01-20-2021, 08:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-11-2021, 05:09 PM by Pendred. Edited 1 time in total.)
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Italian-American Mafia Guide
Last updated 20/01/2021
Building a Character
When building a character it is important to establish a few basics.
● Originality
● Motivation
● Purpose
● Believability
● Originality
Not everyone can be Joe Pesci. Looking back on the history of MafiaRP the characters that often stick out are those that were original.
There can only be so many “Hot headed Italians” it’s okay to have a short temper, but if that is your core defining feature then you are just a one dimensional character that will just be a meme.
Form an original character, flesh out a real personality. Your family association shouldn’t be what defines you. You are not the rank you hold, create a human being that just happens to hold a mafia rank.
● Motivation
Ask yourself why. Why does your character do what he does, Why did they join the mafia to begin with, and what does he wish to accomplish.
You have to ask yourself these questions in order to make a realistic character. If your motivation is “well he’s sadistic so he just wants to harm people” or a similar scapegoat answer of “Well he just craves power” then your motivation is flimsy.
Set up a goal for yourself, “I want to provide for my family and give them the best life I can” While we more-than-likely won’t have biological families on the server it is still a solid motivation to want to provide for them.
A few examples of good motivation are as follows
■ “I joined the mafia out of need and don’t enjoy killing, but I have to.”
■ “I only want to provide for my family, violence is just an occupational hazard.”
■ “I had a rough childhood, the mafia was a logical step for me. I enjoy fighting and I’m good at it.”
● Purpose
What purpose does your character have. This is a question most people can not answer even in real life, so I don’t expect you to have a concrete answer for “what is your character’s purpose”.
What I do want is for you all to keep it in mind. What is your character’s purpose, what are they doing in their lives and why are they doing.
● Believability
Your ultimate end goal when making your character should be to make them believable.Taking an example from the Godfather, all of the characters feel real.
You should attempt to create a character that could be believed.You should strive to make your character feel like a real person with thoughts and goals, not some gimmick or cliche.
Gimmick and cliches include:
■ “Hot headed italian”
■ “Power hungry 20 year old made man”
■ “The mafia is about Honor”
■ “Warmonger who takes every slight insult as a reason to go to war”
■ “I wanna be Don of all New York”
■ “I’m unkillable, but everyone else is gonna get killed”
■ “This man said I smell so I gotta beat him for this disrespect”
Closing:In closing, you as a player must make these decisions and create a believable character with motivation and goals. Your character should have a purpose and direction, just being a mob character to be one is bad RP. Create a real character, flesh out their personality, give them flaws and strengths. Make a real person. It's what roleplay is all about.
Facts of Life:
When you enter into the mob life you are awarded certain advantages, and at the same time you are also forced to accept certain facts of life.
Advantages:
■ Elevated status.
■ Protection from hits.
■ Ability to earn money.
Disadvantages:
■ You are a soldier, your friends will have to fight a hard case to get a sanction for retaliation.
■ Your life is one of violence, do not be surprised when violence is done onto you.
■ Once in, realistically there is no retirement. You either end up in jail, dead,or so old you become irrelevant or an advisor.
In addition more facts of life are as follows:
Killing the wife, mother, or child of a made man as an act of vengeance is strictly forbidden. Women and children can not be brought into this organization and thus are not soldiers. Only men related to business can be killed.
A large part of the Mafia was religious, if you are not answering to a higher power than what makes you any better than the street gangs who just commit crime for the sake of it?
General Family Behaviour:
The Mafia is a secret organization, and all business dealings, and discussion of business should be kept behind closed doors.
■ (Ex. Many associates shouldn’t be aware of phrases the mob uses)
■ (Ex. It is important for the mob to develop code words as to avoid detection when discussing business in public becomes unavoidable.)
Made-Men, and to an extent associates, should be respectful towards each other, however this does not involve constant respect within interaction with friends or others.
■ (Ex. One should never insult the don of a family, unless an actual friend of said don, however the same rule would still apply in public).
