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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 4641165" data-attributes="member: 54707">I can tell ya this much about real life Joe, and you can decide if it helps ya or not. There are petty criminals, and others types of criminals. Petty ones, who are usually far less dangerous, (though if you endanger some, and they are drunk or otherwise riled up then even they can be dangerous and violent at times) rarely make a big score or a king's ransom. They don't run in the right crowds, don't have the muscle, and don't know enough about what they are doing. They barely scrounge by, and often fall prey to other criminals. Or get used by them. So most of them would be out.Criminals higher up the food chain tend to be opportunists. And if they really are hedonists, then sooner or later they will find themselves in a situation where things get out of hand. Because that's the way they live. You can't move in certain circles and attempt certain things like thievery or extortion or other things without one of two things eventually happening, you get caught and go to jail, or you kill to avoid it. And after the first kill it seems to get a lot easier for most of those guys.Most criminals are thrill seekers who don't like regular day jobs, though some work them anyway, as cover for other activities. But sooner or later they will hit upon something big and then they'll have a choice to make. Go to jail, remain forever a petty criminal, or move up. Few move up in real criminal activity without pushing down someone else. No one makes a big score turning over bingo games. Just like street walkers aren't madams. And most ambitious criminals get very paranoid over time by doing their own scoring all of the time. If they are ambitious they set up a racket and work others. If they are petty they never go anywhere. If they are mid-level then either they will do their own killing out of necessity or they will be employed by others for "work."So what you are describing very rarely happens. The gentleman bandit, the Conan snatch and grabber, and the "I got certain morals and no way I'm getting organized" hedonist doesn't really exist much, or last very long. He's dead, working for others, or in the joint. Now, that has nothing to do with a game. You can make a game anyway you like. But to me there would have to be a reason as to why things operate like that. You could write that into your setting and I've seen real people with the strangest motivations. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff. But it's very, very rare. Most of those types guys are bored thrill seekers, and because they are unorganized they get caught easy or killed easy. You don't steal then drink away all your take without attracting attention, especially in areas where more ambitious types are more than happy to scope out your operation for a few weeks, then swoop in and slit your throat. It's a lot easier to take from the sloppy and hedonistic independent operator than to risk a heavy job yourself.Now there are also periphery operators, Guys like fences who shoulder with harder types, but do all they can to avoid direct ties. But they rarely do their own scoring, and when they do it's because they have already been pulled in to larger circles and bigger rackets by others. I guess what I'm saying is that criminal activity works just like any other profession. Ambition means moving up and moving up means doing things you've never done before. And people without ambition stay below the horizon but then again they never make a big score either. If your guys are gonna last long operating like you describe then they are gonna have to be awfully good, meaning organized, constantly on the move, meaning they can't be tied down to the locale they are working (thought they could work outside their own city or area, if they could get info on targets elsewhere), or they are gonna need protection from so that owes them big or wants to cover them for some reason. But remember this, if your city is law and order except for certain districts then your guys will be under constant pressure from the authorities, especially if they ever score big. If your city is almost entirely lawless then that means that your guys are gonna be under constant pressure for other criminals who want what they got or can get. Meaning if your guys go around "drinking it up" then somebody is gonna notice and come looking to see what all the ruckus is, and what it means. I can see a small group operating like you say, for awhile. But what happens when they get recognized on the make, or when someone threatens to turn them in, or someone shows up and says, "I've heard about you boys and would like to employ you, and your take will be big if you pull this off?" Do they say, "Sure, we're in, but... we don't generally kill, and we only work in our own way, and we don't bother with a plan. We're as free as the wind." Real criminal activity just doesn't work that way. It gets criminals killed quick, or they never go anywhere, or last long as criminals. A big score and sloppy, hedonistic behavior are really antithetical aims. If you want to hit the big time then you have to act like it. If you want to live to enjoy it, then you can't be sloppy, even after the fact.They might could operate in that way if they were very, very good at disguise, covers, aliases, and kept really low profiles. But it's hard for me to imagine drink it ups flourishing in one spot for very long. There was a reason Conan was constantly on the move. You can't make a big splash in a pool without ripples coming back to ya.</blockquote>

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