The Royal Flush Gang

The Royal Flush Gang was the backbone of the mysterious Mr. Prince and his operations based in the city of Hygard. Housed in the underworld within the dark and shadowy belly of the lower levels of this sprawling metropolis they are divided into suits based on a pack of cards. Each suit represents a different part of the organisation. Within each suit the roles are distributed into senior staff members as face cards and lower level minions being numbered. Each suit also had a secret, but deadly *ace* up their sleeve.

### The Kingpin

Within the city and surrounding areas the name *Mr. Prince* is nothing more than mere urban legend. The further you go into the dark of the undercity the less this is treated as myth and the more it is regarded as solid scripture. Dig deep enough and you'll find there is a hidden criminal empire lurking in the shadows and the man at the top is Mr. Prince. No one has seen him and lived... either that or they have joined his ranks and therefore the tale ends there. He is represented by the Joker playing card. Best practice is if you see a playing card the next course of action is to just leave then and there. If you see the joker you best run.

### The Underbelly

The base of operations for Mr. Prince and his Royal Flush Gang is The Underbelly. It is a maze carved out of the very rock and stone between the 6th and 7th Levels of Hygard. The maze had been magically enchanted with a living being requiring guides in and out if you wished not to get lost in its countless corridors for all of eternity.

### Demise of an empire

The gang was shut down in one foul swoop. After being brought in with a group that would later go on to be called the God Slayers, the woman known as Lady Jane De'ath was offered a place to recuperate within the Underbelly while the group led by Jack Prince was in search of the stolen Orb of the Radiant. In this time she surreptitiously pulled support from within the less loyal lower cardsman and led a coop supplanting her own will over the organisation. She mercilessly disposed of all those loyal to Mr. Prince including Galatea. This mistake would later cost Lady Jane dearly, with her life.

With the Underbelly burnt out and only one or two cards left alive, Jack Prince had no choice but to close the organisation and mourn his loses.

## Chapter of Hearts

The heart suit operated at the street level and primarily the middle to upper tiers of the city. While a numbered operative would hide in plain sight within the mass of denizens that populate the open markets and taverns, a couple of their face cards had brought ill will towards this suit from the others due to blatant flaunting of the freedom this chapter grants them.

#### King of Hearts

"The Superstar Centaur" Raul Fernandonis was the head of the hearts and was an idol to the city and the furthest from the shadows the gang lived within. He also oversaw the gang owned brothels as well as his joint featuring his boys, The Magic Pouch.

#### Queen of Hearts

Buried within the heart of the Underbelly was the Amber Grove. There lived Galatea a dryad who was a mother figure not only to Mr. Prince, but to the whole gang who respected her to the fullest. She oversaw the medical resources and deployed healers where necessary.

#### Jack of Hearts

The rather antagonistic thief with a heart of gold ran the pick-pocketing rings. He was quite polarising and known to wind up the more serious members of differing suits. Known to very few within the organisation that this persona is actually a disguise for Mr. Prince to freely move around and get hands on furthering his own schemes.

The heart number cards were made up of bandits, pickpockets and thieves featuring races commonly associated with adventuring like humans, halflings and dwarfs.

## Chapter of Spades

The spade suit operated at the lower level working in the darkness carrying out all the gang's dirty work. If an individual needed removing from the picture or a scene needed cleaning or the waste needed disposing of, this chapter were on call to assist. Their operatives hung in the shadows and generally would not see the light of day preferring to move during the night for maximum anonymity. They were also a little weird being formal at all times. They all were addressed by mister or missis and were at times fanatical to the gang and its boss.

#### King of Spades

Mr. Knife was the head of the spades and the calculating mind hiding within the shadows. He did not tolerate failure when handing out contracts handling all the hits and cleaning jobs his side of the business undertook.

#### Queen of Spades

The pitch black predator, Mrs. Midnight is a nursery rhyme to stay out of trouble. However this nursery rhyme turns brutally real if the assassination order was handed down to her. You can't pin a murder on a myth. She was called upon to carry out only the most pressing assignments.

