[size=6]Forgiveness for the Devil
Tribute to Cowboy Bebop RPG

In the year 2021, a series of ring-shaped hyperspace gateways were constructed across the solar system, allowing for easy interplanetary travel. Unfortunately, the gate network contained a fatal instability that was ignored by the contractors who built the system. The instability grew until a gateway near Earth exploded, releasing a powerful burst of energy that cracked the Moon. In a disaster referred to as "The Gate Incident", meteoric debris from the Moon destroyed much of Earth's surface, killing billions. People mostly live underground, as debris continues to rain down on the planet daily, although a sizeable number of people refuse to leave or simply can't afford to. Some of those that stayed behind are also hackers who sharpen their skills by training on abandoned communication satellites that still orbit the planet. Most, however, left Earth after the Gate Incident and spread out across the solar system, living in colonies on Venus, Mars, some habitable asteroids, the moons of Saturn and the Galilean moons of Jupiter.

It is interesting to note that the total population for the Solar System of 2071 is only about 1.3 billion. Assuming that the population of Earth in 2021 was greater than 6 billion (as on present-day Earth), the explosion of the gate was the worst disaster to ever befall humankind — at least 4.7 billion lives were lost.

Some of the colonies are more hospitable than others, but all planets and moons seen in the series except for Mars are terraformed. This situation points to the soft sci-fi nature of the series, since Mars is often considered the most easily terraformable planet, while terraforming the others, particularly within the next century is considered an impossible undertaking.

Mars is one example of bustling activity in the Solar System as its many domed impact craters were transformed into thriving metropolitan areas for those who can afford it. With the planet of Venus being terraformed, its aftereffects left many oxygen-providing plants floating around in the atmosphere. The spores of these plants ultimately cause “Venus Sickness” for some people. Not only do poor people live on Venus, but the unlucky that catch this sickness may eventually go blind or even die as a result. Many moons of Jupiter like Callisto, Io, and Ganymede have been terraformed and colonized, though some to more of an extent than others. Rough Callisto is a dreary, hostile, and poverty-ridden cold moon (with the city of Blue Crow having an all male population); Io is toxic, volcanic and an arid ball of sand, while Ganymede is almost completely surrounded by water and known for its fishing industry. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a barren desert world which has been at war since the 2060s (Titan War II in 2068 which was survived by veterans such as Vincent Volaju, Gren, and Vicious). There is even a Solar System Penitentiary on Pluto. Lastly, some asteroids have been colonized for their minerals and other natural resources.

Most importantly to the general plot of the series, sometime after the advent of space travel, the bounty system of the Old West was reinstated by the government to help curb growing crime levels. Vigilantes are encouraged to capture bounties and return them (alive and relatively unharmed) to the authorities for a large reward. In addition, ruthless crime syndicates still have much influence in the Solar System, including bribery, murder, extortion, drug dealing, money laundering and other criminal offences. At some point between the present day and the events of Cowboy Bebop, the Woolong was established as a universal currency. Paper money is becoming less frequent as most people carry convenient money cards and rely on digital transfers.

The technology in the world of Cowboy Bebop has undergone advancements to accommodate 21st century life in the Solar System. In order to make travel between hyperspace gates faster and more efficient, a variety of spaceships are used. Most are designed to simply accommodate a single-pod cockpit that can be ejected and navigated independently of the ship itself. The system of operation for a majority of these spaceships is known as the “Machine Operation Navigation of Outer Space,” or simply, “MONO.” Medical advancements such as artificial organs and cryogenic freezing have been mastered and are in full use. Devices called “Alpha Catch” capture images and movies onto a monitor from the brain of a person that it is hooked up to. Virtual reality gaming is the standard and analog hardware such as videocassettes (VHS or beta) is obsolete. Finally, the Internet, once known as the World Wide Web, has evolved into a massive Solar System Web (SSW).

You take the role of someone in this galaxy twenty-five years after the Cowboy Bebop series has taken place. Spike is dead, and the locations of Faye and Jet have long since been lost. Ed is still a highly sought after hacker, but his activities have dwindled greatly since his first big appearance. There are few limits on who you can be in this universe excluding series characters. (Most of them died anyways)

You can take the part of a fugitive, cowboy, fugitive accomplish (there are plenty) or government law enforcement agent.

I will accept up to 5 ships. You must gain special acceptance for you ship seperate from that of your character.

