The early 1900s. Immigrants from all over the world were moving to the United States of America in hopes of a better life. Colored men and women swung in time to the ragtime tunes plinked out in Harlem and other centers of music. Times were a-changing, and a-changing quickly. In Europe, the dark shadow of Balkan nationalism loomed over the continent. The world was teetering at the brink of war, daring any fool thing in the Balkans to light the spark that would detonate the powder keg of Europe.
But they did not know that yet.
The year is 1913. Harry Houdini is still performing his escape acts. The archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is still alive. The Bolsheviks are far, far away from their takeover.
Now, our story begins when Houdini accidentally unleashes a force that could destroy the world.
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The death of his mother triggered a series of events that eventually led to Houdini's turn to the supernatural. He visited mediums. He filtered out the false psychics who claimed to be able to see the future, the dead, and other stereotypical crystal-ball-hoodoo-voodoo magic. But Houdini's searches became dark and twisted. Houdini had no idea where he was going. It was as if he were feeling around under the ground, with no idea what he was searching for. He saw people who claimed the most unholy ideas, those even flipping the boundaries of every religion that existed on the Earth at that time.
But what the great escapist did not know was that as he delved further and further into his investigations, the more and more correct the people he questioned became...
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Welcome to "The American Front," a World War I-era fantasy RP! Teetering at the edge of the Great War, our heroes (that's you people) will face dark dangers that would make mustard gas hide under the pillow in fear. Sure there were four main causes of the Great War--militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism--but what the books don't tell you is that America is the source of the world's crisis... but we'll delve into that later.
You'll face demons of all sorts. Creatures from the very depths of Tartarus itself! The terrifying ghosts and goblins that would make Chuck Norris shake in his Texas Ranger boots. The battle for the world takes place in Europe, but the battle for humanity takes place on...
THE AMERICAN FRONT.
Rules:
-Please follow the rules. They are there so that we can have fun without getting at each others' throats.
-RP formalities (no godmodding, metagaming, Mary-Sue characters, etc.)
-I will let you know when you can insta-kill something. Until then, don't insta-kill anything. In fact, I will have a designated list of insta-kill creatures.
-If you read the rules, type "Joplin" in the "Other" section of your character sheet.
-Please stay relevant to the time period. We don't want any anachronisms like Henry Ford dancing Gangnam Style.
-If you want to use real historical figures, just ask. (Please make sure they were alive in 1913.)
-Characters can die of old age. A 99-year-old geezer's probably not going to live through World War I.
-Have fun.
NAME:
AGE:
APPEARANCE: (Please make at least a paragraph long.)
ETHNICITY: (This affects character interactions. Back then, some people were very nice and others were really racist.)
BIOGRAPHY: (Please make at least a paragraph long. That does NOT mean just three sentences like you learned in second grade. Be descriptive so that we know how to interact with your character!)
PERSONALITY: (This one can be shorter, just give us enough to know what your character's like.
OTHER:
Keep this in mind: we do have a common goal, but this is really more of a directed sandbox. Heck, defect to the villains, for all I care. Make things interesting.