Rona - Space Western (LOL what even is a space western anyway)

[malina]

So after realizing that like I can't actually draw... I just went on Google Earth and totally jacked a random town. Legit I'll die if you're from here/recognize this place:

BUT IT'S OUR TOWN NOW BOYyyyss.

Little notes on current locations (that I will expand on later):

- Post: Post-office. Currently useless. Inquisitor trying to fix it up so she can send messages back to home-base more efficiently.
- Saint Julin's Institution. Previously used as a mixture of school and medical services for the miners. Now empty. Inquisitor uses this as her main base of operations. Serves as the new town hall of sorts.
- Inquisitor's Office. More of a formality. Here is where lawful citizens can input inquiries, report crimes, etc.
- General store. Holds clothes, food, equipment. Only problems are that supplies are A) unavailable or B) past the expiry date.
- Harbour Inn. One of the few services remaining in Ruckersford. Rooms are quaint but they'll suffice.
- Tual's Folly. Used to serve the miners but now remains a dusty, dead saloon.
- Mining Outpost. One of the last buildings before the closed mines, here is where the miners used to both rest, take inquiries, etc. Executives often stayed in. Now boarded up.
- House of Prayer. Due to the many species lumped up together on Ruckersford, this house serves the many religious beliefs in town.
- Mayor's House. A pristine, white building where the town's ruler lives.
- T.J's Chopshop. Previously owned by mechanic "T.J", it now serves as a junkyard. It's been raided by the Inquisitor for being the (not-so-secret) hide-out for both squatters and hoverbike gangs.
- Town Hall. Important decisions are held here. Doubles as a museum.
- Ruckersford Jail. Recently restaffed by the Inquisitor. Holds, executes, and disposes of criminals.
- Lenlocha - the nearby lake.
- The slums: the areas outside of the Inquisitor's grasp. She's slowly expanding her territory day by day.


*Feel free to input any ideas + add more locations.

Q: Will I be able to enter the slums?
A: Yep! I just won't make a map for it, same as the mines. It's basically just a bunch of abandoned neighbourhoods.

Q: Are there still criminals in the Ruckersford that we can see?
A: Yeeup. Just because the Inquisitor's good at her job doesn't mean she's infallible. It's only been like two weeks anyway.

Q: You hyped up the town and it's pretty bare-bones. WTH?
A: AAAH THIS IS JUST A ROUGH COPY AHHH.
I promise I'll elaborate more ;~;

Q: I LIVE IN THIS TOWN IRL?
A: :o

 

[Beowulf]

Interested. And I'm thinking of making a traditional, animal riding, axe wielding alien creature. Basically the Native American of this (space) western.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Dropping by to express tentative interest, 'cause space westerns (whatever they are) are pretty rad.

 

[Rox_Monstgrr]

I know you wanted a small group and already have a lot of interest but if there is any room left I would totally be interested in this.

 

[Kagayours]

So, I'm assuming this RP will be set during the Day/Summer time of the year, correct? It's what would best match the Western aesthetic, after all. :P And, assuming that's the case: do most homes/buildings in Ruckersford have air conditioning? Part of me is thinking "of course they'd have AC. This is the future. I'm sure that kind of tech has been standard for a long time." But then, another part of me is thinking "sophisticated cooling systems do not match the Western aesthetic", so yeah. XD

The reason I bring this up is because I'm planning on my character being a reptile, and reptiles are cold-blooded, so I need to think about how he would keep warm/cool. During the Day season, I'm sure that finding heat wouldn't be an issue. It would be easy for him to just stand out in the sun for a little while. And if AC exists, then he could easily cool off by just... going back inside for a bit. XD But if AC isn't a standard thing, then he'd probably make sure he has plenty of fans around, and he might take a cold bath from time to time on particularly hot days.

