There I was last night, meant to be finishing off a chapter on post-Soviet organised crime, when my thoughts turned to how OC would operate in Glorantha. That'll teach me for trying to get some work done with G:IttHW on my desk!
ORGANISED CRIME IN GENERTELA Organised crime is not simply crime which is organised, otherwise it would apply to three adolescent would-be sheep rustlers making a plan over a mug of ale in an Alone tavern. You could even start with Umath's unruly sons and their disregard for Yelm's rule. But OC is not Gagarthi banditry or Tsankth raiding. Instead, organised crime is best simply seen as an organised, long-term criminal conspiracy.
In the RW, it has not been an exclusively modern phenomenon. A case has been made - albeit not that well - that the dominant families of ancient Greece should be considered akin to the mafia families of the Cosa Nostra, and it is certainly clear that organised and cross-border smuggling, racketeering and piracy was a feature of the world of ancient Rome. Nor is it purely a European phenomenon. The value of the cacao beans in ancient Aztec society, both the ingredients of an exclusive drink and basic coinage (I can't help but see elevating chocolate to a currency as entirely right and proper) led to the formation of organised rings of counterfeiters, who created false cocoa beans out of other beans, paste and sometimes dung. More recently, for all their simply yo-ho-ho-mythology, the pirates of the Spanish Main were actually part of a relatively complex transnational criminal economy, with networks of informants, fences, resellers, contractors and suppliers.
OC is often a symptom of a state which is unable or
unwilling to meet the needs of its citizens, creating a
'market opportunity' for the criminals. This helps explain
why in some cultures and at some times, organised crime can
even assume some degree of legitimacy, as ordinary people
regard it as somehow on 'their' side (as opposed to a
hostile, alien or useless state). Certain organisations
also acquire powerful and charismatic 'brand names', which
they are prepared to lend to local gangs in return for
tribute. The franchisees prize these names which provide
respect and an associated reputation which discourages
victims and rivals from challenging them. Furthermore, as
in any franchise, the parent provides a blueprint for
success and access to necessary services, which in this
case can range from money-laundering to contract killing.
(Incidentally, this helps explain why a disproportionate
amount of OC in Russia is ascribed to the 'Chechen mafia.'
Their reputation for efficient violence is such that no-one
messes with them, so many non-Chechen gangs call themselves
the 'Chechen mafia', with the blessing - in return for
tribute - of genuine Chechen godfathers.)
In all these cases, though, crime could organise
effectively only on the back of a relatively complex
political and economic system. So a basic but not entirely
banal formulation is that the more organised a society, the
more organised its crime. For all sorts of reasons,
Glorantha is more characterised by many societies which are
complex, often rather more advanced that a purely
technology-for-technology comparison with the RW would
suggest. Magic is one factor (helps communication,
enhances the spread and retention of knowledge, improves
crop yields, creating greater surpluses to support literate
and administrative classes), all-too-evident deities (who
act as focal points for societies and in some cases
actively further social development, whether by laying down
laws or blasting deviants) another. Furthermore, the
'franchising' line can be taken much further - when there
are deities and spirits willing and able to provide
specialised magics, why not align yourself with them?
THE PLAYERS So who are the mobsters of Genertela (I'll stick to this continent for the moment and maybe consider the Lamsabi and their ilk some other time)?
Of course, Lanbril is not the only criminal deity. In Kralorela, another civilised society prey to OC, there are small cults deriving from him, but the major organisations are the Sekeveran Tongs, while the Temple of the Black Sun's Dao Du cult exalts hidden theft and mischief-making. Ygg of Three-Step's Wolf Pirates are criminals and could be considered OC, but more of that in the 'Specialists' section. Similarly, there are many activities which skirt the definitions of OC, such as Orlanthi cattle-raiding - entirely legitimate in legal terms but with many of the attributes of crime - which will be reflected in specific hero cults, also discussed below.
3. ANIMIST OC. Animist societies tend to be less complex and also too fragmentary for much OC as such - activities such as livestock raids and banditry are often widespread and socially accepted, money is non-existent and transferrable goods are generally recognisable and low value ("You have gold? What use is gold to me, I have a Bison!"). There may be animist criminal structures operating within more civilised and settled communities, though (Black Fang, again).
4. SORCEROUS OC. Of course, it is also hard to see how such organisations could fit into a Sorcerous context. There may be specialist traditions which are essentially the result of misapplied worship (St Yeremal the Trickster?), but on the whole I think that organised criminality within Western society will be that much more marginalised, relegated to banditry and the like. Of course, all that means is that the sort of nastiness OC usually gets up to will often be handled by corrupt Adepts and the like, who may develop specialised magics over time. It also means that instead of specific faiths, OC might cohere around a particular Grimoire, which could perhaps be used within existing tradition, such as Sog City's notorious Digest of Underhanded Ploys.