#### Ten of Spades

Debt collection and message delivery is Mr. Jarl’s game. He likes to think of himself as the prelude to the club chapter. He’ll intimidate before the brute squad is brought in. He idolises the club suit and used to dream of joining their ranks. His association with the Jack of Hearts held him back though.

#### Ace of Spades

Even though Mr. Prince used to despise the Drow and their hideous deity, Lolth, he could not ignore the business opportunity to acquire a trained Quaggoth. Initially housed within the Underbelly, once acclimated to its handlers in the gang it was unleashed upon the cityscape for special occasions. There it found the alleys and rooftops just as at home to the rocky terrain and caverns of the Underdark it originated from. It may still be out there loose somewhere?

#### Waste Disposal

Within the spade suit were the Two & Three of Spades. Although low number cards Mr. Flurg the Kuo-Toa and Mr. Klimsel the Goblin were on call for all of the gang members. If a particularly messy scene needa cleaning in a hurry or a high profile body needs to be made disappear then “*waste disposal*” are called. They are experts in their field. Whether it be dragging an unwanted corpse into the depths or reapplying upholstery in a high end establishment they are your hock-up. They also survived the massacre of the gang and still on call within the walls of Hygard if a mess needs cleaning up.

The numbers were made up of assassins, cultists, undertakers and other utilities featuring races like gnolls, goblins, orcs, and kuo-toa.

## Chapter of Diamonds

The diamond suit worked in covert operations. The majority of this chapter’s members were known only to Mr. Prince himself and rarely to each other and those of other suits. Their main goal was to infiltrate every organisation within the city. The face cards had the lofty task of infiltrating the religious and political infrastructure of Hygard.

#### King of Diamonds

This old fool of a Priest, on appearance is so haggard he is almost made out of bones, dust, and moth-balls. His senses and disposition are in a similar state of decay. His wizened old mind often gets lost, but if you try to help him he’ll get all grouchy and give you a piece of his sizable mind as well as a thwack from his cane. As a priest he can pretty much go wherever he likes in the religious community, and no one dare stop him as to encounter him. Clever old sod. This is actually a known disguise of the Jack of Hearts.

#### Ace of Diamonds

A loud and vibrant noble from the warrior tribes of the brutal north. Duke Benheim was sent as an envoy for his region within the Hygard high counsel. With his golden mane of hair and beard stands a very heroic figure that is very happy to meet and greet new and old acquaintances alike. Perhaps some combat followed with much merriment... always with the merriment. Known to even fewer than the true identity to that of Jack of Hearts, this is yet another disguise for the omnipresent Mr. Prince.

The numbers were made up of spies featuring races from the higher tiers of the city like kobolds, humans, and dwarfs.

## Chapter of Clubs

The club suit specialised in gang warfare and intimidation. A bunch of thugs and psychopaths that operated as a small army as directed by “*da boss*” and their Commanding Officer, Bagabug. If something or someone needed guarding they would fortify it. If something or someone needed hitting they would bludgeon it. If something or someone needed investigating they would eviscerate it. And if something or someone needed getting rid of then they’d do so with such blunt force they would educate everyone within the area to the folly it/they had perpetrated.

#### King of Clubs

At the head of this small army was their General, Bagabug. This massive and veteran Orog lead with honour, but executed with sheer brutality. None stood in the path of the clubs once they marched to the drums of war.

#### Jack of Clubs

The unpredictable jackelwere known as Kaynar was so sadistic and plain bonkers that he made the perfect interrogator. Trustworthy though? Hardly. Never one to turn your back on.

#### Ten of Clubs

What a typical specimen of his species. Plith was your poster boy for bugbears everywhere in that he was grouchy, violent, and often miserable unless his “fun” was at someone else’s expense.

#### Ace of Clubs

We have a maze... is it cliché to have a minotaur? This one was fine with it so long as he got paid his weight in gold. Don’t get lost in the labyrinth of the Underbelly... it is believed that this minotaur however got lost in his own maze.

The numbers were made up of thugs, mercenaries, and former soldiers featuring races like hobgoblins, orcs, goblins, ogres, and gnoll.

## List of Cards

This is a list of all cardsmen that were ever active within the Royal Flush gang: