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The Fearsome Might of the Powerful Fantasy Crime Lord
Sunfire
CONTENTS
Introduction
While many fantasy worlds are black-and-white, meaning they primarily focus on good and evil, there are those that explore the different aspects of the genre. Things such as the seedy underworld of crime, politics, and high-stakes businesses are instances of these aspects. What avid fans of the genre enjoy the most is those that feature a powerful fantasy crime lord.
Crime lords in fantasy come in many shapes and sizes, Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars being one such. There are many roads to power that they take and the one they pursue is based on their life experiences. Some rise to power through blackmail, murder, and so on and when they get to the peak, they will do whatever it takes to remain in power.
There’s a reason why the fantasy crime lord is popular. He gives fans a different look at part of the genre that is overshadowed by the eternal war between good and evil. As such, he comes with a treasure trove’s worth of storytelling potential, giving creators great freedom to construct fantastic plot-lines using this particular character.
For worldbuilding purposes, the crime lord uses his considerable powers to bend people to his will through sinister means such as intimidation and blackmail. This is based off on his real world counterpart who employs similar tactics to get what he wants. The criminal organization he runs often runs afoul of the law, making the crime lord a great enemy of the country as the two represent opposite sides of law.
This is the tenth article in the series exploring the different fantasy characters. Curious to see our other articles? Our blog page is chock-full of many great article
The Rising Fantasy Crime Lord
For a crime lord, the road to power began one day when he committed a crime. It’s always something small like stealing someone’s purse or swindling someone out of his hard-earned money. He got a high from it, made all the more acute when he got away unscathed, and wanted to do it again.
Sometimes the aspiring criminal joins an organization or goes it alone. He commits a string of various crimes and the smart ones outwork their rivals — or makes moves to eliminate them without leaving anything that could come back to bite them — as they climb up the crime-laden ladder. Money and power become increasingly important to him.
The more rungs in the ladder he climbs, the rising fantasy crime lord resorts to more sinister illegal actions. Murder, grand theft and larceny, and even smuggling drugs become par for the course. He makes moves to protect his associates and promotes those most loyal to him. He repays their loyalty by helping them out whenever they’re in trouble, further cementing their allegiance to him.
Even as he makes his way to the top, he is constantly on the watch for his enemies. The smart ones dispatch his loyal associates to ‘take care’ of them without attracting the attention of law enforcement. They also work to corrupt local law enforcement officers by either bribing or blackmailing them, thereby ensuring that they never have to worry about being arrested or imprisoned.
When he reaches the pinnacle of his power, the fantasy crime lord adopts the mindset of doing everything he can to keep an iron grip on power. He pushes out rivals, works to weed out traitors in the organization, and operates purportedly ‘legitimate’ businesses that eventually become havens for criminal activities such as money laundering or smuggling drugs. He rules the organization with an iron fist and works from the shadows as to evade scrutiny.
The Storytelling Potential of the Fantasy Crime Lord
With the crime lord comes a tremendous amount of storytelling possibilities. This is because this character is part of a world that is tangibly connected to the eternal war between good and evil which is one of the genre’s top themes. It explores something that doesn’t usually take center stage all too often which helps break up the monotony of constantly focusing on good vs. evil.
When people think of fantasy, they think of places like Hyrule or the Mushroom Kingdom where the premise of the stories that take place within them revolves around the forces of good and evil clashing for supremacy. They see lands full of beauty just waiting to be explored. Not so with stories that feature a fantasy crime lord.
The crime lord is a kingpin in the underworld, the place where seedy characters cross paths and concoct schemes to enrich themselves at the expense of the innocent. He lives in a posh palace just off Main Street, in an area far removed from the public eye as to avoid unwanted scrutiny. His palace is the epicenter of his criminal empire, the place where he directs and facilitates actions that solely benefit his organization.
The fantasy crime lord has his hands in a myriad of nebulous activities like racketeering or extortion and he holds meetings with all kinds of people from politicians to crooked merchants. In some of these meetings, he ‘persuades’ recalcitrant people to see things his way using a number of devious means at his disposal. These means range from simply appealing to their common sense to outright intimidation or threats against their loved ones.
Money and power are the two lifebloods of the crime lord’s empire since money equals power. He continually searches for new ways to add onto it, entering new areas like drug smuggling or buying property to set up ‘legitimate’ businesses that become fronts for his empire. The more money he has, the more power he wields which means he is able to impact even more people and his presence is felt far from his palace.
What the Fantasy Crime Lord Offers in Terms of Worldbuilding
Just like every person who lives in a fictional world, the crime lord has a part to play. No, it’s not just about using his power to intimidate people into doing what he wants them to do. He is a power player, someone who wields considerable influence in the world and the decisions he makes has far-ranging effects.
In some parts of the world, the fantasy crime lord rules the town with an iron fist. It could be a port alongside the ocean or a tranquil mountain villa. He controls the law enforcement, meaning they look the other way while he and his cronies run roughshod over the innocent citizens as well as commit a litany of other crimes.
The crime lord dabbles in many illegitimate activities such as narcotics and selling counterfeit merchandise. The drugs he sells has a direct effect on the families of those who are hooked on them and the merchandise is typically cheap as to swindle hapless people out of their money.
Where the fantasy crime lord truly shines regarding worldbuilding is in gambling. A good chunk of his criminal organization deals in all kinds of illegal gambling from card games to horse races. His associates deliver messages to his clients, from powerful politicians to corporate/business leaders, informing them of the next event. He works to keep them happy, knowing that happier clients are more willing to part with their money.
Sometimes the crime lord makes deals with the leaders of the community where he gives them a lot of money in exchange for them making it easier for him to make some moves. It could be as a simple as a building project or local infrastructure like roads or water. However, he is loath to let those relationships peter out and their collaborations continue into other projects since he has something to hold over them and they have to keep working with him even if they have no particular desire to.
Tying it all Together
The fantasy crime lord is an interesting character. He is depicted as an amoral man who is willing to commit crimes and hurt people to get what he wants in all media. He is also not to be trifled with since he has no qualms about using his considerable power to ‘persuade’ people to do the right thing against their will.
His road to power began one day when he committed a crime like stealing a woman’s purse or breaking into a store to get something and got away with it. He used his smarts to engage in even more brazen nefarious activities while evading scrutiny by law enforcement, eventually becoming the top man in his organization. When in power, he works to maintain his iron grip, constantly eliminating rivals and disloyal associates.
Since the fantasy crime lord is part of the genre that doesn’t get a whole lot of attention, at least not compared to the main drama that is the never-ending conflict between good and evil, he is rich in storytelling potential. There are many sterling plot-lines creators he can be in, each one more riveting than the last.
On the world stage, the crime lord is a powerful figure in the community. In some places, he is the de facto leader of the community where he has all of its leaders in his pocket. This allows him to do whatever he wants since he has no fear of reprisal from the law enforcement or other leaders like the mayor or governor.
In the stories he appears in, the crime lord is an excellent addition and also serves as a superb secondary antagonist that the protagonist must contend with. The hero is forced to employ a different strategy to defeat him since he represents something different than the villain which makes for compelling drama!
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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