The year is 1872.

London runs rampant with crime; living in the city is a hassle at best and living hell at worst, depending on how rich you are. Accounts of murder, robbery, assault, drug trading, and every possible variation of the former three pop up in the papers every day. Ordinary civilians rush from place to place, keeping firm hands on their pocketbooks. The metropolitan police, try as hard as they might, have no idea what to do about rising levels of crime. Their information only goes so far, and their resources are strained. Not to mention, some of the criminals they're dealing with are downright scary.

This is where the bounty hunters come in.

It started in 1850, when the police department decided to start putting wanted posters up in some of the more shady parts of London- brothels, taverns, and the like. A few months later, bodies began inexplicably turning up; corpses of wanted lawbreakers were piled next to the police station with a note demanding a service fee. Rather than persecuting the culprit, the police realized this was the solution they'd been looking for. Who better to prowl the streets of London than the inhabitants of the slums themselves? Thus began the occupation known as bounty hunting; vigilante civilians who covertly take matters into their own hands. They kill the dangerous felons, the government looks the other way, and everyone comes out on top. Thus giving a whole new meaning to the term "London Underground".

Now a Parliament-condoned activity, bounty hunting is a thriving business. The market is limited and competition is fierce, so the less competent are weeded out almost immediately. Successful hunters are quick, strong, clever, and above all, have good reflexes...because it's not just their targets that they're looking out for.

As high as the crime rates are in London, there are a limited number of big fish- the catches that really go in for a sum. And if you're a bounty hunter, trying to make enough money to feed your family (or to buy yourself new boots, depending), you really don't want others going after the same target. So what do you do?

Well, kill them first, obviously.

But as the hunters soon realized, bounty hunter setting upon bounty hunter ended up with too many of them dead and too many criminals running rampant. And that was the beginning of the Guilds- well-organized groups of bounty hunters that don't go off shooting one another at the drop of a hat. As opposed to getting their pay directly from the Parliament, guildmembers take their jobs from the Guildmaster, and get paid accordingly. The Guildmaster gets an administration fee, everyone is happy, and no one gets killed. Hopefully.

But bounty hunters are vicious by nature, and the existence of guilds isn't going to increase the number of targets...and this is where the RP begins.

~

Long story short, I'm envisaging a sort of Sherlock Holmes-y role play here, which means lots of conspiracy, plotting, treason, and outwitting. The underlying plot, obviously, will be guilds going to war against each other. But they can't exactly make it obvious; after all, the moment they start killing each other for no good reason, bounty hunting becomes illegal again (not that it would stop anyone, but still...). So it's all very complicated, and it's got to be done subtly and cleverly. To add more to the pile of fun, there are payoffs by members of Parliament who want to see their coworkers dead, bribes from criminals themselves, and every sort of corruption you could possibly think of. Depends on what you'd be willing to do for money, really. And how much you're willing to put your life at risk.

To keep things simple, there will be at the most 3 Guilds that are playable. Obviously there are more, but three ensures that there's some good double-crossing going on, and we don't want to stretch our players out too much. Because I'm a tyrant, I've already gone ahead and named them, as well as provided a little description of each.

Brooks's Guild: As its name suggests, this Guild is rooted in Brooks's, one of the oldest gentleman's clubs in London, where men go to drink, gamble, and get away from their wives. The gaming room's on the main floor, and if you know the right words and people, you'll get access to the cellar, where the actual Guild exists. The club itself is highly aristocratic, and odds are you wouldn't have gotten into the Guild unless you've got a lot of money. Strategically located, Brooks's takes many of its jobs directly from from the clients of the club.

The Underworld Guild: No girls allowed. No, really. The Underworld is famous for its uncouth members, who are for the most part young men in their teens and twenties. They're brash, reckless, and love to drink- and fight. But that isn't to say they're not skilled; get through the first batch of incompetent, drunk braggers and you'll find a group of incredibly dangerous (and surprisingly sober) men. The least secretive of all guilds, the Underworld is located right above the Bleeding Heart tavern on the shabbier side of town.

Guild Machiavelli: A bit of a wild card as far as guilds go. Guild Machiavelli is very secretive, very select, and very...well, foreign (which is probably why they've named themselves after a dead Italian philosopher). There aren't many guilds in London that'll take outsiders, but Machiavelli is just chock full of Frenchmen, Spaniards, and (oh the horror) the occasional American. No one knows where Guild Machiavelli is headquartered, because they're so damn suspicious of everyone else. Still, when Machiavelli agrees to take a job, it invariably gets done.

Character Application:

Note: I would like really literate, thoughtful people for this RP. It's going to get complicated, what with all the double-crossing, which is why I'd appreciate it if you only apply if you know you'll have time to post once a day and really put some thought into it. Thanks.

Note #2: You don't have to be a bounty hunter to join, but I'd prefer if the vast majority of characters were.

Description:
Name:
Nickname: (Bounty hunters typically go by an alias, so be creative)
Guild:
Age: (Must be above 16. Ten year old killers are cool and all, but we're going to avoid them here.)
Height:
Weight:
Eyes:
Hair:
Clothing:
Other lovely aspects of your appearance that you believe we must know about:

Personality
Fears:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Personality:

Equipment
Specialty: (What skills make you (hopefully) irreplaceable as a bounty hunter? THERE WILL BE NO SUPERPOWERS. Or sparkling, for that matter.)
Other Strengths:
Weaknesses: (No, "cares too much about others" doesn't count.)
Weapons: (Swords, knives, crossbows, etc…I mean of course there will be guns, but show a little creativity.)

1. I am the GM. What I say goes. If you play fairly, we'll all be cool with each other. If not, you're out.
2. No godmodding. Obviously.
3. No overpowering. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
4. At least 2 paragraphs per post. Posts should be fleshed out and contain thought; don't just post for the sake of posting.
5. Mary-Sues will be persecuted.
6. The same applies to Gary-Stus.
7. If you cannot use grammar properly, don't even bother posting. The occasional spelling mistakes and typos are understandable, but seriously, guys...use punctuation okay thx
8. Please post at least once a day, or inform us on the OOC thread if you'll be away for more than 2 days so we're forewarned.

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