How to start a gang war (or, things only DMs think about)

[Zahhak]

So, this is something I've been thinking about for a campaign: how to start a gang war?

The setting is based on the party that works within the underworld of a country that has a very good police and criminal justice system, and a large and powerful military. The underworld elements have figured out that the police don't operate outside of the city borders, and that the country is reluctant to use its military (mostly for economic reasons). So, the criminal organizations (gangs, mobs, bandit groups, assassin guilds, etc) simply moved their operations out of the cities and set up in the middle of near-by forests. There's a general understanding in the country and its underworld that as long as the criminal elements do not engage in conflict between themselves and keep control over the size and scope of their illegal activities, they can pretty much be left alone. So, the leadership of the underworld elements are pretty good at crushing anyone, especially their own people, who engage in conflict with other gangs.

Now, the plot is based around a small group of people who are trying to spark a massive gang war so that the country will throw its entire weight into the goal of smashing these criminal elements.

But that brings me to an interesting question: How do you spark a gang war between gangs that are devoted to the idea of not fighting each other?

Additional notes:
1. These organizations are most similar to the real world mob: mostly about vice crimes like drugs and prostitution, but also heavily about smuggling and forgeries
2. The reason for no-conflict is that mob warfare inevitably involves civilian casualties, which the country will not stand for.
3. The issue of the underworld making a lot is based on "if it costs more to kill them then we will save from them not being around, it isn't worth it"
4. This is intended to be a mystery style game, inspired by spy and film noir, so the emphasis should not be on overt bloodshed.

As a general idea: imagine mobsters in a Pelorian state with a military full of Paladins who are run by bottom-line worrying accountants.

[Crazyfailure13]

That depends on the setting, but the easier way would be able to have the people aiming to spark a war pose as members of each group, and kill the bosses of the group, sparking hate, and possibly causing enough chaos to break chain of command and have them devolve into fighting.

another way would be to secretly replace anti-war members of each group with war starters, and use the power they would gain to force war. (Magic certainly helps this option.)

[ArcturusV]

That seems kind of... backwards. I mean you'd think a nation would WANT the Gangs to fight and kill one another. Rather than say, focusing on robbing legal commerce inside their nation. As I imagine from the description that they are highway bandit types.

The longer they're NOT killing one another, the more effective they are at killing and looting random merchants that, really, it is in the best interest of the nation in question to have operating unmolested.

There's two obvious ways I see to spark a gang war though. One is by having someone stage an invasion of the other side's turf. Your band of Murderhobos or whoever dresses up like the other gang, starts doing jobs on the local gang's turf. That is likely to start up tensions. You build up tensions, maybe off a couple of low level thugs. Maybe try to run a protection racket where they already have one going...

Eventually it'll get to the point where, if the underworld IS as lovey dovey as suggested, they'll try to do a meeting to hash things out. Guys come together, sit down, etc. This is when your murderhobos go and kill everyone there. The leaders are gone, removing discipline from the gangs. There's bad blood between them. There is questions of who is going to take over. It's rife for anarchy and breaking out in general, overt violence.

The other, perhaps easier option? Put the giant golden widget of "enough money to buy several kingdoms worth" right smack dab between both Gangs. Tell them both about it. Let greed do it's natural thing and have them start fighting over who gets the loot because it was right between both of their territories and neither of them really had a good claim, and neither of them are going to let a score like that go away without a fight.

[Zahhak]

That seems kind of... backwards. I mean you'd think a nation would WANT the Gangs to fight and kill one another. Rather than say, focusing on robbing legal commerce inside their nation. As I imagine from the description that they are highway bandit types.

A lot of what the organizations do at this point is more like smuggling and vice crimes, with almost no actual bandits. As I'm thinking about it, the mob would be the best real world comparison. And like I said, as much as preventing conflict the general understanding has it that the underworld cannot make a lot of money.

The part about avoiding conflict is largely one of spill over, gang wars tend to end up involving random civilians. So, basically, as long as no civilians are killed in a total war, and as long as it would cost more to crush the underworld then the country would save by crushing them, the country just lets the underworld do what it wants.

Also something I forgot, this is intended basically a mystery/suspense game based on spy films and film noirs. So, part of what I'm up to is about some subtlety. So, yeah, sneaking in in disguise and going on a killing spree will work, but that's not what I was looking for. I'm going to clarify this in the OP

[Crazyfailure13]

Well without overt bloodshed could be assassinations of leaders and important members, leaving false trails to the others gangs.

[Gnomish Wanderer]

A lot of what the organizations do at this point is more like smuggling and vice crimes, with almost no actual bandits. As I'm thinking about it, the mob would be the best real world comparison. And like I said, as much as preventing conflict the general understanding has it that the underworld cannot make a lot of money.

If the underworld cannot make a lot of money, the criminals are forced to live or at least work outside the city and the law is effective enough that it's actually hazardous to do crimes, why is there organized crime at all?

[ArcturusV]

Pretty much. No criminal is going to really go, "I can't really make any money at this more than I would dirt farming", and still pursue a life where Murderhobos will try to kill them, soldiers/guards may try to kill them, peasant victims may try to kill them, etc. Vice crimes tend to have a lot of "vengeance" attached to them in a DnD world. Prostitution with it's usual slavery connotations. Drug addiction which ruins lives/kills people. Gambling which feeds on the desperate and the impulsive parasitically. It's all the sort of stuff that a typical Good adventurer would be more than willing to put some steel in you over.

It's more human nature to go, "Okay... the government is fine with us enslaving and whoring out people... maybe they might be okay with..." and run something a little bigger, and a little more profitable, Drug running for instance. Then they get away with that, and maybe start a black market in stolen goods. Which encourages thievery and burglary of higher end stuff (Which generally draws the attention of the Rich and Powerful who are more likely to demand action from the government). If they get away with that? They might go a step further and decide to run a protection racket in a nearby village.

