Welcome to Purgatory, Arizona Territory. The year is 1887. Americans are pushing westward to settle the frontier, while Indians push back to keep their homeland. Tension is high across the nation; it was only a decade ago that Custer made his last stand. The West is still wild, with Union soldiers battling Indians and bandits making their own law in defenseless towns. Here in Purgatory, a small copper mining village, they say there's Indian witchcraft in the air as a plague spreads through the townfolk. Someone's got to take charge and bring order to Purgatory, before something really bad happens. It's a time of heroes and villains, cowboys and Indians, guns and sorcerery. Are you up to it, pilgrim?
Purgatory is a Wild West setting with a touch of magic. Feel free to join in the fun, adventure, and magic. Be creative as you want with characters, but please no magic-users yet. Don't forget, there are more than just whites and Indians in the West at this time: there are Mexican vaqueros, French traders in Canada, Chinese immigrants working on railroads, Black Americans escaping prejudice in the East, European immigrants looking for a better life... There are plenty of possibilities, so be creative.
Some background on the setting: Purgatory is a boom town that managed to survive after the end of the 1880s gold rush by switching to copper mining. The mining companies have left their mark, and the Greer & Henderson Mining Co. still operates here, sometimes bullying the independent miners who have staked their claim. The town is diverse, housing settlers from New England, Chinese and European immigrants, Mexican ranchers, and a few Navajo that managed to stay behind after the removal. There's several shops, saloons, and inns here, run by mostly friendly townsfolk. A Jesuit missionary has started a church, but mostly only the Mexicans attend Mass. A number of criminals, from dangerous to mundane, hide from the law here: deserters from the Union army, aging ex-Confederate vets paranoid of Northern aggression, horse thieves, trail bandits, a few known killers. The only law here comes from the sheriff, an office which no one seems to occupy for more than a couple months. Most disagreements are settled peaceably, sometimes with counsel by the Jesuit friar, and most of the others are settled by lead outside of town. The folk of Purgatory are peaceable, but if someone brings trouble, a number of them are armed and ready to deal with it. Immigrants and prospectors still come into town regularly, keeping a mix of familiar and fresh faces in Purgatory.
Please post here before posting in the actual role-play. I hate to be a stickler, but I would appreciate seeing characters and making sure they fit in with the setting before they show up on the role-play thread.
