Clipping from the New Mexico Gazette

Aug 10, 1885
Sigil, New Mexico
Population 164

The peaceful farming community of Sigil is positioned on one of the lesser know trails to California and is seldom visited. It is a small town, without much to call attention to it. The town’s one and only claim to fame was the siege by the Clemens gang seven years ago.

The Clemens gang, lead by Greg Clemens, fled authorities after committing a series of daring bank and train robberies in Arizona. Finding themselves near the small town, the gang decided to hold up in the town while waiting for the heat to die down. For six days, the gang held the town in a ruthless grip of terror, taking what they wanted and killing any resistance. However, the siege ended when the residents lead by the town’s preacher, Timothy Redmond, rose up as one and challenged the gang in a bloody shootout. The incident resulted in the deaths of the entire Clemens gang and twenty of the town’s residents.

It seems again, that the town is gripped by the terror of the Clemens gang. Apparently not all members of the Clemens gang were killed and the survivors have been recruiting local thugs to replenish the gang’s ranks. For the last two days the gang has been riding into town under the cover of dark and attacking the town. The attacks seemed to be aimed at killing residents and causing general destruction. The gang’s new intention seems to be revenge for their humiliation seven years ago.

Some town residents claim it is not a new gang, but the ghosts of the original Clemens gang whose night rides are terrorizing the town. But these claims are being dismissed as the delusions of people under mental stress.

The governor has requested that law enforcement from nearby towns send help to relieve the embattled town. There has also been a call from the governor to mobilize the 5th Calvary division, currently on patrol in Arizona, to help deal with the bandits. However, the Governor believes local law enforcement will handle the situation before the army arrives.

Reality

Sigil is a small town at the base of a mountain in northern New Mexico. The town itself is small, consisting of only a single main street. There are general stores, a blacksmith, a small building belonging to the town doctor, and a hotel/saloon which caters to the few travelers that pass through the town heading west. Also on the main street are the Shieriff’s office and the small white chapel where Timothy Redmond still preaches. Most of the town’s residents live in the areas surrounding the town and decent sized farms and ranches.

The residents of Sigil are not crazy, the dead corpses of the Clemens gang are indeed haunting the town. Each night twenty-three festering corpses ride into town on horses of pure darkness with flaming manes. Each man carries ghostly versions of the weapons they carried in life, which never seem to run out of ammunition. These gaunt corpses, ride through the town each night, killing anyone they catch out in the open, dragging the bodies away with them when they ride off into the darkness. The town’s people, realizing this have taken to hiding in their houses at sunset. Yet this tactic does not seem to be working, the undead riders have taken to breaking into the houses on the outlying edges of the town and slaughtering the occupants.

Where do you fit into all of this? Ultimately that is up to you, but there are three main possibilities: you are a resident of Sigil, a traveler passing through that got caught up in the attacks for some reason, or one someone from one of the nearby towns coming to either to help or find out what is going on.

Your Character

I am going to use a stat system on this RPG. This is an idea I toyed with when I was creating my first RPG here (many, many moons ago), but I left it out in favor of the traditional way we do things around here.

This is not meant to be like stats in a traditional RPG, there will be no dice rolls. The main purpose for this is to be a quick reference guide to help resolve play. Tim with a strength of 3 arm wrestles Bob with a strength of 5, guess who wins? This is not to say Tim can not win, but Tim will have to find some way to win that does not rely solely on brute strength alone. (Maybe Tim is a little on the chunky side and leans all of his weight into the match).

The secondary reason for the stats is to enforce the normal human condition; no one is great at everything. People have their strengths and weaknesses.

I have decided to borrow the stats from the White Wolf series of RPG, because I think they cover the range nicely and lend themselves nicely to the main reason I wanted stats in the first place. We will however, not be grouping the stats (for those who know White Wolf). These are discussed below in the profile section.

Now, what I am expecting in terms of characters? I am expecting normal everyday humans that fit well into the Wild West setting of this RPG. No demons, wizards, cyborgs, vampires, ect. The only weird things I expect in this RPG are the bad guys.

That being said, you can have a human form any country or walk of life. Though if you are from another country I expect you to explain what you are doing in a small farming community in New Mexico. I do expect skills to match up, if you are a cow puncher from Montana and you bust out ninja style martial arts you better have a darn good excuse (and no, “I learned it from a China man.”, is not valid).

I would also like to keep this accurate within reason; it is not that hard to find info on this period of time on the Net. I am not expecting a book report and historically accurate facts, but simple stuff such as dress and weapons should be appropriate for the time period.

Profile

All players are expected to fill out the following profile, submit it to this thread and get approved before they post.

Name: (whatever)
Age: (between 15 and 50)
Sex: (Male or Female)
Nationality: (where you or your parents came from)
Physical Description: (basic description of what you look like and how you generally dress)
Personality: (just a few words about your general demeanor)
Occupation: (What you do or did. This is a general statement of your skills. A doctor should not be able to repair a gun for example)
Weapons: (Just a list of what you commonly carry. No arsenals please, a few pistols and maybe a rifle or two at the most.)
Equipment: (just other stuff you generally carry on your person)

Stats:
You have 31 points to spend however you want of the following stats, and I will be checking to make sure they add up.

Strength: (brute force. lifting, punching, throwing, ect.)

Dexterity: (Speed, agility. How fast you can punch, dodge, palm cards, ect.)

Stamina: (How long you can keep going. Running, fighting, climbing, ect.)

Charisma: (How your personality effects others. High charisma means people tend to listen to what you have to say and will give you the benefit of the doubt)

Manipulation: (how good you are at making people see your way. Fast talking, lying, silver tongue)

Appearance: (Simply how good you look)

Perception: (Noticing things. Did you see the key lying under the desk?)

Intelligence: (Fact memorization and logical thinking)

Wits: (Thinking on your feet, putting two and two together. For example cutting the rope that is holding the piano above your opponent)

Biography: (A small description of your past and how you got to be in Sigil. This must be at least two paragraphs).

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