Realistic or Modern 1863 - American Midwest and Something About a Railway [CS]

[DrBezendrine]

As promised, the CS thread. Feel free to make any sort of character you want as long as they can fit the times of the 1860s. However, I will be playing the Conductor so I guess not that role haha. Anyways, yeah. Here we go!

Name:
Age:
Appearance: (Include a realistic or drawn photo. No anime this time around)
Personality: (Likes, Dislikes, pretty straight forward. General feel of your character)
Short Bio: (Include how they view the war as well)
Skills and Talents: (Just odds and ends that your character may be good at)
Role on Board: (Engineers, Passengers, Stowaway(s), Trainmen, Cartographer(s), Service Attendants, Security (Also the Fireman), Child Coal Shovelers)
Reason Aboard the Engine: (To escape the war? Or just a crew member? Maybe there's even more to it.)

 

[GumGumChomp]

Name: Carter Davenport
Age: 16
Appearance:

Personality: Your typical white rich kid. Snobby, thinks money can solve anything (which it can if you have enough of it), dangerously intelligent and charismatic, can't take a hit. He won't show any of his hatred for commoners unless provoked, wanting to keep his good reputation.
Likes: Money, submissive women, leading
Dislikes: Physical labor, the masses, black people
Short Bio: Carter was raised in a rich household, being told all his life how he's better than the commoners and especially the slaves they had on the plantation. He led a standard rich life, never having to do anything himself, just telling his slaves to do it for him, aside from schoolwork, which he dedicated himself to. After all, what use would he be as a leader and business owner if he wasn't as intelligent as he could be? He also spent his time in fancy social gatherings. Balls, parties, masquerades, you name it, he was there, brushing up on his charisma and courting skills. He, of course, supported the Confederacy in the war. He had his doubts about why his father would make him work for a union hired company, but he assumed that his father knew what he was doing. What were the chances that the union would win anyways?
Skills and Talents: Anything to do with charisma(speechcraft,bartering,pacifying,courting,etc), he's a great leader, and he's well-taught for someone of that era.
Role on Board: He's a train attendant, using his charismatic nature to keep the passengers happy.
Reason Aboard the Engine: For Carter's sixteenth birthday, his father gave him $20 (roughly $400 dollars in today's money) and a filled out job application. The very next day he traveled to where he was to start work, said his goodbyes to his father, begged him to let him stay, failed, and climbed aboard.

 

[DrBezendrine]

Name: Eli Pharris
Age: Early 30's
Appearance: Standing right at 5'10" and weighing around 160 lbs, the Scott has a very athletic build. His red hair is swept over and his beard is trimmed down to his liking. The face of this man seems friendly, as well as hard working and his blue eyes have some warmth to them. Normally, he would be wearing the same as the Engineers, however sometimes he is seen with his Conductor uniform when not needed with repairs
Personality: Eli is a very good talker and negotiator. As Conductor, he also normally acts around his engine with pride, helping with this and that. All around, he's a good guy. However, there are things he will not tolerate (such as racism) and that will lead to a hearty back hand aboard his engine. With how the Midwest is, he sets his rules firmly before conforming to the pretentious North and stubborn South.
-Likes: People, Working, Compromises, Lincoln
-Dislikes: Politics, The War, Slavery
Short Bio: Eli was signed onto this job at first as the Engineer, however, after many legal complications with the previous Conductor his position shifted swiftly to Conductor. Knowing more how the engine ran than actually piloting the beast, Eli was skeptical at first, but a few trips between the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad made him a bit more confident in what he was doing. For never truly learning how to read or write, Eli started to get better and faster at both Engineering and Conducting. However, for this specific journey, he was stuck as Conductor. But hey, with the war raging and more locomotives being pulled into the south, he was glad to just be on the train.
Skills and Talents: Negotiations, Mechanical Skills, skipping rocks, keeping his head.
Role on Board: Conductor
Reason Aboard the Engine: There's definitely more to this, however for now let's just say he wanted to escape the war.

 

[amended]

Roy H. "Night Shot" Jones
38


Standing at 6' on the dot, Roy is a stocky, slim man who moves and presents a very orderly manner upon initial glance. Never seen with facial hair, he perceives it as the onset signs of completely giving up one's self image.


Personality:
There's a short phrase to describe Roy: He'd swallow cow shit and dirt just to bite a nail. He's a stubborn, seasoned adult who knows what's right and exactly where his heart is set. Likewise he has a strict worth ethic set around the principle that: No job is done until the money is in your hand. Roy doesn't like to be empathetic as emotions tend to complicate matters, instead he reserves his personal issues and feelings to his family, well, that's what he used to.

Likes:
Nature
The Rush Of A Gunfight
Getting Paid
Completing A Job
Firearms
Self-Fulfilment

Dislikes:
Discussing Personal Matters
Tyranny
Extensive Restrictions
Evil People
Low Lifes
Arrogance
Inadequance
Laziness

Short Bio:
Born in Kentucky, Roy was gifted unto a happy couple who lived relatively isolated in the woods. However, just a couple of months after birth, his mother died a disease due to her recovering state, leaving Roy's father heartbroken. However, instead of abandoning the boy, Roy's father instead opts to raise him and train him in the trade of survivalism. Five years passed before Roy even lay sight on a gun. His father had finally decided to teach him how to shoot and defend himself in addition to basic survival skills. (None of which really stuck until he was six) Roy grew into his early teens learning how to live off the land from his father, and thus things were good for a long while.

When Roy turned 16, he and his father were attacked on their own property by thieves, resulting in 3 dead robbers and Roy's father receiving a critical injury to his chest during the gunfight. With death lingering in the few coming hours, Roy's father urged him to take some money he had in some nearby foothills, take his guns, and go find a place of his own. Taking his father's asvice, Roy buried him the following day, retrieved the money, packed up, and headed for the nearest city.

