Parallel Universes: Signup 2: Demonic Western
 

Down here in Texas, folks was sure that them Mexicans were raidin' the old farmhouses just outside South Ridge. I saw what happened to the family that done lived there, and let me tell ya. Ain't no Mexicans can do somethin' that awful. Nothin' made by God c'n do anythin' like that to a body.

Pardon, son? You lost? You don't look like you're from around here, boy. Mebbe you had best keep movin'. We don't take kindly to strangers, not after what's been happenin' to our neighbors.

I don't care if'n the sun's down. You won't find no rooms at the inn, cuz there ain't one.

Yeah, you heard me right. Now scram! Go find some other folk to bother.

Damn kids. They just walk into a town, lookin' all suspicious, then spend the night and before ya know it, someone's dead. I tell ya, Earl, nothin' makes me more afraid than knowing there's some kinda monsters out there. Keep my revolver loaded at all times.

What? Whaddaya mean it ain't loaded? Ah, well shit, Earl-

Earl?

Wait, you ain't Earl!

Help! Monstaugh-



1877, May 5th, Houston Gazetteer

Demons Among Us!
by David Remus DuPont

Sheriff Jonas Markworth was found mauled in the street at 12:00 AM this morning, after several people sleeping near the Yellow Rose Saloon awoke to a horrifying scream and sounds similar to an animal attacking. A few eyewitnesses who wish to withhold their names reported seeing a huge black man-like beast with red glowing eyes tearing the Sheriff to shreds. When it finished, it ran "As fast as a horse," out of town.

When the local priest, Father Roger Delphi, was asked about the creature, he had this to say.

"Out here on the frontier, it looks like there's something worse to fear than Indians. Perhaps it is our own greed as humans. My fellow priests have told me of similar attacks all across the west. As much as we hate to say something like this in a time of railroads and guns, when all sorts of technology prospers, but we fear this to be an attack by Satan himself. He targets the souls of the wicked and the righteous without discrimination, and his deception can pull the wool over the eyes of the most attentive. We need good folk willing to protect the common citizens. We need to bring back demon hunters."

As Father Delphi told me, during the middle ages certain sects of knights were formed to drive out demons. "We may be under attack by Satan's armies yet again."

So, if you are one of the few with a desire to protect others in this savage land, do not go and deputize yourself. Instead, go and speak to your local clergy about becoming a demon slayer. The time may have come to wear a cross during all times, no matter what manner of folk you are.



All over the Southwest, there have been reports of demon attacks, possession, and rampant murder. The above article was reprinted in numerous newspapers across the globe. Do you have what it takes to save Southern America from the grasp of demons?

Technology: Same as technology in 1877. If you want to make a more advanced gun, you will have to be a gunsmith.

Things to know about revolvers: Revolvers come with a standard six shot rotator. A few will have 8, and a true rarity is ten. A revolver will never have an odd number of bullets.

Reloading methods:
Front muzzle: The first and slowest loading method. Similar to loading the first rifles, each round takes at least 20 seconds to load per bullet. However, this design is extremely strong, and will not break except if it is not cared for properly.

Fixed cylinder: The revolving chambers poke out on one side, allowing the user to eject a used cartridge and place in a new one. The cartridges have a blast cap on the back, so reloading is much faster than with front muzzle guns. Most of these load from the right side, which favors left-handed users, because the revolver was originally intended for use by cavalry (Reins and gun in the left hand, right hand free to reload cartridges). This gun takes around three seconds to reload if a cartridge is in place, one if it isn't, and each barrel must be loaded individually. The design is just as solid as the front muzzle.

Top break: The user unlocks the hinge in front of the trigger guard and presses on the barrel, the entire front of the gun tilts forwards, and a gentle flick of the wrist will send used cartridges to the ground. Any unfired rounds take half a second to pull out, or any unusually long casings. Rounds can be loaded in one at a time, at 2/3 a second per round, or all at once with a speedloader, which takes 1 second no matter the magazine size. A speedloader stays attached and is used to pull the expended rounds free, taking half a second. This design is fairly weak, and an excellent shot can actually break the revolver with a side shot to the hinge near the bottom of the cylinder. Users who choose to pistol whip with this model may also weaken the latch.

