Tropes vs.

Leverage
 Sometimes, the best thing you can do is own your
stereotypes. Embrace them. After all, what’s better
than a Mark that underestimates you? If you play into
a stereotype, it’ll build expectations. People assume
you’ll do certain things. After all, the human mind
wants to find patterns in everything.
How To Use This Book
Inside, you’ll find character archetypes of all shapes
and sizes. They’re not quite fully-fleshed characters,
but they’re great points to start with. If you want to
ii
play the Anti-Hero, you have some material to run
with.
Then, we break it down. We talk about how a given
archetype could fit into the five Roles, with examples
of how you could adapt the archetype to fit. These
take the form of notes on background, motivations,
attitudes, or philosophies. Then, we offer a Talent for
each archetype. You can take this Talent as your non-
Role Talent in order to emphasize the archetype, using
a Role Talent to bring it all home. Alternatively, you
could take the Talent later, to play up the stereotypes
associated with the archetype.
 Anti-Hero
You exemplify the old saying about making omelets
and egg-breaking necessities. You do what has to be
done to get the Job done. You’re not in it for friends
and popularity. Often, the Crew will see your methods
as risky. They tolerate your methods because you’re the
best at what you do, even though you start fights without
even trying. On the other hand, you also have a knack for
drawing a cult following.
Grifter: You’re always in character. Nobody knows
your real name. You’ve spent a great deal of energy
cultivating terrifying reputations around some of
your identities. When someone name-drops one of
your past identities, rooms go silent.
Hacker: You’re all about versatile solutions for all of
life’s problems. With some stripped copper wire,
batteries, household chemicals, and a tin can, you can
wreck a political office. This is both figurative and
literal. Sometimes, you even check to see if the janitor
left before you go about your business.
Hitter: Grim. Gritty. Quiet. Deadly. You’re a soldier,
and you’re sworn to protect your charge at any cost.
When you close a fist, you close it with intent. You
don’t threaten, you act. You rarely finish a Job without
police attention.
Mastermind: You lost your military pension due to
government malfeasance. Now, you play chess. More
importantly, you win at chess. In chess, sometimes
you lose pawns. You try not to stress over the losses.
Sometimes, your Crew thinks you don’t see them as
individual human beings. You do. But you also see
them as soldiers. To a soldier, the Job comes first.
Thief: Sometimes, you need things to get the Job
done. Usually, other people own those things. Often,
innocent people own those things. You try to be
respectful. You’ll steal cars from office parking lots
during the day, and try to return them before closing
hours. That is, usually. Sometimes, you just have to
take what you need, and you tell yourself it’s just a
way of breaking down excessive materialism in
today’s culture.
New Talent: Break a
Few Eggs
You don’t hesitate to make a little sacrifice every now
and again.
Activation: Crewmember raises the stakes in a Fight
Action. Give the player a Plot Point. Spend a Plot
Point as well.
Effect: Instead of raising the stakes, the Crewmember
is Taken Down. Take their highest die, and add it to
your next roll. You may count three dice toward your
result for that roll.
Archetypes 1
 Architect
You build. You create. You organize. You have a grand plan
in your head, and you need to share it with the world.
You never act without thinking about the complexities
of the long term. Everything takes a back seat to your
grand vision. Often, this makes you come off as aloof, but
it also makes you a wonderful inspirational figure.
Grifter: Everyone is but an actor in the grand play of
life. You just happen to be many actors at the same
time. While most Grifters fill whatever functional
role the Job requires, you focus more on balance,
and finding niches. This helps you to think outside
the box. If you’re trapped in a bank robbery, other
Grifters might try to fast-talk the robbers. You do
your research and impersonate their getaway driver
to get them to leave in a hurry.
Hacker: The architect Hacker is all about a deep-seated
faith in technology. Technology solves problems.
It gives answers. It connects everything. To you, it’s
the greatest religion known to humanity. You fight
for innovation. You fight for innovators. Anyone
advancing technology for the sake of advancement is
good in your book.
2 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
Hitter: You see yourself as an agent of karma. It’s
your duty to correct imbalances in the fabric of the
universe. Typically, you accomplish this through
meticulous balance of body, mind, and soul. For every
bone you break, you plant a tree or rebuild a broken
home. You understand that in all good, there is some
evil, and in all evil, there is some good. However, it’s
your duty to see that evil does not become pure and
rampant.
Mastermind: Most Masterminds have the whole Job
planned out in advance. They account for Plan G;
they’ve considered every possible angle. You take that
further. Every Job is part of a greater plot, a greater
con. Your calculation and purpose are downright
Machiavellian. You don’t take a Job without a deeper
purpose. Every con is a stepping stone to another.
