CRIME NETWORK REVIEW
This is a review of Bedrock Games’s Crime Network: Cosa Nostra (CNCN) RPG. This is a review of the PDF version which numbers 105 pages and was designed and written by Brendan Davis, Steve Bowden, William Butler, and Ryan Quinn. The PDF is bookmarked, but the bookmarks are out of whack, so you will have to spend some time searching for what you need if you plan to play this electronically.

REVIEWER’S NOTES
I’m a _huge_ fan of Mafia media.  I’ve watched plenty of mob movies and TV shows, read all the novels and historical accounts I could get my hands on, and basically absorbed anything else that glorifies or vilifies (rightly!) the Mafia.  I’m part Italian (my mother’s generation was the first to marry non-Italians), was born in Queens New York in 1971, and grew up listening to certain stories about certain people that my honest and hardworking grandfather knew from the old neighborhood (here’s an interesting anecdote—-my uncle tells me when he was a kid, he wasn’t allowed to look through the Wanted posters at the local post office because some of my grandfather’s friends might be in there).

Anyway, now that I’ve established my fake Mafia wannabe creds, let me say that I’ve been looking for a great Mafia RPG for some time. I know there are plenty of good ones out there (Dog Town, Complete Mafia d20, WoD Mafia, Ghost Dog, etc.), but for one reason or another, none of them quite did what I wanted them to do. What I was looking for was a game with rules that encouraged a Mafia campaign---not just a series of one-shots. I wanted a game with decent rules for tracking status in the mob and having that status actually _mean_ something in play. I wanted rules that encouraged the non-combat-related problems that popped up in the life of a mobster (family issues, law issues, personality flaws, etc.).  I wanted rules for running rackets and taking down scores. I wanted a game that encouraged interparty conflict without being unplayable. I wanted a game where you could start out as low-level street thugs, rise to middle management, and then eventually become a Boss.  Basically, I wanted a game that could emulate movies like Goodfellas or Casino, and more specifically television shows like The Sopranos. That said, let’s find out if CNCN fits the bill.  

COVER
The full color cover was done by Jeff Preston. On it, you’ve got three figures standing out front: a Tony Soprano look-alike, a hit-man, and a Frank Sinatra look-alike. Behind them, you see a garbage truck and a sign for the city of Baybridge, which to my eyes seems to be a mashup of Boston and Vegas that serves as the game’s default setting. One thing I really like about it is the lack of violence. The mob isn’t all about shootouts and beatings. It’s operated as a business for the most part, that just happens to be run by some potentially violent people, and the cover does a good job reflecting that.

LAYOUT
Two column layout with readable fonts and decent artwork interspersed throughout. Nothing fancy here; just nice and clean.

INTRO
The game begins with a comprehensive Table of Contents, always a good inclusion. Afterwards we get a foreword, and a description of the Network System used in the game. It’s basically a d10 dice pool system rolled against a Target number. This is apparently the same system used in Bedrock Games’s Terror Network RPG, more or less, and according to the text is the same system that will be used in their upcoming Horror Network RPG. More details on the mechanics to come.

This chapter rounds out with brief descriptions of things like game mechanics, skills, and target numbers as well as more setting-related information such as crime families, rank, and goals.  Respectability is your status in your Family and the world of organized crime.  So, that’s one of the things I was looking for---now I just need to see if it has any real effect on gameplay.  

Another thing that sparked my interest here is the section on Family Networks which suggests you make 2-4 characters because player characters tend to die more frequently than in other games. I can tell you that based on reading the combat mechanics, this appears to be true.  I like this, as it underlines what I said above about the cover---the mob isn’t just about beatings and shootouts.  

CHAPTER ONE: CHARACTER CREATION
Character creation is pretty straightforward. You go down the list naming your character and doing everything from selecting personality type to buying equipment. A _very_ helpful and well written step-by-step description of a sample character is given to guide you through the process.

Personality Types reflect your mobster’s inner soul and aptitude. There are only three of them, Brain, Brawn, and Casanova, which are pretty self explanatory. Each type denotes your primary skill group and gives you a type of connection. You also get to pick another primary skill group.

Primary skill groups receive 12 points to allocate to skills while secondary skill groups receive 9. Unless I missed something, I don’t see much difference between primary and secondary skill groups otherwise; mechanically they function the same and secondary skills cost no more than primary skills to increase later in the game, which makes me think there could have been a better way to streamline the process. Also regarding skills, you can have an Expertise which is basically skill specialization.

Although I cannot find where it’s implicitly stated, skills do not have a maximum rating. However, since you never roll more than six dice (for game balance), having a skill over 6 only comes in handy for defensive ratings such as Evade (which top out at 10), or to offset certain situational modifiers and wound penalties.

Skills are divided into groups: Combat, Defense, Physical, Mental, Specialist, Knowledge.  Each group has about six or seven skills that go with it (Knowledge has more). There are no base attributes in CNCN---all actions are derived from skills, which I think suits this type of game. It means you can have a character that’s good at breaking down doors (Muscle), but not good at boxing (Hand-to-Hand).

