Shining Dawn

[Overcast]

San Francisco 1884. Mid June and the sun is burning high in the sky making damn sure you know it is around. The city is filled with problems in need of heroes to solve, corruption plagues the government, crime creeps through the streets, a cholera epidemic started up recently, but you aren’t here for none of that. Heroism is best left to the officials assigned to it, or the locals who give half a damn about this place. You, you’re here for a job opportunity. A messenger found you a few weeks back (for some this might have been an easy task, for others an adventure in itself) and handed to you a small card addressed to you, if not quite to any address in particular other than your person. He seemed in quite a hurry to run off but you probably didn’t need someone to read it off for you anyway,

“Salutations.

You may find yourself wondering why, wherever you may be, that you have been approached by my reliable messengers. I am Mr. Howard Watts and I represent a few notable powers to the East who have staked a certain interest in Western investments. As of recently an incident has occurred with a particular investment and I am in great need of those who might be able aid me in rectifying this problem. I assure you that the job will pay quite well, after all with your talents it can be assumed I am paying for quality. You may find me in San Francisco at the date and times on the back of this card. If you have interest in being a part of this please to try to arrive by that time, my messengers worked quite hard making sure they got this to you soon enough for you to comfortably think it over.

Sincerely,

Howard D. Watts

PS: Please do keep this to yourself, one of the expectations in dealing with the incident is secrecy, inability to follow may cost you more than you realize.”

The price had remained ambiguous, but it was promising. The dedication of the messenger, the background of Mr. Watts and particularly the light threat at the end said that there might really be something to be gained. Either way you were here now, sitting in wait at the offices of Howard Watts as some other prospects gathered, in his office as his assistants alerted him of every arrival he would go over the notes of each hireling carefully, keen to see the response he had gotten and who he might turn away…

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Alrighty welcome to Shining Dawn, the scene above started out as a pitch but as I kept going over it the thing kept turning into an introduction post, finally I just stuck with it because unlike some situations there is really nothing for me to explain when it comes to the setting. As such I feel like this is still startlingly bare, which makes me just as impatient to start getting into the actual story. So have yourself a skeleton to get the ball rolling.


Name: A reputation usually comes with some words to stick it to.
Gender: Most of us were born with one.
Age: How long has your luck been running?
Occupation: What do you do?
Appearance: How do people see you?
Skills: What CAN you do?
Gear: Tools of the trade, among other things.
Personality: Word gets around, but who are you really?
Bio: Our pasts shape us.
Other: A little extra never hurt.

Example:
Name: Howard D. Watts
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Occupation: Investment Representative
Appearance: From head to toe Mr. Watts seems to take the appearance of the unassuming middleman. His bowler cap lies gently on his head hiding the whispy leftovers of his hair ravaged by time and hereditary balding. His dark eyes stare through thin bifocals that tend to hang a bit too far down his nose, a hooked thing that dances just above his thick mustache. His clothing, typically business suits at any time, cling desperately to his somewhat tall gaunt form and are almost always impeccably clean. He seems to emanate a sort of frailty and professionalism at all times that makes him seem none too difficult at the right times. Most notable though is his stare, which seems to maintain itself without blinking for an unreasonable amount of time, almost to the point of being disconcerting.
Skills:

Accounting: Number crunching is almost a way of life to Mr. Watts, because the most important thing to his investors are simply what they get out of a deal.
Law: While he may still be miles from places that don't deal with their problems using the local militia he makes his living off of contracts and if anyone has earned his place as a Notary it is Howard.
Negotiations: Getting a deal is more than just calculating the numbers it is convincing the right people to the right price. With an awkward stare and a long enough time it is difficult to refuse the man anything.
Logistics: In the end nearly anything that doesn't go to paying him ends up back east, sometimes this takes a bit of planning to get it out there but when all the numbers and connections come together it isn't much of a problem.

Gear: Bifocals, collection of fine suits, eloquent pen with ink well, bowler, pocketwatch, and a box of cigars.
Personality: Mr. Watts is all work and no play, mostly because he likes his work. It is difficult to see him at any time getting away from his work save for sleeping. Eating and smoking a perfectly fine things to do while working. Of note though is his perfectionism, it is difficult for him to accept when he has done any sort of wrong and he will go very far out of his way to make sure that his reputation is sterling and is one of the easiest ways to make him lose his cool.
Bio: Might keep this blank for now...
Other: This too.

[Lumenskir]

Started writing up my guy and then thought it couldn't hurt to ask. Basic story is that he's an Indian loner, probably the meat shield/brute of the group. Skeleton of a profile below, but if his race or anything precludes him from making sense in the RP, tell me before I invest too heavily in him.

Name: "Chief" Firing Line
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Occupation: Outdoorsman
Appearance: Tall, Indian, muscular.
Skills: Take more punishment than nearly anyone else without quitting.
Gear: Tools of the trade, among other things.
Personality: Gruff, distant, but loyal.
Bio: Raised with his own people, captured during battle with the U.S., sentenced to death by firing squad but managed to live through the punishment. Now hangs on outskirts of society to avoid the possibility that his survival was a fluke occurence.