Even losses are part of the plan. Sometimes, the Crew
is unwilling to accept your complacency in failure.
Thief: Thieves steal things. But you steal with purpose,
with an eye on the goal. You steal objects, sure, but
what you really steal is security. You steal a Mark’s
sense of safety and control. You tear down the fabric
of a criminal enterprise through your work. You’re
artful, pointed, and downright psychological in your
thievery.
New Talent: The Great
Work
Everything you’ve done in the past was meant to
enhance what you’re doing now.
Activation: You use a Callback.
Effect: Add a d8, instead of a d6.
 Artist
Anyone can become a good con with time, training, and
dedication. A great con takes more. A great con takes
a lifestyle and mentorship from the best. Taking that a
step further, a perfect con requires all those things, and
passion. Perfect cons look at their craft as an art form, a
thing of beauty. You’re this con. You want the world to
tell stories of your work for generations to come. You
want them to name a con game after you. You want your
pictures in the history books.
Grifter: You take different roles, and you talk circles
around your Mark. That’s a given. But you take it
further. You play it for the challenge. You go for harder
and harder roles. You sell tenuous and convoluted
cons, so when you wrap, the Mark feels all the more
foolish. You machinate the reveal to the most public
and obvious displays possible.
Hacker: If you want to be 1337, you have to do a
righteous hack. When the Crew asks you to hack into
a bank account, you step up the game and hack the
IRS. If they ask you to short sell a Mark’s stocks, you
put the Mark’s name and crashing account on the
Wall Street stock tickers.
Hitter: You’re a martial artist, with emphasis on the
“art.” You believe in the perfection of body and form.
There’s nothing that cannot be solved with sufficient
application of discipline and technique. You spend
every possible moment in training. Often, the Crew
teases you for meditating while they’re out having
fun.
Mastermind: You dig through the works of the
masters, and you combine, rework, and execute them
in ways to make them sing. Sometimes, the Crew
wonders if you’re running roughshod and haphazard
through the Job, because things fall apart. It’s nothing
of the sort. You believe it’s a Mastermind’s job to
sweep up all the pieces and build something better
in the Wrap-Up.
Thief: Some thieves leave without a trace. Some leave
calling cards. You leave elaborate art installations
leading to complex cat-and-mouse games you know
you’ll win. You can’t just win, you have to run your
Mark through the ringer and make them pursue. You
have to make them look the fool, and know exactly
what you did to cause the laughs.
New Talent: Flourish
You don’t just win, you shine.
Activation: You achieve an Extraordinary Success in
any Contested Action.
Effect: Take a Plot Point and a d6 Asset.
Archetypes 3
 Avenger
You let no wrong go unpunished. Something bad
happened to you in the past. Either you avenged it, or
your retribution was denied. Either way, now you’re
dedicated to the cause of vengeance. Your Marks will
always know what they’ve done wrong, and why they
were ruined.
Grifter: Your game is pain. When you grift, you
specialize in getting close, getting intimate with your
Mark. That way, it hurts when you rip it all away. You
can’t always do to the rich and powerful what they
can do to the powerless, but anyone in the world can
feel betrayal. Any Hitter can twist a knife. You can
twist a knife that nobody can block.
Hacker: When you hit a Mark, you hit them so hard
their grandchildren can’t get credit. You specialize
in slash-and-burn identity devastation. Where
most Hackers are content to destroy people’s digital
existence, you launch attacks in their names. You
guarantee they’ll never get work or show their faces
in polite society again. They’ll be on every terrorist
watch list, with APBs from Anchorage all the way
down to Zahedan.
Hitter: You’re the tank. You’re the big gun. When
you’re let loose on the Mark, you don’t stop until
the ambulances arrive. Sometimes, that’s not even
enough to stop you. Many Hitters wield fear as a
weapon. You handle a weapon as a weapon. You stop
anything in your path with efficient, brutal force.
A Mark should never forget a good con. Yours are
memorable because of the scars.
4 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
Mastermind: You’re all about the follow-through.
Most Jobs end when the Mark loses their criminal
enterprise. You plan for aftershocks. You plan for
the long-term hurt. Your cons put mechanisms into
motion that keep the Mark from recovering and
going back to their devious ways. You put the client
in charge of the Mark’s empire, to hold the Mark
down. Worse still, you keep dirt on old Marks. You
use that dirt in later Jobs, and pull ”favors” from your
past targets.
Thief: You can steal anything. But you don’t steal unless
it’s personal. Faberge eggs are a great challenge, but
you’d prefer to nab the lucky dime your Mark’s
father passed down when she took over the family
business. You steal wedding rings, signed baseballs,
personalized high school yearbooks—anything that
adds that personal touch.
