Crime Lord

*"It’s a shame our dealings had to end this way. We could have worked together so well, if only you had...oh, do stop screaming, he’s barely got half your fingers off yet."*

## Advanced

(Core) Most cities of the Old World have one or more organized criminal organisations, such as Thieves’ or Assassins’ Guilds. Crime Lords are the leaders of these groups and they are powerful and dangerous folk. To be counted among their ranks one must be clever, ambitious and completely ruthless. Most claw their way up from the bottom, learning every dirty trick in the book as they ascend to power. Crime Lords can seldom afford the luxury of trust. They are experts at evaluating both people and situations to seek whatever advantage they can. Many Crime Lords become involved in local politics to further their power.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Charm, Command, Common Knowledge (the Empire), Dodge Blow, Evaluate, Gossip, Haggle, Intimidate, Perception, Secret Language (Thieves’ Tongue), Secret Signs (Thief ), Torture

**Talents:** Dealmaker or Schemer, Menacing, Public Speaking, Resistance to Poison, Sixth Sense, Specialist Weapon Group (Crossbow or Parrying), Streetwise

**Trappings:** Crossbow pistol with 10 bolts or Sword-breaker, One set of Best Craftsmenship Clothing, Antitoxin Kit, 100 gc, Criminal Organisation

### **Career Entries**

Cat Burglar, Demagogue, Fence, Guild Master, Master Thief, Outlaw Chief, Politician, Steward

### **Career Exits**

Demagogue, Master Thief, Outlaw Chief, Politician

## Affiliations

A crime lord without a guild to command is no crime lord, but just a thug with pretensions. Of course, the fact that all but the dimmest of those he commands seeks his job is always on the crime lord’s mind. On the other hand, he needs to surround himself with the most competent rogues, scoundrels, and thugs he can find, or his guild will fall to some other, rival, guild. The constant tension between needing to have powerful subordinates – while making sure they are not too powerful – defines the crime lord’s life, and only those who can master the balance remain in this career for long.

In all but the smallest cities there are multiple guilds – and while criminal organizations are, by nature, untrustworthy, naked self interest helps prevent all-out wars. Each guild, band, or gang will try to define its own territory or area of operation. The pickpockets of Old Bend District can co-exist with the burglars there, and both will work together against a new gang muscling in on their territory. At times, particularly cunning and powerful crime lords build vast underworld empires.

Every gang in the city swears fealty to them, often paying a “tax” from their earning. The tax sometimes goes to keep the guards and bailiffs well-bribed, but often it vanishes into the crime lord’s pockets. Such webs of control are short lived, unless there are more powerful forces behind the ”boss” – agents of Chaos, renegade wizards, and the like may be the power behind the shadowy throne.

## Little Known Facts

Crime lords often operate under many names and many aliases. A criminal who has lost his gang in one city may start up a new one a few leagues down the river, slightly disguised and possessing a new identity. The most cunning crime lords will sometimes take on two identities in the same city, using the second to find out who seeks to betray the first by posing as his own “rival.”

Often, crime lords and agents of the law, such as bailiffs, end up working together. Crime is unavoidable, but if the victims of crimes are primarily those who are enemies of the city’s rulers, the law can easily look the other way.