And as for the Night season... this is where I'm really torn, because I'm not sure whether I want my character to live on Rona, or to just be visiting. I feel like it makes more sense for him to have been living there, but then there's the obvious question of how he's been surviving the half-a-year-long nights. I've been considering the possibility of him hibernating during the night, which is an... amusing thought, to say the least. (Imagine him waking up and trying to catch up with everything that's happened in the months that he was asleep. Imagine his reaction to all the new attention that Ruckersford has been getting. Imagine his mailbox overflowing. XD ) But then, his species probably wouldn't be indigenous to Rona. And maybe his species evolved to live in an environment where seasons aren't an issue, and, therefore, his body wouldn't be built for hibernation. But if he doesn't hibernate, then I have to think about what he would do to stay warm -- as staying warm during the night would probably be a lot more difficult than cooling off during the day (and, failure to stay warm could be a lot more deadly...). He just might have to spend most of the night cooped up in a well-heated house, not being able to tolerate the outdoor temperatures for very long. o_o

Granted, all these issues with staying warm can be avoided if we assume that he's only visiting Rona, and that he came from a planet that's warm year-round, but... then I'd have to think about why he came to Rona, and what his history was before Rona. And all of that's a lot harder to piece together. XD

 

[Beowulf]

Just have a bunch of hand warmers. You know, those packets that you have in your pocket so that when your hands get cold you can stick them in your pocket and warm them up. Or one really big one that he wraps around himself like a cloak, or a poncho.

 

[Kagayours]

Just have a bunch of hand warmers. You know, those packets that you have in your pocket so that when your hands get cold you can stick them in your pocket and warm them up. Or one really big one that he wraps around himself like a cloak, or a poncho.

XD The thought of having my big tough biker-lizard cocooning himself in an electric blanket is certainly an amusing one...

 

[malina]

if there's one thing you gotta know about me it's that I never really know deep shit and base it all around imagery (if it looks good, eat it). lmao.

I think we can balance this out though. Having AC makes perfect sense.
However, Ruckersford is like a ghost town. That's like been recently, very recently, revived. Slightly.
So maybe your house does have an AC unit (FROM THE FUTUREE). Maybe if you're lucky it's working - otherwise I imagine that during the exodus, things like ACs and TVs and whatnot would have been: A) left behind and left to rot B) looted.

Maybe your lizard character has some (excuse my lack of knowledge on anything science) biological ways of getting rid of excess heat? I think lizards IRL open their mouths or something when they're hot lol. Or maybe he changes colour so that he absorbs less sunlight. Stuff like that.

I'll have some NPC characters up soon. It might give you some inspiration (OR IT MIGHT NOT AAH DON'T BE OVERLY HYPED).

EDIT: oh yeah, this will be during the hot season.

 

[Kagayours]

Maybe your lizard character has some (excuse my lack of knowledge on anything science) biological ways of getting rid of excess heat? I think lizards IRL open their mouths or something when they're hot lol. Or maybe he changes colour so that he absorbs less sunlight. Stuff like that.

I mean, I'm not worried about him being able to cool off. I was just thinking of how he would do it. If there's no AC, then I'd need to think of what his most common cooling strategies are. I already have a number of things in mind. I just wanted to know whether or not those things would be necessary.

The color-changing idea is interesting, but I'm still really attached to the idea of his color-changing being based on his emotions, and I'm not sure I want to give that up. XD

 

[Beowulf]

A frill. A frill can be surprisingly expressive. And it can be used to cool off, like how elephants and fennec foxes use their massive ears to help stay cool.

 

[Kagayours]

A frill. A frill can be surprisingly expressive. And it can be used to cool off, like how elephants and fennec foxes use their massive ears to help stay cool.

Oooh, good idea! I was debating giving him a frill just for funsies. I didn't even think of making it useful for something like that.

 

[Beowulf]

Glad I could be of use.

 

[Boo Girlie BoomBoom]

I mean, I'm not worried about him being able to cool off. I was just thinking of how he would do it. If there's no AC, then I'd need to think of what his most common cooling strategies are. I already have a number of things in mind. I just wanted to know whether or not those things would be necessary.

The color-changing idea is interesting, but I'm still really attached to the idea of his color-changing being based on his emotions, and I'm not sure I want to give that up. XD

Ooooohhh... know what?

Some dinosaurs had spines coming out of their backs to help them cool off. So like maybe your lizard person has like a crest that flows off its head then like goes allllll the way down to end of its tail kinda dealyo? Oh and know what else? Some dinos had feathers man! Like ikr?! Sooooo like maybe its a seasonal thing where like feathers sprout near cold cold cold season and then fall out when the season is right? Kinda like a wolf or bunny that turns all white and really fuzzy then sheds its coat when the seasons change? But then like it would have to be native to the area for the changes kinda like the wolf or bunny is to the Arctic?