New Talent:
Unrelenting Force
When acting in the name of revenge, when righting
wrongs and bringing justice, you are an unstoppable
force of nature.
Activation: The Fixer raises the stakes by five, when
you’re in pursuit of vengeance.
Effect: You are not Taken Down. You can try to raise
the stakes like normal. If the Fixer raised the stakes
by ten, however, it’s lights out.
 Bleeding Heart
You hurt for everyone around you. Your empathy drives
you to succeed. You can put yourself in anyone’s shoes,
and feel their plight.
Grifter: You’re totally method. Do you know those
commercials about starving animals? The ones they
play late at night, with pop stars asking for money?
You cause that reaction with a frown. Sympathy is
your greatest tool. No good person would ever want
to hurt you. But bad people? They want to hurt you
so very much more. You’re the perfect bait, and you
know it.
Hacker: You’re so good that when you make Internet
petitions, they work. You’re an activist at your
keyboard, and with a few words, and a whole lot of
blind carbon copies on your emails, you make change.
You know the right strings to pull, the right buttons
to push. Social justice is your bread and butter. You
use the Internet to turn it into delicious toast.
Hitter: Your idea of a good afternoon involves blocking
the entrance to an oil rig run by a corrupt magnate.
Sometimes it seems you’re better at getting hit, than
hitting. You’re okay with this. Every punch you take
is one that isn’t hitting the oppressed. You get to be a
suit of armor against the privileged class.
Mastermind: You’re the heart of the Crew. You
work with a bunch of criminals, and you’ve tasked
yourself with redeeming them, and keeping them on
the straight and narrow. You take up the same role
with outsiders, sometimes even with your Mark. You
believe everyone gets a second chance. However,
most Marks burn that second chance just about as
quickly as you can give it.
Thief: You’re a proverbial Robin Hood. You rob from
the rich, and give to the poor. Even if the Job goes
south, you’ll make sure you redistribute as much
wealth as you can muster. Sometimes, your work
gets in the way of the Crew’s, because of your single-
minded sympathy for the underprivileged.
New Talent: Sympathy
You know people. You understand them like none other.
Activation: You’re rolling a Notice Action relating to a
person’s moods or motives.
Effect: Add a d8 to your roll. Include a third die in your
result.
Archetypes 5
 Child
You’re not necessarily a child, but you’re probably
the youngest on the Crew. You’re definitely the least
experienced. You constantly need coaching and advice.
You often make amateur mistakes. One day, you’ll run
a Crew. Right now, you’ve got to handle the 101 lessons.
Grifter: You don’t have a stable of cover identities
yet. However, your inexperience lets you play naïve
with an almost legendary effectiveness. Nobody ever
assumes you’re a brilliant con, mostly because you’re
not. More than a few times, a Mark has overlooked
your efforts out of pure pity.
Hacker: You’re a total noob. You took some classes;
you’ve pulled some hacks. You know the theory
and book information, but you haven’t put it all
into action. Working with your Crew gives you that
chance. Unfortunately, they were expecting more
from you. You talked a big game; now you’ve got to
scramble to deliver on all those promises.
Hitter: You lash out. You lived a difficult life. Now,
you respond with fist, feet, and often headbutting.
Your value to the Crew is as a ticking time bomb.
This has its positives and negatives. On one hand,
you’re a bomb. On the other, you’re a bomb. At least
one Crewmember sees you as a lost child, and tries
to foster you into something greater, and more
importantly, something safer.
6 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
Mastermind: This whole “leading a Crew” thing is
new to you. But it’s okay, you tell them, you know
what you’re doing. Nevermind all the evidence to the
contrary. You rely on confidence, beginner’s luck, and
the patience and skill of your Crewmembers to get by.
Your best skill is deflecting criticism.
Thief: It’s not that you weren’t taught right and wrong.
It’s more that you were taught…differently. You grew
up thinking that theft was a valid method of income
generation, and that if you could do it without being
caught, it was perfectly acceptable. Sometimes,
Crewmembers lose track of the sandwiches they
leave in the fridge.
New Talent:
Underestimated
When you screw up, people just think you were fooling
around. This sometimes lets you get by with some
egregious mistakes that would net professionals a prison
sentence.
Activation: You’re Taken Down in a Fight Action.
Effect: Spend a Plot Point. The Fixer takes a
Complication. You’re not Taken Down, and can
either withdraw without consequence or attempt to
raise the stakes. This even applies if the Fixer rolls an
Extraordinary Success.
