100 Gangsters, Gun Molls, and Goons

When most of us think of Arkham, Massachusetts, we tend to think of the classic aspects of Lovecraft Country. We think of the dry lectures on obscure religions and strange cultures at Miskatonic University, the bizarre pieces of art found hanging in campus galleries and the dusty shelves of the restricted section of the school library. You think of aging houses with dark secrets, late-night meetings of secret societies, and the whispered, fevered ravings of the mad and delirious in the Arkham Sanitarium.

In the classic era of the 1920s, though, there is another aspect of Arkham that is often downplayed or forgotten about; crime. The Roaring 20s was the time when organized crime rose to prominence in the U.S. thanks to the government's ban on alcohol, and along with the bootlegging trade there came other crimes as well; prostitution, gambling, theft, assault, murder and worse. And though these are aspects of life that Lovecraft would have had little knowledge of (and even less desire to put on the page in his work), for a game setting, though, the criminal elements present throughout Arkham can be a useful tool for Keepers, as well as for investigators trying to solve various plots.

Whether you need to flesh out the seedy underbelly of one of the game's most commonly used cities, you want to introduce a rougher element to your game or you want to explore what it would be like to have everyone play investigators who are part of the criminal underworld clashing with cults and other servants of the Old Ones, the following NPCs should help you breathe a little life into this part of Arkham's existence. While some of these characters are independent operators, others are members of specific gangs, and some are even dancing on the fringe of the law, all of them may prove useful to your story. Lastly, the NPCs are arranged by neighborhood/district, making locating them within Arkham an easier task for the Keeper.

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Here are some sample results:

• Amos Pickering: One of the last scions of the old families in East Town, Amos is rarely seen without a colorful waistcoat and hard-worn bowler hat. With the forearms of a dock worker, and the long hair of a former sailor, he keeps his fences mended, and his shotgun loaded. His old Ford doesn't look like much, but the same could be said of Amos... and both man and car have a lot more blasting powder under the hood than one might think at a casual glance. Reputed to be a moonshiner and a gin brewer, Amos's spirits rarely leave East Town. Not only that, but the police have learned the hard way that if they're going to the Pickering place with ill intent, Amos's friends and neighbors won't hesitate to take his side in any fracas that erupts.
• Anthony Marsh: A round-bellied, wide-shouldered man with thinning hair and a fleshy face, Anthony always smells of fish. Polite and well-spoken, despite his somewhat off-putting appearance, he's always seeking those looking for work; particularly young women. With a seemingly never-ending war chest of gold trinkets and treasures, most of his "workers" tend to be runaways, the desperate and the destitute, who are willing to take short-term jobs in Innsmouth if they're paid up-front. Most of them, of course, never return. While the huge man has had his share of distraught mothers and enraged fathers turn up on his doorstep, he's far stronger than he appears, and those who escalate things are often removed quite forcefully from his home. Those few who have attempted to steal from him, or to sniff out the details of his operation, tend to leave town rather suddenly... or to disappear altogether.
• Martha Masters: A woman who runs a messaging service, Martha is a woman on the verge of middle age. Typically found with a cigarette between her lips, and her blonde hair worn up in a bun, she seems like just another woman trying to make her way in a rough world. Her services are used extensively by several of the gangs in East Town, however, and the coded language employed in her messages can make even the worst crimes sound utterly mundane. Acting as a stop gap between the gangs and the law, she's something of a keystone in the district's illicit activity.
• Duncan Donneger: A heavy-handed, hard-headed Scotsman with thick, mutton-chip sideburns, Duncan runs an automotive service out of his garage. A mechanic during the Great War, Duncan was dishonorably discharged once he was caught stealing and selling radios and engine parts on the side. Leaving the country one step ahead of a serious prison sentence, he set himself up in East Town. Most of the gangs in his part of the city have modifications installed by his hands, ensuring they can outrun nearly anything on the road while keeping any cargo safe in hidden tanks and secret compartments.
• Donald West: The son of a mixed relationship that got his mother disowned, and his father run out of town, Donald is used to having to take what he needs in order to get by. Light-fingered and fleet-footed, Donald has developed a specialty in stealing cars, and their associated parts and pieces. One of Duncan's regular contacts, Donald has managed to stay one step ahead of the bulls so far... but it's only a matter of time before he finds himself in a situation too serious for him to just run away from.

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