Empire of Sin: 3 main questions: Economy

"This should be the last rant about Empire of Sin, and what it could improve in its design. Mainly, as topic suggest it need to have a look at how its economy system hampers and limits its potential."

No Competition

As is stands at the moment of writing (patch 1.04), EoS has pretty simple and robust economical system: district generates customers, them those customers are divided between various rackets, according to draw, and then they spend their money according to combined ambiance and sales of each racket. That's all.

No effective staff salary or hiring, no taxes, no electricity or water bill, not even resources required to produce alcohol. Nothing to spend our hard earned cash. Yes, player can upgrade each racket to a 5 star establishment, but there is absolutely no reason to do that. Not a single one, except player, thinking that it will improve his income. Which is partly true, but once you realize that its much more easier to take over more rackets than upgrade few that you own, you probably will not do it, unless you want to experiment with your build. The reason for that is two-fold;

First: abundance of other possibilities, and free real estate. Anywhere you look, you will find plenty of Derelict buildings or vulnerable rackets to take over. In smallest game with just 3 neighborhoods, you have approximately 30- 60 free buildings to take over. Once you reach 20 rackets you will never need money. Yes, number will go up and down, but it will not matter. With 20 rackets, you are already won the game, simply by amount of cash you make every week, you will outlast, and out buy anyone in Chicago. You don't even need to fight anyone, just keep selling them booze, or throw occasional cash their way.

Second: pathetic competition. AI in terms of development, is either lazy or designed by pacifist. None of the AI factions will not develop their rackets beyond level 1, or even aggressively expand. If a player can capture about 4 rackets per hour of gameplay, (that is if you fight each one of the thugs in the building), and will only get stronger and stronger, then AI limits is demand one or two rackets as a result of costly war. AI never expands beyond its original set-up, and never attacks player's safehouse. That's not how to create a competition

Supply and Demand, anyone?​

Now, lets talk about an elephant in the room: the basic economy and trading. I'm sorry, but to in order for you to understand my point, I need to diverge for a minute.

The basic pillars of every economy since the stone age, have always been Price, Product, Supply and Demand. This is true even for criminal enterprise. People want the Product, and their desire determines the Price they are willing to pay and Demand in number of units. But if Supply is lower than Demand, then Prices quickly rise up. However, if there is plenty of Supply, then prices tend to go down, as every trader wants to make their profits. Unless there is an agreement between traders to keep price at certain number, so that everybody can benefit from average, but relatively stable sales. That's the simplest explanation of capitalism I can do.

However, Empire of Sin laughs in my face and tells me that I know nothing. You do not need prices. You do not need Supply and Demand. You are a gangster. You shoot people and take their stuff. All this business stuff is for your accountant to sort out. Then gameplay goes on and only reinforces this statement. That's my biggest problem with this game.

Sadly, Empire of Sin, is not about building a criminal Empire, as game's advertisement were promising. No, Empire of Sin is Thug simulator: rob a place, take over a racket and keep shooting until none left. It promised a Godfather moments, where you build an underworld empire, develop an influence, power, network of supporters and bribed politicians in order to take over Chicago. But instead you are 2-pence thug with a Lee Enfield rifle (the best gun in the game), who cant do anything, but to wonder from one gunfight into another. Not, by choice, but design.

Coming back to economy. Now, if you look closely you will see that during trading with other bosses, there is a background calculation of how much they are willing to pay for your booze or guns. That mean, that prices do exist, but they simply are set in stone, somewhere in game code. Player never sees them, but from observation of my trade, I can establish that one box of swill will sell at $3. But, how player is negotiating a trade without talking about how much he is going to pay, about negotiating a PRICE for his illegal goods, I do not know. That's not how Americans do that.

Various Resources?​

Now, the other huge problem of Empire of Sin, is in it resource management. There are three types of resources player has to manage: money (easy as sin), guns (abundant as sin) and Gangsters, (simple as sin). I've touched the money earlier, so lets talk guns and Gangsters.

