GURPS Mafia

GURPS Mafia is a realistic role playing game dealing with the adult themes of criminal and street subcultures. It aims to be an authentic portrayal of urban life and criminality in mid-twentieth century Los Angeles. Players begin as low-level members of a Los Angeles street gang in 1950, participating in criminal enterprises and planning their own crimes as they struggle to survive on the streets, make their monthly payments to the bosses, and eventually ascend the ranks of the mob hierarchy to become bosses themselves.

Campaign Background

Campaign name: GURPS MAFIA

Starting year: 1949

Genre: Action/Crime

Realistic or cinematic? Realistic

General theme of campaign: Street-level criminals rising through the ranks of organized crime in Los Angeles.

Are there multiple planes of existence? No.

Campaign’s base city, nation, empire, or planet: Los Angeles, California, USA.

Society/government type: Representative Democracy.

Control Rating: CR4.

Tech level: TL7

General mana level: None.

Brief description of important neighboring powers, political/economic situation, etc.:

Information for PCs

Player characters are low-level members ("soldiers") of a street gang in 1950s Los Angeles. Characters may have considerable criminal experience and should have at least one area of expertise. Development of a detailed biography is encouraged. Note that Social Stigma (Criminal Record) [-5] is suggested, but players are free to decide the details of the crime(s) and conviction(s). Note that a criminal record does not necessarily include extensive jail or prison sentences. Additionally, serious crimes such as rape or murder may carry additional stigma (at the GMs discretion).

Starting point value allowed for PCs: 100

Disadvantage limit (including Quirks): -50 (not including -25 in required disadvantages - see below).

PC races allowed: Human.

Especially appropriate professions: Player characters should have a criminal speciality or profession (bank robber, counterfeiter, jewel thief, etc.) for which they are known, though this is not required.

Starting Wealth: $15,000. Up to 20% ($3000) may be spent on equipment (the remainder is considered part of your 'settled' lifestyle - see sidebar on B26). Note: in 1950s Los Angeles, a car is part of the settled lifestyle of the average citizen, so deduct your vehicle cost from the 80% 'settled' ledger and not the $3000 for 'adventuring gear'.

Starting Wealth levels allowed: Struggling or Average.

Starting Status levels allowed: 0

Languages available: Commonly-spoken and character-relevant languages include Cantonese, English, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish.

Cultural Familiarities available: Chinese, American, Jewish, and Latino are the most common and relevant cultural distinctions.

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Skills

Required Advantages:

Especially Appropriate Advantages: Ambidexterity, Charisma, Combat Reflexes, Contacts, Daredevil, Fashion Sense, Fearlessness, Hard to Kill, Hard to Subdue, Shtick, Smooth Operator.

Required Disadvantages:

Especially Appropriate Disadvantages: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bad Temper, Bloodlust, Bully, Callous, Code of Honor (Omerta), Compulsive Behavior, Fearfulness, Impulsiveness, Lecherousness, Loner, Low Empathy, Low Self-Image, Miserliness, Overconfidence, Paranoia, Reputation, Selfish, Social Regard, Social Stigma (Criminal Record), Stubbornness.

Required Skills: Savoir-Faire (Mafia), Streetwise.

Especially Appropriate Skills: Acting, Area Knowledge (Los Angeles), Body Language, Brawling, Climbing, Connoisseur (Jewelry), Cooking, Counterfeiting, Current Affairs, Detect Lies, Driving (Automobile), Electronic Operation (Security), Fast-Talk, Filch, Forced Entry, Forgery, Gambling, Guns (Pistol), Holdout, Intimidation, Knife, Knot-Tying, Lockpicking, Mechanic (Automobile), Merchant, Pickpocket, Shadowing, Smuggling, Stealth, Urban Survival.

Disallowed advantages, disadvantages, and skills: No exotic or supernatural traits allowed.

Appropriate Patrons, Allies or Contacts: Starting characters are not allowed Ally/Ally Group, but this may be developed in the campaign. Appropriate contacts include police officers, journalists, other criminals (especially those appropriate to your chosen speciality or profession). Patrons are uncommon for street soldiers with no reputation, but it is not unheard of that an elder capo takes interest in a young soldier.

Appropriate Enemies: LAPD Gangster Squad (Medium-sized group (6-30 people); 9 or less, *1)) [-20]

Special Abilities Allowed for PCs

Exotic/supernatural traits: N/A.

Cinematic skills: N/A.

Are PC mages allowed? No.

Are any of the spells from Chapter 5 off limits? N/A.

Are PC psis allowed? No.

Are any of the powers from Chapter 6 off limits? N/A.

Are PC gadgeteers allowed? No.

Are there special limits on gadgeteering? N/A.

Unusual Background cost(s) for these abilities: N/A.

Legal or social restrictions on these abilities: N/A.

Rulebooks and Resources

GURPS 4th edition Basic Set. Required. Essential for character creation.

GURPS 4th edition High-Tech. Information about TL7 technology as well as equipment statistics.

GURPS 4th edition High-Tech: Pulp Guns. Detailed weapons descriptions and statistics.

Select Bibliography

LA Noir by John Buntin is the go-to non-fiction work for this period of LA crime history. The television show Mob City presents a decent adaptation, but Buntin's book is an easy and entertaining read. (It's also one of the original inspirations for the campaign, so you can bet the GM will be drawing from it considerably.)

James Ellroy's Los Angeles Quartet is one of the original inspirations for this campaign. Nobody writes better Los Angeles noir than Ellroy. He's the king of the city. The movie version of LA Confidential doesn't do justice to either the author or the book.

Gangster Squad is a mediocre film adaptation of a decent narrative history of the historic LAPD Gangster Squad that serves at the basis for this campaign's fictional version of the LAPD Gangster Squad.

Dragnet. That's right: Dragnet. Jack Webb's Dragnet. The movie. The series, not so much. The story of the cooperation between the TV producers and LAPD can be found in LA Noir by John Buntin.