Crooked Man

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

(*Submitted by Herald*)

That's how the nursery rhyme goes. Sounds pretty harmless, but when we're done breaking this down, you'll realize that Mother Goose was the Homeland's biggest historical revisionist.

### Once Upon a Time...

There was a cartographer named Cameron Thrawn who was called upon to settle a territorial dispute between a native tribe in the Highlands of Albion and the dwarven colony that had settled nearby. Both groups sought to reclaim the land previously ravaged by the Sheeda and saw each other as allies in the cause, but were making little progress due to disputed claims on the stretch of land.

Thrawn made the winding trek to this land by foot. He surveyed the disputed land during his inspection, and he came upon a small relic: a wishing coin. Such a treasure was worth a fortune. Thrawn pocketed this coin and finished his assessment. He settled the dispute peacefully and returned home to Londontown without telling any of the coin.

In Londontown, Thrawn began to test his magic coin, finding ways to tap into its power. He used his first wish on his cat, and wished to give it the power to speak. While the coin did grant that wish, it did so by transforming the animal into an anthropomorphic feline with a fondness for human footwear.

When the cat no longer seemed inclined to chase the mice in the house, Thrawn made another wish. With coin in hand, he wished that the mice would leave his house and never come back. The magic of the coin sent the rodents scurrying away from Thrawn's house in the blink of an eye.

Finally, Thrawn used the coin to transform his house into a mansion. The coin expanded the house's size, suitable for his next plan, which he began to develop when his theory about the coin's unlimited number of wishes proved to be right.

The magic of the coin could not be depleted due to the Bleed taint left on it from the Sheeda invasion. Though the magic was unlimited, it was also quite toxic and had an effect on the body of its owner. Despite the risks, Thrawn began to run a business by granting simple wishes for outrageous sums of money to the most desperate of folk. For those without great wealth, Thrawn would put them into indentured servitude, working off their insurmountable debt.

Ruling the darker elements of Londontown, he became known as the Crooked Man and ruled the streets unchallenged until the Great Sheeda invasion of Europa which forced the Crooked Man to move a small portion of his crooked empire to Fabletown. He was able to rebuild his empire, over time, though never to the old strength he had in Londontown due to the need to operate more discreetly among the Mundies. Still, despite his intent to remain in the shadows, the Sheriff caught up to him and passed judgement upon him.

But with a new Fabletown, The Crooked Man arranged a comeback.

### Downfall of the Crooked Man

In the 1980's, the Crooked Man had grown so nervous about his secrets being exposed to the Sheriff of Fabletown that he began to require all of his low-tier employees to wear ribbons enchanted to prevent them from speaking any word of their employer's secrets. Removal of the ribbon would immediately decapitate the wearer through dark magic.

After Nerissa, a dancer at the Puddin' and Pie, expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangement, the Crooked Man's cronies killed her friend and left her to dispose of the body. However, the overlooked former mermaid proved to be a foe more calculating than they could imagine. She used a glamour charm to pose as her friend to meet with one of her clients and antagonized the client to violence, causing a commotion which would bring the sheriff. After a nice chat with Bigby, Nerissa left her friend's head on the doorstep of the Woodlands Building for the sheriff to find.

The sheriff investigated and after much interference, the Crooked Man was caught. At his trial, the Crooked Coin was used to allow Nerissa to testify. Outraged by her words, the Crooked Man lunged at the witness. Caught by the sheriff, Thrawn was shoved into the Witching Well.

### Supplemental Report

* (*Submitted by Four-Eyes*) The crooked sixpence (or "Crooked Coin") appears to have been lost in the event of the Manhattaning, destroyed in the same blast that leveled the entirety of Fabletown. However, there is a rumor that the coin was taken from the Business Office's vault prior to the explosion. If this rumor is true, the Crooked Man would know. He's used the coin so much, he could sense it.

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* Fable Physiology
	+ *Immortality & Resurrection*
* Genius Intellect
	+ *Legendary Criminal Mastermind*
	+ *Master Business Acumen*
	+ *Master Strategist*
* Master Manipulator
* Relic — Crooked Coin (Lost)

### Weaknesses

* Difficult to Disguise
* Hated
* Lost Relic
* Physically Impaired
* Physically Weak
* Poor Eyesight
* Requirement — Cane
* Vice — Greed

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 1 — Paltry / Below Average
* **Occult:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Weaponry:** 1 — Paltry / Below Average
* **Expertise:** 7 — Legendary
* **Range:** 0 — Abysmal / Nonexistent
* **Strategy:** 7 — Legendary
	+ **TOTAL:** 112
	+ **RANKING:** Elevated Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* Among his accomplices are Georgie Porgie, Bloody Mary, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.
* The cat that Thrawn transformed was originally named Furbo. He used to be his father's cat, but after his death the cat ended up with him. After the transformation, Furbo acted as his enforcer. However, when Furbo realized that the Crooked Man did not value him as much as claimed, Furbo denounced his master and fled.

### Notes

* The Crooked Man is a character from *Fables*.
* His portrait is a nod to his appearance in *The Wolf Among Us* video game.
* In the game, being cast into the Wishing Well was one of his fates.

## Links and References

* Appearances of the Crooked Man

1. ↑ Network Files: Crooked Man
2. ↑ Network Files: Puss-in-Boots