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Elsie Williams |
 African-American |
Elsie Williams has lived in Chicago's gritty southside a long time, and while a relative unknown on Chicago's crime circuit, Elsie is no stranger to crime and an expert in criminal empires. She spent years in Harlem as a trusted accomplice of Bumpy Johnson's, working to build his rackets, and was an even hand during sometimes tense and violent run ins with New York's Luciano family. She is steady as steel and a true criminal prodigy. |
Elsie grew up poor with little but her faith to console her. Her adverse childhood has made her calm and cunning, and she quickly became a respected gang leader. |
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Hugh Miller |
African-American |
Hugh served in the Great War as part of the "Harlem Hellfighters" in France. Despite receiving numerous requests from various French ladies to remain in France after the war, Hugh followed his heart instead. He moved to Chicago to pursue a relationship with a woman who, unfortunately, did not return his affections. Though Hugh was devastated by the cancelled affair, the women of Chicago certainly were not. |
Faith and boxing got Hugh through a life of poverty, and he emerged from his trials braver than most. Now he is a impenetrable stone wall of a man. |
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Vicky Treff |
American |
Born on January 22, 1901, Vicky Treff is the daughter of famous Swedish wargame strategist Victoria Treffelsen II, herself the daughter of the similarly illustrious Victoria Treffelsen I. The pressure of following in the family footsteps was too great, and the young Vicky fled to Chicago under an (unimaginative) false name to begin a life of crime. Her family and their admirers search every newspaper for any scrap of information they can find about her whereabouts, seizing on any tidbit or sighting as confirmation that they have found her at last. |
Not much is known about Vicky, except that she obviously came to America fleeing something she doesn't want to talk about, and that she grew up well-educated and well taken care of. Her bold attitude and lone wolf tendencies only fuel speculation about her past. |
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Marco Behrmann |
German |
Marco spent several years in a German prison for his membership in the anti-war Spartacus League. Those years hardened him and stripped him of any idealistic political leanings. He came to Chicago ready to put his insurrectionary talents towards enriching himself. |
Marco moved to America after a few years in reform school followed by years of child labor. He brought with him a vicious cruelty and an unwillingess to trust anyone. He quickly became feared in Chicago. |
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Madeline Dunbar |
American |
Madeline Dunbar, originally from Fort Bend, Texas, has always had a penchant for crime. She was first sent to jail for robbing a grocer, but escaped and resumed her criminal career. As her children grew, she taught them the family business and created a disciplined and coordinated crew which went on to rob eleven banks, leaving ten people dead and seven injured. Madeline was briefly captured again for robbing a casino, but escaped in 1917. She had surgery to change her appearance and changed her name and the names of her children for good measure. |
Madeline has experienced a long run of misfortune in her life, but thanks to her sociability, her kids, and her faith she emerged as an unusual thing - a happy, tolerant gang leader. |
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Paulie Goldstein |
American |
Paulie is a charismatic Jewish mobster with a rebellious streak a mile long. A native of Chicago's North Shore, Paulie dreamed of moving to New York to join fledgling mob operations there led by Joe Masseria, or Salvatore D'Aquila. His rebellious nature made it tough for Paulie to get fully behind anything, however, and instead, he became determined to make it on his own. Paulie is extremely assertive and works hard to get where he wants to go. |
Coming from immense privilege, Paulie blew off his strict schooling to drink and indulge his social side. He lives his motto: no man is an island. |
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Dale Mahan |
 Irish |
Dale is a hailed veteran of the Great War, specializing in both expert level demolition work and heavy binge drinking. He single-handedly demolished an enemy brigade with a mortar, an act for which he received several commendations. The constant explosions and gunfire took their toll on Dale's mental health, sadly, and his lust for drinking did not diminish. He’ll never back down from a fight, but don’t be surprised if his fingers get trigger happy. |
After dropping out of school and struggling through some hard times, Dale has become angry, even if his faith is still intact. He has no trust in anyone but God. |
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Patrick Grady |
American |
Though Patrick started out as a thug and a tyrant, he eventually learned to channel his energy into something useful. He became obsessed with weightlifting with the goal of participating in the 1920 Olympics. Others at the neighborhood gym he favored had other less noble goals, however. Alcohol sales were incredibly lucrative, particularly for a poor young man on Chicago's southside, and Patrick found himself drawn back toward the criminal life he once longed to escape. He has no regrets, however. |
