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2021-01-14, 08:26 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
Since I am getting a bit tired of running fantasy systems for my players, I thought a good old gangster campaign would make for some nice variety.
I am planning on letting the players start as street punks, set up a sandbox for them to discover, throw a few situations at them, and see were it goes from there.
What I'm ideally looking for is something with fairly lethal combat, mini-games for running various rackets, and some sort of companion system for superiors/underlings in criminal organizations.
I was considering using Call of Cthulhu (non-pulp), but I'm not great at designing mini-games myself, so anything including that kind of thing would be a big plus.
Any ideas or advice would be welcome.Last edited by Misereor; 2021-01-14 at 08:27 AM.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition.
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2021-01-14, 08:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2017
Re: Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
I think there's a Blades in the Dark hack suited for that called Misbehavin'. Haven't read it myself, but as BitD it should be good for building up a criminal organization in a limited sandbox.
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2021-01-15, 02:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Gender
Re: Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
STaRS would work well for a game like this! It's a rules-light system, with an emphasis on being fast and avoiding narrative-based mechanics. The key part for you, I think, is that the "conflict" engine is deliberately generic--it's designed to turn any challenge that could be a single check into a dynamic scene with tactics and back-and-forth action. It would be very easy to to use for protection rackets, con games, bank heists and the like. (The book includes plenty of guidance on how to do so)
Hill Giant Games
I make indie gaming books for you!Spoiler
STaRS: A non-narrativeist, generic rules-light system.
Grod's Guide to Greatness, 2e: A big book of player options for 5e.
Grod's Grimoire of the Grotesque: An even bigger book of variant and expanded rules for 5e.
Giants and Graveyards: My collected 3.5 class fixes and more.
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2021-01-16, 08:39 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
Re: Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
Thanks for the feedback.
One of my players found a mini-game for running rackets, so we'll probably just merge that with CoC rules, as we are all familiar with those already.
Have to say though, that I find it really odd that such an iconic period hasn't been more developed in roleplaying games.-
What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition.
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2021-01-16, 10:09 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Gender
Re: Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
I think you largely get stuff like Call of Cthulu, Hollow Earth Expedition, and Atomic Robo-- things that add a supernatural element to the 1920-40s pulp.
Hill Giant Games
I make indie gaming books for you!Spoiler
STaRS: A non-narrativeist, generic rules-light system.
Grod's Guide to Greatness, 2e: A big book of player options for 5e.
Grod's Grimoire of the Grotesque: An even bigger book of variant and expanded rules for 5e.
Giants and Graveyards: My collected 3.5 class fixes and more.
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2021-01-17, 09:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2014
Re: Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
A quick search turned up Gangbusters, which might be what you're looking for.
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2021-01-18, 05:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
Re: Anyone know a good mobster roleplaying game?
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition.
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2021-01-19, 03:00 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2014
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2021-01-19, 03:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016