Player is correct to expect abundance of guns in the Gangster themed game. Empire of Sin does not disappoint. From the start, player can find rare and unique weapons by attacking random thugs guarding a box full of weapons, like SMG or heavy Machine Guns. It's a good help for a struggling player, who may not have cash to pay for revolver, but suddenly has a very powerful arsenal just by looking in the dark corners of the city. I can see that this system was lifted from Dungeons and Dragons, where heroes find a +2 Sword of Justice in some dirty goblin hole. It is saved from being totally ridiculous by two things:

1) Lack of weapons concealment system: literally anyone can walk on the street with huge Lewis MG, and none will notice it until you start firing.

2) Lack of legal ways of buying weapons. You simply cant establish a private investigation company, and use it as cover to buy weapons. That is non-existent in the game. (I will talk about Black Market later on).

But the problem of the abundant guns lies in other sphere: Guns as Resource. As you develop you criminal enterprise, you tend to improve the guards rating, by doing once-a game upgrade into security, that improves quality of Guards, their weapons and their numbers. This is a wasted opportunity to give player a management decision. First of all, player may choose how much to pay to the guards, then what kind of weapon they will be issued, or perhaps demand that guard would bring his own weapon. Then the number of places this guard will be protecting, or may be joined the forces with your A-team for an assault on the enemy stronghold. All of those, would require to have “guns” as another resource, in order to avoid micromanaging every guard.

There is another reason for the Guns to be a resource: a drive-by raid and other operations. As a rule, gangsters tend to get rid of weapons used during a crime, since police was able to track them to their owner. But there is no police in EoS, right? So why bother.

Virtual Goods​

This highlights another problem with EoS economical system: lack of physical representation of goods and resources, including money. As it stand now, all transactions, except guns for your crew and Boss are not material. By that, I mean game does not create an object (lets say a crate of beer) in the game world and then moves it from brewery, to warehouse, then to the pub, and then exchange it to cash. So at no time, an opponent's or police raid can stop said crate of beer from being created, transported, consumed or sold for money. The money is also does not have a presence it the world, apart from numbers in the information tab. This is another wasted opportunity, since gameplay would be so much richer, even if its just another combat mission, if player would have an impact on opponent's production, delivery, service or just by actually robbing the safe of other gangster and actually carrying a bag of cash to your hideout.

Rumors and Intelligence​

Do you think a gangster would call the police to help? May be, if he had police on the payroll, he could. However, its not possible. This highlights another problem, the lack of meaningful relationship system and information gathering. As it stands at the moment of writing, all opponent's safehouses are hidden from view of the player. It requires cooperation with other Bosses and slow background process of passive intel gathering to reveal safehouse location. This shows another opportunity to improve the game by adding resources called: information or intelligence.

From rumors to professional detective work, every faction should gather intel in order to do some of the following:

1) reveal hidden rackets or safehouse

2) lower the police HEAT!

3) receive warning about enemy attacks or police raids before they occur

4) find incriminating evidence and witnesses against key figures, opponent's henchmen or Boss, or even yourself (to give them a better offer, for example)

5) gain new contacts on the Black Market

Black Market​

Lets talk about Black Market. At first, a short story.

In one of the RPG campaigns I've seen online, Game Master brought player's heroes to the village in the need of rescue. When Heroes tried to shop for supplies, they have found out that trading in weapons and almost everything else was forbidden. But every NPC they talked to, have suggested that they should try the BLACK MARKET, of Friday night. So they did. On Friday night they came into the very same market, next to town hall, with very same guards and very same traders and bought all sorts of magical weapons and stuff. Dragon was killed, city was saved, and everyone rejoiced. The question remains, why GM forced them to go to Black Market in order to get the needed supplies, if everyone in the town knew that only Heroes could save them, and everyone in the village were trading on the Black Market? Those questions are a prelude, to my next rant.

Black Market in Empire of Sin is crutch to a game's economy. Simple as that. The way its implemented, makes me wonder, how to class what my character is doing? Player is creating and selling illegal booze, runs illegal casinos and brothels. Is that good enough for a Black Market? Grey market?