When they get away with that? They effectively run the village, and will do whatever they want to make money hand over fist.

[Jacob.Tyr]

The end goal is getting the city to go after the gangs, with a caveat that you do not want to be involved in bloodshed.

How do we achieve this goal? Convince the city that the gangs have gotten out of control. You propose one way of doing this, inciting a gang war. There are others, though, that I think would be easier.

1) If drug smuggling is involved, follow the shipments. Find out who is involved in buying in the city.
1a) Politicians with addictions to blackmail into coming out hard on gangs.
1b) Children of politicians/elite who use drugs. Find who supplies to rich kids, intercept and spike a shipment in such a way that a few die. When a handful of the wealthy elite lose their children to drugs, the city will come down on it.
1c) Work to organize a temperance movement in the city, a la pre-prohibition era USA. Get the churchy folks to not shut up until the city HAS to crack down due to public opinion.

2) Prostitution scandals. Prove enough of the elite are using them, throw the whole system in disarray. Out as many leaders as you can as customers of the prostitution side of things, eventually those who you haven't outed will come out strong against it to make themselves appear safe.


3) Screw with some of their other goods smuggling. Find out who their fences are, lift a few choice items from them. Sneak these items into the very shipments the fence is supposed to help move, shutting down a source of revenue for that gang.

Overall: Follow the money, screw with the money. The gangs will get desperate for more revenue. They'll follow their rules less strictly, engage in riskier business, and fight each other over remaining revenue streams. You manage to shut down the dealer network for all but a few drug operations, the other gangs are going to get mad and act up against those who can still move product. Same with smuggling, forgeries, prostitution. Find a way to shut down all but a few choice gangs, and the gangs will blame those who can still make money and go after them.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Those gangs aren't gangs at that point. They're small, independent city-states within the territory of a much larger and more powerful nation.

What you're asking isn't how to start a gang war in a country that tolerates gangs, but how to start a war between states overseen by a larger governing body.

All the typical war-starters apply here. The most likely spark is resources. First get the government to crack-down on illegal activities that these gangs fuel. A reduction in the demand for their products will increase the strain on those organizations ability to maintain their forces and make the turf they can work that much more valuable. Once tension reaches a critical point, you add a spark by making it look like one gang fired the first shot or even enticing one group to actually take the first shot.

The whole thing could be accomplished with a few whispered words in the right ears if you know what you're doing and can get all the information you need and access to those ears.

[Asheram]

Well.. Without firearms the chance for collateral damage would have decreased... But don't forget that there's magic.

Fireball into the crowd is the new driveby.

[Mono Vertigo]

Well.. Without firearms the chance for collateral damage would have decreased... But don't forget that there's magic.

Fireball into the crowd is the new driveby.
You have no idea how much I like that image.

[Asheram]

You have no idea how much I like that image.

:smallbiggrin: You are most welcome.

I suppose there'd be all kinds of likenesses. Explosive runes on someones horse or in their saddlebags. Alchemists fire in through windows. The new Tommy gun is a high level wand of magic missiles.

[Mono Vertigo]

And now I want to play in a fantasy setting involving a gang war.
By which I mean playing a mobster in that setting.

[themocaw]

Well, the number one motivator for feuds and gang wars is revenge. "Urich messed with Alarik's sister, so Alarik burned down Urich's barn, so Urich came back with some friends and killed Alarik's cattle, which led to Alarik's brother getting his arm chopped off, so now Alarik is getting the clan together for a big raid into Urich's territory, which means that Urich's father, the rival clan lord, is getting all his guys together to protect his son. . ."

[Synovia]

Yojimbo.....

[The New Bruceski]

One obvious question for the purpose of resources: are you trying to figure out how the players could do it, or setting up a situation that the players will discover? Does it need to be a foolproof plan or can it rely on parts that, while flawed (someone overhearing the right comment in a bar and reacting the right way) can be forced to occur by DM "it's all happening between NPCs" fiat?

As for how to pull it off, if the gangs have this agreement with each other then you need to convince one side either that it is worth breaking the agreement, or that the other side has already done so. While an assassination of a leader could pull this off, if you don't have access that high then a smaller-level false flag attack needs a bit of a push.

If you ambush a shipment while disguised as another gang, the leaders are going to talk and say it wasn't them. You need to insert some suspicion into the mix, right now nobody has anything to gain from breaking the agreement. Here's where my "overheard in a bar" comment comes in. If someone from the attacked gang hears boasting along the lines of "we can get away with anything! Those XXXX suckers are all too willing to believe it was some other guys" then that's the wedge. Get the right wedge into the right person and hammer it a bit, and you can force the whole agreement apart.

[Asheram]

ah.. I can see it before me.

The half-elf and halfling gangs holding the trading and entertainment areas of the town, making people pay for "fire insurance".
The half-orc gangs holding the docks, roughing up everyone who doesn't pay protection money and taking a small tax out of every transaction. No cargo leaves or enters the town without them knowing about it and getting paid.
And only Boccob knows what the gnome gangs are doing down in the sewers but green smoke can sometimes be seen billowing out through the grates and there haven't been any sightings of rats since many moons ago.

[ReaderAt2046]

Does whoever is trying to do this have access to demons? Because if so a very effective way of spiraling things out of control would be to kill off a few dozen prostitutes and replace them with succubi. All of a sudden people are found dead for no particular reason in the "taverns" and "houses", and the city is up in extreme paranoia. Even better, if some of the whores replace are high-end courtesans you could have major respectable citizens getting picked off at random Also, a high-end succubus could probably kill off and impersonate some mid-rank gang leader and start the fighting herself, particularly with charms and suggestions at-will.