 Comic Relief
You’re the archetypical fool. You’re the jester, the clown,
the joker. You handle everything as if it were a joke,
and you dedicate your career to keeping spirits high
and seriousness low. Sometimes, you’ll tell a joke at
the wrong time. But usually, you keep everyone in the
right perspective. In a high-stakes game, it’s easy to get
pessimistic. You’re there to keep that from happening.
Grifter: You switch from face to face, and each identity
is more self-deprecating than the last. You adopt new
roles just to let them fall down in spectacular ways.
Often, this means getting work within the Mark’s
business, and using these glorious mistakes to bring
down the business from the inside.
Hacker: For your Mark, the day your virus graced his
screen may have been the most important day of his
life. For you, it was Tuesday. You hack to pwn; you
hack to make your Mark look like a complete buffoon.
This works offline as well; you know your way around
a Rube Goldberg machine.
Hitter: You’re all about the slapstick, the physical
humor. You fight with your environment. You’re
dangerous around ladders, sofa units, and window
panes. Your ideal fight takes place in a pie shop. You’re
a little less Jet Li, Steven Seagal, and Chuck Norris.
You’re a little more Jackie Chan, Bruce Campbell, and
Three Stooges.
Mastermind: Your humor focuses on keeping the
Mark and everyone else involved in the Job distracted.
You always have a plan for something silly happening
on the periphery, something to make the Mark
underestimate your deeper plans. Then, while they’re
laughing to the left, you give them the right hook.
Thief: You’re the magician. You’re a master of sleight
of hand, and distraction. You keep the audience
laughing, while you steal the pants right off of them.
Sometimes, you don’t even bother to hide your work.
If you play it into a good enough skit, the Mark will
laugh right along as you pickpocket him.
New Talent: You Know,
Your Shoelace is Untied
You work your Mark with wit, leaving them unable to
defend against your coup de grace.
Activation: You’re in a Fight Action. Spend a Plot Point.
Effect: The Fixer may choose not to include a second
die in her result. For every die past the first she counts,
you get a d8 Asset. You may use this Asset to raise the
stakes in the same Fight Action, or later.
Archetypes 7
 Companion
You’re comfortable in a support position. It’s your
job to make the rest of the Crew look good. You work
with them to keep confidence in the face of adversity.
You’re a shoulder to cry on. You’re the first one to stage
a necessary intervention. You’re the family some of your
Crewmembers have never had. You represent stability
for the team; you’re always there.
Grifter: Grifters will play thousands of roles to con
a Mark. You take these skills, and turn them inward.
You play whatever parts your Crewmembers need.
Sometimes you’re the nurturer. Sometimes you’re the
drill sergeant. It doesn’t matter who you really are;
you’re exactly what they need.
Hacker: You’re comfortable working behind the scenes.
You use subtle tricks to make everyone feel successful.
You stage the warehouse walls to collapse when the
Hitter fights. You use lighting to bolster your Grifter’s
game. You target security systems to keep your Thief
tumbling and rappelling nonstop.
Hitter: You’re the iconic bodyguard. You aren’t the
face-forward weapon for the Crew; your task is to
make sure they can do their parts uninhibited. You
8 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
spend a lot of time around your Mastermind, making
certain he’s not crippled by an angry Mark.
Mastermind: Sure, you lead. But really, you help the
others lead themselves. You’re fostering talent. You’re
always trying to build the Crew’s skills, and get
everyone ready to lead their own Crews one of these
days.
Thief: You move in and out of the shadows, poking at
hornets’ nests and doing recon work for your Crew.
Because of your spying, your Hitter knows your Mark
has a glass jaw. Because of your traps, you can hand
your Hacker all your Mark’s email passwords. You’re
all about facilitating access.
New Talent: Best
Supporting Actor
You’re the one on the one-two punch. You make your
Crew truly shine with everything you do.
Activation: You’re in a Face Action or Fight Action.
Spend a Plot Point.
Effect: Take the highest die you did not count in your
result. Give the Crew an Asset equal to that die type.
 Detective
You tinker. You pick nits. You find the evidence. In the
end, that attention to detail changes everything. You
believe in the system; you believe in proven formulas for
success. When you apply the formula, crime can’t win
(unless it’s your crime).
Grifter: You study people. You eat, sleep, and breathe
motivation. When you interact with a Mark, you ask
why. Then, when you have the answer, you ask why
again. Then again. No answer is ever enough, not
until you find the deep-seated reasons for everything
he’s doing.
Hacker: You study paper trails. You don’t stop with
embarrassing hotel receipts. You don’t stop with
yearbook photos. You know why the Mark has
strange and incomplete immunization records. You
know why there’s a page missing from that passport.