In the game it serves as the one and only INDEPENDENT source of medical supplies and other gear. Since there is no other economy in the game, player is forced to open a menu featuring nameless moustache man with Tommy gun and pay ridiculous money to get bandages, medic bags, grenades and weapons. Every week this market refreshes itself, and you get exactly same goods for exactly same prices. You cant negotiate. You may have the largest criminal empire in the city, but Moustache man has monopoly on the grenades and bandages, so you will deal with him or die.

It makes me wonder, why players can not open a totally legal pharmacy and get those supplies from there?Why player cant buy building demolition business, and gain legal sources of dynamite? We have the money. Or why in order to deal with other Bosses I cant go through the BLACK MARKET menu? Aren't we all in the same illegal game? Why there is only ONE Moustache Man? Why not have several dealers, with connections and rivalries between them, with varied goods, varied prices and availability on those goods? Why let me negotiate the price and point of drop off? Why not have underlings of other Bosses selling or buying stuff? Why not allow player to sell information? Why not have a working economy?

But, I guess its too much to ask. This would make trading actually MEANINGFUL.

Criminally Busy​

Now the last thing I'd like to touch upon is how our criminal organization is presented in the EoS.

As well as having the mighty Boss, players are encouraged to promote gangsters to various positions. But at the same time, this takes them away from front lines of our gang war. The only place they are actually important. Yes, few of the gangsters have organizational skills, like trait “Gang Leader”, but they are so well hidden, that unless you know the game, and you know where to look for specific information, its unlikely you will find it. So, as a rule player tend to avoid assigning Boss or even a Gangster to safehouse. This could be changed, if game would create a mission with requirements for specific type of Gangster.

For example:

1) Meeting and Negotiating with other Leader: Boss, Hired Gun, Enforcer.

2) Running a Casino Scam: Con Artist, Thief, Hired Gun.

3) Raiding enemy warehouse/racket: Enforcer, Demolition

4) Gathering Intelligence: Con Artist, Thief, Doctor

Depending on the mission, you may need at least one of the listed types. But if you have all required gangsters, you may gain an Initiative boost, or placement benefit. So, after Gangsters has been assigned to a combat mission, he returns to his post (Underboss, Lieutenant,) after mission has been resolved. This way, Gangsters are not removed from players control. In addition, if mission system is used, it will allow to use a garage and cars as limiting factor to number of gangster you can bring into combat, and allow for a faster movement across town without the need for taxi.

Now. It will probably be my last rant, for some time. After spending more than 100 hours on Empire of Sin, I'm feeling a bit tired. It has a good core and ideas. I love the storylines and unique gangsters. Visuals and music are great. But this game should have stayed in development for another year. Sadly, it lacks any strategic depth or meaningful Empire development. Outside of combat, there is not much else to do or control. My sincere hope is for future development of this game and more mechanics and systems to be implemented. Sorry, if any of this came as angry rant.

Thank you for reading this.

Empire of Sin: 3 major questions: Management

 

Part 2: Management

So how do we manage things in Empire of Sin? Silly question, I hear you. We just point and click, as we did back in 1922. And things get done. Automatically. What's even more “fun” we can rush things if pay extra money. The rest of our resources are coming out of thin air, so why not have a building be constructed twice faster. Wait, you can rush things indefinitely if you have money? Who cares than even concrete need time to get solid. What is wrong with that, you smartass? Nothing, except that normally player has to pause the game, open the management screen while his crew is running somewhere on the street, make his executive decision (sometimes even in the middle of the combat) and keep running.

Our beloved xcom, and even Jagged Alliance 2, had a different answer to that question: the world map, where player could see the known enemy movements, income, available resources, messages and create upcoming missions. Why this approach is not used in Empire of Sin? Because the gameplay loops (as it stands now) does not require player to spend more time on the global screen than needed to call a taxi. (Taxi is the only function that is not readily available from the tactical screen.) All that player need is usually to know the location of certain buildings and quickest way on a taxi to get there. Luckily, now there is a time delay for transportation. Before 1.04 player could literally teleport across the city, and fight in more than 4 combats. Thanks to developers, this oversight has been fixed.

But, I think that only a re-work could fix the management problems of Empire of Sin. Simply put, player does not really manage or control anything in his Empire, except who he is hiring. The rest of it is taken out of the players hand and left somewhere in the excel sheet of production. Even trading between factions does not require a face-to-face meeting between gangsters, it is a simple click of the mouse. The part of virtual resources has been discussed earlier, so I'm skipping that part.