5. THIEF SUBCULTS/HERO CULTS. Criminality may often be relegated to specific subcults and hero cults. This also allows faiths and traditions the opportunity to explore some of the ambiguities about crime. Within the Orlanthi tradition, cattle raids are regarded as acceptable, but banditry is not. For the outright bandit, outlaw and kinslayer, there is Gagarth, but there is also a romantic, Robin Hood-like figure, the noble outlaw (a common RW phenomenon, what Eric Hobsbawm calls the 'social bandit'). He is the figure outlawed unjustly by an evil ruler, who breaks the laws in the technical/legal sense of the word, but does so for good, either as a rebel or to protect and feed the poor. As such, he represents a useful element of the mythic 'checks and balances' within Orlanthi society - when a ruler becomes too proud or despotic, then the hero cult of Hengkot Kingbane thrives, as a focus for resistance, through 'crimes' such as raids and highway robbery. Even in Dara Happa, where there is little scope for acceptable rebellion to Yelm's anointed rulers, there the assumption would be that bad rule does not equal a bad emperor so much as one being misinformed by evil advisors or whose laws are being flouted by evil local elites. So there is the hero cult of Lem Urbifrest, the Good Citizen Who Said No, who reluctantly leads an underground resistance against a bad local government but hopes to petition the emperor for justice. In Kralorela, this falls to Bodkartu and her Three Bad Maidens subcult. These may seem purely political, but by definition they must act conspiratorially, and will also attract many whose motives are not entirely pure.
There would also be thief aspects to many other cults, from a confidence trickster subcult of Eurmal to a poacher subcult of Odayla. There are several subcults of Issaries that shade into smuggling and fencing, with Arin the Smuggler almost moving entirely out of the Issaries fold. Lokarnos acquires a secondary smuller role, especially in the more restrictive parts of the Lunar Empire. It is even rumoured that there is a specialised card-sharping and game-fixing subcult of Asrelia in Casino Town, but I'm sure this is a scurrilous libel.
Where appropriate, criminality could also be present within local spirits of place or city. I could see the spirit of a river used for generations as smugglers' routes acquiring affinities relating to 'river invisibility' or 'punt like the wind'! Similarly, as Bagnot was originally settled by criminals fleeing from the Lunar Empire, even now its city cult must have signs of these origins.
6. SPECIALISTS. This begins to move into the territory of specialist deities and traditions, often relatively minor and/or local, whose activities skirt or fall within OC. The assassins of the Black Fang shamanic tradition are one obvious case, the Wolf Pirates of Ygg Three-Step another. But there are many more, such as Shaptubob, the Teshnan false witness. In some cases they would actively see themselves as part of OC - the Black Fang brotherhood, for example, operates freely within the Pavis underworld. Often, though, they would not regard themselves as OC as such - the Wolf Pirates, for example, regard themselves as free-spirited marauders and either ignore or fail to notice the complex - organised - support structure needed to keep fleets at sea, from shipwrights to storesmen.
7. KRARSHT. And of course, there is Krarsht, the Hungry One, She Who Eats in the Darkness. While most OC is actually strikingly disorganised, characterised by often transient rings and networks, Krarsht's cult is a disciplined, hierarchical and conspiratorial force, committed to penetrating and undermining societies, just as her children's tunnels penetrate and undermine the world. Temples will generally also operate as OC structures, involved in a wide range of criminal activities, from racketeering and smuggling to contract killing and theft. However, they tend to operate at a higher level than most OC gangs - there will rarely be Krarshti heavies in the market shaking down traders or moving the odd mule-load of hazia. If they are going to carry out such operations, it will generally be as part of a greater plan and through agents (who often do not know they are acting for Krarsht). Their aim is not short-term or material gain, but long-term mystic and political power. As such, they tend to prosper in complex and politicised societies (such as the Lunar Empire and Kralorela). In several Dart Wars, contestants have used Krarshti, wrongly thinking that they could remain the dominant partner in the relationship…
These are scary people, and their relations with other OC range from the cordially cooperative where their interests are not at stake (eg, Black Fang) to murderously competitive. Lanbril would preserve and live off that which Krarsht would control and destroy, and so there is little common ground, and scope for underworld turf wars. The only real constraint on this rivalry is that neither side want to galvanise the authorities into cracking down on the very underworld they are fighting over.
There are, by the way, other chaos or inimical cults which, while not as directly involved in OC, may operate in a similar way or whose members may gravitate naturally into this milieu. Ogres make masterful OC members, all the way from heavies ("she just looked like a little old lady - then she kicked my door down!") all the way to menacing godfathers ("You show respect, I show restraint. After all, you think you're super, but I think you're supper."). Thanatari are likewise inclined towards this kind of conspiratorial, long-term activity.
I think that'll do for now! I'll also post my version of Lanbril for comment, and may post BF, Krarsht, Hengkot et al in the next few days…
By the way, does anyone know anything about the Sekeveran Tongs over and above what's in G:IttHW?
Mark
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #759
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