Steamtown USA (Sign-up)

[Stormcat]

Imagine if you will, A charming small town in the northeastern United States. Full of Victorian houses, cozy shops and basically nothing else for miles around. The only way to get to town is through the train station. This is Steamtown, home of the world's largest steampunk community. We shun modern aesthetics (but not modern technology) and make something of a mecca for artisans, writers, musicians, and fans of the steampunk genre. To join this happy community, please answer a few questions:

-where will you be living? (if playing as a tourist just put down "Room ___ at the Grand Hotel")
-What is your occupation? (No, you can't be mayor. Sir Whiskers from my avatar is the mayor. It was either him or the Chimpanzee)
-Do you have a family? If so, of how many people?

The RP itself will begin August first. We'd love to see you stop by!

EDIT: RP now in progress. Do feel free to drop in!

[MWBailey]

would there be any farm fields around teh town for food production or othe rpurposes?

[Hurricane Annie]

Are you Cleveland  Steamers??

[Stormcat]

Of course we'd have farms. If you'd like to operate one, just mention so when you sign up.


No, we are not associated with the cleveland steamers or any other sports team.

[MWBailey]

Is this RP going to be conducted on the BG site, or elsewhere? Also, what kind of format will we be using?

[Stormcat]

It'll be here on the forums, and the format will be a little like Animal Crossing, except with more weapons, town drunks and better festivals. The first episode will take place in the fall, with preparations halloween and thanksgiving.

[Stormcat]

well, august is here, and no one wants to play.  I guess a mod can go ahead and delete this thread.

[Rose Inverness]

ORRRRR the right people hadn't seen it yet.

I will be living in a charming Italianate abode, the interior of which is wood paneling and marble mantels over fireplaces. There is a pellet stove in the dining room and a potbellied stove in the kitchen. There is a stained glass window in the front tower.
My occupation is currently trapeze artist, though as a polymath it may change from time to time. My daily garb tends to be bedazzled in some way.... whether tiny gear-sequins, or seashells with holes drilled in them.
I have a family consisting of myself and my partner and our four kids and six cats.

[Arabella Periscope]

YES!  How did I miss this little town?

I will be living in the neo-Gothic fragment of cloisters and chapter house made of imported Chilmark stone and modeled on Salisbury Cathedral, in the shade of a huge tree.  I will be painting the walls with murals, in the company of my greyhound and my parrot.  Anyone may come to tea -- the chapter house is thickly carpeted in moss green and the stone benches all around are upholstered in naturally-shed swansdown and purple velvet.  There are many silk cushions and a delicious smell of baking is usually drifting in from somewhere -- the stained glass 'lantern' effect of the windows is pleasant in the afternoon, and on chilly days there is a fire in the fireplace at the central column cluster.

[MsKim]

Ooh, splendid!

I would like a home with a large front porch, I think, with plenty of seats for visitors to make themselves comfy. I'd also like a workshop where I could tinker away...and a comfortable kitchen where I shall bake delicious treats for anyone who stops by. It would be a modest home - large enough for overnight guests, if need be, but cozy for my husband and I. No kids. One faithful dog - a mixed breed with floppy ears and a fluffy tail.

My husband is be a business man...a consultant of sorts. Helping others get their affairs in order and the like.
I fancy myself a tinkerer, and perhaps a very simple repair shop for watches, clocks, and custom requests. During slow times, I cobble together gadgets and sell them at the local town festival (if there is such a thing).

[Prof. Cecily]

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
What a lovely idea.
I'll need to know if Steamtown is on a sea coast or riverside before I decide my abode.

I lecture on art, history and the latest explorations of intrepid travellers. I also restore artwork and furniture. I have a cellar full of elderflower wine and a garden with the latest European rose hybrids.

I remain yours,
Prof. Cecily

[Stormcat]

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
What a lovely idea.
I'll need to know if Steamtown is on a sea coast or riverside before I decide my abode.

I lecture on art, history and the latest explorations of intrepid travellers. I also restore artwork and furniture. I have a cellar full of elderflower wine and a garden with the latest European rose hybrids.

I remain yours,
Prof. Cecily

I say riverside, the river is a bit too narrow to allow for transportation, but it provides power to watermills and the like.

Well, it looks like Steamtown is back up and running!  So I'll submit my entry form here.

I reside in a sturdy brick mansion with weeping beech trees all over my yard. In the back I have an orchard and garden where I grow all kinds of crops. My husband and I operate a tea room and event center, and our tabby cat, Sir Whiskers, acts as mayor from his little perch by the front window.

I'll have the actual roleplay thread up soon.

[Rose Inverness]

What a lovely idea.

{snip}

Well, it looks like Steamtown is back up and running!  So I'll submit my entry form here.

{snip}

I'll have the actual roleplay thread up soon.

Hooray!!! ;-D It's aliiiiiiiive!!!!!

