So, a hagfish farm aids in body disposal, which seems really cool. However, doesn’t this mean you need to carry your mark to said farm to be disposed of? If so, it seems like a big risk for assassins to take. It also enters into the discussion on load/encumbrance (if that’s a thing to you).
Also, why does street fence grant +2 coin for lower-class targets? What is this representing?
Finally, if you keep to yourselves and stay under the crow’s sight, it might seem as if victim trophies wouldn’t help with rep as there’s nobody to see them.
I’m asking about these claims to get advice on representing them in the fiction, not arguing if they’re worth it. I really dig them.
John, will there be more detail on claims in the book?
When you put it that way, I suppose the crew should only get that +1d when it’s feasible that they could use the hagfish farm. If they get themselves run off the premises, they probably can’t go back and collect the bodies. But personally I’d interpret the claim to encompass collection and transportation of bodies, and assume that the crew is talented enough to sneak them out. Unless your table is interested in playing out the cleanup phase, but I feel that’s usually worth skipping, myself.
I guess it could be a fence specializing in lower-quality items you pick up from poorer targets? Breakers have a Fence claim as well, but I don’t really imagine either crew stopping to loot the room and sell the valuables. Er. okay, that’s what a “smash and grab” is. So I guess that one makes sense.
Personally I like the idea of Fixers who can connect the crew with clients who are willing to pay for certain contracts, and who can maybe negotiate better prices. And they could also know some related fences, so that theft jobs can still get the bonuses. But that’s just my preference.
As for trophies, I’d say that just because the crows don’t know you killed someone, doesn’t mean people don’t talk about the deaths and how the killers took trophies. Or the crew might brag. Though it is interesting that if the crew has Victim Trophies and pulls off a perfectly quiet score (without No Traces) they’d still get 1 rep instead of 0, technically, I think? Maybe not. It would make sense to rule it like Patron (when you earn rep, earn +1 rep).
Have to agree with you–I very much want to play an Assassins crew myself, so I’ve thought about some of this stuff a fair bit. Also wow this got long.
All good points, thank you. I know our table and how we really dive into things, so getting views and ideas is always good.
As far as cleaners go, I think a claim of “Cleaners” would be more appropriate and a hagfish farm could be an aspect of that. It could represent quite a bit of after-murder infrastructure, but examples and such would go a long way.
For the fence, it struck me as something for HVTs, since their belongings would be harder to move. I may be missing something obvious here.
Yes, I thought about the little leaks that happen in a crew and that’s represented by Heat. Cutting of ears and making a mural out of tongues is certainly reputation-worthy, but anybody could do that. Also, there’s the aspect of having a room filled with evidence. If anything, I feel it might generate Heat!
One claim I’m surprised isn’t there is something that deals with ghosts speaking to the Spirit Wardens. Maybe something like “Dead Whispers” (yes, I had to) or such. It reduces Heat because the ghosts of victims (if any) have a hazy recollection, at best.
I absolutely love the Assassins crew and really want to drive my blade deep into its heart, so we can bleed it dry. For game purposes, of course.
Disclaimer: No actual crews were harmed in the making of this post.
I would love to hear stories about your table trying to sneak bodies out of the area after a score, if you decide to play it out, because that sounds like it could go hilariously wrong.
(As for load, I wouldn’t count carrying a body as load, just, you know, the obvious implications of how difficult it is to carry a body around.)
I only mention load because of the discussion concerning it. I think I’ll just make everyone take Emberdeath. Problem solved!
I will definitely share any hilarity concerning body-carrying. One example of where I see the hagfish farm being “useless” is when sniping a noble while they’re addressing guests. Are you then supposed to swoop in, grab the body and run? Or the clever plan to frame somebody for the poisoning of an official and by the time the body hits the floor, you’re walking away smiling.
For the fence, I can see the argument being that the street fence is a known underworld figure, one that even the non-criminals can find, and if a “upstanding citizen” is desperate enough to need assassins they are willing to pay a higher price, or can be nickel and dimed because they don’t know better. They can also mention if there is anything worth stealing, maybe everyone wants a charm to ward off disease after Old Henry died from that cough last week. The Luxury fence serves a similar roll but with a different kind of clientele, one that’s smaller in number but has more money to throw around (To explain the two giving the same bonus.
You could also suppose it’s more of a general thing. Your dead body disposal hag fish farm could be more of a larger resource that you offer to other crews as long as they help take heat off your back. It’s of course all under the table so that other crew may still hate you but they have mutual agreement when it comes to hiding bodies from the Spirit Wardens and the Blue Coats.
Like “yeah sure we all know the Slug Eye assassins crew killed the nobleman at the ball but they’ve been disposing our dead bodies in their hag fish pond for the past year so we ain’t gonna point fingers.”
Look to DeadWood and the Chinese with their pig pen for inspiration there.
Colin Fahrion , that’s a fantastic idea. Bravo! That could lead to a ton of great hooks.
Here’s what Hagfish Farm says in the book:
Hagfish Farm: When you use the reduce heat downtime activity after a score that involves killing, you get +1d, and quiet, convenient disposal of any corpses you left on the job.
The downtime activity assumes the process of dealing with the bodies.
He shoots, he scores. Thanks, John. This also answers my question about more detail per claim. Awesome. I assume any spectral leavings are dealt with as well. Either way, very cool.
If you want the hagfish farm to feel more realistic in the fiction, you can make the ability to remove bodies part of the score. If the assassination turns into a brawl, start a four part clock called “We gotta run for it.” Consequences tick the clock, and if it fills up the party has no choice but to leave the bodies behind to get out alive. They cannot take advantage of their turf upgrade for that score. That’s my immediate thought.