Same applies to player visiting his rackets to control or manage a situation. The only time player is ever going to visit one of his own casinos, speakeasies or brothels is when he takes it over from other faction or when a quests requires him to be there. The only real decision concerning one specific racket is how to name it. That's it. The rest of action are done on the spreadsheet.

But what about his gangsters? Do they have a time to spend inside of the rackets? No, they usually running around like headless chickens trying not to die in daily firefights. Or they are in the safe house, trying to recover. The boredom, the stress, the fatigue is left outside of the scope of the game. That's despite the certain traits that get used when our gangster is visiting our rackets. Player simply does not feel the need to do that. Some even do not use Under bosses or Advisors, in order to maximise their combat potential.

By taking all non-combat related decision to a spreadsheet, Empire of Sin has lost something that was very characteristic for the time before the mobile phones and instant transactions: THE HANDS-ON APPROACH.

Every major deal, every serious encounter, every relationship was based on the presence and abilities of the person present. With illegal businesses, its even more important than with legal one. Since, if there is no trust between partners, that transaction may end up in bloodshed.

Earlier I've mentioned that EoS need a system of missions in order to move away from its current state. Here, I'm going to continue that train of thought, and explain why its important.

When players have a choice, when they are forced to find an optimal solution in sub-optimal situation, then it creates a feeling of ownership, of control and engagement. This make player care for even small racket he has created or taken over. Same happens with gangsters who has been with player for a long time. But currently, Empire of Sin has none of it. (well, may be with gangsters its present). Player does not care for the buildings he takes over. After the combat he'll just slap a new name and will never return to it. If it was not painted in his colours, most would forget about in a minute. When player looks at upgrade sheet, he is shown numbers of that will generate more numbers. He has no choice but to climb the ladder from 1-5 level, occasionally rushing things up, out of boredom or need to spend money on something.

Same thing happens with diplomacy and trading. Player is shown numbers of Honour, Hostility and so on. But since we don't know the scale, player is just guessing how much money do I spend on trading with certain opponent in order to get friendly? What's the benefits of that? Do we have the same goals? The game does not tell you that.

Trading over a screen, setting up a standing order for booze or anything else is also hands-off. Its just a click. But it should be a part of sit-down, part of face-to-face negotiations. That should be a big enough reason for a Boss to take a risk of sit down. (but its pointless with current economy in the game).

I shall abstain from discussing the Police relationship here, but in general it as messy as it can be. In addition, it does not have system of a gradual trust, it allows for one jump from wanted to a deputy. But later on that.

Relationship between our gangsters are completely hidden, unless you start poking into small, well hidden sub-traits on individual gangster screen. However apart from being annoying, those relationship do not have an effect on your team performance. Unless you hire someone they hate, you gangsters do not develop beneficial relationships. Yes, I'm looking at xcom 2 with its battle brothers system, where good teamwork was rewarded with extra actions, bonus resistances, free overwatch shot and revenge for the fallen comrade. If anything, I'd like to see a map of relationship between my team, without looking into Black Book.

Now, the lack of any meaningful NPC (outside of quests), makes this an empty request, but imagine if we would have a network of individuals, who would have some amounts of booze, or guns for sale. Then depending on how much they Like or Dislike us, they would lower or increase their prices? That would be almost like a black market, but with actual choice on the matter!! Instead we skip time, waiting for two weeks, so that script can refresh itself. Or what if we could add some extra to the purchase, only because seller likes us, or we helped him in a bind? What if we would learn about their weaknesses or hobbies, so we could give them a present, or sell an information, to boost our relationship? What if the relationship would affect other relationships? But instead we are looking at the numbers of Honour. I'm surprised that Omerta has that system.

So let me conclude this: give player an easy to understand system of relationship, where he knows where he stands, allow for more detailed decisions in production, business development and team management.

How I'd improve the management system of the game:

1. Focus players attention on the global screen, by placing information about events, threats, possible business opportunities, current missions, placement of your gangsters, movement of your goods there. Allow for control form the global screen. Zoom in into tactical view only if needed.

