Thug

*"I love my job. I’m real good at it. And yer about to find out why."*

## Basic

(Core) In the criminal underworld, strength and viciousness are highly prized virtues and no profession illustrates this more clearly than the Thug. When protection money is owed, when Agitators threaten to expose corruption, or when rivals overstep themselves, the Thug is there. A few thwacks with a club is usually enough to send the right message, but harder cases get the full treatment. It’s wisest to flee in such circumstances, but the graveyards are full of those that thought quick wits would be enough to save them. Every Thieves’ Guild and criminal organisation has Thugs in its ranks.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Consume Alcohol, Dodge Blow, Gamble, Intimidate, Secret Language (Thieves’ Tongue)

**Talents:** Coolheaded or Lightning Reflexes, Disarm, Resistance to Poison or Quick Draw, Strike to Injure or Wrestling, Strike to Stun

**Trappings:** Knuckle-dusters, Medium Armour (Mail Shirt and Leather Jerkin)

### **Career Exits**

Bodyguard, Ex-Convict, Interrogator, Mercenary, Pit Fighter, Racketeer

## A Day in the Life

The life of a thug is one of casual violence and the instant gratification, broken up by periods of abject terror, excruciating pain, and sometimes death. A thug spends much of his time wandering around the city, either at the behest of his boss or following his whims.

He spends his time intimidating shopkeepers, watchmen, and residences just to let them know what (and who) waits for them if they step out of line. After dark he will wander around the poorly lit and patrolled areas of the city looking for targets of opportunity. However, a canny thug spends a bit of time shadowing his mark before he strikes.

After all, no sense in getting a sword in the gut. Once a likely mark is spotted, the thug roughs him up before making off with whatever he can carry. The day (or night) typically ends with the thug drinking himself into oblivion on his ill-gotten gains before finding a dark corner to pass out in, hopefully avoiding becoming a victim himself.

## The Deadfish

The Deadfish are a typical example of an Empire city gang, preying on the weak, cowering from the strong, and generally ruling over a few refuse-filled streets and their equally poxy residents. The Deadfish claim three blocks in Nuln between the old iron smelt on Aver Street and the narrow canal near the shot tower.

Of course this can, and usually does, change on a daily basis depending on the mood of the watch, rival gangs, and the weather (few can stand the smell of the canal on a hot day). The leader of the gang is Bollo, a grizzled old thug missing more than a few appendages – an ear, a nose, most of his teeth, and a large flap of his scalp. Under Bollo a band of a dozen or so thugs do most of the gang’s leg work, collecting ‘protection’ money from shopkeepers, letting residents know where they can and can’t go, and most importantly preying on travellers foolish enough to wander into the neighbourhood, especially after dark.

Then there is the small army of gutter snipes, beggars, and weevil-men the gang uses. They can be found on every street corner and in every drinking hole. They act as pickpockets, informers, and con men for the gang, with a thug or two always nearby should a mark get out of hand. Periodically the watch will crack down on the gang and there will be arrests and hangings. Of course somehow Bollo is never one of the unlucky ones, and the Deadfish invariably surface once again.