Finding work was difficult and strenuous for the young boy. Not so much that nobody wanted a healthy kid working for them, but more-so that there was nowhere to work. Roy searched for several days before he finally landed a job watching privately owned cattle and making sure that nobody poached them. The job was easy-going and Roy formed a friendship with the owner of the small ranch. One night, as Roy was making rounds, he spotted figures moving about in the dark. The boy drew his father's Harper Ferry Model 1803 rifle and fired into the tight group of men, one of them shouted and collapsed suddenly, which caused the others to scatter and begin firing back at Roy. Quickly, Roy drew a Harper Ferry 1805 Pistol, also of his father's, and fired somewhat blindly into the scattering group before he retreated back maybe fifty feet to reload. For the rest of the night, Roy marched around the property on foot instead of taking the loaned horse as to not make as much racket and alert any possible stragglers.

Roy was regarded highly by the townspeople, having killed two cattle poachers and protecting the rest of the herd without a scratch on him. The boy was paid heartily, allowing him to grab some newer clothes and a new rifle. Later, he took a trip back to his old property and buried his father's arms in an area shrouded at the bottom of the same foothills he hid the money so long ago.

The next several years of Roys life were relatively uneventful; he was recommended as a security asset by the friendly rancher who hired him initially and Roy ended up travelling around from place to place, state to state, going fron job to next job. The recommendation and publizication from the rancher opened up many job opportunities and a large cash flow.

Throughout his experiences, gunfight after gunfight, Roy developed his strict work ethic and eventually learned to forego the want to share and express his personal opinions and emotions and became even more effective than he already was. Before Roy knew it, he was standing in Charleston about to accompany a CSA official to Fort Sumter to try and further press the Unions soldiers to leave the fort on Southern soil. Howvere before they were even down the dock, shots rang out from Southern cannons. Roy's sercuirty contract with the CSA was voided by the goveenment and Roy ended up heading Northwards.

One thing led to another and Roy eventually found himself being contacted by a railroad company to come and provide security service for a train heading Southwards, so Roy gladly accepted and headed for his next job.

Roy believes that the war is unjust. The pressing economical tensions instilled by the Union made Southern work scarce and never for a lot. Roy also doesn't care about slavery. Living in the woodlands for nearly half of his life and then switching to a quick-paced, travelling lifestyle has left Roy with barely any want to think or discuss pressing political issues. With such little knowledge of current, major events all Roy knows is what he was briefed on during the Charleston security detail and his personal experience while working in the South.

Skills and Talents:
Can Read
Marksmanship
Survivalist
Cool Headed
Fast On His Feet
Experienced Gunfighter

Role on Board:
Train Security Asset

Reason Aboard the Engine:
Roy is being payed to shoot at people who shoot at the train. Pretty simple.
​

 

[ithinkcat]

Name: Anna Karldatter
Age: 15
Appearance:

Spoiler: Anna

Personality: Anna has grown cynical and cautious since the death of her parents, but the happy, kindhearted, tomboy she was once known as never went away. It just got covered up a bit. She may have a hard exterior now, but it's not hard for her to show that innocent side of her's after she gets to know someone.
Likes: Anna likes dogs, swimming, baking, snow storms, the smell of burnt gunpowder, and sewing.
Dislikes: Anna doesn't like cats, bitey bugs, hot weather, bumpy carriage rides, President Lincoln, and she has a deep fear and hatred of Indians.
Short Bio: Anna was born to a quiet, relatively isolated life on the Minnesota river with her father and mother. Due to some complications from Anna's birth, her mother became incapable of bearing any further children. This meant that Anna ended up not just growing up helping her mother around the house, but she had to help her father with work also if they were going to make ends meet each month. Needless to say, her childhood was a bit uncommon for girls her age. While she still learned how to sew, clean, and cook (though she never really learned to read or write), she also learned to chop firewood, build game traps, hunt, swim, and rise saddle. To her, there was nothing odd about her being able to load a musket twice in a minute. Despite having no friends her own age, life was good.

Then in August of 1862, disaster struck the settlers of Minnesota. Sioux Indians attacked without warning and brutally massacred innocent families all along the Minnesota river. Anna was forced to watch her parents be murdered and mutilated while trying to defend their child before she was taken captive. A week later the Army defeated the Dakota and Anna was released with the rest of the captives. Vengeance burned inside Anna when she found out the Indian that had killed her parents had their sentences commuted by President Lincoln, and instead were sent to prison, but there was nothing she could do. She inherited her father's property, but because of her age the bank bought the land from her, for a highly discounted price thanks to the person representing Anna, and she was given temporary board and a telegraph was sent to her next of kin, an uncle in California, requesting his guardianship of Anna. Her uncle agreed, but Anna was responsible for travel expenses.

Anna spent nearly all of the money she had received for her land on train tickets further south to a rail way heading west, but before she could make it all the way her funds ran dry. She tried finding some temporary labor work to earn the rest of the money but being an unaccompanied young girl she had problems getting hired. So Anna cut her hair and dressed in pants passing herself off as a boy and had better luck. Not great luck, but some, and she began her journey westward. Through some miscalculations, though, Anna ended up in a town that wasn't much more than a tiny fuel depot and no money for a ticket for the next leg of the trip. Tired of working for months at a time to make a single hop, Anna decided to stowaway aboard an engine claiming to be going all the way west. Little did she know it wasn't going to be a quick trip, but that the company that owned the engine was going to lay its own track the rest of the way there.

Skills and Talents: Equestrianism, sewing, baking, swimming, and some basic hunting skills.
Role on Board: Stowaway
Reason Aboard the Engine: Traveling to California to find her 'rich' uncle.