Also of note is the Crime skill, which influences police investigations into the crime as well as the amount of income generated during the crime.  This is a really good fit.  You still have to roleplay the actual crime, but your skill at that particular crime determines how successful you are in the long run.  

After skills you pick which Family you belong to. A great breakdown of the eight Baybridge Families are provided here, each specializing in a certain area of crime. When you choose a Family, you get a skill bonus to whatever racket they specialize in. I might have missed it in the text, but I’m going to assume that for most games, you’ll want all the players to belong to the same Family.

There are six Ranks which determine your status in the mob: Associate, Soldier, Captain, Consigliere, Underboss, and Boss. Everyone starts out as an Associate trying to get “made.”

Respectability is related to Rank as it determines how respected you are in the mob, your chances of surviving transgressions, and the influence you have with your connections. The Respectability rating not only means something in game, it’s vital if you want to deal with contacts, get approached for jobs, and avoid getting whacked when you screw up. This is a huge plus in my book.

Connections are useful contacts that once per session can be called upon for help, provided you make a successful Respectability roll. Connections are divided into Criminal, Political, Social, Business, and Entertainment Connections. Each is further defined by Insiders and Protectors, which I think is an unnecessary step as it seems much easier to just define the connection’s sphere of influence.  

Lastly we have Shortcomings, which are a list of flaws common to the genre. These can be character flaws such as alcoholic, or social flaws such as having a nagging wife that gets you into trouble. Some are mechanical; others must be roleplayed.  

CHAPTER TWO: EQUIPMENT
This chapter contains pretty straightforward rules for equipping a character, with the bulk of the text spent on weapons (type, range, damage, etc.).  There is a small section on body armor, a section on vehicles, a section on narcotics, and then a tiny section on actual equipment.  All in all nothing here you haven’t seen before in most other modern equipment lists.  Bonus points for including a lupara (sawed-off double-barrel shotguns favored by the old-school Italian mobsters) were canceled out by the addition of bugs (the audio kind), but no bug detectors. The inclusion of blast radius grids for explosives seems a bit out of place and not very evocative of a mob game.  

One thing I really like here is that equipment is presented with dollar values instead of abstract resource rolls.  I know that’s a personal preference, but with money being so central to a mobster’s life, I’d rather see him accumulate cash than points.  

CHAPTER THREE: COMBAT AND NON-COMBAT RULES
This is the task resolution chapter, and it’s presented clearly. The rules are simple without being unplayable and the examples are easy to understand

In non-combat situations, you roll a number of d10s equal to your skill, trying to beat a target number of 1-10.  So, if you have Muscle 3, you roll three dice in order to break down a door. There are three outcomes---failure, success, and total success. A failure occurs if you roll lower than the Target Number.  A success occurs if your roll higher than the Target Number (you only need one success).  A total success only occurs on a roll of 10. Nice and simple, just the way I like it.  

In combat situations, or other resisted tasks (character v. character), you roll a number of d10s equal to your skill and compare it to a Target Number that is based on the rating of the target’s opposing skill.  So, if you were rolling Small Arms 2, you roll two dice against the opponent’s Evade 4.  This is the one area that really stands out as a problem for me.  How hard is it to roll a 4 with a d10?  Not very.  So it would behoove everyone to load up on either defensive skills, or the Hardiness skill which works the same way to counter damage rolls.  

I look at this as a bug or a feature, depending on your play style.  It makes the game very gritty, and is probably the reason you should make 2-4 characters to start with, as stated in the opening, because until you acquire a rating of at least 6 in defensive skills and Hardiness, your mobster has a very good chance of dying or being seriously injured in any encounter.  

There are plenty of bells and whistles to the task resolution system, especially on the combat side (initiative, called shots, etc.), but those are the basics.  They also include decent rules for miniatures in this section. I don’t normally think miniatures play when I think of a mob game, so this is another area that seems a bit out of place to me, but it’s there if you want it.  

CHAPTER FOUR: THE WAY OF THE GANGSTER
This chapter gives a pretty good rundown of the history of the American Mafia, Omerta (the mob’s code of honor), and the nuances of becoming a “made man,” and the consequences of going to jail.  If you’re familiar with the genre, this is probably stuff you already know, but it’s nice to have it contained in one book for easy reference.

The best part of this chapter is the section on operations and rackets.  Rackets are money-making enterprises that generate income “behind the scenes,” usually by lower-level criminals that work for you (bookies, pimps, fences, etc.)  Operations are jobs your character has to actually take part in (i.e. roleplay), such as truck hijackings, jewelry heists, etc.).  This is exactly what I had envisioned for my own game, and it’s done well here. The one thing I don’t like is that according to the text, only Capos are entitled to run rackets.  Anyone familiar with mob culture knows that anyone, from an Associate to the Boss, is capable of running a racket---the lower rank you are, the higher percentage you have to kick upstairs.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE GAME MASTER
The Game Master section contains suggestions for choosing a city to place your game, how to create your own crime Families, and designing NPCs. There is a comprehensive section on Mafia storylines and story ideas, which is extremely well done, and rules for police investigations and trials.  

