The Wild West

The year is 1877, outlaw gangs are still prevalent in Wild West America. Criminals roaming in "the land of the free".
One such gang is infamous - run by Clinton Barlowe.

The Barlowe Raiders

A previously large gang that had lost members recently due to death or being arrested. They have high bounties and are well-known and feared across America. Those who aren't afraid soon learn why they should be.

The Law

Many people want to capture the outlaws - especially Clinton himself - not only to receive the bounty, but to rid the country of yet another gang. This includes:

GROUP SCENARIOS:

BACKSTORY CW: None

Clinton Barlowe

Clinton is the founder of the Barlowe Raiders and the current leader. Cold-blooded and tough, he keeps his small yet vicious gang in check all while robbing folks (mostly) blind. Though the gang is small and seems tight-knit, it’s noted that Clinton doesn’t truly care about anybody but himself and his own survival.

Clinton was born in 1835 to a single mother, a whore named Louise Barlowe. Due to being poor, Clinton found himself stealing as a child to survive. As a teenager, he was forced to run away because he was caught stealing a horse and (though it was a harsh punishment that didn't fit the crime), the town planned to hang him for it. Clinton had never seen his mother again, only hearing about her death in 1860 at only 46.
In 1856, Clinton had met Joseph King and the two realized they had similar "habits" of thieving. The two initially started a duo to keep an eye on each others' backs, though when they found Eli Harrison (8 at the time) it ended up turning into a gang. Around the time he met Eli, Clinton had met a woman named Mary Cooper, a year into the gang's creation, and though she fell in love with him, he was only with her for the "benefits". Clinton had left her, not knowing that Mary had fallen pregnant with his son - due to not knowing where Clinton was, Mary never got a hold of him and instead married a different man - becoming Mary Smith.
Over time, Clinton had found the rest of the gangmembers: Aaron Davies, Martha Walten, Amanda Chandler, and Jesse Clarke.

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BACKSTORY CW: Suicide

Joseph King

Joseph is one of the two founders of the Barlowe Raiders. He is known to be playful and rather tricky, though he is kind Joseph can be ruthless towards others and at the end of the day is an outlaw - not a good guy. He gives Clinton the respect of a leader despite being older than him, though he’ll speak up when he deems it necessary.

Joseph King was born in 1833 to Robert and Jessica King. He had a good childhood with parents who loved and taught him basic life skills such as reading and writing along with his father commonly taking him out fishing and then his mother later teaching him how to cook. They had been raising Joseph to be a sweet and well-mannered child until 1847, when he was 14 years old. Robert was accused of a crime and hanged for it despite there being no proper trial and Robert being completely innocent. The true culprit was discovered a few days later, with the town only giving Joseph and his mother one hundred dollars in compensation for their mistake.
Not long after her husband's death, Jessica had fallen into depression and ultimately hung herself, killing her unborn child along with her and leaving Joseph an orphan. Once he was out of the orphanage, Joseph had started a life of crime to get back at the law.
In 1853, Joseph had met a woman named Sally Reed and fell in love. They dated for three years, though once Joseph had properly started his gang life, Sally refused to be a part of it and left him. He dubbed her "The perfect woman, if she were more resiliant".

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BACKSTORY CW: None

Eli Harrison

Eli was the third official member of the Barlowe Raiders and, having joined at only 8 years old, is the only one who can say he’s been raised an outlaw. Despite having been raised in an environment where people must rely on one another, Eli is independent and hates doing jobs with others. He tends to be antisocial and sticks to himself, busying himself with caring for the horses as an excuse to avoid others.

Eli was born in 1849 to Doug and Penelope Harrison, though when he was only two years old, Eli’s parents abandoned him and his older sister Lucy. Lucy was only 10 at the time, but suddenly, she had to raise her 2-year-old brother. The siblings struggled until Eli turned 8, Lucy having been 16, and Lucy left the house to the woods nearby in search of food to scavenge for. When she had been missing for a few hours, and Eli became worried, he left the house as well, only to find his sister killed by a bear. Traumatized, Eli ran away from home and quickly became starved and homeless. He learned to steal to survive, living on the streets for only a month before running into Clinton Barlowe. He tried to steal a pocket watch before getting caught. Joseph King saved Eli from being beaten, instead inviting Eli to join their two-person gang. The child, though hesitant, agreed as it was a chance for food and safety.
Eli learned how to ride and shoot from Clinton, and he learned how to read and write from Joseph - things Clinton had decided not to teach Eli. Joseph also taught Eli how to cook and had quickly become something like a father to the young boy. Being a quick learner and a great shot, Eli had become a valued asset to the gang once he was old enough to go on jobs. Though he kept his introverted personality and didn’t enjoy going out with everyone else.
At one point when he was a teenager, Eli had found a stray cat who he took in and named Stripey. Stripey got along with the horses, so Eli got to hang out with his cat and often sneaked scraps of leftovers for the tabby.
Eli protested when the gang took Aaron in, already being able to tell the man would be useless. Then he complained when Amanda was allowed to join because she was also a useless member, in his eyes, only sticking around for “the fun of it”. He valued hard workers and despised lazy people.

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BACKSTORY CW: Childhood abuse

Aaron Davies

The lazy drunk of the gang, Aaron doesn’t seem to provide much except headaches. He still manages to pull his weight though, if you manage to get him up and out of camp and on a job, that is.