A life of boxing, child labor, and endless hard times have made Patrick aggressive, but given him a belief in his ability to come back from anything. |
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Gail Grady |
American |
Gail is as ruthless as she is fearless. She learned to wield a gun before she turned ten, but, growing up with a bully brother, it was her ability to give and take a beating that proved to be truly impressive. At 13, she and Patrick got into a fight so brutal that both of them walked away with broken bones and bloodied clothes. But it was Gail that came out on top. From that day forward, she commanded respect not only from her family, but from anyone that crossed her. |
Coming up in a poor family, Gail was forced to leave reform school to work and support her family. Her difficult childhood has made her brave and given her a respect for hard work. |
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Gibby Willard |
American |
Gibby Willard was raised in Pennsylvania, in the heart of coal country, the son of a miner who taught his young son the trade. Gibby loved the danger and the power of mine explosives, but his mother, mindful of her young boy, encouraged him to seek something more. He did not listen. Formerly known as Three Fingers, then Two Fingers, then Stump, Gibby traded underground for Chicago's underworld and fashioned a career (and later a hand) in the explosives field. |
Gibby cut school during his impoverished childhood to begin working. He has a tendency to play fast and loose, and his recklessness has earned him a reputation in town. |
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Bruno Baldini |
 Italian-American |
Bruno Baldini is the longest reigning champion of Chicago's most prestigious backroom Boxing Club, and he’s got the nose to prove it. His father, famed Italian boxer Luca Baldini, had trained Bruno to fight when he was just a boy. Bruno’s dream had always been to box professionally, like his father, but after an impromptu fist fight tournament at his local bar ended in the death of four patrons, he decided there were other avenues where his talents might prove more useful and lucrative. |
A religious boxer, Bruno is an intolerant child of immigrants, out for him and his. He relies heavily on his community, believing no man is an island. |
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Esther Milotti |
Italian-American |
Esther moved to Chicago from Boston after her husband "met with an accident." She quickly found work in a gambling racket, but before long ended up running the place. Esther is extraordinarily diligent and clever, with no patience for dissidents. The last time someone tried to rile her up by hiding her ledger, he mysteriously ended up riddled with holes and burnt to a crisp in a dumpster behind the gambling hall. |
Esther is a highly religious second generation Italian. She stayed in school to get a head for numbers, because her greedy and cunning nature led her naturally to a life of gambling. She saves every penny possible. |
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Guido Cervone |
Italian-American |
Guido is a hardened career criminal who has been in and out of Chicago's jails so much so that the guards are on a first-name basis. While he has an admirable light touch and sticky fingers, he has a bit of a reputation for being a light foot as well, running away when the going gets tough. |
The child of Italian immigrants, Guido's faith wasn't enough to keep him in school. He is something of a coward, preferring to talk things out, but his happy demeanor lends him a charm that helps with that. |
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Cristiano Rebecille |
 Italian |
A native of Genova, Italy, Cristiano showed early signs of instability and displayed sinister obsessions, a problem his family attempted to curtail by sending him to the States and putting him to work in the family macelleria, "Salumi Misti di Genova." This did not help. Access to a butcher's knives and a meat grinder birthed not a businessman but killer. He has a lust for depravity and takes abnormal gratification in gore. He has also been involved in loan sharking, but really only shows gusto when it comes to “collection time.” |
An immigrant from Genova, Cristiano ducked off school often. He's is hard and cruel, preferring to shoot first if there's shooting to be done. |
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Grazia Longi |
Italian |
Grazia and her mother moved to Chicago from Italy after her father's mysterious death. She spent the majority of her childhood learning how to hustle and run illegal street gambling groups, and showed a strong talent for moving her mother's bootleg hooch. Her mother insisted that she also learn to wield a gun, but was always vague about why. Years of looking over her shoulder have prepared her for just about anything. |
Grazia fled to America after the mysterious death of her father. She is intolerant and trusts no one, but has managed to draw a loyal gang around her leadership. |