WISEGUYS: GANGSTER TALES

AUTHORS
Richard Woolcock
Eric Lamoureux

It’s the mid-nineties. The bosses of the Five Families, as well as the Chicago Outfit, are behind bars. SYSTEM
Tricube Tales <
The Commission has gone silent. Routed and leaderless, the Godfathers have lost their grip on Las
Vegas. A new breed of Dons has risen from the ashes of a lost war against the Justice Department to SETTING
rule over Las Vegas, working to reclaim their power and influence. Wiseguys <
Rebuilding their empire begins with the cunning and deceitful associates they’ve recruited among the Just Insert Imagination

denizens of Sin City and beyond. Under the leadership of caporegimes and soldiers of La Cosa Nostra, STORY SYMBOLS
they plot heists, eliminate their rivals, and engineer all kinds of ways to gain money and power beneath Delapouite, Lorc, Skoll
the watchful eye of a government that’s now wiser to their scoundrel ways. Game-icons.net <

You are part of a crew looking to show its true mettle by evading the law and robbing corporations of ILLUSTRATIONS
their riches. Will your legend and nickname live on for years to come? Eric Quigley

CHARACTER CREATION RESOLVING CHALLENGES TELLING THE TALE

Each player creates a character as follows: If a player attempts something risky, they roll 1-3 Roll on the following tables to randomly generate
1. Choose a trait: Agile (used for reflexes, dexterity, six-sided dice and must equal or beat a difficulty the crews’ latest assignment:
stealth, and ranged combat), brawny (covers strength, of 4-6 on at least one die. Succeed on multiple dice The crew must...
vitality, athletics, and melee combat), or crafty (covers for an exceptional success (narrate an additional A Whack someone D Recover some money
intellect, charisma, perception, and mental combat). benefit). Rolling “1” on all dice is a critical failure B Perform a shakedown E Dispose of a corpse
2. Select a concept: Enforcer, cleaner, safecracker, (introduce a complication to the scene). C Deal with a rat F Pull off a heist
hustler, burglar, wheelman, or entertainer. The GM chooses a trait and difficulty for each From, at, or near...
3. Pick a perk: Made man, gift of gab, meticulous, challenge. Most are difficulty 5, but a particularly A A casino or hotel D A business or front
gun-fu artist, street-smart, notorious, or quick. easy or hard task might be difficulty 4 or 6. Some B The train yard E A derelict building
4. Select a quirk: Conspicuous, wisecracker, vain, challenges (e.g., combat) require multiple rolls. C A diner, club, or bar F A bank or museum
trigger-happy, drug habit, greedy, or volatile. Players usually roll 2 dice, but roll 3 dice if the While dealing with...
5. Grab 3 karma tokens and 3 resolve tokens. challenge matches their trait. If a challenge falls A A double-cross D An LVMPD stakeout
6. Make up a name, and introduce yourself to the completely outside the scope of their concept (e.g., B An ambush or attack E A mysterious hitman
crew (e.g., “I’m Frankie “Hard Soap” Agosti, a crafty a wheelman cracking a safe), they lose 1 die. C A mole or witness F A detour or road trip
cleaner who is meticulous, but also a wisecracker”).

KARMA AND RESOLVE RUNNING THE GAME

Each player has 3 karma and 3 resolve. Spend 1 The GM should describe the opening scene, react
karma after rolling to reduce the difficulty by 1, if to the players’ decisions, and assign the traits and
you can justify how your perk helps you. Recover difficulties for challenges. Offer players karma in
1 karma if you increase the difficulty by 1 before return for complications based on their quirks!
rolling, narrating how your quirk hinders you. The players should make all the rolls, narrate
If you use a quirk and succeed at the challenge, the outcome of their actions, and drive the story
you may recover 1 resolve instead of 1 karma. forward whenever possible. They can also spend
For dangerous actions (such as combat), failure 1 karma to influence the story or discover a clue
costs 1 resolve (or 2 on a critical failure). If a PC through their perk, at the GM’s discretion.
runs out of resolve, they are eliminated from the If a challenge is potentially deadly (i.e., running
scene—but death is primarily a narrative conceit, out of resolve results in death), the player should
and the PC usually returns later at full resolve. be warned before they roll.
 OBJECTIVES LOCATIONS COMPLICATIONS
Described here are examples of objectives for the Described here are examples of locations for the Described here are example complications for the
mission generator (first table): mission generator (second table): mission generator (third table):

