The Company revamp

[Rayse Valentino]

I've been sitting on this for a while, mostly because of the lack of closure for the Salvar portion of the FQ. However, I can't wait around forever. If it's clear that there is no interest in updating the Althanas canon then I will make my own. All I needed was a list of factions, current events, important cities and who owns them. I can go around some of this, though. So, I will try to do so.

The reason I'm not simply posting this in the PG registration and being done with it is because I'm not a big solo guy. If I want to make threads by myself, there's always notepad. What I want to accomplish requires some interest, which is why I'm asking for advice for this whole thing.

Name:

The Company / The Salvaran Mafia

Roster:

President: Rayse Valentino / Boss: The Don
Vice-President: None yet / Under-boss: None yet
Advisor: None yet / Advisor: None yet
Executives: None yet / Captains: None yet
Members: None yet / Soldiers: None yet

Location:

All throughout Salvar's cities and ports / Secret, underground facilities

Goals and Purpose:

To establish a chain of profitable enterprises across Salvar / To control the Salvaran black market

Registration Fee:

Take it out of my pocket

As you can see, there's something a bit off here. The Company looks like a legitimate trading venture, while The Mafia is your traditional criminal organization. Of course, having a dual-layered PG isn't the most original idea, but hey. It sounds fun. The top Executives in The Company are also Captains in The Mafia, which is essentially delegated responsibilities for various underground activities. However, the regular Members and Soldiers are separate. That way, a lower-ranking member getting busted does not affect the relations between TC and TSM. The Advisor and Underboss are ceremonial roles I kept from some handy resources. (http://mafiatoday.com/mafia-structure-and-definitions/) I don't know if I'll use them yet. There's also 'associates' but I don't know what to do with them so I didn't include it.

The short-term goal is to use illicit funds gained from TSM to prop up legitimate business in TC. Thus, there would be a mission board for both TC and TSM, so you could have both 'good guy' quests and 'bad guy' quests. I'm not sure how to come up with a system that produces a direct gold amount for the PG from quests. For example: Being a member of this PG, any gold you make is increased to 110% of the original remount and that extra 10% is put into TC coffers. I can't really think of any other passive ways to generate income, since I doubt they'll go for acquiring 'properties' that generate a steady income in quests/bazaar or whatever, since that would involve an extra layer of moderation nobody wants.

Anyway, the whole point is to create villains. Not renegade solo chaotics or self-righteous egomaniacs, but actual bona fide bad guys that affect the world. Most of the villains on this site don't have aspirations of ruling over or controlling large groups of people, with some notable exceptions of course, building up a bunch of malevolent characters to make the good guys try to take them on seems fun to me. The advice I need from you guys is ways to go about this, some possible interest, thread ideas (I have a bunch already, I'll make a job board later), and an opinion about the following thing:

Banknotes. If Alerar has guns and airships, I don't see why we can't have a little economic progress. The Company Bank is what they will be called, and they will be all across Salvar, redeeming gold pieces/coins for banknotes and vice versa. The current name for the projected currency will be called Salvari. After all, nobody carries around big, bulky bags of money. Establishing a system of paper money would do wonders to a war-torn economy. By eventually controlling the flow of the country's currency, The Company can make its way toward controlling the country.

Oh, and another thing. The previous incarnation of this PG went inactive. I'm essentially re-activating it with some changes so I don't see the problem in it still having gold in its coffers.

[SirArtemis]

So I was reading some of this and I'm mildly interested. However, my character could not be a villian, so I don't see how I would fit into this current model. You know, an interesting idea struck me though that I found rather amusing, so I'll run it by you just for the sake of it.

If my character played the role of advisor, it would be more of an economic advisor role. Since I graduated with a degree in economics IRL, it'd work. The amusing part for me is wanting to "force" socialism down the throats of Salvar's population, mainly places like Knife's Edge, through mafia-like means. It would be fun and funny for me because it would actually benefit the population of Salvar, if we implemented it properly, and we would collect a small "tax." The tax, of course, is to pay us for the service of ensuring that the socialist system remains in place to benefit all.

This could include features such as forcing a minimum wage, ensuring that the "guys at the top" aren't corrupt selfish pigs abusing the "little guy." I know socialism very well so I could go about implementing the steps in the city.

Of course, Knife's Edge would be a difficult first target... and it'd be hard to gain power without actually BEING a villian. Again, my character is designed as virtuous, so I'm not sure how much I could play a role here.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

If Rayse was interested in your proposal, and you wanted an IC reason to be a part of it, the answer is relatively simple.

Your being dooped. Your character is implementing all these changes, bringing in the taxes to better society and the top dogs that you think aren't corrupt, are in fact corrupt. You keep doing your job, they put a loose leash on you, you implement and get things going.

