“I know you!”
“I know.”
“We ran together, came up together!”
“I know.”
“Why you doing this? We’re a crew!”
“We were a crew. This isn’t personal. It’s just the game.”
There’s no shortage of games where the players take on the roles of underworld figures, one way or another. Cyberpunk RED, Shadowrun, and Blades in the Dark are just three of the more popular games in the genre. But these games sometimes have trouble reaching their peak in terms of plots and narratives because conventional gameplay’s social rules run counter to the stresses and pressures of underworld existence. So let’s dive in!
Background
In games where the player characters are on the wrong side of the law, or living in the grey zone of legality, the concepts of honour, loyalty, respect, and reputation are key to how they interact with the world. They’re how they get jobs. They’re how they know they can trust their crew members. It’s how they know they should be treated as they move through their social circles, and how people outside they should react to them. But they’re also dynamics we often struggle with narratively and in the roleplaying. There’s also the component of how teamwork in these games is different, more fraught, and open to more narrative options than more conventional games.
Teamwork as a Problem
There’s a not incorrect idea in the TTRPG world that there is an unspoken agreement that the players, through their player characters, work together. No matter if that runs counter to what “their character would do” based on their background and circumstances. In most game genres, this is a good thing. But in games where the characters are part of the underworld, it’s a severe limitation on the kinds of plot points and storylines that the GM can integrate into the game.
Now, this isn’t to say that there’s no space for teamwork. It’s just that in this genre, “It’s what my character would do” is a legitimate thing. Looking out for number one isn’t an uncommon motivation, especially if there’s other pressures at play. But there’s ways to play this out at the table without tearing the group apart.
The Player Side
Active Suspicion
Complacency kills, and when characters are living under the radar, this is doubly true. Trust is earned and carefully cultivated, not automatic, and the GM for a game based in the criminal world needs to impress this on the players. Players, and their characters, don’t need to be paranoid, but they need to be wary. On the Player side, it’s an adjustment to norms. Other player characters aren’t inherently trustworthy, and can’t always be depended on. So they need to have backup plans and alternate connections.
Sources of Friction
This is one of those times when coming up with a detailed and interesting character background is a net positive. Family, found family, debts, vices… It’s all on the table. Also, mention names. Giving the GM a framework to create NPCs is never a bad call, and you get some shared ownership in the narrative and world building.
Player characters who are criminals or adjacent already have one foot in the drama circle. Their day to day, their ownership of the, let’s say, “tools of the trade”, and known associations are enough to bring pressure on them from police and other investigative and security services. But there’s other levers that can be used on them to get them to accept jobs, betray people, or otherwise take actions that they don’t want to take.
Debt is a well worn lever in this area. Personal debts, or debts owed by family members they care for, whether to legitimate or illegitimate sources, are a problem. The reason for the debts can vary, with medical, gambling, or investments/business gone wrong are the most common ones though in narratives. Anyways, money is owed, and the player character has to figure out how to pay. Ironically, paying legitimate institutions is actually harder, since the money needs to “legit” too.
Family bonds is another common stressor in criminal game narratives. The younger sibling that the character is keeping in a good school so they don’t “turn out like me”. The family store that’s under threat.There’s also jealous relatives. So there’s lots to use here, depending on the character’s background.
Karmic Debt can be the gift that keeps on giving narratively. This is where someone took a hit for the character (literally or figuratively) and the character got away clean while they took the heat. In minor forms, this can be a “Hey, I did time for you, you owe me…” situation that crops up regularly. In more extreme cases, it’s a whole narrative arc where the character ends up declaring the debt is paid. Either way or in between? Worth it.
Face and Reputation
Face cumulatively combines an individual’s perceived honour, respectability, reliability, and social standing all in one. Having good Face means a player character is treated well, or even with deference, even if they’re having problems. John Wick is a great example of a character with tremendously good Face. Characters with poor face are likely to be treated poorly, or have to use fear as a tool of getting the “respect” they feel they deserve.
Reputation is related to Face and definitely has overlaps with it, but is a different animal. Reputation covers an individual and/or Crew’s known and expected methods and outcomes when on the job. This covers everything from their perceived or known level of expertise (amateur to professional), their modus operandi (stealth, brute force, planning or lack thereof etc…), and of course, their success rates.
Combined, these two factors will deeply impact how the individual player characters and Crew as a whole are able to interact with the shadowy world they exist in. They can also influence how they’re seen in related “worlds” and even to people on the lawful side of their occupations (if there is one). So a GM needs to keep track of how the player characters act, how they approach problems, and effectively build a profile on them.
