The Frontier 1899

Alternate History Pillars

Revolutionary War

In our canon, one of the results of the Revolution was the abolishment of slavery in The United States.

From that moment forward, the United States enshrines legal equality for all men and women. This is foundational: no slavery, no bigotry in our world.

Civil War

In our canon, the civil war was about a clash of ideas:

The Western Republic (more power to governors/mayors, deep regional control). States First Republic backed by Spain and Mexico as well as many private merchants. Power to the wealthy land owner.

vs.

The Eastern Union - a unified democracy. Higher governmental oversight with the people's interest at heart. Power to the people.

Outcome

The Eastern Union prevails, but regional power remains a live wire in the territories. The Individual State Movement is hotly debated at local taverns and parks.

Mexico & Spain

Mexico, with old-world entanglements to Spain, meddled at the edges of the Civil War... funding proxies, pressuring borders, and playing long games in the frontier's shadow. A post Civil War Spain is furious with its losses and looks to gain a foothold in the Frontier.

Native History and Our Stance on Native RP

We won't shy away from history: The Frontier's long conflict is winding down, with many Native communities choosing uneasy peace or alliance while a few holdouts still ride. Some bound by warrior traditions, others driven by grief and vengeance for past atrocities. Allied nations are treated with respect and agency, and our lore acknowledges the pressures that threatened them without ever excusing cruelty.

A respectful and mutual understanding of the hardships expansionism put them through.

Any Native RP will be behind a whitelisted role that will have a higher standard of RP.

Period-appropriate hesitancies may be portrayed only with restraint and craft. No bigotry, no racism, no slurs, ever. If your scene needs heat, use provided lore, stakes, and consequence... not targeted hate.

Rosalita Lore

The Year is 1899. The Iron Horse has roared across the plains, taming the wilderness with tracks of steel, the railroad stretching across the continent like a scar. But progress is a fever dream, leaving some to rot while others rise on the tide of ill-gotten gains. From the dry heat of Tumbleweed to the forgotten docks of Van Horn, the dream of the New Century feels more like a gilded cage. This is a world on the brink. The question isn't if things will change, but who will be left when the dust settles.

The wolves are hungry, and so are the men. The industrialisation of the East has forced the dying era of gunslingers to all but go. The festering wounds left by the Civil War left a clear divide between The Eastern Union, The Western Republic & Mexico, and with Mexico's old-world entanglements to Spain, foreign intervention is a constant fear on the frontier.

The Eastern Union won, a Unified Democracy projecting its mandate across the continent; but the Western States-First Republic, backed by both Spain and Mexico and many wealthy private merchants, though defeated, maintains steadfast local, and foreign factions of support. Debate of the outcome is still talked about amongst the saloons, and parks of the State, with many young men still bleeding over the ideals that most closely align with themselves.

The Union considers 'the Frontier', New Hanover, Ambarino, West Elizabeth and Lemoyne, its sovereign territory, but is more interested in its cities, resources & financial output than the people getting dragged in the mud behind.

The East

The industrialization of the East is felt strongest in the Heartlands and Lemoyne, with the Cornwall Oil Field spewing forth great amounts of jobs for the area, but even more pollution and the exertion of the land is whispered to be the cause of illness amongst the more holistic populace.

New Austin

New Austin, though claimed on paper, has yet to feel the Union's boot. Towns like Tumbleweed and Armadillo run on their own terms, closer to the ghost of the Western Republic than any Eastern town. Their folk keep to libertarian and anarchic values. Lawmen of the Union are unlikely to travel into these areas.

Saint Denis

St Denis' is a city that represents Decadence and Decay. The West & North End of the city houses many aristocrats, socialites, and merchants of substantial wealth; with the Southern districts housing the factories & docks that fund their spoilt lifestyle, but where there is wealth, there is suffering. The rest of the city pretends the East side doesn't exist. The East side survives anyway. Crime, Poverty & Devastating Illness is rife, and has touched everyone's lives in some way, shape or form that reside there.

Annesburg

In Annesburg, your lungs belong to the mining companies. The conveyor belt of flesh and suffering doing all it can to rip the ground asunder, exporting its precious materials towards St Denis' and other areas. Annesburg may be controlled by the rich, but it is populated by the poor.

Van Horn

Van Horn, a byproduct of the negatives of Annesburg's booming coal trade. In the past it had been known as a criminal's safe haven. Not anymore. The law around the former smuggling town doesn't take too kindly to those who make an issue in their stomping ground. However, it is a place for the weird, the degenerate and the damned to call home. For those who consider themselves outcasts, this is the place to be.

Rhodes

Rhodes' agriculture and livestock industries have long provided sustainable jobs, and happy people, but with a significant battleground of the Civil War between the Eastern Union and Western Republic on its doorstep, the scars of war continue to fuel the nightmare of its survivors, and cause endless drunken debate and brawls between those that think they know best.

Valentine

Valentine, founded in 1862 by a group of brave pioneers, is a place where people make ends meet however they can. Between a suffering livestock industry, an overhunted plain, and the close proximity to the Oilfield, people have little choice in hopes and dreams. Most end up in the grueling, backbreaking environment of the Cornwall Oil Field, earning a penny every time their boss makes a dime. Everyone knows Cornwall jobs fuel the town, but the town pretends otherwise.

Strawberry

Strawberry's an isolated paradise, it's a quiet town, proud of its serenity with both forest and river, its unique opportunity for craftsmen, bountiful hunting community, and foragers, a modern conversation of conservation takes place amongst its more educated inhabitants. In truth, most don't care, at the end of the day it's all about putting bread on the table.

Blackwater

Blackwater is the last stop on the train of civilization, its port, train line and regular Western merchants have fueled its commerce into becoming the Frontier's second greatest city. It can offer a tradesman, gunslinger, or good samaritan an opportunity to make a name for themselves. Friction with the proximity to untamed New Austin has long been a source of contention for its residents, and outsiders.