2. Allow for meaningful upgrade system of rackets: as I've described in the notes on Safe Houses, allow for limited number of “slots” per racket. This prompts player's choice: what to apply and would it synergies with other upgrades. For example, small speakeasy has 4 slots in total: player may choose only one upgrade out of the following:

• dancing floor: extra income on soft drink

• band stage: extra attraction

• free meal for the poor: +2 Liked reputation

• hidden vault: booze is safe in case of police raid

• kitchen: extra income on the food

• hostel room: extra income from travellers

• cigar room: extra attraction if Ambience is 3 or higher

By limiting available choices, each racket will be specialised, and will also create a new set of gameplay for the player. If possible, limit the rush ability, or create a negative effect such as, lower the spending for some period of time.

3. Create a map of known NPC (including the team), based on relationships, similar to Black book.

4. Clearly define the relationship rating with 3 words: Like, Dislike, Trust. For example,

• Like: how much person, organisation, neighbourhood likes us, and feels safe in our presence. Affects trading prices and Information gathering. 5 stages: Neutral, Liked, Trusted, Friendly, Family.

• Dislike: how much we are hated by person, organisation or area. Affects chances of being reported to police or rival gang. 4 stages: Suspicions, Hostile, Hated, Kill on Sight.

• Trust: this rating is affected by number of successful deals and positive interactions, as well as Like/Disliked rating. The higher the Trust, the less likely an NPC to break down the deal, smuggle wrong type of good or do not pay for delivered booze. 6 stages from lowest to highest: No deal, Untrustworthy, Big time Liar, Small time cheater, Undecided, Another one, Proven, Trusted, Solid.

5. Return the HANDS-ON approach. Every action, every deal, every upgrade or small mission must have a gangster assigned to it. Every situation must have a chance to fail and end up in hostilities. Every gangster must be ready to fight his way out, even if its a morning coffee. Boss must have a face-to-face with any other NPC if he need to trade anything! Otherwise, send gangsters to do the work or oversee upgrades. This way player has something else to do other than run from combat to combat , and gangsters have a chance to learn/gain xp outside of combat. Make sit-downs change the relationship between Bosses and factions on the numerical level, and translate it into word human can comprehend.

6. Keep the fatigue from combat and missions. After each mission or combat, retain accumulated fatigue on your Boss and Gangsters. Then, to lose fatigue you must send them to your rackets to unwind. Yes, it will trigger the risks of gambling, drinking and whoring. But, this way you limit available numbers of gangsters to player, create risk of losing a gangster to its vices, generate systemic gameplay with your rackets, have a reason for player to look inside of the rackets he had created, increase bond between the gangsters and create stories. After all, you gangster are not robots who do shooting all day long, they are humans.

7. Add a teamwork bonuses to gangsters who worked together and bonded for a long time. 4 levels:

   1. +20 Defence if buddy is in Line of Sight

   2. Free Overwatch attack on enemy, if buddy has been hit

   3. Spend an action to give a buddy an action.

   4. +1 Action if buddy in LOS.

Empire of Sin: 3 major questions: Exploration

Part 1: Exploration

So spring has arrived and patch 1.04 has fixed up a lot of things in Empire of Sin. Great news. Now lets talk about thing only a re-work (or additional development?) can fix. Namely: Exploration, Management and Economical systems of the game.

During the developers stream, before the release of the game one of the devs, have mentioned that apart from Empire of Sin, there are no other game like that on the market. I don't know how bring it up nicely, but there are other games in same theme and genre. And most of them do a much better job at their chosen approach to the game.

For example, good old Omerta: City of Gangsters, has its roots in Tropico management series. In that game we follow the path of one of the Sicilian gangsters in Atlantic city, all the way from being a henchman to a “Capo del tutti”, (Boss of the bosses), and then through his confrontation with Federal investigation (led by his own brother), and finally to the end of Prohibition era, and as he eventually becomes a legitimate businessman. In over 30 missions, player is always on the edge, as he is racing against the opponent's AI, raising police attention, ambushes from enemy gangster and somewhat limited resources, as you start conquering each neighbourhood with your trusty crew and some cash.