[Overcast]

He is going to make sense, but he will also have prejudices. Add together the bad past between the natives and the colonials, the still active Indian Wars, the physically imposing appearance of the man and a few stares and suspicions will almost always be following him around.

Of course this doesn't mean he can't have a name for himself, as long as he has found some reputation that branches just a bit further than his miraculous survival of a firing squad he could catch the eye of Mr. Watts enough for him to get contact.

[krogothwolf]

Name: Long Gun Sam

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Occupation: Tracker

Appearance: Slim but fit, 5'10, black hair, green eyes and a stubble. Wears a black Cowboy hat along with black shirt and pants.

Skills:

Tracking: Sam can find almost anything. He can spot trails and follow them easily. He can tell things like how many people went through an area, how long ago and what types of animals they have with them.
Sharp Eye: Sam has an eye sharper then most people. He can spot little details easily. He can see farther then most people can.
Scout: Sam is at home in the wilds, he can blend in with such a degree that you wouldn't even have known he was there. He is silent and nearly impossible to spot if he so desires while in the wild, he also has an uncanny ability to tell which way he is facing. Though he is at a lost in city areas.
Wild Knowledge: Sam has uncanny knowledge of things outside the populated areas, he can recognize trees, flowers, animals. Though he is lost in city type areas.

Gear:

Rope: Just a rope he uses to tie up game.
Springfield Model 1871 Remington Rolling Block: The rifle his father gave him on his 15th Birthday, cherished possession
Schofield revolver: Claimed off of the first man he helped catch.
large hunting knife: Lovely knife to poke people with.
Personality: Honest, loyal, talkative.
Bio: Sam grew up in the frontier; his father was a skilled tracker out there and had taught him the skills. He began his training fairly young, not serious training, but enough to give him a heads up, as he got older his training became more serious and strenuous. His skills grew each day as he followed his father around learning the trade.

At 15, it was the first time he joined his father on one of his more serious missions, helping local law enforcement track down a killer. Sam was at a marvel at how his father moved in the under bushes and found the guy with no real clear sign of were he had went. He redoubled his training at that point, vowing one day to surpass his father.

When he turned 18, tragedy struck his family. His father and mother died in a freak storm that hit the region, leaving Sam alone. He did continue learning and practicing, while taking jobs to track and hunt game as well as run away criminals and the such, but his abilities never came on par with his father. He kept living in old family home on the edge of thick woods to use as a place for those seeking his skills to come, but is usually not there as he is out in the wilds trying to surpass his father.

Other: Sam isn't used to working around people, he starts rambling sometimes when around people, talking for the sake of talking, and also gets fidgety at times. Nervous in a city as he rarely enters them.

Edit: Fleshed out the skills a bit as well as bio and age.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Name: Max Cayton. Working on Nickname.

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Occupation: Bounty Hunter and general gun for hire.

Appearance: Sandy hair, green eyes, 5'4, white shirt, brown vest, black pants. Brown neckerchief.

Skills:

Acrobatics: He ain't a professional gymnast, but he has some skills. Very agile and very fast.

Stealth: He's the last person who'll admit it, but he is very unimposing. He doesn't like it, but this strongly helps him remain unnoticed. He can vanish in a crowd easily, or just hide out very well using hiding places at hand.

Riding: Don't ask him where he picked it up, but Max is a very skilled Horseback rider. He can also shoot on horseback without losing much accuracy.

Memory: Max doesn't forget details about a person. If he hears your voice, hears your name, or sees your face, he won't forget it for a long time.



Gear:


Switchblade: Not really called a switchblade at the time, but its an automatic knife, and very concealable.

Revolver-Colt: There comes a certain point, the sort of rising action, where Max generally stops caring about being quiet. When it's time to throw subtlety out the window and shoot it in the face, Max always has his six shooter.

Hand Cuffs: There is an interesting story about how Max got a hold of this nifty device. Maybe if he ask him, he'll tell you. Anyways, he uses these to apprehend people and he likes to keep his key close at hand.

Money bag: Max doesn't trust banks or bankers. At all. He keeps just about all of his money with him. All the time.


Personality: Reserved and opportunistic. He LOVES money and is very stingy and even a bit greedy.

Bio: He was said to have come from someplace in the Northeast. Despite his supposed origins, he gets along incredibly well in the West. As soon as he showed up, he made a name for himself by tracking down people on wanted posters and bringing them to justice. He would also take just about any job given to him. He would deliver messages, help in intimidation, or collect information. As long as the pay is good, he'll take the case

Hope there aren't any glaring inaccuracies here. I like history, but never learned much about the West at this time. If anything seems really out of place or wrong, please inform me and I'll change it.

