'Cyrus Eastiron: Rank 'B' Bounty Hunter'

The name was emblazoned upon a small white card, held proudly by it's owner: That being, of course, the newly made rank 'B' bounty hunter, Cyrus. Up until today, he had been working up the ranks of the hunters, from the rookie rank 'E' up to his current rank, which he considered the most fufilling acheivement of his 28 year old life. Or at least, the most fufilling acheivement until he reached rank 'A'. And of course, until he reached rank 'S'. Pirates too, the criminals people like Cyrus caught, were ranked in a similiar method.

He sighed then, pocketing the small card into a rough pocket of his as he tossed his leg over his motorcycle- Like many machines of his day and age, the motorcycle was built in bronze and copper tinted steel, with a distinctive brass gleam to the handlebars and various pipes that carried steam throughout the bike. Several bolts and nailed plates had been assembled upon it for armor, many of which were still marked with holes and dents from pirate rounds, and as he looked upon them he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia, remembering each and every shot which made contact with his machine. There were hundreds of fights to remember, and he found himself simply sitting on the motorcycle for quite some time before actually turning on the engine- Although he did, after some time.

The motorcycle, like many of the smaller machines, was capable of both hovering and of flight, through the use of powerful jets placed where wheels would usually be set. He could go quite fast with them, although he could never reach top-class speeds. In fact, the motorcycle only went to about 150 mph, whereas the fastest machine built could go all the way up to 250- Course, that machine was so light on armor that it literally shattered upon crashing, so it wasn't put into use. Still, at least the motorcycle was small enough to use jets, unlike larger contraptions like carriers and tanks- Those were limited to wheels, propellers, and hot air balloons.

The ride went smoothly, giving Cyrus some time to take it easy and admire the scenery as his machine glided over the streets. He had been raised in this town, Rosemetal, and he had many of his rank-building fights in it. Which wasn't actually that surprising, in fact, seeing as Rosemetal was practically a battleground between bounty hunters and the criminal pirates. It had been that way for a while, actually, and there was nearly always a fight somewhere in the vast iron town. So many, in fact, that some hunters and pirates were starting to decide upon favored places to fight- The top three being an abandoned construction site, a subterrain series of railway tunnels, and the clocktower.

Ah, the clocktower. Clocktower 'Alcraft'. If hundreds of late gothic buildings, train tracks, chimmneys, and an obxnoxious amount of religious statues were bashed together from an earth shattering vortex and welded haphazardly into a single clocktower, you'd probably have what currently stands in the very center of the Rosemetal city, standing tall between a series of slightly shorter towers which connect to each other using dozens of iron beams and several tubes. A deafening bell sounds at the start and end of every hour, which rings throughout the town and provides decent ambience for whoever happens to be fighting upon it's structure.


It was still early morning by the time Cyrus reached his destination- A fairly sized mechanic's workshop, near the center of town. The building was built of both steel and wood, with a steel sheild-and-mallet emblem above the door- The workshop's symbol. Apart from that, several brass pipes ran up the walls of the building, and a tall pillar of smoke could be seen billowing into the air. This was how most buildings, aside from those used by the government, appeared, and if it wasn't for the address numbers placed over their doors, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference until you got got inside.

"Hey! Jules!" shouted Cyrus, after pulling his bike into the garage that had been placed next to the door, in which lay an assortment of various tools and machines still in mid-repair. "I've got something for ya!" he shouted again, reaching behind his motrocylce and retrieving a small bag of materials he had gathered.

Not long after, a woman of about 26 entered the garage, dressed in an oil stained set of jeans and a welding apron, and carrying a red steel box of tools in a gloved hand. A mechanic of Rosemetal, and a fairly skilled one at that, who attended to many of the town's machine users- Which was just about everyone. Especially in this age, nearly everyone between kids and the eldery used flying machines like motorcycles and disks, for ends which ranged from combat, to travel, and even for simply sport.

"Cyrus! You're back from the east!" exclaimed Juliet, shocked but happy nevertheless. Cyrus had only recently returned from the eastern region of the continent, Kinzoku, and back into the western region- Adalain. Like many westerners, he had travelled to the east to obtain but one of the many untapped veins which contained rich resources- Nearly all of which could not be found in the west- and had come back to Adalain for the west's superior craftsman to manufacture them into machine parts and tools.

"S'right." answered Cyrus, grinning eagerly as he presented a few samples of the resources he had gathered. Like many riders, he liked being able to upgrade his machine- especially one he had kept for so long, and having a mechanic like Juliet to do it ensured an upgrade worthy of a top-class smith.

