CRIME RULES

Organized Crime is part of the Foggy Hills experience. It will affect your character in some way at some point. Crime is highly encouraged by the set up. There are plenty of targets and plenty of groups to facilitate crime roleplay. The two major factions in this regard are the Mafia and the Tongs. Independent lone criminals and even rival organizations are welcome but should follow the criminal code. The following is intended as a sensible guide to crime and punishment and also inform you of the atmosphere of the time.

.

• ORGANIZED CRIME: The lower altitude sim (The north) is split by the central road in to West Side and East Side domains. The East Side is controlled by the Italian Mafia, while the West Side (china town) is controlled by The Tongs. The Mafia HQ is Vito's and The Tong HQ is club Obi wan. It is possible for both the Mafia and the Tongs to have multiple Crime Bosses to ensure good coverage of time zones, the over all "Big Boss" of both factions will always be NPC. The "Crime Bosses" report to the NPC "Big Bosses" of each respective group. Smaller outfits of organized criminals are possible but will not be given such large turfs.  Protection racket roleplay is to be expected as par for the course. Simply "paying your dues" is an easy way to avoid a violent confrontation. Calling the police is likely to result into you painting yourself as a target for repercussions. Note: Robberies should always be carried out on opposing turfs. (Don't shit where you eat)  It makes little sense to rob  businesses who pay you protection unless they have failed to pay protection. The police station marks the end of this divide, businesses in the upper sim (to the south) are fair game to both factions and smaller outfits wishing to make a name for themselves. Do note the supernatural hidden areas are not even known about as people investigating the tunnels mob handed mysteriously disappear. Bodies can be disposed of in the depths surrounding the city, only the aquatic fae are likely to find them. Do Note: It is not a free for all. Citizens maybe valued customers of a crime syndicate and not simply resources, a person who gives their money willingly is unlikely to provide a steady revenue stream once made a victim of crime. Choose targets wisely.

 

• THE MAFIA: This is a golden age for the Mafia. The 1950's saw the Mafia move into the big leagues, they rubbed shoulders with Hollywood Celebrities, hell they even put their own friends into Hollywood and on to the Music Scene. The Mafia had half the Hollywood Producers and Music Industry Bosses firmly in their pocket. A lot of Hollywood celebrities were pressured by the studios to hang out with these Mobsters . Some Hollywood Actresses were forced to go on "Dates" with these villains as were prospective actresses. Why did Hollywood and the Music Industry go along with this?... Simple, you don't say no to the Mob, not when they can sink your career with blackmail. To some in Hollywood the Mafia were seen as "Trouble shooters". Studio Boss got a Young Actress pregnant?, No problem, the boys will talk to her and take her to a doctor they know.... Actor being difficult?, no problem just give the boys five minutes to talk some sense to him. Since the formation of the Commission, the Mafia has never had so much power. They can call in favours from all the combined Families and are pretty much a unified front. Witnesses will be intimidated, juries and judges will be bought, the Mob are virtually untouchable during this time frame, only the I.R.S and F.B.I can really do much to try and hamper them due to the mafia's ability to provide alibi's and assistance from anywhere in the united states, local authorities are almost helpless.