This allows you to have that awesome "Come to Jesus" thread where you eventually realize your bringing the rich more money, or what not. This allows them to corner you, expose how your just as dirty as they are and you get three options: Join them, being corrupt yourself and accepting their lifestyle as your own. Or, Move against them, find people to help you bring down the mafia, or at least elements of it, fail, and run away.

The third option is actually rather pathetic, as it's "ignore everything happening." That's no fun for a thread.

Ideas gents, enjoy them.

[SirArtemis]

one of the things for me is how to implement my own education of economics into the story of my character, who's just a 25 year old guy who likes being a blacksmith...

[Silence Sei]

If Rayse was interested in your proposal, and you wanted an IC reason to be a part of it, the answer is relatively simple.

Your being dooped. Your character is implementing all these changes, bringing in the taxes to better society and the top dogs that you think aren't corrupt, are in fact corrupt. You keep doing your job, they put a loose leash on you, you implement and get things going.

This allows you to have that awesome "Come to Jesus" thread where you eventually realize your bringing the rich more money, or what not. This allows them to corner you, expose how your just as dirty as they are and you get three options: Join them, being corrupt yourself and accepting their lifestyle as your own. Or, Move against them, find people to help you bring down the mafia, or at least elements of it, fail, and run away.

The third option is actually rather pathetic, as it's "ignore everything happening." That's no fun for a thread.

Ideas gents, enjoy them.

You're totally aware that if this gets off the ground, the Ixian Knights may have to put yall down like rabid dogs, right? SA could always come to us for aid once he realizes the atrocities he's commited.

[Knave]

Sign me, good sir. It would be interesting to see crime among the perfect elves.

My character doesn't need any heavy pushing to get into a criminal band, just the opportunity to gather people together. Personally, I'd love the idea of working both sides of the fence. No real position in mind, executive and up for me, please.

As for going about creating real acts of villainy, the best answer I can give is money. Now thats not to say that money is the route of all evil, but to correctly say that the want of money is the root of all evil. We could both instil and participate in this. Realistically speaking, gangsters have been shaking hands with politicians for a while now, we can do the same. We can also go for heavy capitalism. I'm not sure where I read this, but "All a person needs is to be good with numbers and people to be successful." The real gold however was reply, "All a person really needs to be successful is being good with people who need to breathe air and drink water." Given that we are without a doubt without scrupples, lets poison some wells, turn the air black, slaughter the cattle, and insert ourselves as the middlemen between the people and the only unblighted source of food available... which might as well be ours too.

I was watching a documentary (The Corporation) and one of the people speaking described child marketing as "If you get them young, you've got them for life." This was not just reprehensible because she said it, but because she was completly unconcerned by the ethics of it, but still cared enough to work incredibly hard. Lets aquire children. We can run orphanages, which will likewise be a front The Company, and all the little tikes will grow up to want to be Company Men and Company Women. Lets get the love of the children, and thin the ranks of the old.

Also, can I suggest a "No Grandstanding" rule if we aren't going for the chaotic thing. Instead of throwing down at first glance, lets leave the actual fighting to the soldiers, I assume we will have soldiers, of course. Say three/thirty boys and girls ready to step in, so our characters need not dirty their hands and may make their exit where appropriate... rather than throwing their shirts to the wind and screaming bloody murder, which we can save for the end. This would only apply when violence is not required. Imagine that, NPCing thirty people armed with revolving shotguns, grenades, and strapped with blades.

Lastly, and actually firstly, our public image. We need good PR to start with. I reccomend cheap prices, which will build our base among the people, and drive the other vendors out of town or out of business. One of the original terms of business is Vertical Integration, (shut up, I'm a freshman,) where we can take hold of the system by controling the means to our produces production. Given its a war torn economy, food is the key concern, lets own farms, farms with dairy, farms with vegetation, farms with pigs (who will be excellent disposers of bodies.) All of which will never suffer the debilitating freak accidents which will befall the competition.

All that said we have conflict with... everyone... literally, we could make enemies of damn near every chain of vendors, law enforcement officers, parents, priests, children, animals, whatever magical faeries live in the water.

And thats not even half the hell we could get into when we start fooling with taxes.

[Rayse Valentino]

Artemis, you would work well because the point is to make The Company look as legit as possible. That way people would trust it, make Rayse out to be a man of the people with his 'good deeds', when in reality it's just him manipulating them to do his bidding. You would dole out advice, support, and whatnot, because there's pretty much nothing to make you think there's anything out of place with The Company. In fact, one idea is to have a bank/establishment owned by TC to be robbed/etc by TSM in order to elude suspicion about a possible connection. You know how you would have The Mob give support to politicians in order to gain favor in the political system? TSM and TC are similar, except we're doing everything in-house.