Just as eager, Juliet scooped up the samples onto the table, looking at each one with scrutiny, and comparing them with both her memories and with a reference book which had been laid out over the desk. "These sure have wierd names." she commented, examining a glistening white metal. "The translation from east to west is strange... What is this? Dovemetal?" she said, placing the already identified material to the left of her. It was but one of many newly found metals, and it's name could only be translated roughly.

"Well, Kinzoku and Adalain have only recently contacted each other." noted Cyrus, looking at the Dovemetal himself, but placing it on the table again. "There's a huge mountain range between us, you know. Plus they've got a whole other culture there, even though they use steam and metal too- And with their resources, they would be powerful rivals with Adalain, if it wasn't for the commonwealth between us."

"Oh, wake up." responded Juliet, placing another stone to her left. "It's a cold war between Adalain and Kinzoku. They both want to conquer the other, and they've been building up their armies ever since they met."

"Then why don't they just go south? Africa is open land, isn't it?" answered Cyrus, looking at the one she had finished examining. It was a bright green metal, and considerably heavy. "Ah, wait... Shahriva."

"Yup." replied Juliet, aware of the pirate situation in Africa, even without being a hunter or a pirate. While it was true that Africa was uncolonized, many pirates had travelled there themselves, despite it's monstrous wildlife, and it's said that such pirates have formed their own civilization there- Known only as 'Shahriva'. Shariva itself has yet to be found, but both Adalain and Kinzoku knew that if war was to conspire between each other, the pirates of both countires- and those of Shahriva- would finish off the weary nation.

"It's all about power." sighed Juliet, after logging the final sample and shutting the book. "Adalain, Kinzoku, Shahriva... All of them want power. It's the same with us, actually." another sigh. "The way we upgrade machines and increase our rank- Everyone's just building their armies and planning out wars, just upgrading their machines and planning out fights."

"Don't be so pessimistic." laughed Cyrus, ruffling her hair playfully- but stopping when she brought out the wrench. Ugh, he hated the wrench.

"Well, fine then. How's hunting going?" smirked Juliet as she placed the samples into a safe. "I hear there's a bunch of action here, right?" she asked, just as a blast rang outside the shop. Such blasts were common nowadays- They weren't as powerful as bullets- Getting hit was like being punched-, but could be used without being worried over running out of rounds, and so they were common with those who prefered spending their money on upgrades rather than spending them on more shots.

"That's right!" answered Cyrus, peeking out to see if he could see the shots himself. "There are alot of pirates in Rosemetal, actually... More so than usual, I mean." It was true, plenty of pretty high ranked criminals were collecting in Rosemetal as of late, and where pirates went, hunters came as well. Even the ones from Kinzuku were converging at the battleground known as Rosemetal, in both curiousity and in pursuit, and it wouldn't be long before pirate met hunter.

"Well, even if there are more pirates." smirked Cyrus, who knew the danger such pirates presented to him- apparently, pirates set bounties on bounty hunters that they wanted dead. Ironic, in a way, but that was life- Kill or be killed, get stronger, and repeat. Kill. Stronger. Kill. Stronger. Kill. Stronger. Killed.

"Welcome to Rosemetal, pirates."

"Welcome to Rosemetal, hunter."

0.3 seconds later, a bullet ripped into Cyrus Eastiron's head.

Killed.

---

Well, there it is, in all it's crappy glory. In case you havn't already figured it out, Rosemetal is a steampunk roleplay, which takes part in a pararel earth, mainly in some region in Europe. It's pretty simple, with a minor plot that won't be divulged in if a prompt can arise from the characters, that will mainly focus on interactions between players. If you're interested, have a question, etc, just post it here :D

For those of you concerned: No, this isn't a continuation of Jetlock, although it's in the same genre. Most of the mechanics will remain the same, with the exception of speed limits, flight capabilities, etc. Essentially, a revamp of tech.

Furthermore, I'm going to try an idea I had a little while ago: When I feel that it's needed, I'm going to call for a new day in the IC, which is literally a new day. Meaning that we'll esentially be restarting and starting from the day after whatever we were playing, so we'll be able to get more interactions and be able to develop more.

Eheh. I'm kinda vague on the whole day change thing, but it might be of use in this roleplay.

So yeah, interest check. Any takers?

Hmm. Interesting. I'm up for a Steampunk game. Gimme some time to kick around character ideas, then I'll be back to edit this post.

Mm, that's pretty interesting. I've never done steampunk before. I'm bound to make mistakes, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you'll have me.

You'll do fine, Iron, Bathos =D. Once I get some more interest, I'll be making the OOC and IC, probs around thursday or friday. Should get the whole thing going the same day.

