on other people’s throats to get what she wants, unless her own well-being is being threatened.

History: Missy is the third child of Jeremiah Lane and his wife Bertha. She has four siblings in total – four that survived into adulthood at least. Two older brothers and a younger sister and brother. Her father was a Town Marshall in Kentucky prior to the war. Initially hoping to stay out of the fracas, circumstances forced her father into the Union army. The experience changed him forever and the mild-mannered man returned as a mean drunk. Her father’s changed personality was part of the reason that Missy ran away at age 17. She briefly went East and worked at a NYC Saloon. After saving up some money there, the lure of the Frontier called her and she headed West. Never staying for too long in one place, she would go from city to city, working in saloons whenever she could, saving up her money and hoping to find a more permanent and lucrative position for herself along the way.

Though a woman travelling on her own, Missy is far from a defenseless little girl. She always carries a mean little knife on her person, and she is quite proficient with the Remington she has in her travel bag. She owes the latter skill to her father’s insistence of teaching all of his children how to shoot, including his two daughters.

Any Other Info: Missy could become a valuable ally to anyone who can make it worth her while.

[Chrystal]

Interested. :)

Wanted to check my concept before I fleshed it out though. Was thinking of taking the General Store owner slot. Character concept is former member of the Iron Brigade, a noteworthy unit in the civil war that hailed from Wisconsin. Was thinking he had decided to stretch out and go live on the frontier, leave the war behind him and start fresh as it were type character. Thinking he'd be undecided at first, just trying to live his life and not get involved, but would lean towards the good camp.

That is fine, but he needs to be prepared for even more prejudice than against the "African-Americans"... "Damned Yankee Carpet Bagger!"

[Paladin101]

That is fine, but he needs to be prepared for even more prejudice than against the blacks... "Damned Yankee Carpet Bagger!"

That's fine. Though he didn't come down and take anyone's ranch or houses, he came down and opened a business. So I can see people not liking a blue bellied yankee, but he wouldn't technically be a carpet bagger. ;)

[Chrystal]

That's fine. Though he didn't come down and take anyone's ranch or houses, he came down and opened a business. So I can see people not liking a blue bellied yankee, but he wouldn't technically be a carpet bagger. ;)

Agreed. But since when has fact had anything to do with prejudice? People are going to assume he's a carpet bagger he's from the North. He may just find himself forced into the "Ugly" camp, in spite of being a basically good person!

[Paladin101]

Agreed. But since when has fact had anything to do with prejudice? People are going to assume he's a carpet bagger he's from the North. He may just find himself forced into the "Ugly" camp, in spite of being a basically good person!

That's fine, he has what people need! Call me a blue belly all ya want ya damn rebs. Now....can I interest you in some flour? :P lol

[Chrystal]

Perfect! I look forward to getting a character sheet from you!

[BeckyAnnn]

Thanks Becklett *squidgies*

Mmmm.....you can squidgie me any time  ;D

[azzmeister89]

Sorry but I'mr really struggling to get a character thought up, I may have to pull out of this for now.

[eiselmann]

GM Approved

Player ID:Eiselmann

Character Name: Simon James Rutledge

Nickname (if Any): Englishman , His Lordship ( derogatory )

Role:The Saloon Keeper

Good, Bad or Ugly: Ugly

Gender:Male

Age:29

Hair Colour:Blond

Eye Colour:Blue

Sexuality:Straight

Distinguishing Marks: The scar of a flesh wound on his upper right arm and right thigh , also has several marks on his back from a severe whipping.

Weapons:Two Smith and Wesson No.3 pistols  , he also has his Grandfathers Household Calvary sword  circa 1815

Draw Speed:.52 seconds with his right hand...if he had to use his left hand for any reason that would slow  to.6 seconds

Accuracy (Aimed and drawn - each weapon): Aimed 40 yards Drawn 10 yards

Other Equipment: A small gold pennant with his fathers family crest engraved on the back

Horse:Chestnut Stallion  16 hands

Likes:Women, money and people with loose lips

Dislikes: The French and people who are quick to anger, bullies

Personality:He's generally fair-minded and doesn't have many of the prejudices others have , he pays fair wages even to blacks , thou he won't hire injuns except as whores. He is however secretive about some of his past before the Civil War. While he can be considered generous and even kind he always looks after himself first thou he won't actively seek to harm decent folk.

History: Simon is the fifth son and ninth child of the Baron of East Lancs , he was given the best education as a child, where he also learnt to ride and shoot. His father wanted him to join the Army and had arranged for him to be admitted to Sandhurst, however within six months he was caught with the young wife of a Colonel of the guards. The Colonel had him whipped before demanding he be thrown out of Sandhurst. His father almost managed to save his son's military career until it was discovered that in addition to fornicating with the Colonels young wife he had fornicated with the Colonels 2 adult daughters from his first marriage , one of whom was engaged to Her Majesty's nephew.

Forced to flee London,his father arranged his passage to Ireland and then on to the America's , in 1861 at the age of 20 he found himself in South Carolina , where he gained employment teaching the sons and daughters of local gentry how to ride  horses. While he found it unpleasant to see conditions for blacks he never voiced those concerns , infact he took advantage of the black slaves his occasional hosts would send to his room for his pleasure.

A year after the Civil war began he joined the Confederate Army as a Lieutenant , when the war was over he moved to Georgia with a view of starting a business with two fellow officers , however their arrangements were blocked by the Local commander of the Union Army in occupation. Disgruntled Simon made plans to head north to the Canada's, however a letter from his father reached him advising that the Colonel had paid several men of ill reputation to kill Simon ,since his youngest daughter and now ex wife had both given birth to children that were unmistakably Simon's, his father had also sent funds with the urging that Simon leave the South and certainly not travel to the Canadas'. Unwilling to live in the North of the United States , Simon journeyed West and brought a saloon in a small town

Any Other Info: Simon still speaks with the accent he was born with ...Rutledge is not his real family name , he tells everyone that his father worked selling textiles but volunteers little else. He gathers as much  information as possible using the whores that work for him as well as drink to loosen tongues, he does this to advance his own position in the town but also to give himself as much warning as possible if someone comes to town asking questions about him.

[RedEve]

Eisel, if you want to discuss a possible pre-existing relationship (professional) between our two characters, feel free to send me a PM.
Missy working at his Saloon would make sense.