New Orleans Guilds
STILL BEING EDITED
The criminal guilds of New Orleans are some of the oldest criminal associations in North American. Their roots trace back to the earliest days of New Orleans , although officially the guilds came into place in 1750. The guilds themselves were born out of early families who settled in the city; some of them fleeing France to avoid prison there. As the new city grew, so did the families, warring with each other. Eventually, to avoid a full scale conflict, the heads of the five largest families sat down and drew up a contract, referred to as 'The Arrangement'. The agreement defined each family's specific area of crime that each family had control over. They agreed not only to not infringe on each other's area of expertise, but also to not allow any interlopers to raise to prominence in the city.
The Arrangement held unchanged until 1868, when the freed black populations of Louisiana were infused with immigrants from The Caribbean. While the islands always held a strong influence on the city and the population, the first wave of new immigrants brought the practice of voodoo with them. The guilds, predominantly of French descent and Catholic, initially attempted to stomp out the practice, starting a war. Over the next ten years, a bitter struggle between the guilds and the Carribs, led by their houngan priests was waged. Eventually a meeting between the two sides was brokered, and a modification to the Arrangement was drafted. The guilds would not only cease trying to stomp out the voodoo religion, but would leave the community out of their criminal activities. In return, the Carrib population and the voodoo allies would agree not to interfere in Guild business.
Since then, the leading houngan (or mambo) has had an official seat at the meetings of the Guilds, serving often as an impartial mediator. Because of the power of the numbers that listen to the houngans, it's rare that their authority is challenged when they have declared something as negative to the Carrib community. To further cement the pact, each generation a child from each of the Guild's inner families spends time tutored by one of the houngan in the city. For the last fifty years, Mattie Deveroux has been the leader of the community.
While the guilds have always been engaged in a low level shadow war between each other, the peace mostly has held. During incidents where two of the guilds have gone to open warfare, the others would step in to mediate and in some cases enforce a settlement. In fact, the guilds themselves are a sort of society on their own, with intermarriages, feuds and personal loyalties. Their age and lineage carries connections with some of the United States oldest families and associations, like the Hellfire Club.
The Thieves Guild is the product of the D’Armade family. They own control of the theft and smuggling in New Orleans . The best safe-crackers and contraband runners work contacts up and across the length of the United States . The Thieves Guild is one of the widest spread of the guilds, with contacts and associations all over the world. While one of the strongest Guilds, they also have the least power in New Orleans itself. The docks are their exclusive domain, and their training grounds for the newest members are the Mardi Gras crowds.
The Assassins Guild was founded by the Boudreaux family. There are two levels to the the Assassins: hired killers, thugs, and muscle in the city, and highly trained and specialists outside of it. They were the most dangerous of the guilds, but also the least influential outside of the city. Their lock on the muscle in New Orleans gives their voice more emphasis, and over the last fifteen years, they have been successful in getting their assassins work in the Asia and Europe .
The Courtiers Guild is the work of the Baptiste Family. The oldest and most respectable of the guilds, the courtiers work the halls of power. They had moved from farms to trade unions, slavery to politics. The Guild owns most of the bent politicians in the city and the state, and focus their power on the ‘cleaner’ crimes; embezzlement, fraud, and protection. Considered the most powerful Guild, they have strong connections in Washington and Baton Rouge . Most important are their hooks in the natural gas expansion in the Gulf of Mexico , which gives them considerable leverage. They have always served as the defecto chair of the Guild Council.
Originally called the Whores Guild, now referred to as the Vice Guild, is the most dissimilar to the others. The Marceaux family were originally low born, and crawled to control in the city. It was the first family to intermarry with the Carribs, maintaining very close ties. Even in a jaded city like New Orleans , they excel in providing all manner of pleasure. Drugs, prostitution and gambling all fall under their rule, growing increasingly more powerful as the years go.
The Forgers Guild (called the Artists Guild by members) is the work of the Garvious family. The Gravious had originally been conmen, forgers and counterfeiters. They had been only barely able to maintain Guild status until the computer age shot them up to the heights of power. Now they boost hackers, social engineers, and identity thieves along with their traditional areas.
