[Reloaded - for the third time! All old players welcomed back, if you haven't already received a PM from me

)
There is a city.
Set out in the vast, open and mainly empty Outlands, there is a city. It is called Atayo, and in Atayo, criminals keep the peace.
Minotaur thugs, trans-dimensional fugitives, magic smugglers, and murderous warlocks keep an equilibrium in the seedy den of delight that is Atayo. Out of this miasma of miscreants, two powerful gangs have manipulated and perverted their way into power. The Brimstone Burger Cartel and the Opal Oligarchy have been rivals for definitive power of Atayo ever since the Oligarchy burst onto the scene a year ago. Since then, the Cartel has been on the backfoot, fighting a secretive but running battle against a powerful yet mysterious Oligarchy. However, what these two shady organisations fight over lies...hundreds of miles away from Atayo itself.
In the Outlands, where the shaky laws upheld by the rival gangs in Atayo have no meaning at all, what passes for justice is meted out with money and murder. If a backwater town suffers a criminal, then it is upto that town to drag up the cash to put a bounty on said felon's head. In the Outlands, the bounty hunters are the most efficient enforcers of the law, bound only by their whim and their wallet. In recent months, however, even the most lowly goblin looking to earn some coin couldn't have failed to notice the increase in demand for the arrest of half-breeds.
These elusive beings, being a combination of either elf and demon, or human and demon, are incredibly rare, and all but nonexistant in Atayo itself, for very good reasons. It is well-known to those who keep an ear to the ground that what the Cartel and the Oligarchy fight each other over is these mixed-species beings. Neither has the power to rally a crew to take out into the Outlands in order to hunt half-breeds themselves, so bounty hunters are hired to track them down and bring them to Atayo. Demon/mortal conception is as rare as a miracle, and such offspring are usually endowed with...unusual and impressive powers. Half-breeds are a valuable commodity indeed, and, like any rich resource or dangerous weapon, bound to be fought over.
This is the setting for Rufren Mayata, a world of cat-boy fashion models and fairy strippers, ninja bodyguards and vampire drug addicts, elven hippies and alcoholic minotaurs.
Brimstone Burger Cartel
The first gang to shoulder its way to power in Atayo. It used to be an organisation of repute, settling disputes and placing fair taxes in Atayo. Now, it is a motley collection of chancers, smattered with talent and a lot of luck. The Oligarchy's emergence in Atayo put the Cartel off-balance, arrogant as it was in its security and power. Now, Cartel members meet only rarely and in secret, the fact that they are managing to keep the Oligarchy from overwhelming them completely a testiment to their individual skills and powers.
Currently run by "Bossman", an interdimensional ephemeral, cigar-smoking entity. Second-in-command, arguably, (and it often comes to that) falls to Rufio. (Rufio's favoured Cartel gal, maybe a half-breed in her own right, is
Nyte . Description of her in the Prologue, below.)
A combination of their attitude to remaining "on the street" as much as possible, always with a finger to the pulse of Atayo, and the trust placed in them by the people of Atayo has kept them afloat. However, a lot of the more intelligent Atayan shareholders and businessmen are quite rightly looking to protect their interests by allying themselves with a far safer bet...the Oligarchy.
PC members -
Rufio (me)
The Opal Oligarchy
Although no-one in Atayo knows it, the Oligarchy is run by eight individuals, who, if one were ever to see them, would be mistaken for half-breeds. It is a well-kept Oligarchy secret that these individuals, the Oligarches themselves, have undertaken demonic surgery to alter themselves and their powers. To say money runs the Oligarchy would be an understatement. Their calculated method of operating crime like a business has earned them a respect in Atayo from multiple, important, sources. The Oligarches keep a strict hierarchy of minions, each Oligarch keeping a right-hand man, who presides over a bodyguard, who preside over the minions, etc etc. Although on appearences seeming cold and alien, the Oligarchy treat their servants and allies well, and lavish their favourites with material gifts. However, those that aren't in league with the Oligarchy or try to stand against them...well, let's just say that demonic surgery works
both ways.
PC members -
Lillith (Aya)
-
Ducard Lorenze (Krayz)
Bounty Hunters
The bounty hunters of the Outlands are hardened individuals with a plethora of tricks at their disposal, earned from a lifetime of hunting rogue succubi and serial killer wizards. Although not a group themselves, any intelligent bounty hunter knows it is a good idea to keep on the better side of any organisation, especially the Cartel and Oligarchy in Atayo. The two's increased recent interest in acquiring live bounties on half-breeds has encouraged many down-on-their-luck characters to pick up the trade, and as such, currently bounty hunters operating in the Outlands are from nearly every race and creed. Jacks of all trades, masters of themselves, bounty hunters will perform most tasks, for a price. Half-breed capture included.
PC hunters -
Jonathan Black (Shihing)
-
Quintin (ironwolf85)
The WantedIn every town outside of Atayo, there is a list of names.
Each list differs from town to town, and one town's board may be smaller than the next town's, but some names appear on multiple lists or wanted boards. They are made up of individuals...dangerous individuals. Some are genuine criminals, on the run from Atayo or from bounty hunters, some have crossed either the Cartel or the Oligarchy, and some have just made the mistake of having a mortal father and a demonic mother. Whatever they've done to be on the list, all these individuals are called, simply, the Wanted. Important Wanted are noted not only in the towns in the Outlands, but known very well in Oligarchy masonic lodges or in Cartel-run strip bars. These particular individuals are powerful, but with such power comes the price of being on the lam...for most of their lives.
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IF you have read all the way down here, well done, and thank you very much!
And you may be interested in playing a character from this (hopefully) rich background, from one of the four groups. Some of you will know this game isn't new, I started it a while back and it was given a tasty start by a great bunch of people (you know who you are, and if you're still interested in your old characters, they are ABSOLUTELY welcome back!).
Rufren Mayata Prologue.
I'm looking to start the game again, with a more concrete setting and backdrop. The prologue is exactly that.
I had the blessing of these guys helping me carve out Rufren Mayata, and now I present it to more Elliquiyans for more interest. More details to follow.
EDIT: Note! The pictures I've used are figurative representatives of each group, characters that represent each group well, but not actual PCs or NPCs. However, if you like the look of one, holler, and you can write up a character sheet for them. If this happens, I would like for each character to stay within the group it's listed in, though, please. :)
RUNNING EDIT:
In Rufren Mayata, whilst there is electricity, TV, neon lighting, cigarette lighters and public transport, There Are No Guns. There are crossbows, magic wands, throwing knives, shuriken, fire-breathing demons, small catapults...you get the idea.
RacesMortal - Elves, Humans, Nekoid (catboy/girl). Mortals are the majority demographic in Rufren Mayata,
just.Fae - Fairies, Imps, Pixies. Normally existing on their own planes, can be summoned to Rufren, but need offerings or intimacy/worship/both to stay human sized.
Demon - Aaanything supernatural, gribbly with wings/horns/tail. Born/spawned with their own powers, but unable to learn more as mortals can. A common sight in Atayo and in the Outlands.
Other - Vampires, lycans, minotaurs, archons, you name it, they probably walk the streets of Atayo and get their coffee from the same cafe as you do.