Italian Mafia Roleplay

[Senaqua Hildreth]

HelloThis guide is meant for people who want to realistically portray a modern-day Italian-American mobster. This guide is still a work in progress and receives updates over time. The final form of it is meant to cover all aspects of LCN roleplay and to be the main lighthouse for those who are new to this RP and those who need extra guidance.

Name: Selecting a correct name is essential. How do you know what names are correct and which ones aren't? First of all, you want to have an American first name and an Italian surname. Secondly, you want to make sure that the last name you select is NOT famous or even worse - the lastname of a known mafioso. You can do this by simply entering your surname into a Google search. You don't know what names you want? You may use Fantasynamegenerator website or any other to generate both American and Italian names. Examples of good names: Steven Gialano, Peter Scaldi, Harold Galifani ect.

Age: Since you will be starting up fresh in the criminal underbelly of sunny Los Santos, it's best if you roleplay a young guy 18-28 years old. That is the perfect age for you to be worth something already. Sure, you can be older, but remember that being older will not grant you any perks. You must also take into account your character's position. If you are starting a faction or joining one that will give you a high rank (underboss/captain), you might want to start with an older character.

Background: You must form a solid background for your character before even approaching this sort of roleplay. It will help you know your character better and will also make a good impression OOCly on the faction you are attempting to join. It is recommended that your background is that of a struggling person as NOBODY joins organized crime out of boredom. You must also have your reasons for willing to take the extra step, wether its greed, desperate need to put bread on your family table, hunger for power, path of revenge or anything else.

Appearance: Take whatever you've seen in the movies, grab it by the neck and toss it off the roof of a 12 story building. These days mafiosi dress like your casual civillian. Nothing that draws attention. You have full creative freedom on anything past that. As far as vehicles go, always pick something simple that does not draw any attention. Avoid sportscars at all costs. Mobsters do not want to be noticed by the IRS so they will often hide their wealth.

Hierarchy: The hierarchy of LCN factions is rather simple to understand. Below is an image of a hierarchy tree of a typical LCN family as well as descriptions of each specific rank and their duties in the organization.

Rank explanation - Boss: The highest position in the family. He gets a cut of all the operations the family is involved in and has full control over each part of the organization. Bosses come in different forms, some choose to be a dictator that keeps all of the hard-earnt money from the family, others tend to be more charitable and treat their underlings good as well as re-investing the money into the family. All the captains in the family elect a new boss once the old one is gone, however sometimes a person may take the position by force and influence. Despite being the CEO, a boss can not lay their hands on another made man. They may issue fines or even order a hit as punishment, but it has to be with proper reason.

Rank explanation - Consigliere: Also known as an advisor, a person of this position has a direct line to the thoughts of the boss and often is an older member of the family that holds a great amount of respect and trust from the soldiers all the way up to the boss himself. Consiglieres are often times intelligent as they are the main advisor to the boss and are supposed to help the boss refrain from making any mistakes.

Rank explanation - Underboss: This is the first rank of the so called "administration" of a mafia family. An underboss is the core middle-man between the boss and the captains as well as the soldiers. He is the official second-in-command and is selected for this position solely by the boss himself. An underboss also keeps an eye on what's taking place within the family. If any issues arise, he will either take care of it himself or forward the info to the boss so he can make a decision. Often times, an underbos is also responsible for collecting all the kick-ups from the captains and forwarding them to the boss.

Rank explanation - Caporegime: Also known as capo or captain, this person is like a mini-boss of their own. They command a group of associates and soldiers who carry out orders, plans and day-to-day activities. Caporegime is also the first "administration" position. The group of associates and soldiers that a caporegime commands is often referred to as a "crew" or "faction". This rank is directly responsible to the underboss and boss.

Rank explanation - Soldier: An inducted member of the family, also sometimes referred to as "wiseguy", "good fella" or "button man". When you become a soldier, you also become a "made man" which means that while you generate income you are untouchable without proper reason within the family. In older times, you would need both of your parents to be of Italian descent to become a soldier, however these days it is only required that you at least be of Italian descent from your father's side. Often times a soldier will run their own crew of associates or have some under their wing and reporting directly to them. Soldiers report to and kick up to a caporegime/captain/capo who is a highly respected member within the family. Associates and outsiders are supposed to treat soldiers and all the ranks above a soldier with immense respect. They are also given more information and know more about the inner machinations of the family. Soldiers are also meant to be teachers to all the associates looking to become someone. Soldiers will often teach an associate the ropes, tell them what to do and not to do, who is important and who is not.

Rank explanation - Associate: Introductory rank where a criminal needs to prove his worth and value to the family. An alternate way of referring to an associate is calling them "connected". Every associate has a soldier they report to, or in very rare instances the captain (caporegime) himself. You become an associate when a soldier notices your work and takes you under their wing. Being under their wing means that they will protect you (minimally) and help you run your schemes. From that point on, you are expected to pay a percentage of your illicit earnings to the soldier you report to. As an associate you are a worker bee for the family and also the go-to for all the dirty work that needs doing. Associates can be of any nationality, religion or ethnicity. While a soldier may coach and help an associate, the associate himself is not really protected within the criminal world and can be seen as "expendable" by his superiors.

Becoming "Made": Being made is simply becoming a full member of your organization and a part of "this thing of ours". This means you are to be respected more and grants you a few privileges, as well as more responsibilities. Usually there is a ceremony for when a new criminal is initiated into their respective family, but the way it goes down varies differently between organizations. Soldiers also sometimes have their own crews of associates.

Making money: Forget what you've been told about "honor" or "omerta" or any of those things. Today's mob is all about money, money and more money. The whole purpose is to make money. If you're a good earner with a cool head - you'll go far. If you idle around and do nothing - you'll be an associate forever. Now, how exactly do mobsters make their living? By any scheme they can muster up. Literally. You would be wrong to think that a true mafioso stops scheming for a minute. Sure, the ''mainstream'' ways of dealing dope, weapons and extorting businesses are there but it's much more. For example, you may get yourself running some sort of a scam, perhaps even set up your own illegal card game. If it makes money - it's good enough. If you are struggling to come up with anything, don't be afraid to ask others for advice.

Kickups: This might be a little shock to some, but every mobster is supposed to give a cut of his earnings to the person he reports to in the family. Money goes up, shit goes down. Don't oversweat yourself, but make sure your envelope is solid if you want to impress fellow mafiosi. There are no minimum or maximum amount one needs to put in, however a super low amount may be taken as an insult.

Vouching: One of the most important, if not THE most important piece of mob politics. Vouching is a process where one person puts in a word for another person while risking his reputation, or even his life in the process. If you vouch for someone, you are either giving them a boost and a good word to the higher-ups or you are saving them from some trouble they might have gotten into. However, you must remember that it comes with a risk, if you vouch for someone and they turn out to be someone very unreliable, or even a snitch - your ass is on the line too. Even for the fuck ups they make - your ass is on the line. This risk ensures that mobsters only risk their reputation and life only for something they know for sure is true. Vouching can also happen when someone recommends an associate to be inducted into the family.

Opening the books: "The books" refer to the made man status. If someone tells you "the books are open" it means the family is allowing some associates to become soldiers. If someone tells you "the books are closed" it means that for the time being there's no way of becoming made. Traditionally, everyone in the family would be notified of this process in one way or the other and all members that are already made should not have any beefs with any of the associates getting a promotion, however it varies from family to family.

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