For the record, the intro right thur (first post) is going to be edited now and again, but only to fix it up a bit and to improve the writing a little- My muse started to die at the end. There won't be any major changes though, but I'm just saying this so there aren't any questions if someone notices a new paragraph or a missing line. If there are any major changes, however, I'll notify you.

For example, right now. I'm not sure if I'll be putting this in as a note or as an integregation of the intro, but there is a technology limit- Just so this doesn't get confused with cyber. The general state of technology is listed below, and if there are any questions, suggestions, etc concerning it, just post.

Robots/Droids/Mechs: Animated machinery is possible, and has already been applied for droid creation- With intelligence levels ranging from carrying out pre-designed commands to full human-level intelligence. Constructs which create this articial intelligence tend to be rather bulky, however, and they also have difficulty operating complex machinery.

Weapons: While it is true that an ammo-less projectile weapon has been created, it's not very powerful, and being hit by a round from one is simply like being punched. However, bombs, while bank-breakingly expensive, as well as six-shot revolvers are also in circulation. Melee weapons of all sort exist, naturally, but the closest thing anyone has to a beam saber is a heated pipe.

Travel: Flight is no problem, but the jets and thrusters made can only support smaller crafts such as bikes and scooters- Although they can go up to breakneck speeds of 200mph. Anything larger than a car needs to be moved by wheels, hot air, or propellers.

I lurve me some steampunk. Count me in.

Dig.

All right, so, I know you're going to get the OOC up tomorrow or the next day and that's when all the official rules and notes are going to be made, but, just for little ol' bathos, could you go into a little more detail about the bounty hunters and pirates?

See, I've got a character idea brewing in my head, but I'm not sure if it will fit. If I think about the idea much longer, though, I'll grow attached to it.

Oh, and I also tend to drag Aaphelion onto all the threads that I like. So you can probably count him in after a few days. He'll love that I committed him.

Bathos is absolutely right, he does drag me into every storyline he joins. I guess that's a side effect of living in the same building as one another. I get in-person updates of whatever forum he's joined.

Anyway, this sounds very cool, but I have also never done steampunk before. I understand the concept however; so I don't think there'll be any problems. I'll start working on a character sheet, and if you'll have me I'd be happy to join.

Cool. I'm interested! If you don't mind a well meaning newbie joining, I'm in.
By the way, I like how you added 'punch force' guns; I don't want think about everyone here running around, wasting bullets on eachother all month.

Alright, two questions before I let my character ideas grow in my brain:
The story is obviously going to have a lot of pirate-hunter interaction, meaning combat. Now, could I play as a non-combatant?
And, could I play someone below the age of 18? I'm pretty new to this, and I don't really want to try playing characters much older then me yet. Though, I think I could do eighteen, if younger is unnavailable.

I'd like to give it a try, but, I have no experience of Steampunk. I think I've got the concept of it though. I've wanted to join a new roleplay for ages, but none have caught my eye until I saw this.
I'm not totally into the fight/battle kinda thing, but my characters always know how to use a gun, and the character I've got in mind mightn't be as into the fighting as everyone else might be. If that's ok.

Awesome, interest =D -rubs hands together-. Question answering time!

Bathos, no problem ^^. Bounty Hunters are generally pretty simple- It refers to anyone who wants to hunt down pirates, dead or alive (there are exceptions). They are ranked from rank 'E' to 'S', based on their skills, and some of them join hunter guilds for resources or contacts, such as the fellow mentioned in the intro, Cyrus. Licensed bounty hunters in monarchy-supported guilds have much more privledges than unlicensed ones, but they're liable to follow military instructions.

Pirates are gangs of/lone criminals, ranging from simple neighborhood thugs to nation-wide terrorists, who usually work with stealing and with theivery in general, although there are exceptions. On occasion, pirates that work towards similiar goals will form a full-fledged crew, or form alliances with other groups- Course, this doesn't always happen, as there tend to be conflicts over who gets to be captain.

The bounties for pirates are created by whatever government is having trouble with them- Either Adalain or Kinzoku, so some pirates have different bounties depending on where they're caught. A pirate's bounty is decided simply by how much trouble they've caused, and their rank ( 'S' to 'E' ) is decided by their potencial to cause more chaos. The size of their gang and their arsenal are key factors in this.

Shahriva's a bit different though. It's not actually a nation, nor is it even a town- It's best called the result of what happens when anarchists attempt to make a civilization. Total chaos, a city formed literally from random parts and scraps. It's location is disclosed only verbally, and so most pirates tend to lose track of it once they return to Eurasia. Not many attempt to find it on their own though, since Africa's wildlife (For the record, this Africa has more than just lions and vultures =D) is more than capable of destroying smaller groups.