Swing out cylinder: The user manually pulls on the cylinder, with most models swinging down and to the left (Majority right-handed shooters). A small rod in the middle of the cartridges is depressed to eject cartridges similarly to the top break, but this method takes a bit longer than the top break's springs. Each bullet can be loaded individually or via speedloader (Identical to the top break). The weak point of the design is the crane, and improper unloading and reloading of the cylinder will cause the gun to become mis-aligned, meaning that the gun could misfire or possibly explode. Even if the cylinder is struck by a bullet from the side, it will not cripple the gun unless it forces the cylinder to unload, likely snapping the crane. Otherwise a durable design.


Deringer pistol: A small single-shot pistol. Easily concealable, and with only a five second reload time, Deringers are commonly purchased by civilians who wish to have a gun for protection. Also used by assassins, a Deringer was used by John Wilkes Boothe to kill Abraham Lincoln. Deringers are almost always sold in pairs, to help compensate for the lack of firepower and firing speed compared to a revolver or rifle. Very few Deringers of this period were designed to hold more than one shot, but Remington's popular derringer has a second barrel on top of the first, effectively doubling the gun's firepower without increasing its size.


Rifles: The most common rifles of this period are bolt-action, and they have the best range of any gun. Bolt actions take around three seconds to load, regardless of the bullet size. Older muskets take around 30 seconds to reload, and those without rifling are highly inaccurate. Rifles can have bayonets attached to them, preventing the gun from firing but giving the user a weapon for close combat. Bayonets take two seconds to attach and remove. The rifle is light enough that it can be fired with one hand, if necessary.

Rifle variants:

Sniper Rifle: A rifle with a longer barrel designed for greater range and accuracy. It can be used like a club in close combat, but breaks easily. Perfect for precision shots if the user is on the ground and braced against something. Its main weakness is that it is difficult to aim without bracing it due to the increased weight.

Long Rifle: The typical American rifle, The rifle is longer to allow the black powder used in the bullets more time to burn, adding velocity to the bullet and increasing its range and accuracy. Bullets are a bit cheaper than other rifles due to the fact that the bullets use black powder. Long rifles are also often engraved with art along the barrel, sometimes used as mantle pieces by homesteaders. The main difference between this rifle and the sniper rifle is the ammunition and the fact that sniper rifles often come with mounts.

Shotgun: A few bolt-action shotguns exist, but at this time the old double-barrel is the most popular. Each round of a double barrel takes five seconds to reload since the pan doesn't need to be primed and the cartridge is whole. Bolt-actions are usually single barrel, but a few double barrels exist. Smaller pellets enable slightly longer range than larger pellets, but the larger pellets are far more destructive since they can be propelled with greater force.

This list obviously isn't every firearm, and if you can find and show me proof of a certain type of firearm from this period, you may be allowed to use it.

Here's the layout for character sheets:

Name:
Age:
Racial background:
Home:
Gender:
Appearance:
Weapons Training:
Equipment:
Bio:
Supernatural Contact:
Notes:

Mintaro and TheBlindMime are already confirmed for this RP. Four slots left. Please post your character after the first sign-up thread is filled.

Are we being assigned an Alchemic Fantasy alternate partner or do we get to choose?

Would there be room for an Asian demon hunter (I'm leaning towards a railroad-crew escapee) who substituted a set of prayer beads for the cross?

I also expressed interest in this! There has to be a girl in every rp (even if she's not playing one)!

I am also interested...

...but it seems wise to wait until TBM's question is answered before I start making a character.

Edit: Also, I did a bit of research, and they did have repeating rifles in 1877. Would we be allowed to have those?

I'm gonna assume we choose on our own, so here goes.