[MWBailey]

Starbridge Farm

I'm a bachelor farmer, I think (Lake Wobegone, here we come), but also a bit of a tinkerer, inventor, and Steam mechanic. I use my inventions around the farm, from a wind, steam, and water-powered irrigation system to a steam-driven strandbeest-like combine/cultivator capable of facilitating planting, maintaining and harvesting various row crops. The farmhouse is a rambling sort of structure, strong as can be and made of several different types of materials crafted into all kinds of add-on structures and outbuildings annexed to the larger 'organism,' so to speak (lots of leantos and add-on house segments), and runs into and melds with the barn and machine shop.

There's also a very small (7 stall) dairy portion of the farm (The local restaurateurs at least need cream and milk, after all).

I have one or two hired hands (Adelbert and Moxon), and a longsuffering housekeeper (Wilhelmina), plus a hound (Bakersville, pun intended) who keeps me company everywhere I go and handles the livestock when it's time to milk the cows or pen up the poultry.

[Prof. Cecily]

I say riverside, the river is a bit too narrow to allow for transportation, but it provides power to watermills and the like.

Ah.
That means Mortimer and Ariadne will have to live on their own off the coast.
I'll miss them, but there you are.

I'll go a house on the river, done (perhaps even overdone) in Art Nouveau, heavy on the maritime influence.
The house will have a roof designed for hailing and boarding passing airships. I'll have to think that through, of course.

How fabulous we have a farmer/inventor in the community- I have some ideas for making armagnac and fresh apples are its prime ingredient.

I remain yours,
Prof. Cecily

[Prof. Isambard Ravenwood]

I would live in house very similar to the firehouse in ghostbusters. it would have 4 storeys, a basement full of gadgets, food and my distillary, a work shop/ auto garage for the ground level, with a big pair of heavy oak, banded wooden doors, so I can fit my(internal combustion) car right into the house. The second floor has the living room, library and bedroom, and on the top level is the kitchen, study and observatory. out back is a small garden, with a small pond and cherry blossom tree.
I am a wealthy bachelor, who made my fortune in invention, now I repair auto carriages and tinker with gadgetry.

[Stormcat]

It's so nice to see all these inventors and tinkerers. But we have one farmer and only one shopkeeper. If we want to keep this town afloat we need more shops! Would anyone be willing to sell their inventions at consignment? Or open a garage that specializes in antique cars and steam engines?

[MWBailey]

Sure, I suppose I could make steamcarriage parts or strandbeest combines (need a better quasi-original name for 'em, maybe 'fieldwalkers'), or other configurations thereof, I guess. The turnaround time would be a bit long, since it's not all of what I'd be doing, plus my RL schedule is getting a little busier what with taking care of folks and all, but it should be workable.

[Prof. Isambard Ravenwood]

I can do the car parts and sell gadgetry at some form of stall/shop, as well as antique books.

[Rose Inverness]

In addition to performing at festivals on trapeze and painting portraits by commission, my household also contributes by selling fruit at a stall and herbs (fresh and dried for tea) and freshly baked treats and breads. We grow the herbs, and some of the fruit. If MWBailey would like to sell some of his fruit via our stand I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement.

My children and husband and I also take turns running a lovely little arts shop, where classes are held. In these classes participants can create items to be sold in the shop or to take home with them. We also sell our own original creations herein, and perhaps consigned inventions and other original items people wish to sell.

I would like to propose that 'swap meets' are held occasionally so that citizens can trade items with one another without exchanging currency.

[Stormcat]

I would like to propose that 'swap meets' are held occasionally so that citizens can trade items with one another without exchanging currency.

I approve this notion! But players must set terms of barter themselves.

[Rose Inverness]

I would like to propose that 'swap meets' are held occasionally so that citizens can trade items with one another without exchanging currency.

I approve this notion! But players must set terms of barter themselves.

I meant in-game, but I suppose IRL could work, too.

Also, shall I add the link to the new thread?: http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,43827.0.html

I hope this isn't stepping on toes.

[Arabella Periscope]

Hmm.  Must think of a way to make myself useful to the community.

Aha!

A carrel of my cloister will be accessible from the lane.  In it will be more of the ubiquitous down-stuffed velvet cushioning, with leather chairs for gentlemen, a stone hearth, and a hammered copper-fronted oak counter behind which will be my enormous Italian brass coffee steamer, with tanks and spigots for other beverages.  And bottles below the counter.

I will provide you all with the best coffee in the world at any hour of the day or night, or tea, chocolate, or whatever, having a psychic gift for knowing what you need (like the best bartenders.)  So there will be none of that litany of shots and non-fat nonsense and the whole difficult recipe to get wrong.  And it will be free. 

[Stormcat]

I will provide you all with the best coffee in the world at any hour of the day or night, or tea, chocolate, or whatever, having a psychic gift for knowing what you need (like the best bartenders.)  So there will be none of that litany of shots and non-fat nonsense and the whole difficult recipe to get wrong.  And it will be free.  

Oh dear. Sounds like competition for my little tea shop!


Anyway, there should definitely be a handful of public buildings that nobody owns, but every town needs. Civic buildings, You could work here, but shops are more interesting, These buildings are:

-Town Hall
-A School
-The Town Library
-the train station (Our only link to the outside world)
-A cemetery
-small town museum and history center
-A park or two
-A fire hall/police station

All players are free to use these buildings in their RP.

[Stormcat]

Well then, What shall we name our winter celebration?