One of several standout sections here are the descriptions of the different NPC types, most of which are immediately recognizable from films.  Examples include the Reluctant Criminal (“C” from A Bronx Tale), the Ambitious Gangster (Tony Montana, meng), and the Little Man (Tommy from Goodfellas). I’m going to say that most of these should have been included in the character generation section, perhaps to further define the three Personality Types. I think having a Brawn character who was also a Charming Crooner would encourage some interesting roleplaying. I know you can play your character however you want, but I’ve found that actually seeing something written down on your character sheet helps reinforce it in your mind during play.

Overall, this chapter is a very good read, with enough information and inspiration to power you campaign for some time.  

CHAPTER SIX: ADVENTURE
The adventure is a great read and definitely shows that the author(s) has a good grasp of what makes a good mob scenario. The setup is fantastic---after hijacking the truck of a rival Boss, the characters’ Capo was kidnapped and fed to the Boss’ pet crocodile. The characters’ new Capo is looking for revenge, but to avoid a war, the new Capo was ordered not to kill the rival Boss. Instead, the Capo has decided to send the characters to kill the crocodile and bring back its body so he can make some boots out of its skin.  

The characters must find a way to get to the rival Boss’ island retreat, sneak into the mansion, kill the crocodile, and cart off its body. There are several complications, some of which are entertaining, others lethal.  The premise and overall tone of the adventure lends itself to some dark humor, which is what a mob adventure should be all about.  The fact that there is a real chance that at least one of the characters gets eaten during the croc encounter is something that would be talked about for years around my table.

If I had to make any complaints at all, they would only concern one encounter---I would have preferred an option to Bully the sailors at the bar rather than fight them (the characters _are_ mobsters, after all), but that’s really about it.  All in all, this is an excellent scenario to bring new characters into the game.
 
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE BAYBRIDGE SETTING
Baybridge serves as the game’s default setting. It’s loosely based on the city of Boston which according to the text is the designers’ hometown.  I would probably use a look-alike of New York or New Jersey, because I’m more familiar with them, but a Boston look-alike works just as well. The designers probably could have just defaulted the game to the actual city of Boston, but by creating their own setting, they’re able to avoid inconsistencies as well as take some artistic license with the region.  If you want a more authentic feel, it would be easy to use the real Boston and just transplant some of the locations and NPCs.

Baybridge is a city overrun with organized crime, but the new mayor is devoted to cleaning up the town, setting up some good potential conflict. Not only will you be squaring off against the eight mob families, but you’ll also have to contend with a motivated police force.  

The city is divided into a number of regional neighborhoods.  Each is given a good writeup that describes the local economic class, racial makeup and attitudes of the residents, and strength of police presence. Each writeup also contains several sites of note (bars, restaurants, gyms, etc.), most of which are connected to the mob.

The Bosses of each of the eight families are also fully statted and described here, as well as a chart that stats commonly encountered NPCs (reporters, capos, police officers, etc.).  The NPC chart consists of one page, with the NPC type at the top and the skills listed down the left side.  The rating for each skill is listed vertically under each type, so you have to cross reference the ratings for the relevant skill.  I’m going to say that the not only is the chart an eyesore, but it’s practically useless for easy play.  As a GM, I would much rather see each entry in paragraph form, since I’d have to write down all these stats anyway instead of trying to scan up and down the columns trying to find what the thug’s hand-to-hand skill is during a fight.  

All in all though, Baybridge is presented well. The designers did a really good job of giving you a decent setting for your game---just enough info to get you started, but not so much as to be overwhelming.  

INDEX AND CHARACTER SHEET
A character sheet and a comprehensive index.  Yay!  Both are a must in any game.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
At the beginning of this review, I said I had a clear idea of what I was looking for in a Mafia game. Does CNCN meet those expectations?  Definitely yes. In fact, it’s about 90% the same as the game I had envisioned designing, which means anything I come up with now would be redundant. *sigh*

The core system seems solid and genre-focused, if a bit quirky. I’m not too keen on having meaningless high ratings, but I don’t have a great head for game systems so I’d have to see it work during actual play to get a better grasp of how smoothly it runs. The system is potentially very lethal, but you could offset this by granting the PCs higher ratings in defensive skills if you wanted a more violent campaign.  The real plus I see, is its straightforward simplicity, which means you don’t have to invest a ton of time making a character/NPC or explaining the rules to new players. This makes it great for one-shots, although the game is robust enough to handle some serious long-term play.

The writing throughout is clear, concise, and entertaining. There are a few areas in the presentation which are obvious holdovers from the Network System and not very consistent with the game’s premise (the explosives radius grid, minis rules, etc.), but otherwise the material is presented with enough flavor to reflect the mob genre without becoming a distraction. There are a few tweaks I would make here and there, like allowing anyone to run a racket, but otherwise, this is a top notch product that can be played right out of the book.

In summary, if you’re looking for a mob game, I can’t recommend this one highly enough.