Recruiting Named Characters

In Vendetta you run your own gang, or crew (often referred to as your 'personal Organization'), of between 3 and 54 named characters, each with their own skills, abilities, ambitions and loyalties. Through your employment of these characters do you expand the wealth, power and influence of your Boss Character. Your Boss Character is 'You' in the game. When first you join the game you will have control of only three characters - your Boss Character plus two others who are close followers and trusted friends. Being of only minor 'Gang Boss' rank, your starting Organization is limited in number to only seven characters in total, so at the beginning you will have space in your Organization for four more. These are known as Vacant Positions in your gang. Your starting personal 'family tree' will show your Boss Character with the two other starting characters immediately below him (ie. both paying Tribute directly to you), and each of these with two vacant positions below them. The named characters hired to fill these vacant slots would in future pay Tribute to one of your two existing named characters. Hiring the right man for the job is one of the most important parts of the game and should be awarded due attention. These guys are your future. There are three ways in which new named character might be brought to your attention as possible new gang members:

Blood Relatives

These are literally relatives of your Boss Character, whether brothers, cousins, uncles, nephews, sons or even grandsons. During the course of the game these will simply appear on your gang's 'Available Recruits' screen (which is not visible unless at least one character is listed there), without requiring any particular Order on your part. The appearance of Blood Relatives will be staggered throughout the life of the game, representing the different generations, so the longer you survive in the game the more Blood Relatives you will accumulate. Blood Relatives are generally superior characters, if only in their loyalty to you being exceptionally high, though most would usually have also possess the aptitude for some superior skills or abilities.

Promoting Guards

Each of your named Characters will have between 2-12 unnamed Guards, acting as aides, bodyguards and general 'muscle'. There are eight grades of Guards ranging from 'Goons' to 'Mafia Soldiers', and any character might have any number of each up to 12 in total. Consequently, as your Organization grows in the number of named Characters under your control, so does the number & quality of 'Guards' in your employ also grow. When given the Order to try to recruit a new named Character, any Character would automatically first look among the ranks of the Guards for a suitable candidate for promotion, these being assumed to be more loyal to the gang. Both the number and quality of the Guards in your employ will have an affect on the likely success of a recruit Order, especially when being very particular in the type of person you are looking for.

Hiring Outsiders

Should there be none among your Guards meeting the requirements specified, a Character given the order to recruit a new named Character would then automatically look farther afield. This will not only take longer to find a suitable character seeking employment, it is also a little riskier as the new employee has not served any time as a Guard. On the plus side, hiring from the outside also has the possibility of picking up a highly-skilled new character, one who is available simply because he believes himself too good to accept work with any gang as simple 'muscle'. But it is definitely riskier recruiting from the outside than by promotion among your own gang. Any Character in your employ can be given the Order to try to recruit another named Character, although the 'Personnel Management' Ability of this Character will play an important part and should always be taken into consideration. Some of the other skills & abilities might also serve some use when carrying out this order, each in their own way. The recruit order itself allows you to specify the three main characteristics, in order of importance, of the type of character you would like him to recruit. For instance, if you just want someone physically impressive and unafraid - perhaps for operating something like the 'Protection' racket - then you might specify 'Build' and 'Toughness' as the two most important characteristics to look for. The quickest way of hiring a new named character is simply to use the option to choose the best Guard currently available. Being familiar with the men under their command, all of your existing named characters will already have a good idea of who the best ones are. This option allows you to pick one of those with the highest overall Aptitude in various skills & abilities, but it does not allow you to be specific.

'Available Recruits' Screen

Once a Character has been identified as suitable for employment as a new named Character in your gang, he will be added to the 'Available Recruits' screen. This will reveal his known Characteristics, Abilities & Skills, as well as whether he is currently a Blood Relative, a Guard, or an Outsider. Blood Relatives listed on this screen are classed as Civilians and will remain available until you offer them a vacant position in your gang. Guards listed will also remain available indefinitely, but with every Guard killed each week there is a small chance he was one listed on your 'Available Recruits' screen. If so, he will of course disappear from this screen. Outsiders will remain listed on the 'Available Recruits' screen for only a short period of time (usually 1-5 days real-time) before disappearing - either by being employed by another gang or from running out of patience waiting to hear from you. Any character listed on the Available Recruits screen may be allocated one of the lowest-ranked positions in the gang if one is currently vacant. A new character cannot be given a higher-ranked position, though he may be promoted into one shortly after joining your gang, should you so wish.