1920's Gangster RP interest thread

[mauve]

I've been kicking this idea around in my head for a while. I'd like to try my hand at GMing again, and I've been thinking about running a game about a Prohibition-era bootlegging gang, with a dash of murder mystery tossed in for good measure.

I'm still working on the details, but the basics of the story are as follows:

Arthur MacCaulay is a powerful man. He runs one of the most successful speakeasies in town. He and his gang have a hand in everything from bootlegging to the black market. He's not without his problems, though. Competition and pressure from rival gangs are constant annoyances, although nothing Arthur considers worth losing sleep over. The foundations of his empire have been built up over three generations of MacCaulays, and he has no plans to give it up.

But then one of his employees was murdered. Violently. Her body was found in a burning car abandoned downtown. Now the police are getting involved, and this time it seems no amount of bribery will keep them back. On top of that, MacCaulay’s biggest competitors are using this opportunity to start moving in on his turf. And worst of all, Arthur begins to suspect that the murderer might be one of his own men. If he and his gang want to continue to run this town, they’ll have to find the murderer before the police, all while trying to keep their own business booming.



Players will be taking the roles of Arthur’s gang members. You can be anything from speakeasy employees—musicians, servers, bouncers, dancers, etc—to hitmen and other never-do-wells. All characters can dual-class as rum-runners if they so desire. Gameplay will have all the action and shootouts and such expected for a gangster film, but I also want to put a focus on character interaction in the down times.

In order to make the whole mystery element work, I'm going to be assigning additional roles to players via PM. Some of these will be kept secret from everyone else, and some will not. This means your character might end up being an undercover cop, or might have some sort of motive that makes you a murder suspect, or you might be Arthur's second-in-command, et cetera. Not everyone will end up with an additional motive, and not all of them will be serious, incriminating, or secret. I’ll go into this in more detail after the sign-up sheet.

Uh, so yeah. A bit like the forum mafia games we used to have. Only with less voting. And a bit like every old gangster movie you've ever seen, only with less Bogart. And... well.... I'd make a comparison to Lackadaisy, but I think that would be heresy.


EDIT: SIGN UPS ARE NOW OPEN!!


Here's your basic sign-up sheet:

NAME: (I hope I don't have to explain this.)

AGE: (Art's running a business, not a daycare, so nobody under the age of 18 unless you give me a reaaaaaally good reason.)

APPEARANCE: (So the cops'll know what to put on your wanted poster.)

OCCUPATION: (What do you do? Are you a musician in Art's speakeasy? Do you run the card tables? Are you a getaway driver? A general thug of no good intentions? Go ahead and be creative, as long as you keep in mind the time period and the "no godmodding" rule. Regardless of what you choose to do, if your character can use a weapon, he or she is welcome to join in on the gang's more dangerous missions like restocking the liquor supply. I don't want to end up with some people being stuck playing trumpet for the entire game while everyone else is out doing stuff. Er, unless you want to, I guess.)

BACKSTORY: (How'd you end up here?)

OPTIONAL: If you feel so inclined, go ahead and include whether your character has a weapon of choice. I know next to nothing about guns and such, so as long you don't name tanks and laser swords, I'll probably just smile and nod and let you keep it.



!!!VERY IMPORTANT!!!!
After your character has been accepted, you must send me a PM with the information listed below, so I can assign the aforementioned additional roles to people. Again, these roles can be anything from murderer to innocent bystander. Some of these roles will be vital clues to the murder mystery, and some will be red herrings. Keep that in mind.

Send me a PM whether you want one of these roles or not. I need to keep track of everyone.

In the PM, please answer the following questions:
-Do you WANT an additional role?

-Would you prefer to be more heroic or a villain in the story? (Note that while I will try to give you a role that suits this answer, you might end up with the opposite depending on how many people choose the same thing.)

-Would you be willing to play the murderer? (Again, saying "yes" will NOT guarantee you'll get the part. I just don't want to accidentally assign this role to someone who really doesn't want it.)