Omerta and EoS share one major thing, they approach resources, such as booze, people and money, as pure expenses to be made in order to have profits. They do not get into production cycles, types of alcohol, its fine qualities. Its a mean to an end. In fact, EoS has more variety of booze on offer. They also do not dwell on logistics of the their goods. The only thing moving around is your gangsters doing various missions like: finding the informant, getting information, renting or buying property, doing a drive by to a competition, hiring a lawyer, setting up a soup kitchen for poor, attending a rich and famous party to talk to politician, buying guns from police chief, setting up a pizzeria, and many more. Most important thing, is that every action leads to your actual influence growing, and giving your more and more protection from police activity. Police rarely patrols the streets, since main combat action is hidden in story missions. Instead, your every action increases the Heat level by certain percentage, once heat is at 5 stars (or 100%), investigation starts and even if you have money, you or most of your crew risk being arrested after police raids your safe house. Heat mechanic in its simplicity works as a pan, that is slowly heating up under the players feet. It makes you run, and run fast.

On the other end of the spectrum is an upcoming bootlegger simulator, named City of Gangsters (I know, it gets confusing, but its different game), in development by Soma Interactive. They create a city filled with NPC, and give each one of them a certain network of friends and relatives. In addition, they focus their game on :

• production cycle: booze of different types require different ingredients, distillery, time and a handler,

• distribution network: you have a number of customers, then you you have a relationship meter with each one of them, the more trust you have, the more chances of you selling or buying your illegal products or introducing you to another client,

• management of your crew: people you hire have certain traits, like Attractive (which will boost sales), or Strong (that will increase your chances in combat), then player assigns daily tasks, routes and vehicles they take. In addition player may choose who will go exploring around town and look for new contacts. Yes, it is micromanaging.

• maintaining relationship: game creates micro-event like birthdays, thug raid, illness, car crash and so on, that allows player to increase their trust rating with important people of each neighbourhood, and eventually develop a protection ring from both outsiders and police. Small talk here, bribe there, then gift here and you control the city through knowing all major players. This is also a systemic gameplay, not something that is hand-crafted for individual character.

In short, each game hides layers of information and possibilities from player. But each one of them also gives tools on how to expand and open up new possibilities, thus creating an Exploration gameplay and gives player meaningful Management decisions. Its up to a player how to approach the information gathering, be brutal or polite, use real violence or just threats, leave a good tip or try to sweet talk yourself in. It also make player to choose whom to send for a certain missions, would you send an angry thug to do a conversation or smart con artist?

Each game gives two or three know starting points, that would lead player further up an away in gameplay, simply by hiding majority of information, by making player work for information on his opponent's, and slowly opening up opportunities to use. None of these features are present in Empire of Sin. The biggest step in right direction was hiding the safe houses and making a sit-downs happen elsewhere.

So my question is simple: How developers are going to address the Exploration?

As it stands now, its limited to my gangster walking down the street and slowly discovering all the rackets. Chicago being rather big, it may take some time, but it will eventually happen. In addition, player always has perfect information on enemy gangs, how much cash they have, how many troops, how many rackets and weapons. Unless you hide all that, any meaningful exploration or mole infiltration is pointless! You cant give player perfect information, it kills the very idea of illegal business!

My suggestion on Exploration part would consist:

• hide ALL rackets behind the “facade” of legal business or residential housing. Do not tell player any racket location until you send one or more gangsters on the reckon mission.

• Allow you gangsters to have a certain influence or network of informants in specific neighbourhoods (yes, that would require to have a certain static element in the neighbourhood).

• Create AI controlled, neutral businesses, that can provide either services or information or can be bought, rented, or ransomed. I'm bored with city, where only business activity stems from gangsters!

• Create a mission system that will open up known building in the area in following stages:

  • A) known legal function, service and link to other legal business (house, bank, garage, club, flower shop of Mr. O'Banion,)

  • B) known illegal function link to other illegal business (speakeasy, brothel, casino, pit fight arena, ect).

