Boss Character Specialty

As with Boss Character Backgrounds, when first joining a Vendetta game you will be required to select a Boss Character Speciality from one of nine options. Unlike Boss Backgrounds, however (the advantages of which mostly apply only to that Character himself), your chosen Boss Speciality will always apply to all the Named Characters in your entire Personal Organization. Boss Speciality advantages are however derived entirely from the unique skills and leadership style of your Boss Character, so if he dies all of your Named Characters will lose these unique advantages. Unlike your Boss Background, Boss Speciality bonuses are not affected in any way at all by the age of your starting Boss Character. All of the first five Boss Specialities work in identical fashion, they just apply to different rackets from among the 120+ available in the game. For this reason the standard advantages of each are listed only under the fifth option ('Other Rackets' Speciality) instead of being repeated for each. Of these five racket categories, the most lucrative in the long term will be 'Smuggling Rackets' as these control the major supply routes into the city and the main points of distribution from there. However, these are mostly high-level rackets and will not benefit you very much in the early stages of your game, so think very carefully before opting for this particular one. It is definitely a gamble, but the potential payout and eventual power is truly enormous. The 'Other Rackets' category contains those rackets which do not fall into any of the other four categories. As with Smuggling Rackets, the unusual and unpredictable nature of the 'Other Rackets' category might make this option less desirable for many Bosses than might one of the first three categories. Still, it is not as large a gamble as opting for 'Smuggling Rackets' specialization would be, while the potential rewards are greater than for the first three racket categories as the 'Other Rackets' types are more diverse and unusual, and are therefore less likely to face intense competition. The nine Boss Character Specialities and the particular advantages of each are as follows:

Booze Rackets

See below

Vice Rackets

See below.

Gambling Rackets

See Below.

Smuggling Rackets

See Below

Other Rackets

Specializing in a particular type of racket (any of the above five main categories) has the following benefits, derived from your Boss Character's own superior expertise being applied across your entire Personal Organization in a supervisory role: a) You will generally learn of rackets of your Specialist type sooner than will most other Bosses, as Specialists receive the appropriate racket information as soon as their Boss Rank is equal to the minimum Boss Rank required to operate that particular racket - ignoring any and all other considerations. In consequence, and all else being equal, your Organization will be able to expand within this overall racket type faster than will those Bosses who do not specialize in it. b) Specialists will more quickly be able to put a new racket of their specialist type on a profitable footing than will non-Specialists. This will be noticed during game play by the 'Time Points Requirement' (for 'Business Operations') of a newly-established racket falling to its minimum requirement more quickly than normal. As establishing brand new rackets can be a very time-consuming affair, this advantage is a valuable one. c) Similarly, Specialists will discover that they need spend less time each week operating long-established rackets than will non-Specialists. In game terms, the 'Minimum Time Points Requirement' (for 'Business Operations') is a little lower for Specialists than it is for non-Specialists. d) Specialist rackets also benefit from reduced running costs and improved efficiency. In consequence, all rackets of this overall type operated by your Organization will prove noticeably more profitable than would any similar rackets operated by non-Specialists. e) Where a Specialist racket is in direct competition with a rival racket being operated by a non-Specialist, the racket being operated by the Specialist will enjoy a bonus in attracting custom. The Specialist knows his business - and his customers - better. All else being equal, the non-Specialist racket will therefore suffer in competition against the Specialist.

Friends in High Places

This Boss Speciality provides all Named Characters of your Personal Organization with a significant hidden bonus to their current-shown 'Persuasion' and 'Perception' abilities, respectively. The first is used primarily for Influencing important NPC characters in the city, while the second ability is an important element used when investigating another character for 'Skeleton' weaknesses. This combination, used properly, will allow an astute Boss to more easily build up powerful political and legal protection for his Organization, if not for his Syndicate / Family as a whole. Bear in mind that in Vendetta political and legal influence can be used offensively as well as defensively.

Business Contacts

With this Speciality your entire Personal Organization is better geared towards operating illegal businesses. It does this by attracting mostly those types of individuals who excel in operating rackets efficiently and profitably, and this Speciality also has a much greater chance of attracting skilled racket specialists. In essence, this is the Boss Speciality to choose if you wish to maximize your Organization's total income potential regardless of which rackets you are able to operate at various stages in the game.

Street Warfare

Essentially the opposite to the 'Business Contacts' Speciality, with this Speciality your Boss has decided to build a Personal Organization consisting not of racket specialists, but of specialists in violence. This Boss Speciality builds the kind of gang reputation that attracts mostly tough men and brawlers, specialist gunmen and explosives experts, hitmen and pathological killers. In addition, your Boss Character will gain a useful bonus in 'Respect' (which directly boosts your Boss Status) for every successful Drive-By, Ambush or Premise raid conducted by yourself or any of your underlings. Inexperienced players should be warned that the 'Street Warfare' Speciality might sound fun but also often results in the slowest actual Boss Status / Boss Rank progress - due to a lack of 'business' individuals in your gang - and this is of course a form of weakness in itself... It is advisable to already have some game experience under your belt before choosing this extreme Speciality for a new game.

Man of Respect

This hard-to-play-well, very extreme Speciality endows your Boss Character with a personal reputation as an especially feared Mafioso. In the early stages of the game its advantages are restricted to the dealings you or any of your men have with NPC characters, especially Underworld characters. Later in the game - if you survive long enough - it will provide a useful bonus in the planning of Hits and Kidnappings through the use of extra information gathered by your men, with your fearsome personal reputation loosening tongues. In addition, your Boss Character will gain a bonus in 'Respect' (which directly boosts your Boss Status) for every successful planned Hit or Kidnapping of a rival conducted by yourself or any of your underlings.