Guards
This is a general term referring to all the unnamed (but not unimportant) 'muscle' occupying the lower echelons of criminal organizations. Each named Character will have between two and twelve Guards assigned to and paid by him, though a maximum of six would usually be accompanying him at any one time as nobody works for 24 hours a day... Half of a Character's Guards will, on average, accompany him at all times - except on those occasions where he might need to operate alone, or with no more than one or two to help him.
The quality of available Guards varies widely and costs accordingly. There are eight different 'grades' of Guards, as follows. The cost shown is the minimum weekly salary each would expect to receive, although this will fluctuate as time goes by.
Goons ($50)
Gorillas ($100)
Thugs ($200)
Muscle ($400)
Sluggers ($600)
Enforcers ($800)
Bodyguards ($1000)
Soldiers ($1500)
'Mafia Soldiers are available only to high-ranking Bosses of a Mafia Family, not to any Syndicate Bosses or even the Head of a Syndicate.
Guards are literally that - personal protection for your named Characters. Also from these will you draw the select few who are to be given greater responsibility and become named characters within your expanding personal Organization, if they prove themselves worthy of such. The larger the number and the better the quality of Guards in your employ, the better quality (in Skills & Abilities) you will have when recruiting new named Characters from among the nameless Guards to fill important vacant positions in the organization.
Guards also improve through experience (especially if assigned to a character with good 'Leadership Qualities' ability) but in doing so will also expect higher wages. Unlike named Characters, who keep a share of everything they make and so earn their own income, Guards receive a fixed salary each week based on the current going rate for men of their particular talents, the minimum cost of which is shown above.
Any named character may be assigned the task of recruiting more Guards for your personal Organization but as with all Orders this important task should be given to a character with suitable Abilities, as this is the obvious means by which rivals might try to infiltrate your growing Organization. Once hired, Guards are placed in a gang 'pool' from which any named Character may draw men for his personal use, up to his 12 limit. Similarly, he may transfer unwanted Guards back to the pool.
All Guards assigned to a particular Character are paid by that Character each week. Guards in the pool are not active so receive only half normal wages as a retainer, paid by your Boss Character himself. The Boss may also reduce the number of men in the pool at any time, if costs need to be cut.
All Guards must be issued with at least a revolver when they leave the pool and are assigned a duty. This is his personal weapon, which he will carry at all times. Any other weapons might also be made available to Guards, if in the possession of the controlling Character to which the Guard is assigned. A Character will never need more than seven heavier weapons assigned to him, as no more than six Guards will ever be accompanying him at any one time. This does not apply to 'specialist' weapons such a sniper's rifle, or to any other weapons which are only of use in particular situations. Such weapons should be made available surplus to requirements.
The number of Guards able to accompany a named Character will also be limited to the type of transport he has available.
Premise Guards
Just as any character might have up to 12 Guards as personal aides & bodyguards, up to half of which will accompany him at all times, so may he also assign additional Guards to any building in which he operates, whether Leased or Owned outright. As with personal Guards, each works a 12-hour shift, so roughly half of those assigned to a building will be present at any time of the day or night. As with a Character's personal retinue, up to 12 Guards can be assigned to each premise he controls. Each Guard must be issued with at least a revolver before being assigned a particular duty, though additional weapons can be stored on the premises and be available to be used by the Guards on duty. Premise Guards only become a necessity once the controlling Character has more than a single racket in operation. After this he begins to divide his time between each racket, meaning that he (and more importantly, his personal Guards) will often not be present at a particular building. When present at a guarded building, both groups of men will act to defend the building should it be raided. The amount of time a Character spends at a particular building is largely (but not entirely) dictated by the amount of his time required to operate the racket based there. For example, if he has 30 'Time Points' available and requires only 3 to operate a racket within this building, he would usually spend only a tenth of his time there. This is therefore the approximate chance of him & his personal retinue of Guards also being present should the building be raided by a rival or the police. This chance is modified in the case of 'social' rackets such as booze-selling premises. Characters controlling such rackets will often spend more time there than is strictly necessary to operate the racket efficiently, as it is likely he will also use one of his premises for socializing and as an office where he can be reached. Premise Guards are able to serve additional functions when assigned to particular racket types, where these duties do not involve straying far from the building itself. In particular, premises selling booze would obviously benefit from having such doormen, or 'bouncers', on hand, to eject drunks and trouble-makers. Some premise-based rackets would also use some of their Guards as 'cappers'. These hang around outside the building, falling in step with passers-by and mumbling to them of the services or entertainment to be had within, thereby helping to increase custom.
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