[Lumenskir]

Name: "Chief" Firing Line
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Occupation: Professional Fighter/Gunslinger/Hired Muscle
Appearance: Tall, heavily built, dark skin, dirty clothes, dull scar on his forehead and numerous battle scars on his chest and back.
Skills: Damage Resistant - Chief can take heavy beatings and keep on trucking with little to no momentum lost. He's the guy in action movies who laughs when you punch him, keeps fighting with a knife sticking out of him, or continues coming after you shoot him anywhere but the head.
Bruiser - Which isn't to say that he'll stop at laughing.
First Aid - While not a qualified internist by any means, Chief spent years around nuns who could qualify as combat medics, not mention the practice from just healing his own wounds after battle.
Gear: A six-shooter and knife
Personality: Near nihilistic and withdrawn around strangers, but fiercely dedicated to whatever task he sets himself to.
Bio: Twenty years ago, an American militia descended upon an innocent encampment of Indians, maiming and slaughtering a group mostly comprised of women and children. "Chief" was an eight year old at the time, and lived beyond what would later become known as the Sand Creek Massacre by virtue of either dumb luck (his interpretation) or something more divine (the nuns who later nursed him back to health); a ricochet bullet struck him in the forehead, rendering him unconscious and dead-looking enough to escape further desecration.

When he awoke next he was being tended to by a nun. He would spend the next few years being taught English and being the first participant in what would slowly grow to be an orphanage and school for Indian youths. His sudden departure would forever confuse the nuns, although they hadn't been present for the conversation Chief had with a passing historian who explained that the Massacre's main cause could be linked back to an Indian betrayal.

In his effort to leave as much of his life behind, Chief traveled all of the way California. Once land gave way to coast he began to drift between towns, never settling into anything permanent, merely throwing himself into whatever local fighting rings or quick draw tournaments he could, and maybe going along with whatever local gang needed to beef up their numbers for a job. Along the way his, as he still thinks of it, dumb luck still proves to be his best asset. Many of his fist fights are won as much by his ability to absorb all of his opponents blows as his skill at delivering roundhouses, and he has collected wins from quick draw shootouts not by being the fastest, but by being the one with the bullets in him who could still stand.

Whether he revels in finding chances to display his intrinsic indomitableness or is instead attempting to find the one opportunity that will finally overcome it is left to the observer's opinion.
Other: Although most people simply call him Chief, his practice of taking off his shirt during fights to display the many bullet holes he has survived has led to rumors that he acquired them all at once during an attempted execution, and thus to his full nickname. The nuns attempted to get him to accept an Anglo name but it doesn't seem to have stuck, and even though he left without warning or goodbye he still manages to send his excess winning back to the orphanage.


Bit of a reworking, but still sticking with the basic concept.

[Overcast]

Hand cuffs aren't exactly new in 1884, manacles had been around for quite a while and the ratchet style we are so used to had been around for about twenty years.

Other than that it looks good, I'm looking forward to him looking jealously onto that much larger native thinking up racial epithets.

On the chief it is looking interesting enough, big bruiser worth his weight in a fight. For any odd reason or another this kind of person comes in handy eventually, I'm welcome to have him be difficult to stop and lucky in his reputation with bullets but I will admit I'm planning to be just a smidge merciless when it comes to wounds so even if he wins a battle he may just lose a war if he isn't careful.

Just a fair warning.

[Krylo]

Name: Jim Narstrom
Gender: Of the masculine proclivity.
Age: 30
Occupation: Shootin' Folks.
Appearance: A bit sun aged, and a bit rough around the edges maybe. Don't always shave when he oughta and he's usually got a bit o' stubble as a result. Few scars too, but he ain't a big man. Ain't small neither.
Skills: Shootin' Folks. Or to be a bit more explanatory:

Dueling--There are times when a man needs to face down another man, look him in the eye, and then shoot it. Doin' so before he does it to you first requires a very quick and steady hand. Jim's got both.
Dead eye--He can shoot the bridle out of the mouth of a runnin' horse at distance with a revolver without breaking its teeth. Well, many of its teeth.
Rough and Tumble--Sometimes when all hell breaks loose you ain't got a gun to use, and sometimes you don't wanna risk killing someone with a bullet. During these times it takes a quick mind, a strong arm, and a good left hook to come through. Or a well placed kick to the manhood. Or the clarity of mind and lack of honor to use that there bar stool as a bat... or to bite man's finger off. Jim ain't above any o' that.
Fast Shootin'--Sometimes there's six men against you. Sometimes you just hate someone so much you wanna shoot him six times. Most times the hammer of the pistol ain't quite quick enough for this. That is unless you've got the skill and the know how to pull it back manually just enough to give it the oomph to fire without locking it back. And do it fast. Jim can.
Bondage--Well, when a bounty pays twice as much alive, its usually best to tie them up before you bring them in.

Gear:

Six Shooter--A rather new colt single action army chambered 44-40. A real killing machine.
Lever Action Rifle--A good ole .44 Rifmfire Henry. His dad used it in the civil war before he died. It's a keepsake. And a deadly one.
Shotgun--Nothing works better in close quarters than a nice 1878 double barrel hammer shotgun. Sawed off, of course, for easier maneuvering in buildings.
Duster--You can't be a proper bounty hunter without one. And one of them thar fancy hats.
Various Supplies--Some rope for tying folks up, climbing things, and general utility, a buck knife, some rations, and some basic camp supplies.

