Steve Posted May 19, 2022 Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 In the comics, the Batman can self-fund his relentless war on crime thanks to Bruce Wayne’s inherited billions. Peter Parker sells pictures of his masked vigilante activities to pay for his crimefighting expenses. On the other end of the spectrum from Bruce Wayne, the Punisher will blow away drug dealers and other lowlifes before walking out with one or more satchel bags full of cash, repeating as necessary whenever he needs to buy more equipment. How does your character fund their war on crime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperion Posted May 20, 2022 Report Share Posted May 20, 2022 The criminal could copy what the mafia does. (Joker does this as well) They will own/operate a small to medium sized business, one large enough for proper income yet small enough to avoid trouble. This business will be a completely legal, honest operation and if anyone asks to see the books, nothing will be there to make them think that it's a cover or anything else, just a proper business like the multiple other out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 Self-serve laundromats could work well for that purpose. You'd need money for the initial setup, but after that it's a minimal investment of time and effort to keep the detergent and snack machines stocked and to collect the change at the end of the day. You could also hire the plucky gadgeteer genius who builds your weapons and does your computer searches to maintain the machines and keep the place clean. Self-serve car washes can also work well for this--just a daily visit to make sure the detergent and wax dispensers are full. and the change machine is stocked with quarters. Cygnia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 Or you can work like the Saint in the books - rob from the criminal element. If they've already stolen it, it's not really stealing, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 10 hours ago, wcw43921 said: Self-serve laundromats could work well for that purpose. And would be ideal given that the character is otherwise likely to run up a huge cleaning bill himself. Blood can be such a persistent stain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjack Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 The Russian mob is reputed to own strings of souvenir T-shirt shops in places like Miami & New Orleans to wash their money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperion Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 There are the more modern day versions - youtubing, programming, most social networks, etc. With most of these, if done correctly the person doing it can with a few hours a week make thousands a month for other programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCUBA Hero Posted May 21, 2022 Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 From the first time I saw them, I've thought that the escooter rentals in big cities are ideal for money laundering - thousands and thousands of micro-transactions per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted May 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2022 2 hours ago, Asperion said: There are the more modern day versions - youtubing, programming, most social networks, etc. With most of these, if done correctly the person doing it can with a few hours a week make thousands a month for other programs. I can picture some superheroes live-streaming their adventures. Some villains too (like Foxbat). Korgoth and Opal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted May 22, 2022 Report Share Posted May 22, 2022 Foxbat, definitely. Also, every "dark hero's" favorite adversary--a group of pseudo-anarchists who livestream themselves destroying things for the sake of destroying things. Then the hero shows up, and that's usually the last thing they livestream. I can't really see heroes doing something like that--maybe in a four-colored campaign, but not in the "grim-and-gritty" world of Dark Champions. Same with a Patreon page, or a GoFundMe campaign. ("Help me avenge my family's death by freeing me up to beat crooks with my bare hands!") Steve and Korgoth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 Maybe a "Dark Net" site. A hangout for pro-Vigilante types with an otherwise innocuous Patreon-style system. wcw43921, Steve and Korgoth 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted May 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 5 hours ago, Sundog said: Maybe a "Dark Net" site. A hangout for pro-Vigilante types with an otherwise innocuous Patreon-style system. Probably would only accept something like Bitcoin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperion Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 We also can't forget the more traditional methods - such as couterfieting. This could include money (low value bills only higher than $10 will be discovered too quickly), artwork, literature, NFT, and effectively anything else that humanity tends to collect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted May 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 I like the idea of using one or more laundromats as a funding mechanism. It gets bonus points for also being a potential draw for organized crime types looking to sell the new business owner protection. I think most heroes would steal from criminals rather than commit forgery. I could see them committing Leverage-style scams though. wcw43921 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 Yeah robbing criminals is a pretty normal pattern to follow in a lot of cases. Blade robbed vampires to pay for his crusade. Another option these days is selling your story, or vids on social media with monetization. Why sell your stuff to the Daily Planet? Nobody reads newspapers any more. But an anonymous Instragam page... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted May 24, 2022 Report Share Posted May 24, 2022 Another possible funding source are those video casino game arcades. Those seem to be everywhere--convenience stores, laundromats--heck, I passed by one set up in a double-wide trailer on a road out of town. You would need someone to make change and sell drinks and snacks, and cash in the occasional big winner--but again, that's a job for your resident genius gadgeteer. Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted May 27, 2022 Report Share Posted May 27, 2022 One of the major supervillains in Drew Hayes' Forging Hephaestus is a HIGH end gadgeteer. He invents a lot of everyday tech...then spends time dumbing it down so it can actually be made by his company, and it'll work for normals. STILL works better than anything any normal R&D puts together. He's basically Microsoft and Sony rolled together. And in both of Hayes' universes (this, and the Super Powereds universe)...merchandising. In the SPU, supers first appeared in the late 50's. Since then, they've reshaped pop culture greatly. Heroes have to be licensed...which is a point I like...and get paid...not great, but they do get paid. They own all the NIL rights, tho. In Forging Hephaestus, on the heroes' side, there are all kinds of kickbacks and control things...in some ways, it's like The Boys and their corporate handlers in that regard. And supers are fawned over. On the villains' side, it's actually organized...it's a guild. They offer support services behind the scenes, and take a cut. DentArthurDent and Steve 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted May 27, 2022 Report Share Posted May 27, 2022 On 5/20/2022 at 9:05 PM, wcw43921 said: Self-serve laundromats could work well for that purpose. You'd need money for the initial setup, but after that it's a minimal investment of time and effort to keep the detergent and snack machines stocked and to collect the change at the end of the day. You could also hire the plucky gadgeteer genius who builds your weapons and does your computer searches to maintain the machines and keep the place clean. Self-serve car washes can also work well for this--just a daily visit to make sure the detergent and wax dispensers are full. and the change machine is stocked with quarters. There's a "money laundering" joke in there somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted May 29, 2022 Report Share Posted May 29, 2022 This might work for the less scrupulous heroes out there--provided it would work at all. Years ago I came across a classified ad. I don't remember where I saw it--it might have been the National Enquirer, it might have been one of the home mechanics & technology magazines--but this is what it said; How would you like to receive several hundred envelopes each containing one dollar? Send $1 to (The Address) Now I'm not always quick on the uptake, and I didn't send away for it myself--but it occurred to me in about two to three seconds that if I did send in a dollar, the answer would be a note like this; If you want to receive several hundred envelopes each containing one dollar, post an ad in the classifieds saying: How would you like to receive several hundred envelopes each containing one dollar? Send $1 to (Your Address) Good Luck getting your Gamemaster to go along with this. And if you try it in real life--let me know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opal Posted July 25, 2022 Report Share Posted July 25, 2022 Heroes could make their calling pay legally: bounties, reward money, PI work, high profile security, bodyguarding. They could liscence themselves out to toymakers, movie studios (featuring Incrediperson as themselves), ghost writers, video games, etc.... Steve and DentArthurDent 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted July 25, 2022 Report Share Posted July 25, 2022 Heroes for Hire! Although they usually ended up not being paid very well if at all. Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ockham's Spoon Posted August 3, 2022 Report Share Posted August 3, 2022 Heroes can be funded by a patron, who might be a wealthy individual, a corporation, or some government organization (possibly covert). While initially the interests of the hero and the patron align, at some point there is going to be conflict, either over the direction things are going or the methods used. Or the patron might just be corrupt and it takes a while for the hero to realize that. Lots of role-playing potential. wcw43921 and Steve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf Posted September 4, 2022 Report Share Posted September 4, 2022 A lot of dark champions characters are highly skilled. Many of those characters have skills that would normally make them fairly wealthy. More often than not most of these type characters can easily earn enough money to survive by using those skills. The reason they are not wealthy is that they are spending most of their time fighting crime so don’t earn as much as they could. Instead of working full time they work as independent contractors. Their level of skill allows them to get the work done in a fraction of the time, but they bill it as if they were less skilled. For example, someone who is a world class programmer could work as an independent contractor for a tech company. It takes him a day or two to write what would take a lesser programmer a month to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted September 4, 2022 Report Share Posted September 4, 2022 I've seen so-called heroes "confiscate" criminals' belongings for their own use, mostly vehicles. I'm surprised the law doesn't come down on them. If the criminals have their own lawyers, those guys should be doing their job. Christopher R Taylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted September 6, 2022 Report Share Posted September 6, 2022 You have to remember, most Dark Champions characters operate outside the law, especially if they're likely to use deadly force against their enemies. Stealing from them to finance their operations would not be that big a deal to those "heroes"--after all, what's grand theft auto compared to murder, battery with a deadly weapon, and destruction of private property? DentArthurDent 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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