Name: Bison

Age: 25 (apparently.)

Racial background: Native American, more specifically Lakota

Home: Former resident of the Black Hills.

Gender: Male

Appearance: A behemoth of a man at 6'4" with nearly golden brown skin its hard not to notice Bison. He wears simple leather moccasins and pants, as well as an army jacket with all the buttons and insignia removed so it appears to be a simple blue wool jacket. He has a tomahawk strapped to his right hip and a Colt SAA low on his left, he also keeps his bowie on his belt at the small of his back which is conveniently hidden by his jacket. His hair is long and as black as black could be, its in a simple pony tail with a feather in it. He has a strong jaw and deep black eyes.

Weapons Training: Tomahawk/Knife - Bison was raised to life off the land with ease, that includes defending himself. His prowess with his dual blades was unrivaled amongst his fellow Lakota warriors, with his menacing size and skill though few ever tried. Due to his constant training with them however he never grasped the finer points of using a bow, to this day he finds bow and arrows foreign to him.

Single Action Pistol's - As he grew older and the white men became a larger presence the Lakota began training themselves in the use of the firearms of their enemies. Bison can barely hit anything with the gun after 20 yards but he looks damn intimidating with it.

Winchester - On the other hand Bison finds the Winchester to be an old friend, while not a master marksman he rarely misses his target with this rifle. He's accurate and deadly to a distance of 130 yards, after that he gets kinda iffy.

Equipment: Colt SAA .44-40 calibur, Winchester Model 73 rifle, a single bandoleer full of .44-40 WCF rounds, 2 boxes .44-40 WCF rounds (40), 3 days worth of jerky and water, a painted horse named Sunday, a hickory handled tomahawk, a bone handled bowie knife and a grayish brown coyote named Moka.

Bio: Raised to be one with nature Bison was always a solemn child, seeming to find peace whenever an animal was present. Surprisingly taming a wild coyote in his early teens (he named it Moka). He was always little for his age and thus had to develop his skills that much faster to keep up with his larger rivals. Until he turned thirteen, when he grew to be one of the largest boys and kept growing. He also lost his ability to speak inexplicably, no shaman seemed to be able to discern the cause of the malady.

Bison didn't mind much, he never really felt like he had anything to say. He quickly learned to express himself with whistles, he can mimic many bird calls as well. Overtime due to dealings with the whites and the tutelage of elders he has learned how to understand the white language, though he cannot read or write it at all. Bison is a natural tracker, few animals or men for that matter ever escape his hounding. Because of this skill he is an incredible asset to anyone, including the US military which he has assisted on multiple occasions to find wanted criminals or rival tribes, always this was to the greater benefit of the Lakota tribe. He has spent enough time with the US military to understand how they operate and it was because of this that his people understood soon they would not be the trackers aiding the hunt, they would soon be the hunted.

As the US military showed their distrust and distaste for the Lakota people, Bison and the other warriors of his tribe gathered guns and ammo and began training and using them wherever they could. He would have eventually used these skills in what our time line calls the battle of little bighorn, however he never had the chance thanks to the demon invasion.

During a skirmish with the military a group of demon wolves attacked both sides, were it not for Moka and his skill with blades he would have never left that field. He's lived the past few weeks off the land, running from both the military and a pack of ravenous wolf demons. He's been unable to make contact with his people and believes many, or all to be dead.

Supernatural Contact: The demonic wolves are his only contact to creatures of the damned thus far.

Notes: He's a firm believer in Wakan Tanka, a sacred presence in all living thing. Fortunately he does not see demons, nor white men in the light of Wakan Tanka.

MY supernatural counterpart is Tizsm!

I'd like to join this one if there's still room.

OK I'm going to Parallel Loki. Fear The Gun smith Orphan!

