Bounty Hunters: Apocalypse signups/interest check

In the not very distant future from the world today, an apocalypse finally happened, just as crazy religious conspiracy nuts the world over had been expecting it to just about every year. And it wasn't some sissy giant flood or natural disaster spam apocalypse either; this apocalypse meant business.

Practically overnight, every bad thing from classic horror stories became real. Zombies, werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, demons, and even things that are more limited to specific places, like wendigos and mummies; and that's certainly not all of them. Worse still is that none of them really seemed all that interested in things like peace, seducing teenage girls with their naked abs, or sparkling in the sunlight. Despite how a lot of people liked to think about these things to bring twists to the original versions, they turned out really be evil, with very, very few exceptions.

However, there were a few things the old stories got wrong after all. Turns out a stake to the heart isn't the only way to kill a vampire, and the same goes for silver against werewolves. Those are just the easy ways; when up against modern marvels such as fully automatic guns and handy explosives, their supposed immortality against mortal weaponry didn't hold up. Plus the fact that a lot of them can only be active at night, and even those that could be active in the day tend to be inactive until nighttime, meant that half the time they weren't really a problem.

So despite an apocalypse happening and over half the world population dieing, things didn't totally collapse. Most of the governments are still in power and hold roughly the same areas they did before. People for the most part now stay in big community buildings and barracade them to hold out against the monsters at nighttime. Military forces are being used in the most troublesome areas, such as literal portals to hell, while police forces are now the people in charge of making sure those community buildings stay safe during the night.

Of course, but how then to go on the offensive in less troublesome areas? The solution, as most governments have adopted, is to put blanket bounties on all the monsters, priced according to how dangerous they are. And so, five years after the start of the apocalypse, the profession of bounty hunting resurrected, with a bit of a new feel to it.

And this, is where you come in.

---

Welcome, this RP is based off a setting idea I came up with some years ago. Somewhat inspired by Ghostbusters, in the "team of regular people up against supernatural entities as a day-job" feel. (I say 'somewhat' as I know the plot of Ghostbusters, but have not seen it.)

As you can probably tell from the intro, the party of PCs will be bounty hunters, having just joined a newly formed group of them. For those who are interested, I suppose it's time for some rules.

• Basic etiquette; no auto hitting other players' characters without their permission, no auto hitting enemies unless the GM says you can, try to keep the ghosting minimal, don't be a jerk OOC, etc.
  • As GM I will retain the right to auto hit PCs. However, I won't usually do this. (I'm just mentioning this so you know it's a possibility; I'm not trying to be rude or nothing, honest.)
• Characters need to be relatively normal; powerful magic (You can still dabble in occult stuff, but most of it requires a lot of setup time and special supplies.) or outright impossibilities won't be allowed. Wanting to play one of the monster races as a good guy (Referred to as "Half human".*
  A bit of a misnomer; rather than literal half-breeds, these are simply what people call people-turned-monsters that didn't turn evil.
  ) will be handled on a case by case basis, but for the most part won't be allowed. (They're supposed to be extremely rare, after all. Plus this is just a bit of a preemptive rule against Mary Sues.) Other than that, go nuts.

---

Now the sheet.

• Name: Duh.

• Gender and age: Another obvious.

• Appearance: What do they look like? Do they have one particular outfit they wear most of the time?

• Personality: How do they behave?

• Backstory: We don't need a life story here, (Though I suppose you can if you want.) just a little excerpt as to why they've chosen to be a bounty hunter will do.

• Equipment: Bounty hunters in this world mostly use their own personal weapons, with a limited armory to share. So what does your person take with them? Include weapons, tools, and miscellaneous things that otherwise don't fit under appearance.

• Money: Kinda planning on keeping track of this in the RP. Anywhere between $0 to $50.00 starting cash would be reasonable. To clarify, this is meant to be the amount of money your character has on them when they join.

• Skills: Of course, most people going into the profession at least know how to shoot, (Before anyone asks, yes you can play someone who doesn't really know how to shoot, if you really want to.) but beyond that the job sometimes calls for more off the wall skills. So what can your character do? What are they particularly good at, or have a large knowledge of?

Still with us? Alright then, let's have some fun, shall we?

NEWCOMER EDIT; In case you haven't been lurking the RP already and have only skimmed the signup, the group is currently in: Cleveland, Ohio.

edited 17th Apr '12 3:13:39 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Interesting... I might have to check this out.