■ (Ex. Two made-men who don’t know each other well should not insult each other before getting to know each other).
■ (Ex. Two made-men who are on good terms would be able to jokingly insult each other without a harsh reaction).
Members of the Mafia should not expect nor demand that gangs or civilians who don’t know who they are give them respect.
■ (Ex. If you are called a cunt by a random Irish-man you should not kill or injure them in any way; they should be threatened at most.)
Members of the Mafia should not conduct criminal activities in the open
■ (Ex. Don’t murder somebody in your bar)
■ (Ex. Don’t drop somebody a weapon in public)
■ (Ex. Don’t deal drugs in public)
The family name, (I.e The Colombo Crime Family) should never be mentioned in public or private, use words like “The Organization”, “The Company”, and so on.
Getting Made:
To get made a member of a family should have been working significant jobs for said family for a significant portion of time.
■ (Ex. Get-away driver, muscle, or general associate activities should have been done for over a period of at least five real days)
To get made, a man must have at least two spokes-people within the family he wishes to join, and the commission must okay it.
It is suggested that a member, before getting made, have to have killed a man as to prove he is not a cop and he is loyal enough to get made.Don’s should try to make multiple associates at a time; this is commonly known as “opening up the books”
Getting made should be treated and regarded as a big deal, and ergo the ceremony should reflect such.
■ The Ceremony should include most if not all the members of the family in which the new member is joining.
■ The Ceremony should be treated and dealt with the utmost care and respect by all members of La Costra Nostra
■ The Ceremony, typically, should involve the burning of picture of a saint in one’s hand; the picture should have a drip of blood from the soon to be made-man, and the said man should have to swear an oath of secrecy and loyalty to the Don of his new family. Once in a family you are in that family until your death, or if that family is completely and utterly dissolved. There is no transferring out.
Ranks:
Ranking up in the mafia is often done through seniority, there is no “fast track” to moving up the ranks, you just have to consistently put forth hard work and kick up good money. Good earners tend to be favored over those who earn less, but generally seniority and consistency are key factors in who gets promoted.
The mafia is a paramilitary organization, rank is earned and not just handed down.
Don:
■ Few people are allowed to question the don, the Underboss, Consigliere, and Street Boss are the only people allowed to openly question the don.
■ The don, commonly referred to as boss or skipper, is the organizer, leader, and spearhead of the family. The don’s word is law to his family, his decisions are final.
■ The don collects his kick up from the underboss, or street boss.
Underboss:
■ The underboss is the second in command in the family, the logical successor to the don. Underboss’ are caporegime who get appointed by the don, and change with every don.
■ The underboss’ main purpose is to supervise the caporegimes and make sure things are running smoothly, he is also a source of advice to the don.
■ Kicks up to the don or the street boss if there is one.
Consigliere:
■ The consigliere is a made man appointed by the don to serve as an advisor, the consigliere is usually a close friend of the don.
■ While the role is largely advisory, the consigliere can operate as a mademan and can participate in racket.
Street Boss:
■ A highly uncommon role, the street boss is a senior caporegime appointed by the don and functionally similar to the underboss, It serves to separate the don from the lower workers and reduce the risk of law enforcement pinning the leader.
■ It is an unofficial role.
■ Kicks up to the don.
Caporegime:
■ The Caporegime, commonly referred to as a Captain, is the leader of a crew of Mademen that supervises a racket.
■ Capos are functionally the most important role in the mafia, their goal is to keep the money flowing upwards.
■ In the event that a Don has passed and not named a successor then it is the Capo’s duty to elect a new Don. Unless the capos confirm the underboss to take the seat then the underboss will have to fight for it.
■ Someone can not be Don with no Capo support. In the event that two capos both want to be made Don then they must peacefully resolve the issues or go to war over it.
■ Capos kick up to the Underboss.
Crews:
■ Each Caporegime has a crew of Mademen that he manages and leads.
■ Each crew is assigned to a racket that the Caporegime, and by extension the mademen, are responsible for. This allows someone to be held responsible when a racket is poorly performing.