Personality: Jim always gives people two options. The easy way or the hard way. It's an unfortunate fact of life that most folks are too obstinate to take the easy way and end up pretty hurt at that. Though the fact he gives them an option at all, shows that he's not quite so gruff and rough as his exterior personality would seem to imply.

Bio: His dad died as a union soldier when he was seven, his mother didn't exactly make it so well without him and ended up with a monster of a man who ended up killing her when Jim was 12. Unfortunate for his step-dad then that Jim knew how to use his father's old Henry Rifle and put a bullet in the man's head. After that Jim fell in with some outlaws, killed folks, learned to shoot, etc.

Dead dad and abusive step father aside, though, Jim never quite agreed with his new family, and once he he was old enough to make it on his own--about 16--he cut out of there. With no marketable skills other than killing people, however, he quickly fell into bounty hunting and selling his gun to the highest bidder. There are a few rumors of unscrupulous bidders being on the wrong side of his gun if he didn't like a job, or his payment wasn't forthcoming, however.

Other: Jim can be a bit... vindictive when he doesn't like what someone's been doing. One report, for instance, claims that he walked in on a man beating a whore and shot that man six times in the space of mere seconds. Once in each knee, once in each elbow, and twice directly in his manhood... before calling a doctor. When asked he responded that he would have only shot him the five times, but he felt there wasn't any point leaving just one bullet in his revolver.

[Overcast]

Before I get ahead of myself the Chief is approved, Shootin Jim is approved, Money Max is approved, letting krogoth work on his bio and age but Sammy boy seems alright.

Kro I was planning on suggesting a Henry but since Krylo gave Jim one you can also take good hold of a Spencer or one of the many Springfield models. Ain't nothing more stylish than a breech-loaded rifle. Not that I'm not expecting everyone to be wielding a colt when it comes to revolvers, but there was a bit more competition when it came to rifles back then.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Hand cuffs aren't exactly new in 1884, manacles had been around for quite a while and the ratchet style we are so used to had been around for about twenty years.

yeah I know that, but I decided 20 years was at least fairly knew in perspective. Admittedly, they were probably more common in circulation after 20 years. But yeah I was referring to the Ratchet style.

I'm basically going to shoot for a Weak but Skilled concept with him. He isn't as well armed as some others, but he's resourceful and can think fast.

And he will definitely grow jealous of the Chief's height. There's no way he can't. Still need to think up a nickname though...

[Krylo]

Kro I was planning on suggesting a Henry but since Krylo gave Jim one you can also take good hold of a Spencer or one of the many Springfield models. Ain't nothing more stylish than a breech-loaded rifle. Not that I'm not expecting everyone to be wielding a colt when it comes to revolvers, but there was a bit more competition when it came to rifles back then.

I'd suggest a Springfield Model 1871 Remington Rolling Block .50-70 caliber rifle. Personally.

[Overcast]

Indeed, all the good that came from the Remington Rolling Block action without having to give money to Norway.

[krogothwolf]

Yeah, It's between the M1871 or the M1873 trapdoor.

I had a bio worked out but I lost it when my power flickered :/ Teach me not to save. Age's about 24/15. Will post bio tomorrow morning.

There all done.

[CABAL49]

I am going to try something a little different. Let me see if you like it.

Name: Bashe Han
Gender: MAN!
Age: 24
Occupation: Worker for hire, mercenary
Appearance: Chinese. Stands around 5'3" with short hair and brown eyes.
Skills:
Chuojiao style- Martial art style that emphasizes fast strikes

Chinese- Read and write

Agility- His training has given him incredible speed.
Gear: Chinese worker outfit
Model 1874 .45/70 Caliber Cavalry Carbine
Hunting knife
Personality: Word gets around, but who are you really?
Bio: Our pasts shape us.
Other: A little extra never hurt.

I already have the other stuff planned out, but I figured I should post what I have.

[Overcast]

I am puttin ma foot down when it comes to them damn Chinese.

I'm finding it well enough thus far, he has the ability to do his martial arts but his gun says he doesn't believe it is good enough to survive in the age of the gun, which is good because it's true. Go on with it and we'll see how it looks in total.

As a matter of aesthetics I would like to know the revolvers that the Chief and Max are using. Nothing major really, around this time you'll probably just end up tossing Schofield or Colt in there. This also comes back to Mr. Han mostly to clear up the rifle he has. Other than that shine on, this may get started soon but I'm probably going to give it another day before I get too worked up.

[mauve]

I'm gonna try and get something written up this evening, if all goes well. Consider this a placeholder.

[Bard The 5th LW]

As a matter of aesthetics I would like to know the revolvers that the Chief and Max are using. Nothing major really, around this time you'll probably just end up tossing Schofield or Colt in there. This also comes back to Mr. Han mostly to clear up the rifle he has. Other than that shine on, this may get started soon but I'm probably going to give it another day before I get too worked up.