Yeah... soooooo like just some ideas k? ^^

~Edz~ wait. Maybe the Boo Girlie is wrong. I thnik its opposite. The spines helped them heat up instead? Ughs hold up. Google is my friend... ~edz again~ yeeeeahhh... arguments are against spines used as heat regulators by some super brain powered scientists, but like maybe your charrie evolved with a crest heat regulator system like that :333~

 

[Kagayours]

Some dinosaurs had spines coming out of their backs to help them cool off. So like maybe your lizard person has like a crest that flows off its head then like goes allllll the way down to end of its tail kinda dealyo?

But if he has a crest going down his back then he can't wear a badass-looking biker jacket..

Some dinos had feathers man! Like ikr?! Sooooo like maybe its a seasonal thing where like feathers sprout near cold cold cold season and then fall out when the season is right? Kinda like a wolf or bunny that turns all white and really fuzzy then sheds its coat when the seasons change? But then like it would have to be native to the area for the changes kinda like the wolf or bunny is to the Arctic?

But fur and feathers only really make sense for warm-blooded animals, I believe. The point of insulation like that (both natural kinds like fur, as well as man-made things like blankets and coats) is to trap heat inside. It helps trap the heat that's generated by your body, and prevents it from flowing out. But that strategy doesn't work as well when your body isn't generating any heat to begin with. o_o Which is probably why there aren't very many furry reptiles in nature.

And as for dinos having feathers: I'm pretty sure some scientists think that even dinos might've been warm-blooded, despite being reptiles. o_o" (I mean, they evolved into birds eventually, and birds are warm-blooded, so, I suppose that switch must've happened somewhere along the line...)

 

[Beowulf]

Dinosaurs weren't cold blooded and they aren't reptiles. They are, or is it were, in a genus all their own. Genus the right word? I think so.

 

[malina]

He rides with a bunch of consorts who constantly fan him down. :P

 

[Kagayours]

Dinosaurs weren't cold blooded and they aren't reptiles. They are, or is it were, in a genus all their own. Genus the right word? I think so.

Nah, genus is like... the classification right above species, being even more narrow than "family".

The level you're thinking of is, like, right below "kingdom", I think... is it... "phylum"...? Meh I dunno. But it's definitely not genus. o_o"

Still, interesting info!

 

[malina]

Here's a small sample of one of the NPC's I'm going to play. Some of her information's not clear/mentioned and a lot of it's based on local perception.
On guns:
I thought having a grade system based on colours were pretty neat. Kinda like how heat in stars are related to their colours as well.
I was thinking: White > Blue > ??? > Orange > Red.
I'd love to add stuff in like Green and Purple and all that so if you have any idea where they should stand, chip in. :P


Name: Charlene DiMaggio (better known as the Inquisitor)

Age: Unknown

Gender: Female

Appearance: Despite arriving from the city of Las Glanges, her attire is that of the Inquisitors of old. No sleek and chrome coloured body armour for her - the Inquisitor seems to have fully embraced the rather old-fashioned culture of Ruckersford. Standing at around 5'7" (boots and all), her height belies the cold authority she wields over the town. The Inquisitor's gaze is enough to make the most hardened criminal think twice before reaching for their weapons and she's said to hold a soldier's gait.

However, no matter how much she attempts to blend in with the local, one can tell instantly that the Inquisitor is of a different make. Her manner of speech, for one, carries none of the hoarseness that many of the townspeople carry. Her darker coloured skin isn't that of one tarred by the sun - it's well maintained and unmarked with the dark freckles sunlight often causes. Her clothes are crisp and new, despite their "local" design. All in all, the Inquisitor is reminiscent of the rich from when the mines were still flowing.

Equipment: A pair of standard handguns issued for the office of the Inquisitor. The grade of these guns can be noted in the colour of the laser bolts they fire - a bright neon blue (second on the market, losing only to white).