■ Crews can either be strictly enforced or more loosely structured, but crews are a crucial part of the family.
Mademen:
■ Mademen, commonly referred to as soldiers, are the lowest official members of the family. They operate as the street power of the family.
■ The main goal for mademen is to earn money for the family, and earn a name for themselves in the family. The mademen of a family operate the rackets and protect business interests of the family.
■ A Mademan is always on call for the family. Their allegiance is to the family.
■ Mademen kick up to the caporegime.
Associates:
■ Associates are not members of the family, they are also not bound by the same requirements. If an associate desire to be made then he must meet the requirements. Associates get all the responsibility of a mademan, with none of the protections.
■ The goal of an associate should be to get made unless that is not possible, such as if they were not italian.
■ Associates are not protected by the Commission, and it is rare that they are protected by the family.
■ Associates kick up to their mademan.
The Commission:
The Commission is the ruling body of the Mafia, also referred to as La Cosa Nostra. It consists of the major families in the city, and is designed to regulate conflict and crime between families as to prevent feuds and conflicts.The Commission’s authority is indisputable, to challenge the Commission’s authority has historically been a death sentence.
The Commission sets the standard and precedent that all La Costra Nostra families operate on. The Commission operates as the legislators of the Mafia.
■ (Ex: The Commission approves all hits, and votes on the acceptance of narcotics)
The Commission also works to discuss to create compromises, broker deals, and settle disputes.
■ (Ex. If a family member stole from another family then the commission would rule on the acceptable punishment for said member as to prevent a war between the families.
The Commission also manages membership of all families.
■ The Commission protects all mademen from physical harm or death at the hands of another member, civilian, or anyone, unless sanctioned by the Commission.
■ The Commission also has to approve all new members.
■ Much like the US government recognizing a country, the Commission has to recognize a new don.
The Commission also divides up territory among the dons, all new territorial claims must be brought to the Commission.The Commission meets as often as needed, but at the minimum twice a month.
■ (Ex. Conflicts, business ventures, new gangs, concerns with the rules, ect.)
A Commission meeting can only be official if every family is represented, if a family can not be represented then a meeting may still take place but it will not be an official Commission meeting. Emergency Commission meetings may be called under dire circumstances
■(Ex: The Black Diamond street gang wages an all out war on all Italians, robbing any and all mob members, this would warrant an emergency meeting)
The Sit-Down:
A Sit-Down is an official meeting between two or more members of a family with a higher ranking moderator.
You can have a chat any time you’d like, but a Sit-Down is a scheduled meeting. The main goal of a Sit-Down is to settle disputes that are small enough to be solved within the family, but not small enough to get resolved amongst themselves.For example, Two caporegime have an issue. One of Capo A’s crew members jacked a truck that belong to a company that is under Capo B’s control. The don of the family will hear both sides out and make an official ruling on the matter.
Sit-Downs are not always between higher ups, a capo can serve as a moderator for a mademan sit-down.
Territory:
Territory is the area in which a family operates. Territory is not directly owned by the family, but is instead owned as a front business by a pseudo company for the sole purpose of concealing the family’s tracks.
While territory isn’t a tangible, hard line in the sand, it is something that you must vigorously defend.
“Trespassing”, The concept of trespassing in this context is not the physical act of stepping into another family’s territory, it is instead the act of operating on another families territory without first receiving permission. To trespass is a serious offence and will result in serious consequences, ignorance is not an excuse.
All profits made in a families territory is under their jurisdiction and thus subject to taxation. Failure to pay the controlling family their due is not only an insult to the family, but is a violation to the Commission.
Warfare
Sometimes in the line of work that we are in conflicts pop up. Sometimes those conflicts escalate and war becomes unavoidable.
War much like killing isn’t something that joy should derive from.
War attracts increased police presence, loss of earning potential, and general disarray.