I took your advise and threw Colt in there.

[Lumenskir]

Yeah, Colt whatever for me too.

Also, if we add a Chinese character, can we please go the Mr. Wu route where he only knows like three English words/phrases, "cocksucker" being the most prominent?

[Overcast]

I'll be honest I love playing characters that are almost completely incapable of communicating in a conventional fashion to everyone else, but whether he wants to go that pathway or the outrageously thick accent path. Or normalcy, but then that wouldn't be normal at the time. All up to Cabal.

[Lumenskir]

I'll just leave a small sampling of the fun we could have. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KsU89R1A8M)

[Bard The 5th LW]

It can be set that he actually speaks English, but just acts like he can't for the fun of it. That could lead to some awkward situations.

*after hearing to many uses of the word 'cocksucker'*

Max: Anyone mind if I cap the chink?

This is just depending on what direction Cabal decides to go with the character.

[CABAL49]

I am taking that into consideration but if Bushe is not allowed to show people the letter and doesn't know English, how does he know where to go?

Also sorry it is taking it so long to get the history done. I have had some troubles. I am going to throw up a skeleton history and personality just so it is known where I want to take him.

Name: Bashe Han
Gender: MAN!
Age: 24
Occupation: Worker for hire, mercenary
Appearance: Chinese. Stands around 5'3" with short hair and brown eyes.
Skills:
Chuojiao style- Martial art style that emphasizes fast strikes

Chinese- Read and write

Agility- His training has given him incredible speed.
Gear: Chinese worker outfit
Model 1874 .45/70 Caliber Cavalry Carbine
Hunting knife
Personality: Han has his own personal code of honor. When he accepts a job he completes it. He finds jobs killing women and children distasteful, but has accepted these jobs.
Bio: Han was born in a troubled time in China. The great empire had lost to the British..twice. Violent rebellions were becoming all too frequent, and always looking for recruits. This is where Bushe Han comes in. His father was a wanna be rebel, who like many, believed that the old ways were superior. Bushe's father died from attack from another rebel group. Bushe was the oldest male in his family at sixteen and was therefore the one responsible for them. But as China became more unstable, more died and his family was left destitute. Desperate for a solution, Bushe was sucked into the promises of the of the foreigners. These foreigners promised to take care of his family if he agreed to sail to this new world, where there were mountains of gold just waiting for him.

What Bushe found was a life of death and servitude. His people were used as cheap labor, and many died. After three years of struggling to stay alive, Bushe was moved to build a railroad. This railroad was being built through Apache land, who were not really happy about it. The Apache targeted Bushe and his Chinese comrades who were left on their own. The workers did their best to defend themselves, but were mostly cut down. Bushe and a few others managed to survive by taking guns from downed Apache and fought the remaining off. From then Bushe decided his debt for his trip to this land of promises was repaid. He took a gun, a horse and some supplies and became a mercenary.

Other: Likes to say cocksucker a lot. Is that a fair trade off?

[Overcast]

Max seems to be oddly quick to assume he is the cocksucker. He have some sort of secret we should be aware of?

It looks fine, I'm figuring the gun is a sharps right? It is the only thing I can figure to attach the summary to. As for how he would know you can always say that the letter was in whatever Chinese language he speaks, not unusual seeing as Mr. Watts has to deal with many Chinese laborer's in service to the men back East.

[Lumenskir]

Mostly because I'm not letting my dream die, but where would he have learned how to speak conversational English? He's spent eight years in the states, three of which the most English he would have been privvy to was some variation on "Get fucking back to work!", and five of which were spent (presumably) wandering around looking for merc work.

TL;DR: Cocksucker? Cocksucker. Cocksuckers!!

[Krylo]

I'd guess he'd have learned it from the British who had control over Hong Kong during the time period he's describing in the aftermath of the first Opium War, as well as a good amount of control over the country in general after the second Opium War. Combine an influx of westerners after the second Opium War and the large scale (though not centrally directed) attempts at Westernization, and it's not hard to imagine that many young chinese would have been taught learned British English, at least to some small extent--and maybe even French.

[Overcast]

In the end it is entirely possible for him to be entirely beyond the language barrier, sitting on the fence, or past it by a few to complete degrees. No matter what in the end it is up to Cabal.

Anyway once Mauve gets the profile up we'll be in business and I'll get working on the actual starting post, everyone can go wax proselike about the way to San Francisco to the waiting room of Mr. Watts and the scenes will unfold as they will.

[mauve]

Oh jeez, sorry to keep everyone waiting! I figured you'd go on without me since I'm taking forever. I'm trying to refine my ideas a bit: my original character was waaaaay too close to a Mary-Sue to be acceptable. I seriously scared myself with that realization. So now I'm back to the drawing board.

Let me know if you guys have any preferences about what kind of character I should bring to the group-- Originally I had another gunslinger, or big game hunter, but we already have several of those. If you have no preferences, that's cool too. I have a couple ideas floating around I might be able to build on.