...Whoa, that was alot longer than it needed to be... -facepalm-

Aaphelion, I'd be glad to have you xD. Don't worry, steampunk isn't vastly difficult, and I've had problems with it too. It ought to catch on rather quickly though.

Heinrich and TFairy, you don't need to be a fighter ^^. Rosemetal is a full town, complete with schools and houses, so of course there are going to be children here and there, along with people who work in other fields such as building and such.

Great! Thanks for answering. I'm going to start thinking up a character.
This looks like a solid roleplay, with some good roleplayers. Can't wait to get it started.
Just in case anyone is afraid redundency from to much alike characters, I'm planning on making my character a teenager, male, around 15-17, and a noncombatent.

Sounds cool man, get a character sheet up and I'll fill one out.

Dibs on the mad scientist. I might run closer to madcap inventor than true mad scientist, but I'll be walking the line between the two regardless of which side of it I'm actually on. Anyways, bring on with the robots! Dr. Tobias Byron Cavendish commands you to bow before his mechanical regiment!

Some more questions (sorry) before I make up a character....

[quote="Hoo"]Bounty Hunters are generally pretty simple- It refers to anyone who wants to hunt down pirates, dead or alive (there are exceptions). They are ranked from rank 'E' to 'S', based on their skills....
.... A pirate's bounty is decided simply by how much trouble they've caused, and their rank ( 'S' to 'E' ) is decided by their potencial to cause more chaos. The size of their gang and their arsenal are key factors in this.[/quote="Hoo"]

Are pirates ranked backward, from S to E, or is this a typo?

Also, are we allowed to play characters from all regions, or just natives to Rosemetal? Also, what are the typical names for the regions, and their real-life cultural counterparts?

Whist, I'll get up a character sheet by tommorrow night =D. I won't be able to get one right away though, cause I'm a bit busy at the moment- Or rather, because I have to get up pretty early tommorrow.


Robots and mad scientists go together pefectly, Iron Ork =D. Now that I think about it, actually, I don't have a character planned out... >>" -think think-


Ah, my bad. Just a matter of bad wording on my part. Both pirates and bounty hunters are ranked from 'E' to 'S', with 'E' being the lowest and most unskilled. It goes 'E-D-C-B-A-S' for both. Also, if I didn't mention this before: While the bounties of pirates are official and decided by the government or by Hunter guilds, the bounties of hunters are decided by whatever person wants them dead. So, it's common for a travelling hunter to pick up multiple prices on their head.

And yeah, you can pick any region. But! Only within a region located in Europe, Asia, or Africa. The oceans, the Americas, Australia, etc havn't been colonized yet. As for the counter parts...

Alright, first off, the continents keep their names, meaning we have Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Africa is uncolonized, with the only part of it actually seen being the northmost region, simply divided into West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, and The Frontier- Compared to modern maps, however, all four of these regions refer to North Africa, although they are named such in the Rosemetal world due to a massive miscalculation concerning Africa's size. They all refer to the directional compass we're familiar with, with The Frontier refering to the southern region that has yet to be explored.

Europe is currently united under a single monarchy, as the Kingdom Adalain. I've no idea as to how the heck that could ever happen, but since it would be massive overload for me to go into detail, I'm simply going to say it is and expect no questions. Also, in the interest of no questions, I am now moving on- Adalain divides it's regions into Spain, France, Russia, etc, all of which correspond to this map. The capital (?) of Adalain is... Ummm... -Vague point at Britain-... Over there. Rosemetal is... -vague point at France or Austria- ...Over there.

The same goes for Asia, corresponding to this map. Cept I'm not including anything South-east of Malaysia, as there are difficult obstacles preventing further exploration in that direction.

...Umm. What difficulties, you say...?

...Sea monsters! Yes, there are giant metal-eating sea monsters. My logic is amazing, no?

Kyeah, as for Kinzoku's capital, it's in China. Somewhere over there -wavy fingers-. And, if it's worth mentioning, 'Adalain' is actually an anagram of 'Adamant'(Like steel) and 'Land', whereas 'Kinzoku' is a rough translation in either Chinese or Japanese for 'Steel'. 'Shahriva', the pirate region in Africa, is... Well, it was supposed to be something like 'strong as steel', but apparently it really means 'Desirable Power'... And it's actually Iranian, even though the Iranian region is part of Asia. >>

That was the most entertaining read, like, ever.

Anagram? I think you mean portmanteau, thats what its closer to. But cool names. Can't wait to get this up and running.

Oooh, sounds very exciting. Count me in if there's still room and you'll have me.

/signed

When is the OoC going up?

Hoo is going to try to get it done today or tomorrow. The character skeleton, I believe, will be made available sometime tonight.