​

• THE TONGS: During this time frame the Tongs are in great decline, the Tong wars of the late half of the 19th century and the Earthquake of 1909 and the fires that ensued greatly diminished Tong strength and territory  The Tongs were set up to be benevolent charities to aid Chinese Community in Chinatowns in the U.S.A but due to lack of funding many of these organizations turned to crime to help protect their communities from hostile Americans. Many Chinese women were illegally smuggled into the U.S.A for the purpose of forced marriage or prostitution. Gambling was not Illegal in China but was in North America, so the Tongs ran many gambling houses too. The Tongs aren't as well connected as the Mafia, but what they lack in influence across the United States they more than make up for in brutality. While the Mafia rarely will fight a pitched battle publicly, Tongs will turn up armed with shortened axes and meat cleavers and hack opponents up in the streets in front of witnesses, who are unlikely to be able to identify one ant amongst the swarm. The Tongs employed "hatchet men" or boo how doy (Chinese: 斧頭仔), also called highbinders, as hired killers to fight the street battles that ensued over turf, business and women. These men formed the professional toughs of the tong, and usually carried out their missions with precision and fearlessness. It is said that many hatchet men just prior to an assassination mission or battle with a rival tong would consume wildcat meat, in hopes that they would temporarily acquire the reflexes and sight of the animal. Tong wars were fought not only on the streets and alleys of the Chinatown, but also on the rooftops in a deadly guerrilla warfare. The boo how doy used a variety of weapons to accomplish their bloody deeds, ranging from small knives to hatchets (by far their favorite melee weapon) in the close quarter department, and they seem to have taken a particular fondness to the Colt .45 revolver for their longer range needs. The hatchet that the highbinders used was somewhat modified from what one usually thinks of a hatchet, as they would cut much of the handle off just enough to have a good grip, and cut a hole into it. The hatchet men were also known to use many different materials as body armor, with varying success. 

​

• CRIME PAYS: In Foggy Hills criminal roleplay grants a bigger xp bonus than tending bar. Being a crime boss pays an even larger bonus. The Experience Page tells you the requirements to gain the XP bonus. Nobody is going to be assigned Crime Boss Status if they don't do the basic Criminal roleplay though. Players will have to prove themselves in order to be rewarded.

​

• PROTECTION: A protection racket offers protection to a business in return for a fat envelope stuffed with dollar bills. Usually this 10% - 20% of the take for that businesses week (roleplay money only, just for reference 10 dollars is equal to 111 dollars today)  A business that fails to pay protection may find its windows get smashed or it gets robbed. Generally criminals aren't stupid and they never say "Hey give us your protection money" , they will usually say something like "It's collection day, got anything for me?" Protection roleplay offers up many, many opportunities for the protected. "Alternative Payments" for example if someone can't afford their protection money, or beatings for failure to pay up. Alternatives maybe to be a date or hostess at a mafia or tong party. Criminals should endeavour to use their imagination when it comes to dealing with missing payments. Of course they are well within their rights to just commit a beating, or smash up or rob the place of business later. Those players who wish not to deal with such scenarios can simply "Pay the protection money" as requested. However businesses in gang turfs cannot simply refuse to play either the payment or the consequences of missed payments. Paying the money takes ONE EMOTE, thats it! Play along at being extorted unless you wish for more spicy roleplay!

​

• VITO'S is the business front of the Mafia in foggy hills. The House On The Hill behind  VITO'S (The Norman Bates House)  is the Mafia Safe house where they can conduct shadier business.

​

• CLUB OBI WAN (A Temple Of Doom Easter Egg) Is the business Front of The Tongs in foggy hills. There is house with an underground basement in China Town where the Tongs conduct their shadier affairs. Both Mafia and Tong Safe Houses are NPC protected 24/7. Fun fact "Obi Wan" translates in traditional Chinese as "Oh must play"  So "Club Oh Lets Play" isn't so out of keeping of naming conventions.

​

• NEUTRAL GROUNDS: The following cannot be extorted for protection money as they are simply too big to fail. The Bay Bank. The University. The Docks. These places -can- be targeted for other crimes, such as kidnappings or robberies, but long term extortion for protection money simply isn't possible. The students of the university may find themselves targeted by the syndicates as young nubile bodies often have value in the brothels of the city, and so Students may do well not to go exploring alone, though they should be safe on the premises as a raid on a university is not going to go unnoticed for long.

​

• SAFE ZONES: The Golden Gate Hospital. The Fire Department. The Police. These are protected by the police 24/7. You may find yourself assaulted on these premises by premises staff. Needless to say they cannot be extorted, for protection money nor fall into one mobs control. 