The key with all of this though is to realize that Face and Reputation aren’t universal. A group that prizes violence isn’t going to give the same respect to a team of brainiacs who stealth in and out without ever being detected that they would a team of hard hitters with a known history of extreme violence. Also, Face and Reputation are going to affect the kinds of jobs that come up from outside the Crew’s interests. So keep that in mind and don’t forget to gently remind players that decisions and actions have consequences.
Crew Dynamics
The Assembled Crew
This is the classic crew scenario we see in movies like Ocean’s 11 or Reservoir Dogs. A few player characters might have some history, but otherwise they’re strangers assembled to achieve a specific goal. It might be a heist, a hit, or something else. There’s not a lot of bonding initially, and the chance of one of them being compromised is high.
The Homies Crew
This is a step up from the Assembled Crew. Maine and David’s Crew in Cyberpunk 2077 is in this area. They’re familiar with one another and have some personal connections. They’re on a knife’s edge though, between staying semi-independent operators or developing into an Established Crew. The personal nature of their connections makes them closer, but may not be enough to offer the “Family” response to betrayal.
The Established Crew
Amateur or pro level, the established crew is just that, established. We see a crew like this in the movie Lift, and the core trio of characters in GTA V become this by the end of the game. The chances of betrayal are low, but not impossible, and are likely to actually be a double-cross in action when they do happen. These crews are close, and not likely to have a lot of secrets from each other.
The Family Crew
Family. Yeah, Fast and the Furious style Family. The crew in this instance is tight, well in tune with each other, and remarkably dangerous to tamper with. Why? Because external pressures on one are treated as a threat to all. At the table, this is the hardest Crew to create, because of how interconnected they are. I recommend an extra Session Zero so the players can hash out everything that makes their characters this tight.
The GM Side
Running Criminal Conflict
This is where it all comes together. Fortunately, it’s not all on the GM. The best narratives in this genre develop out of collaboration between the players and the GM. Even in a relatively linear type heist game, there’s lots of space to work together.
1 – Session Zero
Session Zero is key in any game, but more-so in ones where the characters are criminal or criminal adjacent. Make it clear in Session Zero that there will be betrayals, double-crosses (possibly triple-crosses?), and other events like that. Make sure that the players understand the ideas of Face and Reputation, and that these will impact how the story unfolds.
2 – Make it a Group Event
Never take a player away for a quick private word for things happening to their character that aren’t happening in front of the rest of the group. Part of what makes inter-crew conflict a problem at tables is that too often it’s being presented to the players the same way it’s being presented to the player characters. Play out the scenes at the table, with everyone. Make sure it’s clear to the players that their characters are unaware of these goings-on though. Meta-gaming is poison in these scenarios. But if one character acts suspicious? Well, things need to be looked into.
3 – Involve the Players
Not just in the usual sense. Get the players to take on the roles of various NPCs in these scenes. Give them a quick reference sheet about the NPC and their goals, and let them take over. This increases the immersion, and the sense of collaborative storytelling happening. Basically, it gets the players invested and less likely to meta-game on the knowledge because they’re vested in said NPCs.
4 – Have Some Outs
Never paint your players into a corner, or let them paint themselves into a corner. Keep notes and massage the narrative to leave some openings they can exploit. This doesn’t mean that you have to give them plot armour, it just means that there’s options. Keep things fluid. Sometimes it all might end in disaster, but make sure it’s not for lack of options.
5 – 51% is a Win
This is the hard part for a lot of players and GMs alike. We’re conditioned by a lot of media to expect the overwhelming victory scenario at the end of the story. Goals achieved, mission successful, everyone rides into the sunset. Now, it’s not that this isn’t an option. But in a lot of games, especially ones in bleaker settings like Cyberpunk RED or Shadowrun, Things Happen™. So emphasize to your players that success is also surviving and achieving a slim majority of the goals.
6 – Don’t Overdo It
Not everyone needs to be being pressured into situations all at once. Pay attention to the player character backgrounds and weave things together naturally. Not everyone needs to be a plot point in the same campaign.
7 – Sometimes it’s all about Family
Some crews become Family. And that’s fine. It’s a point of leverage for the GM to develop stories from. It’s also an outlet for the players. Because they can opt to come clean to the crew, about what’s happening, and what they’re being made to do/pressured into. Then the story takes on a new dimension as the Family moves to protect its own, and maybe teach the offenders a lesson in the process.
Final Thoughts
Running this genre of game and campaign is challenging. Not in an overwhelming way, but in that it’s different from conventional games in terms of how the players interact with each other and the world their characters live in. But if you approach it mindfully, and with the idea that everyone is involved? It’s extremely rewarding.
