If you like you can look at the (sketchy, incomplete) GM notes as well.

Inmack's Boys

Inmack's Boys are a ragtag group of thieves, pickpockets, and cat burglars who infest the Craftsman's Quarter. The Craftsman's Quarter provides the ideal ground for pickpockets, given that many of the clientele of the district will carry enough in cash to buy a small house in some of the lower districts - and that jewel encrusted ring's gotta be worth a bob or two. The shops themselves are rich pickings as there's quite a market for cheap clockwork that "fell of the back of a cart".

Inmack's Boys are much less visible than the Dockyard Rats or the Family are in their respective districts. They tend to only be seen when they want to be seen, which given their profession is not a lot; the Boys will emerge from the shadows to attend an Under-Chamber meeting, or punish a craftsman who thinks he can get away with not paying protection money, or attack a trespassing Dockyard Rat, before returning to concealment. They are mostly known of only by their effects; when a hapless victim tries to pay for his purchase with a purse he no longer has, or when a craftsman returns to his workshop in the morning to find a window open and his masterpiece nowhere to be seen, they're swift to blame the Boys and they're usually right to do so.

The mob will often take up street urchins, give them a home and food, and train them in pickpocketing. In return, the mob gets half of the takings, and skilled professionals to bolster their ranks; they are also joined by men from all walks of life fed up of trying to make an honest living and prepared to try a dishonest one.

History

In recent years, Inmack's Boys have become far more than just a gang; they have become almost a cult to Father Inmack, who founded the organisation decades ago (some say 400 years ago, but that can't be right, can it?) when he took in twelve street urchins from the Craftsman's Quarter and passed on to them his knowledge and wisdom, training them to become skilled thieves. Inmack's teachings were then passed from these urchins to a hundred others, and so the gang grew. As it grew, Inmack's appearances became more and more scarce until he disappeared from the outside world altogether; however, it is said that letters with orders for the gang signed in his name were still received and kept being received for years to come. The gang grew, eventually claiming the Craftsman's Quarter as their territory and demanding protection money off the many expensive shops which make up the district.

In 4000Hr, it was rumoured that Inmack had appeared at Under-Chamber meetings; in early 4001 HR Inmack made his reappearance, taking direct control of the Boys and reforming it from a ragtag group of thieves and pickpockets into a force to reckoned with. His reasons for doing this are much-debated; the Boys' assertion that Inmack was cunning enough to see that the Cartel was on the verge of crumbling, and wise enough to realise that the Boys would be next if they looked like the weakest gang when the dust settled. His efforts to increase the Boys' muscle and clout were mostly a success, but there are still a few shopkeepers who need their attitude straightening out. Inmack then ordered the Boys' expansion into the Trade District; unfortunately, the Rats had the same idea, the result being that Inmack's Boys are currently locked in a fierce confrontation with the Rats for control of the District.

Politics

The Boys' relationship with the Watchdogs is also far from neutral as the shopkeepers in the Craftsman's District are often well-off enough to pay the Watchdogs large amounts of money to remove this menace, and so scuffles and chases between the Watchdogs and the Boys are commonplace in the district. These chases and scuffles on the part of the boys are often not taken too serious, as members will often gain credit in the mob for dodging the Watchdogs. However, if they are caught the repercussions are often severe as a) the Watchdogs want to be seen to be doing a good job without harming relations with the other mobs, and so will often make an example out of any one of Inmack's Boys they catch, and b) because the boys are very good at making the Watchdogs look like fools. Thanks to Inmack's efforts to strengthen the mob, the Boys are now more willing to confront the shopkeepers responsible for calling in the Watchdogs and dole out a liberal dose of street justice (when they can find the individual responsible), but confrontations with the Watchdogs are liable to continue for as long as the Boys prey upon the wealthy and powerful citizens of Horizon.

It is perfectly fine for you to operate as a thief outside the mob; however, any one thieving in the in the Boys' territory and not paying their dues to the mob may not live to a ripe old age. It should also be pointed out that, as part of the Under-Chamber, the Boys are committed to stamping out freelance professional criminals. At the same time, the Boys' power structure is easily the loosest in the city's, even after Inmack's reforms, and so a freelancer joining the Boys can expect the least interference with the way he or she does business. The upshot of this is that in the early days of the Under-Chamber most freelance crooks threw their lot in with the Boys (helping Inmack's expansion efforts no end), and freelancers are often known to suddenly join the Boys when they think the Under-Chamber is about to catch up with them. (Pimps and prostitutes are an exception to this: "We sell our skills, not our bodies," say the Boys. "If you ain't got no self-respect, you've got no place running with us.")

System Concerns

Rank 1: You are one of the Boys. The gang provides you with food and a place to stay; in return, half of what you nick goes to the boss, you can try to give less however it would be very unfortunate if you were found out. (You do not earn a standard income, but you can take the pickpocket quirk as a Night Job and are able to operate in the Craftsman's District, you may also know other pickpockets who you can get help off.)

Rank 2: You could be a professional cat burglar, or one of the large men who collects the takings for the boss, or maybe you're a leader of a gang of 5 or 6 of the Boys; whatever you are, you have a bit more influence within the mob and either can get more support for whatever you want to do or gain a fixed percentage of others takings (albeit a rather low percentage).

Rank 3: You control quite a large gang (you basically are in charge of the Boys within a particular part of the district), and as a result a fair proportion of your income comes through the takings they get, and you are aware of who the boys are dealing with and may often be approached yourself by people wanting the services of members of your gang.

Rank 4: You know have a voice on the Boys' policies as regards the other gangs. If you want something done you only have to ask, you get a substantial fraction of the takings and so can afford to live quite comfortably on it. You are one of Inmack's closest advisors, and can also expect to know the truth about him: whether he is the original Inmack and has merely survived to a great but not unusual age, or whether he is an impostor or a successor, or whether he has - as the rumours suggest - defeated death itself.

Rank 5: You may not begin the game as a Rank 5 member of Inmack's Boys, for Inmack holds that position himself; of course, overthrowing him is always a possibility during the game, but this may be difficult due to his nigh-legendary reputation amongst the Boys.

Major Developments of 4021 HR

Rumours

The Boys' ban on prostitution is at the behest of Inmack himself: his mother was a whore, his father her abusive pimp, and he never forgave his father for the beatings he dealt to Inmack and his mother... Hey, if you found out who they were, you could find Inmack's real name and how old he was!

It's said that somewhere under the Craftsman's Quarter is a great room full of the gold the boys have been hoarding over the years.

The 400 years story is true, true I tell you! And nobody can live for 400 years; either this Inmack guy's an impostor or he's an avatar of some God. Either way, it's not good news.

It's strange the way the boys seem to be able to get into and out of all these buildings without anyone noticing, I reckon they've got an underground network or something.

The Boys' ban on prostitution is purely a pragmatic one; they are weak at heart, and know they can't compete with both the Family and the Dockyard Rats on that front.