• Name: Jadis

• Gender: Female

• Age: 24

• Appearance: She is a tall, slim woman, with black hair and brown eyes. Her features are thin, and vaguely asian, although there is also european ancestry there too. Jadis changes outfits depending on the job, although she primarily wears a biteproof kevlar bodysuit under a light combat vest and cargo pants.

• Personality: Jadis is a professional, thank you very much. She always does the job to the best of her ability, and never allows it to get personal until demons get involved. She doesn't play with others, but she would never sabotage a competitor either.

• Backstory: Not much is known about Jadis before the world ended. She simply showed up on the frontier, armed with an old bolt action rifle and a military surplus combat knife, and began taking contracts. Her family was killed by demons, and she only survived due to intervention by a member of the National Guard, who were evacuating the area at a time.

• Equipment: During her career, Jadis has appropriated various pieces of equipment from cults, the more humanoid monsters, and the military. As such, her armory is quite expansive (if limited). However, on a mission, she generally carries:
  • Military spec assault rifle. This weapon is a heavily modified version of the new standard infantry weapon of the U.S. Military. Based on the M16 design, the weapon has been upscaled to shoot the 7.62mm round, a larger bullet for a new enemy. Aftermarket accessories include an integrated silencer, a fold up bipod, and 6x scope (both traditional and thermographic modes) with infrared range finder. Loaded with FMJ rounds traditionally, but Jadis possesses alternate loadouts: namely incendiary, blessed silver, and cold magnetic iron.
  • M1911 pistol. For if things get too close. Loaded with .45 ACP rounds.
  • Combat Knife.
  • Thermal Blanket. A key piece of gear, this blanket partially masks heatsources, such as the human body. This makes it invaluable for hunting creatures of the night on their own ground.

• Skills: Jadis is an expert markswoman, able to hit moving targets at 1000 meters (an important skill against supernatural creatures). She is a capable tracker, and is equally at home in both cities and the woods. Jadis is merely proficient in close quarters combat, favoring a modified form of Judo, a reflection of her philosophy that any time a fight has gotten to close quarters, she has already lost.

edited 20th Feb '12 6:20:35 PM by MaskedAndDangerous

Hmm, the character is alright, but the equipment could stand to be toned down a bit; this is an apocalypse setting and you're private contractors after all. Most of the stuff you have should be second-hand pre-apocalypse equipment, or stuff made afterward which is mostly lower in quality. There's a couple things here...

The rifle is okay, but incendiary rounds as default? Unfortunately for you, no. She can certainly have some, but it would be a small amount*

and finding more would be difficult and expensive.

Titanium combat knife, night vision goggles, and a heat masking, noise cancelling blanket? Individually perhaps, but all together is a bit of a stretch. I'm gonna say either get rid of or significantly nerf at least one.

That alright with you?

edited 20th Feb '12 5:45:54 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Mmmkay.

Alright, alright...

Those teflon coated rounds, would they be the ones that are modified for armor piercing? Or the ones simply meant for reducing maintenance needs on the gun barrel? Because... Well, actually either would be difficult to get in large supply, but particularly the armor piercing ones.

I guess I should make myself a bit more clear: Special ammunition in general is difficult to get in this setting. Blessed silver bullets are a bit easier since they're now more commonly produced, but the majority of that production goes to the military and police first.

I'm not opposed to anyone bringing special ammo along; I'm just opposed to them bringing a lot of it/enough to never be forced to use normal ammo. I'd prefer special ammo be something used for more dire situations, not the default option.

edited 20th Feb '12 6:16:38 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Mmm...

Okay, looks good. Jadis has the Official Seal of GM Approval for Entry^(TM).

And thanks for being cooperative about it.

Now, once we get like two or three more people, we can start her up.

edited 20th Feb '12 6:25:27 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

No problem. I'm always willing to compromise with a GM, for the sake of balancing a character.

Oh, derp. Before I forget, I should add that I'm planning on not having hollywood silencers in this, so the one on her gun would get rid of the muzzle flash and reduce the noise a bit, but otherwise it'd still be loud.

edited 20th Feb '12 7:10:42 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

That is a given.

Name: Jared Field

Gender and age: Male. 28

Appearance: Tall, Broad Shouldered and Muscular. Has dark blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. Always wears a Dark Green Top Hat, and his Dark green long coat. He is 6'5, and weighs about 270 lbs.

Personality: Upbeat, with a morbid sense of humor, is a bit of a Boisterous Bruiser, and (if I can write it well enough) a Large Ham. Loves knives.