Name: Jericho Van Asgard, Goes by Jericho

Age: Same age as Loki's character (older than 9)

Racial background: White American

Home: A large Gold mining town called 'Prosper'

Gender: Male

Appearance:Jericho is very large 6'7" 250lbs. A lot of muscle though not as much as he could have. He has medium length red hair that he keeps cut back out of his eyes. He wears an intricate gold cross that he forged and shaped himself. Like all men of the Erra he wears a large brimmed brown hat, keeping his hair tucked up underneath it. His clothing is modest and travel worn. Simple brown shirt and a leather vest. Two Bandoleers across his chest. Tight fitting Levi blue jeans. A leather belt with a big belt buckle with two crossed guns engraved on it. Two finely made, but old and worn boots. Made from good cow hide.

He gives off the vibe of a man who knows his way around the world. Though he looks young, The guns are like a part of his body as if he is ready to draw in an instant. He has some small scars hidden under his shirt from a time a bullet he was crafting exploded.

Weapons Training: All "modern" Fire arms. As well as some historical designs. Little Hand to hand combat, mainly picked up from a few scuffles as a child. He is an excellent marksman and has won awards with both his rifle and his revolvers.

Equipment:

Guns:2x Smith and Weston: 'New Model Number Three' .38 Winchester Model, Sharps Rifle (custom express 45/100), "Coach gun" Double barreled 12-gauge shotgun (sawed off Barrels).

Ammo: 2 Bandoleers, 1 with Shotgun ammo, 1 with Rifle ammo. 2 boxes of .38 winchester ammo

Other weapon: A Very large Skinning knife.

Misc equipment: Gunsmith tools, Gun cleaning tools, Bullet crafting tools (though no powder), 1 week of food 4 days of water, Sleeping bag, 40' rope, Aging horse named 'Barley', 2 extra sets of clothes, and of course his boots.

Bio: Jericho was left at the Prosper city orphanage as an infant. He was raised there until around 6 years old when a young couple came by. The wife (Lauren Van Asgard) , it seemed, had become barren after an accident and they wanted a child. Jericho was chosen because of his deft hands. The Husband (Jedidiah Van Asgard) was a gunsmith by trade, as had his father been, and his father before. So when he saw Jericho performing slight of hand tricks with a pebble for the other children. He knew he had found an heir. Jericho from then on was brought up learning everything there was about guns. He was taught how to clean them, how to care for them, how to modify them and finally how to make them.

When he was 14 however Lauren became pregnant. Something raved of as a miracle. Though they both loved Jericho as a son, their new baby boy was named Heir to the family trade. Jedidiah continued to teach Jericho though more slowly than before. Spending much time to dote upon his son. Jericho decided at 16 to leave on his own. He had learned all there was to from his father, and with the new child there was no place for him in their home save as a worker in his fathers Shop.

He began to travel the country. Finding work in different towns repairing or modifying guns. He also learned of Jewelry crafting. It fascinated him, forming such beautiful and intricately small items from precious and not so precious materials. It fascinated him more so because of his natural size and strength. He could get none to take him on as an apprentice as he was too old. However he began to dabble in it as a pass time.

More recently he has become a certified Demon hunter. Though he has yet to actually see a demon. The worst ones he has seen so far have been in the hearts of men. He has however, seen a mutilated body, and he can tell that nothing human did it.

Personality: Jericho is fascinated by technology and eager to learn. He has grown a little hard through his travels, having had to defend himself multiple times. He guards his own life as though it were the most precious thing in the world to him. On occasion he writes to his Adoptive parents. Sending them news of how he is faring, and occasionally information on a new gun he has seen, or a fascinating new bit of technology. He takes his failures hard however, paying extra close detail to them in order to see they don't ever happen again.

When forced to fight Jericho dose so quickly and methodically. He avoids killing if he can, preferring to wound his enemies and send them on their way. An action that has gotten him into trouble on multiple occasions.

An odd note is that Jericho often has dreams in which he is flying over the open prairie, soaring like an eagle through the sky. Watching the world drift by below him. As such he has been trying to think of ways men could fly through the sky. He is currently working on a kite theory (its not going so well).

