Revolvers, Roses, and Redemption

[Elven Doritos]

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday night outside Caprelli's Florist shop. Calli Clanahan dropped the smoking pistol into a beat-up trash can as the cold rain washed the blood of Manny Fingers into the gutters. Fingers was a driver for old Don Valentino, and when he wouldn't pledge to the Board of Directors, pledge to the rising new aristocrats of this city'" well let's just say he won't be telling old man Valentino what's what. Won't be telling nobody nothin', for that matter. He picked up the roses that Fingers had been delivering and brushed them off.

Calli wasn't worried about the bulls finding the body, after all, the point was to send a message. The balance of power in the city of St. Vincent was about to change, and the Board would be the ones pulling the strings.

Calli straightened his tie and fedora hat before knocking on a door. Delilah Antiaga opened the door, all dolled up and wearing that nice little number. You know the one. 'Baby,' Calli said, 'you sure are ritzy.'

'Ritzy?' the girl laughed. 'You always were such a kidder, Calli. Ain't you something else.'

'Brought you these roses. Fresh outta the ground.' He handed her the bouquet as she kissed him on the cheek.

'You didn't! Well, I'll be! Care to come in for the night?'

'I'd love to darling, but I've got business down with the boys at the juice bar. I'll drop by later on, honest.'
Calli wiped the lipstick from his cheek as he rounded the corner. He entered Old Joe's Furniture Emporium, a dingy little place on the corner. 'I'd like to speak with the boss,' Calli said. 'It's got to do with some new chairs come in from the big city.'

'Alright, alright, calm yourself,' the salesman said. He lifted an oriental rug and opened the trap door underneath, which Calli promptly climbed down. Here was the speakeasy, with kegs and booze and moonshine all around, with gangsters and politicians and businessmen all drinking and sharing stories. This was the secret little world underneath the daylight, the smoky house where kings and paupers rubbed elbows. Jazz musicians played in the background, giving a soothing tinge to the lax atmosphere.

Calli rushed over to Danny Cappanore and tapped him on the shoulder. Cappanore used to be a hitman for Valentino, but a stake in the Marone moonshine business was a persuasive argument out of family loyalty. Now Cappanore was Antonio Marone's right hand man, and the Prince of Little Sicily dressed and acted accordingly. His signature all-white suit, white hat, blue shirt and white tie made him stand out, as did his flashing smile and silky voice. Next to him was Petey Patrelli, a big brute of a man, dressed in a grey pinstriped suit. 'You finish the job?' Cappanore asked.

Calli nodded. 'Done, just like you said. Now, about my payment'¦'

Cappanore looked to him coldly. 'Your payment is you get to live another day under my roof. Maybe down the line I'll consider cuttin' you in.'

'You ain't nothin' but a two-bit cheat, Cappanore! A no-good lying four-flusher! I oughta'"'

A single pistol shot cut Calli's rant short, and his body slumped to the speakeasy's floor. The room was silent.

'What'samatter, you see a ghost?' The jazz players quickly resumed their playing, and Cappanore turned to Petey. 'Clean this mess up, why don't ya'¦ And make a trip to Capprelli's, we need to send some flowers to Clanahan's old lady.'

And as the trumpets played, Danny Cappanore took a deep puff of his cigar. It was just another bloody night in the City of St. Vincent.

Prohibition ain't all it's cracked up to be, and dames and fellas alike were lookin' for something to wet their gills. So it came down to honest men from honest families to provide an American service, something as respectable a line a work as any.

But trouble soon sprang up in Little Sicily, and these honest businessmen had to start protectin' their turf. And the cops kept comin' down hard, so they hard to start buyin' them off. And then people tried to nose in on their business, and things got ugly-- maybe that's how things got to where they are today.

The City of St. Vincent is a microsetting set in mid-20's America, after Prohibition was put into effect and mobsters rose to power by selling booze. Loosely based on historic Chicago and New York City, the corruption and gangs are stylized in their differences, more like smooth-talking, slick movie characters than the remorseless, deplorable murderers so common in real life.

As an aside, I haven't really worked out much of how the setting works, but for now I'm using d20 Modern with the d20 Past supplement. I may or may not sketch out more of the setting from here, but the expansions will be mostly profiles on individual gangsters and organizations, as that will be the emphasis of the setting.

(If you want to outline your own 1920's style gangsters, mob bosses, corrupt cops, or tough outsider agents (the early Bureau of Investigation is just forming), feel free! I won't have the time or patience to devote to outlining every gang or person, and contributors get one of those cool badges!)

[Nomadic]

I love the style of the writing and the overall feel. It feels very alive. Perhaps later on I will create my own character for you.