1. BEST SERVED COLD 1. SAFARI CASINO AND HOTEL 1. KNIFE IN THE BACK
A member of the Renegades biker gang beat up a The gambling floor of this African jungle-themed One of the character’s contacts secretly works for
cugine a few days ago, leaving the young man in a casino is cram-packed with old slot machines and a rival organization, and they are under orders to
coma. The Don wants the biker iced. animal replicas, and the hotel decor is tacky. gather intel and undermine the crew’s actions.

2. TRIBUTE 2. DESERT WIND 2. BATTLE WITH THE BRATVA

A local business owner refuses to pay protection The crew visits Las Vegas station, perhaps to wait A gang of Russian mobsters has a grievance with
money to the family. Visit the establishment, and for the long-distance passenger train. The station the crew concerning a conflict of interest over a
change their mind. If they should still refuse, the connects to the rear of a large casino hotel. business arrangement. Violence seems likely.
crew will have to make an example of them.
3. JOSIE’S DINER 3. THORN IN MY SIDE
3. OATH BREAKER Located about 10 miles north of Las Vegas, Josie’s Someone watched the crew committing a crime,
A wiseguy has broken omertà by squealing to the Diner smells of bacon grease and freshly brewed and they plan to testify. This witness needs to be
authorities. The punishment for betrayal is death, coffee. The Renegades often hang out here. identified, found, and silenced.
and the crew has to carry out the hit.
4. CHANG’S CHOP SHOP 4. DONUTS AT DAWN
4. SNAKES AND LADDERS Chang’s Auto Repair—nicknamed “Chang's Chop A couple of cops are on a stakeout. They’re more
A gang of muggers called the Tunnel Snakes lives Shop”—is believed to be owned by the Triad, who interested in donuts than doing the job, but their
in the flood channels under the city. One of them often use stolen cars for drug smuggling. presence will endanger the crew’s assignment.
stole a suitcase of drug money and escaped down
a ladder—now the crew must recover the cash. 5. HOTEL BONES 5. GUNMAN WITH A GRUDGE
Construction of this hotel was never completed, A vigilante has been targeting local criminals, and
5. LUPARA BIANCA and its concrete skeleton now homes junkies and recently they killed a made man of a rival family.
The Don executed one of his accountants in a fit hobos. Gangsters sometimes come here to waste But who is this mysterious shooter, what is their
of rage after discovering that the greedy fool had their victims, saving them a trip to the desert. motive—and where will they strike next?
embezzled family funds. The crew must get rid of
the body and make sure nobody ever finds it. 6. DEATH AND TAXES 6. FUHGEDDABOUDIT!
The crew has caught wind of a clandestine bank The Don tells the characters to take a drive in the
6. SHAKING THE MONEY TREE operated by funeral director Lorenzo Scarnaccia, desert and dispose of something or someone. The
The crew has received a tip-off about a potential a distinguished gentleman who sometimes makes trip may not even be part of their assignment, but
target to rob. It sounds like easy money! bodies disappear for the Mob. the crew had better not forget about it!

ADDING A TWIST TO THE STORY

For further inspiration, roll two dice on the table below and use the symbol as an improvisational prompt (you don’t need to interpret it literally). For example,
A A could represent a callous gunman, a black-market arms dealer, or a deadly shootout, while rolling D B might mean youthful romance, forbidden love, or a
scandalous affair, and F C might symbolize a private strongbox, a safety deposit box, a bank vault, or hidden valuables.
AA AB AC AD AE AF BA BB BC BD BE BF CA CB CC CD CE CF DA DB DC DD DE DF EA EB EC ED EE EF FA FB FC FD FE FF