​

• POLICE AND LAW : Generally speaking the police are not above corruption but they should never be entirely in one mobs pocket. The mob might be able to find one or two corrupt cops to help them out, but these cops will never be able to "Undo" an arrest another cop has made. Also a cop may lose their job if they are found to be "On the Take".  Generally search warrants of premises require judge approval , Judges are NPC'd by Admins. Therefore only an Admin can authorize a search warrant. It is unlikely they will authorize many of these at all, but in special circumstances they may be persuaded to. Typically criminals caught in the act can be jailed for a MAXIMUM of 3 days before being "Bound Over" (released until trial date) It is likely that trial dates are delayed as evidence chains collapse and witnesses are scared or bought off. Most of the time the prosecution case will crumble before even going to court. However in special circumstances a Trial will occur if there is simply no where left to go. If 40 witnesses saw a character murder someone in broad light, and fingerprints and other evidence are insurmountable. (I.E the criminal was dumb and reckless) then sadly the case will have to go to court and if a life sentence is awarded then the character is basically exiled from Foggy Hills (Understandably we don't intend to inflict these sentences on a regular basis and generally will always give criminals options to pursue to avoid this situation) Not all the police are good guys, some may dish out rough justice in the cells of the police station.​

​

• GANG WAR: Gang wars weaken both sides that are caught up in it. The Tongs and The Mafia have "Turfs" which are agreed upon. Generally no Mafia is attack on sight and no Tong is attack on site. Robberies/ Sexual assaults/ Muggings committed on the opposing gangs turf are expected to result in hospitalization if the rival gang is defeated on the other gangs turf, but not death. Businesses pay protection money to the gang who's turf they are operating on after all. Killing or torture of rival gang members on the other hand is where the line is drawn and such things can lead to a rapid escalation and a war stance if the (NPC) Big Bosses can not come to a mutual understanding. This may mean giving up their own gang members for retribution purposes if it helps keep full scale war at bay. That said "Blatant" disrespect such as attacking the official business fronts and safe houses of either gang are considered acts of war, disrespect displayed in the official business fronts will not go without punishment. Both sides are expected to be hospitable in their business fronts and guests visiting rival fronts are expected to be well behaved and unarmed. This is a formality that helps to keep the peace. There are going to be times when flare ups between the gangs occur. This can happen when members of the opposing gang are targeted for no "Legitimate " reason. This is to be expected. The police of foggy hills are not left out of this equation either, they have a duty to stop crime when ever it occurs, a three way battle is not uncommon when gangs fight. Gang members do not inform on one another to the police, this is the golden rule between the gangs. Nobody cooperates with the police or offers them genuine names or descriptions of attackers. Civilians may do as they wish, but gang members who -snitch- might just very well be murdered by their own in order to keep the peace. Killing of Police Officers by gang members needs the authorization of the (NPC) Big Bosses. Police murder can bring down the full weight of the legal system upon a gang and jeopardizes the whole criminal enterprise of the criminal syndicates. Criminals generally prefer bribery or black mail to keep law enforcement off their backs. Officers should pay heed to threats to friends and family from crime syndicates. While killing the officer directly is not too much of a deterrent, their weak spots (I.E Friends and Relations) are fair game to the criminal syndicates.

​

• MODERN TAKE: One should realize that some things were perfectly legal back in the 1950's. Spousal abuse is one such example as was smacking women in public. The American Plan was in use and women could be detained and even medically examined against their will for S.T.I's  The police could detain people for any number of reasons under the plan. Also cold war propaganda and the anti communist act of 1954 is just around the corner. Don't be fooled into thinking the police of the time period are impotent in anyway. They can brutally act and jail for almost any reason. Some of these reasons may be corrupt.

​​

• STARTING YOUR OWN GANG: Juvenile delinquents, (18+) Greasers, Biker Gangs, Religious Zealots are all phenomenon of the 1950's some films to watch are "The Outsiders", "Rumble Fish", "West Side Story", "The Wild One"  to give some ideas on the types of gangs that you could conceivably create. Your gang , your rules, of course you may end up in conflict with other gangs, and of course that is rather the point of it all. In Character Actions lead to In Character Consequences. 

​

​

​

​