War is when two or more families get into a conflict that escalates to serious proportions.War is more or less a pingpong of violence between the sides. It is a cycle of sanctioned violence. The members that caused the war are open to be PK’d for their actions and transgressions. Wars are usually short and bloody conflicts. If a don is killed then the war is by default over, However dons should never be the first target
All wars must be validated by an admin, and you must have a valid reason for going to war
Valid reasons include, but are not limited to:
■ An unsanctioned hit and refusal to turn over the killer.
■ Repeated acts of trespassing.
■ Repeatedly muscling or interfering with your racket.
■ Repeated assaults on family members.The tactics of a war are largely up to the don himself, but a good rule of thumb is “Unless you plan on eradicating the entire family, it is best not to damage so much as to where you can’t work with the survivors.”
Generally speaking, damage to buildings and the slaying of unconnected family is considered to cross the line. Crossing the line and taking a war too far is an easy way you can get families that prior declared neutrality to support your enemy.
Making Money
● Protection Racketeering:
The goal of a protection racket is to extort the owner into paying you money for “protection” from crime.The percent you ask for should not exceed 50% of all profit.If you protection is denied then you should not pursue a PK, instead you can damage the store in a financial way, by destroying their inventory, or harassing customers.Killing a shop owner is one of the last things you want to do, the death of a shop owner can cause nothing but issues and unwanted police attention.
● Numbers Racketeering:
A numbers racket is similar to a lottery, a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day.The number can also be pulled from the “handle” of a major race track. The “handle” is a term that references the total number of bets taken, not the amount of money taken, just the number of bets in total.Number rackets are run by a “bookie” the bookie must keep tabs of his own “handle” to make sure he pays the right amounts to the right people.
● Credit Fraud:
A credit fraud racket is a fairly simple concept, you get a person to purchase expensive merchandise on the their credit and sell it on the street at a reduced price. Since it is credit and you are paying no money to acquire the goods then all money earned is profit.It is best to run this through a store as you can rack up more credit charges than if it were an individual person
● Loan Sharking:
The concept of loan sharking is a simple idea, you loan out money out, and charge interest, the goal is to get the person into a place where the debt is not repayable, and you can continue to charge them interest all while they get farther and farther into debt.
● Cheque Fraud
Cheque fraud comes in many forms, I will list a few:
■ Bad Cheques: writing a cheque you know intentionally won’t cash as to acquire good, paper money, or services at no cost
■ Abandonment: Depositing a cheque that is intentionally fraudulent and when the funds show as available the account owner withdraws the money in cash, and when the cheque is found to be fraudulent the account owner abandons the account.
■ Forgery: By altering the amount on the check, the forger can take more money than originally written. In some instances the cheques can be entirely fabricated, made solely for the purpose of redeeming it for cash.
● Bid Rigging
Bid rigging is a system of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one party even though for the sake of appearance several other parties also present a bid.
■ Bid suppression: occurs where some of the conspirators agree not to submit a bid so that another conspirator can win the contract.
■ Complementary bidding: occurs where some of the bidders agree to submit bids that are intended not to be successful, so that another conspirator can win the contract
■ Bid rotation: occurs where the bidders take turns being the designated successful bidder, for example, each conspirator is designated to be the successful bidder on certain contracts, with conspirators designated to win other contracts.
■ Phantom auctions: The Bank will 'tentatively' auction a foreclosed home, and give bidders an option to give"preliminary bids" for homes that are not yet authorized for auction. If the reserve bids are not met, the home will be updated as "never was available for auction" even though bids were received.
● Automated Systems
Each family is provided with rackets automatically which allows them to make a source of income from a system that isn’t heavily reliant on admins. Some of these systems are more complicated than others and in some cases may require components be bought from other factions. You’re given rackets based on your family’s ability to roleplay properly, the better the roleplay, the better the benefits your family will receive. Don’t be bound to just the rackets you’re given, in some cases they will only provide a small amount of money, take suggestions from the bullets above on how to make other rackets. Because it’s important to keep in mind, it isn’t all about the money, it’s about the roleplay.