I will wait until sign-ups close before I start actually handing out roles. That way everyone has a chance to get one if they so desire. I'll let you know whether your role is something you can share with other players in character, as not all of them need to be kept secret.



Questions? Comments?

[rapter200]

Hmm a 1920's Gangster RP. Let me see, one of my favorite games of all time is Mafia for the PC, this is a most definite yes. I am as interested as I can get. Right now I do not have any questions but when I do I will get back to you.

[Overcast]

I have a definite interest in this item, and will be sticking about till we get sign ups or whatever. As for movie suggestions I figure for the time frame I'd choose The Untouchables, gets you up to speed and you don't have to dig into the black and white area.

[mauve]

Hooray! Thanks!



I forgot to include MacCauley's profile.

Name: Arthur “Art” MacCauley

Age: 37

Occupation: Gang boss.

Appearance: “Dapper” would be an adequate term to describe Mr. MacCauley. A host at his nightclub, the Silver Beetle, Art takes great pains to look presentable at all times. When not engaged in his… ahem… less legitimate business endeavors, he’s the very picture of a gentleman. His suits are always immaculate, his shoes always polished. He prefers gray suits to brown, thank you, and like a true gentleman he never steps outside without a hat. He also never steps outside without a gun, but that’s not something he talks about in civilized company.

He’s short, but not excessively so. His hair and eyes are brown. He walks with a slight limp, due to an injury he received in a scuffle with a rival gang of bootleggers when he was younger. Because of this, he’s often seen walking with a cane. He owns several, but his favorite is mahogany with a silver handle.

Background: Art is the third MacCauley to run the “family business.” He stepped easily into the role of boss after learning the ropes from his father, the late Anthony MacCauley. Art’s major claim to fame is the Silver Beetle, the second and most popular of the family’s speakeasies. Originally called Ron’s Place, Art “purchased” the joint and renamed it to appeal to the popularity of the newly-discovered tomb of King Tut. It seemed Egypt Fever was the latest and greatest trend, and Art wanted in on that. The gamble paid off.

Business has been quietly successful for Art, up until the point when Sally was found dead. That could be a setback.

[Dauntasa]

Alright, colour me interested.

[PyrosNine]

Only if I can somehow transpose Nein into it. Western? Mafia, same diff. Same crime, same standards.

He'd only lack the love beams, the lucky 7 sword, and the cat powers. Keeping the fox eyes because we can just say he's asian or real squinty.

[phil_]

I'd be interested, but my only exposure to the genre is pretty much Lackadaisy, the first few episodes of Baccano, and history class. Maybe I'll watch some gangster movies and get back to you. Any suggestions?

[Red Mage Black]

I s'pose even with my GMing in my mech RP, I can still be interested, yes? Not like people haven't been in two RPs before. I think I got a pretty cool character lined up for it.

[Geminex]

Sounds interesting. I don't have too much background knowlege, but give me a revolver and I'll be making them offers they can't refuse in no time.

[phil_]

I like black-and-white. Zatoichi's in black-and-white.

Also, I think I've come up with a way to get around the whole unfamiliarity with talking fast and saying "dollface," and that's by playing a simple-minded country boy, known for their talking slowly and saying "ya'll." I figure one funny accent's just as good as another, right?

Now all I gotta do is figure out a way to get him into the city, which would be easier if I knew what city the Silver Beetle's in.

Customary "Also"s and "By the way"s edit: It strikes me as a little sad that, if we were gearing up to do an Edo period yakuza RP, I'd be more familiar with the material than I am with stuff set in my country less than a hundred years ago. What has become of me? Which awkwardly segues into what will become of me, in as much as I'm gonna take a vacation around the middle of next week through the weekend. I'll (probably) have internet and all, but I thought it might be worth giving a head's up about, depending on how quickly this thing gets going.

I'm dumb edit: I just realized that there's a copy of Bonnie and Clyde less than three feet away from me, hot dang.