[Krylo]

You can never have too many gunslingers in a western RP.

[Overcast]

My kingdom for a medic. But yeah the frontier doc could be useful for these folks. In all honesty it could be the standing point between their survival and their inevitable DOOM.

[mauve]

Name: Dr. Everett Flint
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Occupation: Doctor.
Appearance: Despite the fact that his job can become, uh, slightly messy, Doc Flint is always sharply dressed. His suits are tailor made for him. He’s tall and thin, with dark hair and mustache. He wears a bowler.
Skills:

Medicine: He’s a doctor. What did you expect? While he can’t bring along an entire hospital’s worth of tools with him, he carries enough supplies to dress wounds, perform minor surgeries, treat common diseases, etc.

Bedside Manner: Everett has perfected the art of adopting a calm and collected demeanor in times of crisis. It’s incredibly useful for calming hysterical patients or their families, assuring skeptics he knows what the hell he’s talking about, or convincing cheap bastards to pay their damn medical bills. It’s mostly an act, but it’s effective and that’s all that matters.

Riding: He can ride a horse. Thank you, rural upbringing.

Decent Shot: It’s nothing fancy, but he’s become pretty good with small firearms over the past few years. He can use a rifle, thanks to years of deer hunting as a teenager, but he doesn’t actually own one anymore. It’s difficult to look non-threatening and professional when you’ve got a big old rifle strapped to your back. Kinda clashes with the whole “first do no harm” thing.

Gear:

Medical Bag: A standard black leather bag, in which Everett keeps his supplies. These include:
-Bandages
-Minor surgical tools-- scalpels, suture kit, forceps, small bone saw, etc.
-Stethoscope
-Small bottles of commonly-used medicines, Epsom salt, chloroform, etc.


Pocket watch
Small pistol-- I'm obviously in need of your help on this one, as I know nothing about the guns they would have used. Pick something small and easy to use for the good doctor, will you? :) I don't know if it would be a pistol or a revolver or what-- You guys know more about this than I do, so I trust your judgment.
Pocket knife


Personality: An odd mixture of calm professionalism and snobbish disdain. He'll pleasantly assure you that you'll recover nicely from your wounds, then call you an idiot the moment you're out of earshot.

Bio: Everett was the son of a country doctor, and he inherited the family business, as it were. Serving a small farming community in Indiana, he treated everything from animal bites to plow injuries to cholera.

This was incredibly boring and incredibly unprofitable.

Word of the gold rush in the untamed West brought Everett across the Rockies and into California. The idea of large numbers of people working in dangerous conditions while raking in quantities of gold was a very attractive concept to the good doctor. It meant more idiots hurting themselves more often, with more money to spend on getting limbs sewn back on.

This has proven significantly more "interesting" than before-- He's found himself being called into the middle of bar fights, gun fights, fist fights, a handful of animal stampedes, and various small-scale natural disasters. He’s been accidentally shot, taken hostage by bandits, and almost run over by a train. It takes a lot to frighten him these days.

Other: Learning the art of medicine from his father, Everett doesn't actually have any formal medical training. "Doctor" is the name he got from his patients in his hometown, not a title gained from a medical degree. He's very good at what he does, though. He keeps up-to-date on newer procedures via medical publications he has mailed in from the east coast when he can afford it.

[Overcast]

We'll give the doc a two shot Remington Derringer, it isn't much of a gun compared to the revolvers and rifles but it serves well as the civilized man's "Just in case." option.

Anyway a few notes on medicine just to make sure things are absolutely clear. At the time of the late 19th century it was still pretty crappy. The germ theory of disease is cutting edge, but there are no classifications for the germs and their diseases yet and no antibiotics to treat them anyway. Your typical doc is a fairly glorified surgeon and will be doing much cutting and burning to keep the infection staved and very little of the sewing back on. Medicine was also not so organized as today with things like heroin and opium(under the disguise of laudanum ) being prescribed for outlandish quantities of things. Miracle cures were the thing these days, so if he gets his medical info from medical publications his own views will be just as radically wrong. Still as long as he has a good surgeon hand he should serve to keep everyone alive...but one or two might end up junkies.

[mauve]

Sounds good. I'll change his bio later to reflect the available medical technology of the time period. Thanks!

[Overcast]

IT HAS BEGUN (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=38280)

[Krylo]

The more Watts talks the more I imagine him looking like this:
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/firefly/images/thumb/6/69/Niska.jpg/250px-Niska.jpg

[Overcast]

Not far off I'll be honest, especially now. He mostly wears the hat to protect his poor pale skin from the merciless sun. There is nothing professional about having a peeling scalp.

Also the first sign of the kind of reactions having the Chief around is going to give you. Especially when it looks like he just got done having an Apache party raid. I'm looking forward to seeing the public relations of this ragtag bunch of misfits.

[CABAL49]

Just a short insight of why Bushe hates whitey.

[Overcast]

And we are back, with personal worries that I might have already run this thing close to the ground through inept workmanship lets get a look at who is still around for this.

