[DitV] Town: Providence Mountain/Gunpowder Pass

[WillH]

First a little background on how I came to create this town.   I was curious about what sort of situations would develop if large groups of faithful and unfaithful came to live close together through circumstances.  It would be sort of an old West Sodom and Gomorrah.  All the ideas that I developed based on living next a den of sin and depravity bored men.  But, I was still interested in the basic idea.  What developed was the town below.

This is my first attempt at making a town and I would appreciate any feedback you could provide.

Providence Mountain/Gunpowder Pass

TOWN HISTORY:
A few years ago silver was found in the mountains surrounding Providence Mountain.  As word spread many people, both faithful and unfaithful, flocked to the region to make their fortunes.  The unfaithful founded their own town near by, but constant growth of both towns pushed the two town's borders right up against each other.  The people of Providence Mountain had been blessed in two significant ways.  Initially the people in the area were only able to draw barely potable water from any well dug.  After large numbers of unfaithful began to show up the wells in Providence Mountain improved drastically.  Only the purest clear water was drawn from any well dug in faithful territory.  This was a demonstration of the blessings The King of Life gives to his faithful.  The people of Providence Mountain dutifully shared their water with the people of Gunpowder Pass and took the opportunity to spread The King of Life's word.  Secondly a blacksmith of remarkable skill and generosity arrived in Gunpowder Pass.  The blacksmith converted on the spot after seeing the evidence of The King of Life's blessings.  The smiths work, and that of those under his supervision was so exceptional that no other smith was able to succeed in the area on his own.  The smith was a simple man and shared his wealth with any in need, both faithful and unfaithful alike.

IMPORTANT PEOPLE:
Brother Cornelius:  The steward of Providence Mountain
Brother Albert: A recent convert and shop owner in Gunpowder Pass
Brother Ezra: Shop owner in Providence Mountain
Sister Helen: Brother Albert's wife
Brother Harold: Brother Albert's son
Robert Cooper: Mayor of Gunpowder Pass
Sister Adelaide: Shot by Brother Harold
Brother Emmanuel: Sister Adelaide's husband
Charles Fisher: Doctor in Gunpowder Pass (unfaithful)
Brother Jethro: Brother Cornelius's deacon and close friend
Brother Jonah: Brother Emmanuel's son (deceased)
Sister Eve: Brother Emmanuel's daughter
Sister Daris: Brother Cornelius' wife.

PRIDE:
The Steward, Brother Cornelius, believes Providence Mountain and Gunpowder Pass should be one town and that he should be in charge.  If he succeeds, he will use his position to gain wealth by levying taxes on all silver removed from the mountain by the unfaithful.

INJUSTICE:
In an attempt to force Gunpowder Pass to agree to assimilate into Providence Mountain, Brother Cornelius has forbidden the faithful to do business with any unfaithful.  This includes sharing water from wells in Providence Mountain.  His hope is that Gunpowder Pass will not be able to survive without a blacksmith.  He also hopes the lack of clear water will cause the citizens of Gunpowder Pass to pressure the government to fold the town into Providence Pass.  For most of the faithful, this has only been a minor inconvenience.  But, Brother Albert is a recent convert who lives and owns a general store in Gunpowder pass.  Some faithful have started shopping in his store, but for most it's just too far away and they have been loyal customers of Brother Ezra's for years.  Brother Cornelius' decree is denying Brother Albert and his family of their livelihood.  It is also denying the faithful of access to the only doctor in the area.

SIN:
Brother Cornelius' desire for personal wealth at the expense of others is greed.
Brother Albert's wife, Sister Helen, is secretly allowing men of both towns to "enjoy her company" in exchange for money to help make ends meet.
Brother Albert's son, Brother Harold, blames Brother Cornelius for his family's hardships.  He tried to shoot Brother Cornelius while he went to See Mayor Cooper.  He missed Brother Cornelius but hit an innocent bystander, Sister Adelaide.  (Brother Harold is currently in the Gunpowder Pass Jail)

DEMONIC ATTACK:
The water in the wells in Providence Mountain has turned fowl causing disease to run through the community.
The temperature in Brother Edwin's forge has become uncontrollable, causing the quality of his work to degrade.
All births and pregnancies among the faithful and their livestock have had complications.