Life has always been against Aaron. He was born in 1841 to single mother Abigail Davies, who abused Aaron his entire life. He is named after his father, Aaron Hill, who abandoned Abigail and their son after finding out she was pregnant. It was almost a form of "punishment" for being born, like Aaron was as bad as his father despite just being an innocent baby. She was a man-hater and would find any excuse to hate the male gender. As a young boy, Aaron was all alone with his abusive mother. She caused mostly emotional abuse, making Aaron feel hated. He was awkward and didn't make a lot of friends and on top of it wasn't sent to any form of schooling, his mother didn't bother teaching him anything either. He had learned at a young age that drinking alcohol makes him feel better, and he quickly became an alcoholic at just 16 years old.
Due to his upbringing, Aaron hadn't learned how to read and write, which wasn't uncommon for the time. He unfortunately relied on Abigail, not entirely sure how to get a job or move out despite her insisting he had to. At 19 years old, Aaron had gotten into a bar fight with another man while drunk, which caught the attention of Clinton Barlowe.
After Aaron was kicked out for causing trouble and distressing customers, Clinton followed Aaron out and invited the drunkard to join the gang. Aaron had accepted, though he commonly lazes about camp doing nothing but drinking or picking up women. Aaron was actually sad when he caught wind of his mother's death at some point despite the torture she put him through.

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BACKSTORY CW: Period-typical misogyny

Martha Walten

The first woman to join the gang, Martha straight up hates most men, seeing them as their stereotypical forms - nasty and rude and all-around horrible. Even she has to admit when someone does good, though, man or not.

Martha was born to Paul and Laura Walten in 1848. Martha’s father disliked her for simply being a girl and often neglected her for her younger brother, Joshua. Though her mother always said this was normal and would distract Martha with “women’s chores”.
Despite Martha having wanted to go outside to run around with the other kids - particularly the boys - Laura would often direct her attention back to learning how to tend to a house and children, preparing her for her inevitable fate of finding a husband. Which would happen as early as 16, as her parents started searching for a suitor after her birthday had hit. Sad, lonely, and now angered by this turn of events, Martha ran away from home without a word or a letter. She ran into Joseph King not too long after and he invited her into the gang to “rescue” her from the life her parents were trying to force down her throat.
Though Martha doesn’t tend to go on jobs with the boys, she prefers the life of a gang over being a housewife and will gladly join in on heists and such if asked. Though she still dislikes men, she will deal with them if it means getting to be free.

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BACKSTORY CW: None

Jesse Clarke

The youngest and most energetic member of the gang, yet also the most clumsy. Jesse has always been a bit of a wild child, practically built for the life of a gang - if he didn’t get too excited and often messed up on heists.

Born in 1858, Jesse has been an orphan all his life. He doesn't know who his parents are or why they abandoned him at an orphanage and the orphanage owners never told him. He wishes he could meet his mother and ask why she didn't want him, but he doubts that will ever happen. Jesse never had proper guidance or a proper education growing up, so he was a wild child. At 18 he more than happily left the orphanage and ran into the gang doing a job. He helped them out without a second thought and liked feeling like he was part of something, so he begged Clinton to let him join. Reluctantly the gang leader agreed and Jesse never looked back. He loves the gang like they're his family and he's loyal to them to the end.

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BACKSTORY CW: None

Amanda Chandler

Amanda is the newest and probably the sweetest member of the Barlowe Raiders, though she doesn’t do much around camp except clean up sometimes. All this despite demanding a more “exciting” life. She is used to being pampered and therefore doesn't often offer to help without being forced to.

Amanda was born to a high-class family in 1856 to Ford and Gertrude Chandler. She had grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth, not needing to lift a finger nor worry much about the world outside of what she wanted to do that day. However, this life had grown tiring for Amanda and by 21, she had run away from home to explore. She ran into the Barlowe Raiders and managed to weasel her way into the gang, quickly falling for a man named Albert Hughes. Though they seemed to like each other, Albert was shot down by a rival gang before anything could come of it.
Amanda had lost a bit of her romantic vision of being an outlaw thanks to Albert’s death, but that didn’t stop her from sticking around and trying to help out where she could or where she felt like it. Having been raised rich and spoiled, Amanda can be a bit of a brat once in a while, but she’s overall very sweet and for many, it's difficult to truly be angry with her.

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BACKSTORY CW: None

Richard Smith

A young bounty hunter unknowingly hunting down his own father as he seeks the high price upon Clinton Barlowe’s head. A serious yet occasionally playful man, more than just a good shot.

Richard was born to Mary Cooper in 1857, though she quickly married a man named Eugene Smith, changing her and Richard’s last names accordingly. Richard had grown up with Eugene as his father and any of Eugene’s children as his full siblings, completely unaware that it wasn’t true despite looking similar to his birth father - Clinton Barlowe.
At age 19, Richard had gotten into a gig with the local sheriff. However, he had gotten bored of sitting around and doing nothing, so Richard switched to bounty hunting instead and found it much more appealing due to the endless amount of action it produced.
Now at 20, Richard has his sights set on a large target - The Barlowe Raiders - though he specifically wants to catch Clinton for the amount of money hanging over his head. Though he sees the similarities between him and Clinton, Richard never thinks that they could be related and often shrugs it off as coincidence despite the way he sees his mother react to the gang leader's name.

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