Backstory: Jared was a stuntman looking to become a famous actor before the apocalypse. Now he has decided to take up the only profession that is suitable for him, A bounty hunter.

Equipment: A colt .45 revolver, a bowie knife, and three throwing knives.

Skills: Jared is skilled in both knife fighting and hand to hand combat.

Tell me what I can do to make this better, if needed.

edited 21st Feb '12 4:24:05 AM by BattleBorn

I AM BATMAN

An age would be nice, if you want the exact age a secret than at least an estimate range will do. The personality and back story seem a bit lacking in detail, but I wasn't expecting masterwork anyway.

Also, that top hat would get him some funny looks, but that's up to you.

edited 20th Feb '12 8:18:48 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Yeah, I mean I meant for the personality to be a little vague, so I would have some room to manipulate it to how it suited me. However, I wasn't so sure on the backstory myself, and I do want to work on that. But the clothing is the way I want it. Thanks for the feedback.

I AM BATMAN

Sounds good. That just leaves the question of his age.

You are reading this.

Fixed that.

I AM BATMAN

• Name: Henry Lewis (aka Hot Lead).
• Gender: Male.
• Age: 32.
• Appearance: A huge, black Jamaican, Henry stands 6'10'' tall and weighs around 280 pounds, most of which is muscle. His body is extensively scarred and tatooed. The tats follow both Obeah, gang and merc motifs. He sports a mohawk of dreadlocks, several silver piercings and earrings... and a thick moustache and goatee. He wears a black Kevlar motorcycle jacket, burgundy Doc Martens, a weathered grey shirt and urban camo pants. Henry needs glasses: He typically wears prescription sunglasses during the day and regular classes at night. When he doesn't wear a helmet, he normally dons a red beret.
• Personality: Henry is friendly and easy-going, but he's got a ruthless, vicious streak. He's a thrill seeker: The job's an exciting blood-sport for him. He adheres to basic fair play and sportmanship towards competitors, but he never forgets a slight and doesn't hesitate to take Cold Blooded Revenge when he can get away with it. He's got a wry, cynical, bleak sense of humor. He talks much... and fast, in a thick Jamaican accent. Even after going legit, he still sees ''Babylon'' with resentment and mistrust.
• Equipment:
  • An ancient (but well maintained) PK machinegun.
  • A large, heavy machete.
  • A late '80s Yugoslav Tokarev pistol.
  • His jacket is reinforced and has ceramic armor plates.
• History: Originally a gang enforcer in Kingston, H.L. eventually became a mercenary, serving in a bunch of Third World bush wars. He became utterly desensitized towards violence during this period of his life. Still, he became sick of massacres and reprisals against civvies who can't fight back, and the Apocalypse gave him a chance to make a living exclusively killing things that do fight back quite viciously. He didn't hesitate to take that chance, and hasn't looked back since.
• Skills:
  • He's large and strong enough to use a Squad Machinegun as a personal assault rifle (complete with bayonet).
  • Skilled at getting up close'n'personal with the machete.
  • He's a surprisingly good driver (days of trudging around in a technical through the butt of the world will do that to you.

edited 21st Feb '12 7:38:58 AM by SavageHeathen

You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.

@Battle Born: Alright then, Jared Field has the Official Seal of GM Approval for Entry^(TM).

@Savage: Sounds good. His jacket will be heavier than normal with that plating, but with his strength that wouldn't matter much. And he still wouldn't be able to aim all that accurately on the move with that machinegun, but then again that pretty much applies to everything fully auto for everyone.

As long as that's understood, then Henry Lewis AKA Hot Lead has the Official Seal of GM Approval for Entry^(TM).

I'll see about getting a discussion page up shortly, and maybe start up the RP later today. Signups will remain open after starting, and newer players will be worked in somehow.

EDIT: Discussion's up.

edited 21st Feb '12 3:25:00 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

• Name: Alearth

• Gender: Female

• Age: 5

• Appearance: A rather lovely little girl with dark hair, braided in twin tails.Rosy cheeks, a cheerful smile... and red eyes, pointy canines, bat wings and a pointy tail. She wears a collar with an electronic tracking device.

• Personality: Alearth is rather energetic, usually rushing in without thinking. And she talks non stop. When forced to, she can be rather compliant and clever. She seems to have a strange taste, often finding abhorrent things cute and cool. She's easily bribed by sweets and toys.