The Inquisitor's ride is a standard milita grade hoverspeeder. It's capable of reaching immense speeds, allowing the Inquisitor to be at the scene of the crime in a moment's notice. To help with its crime fighting abilities, the hoverspeeder's capable of firing varying levels of laser bolts; however, the barrel only faces the front.

She carries around a com-link to better communicate with her officers. It's attached to her wrist and like most technology from the city, comes with fancy attachments such as a hologram map of Ruckersford.

She also has a handful of hand-cuffs. They aren't made from the usual metal but rather a loop of energy. This allows them to be carried in a small pocket and out of sight, as the energy binds won't come out until activated. While not hot enough to burn, the binds are quite uncomfortable.

Personality: Punctual to a point, sharp, and rarely seen fraternizing - the Inquisitor's certainly a woman of profession. When she's not patrolling the town, she's locked up in her office. Despite the hangups some locals may have, the Inquisitor's certainly not unapproachable; the trick's just finding out when she's not busy. The Inquisitor seems to carry with her a strict moral code - crime never pays.

Those who serve her describe her as a harsh but well-meaning boss. Those against her describe her as a cold-hearted bitch. The Inquisitor seems to place no stock in whatever the citizens think of her. Her orders from the city are to clean up Ruckersford, nothing more and nothing less.

The Inquisitor's not rude; perhaps a bit curt for the more lax atmosphere of Ruckersford. She's just as likely to help a child with a lost doll as she is to blast a hole through a junkie's head. She doesn't seem to attempt to cull her somewhat feared image - if anything, she encourages it with her public executions. Some consider it a wise choice, what with only having four additional officers to maintain the town. Others think it unnecessarily crude of her to demand attendance to these events.

History: Not much is known of the Inquisitor. The few tidbits of information she's shared about herself to the town consists of the following: her name, the jurisdiction she's come from, and the contents of an official declaration giving her temporary authority over Ruckersford. Rumour has it that she's been recently demoted from the Las Glanges Peacekeeping Unit.

Two weeks ago, she arrived from Interstate 60 to Ruckersford. The Inquisitor made her presence known quickly - she, along with her three officers, publicly disposed of the previous Inquisitor at the Town Hall. He was accused and quickly charged of disregarding his office, abusing his powers, taking bribes, and otherwise general association with the crime that had entered Ruckersford. Only one officer was taken in along her unit; the rest were executed with their commander.

They (the officer carried over) proved invaluable to her task of cleaning up Ruckersford. Although the Inquisitor had been briefed on the basics of the town, along with being provided with an outdated map, having an experienced local's insights was priceless. Over the course of two weeks, the Inquisitor managed to create a perimeter just beyond the jail. She put up a curfew over the town and a warning that those caught entering the slums were to be killed on sight.

Other: Due to the Post being out of order and with the managing droid having gone postal, the Inquisitor's set up a virtual contact board. It's here where both weather notifications and WANTED posters pop up, along with a flashing warning of the new rules in town. No bounty hunters are allowed but anonymous tips are always welcomed - information that leads to a direct arrest is noted to be met with monetary compensation.

Some say the Inquisitor setting up a perimeter and a contact board is a sign that she's slowing down; hampered by her lack of officers. Others doubt it, pointing to her constant excursions to the slums.

Curfew's been set for a few hours (from 19:00 - 5:00).

Many of her informal meetings are set in St. Julin's Institution. The Town Hall's largely been abandoned, used only for the most important messages - those that can't be said with a simple banner across the notice board.

 

[Eon]

Huh. Space western.

I know that this was supposed to be a small group, but I've got some really cool robot character art that I've been sitting on for a while, and the idea of being last-year's robot bodyguard who got left behind when his rich owners moved is pretty tempting...Maybe put together some sort of waiting list? Or just let me in? You know, either is good, but one is definitely better.

 

[Spectre]

Weapons grade seems like a decent idea. Sort of like calibers in ballistic weapons, I'm imagining? Though still, despite the coloring of the projectiles, I'm assuming they're all lethal? Some are better for piercing armor (like 7.62/ blue bolts), and others are just good for home defense and carry- (9mm/380 / red bolts?)

Just trying to make it work in my head so it's not just a rock paper scissors issue when trying to decide what armament a character has, and what would actually 'make sense' for the character to have.