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GameMastery Guide / Nonplayer Characters / Villains / Villainous Archetypes

Crime Lore

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 90
Crime lords are usually rogues or multiclassed characters with their highest level in the rogue class. A crime lord sits at the heart of a shadowy web, taking a cut from all illegal activity within his domain and dispensing rough justice to those who transgress whatever rules she imposes. They usually operate in cities. Crime lords are typically lawful evil or neutral evil, and can be of any race.

Personality: Most crime lords see themselves as entrepreneurs whose business does not happen to be legal. They are pragmatic and ruthless, but not necessarily evil or unreasonable.

Followers: Crime lords rule mainly over rogues, and may affect a title like “Master of the Guild” or “King of Thieves.” Their inner circles almost always include a few warrior types as muscle and at least one assassin. They usually rule their followers by fear, making grisly examples of anyone who crosses them.

Plans: Most crime lords do not have grand plans beyond holding and expanding their turf and maintaining a decadent lifestyle. Occasionally, a crime lord might attack the local authorities—often in response to an official crackdown on the bribery and corruption that keeps eyes looking the other way. A successful crime lord may eventually take on the role of an evil overlord or create an anarchic “city of thieves” where almost anything goes.

Archives of Nethys

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Crime Lore