And yes knaves, naturally each Captain/Executive would have their own squad of NPCs to do their work for them. And smartly avoiding fights/letting your minions take care of it are things that are part of what I'm doing. I want to create an aura where people are secretive, put on a show for the outside, and find themselves in tense situations not necessarily all about violence. There are so many shows/movies that do this sort of thing, but it all this adds a certain level of complexity that everyone (myself included) has to be prepared for.

The problem with property is it's all very easy to knock down. If it was just like TSM stuff then anyone who finds us would just come in and tear everything down. But TC? Nobody would have a clue. We're the 'good guys', with the charity and the orphanages and the banks.

First order of business will be property acquisition and control of the underground markets. That means, for people doing TC missions, pressuring people into selling their farms/businesses, guarding banks against possible robberies, and letting people know it's in their best interests to support TC. For TSM people, it's stuff you'd expect: Assassinations, acquiring/building underground businesses for drug running, slavery, weapons, and whatnot, going to war with other syndicates over territory and whatnot, and generally trying to maximize profit.

Once we de facto control Salvar, Phase Two will begin, but I don't expect that to happen for quite some time.

[Esmerelda]

Esmerelda can be of great service to you. Someone who can be anyone, having utterly no emotions of any kind of her own. There is no structure she cannot infiltrate, even the smallest crack will afford her access. As a machine, her loyalty is unquestionable. She would be a spy, muscle for TSM. Someone not cooperating? Send her in to retrieve blackmail, or to make them have an unfortunate "accident".

The entire range of activities you mentioned, she could accomplish for TSM.

[SirArtemis]

mmm the more i think about it, the more i feel like this wouldnt work. my character actually likes salvar and works for a blacksmith in the city. not only that, but he is currently protecting the city. and he has no way of garnering the economic knowledge i have from college except me just saying "he read it in a book somewhere." As if the communist manifesto can be found in the local bookshop rofl.

we could figure out some way for me to play as advisor and try to make it more of an economic move, and find a way to work with the government, since i have good relations, and then have the ixian knights find me and talk to me and after they show me what's REALLY going on, i join sides, inform the government officials, and try to redeem myself?

just ideas.

[Knave]

mmm the more i think about it, the more i feel like this wouldnt work. my character actually likes salvar and works for a blacksmith in the city. not only that, but he is currently protecting the city. and he has no way of garnering the economic knowledge i have from college except me just saying "he read it in a book somewhere." As if the communist manifesto can be found in the local bookshop rofl.

we could figure out some way for me to play as advisor and try to make it more of an economic move, and find a way to work with the government, since i have good relations, and then have the ixian knights find me and talk to me and after they show me what's REALLY going on, i join sides, inform the government officials, and try to redeem myself?

just ideas.

Why would he have to participate in the dark side? As far as Alvar is concerned, TC is a godsend. He is the adviser, doesn't have to be the Under-boss. So morally, under those pretenses, would he still have an issue with the group?

As far as bringing it in... why not have him "invent" communism. My understanding of it is that communism is the impossible ideal, where all are equal, everyone works, and all is good in that extremely simplified pipe dream sort of way. Given that communism has not been mentioned directly, at least I don't think it has, he could do it by his own reasoning. Marx didn't have to read a communist manifesto.

[Rayse Valentino]

Rather than bothering the RoG people I'm trying to just reactivate it and reflect these changes through a new thread in the PG forum.

Two notes:
Underwood is destroyed. (via Corone Civil War)
Knife's Edge is destroyed. (via FQ)

Since nobody has bothered to make this into canon, any RP you do in those places is pretty much just using liquid time because some people act like it's gone, and some people act like it's not.

Artemis: Communism sucks. A mafia would want democracy, in order to control politicians. And as Knaves said, there's no 'finding out and alerting the local GOOD GUY squad', since for you everything looks like it's on the up-and-up. The point of this isn't to be some big target for everyone, it's about taking over a country from the inside, with the populace being none the wiser. Don't try to force yourself into this if it doesn't fit for you.

Anyway, as soon as I get some results from my re-activation request I'll get this going.

[Rayse Valentino]

Yeah, and to re-iterate in public: I changed The Company to be this powerful international crime organization of which Rayse is merely a 'friend of the family'. The details of Rayse's status as leader was really bogging me down creatively, and I invented way too many ways to actually avoid conflict, which turns to be really boring! Being a mere independent contractor with ties to The Company fits in with my original vision of the character, and now it's much easier to think up stuff to do.

As a PG, this means that joining gives you common ground with other players. Generally when people join a crime organization, they just make up their own and it's tied only to their character, but this I threw out to the world for anyone to use. I want The Company to be canon, I want people to use it, fear it, work for it, work against, whatever. I feel that at this point it's powerful enough to be considered when talking about illegal activities around the world.