FALSE DOCTRINE:
After Brother Emmanuel defied Brother Cornelius's decree and took Sister Adelaide to be treated by Doc Fisher, Brother Cornelius decreed that anyone, and every living member of their family, who defies Brother Cornelius must suffer blood atonement to remove the stain of their sin.

CORRUPT WORSHIP:
Brother Jethro has partially carried out Brother Cornelius's edict and killed Brother Jonah.  The rest of Brother Emmanuel's family is seeking refuge with the people of Gunpowder Pass.

FALSE PRIESTHOOD:
Brother Jethro and Sister Daris support Brother Brother Cornelius' false claims and believe him to be a new profit.  That's three.  Others in the town follow Brother Cornelius out of fear as well.

SORCERY:
Brother Cornelius is using his new found power to keep the faithful obedient to his false doctrine through fear.

MURDER & HATE:
Tensions between the faithful and unfaithful are high.  There have been several gunfights.  Initially they were over attempts to apprehend Brother Emmanuel and his family but they have now started to erupt of other matters.  So far only two people have been killed in the streets.

WHAT DO THE PEOPLE WANT?
Brother Cornelius wants the dogs to validate his doctrine and help him gain control of Gunpowder Pass.
Brother Albert wants to be able to trade with the people of Gunpowder Pass again.
Brother Ezra wants Brother Albert to be able to return to business as usual so he won't have to send business to Brother Albert's store out of charity.
Sister Helen wants her activity to remain secret and to atone for her sin if she thinks it is no longer necessary.
Brother Harold wants to be released and absolved of his attempt to murder Brother Cornelius.
Robert Cooper has always had a lot of respect for the faithful and the dogs in particular.  He wants the dogs to put an end to the violence so he will not need to call in help from the territorial authority.  He fears what will happen to the faithful if the authority sends in marshals or the army. (If the dogs can persuade him to give up his vices he will be a likely candidate for conversion to the faith.)
Sister Adelaide wants to recover and for her family to be safe.
Brother Emmanuel wants his wife to recover, his family to be safe and Brother Jethro to pay for murdering Brother Jonah.
Charles Fisher wants to be able to treat all who need his help.
Brother Jethro and Sister Daris want Brother Cornelius' plans to succeed.
Sister Eve wants her mother to recover.

WHAT DO THE DEMONS WANT?
They want the dogs to support Brother Cornelius.
They want Mayer Cooper to send for help from the territorial authority and for further bloodshed to result from this.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE DOGS DIDN'T COME?
Eventually the disease spreading through town would become a deadly epidemic.
More faithful would seek Doc Fisher's help and that would result in further bloodshed through the enforcement of Brother Cornelius' decrees.
Eventually Mayer Cooper would be forced to send for help.  When the soldiers arrive they would massacre the faithful.  Mayer cooper would not be able to live with this and take his own life.

[WillH]

So what do people think?  Does anything need to be added, removed or tweeked?  Or, if you think it just plain sucks let me know that too.

[JC]

my first reaction is: isn't such a big town, with so many people, going to be too much for a small bunch of Dogs?

just a thought

[14thWarrior]

Seems like a reasonable town to me.  The source of the problems is pretty clear; there's a laundry list of named NPCs, but not all are really fully embroiled in the situation.

Certainly, it'll take a little time to get all sides of the story, and deal with the smaller sins and such; but after that, dealing with the real meat of the problem shouldn't be so bad.

I quite like the town.  It's quite serendipitous that this town should be posted here now; I'm about to introduce a new Dog into our group, and this town reads almost exactly like his history.  The new Dog is the son of a man converted to the faith; he was sent to apprentice with the blacksmith, and later was sent to the Dogs' Temple for training.  This town is going to make it really easy to introduce him.