[Krylo]

Yeah I'm still here.

[CABAL49]

Obviously still here.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I'm still here. I'm just not posting a lot because Max won't speak a whole lot.

[Lak44]

Are you accepting new people to the RP?
I have a bit of forum role playing background, and i want to get back into the swing of things...

[mauve]

I'm still here!

[krogothwolf]

Yeah I'm still here, forgot to post in here say yes I am, Over was kind enough to remind me about that.

[Overcast]

Also sent one off to Lumen. As for if there are going to be new joins, going to say no at this point. Might be a split later on for new activity, but at the time I'm enjoying the size of this group.

And say hello to your counterparts gentlemen. A group of Confederate vets turned sour, or in the case of at least two downright venomous. Should be a fun time.

[CABAL49]

I say go for Grayson. The man with the money will lead us to the rest.

[Krylo]

It's not in my character's, uh, character, to bring this up... but what's to keep us from just keeping the gold?

[Bard The 5th LW]

Max could get behind that. I'm not sure if I included it in his bio, but he is a bit crooked.

Nothing is stopping us. Aside from morals. And who needs those?

[Overcast]

Not a damn thing. In fact if you guys get to the gold that was pretty much a major plot point for me of how this thing is going to progress after this first conflict.

If we progress that far anyway. I'm going to have to kill the Chief pretty soon if Lumen doesn't get back to me. If anyone wants to do it for me be my guest.

[krogothwolf]

Well, my guy's not really the type to steal and run with the gold. It just seems so dishonest.

[mauve]

Wasn't Lumen's character wounded in his intro post? We could assume he just bleeds to death off camera from internal injuries or something.... Granted, that wouldn't make Everett look very good as a doctor........ >.>

I'd post to move the thread along, but the tracking stuff and enemy description isn't Everett's area of expertise so I don't have much to say.

[Krylo]

Maybe Everett was just too racist to bother fixing the injun.

[mauve]

Nah, Everett hates everyone equally. He likes their money, though.

[CABAL49]

This may not be customary, but you could give Chief to Lak. Or Chief decides he wants to part in the job.

Edit: Also, I think we need someone to assume a leadership role. Not an official one mind you, just someone who is a little more outgoing than the others when it comes to decisions. I vote Krylo because his character's back story hints at actually working with other people instead of bitter loners like the rest of us.

[Overcast]

Obviously the leader is Mr. Han, that man has charisma. I'd follow him into hell I would, but in seriously if a leader is necessary you can toss one out there. I always figured posse's like this operated like a fistful of communists. Everyone has their job and will lead when it comes to it.

I'll be honest when I say I don't much like handing other people's characters to others. I wouldn't want it done to my own, I'd rather they be killed. In this case as well I am itchy from not being able to kill anyone from Watch Your Dreams, so I'm going to kill him if I can. I just thought someone else might find it a little fun as well.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Give Max a good reason and he'll finish the poor guy.

[Overcast]

You guys are going to end up in Arizona and they pay good money for Native scalps there.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Yeah but most of his teammates are bound by these stupid and expensive morals.

"Oh no Max, you can't kill him and take off his scalp for a few dollars! It would be wrong."

[krogothwolf]

Well, the easiest way to deal with Moral type people is just say "you and the chief will check something out" then the chief trips and falls down a cliff and whammo, no more chief.

Also he could be shot as he leaves the building by a injun hating individual.

[mauve]

Oh man, I found a book in a second-hand store today that listed medicinal remedies from the late 1800s. Most of them involved arsenic and other dangerous substances, and plant matter of questionable origin.


Hahahahaha oh goodness you guys are so screwed if you get hurt. :D :D :D


Probably not the exact time period, but still. Being the doctor is the best thing ever.

[Krylo]

How about we stick to whiskey for a pain killer/disinfectant, and just pulling things out/stitching things up?

Keep it simple, doc.

[mauve]

Awwwww. :( You're no fun.

[Krylo]

I just don't want to die of mesothelioma from asbestos poisoning.

I'd rather die of lead 'poisoning'.

[CABAL49]

Obviously the leader is Mr. Han, that man has charisma. I'd follow him into hell I would, but in seriously if a leader is necessary you can toss one out there. I always figured posse's like this operated like a fistful of communists. Everyone has their job and will lead when it comes to it.


Mr. Han has too much passive aggressive hate for the rest of his company to be a good leader.

[Overcast]

I had already planned for racism to be the death of the big man. As a matter of honor I will give him a Brock Samson death, but he will die.

And yeah I warned you about what getting your medical knowledge from magazines was ACTUALLY going to cause. This group will be lucky if they end up being only slightly poisoned with Max suddenly addicted to opium. Max only because I think he could use a few more vices to make him even worse.

[krogothwolf]

I guess the chances of our party dieing from Herbal remedies is pretty high eh. Damn Doctor will be the only one left/ He'll wait till after we secure the gold, then off us with his herbal remedies then make off with the gold.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I vote Max for leader, because he considers you all to be expendable.