[Elven Doritos]

The Marone Gang
Leadership: Antonio 'Fat Tony' Marone (shoe salesman/crime lord), Danny 'Dominos' Cappanore (furniture salesman/underboss), Eli Goldman (accountant/former loanshark)
Ethnicity: Various, primarily Italian and Irish
Membership:  60 'core' members, 1200 operatives
Affiliations: The Clanahan Boys, the Taggliati Family, "The Board of Directors"
Turf: Lower Little Sicily, East Washington Quarter
Primary criminal activities: Racketeering, burglary, robbery, skimming, fencing, bootlegging, murder, fraud, gambling, extortion, blackmail, bookmaking, loansharking

The Marone Gang is one of the up-and-coming criminal organizations in St. Vincent. Started by a former Valentino rumrunner who felt he wasn't getting his share, the Marones have quickly expanded into one of the most prolific'" and violent'" gangs in the city. With the decline of Don Valentino's health and with Carmine Valentino's mismanagement of the criminal empire, Fat Tony is poised to be the next ruler of the underworld. There are several roadblocks to Marone supremacy, however.

Although Antonio Marone has successfully evaded police prosecution for the last several years, the Three Families, the predominant Italian mobsters in St. Vincent, have bought off the police department as well. If a criminal coup is initiated, the police may not stand idly by, as fewer street gangs equates to lesser profit. Fat Tony has made inroads to the SVPD, but he is suspicious that they will side with the Three Families if pressed. As such, he has turned to non-Italian mobsters for support.

Fat Tony's first move was to recruit other Valentino enforcers into his own ranks, promising them lucrative profits that the Valentinos could no longer provide. After recruiting the hot-headed, trigger-happy Danny 'Dominos' Cappanore as his underboss, Fat Tony turned to a bookie and loanshark, Eli Goldman. Well-rooted and well-liked in the underworld, Goldman used his connections to press Irish and Polish gangsters into the Marone's service. Ethnic tensions between the gang members were quickly quelled after Danny Dominos killed two Marone gangsters, one Polish, one Italian, after they botched a job due to their bickering.

But Marone and Eli have their doubts about Danny Dominos, and street-level Marones are beginning to worry that the Marone Gang, the rising star of the criminal world, might become a house divided.

[Elven Doritos]

Daniel 'Danny Dominos' Cappanore
Occupation: Marone Gang underboss
Cover job: Furniture salesman
Ethnicity: Irish and Italian
Religion: Catholic
Height: 5'6'
Weight: 160 lbs
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Brown

Born and raised in Little Sicily, Daniel Cappanore always loved speed. At a young age, he would often stow away on trains'" not to run away, but simply for the thrill. As a teenager, Danny worked two jobs in the hopes of buying a car, but soon realized that he could never afford one. Despondent and dispossessed, he turned to the one man who could make his dream come true: Don Valentino.

Valentino initially turned the brash Cappanore away, but the teen's persistence and enthusiasm eventually won out. Offering him a job collecting gambling debts, the aging Valentino believed that the harsh violence of the job would turn Danny away from crime. Instead, Cappanore proved more successful than any other enforcer at collecting debt, going so far as to make debtors write personal notes of apology to Valentino. He gained the nickname 'Danny Dominos' because of his obsession with the game, offering forgiveness of debts to anyone who could beat him.  Danny never lost.

As the Valentinos grew more violent and Prohibition came into effect, Danny became a hitman for the Valentinos. By this point, he had gained a reputation for being hot-headed and brash, and was often accused of flaunting his gun in public. The Valentinos ended their association with Danny after he mistakenly killed an innocent baker in a drive-by shooting, and Danny spent three months in jail before being released on good behavior.

Too Irish for the other Italian gangs and too Italian for the Irish, Danny turned to Tony Marone, an ex-Valentino who had parted on bitter terms with the Family, for work. Marone was impressed by Dominos, even though his excessively violent behavior seemed boisterous to him. After a few successful hits and some clever legal maneuvers, Marone tapped Dominos as his right-hand man. The two have made a good pair, with Marone acting as the reserved, distant gentleman and Marone as a banal and direct enforcer, but tensions over Danny's impulsive nature have been rising.

Danny is an expert marksman, a cold-blooded killer, and a ladies' man. He is good-looking and quick to crack a joke, but he loses his cool if he's not entertained. His signature all-white suit, brightly-colored shirts, and flamboyant mannerisms make him memorable to those who meet him '" especially his enemies.

[SDragon]

Since you said we're allowed to help work out various organizations and people, I have some ideas for the Clanahan boys. If you're interested, send me a PM.

By the way, I'm really loving what I see so far.