Supernatural Contact: None as of yet. Though he thought he saw a ghost once when he was riding by a grave yard.

Notes: FUCK! The weapons portion took me almost 2 hours to do.

Name: Emily Reubens

Age: About the same age as Telephalsion’s character…dang alchemists don’t have to tell their age, why should the demon hunters? :p

Racial background: Caucasian

Home: Virginia City, Montana

Gender: Female

Appearance: Emily is a slightly short woman at only 4’10”. Her black hair is usually kept in a braid that reaches just short of her shoulder blades. Her skin is, given the life she leads, at least slightly tanned, but other than that, is pretty clear (no freckles). She prefers to ware simple green or brown dresses…both in town and on the trail.

Weapons Training:

Revolver: One doesn’t wonder unarmed. Emily has practiced with top-break revolvers, and is a far shot.

Derringer: Virginia City is still a quasi-lawless place…it never hurts for a woman to be able to defend herself.

Knife: Not all that skilled with a knife, but knows how to use one. Mostly uses one that was modified to channel poison into the wound.

Equipment:

Smith & Wesson No. 3 Revolver, on a holster on her belt.

Two Reminington double-shot derringer: Usually packed in a small hostler under her skirt. Mostly used as a weapon of last resort.

Two boxes of .41 rimfire short caliber bullets for the derringers. Two boxes of .45 for the S&W#3.

About a quarter of her bullets have a series of grooves cut into them, to help them hold whatever poison Emily puts on them.

Small dagger with a deep groove in it for when she has to deal poision at close range.

Pouch of medicinal herbs: Being the child a doctor and a nurse, you tend to learn a few tricks along the way. Since, until recently, Virginia City was basically a miner boom-town, a lot of the medicine had to be made from the local flora. They, of course, passed on the basics to their daughter. This was, in turn, supplemented by the teachings of a local Crow medicine man, or Akbaalia. Emily can treat somewhat serious wounds, but cannot heal everything.

Pouch of Poisons: In addition to learning which plants heal, you often learn which plants can hurt. Considering what Emily is riding towards, she has taken it upon herself to prepare some poisons. They range from ones about as effective as poison ivy to ones that will drop a man in a few seconds. The perfered method of inflicting the poison is either grooved bullets or a grooved knife.

An amulet from the Crow tribe…supposed to protect the wearer from evil. Effectiveness unknown.

A few weeks worth of trail food and water An old, beat up poncho to keep the rain off. A black horse named Coal. A few changes of clothes.

Bio: Emily is the daughter of a Confederate solider/medic and a nurse who moved west to try to find a better life. By the time they arrived in Virginia City, most of the claims had already been staked, so the Reubens took up residence as local doctors.

Emily was a little girl when they moved, so she grew up in the relative rough-and-tumble world of the Montana boom-town, which may of lead to the independent streak that she developed in her youth. This, and her curiosity, lead to her to investigate the local Crow tribe. For whatever reason, the tribe’s Akbaalia took a shine to the young white woman, and helped her in her studies of herbs, including some her parents didn’t know about.

When the stories about demons came around in the papers, Emily was unable to stop herself from going, despite warnings from both her parents and the Akbaalia. However, the medicine man did give her a charm of protection, but it has yet to prove its worth. Emily rode south to satisfy her curiosity…who knows what she’ll end up finding.

Supernatural Contact: Emmi Rembres. Of the demonic variety, none yet...not even a demon hunter officially yet.



Notes: Nuts! Mintaro got a sniper rifle while I wasn't looking...and he found a better on than I had, too! Darn you, Mintaro!! Darn you and your faster typing and researching skills!

Emily Reubens 2.0 submitted. In hindsight, however, this is much more parallel to the character I'm basing it off of, so it is probably for the better.

Note #2: Added some more stuff in...stuff I didn't think about at 3 am.

Hey, I call a Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman-type character (only more kickass) off of AB's - I just need time to pull it together. I should be able to post it by tonight.