As long as the goal is reached, he doesn't care what is lost. As long as it is nothing he owns.

[Overcast]

Ring ring everyone. A weeklong silence itches at my person as I try to figure out if this is still alive or if I should ask the scrubbers to erase what I've seen thus far and get plotting on whatever new failure I might try next.

[krogothwolf]

I thought we were gonna move right along since we have nothing really to do in town.

[CABAL49]

I am at the train waiting for you suckas.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Yeah I think a brief time-skip would be best.

Max has nothing to do in the town, he hates spending money.

[Overcast]

Remember causality fellas, as Cabal kinda made clear only Han is actually at the train station which only really made it clear to me via cause that I should take a step forward. Then again I'm terribly fond of wasted time and character development, so maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

Anyway, get back from training and I shall write up the murder of big bad Chief, the terribly uncomfortable train ride, and the upcoming robbery.

[mauve]

I guess the chances of our party dieing from Herbal remedies is pretty high eh. Damn Doctor will be the only one left/ He'll wait till after we secure the gold, then off us with his herbal remedies then make off with the gold.

Curses, he's figured out my cunning plan!! D: I mean, no. Of course not. Why would you think such a thing?


Also, I'm still in this. Just assume Everett bought a bunch of medical supplies of questionable effectiveness and headed down to the station.

[CABAL49]

Damn that was harder than it needed to be. I have been trying to post mine for a while. Every time I clicked reply my internets said no.

[Overcast]

And I become aware enough to post, and I'm realizing I'm having far too much fun quoting on Oner's fat bastardliness. Grand stuff.

[mauve]

Back from vacation! And Everett is being an asshole! Yay!

Also, the google ads on the RP thread are now all listings for cheap medical supplies. Awesome. XD

[CABAL49]

Take him alive, and I promise Mr. Han will give him a lovely broken English interrogation.

[Overcast]

There is this urge, an urge to point out something that might help you guys get Oner alive almost certainly...and yet I just can't do it. Instead we get to watch life get more difficult.

As a note the current bandit count is six and Oner. Oner is at the back entrance to the last car and is about to enter and probably get in a little tango with Max and Han. Two bandits have begun to harass the front car by shooting at it and just being annoying pricks. Three bandits are currently climbing into the train itself hoping to move in on Jim while he is being messed about with by the two pricks, Sam and the Doc are about to walk into the car the three are coming in on. The last bandit is about to enter the car that Sam was sniping from, now emptied as they went their separates ways down the opposite ends of the train.

The lead is about to start flying in a serious way.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Max has 2 ideas about what to do with Oner.

1. Shoot him on site so he can cease polluting existence.

2. Join him so Max can betray him and the others later and get the gold.

[CABAL49]

2. Join him so Max can betray him and the others later and get the gold.

Chinese around this time had a thing about castration. ^_^

[Bard The 5th LW]

Max around this time has a thing for headshots. [/argument]



And I meant he'd betray Oner and his group later. He'd betray the current group now.

[Overcast]

I dunno, Max is a pretty slimy bastard but it is difficult to outscum Oner. He is all for betrayal, especially on betrayers he can barely trust anyway. He'd employ his favorite tactic, the good ol'

"Look out!"

And he pulls you down as if he's saving your from something then shoots you while you are vulnerable.

[Krylo]

Also, last I checked, Max wasn't the killer on the team.

It's never a good idea to betray the killer.

[krogothwolf]

If he's going to go all the trouble of pulling him down, why waste a bullet on the stupid and just knife him instead!

Well, at least the fun has started and Jim isn't completely screwed over now!

[CABAL49]

So does Oner need to reload now? Real question being: can Han run over and beat the crap out of Oner?

[Overcast]

Because he thinks it is more fun to shoot people.

Also Han can very much try to run off and give Oner a piece of his fist/foot, but do remember that while the shotgun is definitely empty, his pistols are once more full. Note two is that the train car is fairly cramped, and Oner isn't helping make it more open and from what I understand with Chuojiao that might be troublesome to his technique(shoulda chose Wing Chun, xB).

Krogo, what degree of commitment is Sam putting into his shots? As in how sure is he about what he is shooting at on a scale of 1-10. 1 being the bandits at the start of this, panicked and barely aware, 10 being Clint Eastwood in the revenge shootout from Unforgiven?

[CABAL49]

I realized I over thought this.

[Overcast]

I seriously want to have a quarter moment between the two of Oner repeating the word, "Whut?" Though that is bad with flow, not saying flow isn't kinda already bad anyway. Still waiting on that evaluation krogo.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I'm debating whether or not Max is just going to attempt tp shoot Oner through the seat.

Surely the bullet could go through and Max would be happy, but it seems that you guys have such great plans for him.

[Overcast]

He can certainly try, the old .45 should go right through and past the neck fat into his skull. Meanwhile you lose a lead to get to the rest of the gang, but hey that is what the tracker is for right? Get that lazy creep working.

This also puts you up for possible threat escalation according to the laws of RP difficulty. Then again that is probably going to happen anyway so who gives a shit.