  • C) known ownership: neutral, gang faction owned, gang controlled (pays protection money to a gang). Probable mean of taking over: buy out, offer better protection, drive-out of business by sabotage or drive by attacks, or hostile take over (traditional EoS combat).

• Hide essential faction information from the player, unless he has got a mole in the faction! OK, at least allow player to switch between “all visible rackets” mode and “all hidden mode”, if someone cant be bothered to search for every corner.

Thank you for reading my smartass ramblings.

Empire of Sin: Thief class suggestions

"this text I've posted on Empire of Sin, Paradox forums as part of many suggestions. Being a critic is always easier than being a developer. Guilty. " 

It a very strange thing to my mind, that a game about crime, booze and Tommy-guns, does not have a dedicated “property redistribution specialist”. So, here is my take on what kind of skill Thief should have.

Combat skills:

Tier I:

Blend In: Thief remains neutral in combat, until he actually attacks with firearm, or some one uses Mark Target on him, stripping him from this ability. Until then he is counted as neutral civilian. Note: Thief cannot carry rifles, sniper rifles or machine-guns for this ability to be active.

Tier II:

A) Mark Target: (same as in game) mark an enemy, with +20% chance to hit him.

B) Sneak attack: you first attack from neutral state does +100% damage

C) Machine-gun training; Thief can use and equip machine-guns.

Tier III:

A) Rolling carpet: Thief throws a load of ball bearings on 5 tile location to set a trap. Any unit moving in or through that location fall on the ground and loses both of its actions. Trap dissolves after 3 combat turns and is not visible to opponent.

B) This is a Robbery! : Thief fires several shots into the air, setting off a chain reaction with all civilians in the 6 square area: every civilian is set to Panic, run to closest exit or closest Guard. If civilian reached Guard, then he is set Panic as well. Named Gangster and Bosses are not affected.

C) Property redistribution expertise: when ransacking, smashing or demolishing building you just took over, gain +25% more $, than normal. Then add +5% for each Thief's level.

Tier IV:

A) Keen Observation: when on street patrol, assigned as a Mole, or visiting other factions racket, increase chance to spot other hidden rackets by +5%.

B) Hit and Run: after performing an attack, Thief can make a free move.

C) Free money: when visiting opponent's rackets, Thief steals money that belong to the customers, and brings 50% of that “income” to the Boss. If Thief is caught, he must fight his way out or be ransomed by the Boss.

Tier V:

A) Gut shot: (same as in the game); perform a point blank attack that causes Bleeding.

B) Dazzle: any flanking attack from Thief, cause target to become Dazed.

C) Rifle Training: Thief can equip and use rifles.

Non-combat skills:

Tier I:

A) Improved deflection by +5% of any building occupied by Thief. Non-cumulative with other Thieves assigned.

B) Back door exits: racket with assigned Thief have hidden escape routes allowing to flee when attacked. If racket is sacked by police or gangsters, you lose 50% less money than normal.

Tier II:

A) Word of Mouth: when assigned to speakeasy or brothel, Thief has a chance of learning about Thug-occupied building, or planned police raid, or hidden racket. (test? Roll of dice? )

B) Friends in the blue: once a month, Thief may spend $200 to find out a rumour about upcoming a police raid, it target and time.

Tier III:

A) Attentive security: when assigned to a racket, Thief trains local guard how to recognise and counteract other Thieves. Increase security rating by +1, and increase chance of spotting other Thieves by 5% per level.

B) No more bets!: when assigned to casino, Thief generates a random rare or unique item once every week. People do like to place weird bets and pay for them in goods. Item is usually a weapon or small amount of $. (up to $1000)

Tier IV:

A) Document Forger: when assigned to a racket, Thief generates fake documents that allow racket to pass any inspection. If place is raided by the police, then it automatically restored to working order after the raid.

B) Matter of agreements: when assigned to the Safe house, crew take is reduced by 5%, but income from raiding, ran sacking and smashing properties is reduced by 5%.

Tier V:

A) Cross training: when assigned to the Safe house, gangsters may be trained in the Thief combat skills as secondary rank.

B) Thief's angle: when planning Assault or Raid operations from your safe house, Thief can add a Sneak attack options (all members of attacking team start in concealment, inside enemy safe house).