The year is 2068, crime has risen drastically and is even more out of control than it ever was for the governments. Bounties are added exponentially by the day and crimes of every variety are every. Cowboys are at more of a need than they ever were, and the rewards are greater than ever. But with these increased rewards the risk increases just as much.

The Red Dragon Syndicate, which had fallen to shambles after Vicious, one of its highest ranked members, attempted to take over the entire organization, has risen once again to power. But it has put out a call of recruitment, the sense of honor that Spike and his former mentor once carried is long gone, and the Syndicate wants only the most ruthless and cunning of criminals.

The cowboys, on the other hand, are still out for themselves and refuse to cooperate. When sharing the kill means sharing the bounty, these cowboys don't often like a helping hand. With the growth of the Syndicate, cowboy's names and locations are being posted for criminals around the galaxy. Cowboys are seen as a great threat, and therefore, are hunted just as often as they hunt criminals.

It has become a much more dangerous world than it ever was...for anyone.



Character Application

Name: (Pretty obvious...what's your name?)
Age: (How old are you?)
Class: (Yes, it makes it sound all RPG cheesy, but what are you?)
Blood Type: (Just make one up, in this age it's important to know)
Physical Description: (Come on everyone, I thrive on detail)
Personality: (Are they mean, cold, and heartless; or are they soft, loveable, and cuddly? I need to know)
Affiliation: (Are they currently on a ship, or a member of an organization, who are their friends?)
Weapon Specialty: (Not everyone can be awesome at everything. What's your speciality?)

Ship: (You might not even have one. But most people have a small one person ship to fight and travel)

Other: (Is there anything else I should know?)



Ship Application

Ship Name: (What's the ships name?)
Size: (Large, medium, or small?)
Weapons: (What kind of weapons is this ship carrying?)
Crew Size: (How many people could live here?)
How was this aquired: (Bought, stolen, inherited, how'd you get it?)

Reason you think you should be a captain: (Give me a valid reason why you should be able to control the movement of an entire team of PCs. Should be at least a paragraph)

Examples:

Character Application

Name: Jet Black
Age: 36
Class: Cowboy
Blood Type: A
Physical Description: Jet is a tall, well built man. He's muscular, and that likely comes from his years in the military. He is balding, mainly due to age, but he is currently showing no signs of going gray. He has a black goatee and sideburns that trace his regal outlined face. He has one metallic clamp under his left eye, this is due to his cheek being crushed in a fight years ago, long before he ever gained control of a ship. And his right arm is entirely mechanical. In this day and age this doesn't hinder him at all, but he lost his arm a long time ago, and it serves as a constant reminder to think things through. Jet wears a blue vest with matching pants, the vest appears as if it were once a shirt with the sleeves torn from it, and he has a red shirt underneath his main set of clothing. Apart from all that, it is very rare to see Jet without a cigarette in his mouth.
Personality: Jet is definetly a born leader. He cares greatly for his crew and friends, even though he had some trouble showing it. He often tries to teach lessons by screaming about his past experiences. Apart from his tangents, Jet is calm and collected. He loves to cook and care for his bonsai trees, he even talks to them on occasion. He is certainly not the most intelligent of all people, but he holds wisdom in experience and a great deal of knowledge of the cowboy trade.
Affiliation: Jet is captain of the Bebop, one of the larger ships in the field of Cowboy. Though currently the crew only consists of himself, Faye, Ed, and Ein, a data dog. His best friend and confidant was killed years ago in a battle against the former leader of the Red Dragon Syndicate.
Weapon Specialty: Jet specializes in two things. One being his hand gun. It's a basic magnum-esque gun that he is very proficient with. The other specialty is his rocket launcher, he doesn't use it everywhere, as a matter of fact, he doesn't use it often. However, when he does use it, it rarely misses.



Ship Application

Ship Name: Bebop
Size: Large
Weapons: The Bebop has a few basic turrets, only two are automatic, the other five have to be manned. Other than those weapons, the Bebop depends on its hangar full of individual fighter ships to defend it.
Crew Size: This ship could easily carry 10, but is almost never full.
How was this aquired: The Bebop was inherited in a way. Its original owner died, and Jet just happened to be the man available to take it.

Reason you think you should be a captain: I believe that my dedication to role-playing and this board would help me be a captain. I am on this site fairly often and would be able to post on a consistent basis, I would also be able to work with my crew mates to decide on courses of action and destinations for the ship. I think my writing ability is up to par with the necessities required to lead a group of PCs and my knowledge of the Cowboy Bebop series would be of great assistance.