Crime Families

Overview

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They have said that crime never pays... but the truth is that it pays quite well, and this is prevalent no where else like Vallaki. From the lesser crimes like theft and bootlegging, to the more dangerous, like narcotics and smuggling; crime has existed since time immemorial. When conditions worsen and lives are at their hardest, the opportunities for profit skyrocket. This gives way to opportunitunistic grabs of power, and from the sprawling underbelly of the world, five distinct families have emerge to do just that.

From the sprawling underbelly of the world, people who saw an opportunity for encapsulate five distinct families have emerged to take advantage of the instability caused by the coup thirty years ago. And while it has been an uphill battle for many of them, today these families stand as some of the most powerful and influential factions in all of Vallaki.

Organization

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As the number suggests, the five families themselves are not a singular organization, but instead are comprised of five individual families that have taken root within Vallaki. While each family participates in a varying amount of crime, each family also has its own specialization. While tensions are always high, the five have come to an agreement, marking out specific territories; both physically, and in terms of trade. Outside these agreements are free to do as they please. While some may stick to themselves and their businesses, others actively search for ways to undermine the other. Both alliances and rivalries have formed over the decades, leading to a interesting political landscape.

Brillare

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The Brillare are the new comers on the block when it comes to the crime families. What once started off as the ambitions of one beautiful and wealthy lady has transformed into an empire capable of moving enough contraband to supply the whole Ruby District with enough entertainment to last a year, in a single night. Unlike the other families in the business of crime, the Brillare are by far the most subtle of the groups, preferring to work in the background then take center stage; ironic considering their leader.

Despite their tendency towards keeping a low profile, nearly everyone knows who the Brillare are. And many either have allegiances to, or are indebted to the Brillare. Businesses who wish to have their merchandise left untouched are expected to pay monthly "dues" for their protection. And those who opt-out or fail to live up to expectations are severely punished. Because of this, it is nearly impossible to start a small business in the city, especially within the Ruby and Central Districts.

Family Head

Glimmer: The elegant and charming face of the Brillare. She is the most public of the bosses, and receives the most limelight.

Family Standings

Positive: Danesti, Ozen
Negative: Sursă, Draculesti

Specialties

Auction
Business Protection
Smuggling

Danesti

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One of the oldest and most powerful of the families, the Danesti family got its start well before the age of Strahd, being around in the previous kingdom for generations. The Danesti family is infamous for their Casinos, gambling, and their loan shark businesses. Due to the nature of their business they are considered one of the deadliest families in the syndicate. Between their ruthless preying upon the desperate, their vile cunning in both the loans and the "business protection" department, and their deadly cunning in the casinos; the Danesti family is not one you want to cross. While they have smaller dens on the surface, their main base of operations is in The Edge().

Family Head

Nickolai: A fast and smooth talker with a ruthless disposition towards outsiders and a keen insight that is scary to face.

Specialties

Gambling dens
Loan Sharks
Business Protection

Family Standings

Positive: Brillare, Sursă
Neutral: Ozen
Negative: Draculesti

Draculesti

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Also known as the Pillars of Night, the Draculesti are infamous for kidnapping and trafficking. Very little information is known about them and some even question if they are really part of the families or not, but none dare ponder that question out loud for fear of waking up in a sack. What is known about the Draculesti is that they are ruthless, target seemingly at random, and that while they can and will operate anywhere, their main base of operation seems to be the Harbor District. Outside of the general lack of information about this family, the most terrifying thing about them is the seemingly endless connections they have; and that they have never been spotted or caught.

Family Head

No one knows who the family head is

Specialties

Trafficking
Kidnapping

Family Ties

Positive: None
Negative: All

Ozen

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One of the most famous crime families within Vallaki, their services are used by nearly everyone, both in and outside the seedy underbelly. Everyone knows anger, and everyone always wants something. Sometimes its wanting someone dead, sometimes its wanting something stolen, and sometimes still, its wanting protection. Whether your a poor shopkeeper looking for protection, an elite noble looking to kill a rival at their big gala, or even another crime family looking for some extra help; the Ozen can help.

Family Heads

Ozemnos
Rajiv the Ragged

Specialties

Assassination
Networking

Family Standings

Positive: Brillare Neutral: Danesti, Sursă
Negative: Draculesti

Sursă

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One of the most influential and powerful families in all of Vallaki, the Sursă have a vast majority of the city in their pocket. From those souls lost in the haze of euphoria in the Shadow Square to the decadent parties thrown by the nobles, you will be hard pressed not to feel their influence throughout the city. Every drug, every narcotic, comes straight from the Sursă. To say they have an iron grip on the narcotics trade within Vallaki would be an understatement.

Family Head

Petra: Notorious for being a wild card, Petra is the one person you can count on to be the most unaccountable. Despite this flaw, or perhaps because of it, she is one of the most efficient and terrifying family heads around.

Specialty

Narcotics
Smuggling



Friendly: Danesti
Negative: Brillare: Due to not paying the bribe money of the Brillare and circumventing her smuggling operations with her own, the two families and their heads have been on bad terms for a very long time now.
Ozen: While the Ozen have no real issue with them, the Sursă do not tolerate the Ozen due to Petra's own misgivings of them.
Draculesti

"Be careful where you step stranger"