Crime Syndicate Member
Background
Proficiencies & Equipment
- Skill Proficiencies:
- Deception, plus your choice of one between Sleight of Hand or Stealth.
- Tool Proficiencies:
- Your choice of one from Thieves’ Tools, Forgery Kit, or Disguise Kit.
- Languages:
- Thieves’ Cant
- Equipment:
- A set of dark common clothes including a hood, a set of tools to match your choice of tool proficiency, and a belt pouch containing 10g.
Description
Whether you grew up in the slum-run streets bamboozling foolish gamblers out of their fortune, or spent your youth pilfering loose coin from the pockets of less-attentive travelers, your lifestyle of deceiving-to-survive eventually drew the attention of an organized and dangerous crime syndicate. Offering protection, a modicum of kinship, and a number of useful resources to further develop your craft as a criminal, you agree to receive the syndicate’s brand and join their ranks.
You might have been working the guild’s lower ranks, wandering the alleys as a simple cutpurse to fill the meager coffers with wayward gold until the opportunity arose to climb the professional ladder. Or you may have become a clever actor and liar whose skill in blending in with all facets of society has made you an indispensable agent of information gathering. Perhaps your technique with a blade and swiftness of action led you to become a feared hitman for a syndicate boss, sending you on the occasional contract to snuff the life of some unfortunate soul who crossed them. Regardless, while the threat of the law is ever looming, the advantages to having a foot in such a powerful cartel can greatly outweigh the paranoia.
Features
A Favor In Turn.
You have gained enough clout within the syndicate that you can call in a favor from your contacts, should you be close enough to a center of criminal activity. A request for a favor can be no longer than 20 words, and is passed up the chain to an undisclosed syndicate boss for approval. This favor can take a shape up to the DM’s discretion depending on the request, with varying speeds of fulfillment: If muscle is requested, an NPC syndicate minion can temporarily aid the party. If money is needed, a small loan can be provided. If you’ve been imprisoned, they can look into breaking you free, or paying off the jailer. The turn comes when a favor is asked to be repaid. The favor debt can be called in without warning, and many times with intended immediacy. Perhaps the player is called to commit a specific burglary without the option to decline. Maybe they must press a dignitary for a specific secret at an upcoming ball. The syndicate could even request a hit on an NPC, no questions asked or answered. The DM is to provide a debt call proportionate to the favor fulfilled. If a favor is not repaid within a reasonable period of time, membership to the crime syndicate can be revoked, and if the debt is large enough, the player may become the next hit contract to make the rounds.