• Backstory: Alearth was found in wraps after one of the first demon attacks, and adopted. Hovewer, soon it was patent her demonic inheritage, as during an attempted baptism, she sustained second grade wounds. They concluded it was the infantile form of a Succubus. Put under observation for a while, the scientist comittee was puzzled at how such a thing existed or the apparent lack of malice she had. In order to further the comprehension of said experiment, they sent her to the bounty hunters, in hopes she would become useful, dead, or turn into an evil adult demon (in which case she'd be executed on the spot).

• Equipment:
  • A backpack with food, blankets and a stuffed teddy bear.
  • A whistle
  • A small knife, just in case.

• Skills: Alearth is a baby demon, and thus doesn't show many powers yet, although her heritage is beginning to show. She can sense souls, actually, and can be used to scry living beings and monsters as some sort of radar. She can also make half decent illusions to mask her presence, as well as hide her demonic traits and alter her shape to look a teenager (with effort). She can also charm some of the weaker monsters, and flies. Well, flies like a drunken bat, but flies. She can also send telepathic messages, with difficulty.

edited 24th Feb '12 3:47:15 PM by AtomicNut

Unfortunately that character back story doesn't work with the RP back story unless she's younger than five, since that's when all the supernatural stuff suddenly became real.

Also, this reminds me of something I probably should have confirmed earlier. The "half human" thing is a bit of a misnomer, that people use simply because they usually can't think of anything better to use. "half humans" in this setting are monsters of the types that were once human, like Zombies, Vampires, and Werewolves, that somehow retained their original personality and humanity after turning into a monster, rather than just turn evil like the rest of them do.

I think I'll probably go edit that into the first post, to avoid future confusion.

EDIT: Done. My apologies for the mistake.

edited 24th Feb '12 4:01:52 AM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Hrmm, well making it a kid would certainly not make her able to be fit as bounty hunter ... is that what you mean?

edited 24th Feb '12 4:13:58 AM by AtomicNut

Yeah, unless Norse Elves grow up insanely fast or something. (Admittedly I know next to nothing about Norse Elves.)

And even then she'd still technically be less than five years old.

edited 24th Feb '12 4:22:33 AM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Nah, don't think so... they just have insanely fast gestations. Shrug. Oh well, gonna rework from scratch...

Edit: S Orry, but I found this incredibly hilarious. Because we need a Team Pet.

edited 24th Feb '12 5:35:41 AM by AtomicNut

-wakes up-

-looks at Atomic Nut's edit-

And here I thought demons would be the one thing I specifically wouldn't let players be, but gosh dangit that is just awesome in how hilarious it is.

Plus you actually managed to give her skills that pretty much line up with skills I was going to give demons anyway, so there's that. Well, except for one part, but I'll get to that. I will go ahead and confirm what I think the limits of her abilities should be, so there's less chance of confusion later on, okay?

• Her "soul radar" would have a range of about ten feet. When concentrating, she could probably extend it to about twenty or thirty. There's also a way for some monsters, especially demons, to hide from it. But she probably doesn't know this yet, or know how to do it herself.

• Her illusions/shape shifting should only work for herself, and not on others; and trying to turn invisible is nearly impossible. Camouflage however, is actually kind of easy so long as she's not also changing shape.

• Charming other monsters works on the non-intelligent ones,*
  Zombies, skeletons, most werewolves in werewolf form, etc..
  and depends on the strength of said monster. It does not work at all on intelligent ones,*
  Vampires, the occasional werewolf, and any "half" monsters, etc..
  or on other demons, even the ones that display no intelligence. At her strength, she can affect one or two monsters at a time if she concentrates. From there, she can give them simple orders,*
  Stuff like "move there" or "attack that".
  and they will carry them out unless a more powerful charm tells them to do something else.
  • On the note of other monsters, most of the non-intelligent ones will just ignore her unless she charms or attacks them. The intelligent ones, and other demons however...

• She can probably only concentrate on one thing at a time, at the expense of other powers. This would include flying. So while extending her soul detection, she probably can't use an illusion; or while flying, she can't pay as much attention to her soul detection, ect..

If that's all alright with you, and you're really okay with playing a five year old demon, then Alearth gets the Official Seal of GM Approval for Entry^(TM).

I almost can't believe I'm doing this. XD

edited 24th Feb '12 3:12:16 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.

Hmm, well, alright. She can still fly while shapeshifted or send telepathy messages of help, though?

Edit: I've clarified the trigger for her being killed is if she turns a mature evil demon...

edited 24th Feb '12 3:29:00 PM by AtomicNut

Interesting. I'll fill out a sheet.