Hitter: You study weakness. You study cracks and soft
spots. You know just where to focus that punch, that
explosion, that well-aimed car to bring everything
crashing down. A good Hitter knows where someone
learned to fight. You can identify the battalion
number because of the subtleties in the way the Mark
swings a knife.
Mastermind: You study the unexpected. You study the
plan. You hammer out every kink, and you account
for every response. More importantly, you’re an
expert at studying Marks, and finding exactly where
they’ll be at a given time.
Thief: You study the path. Where most Thieves will
learn the make and model of every security camera,
you know which manufacturing plant they come
from, so you know which cheap substitution parts
you can exploit.
New Talent: Like a
Hawk
Nothing escapes your critical eye. Needles in haystacks
are your morning crossword puzzles.
Activation: You’re making a Notice Action.
Effect: Always include a third die in your result, if you
have one available.
Archetypes 9
 Devil’s Advocate
You speak for the bad guy, sometimes. When the Crew
pursues a Mark, you exhaust every avenue to defend him
and give him the benefit of the doubt. It isn’t because
you lack empathy for his victims; it’s because you want to
be sure the Crew’s efforts are properly directed. Without
your help, a Crew might stop when they remove a fall
guy, or a ranking underling. You find the real problem
through logic and consideration of all angles.
Grifter: You get into the Mark’s skin. During some
Jobs, you’ll impersonate her on the phone, or even in
person. You’ll do anything you can to put yourself in
her shoes, and understand exactly what she’s done,
and why. At very least, it helps the Crew to predict
her actions.
Hacker: When you’re putting together the briefing, you
do just as much work building a case to defend the
Mark. Usually, the Mark is still very guilty. What this
means is, you know exactly how he’ll be defending
himself when push comes to shove.
Hitter: You have the unfortunate role of standing
in the way of vengeance. You’re always in the right
place at the right time to stop victims from doing
something they’ll regret. You protect the Mark, so
the Crew can do everything the right way. After all, a
black eye heals. The Mark deserves worse.
10 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
Mastermind: Most Masterminds do the Job in a rather
straightforward fashion. They put everyone where
they need to be, and tell them what they have to do.
Some Masterminds will play mind games, trying to
get their Crewmembers to act the way they need
without thinking about it. You challenge your Crew.
You test their assertions. You poke and prod until
they’re sure of what they’re doing.
Thief: You’re a troublemaker. You like to test the victims,
and push their buttons. You’ve chased too many
Marks on too many fake Jobs, and you’re not going
to do it again. Now, you go to every length to make
sure the victims are legit, and that they’re dedicated
to bringing the Mark to justice. Not just that, but that
they’re telling the whole story.
New Talent: Devil’s
Advocacy
You work from a weaker position throughout most of
the Job, in order to tackle the Mark thoroughly later on.
Activation: A Crewmember rolls for a Fight Action.
Spend a Plot Point.
Effect: Take the lowest die they did not use in their
result. Set it aside. Apply it as an Asset during any roll
of the Wrap-Up Flashback.
 Don Juan
You’re a hopeless romantic. You’re liable to fall for
someone or another in a Job. If not, it’s probably because
you already have an established history with someone
involved. It’s not that you can’t commit, it’s just that
your lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to long relationships.
Unfortunately, those flings were often fiery trysts that
were quick to end and left mile-long trails of grudges.
Grifter: You can fool anyone. That is, except the one
person you left wanting more. Now, they can see
right through you. Your career is peppered with these
burned bridges. It’s always high drama when you’re
involved.
Hacker: You were always awkward, and married
to machines. Now that you’re grown up and
accomplished, you’re always looking for love. Your
lack of socialization early on means that now you
trip and stumble a little more than you’d like to
admit. This has led to some uncomfortable, or at least
embarrassing, mistakes.
Hitter: You’ve got that dashing, swashbuckling hero
thing going on. And it drives all the guys and gals wild.
When you save someone’s life, you do it with such
style that you ruin them for all other heroes forever.
Your fan club has started to get rabid as you’ve done
more and more for the good guys.
Mastermind: For you, love is like a good game of
poker. You love a good game of poker. But just
like with a good game of poker, it might end with
someone upturning a table. Sometimes, that’s been
your partner. Sometimes, it’s been you.
Thief: When you’re the greatest Thief in the world, how
do you respond to others that think they hold that
title? In your case, competition is common. Romance
is more common. Romance between thieves ends in
handcuffs, and sometimes in jail sentences.
New Talent: Hopeless
Romantic
Everywhere you go, you run into those you’ve wooed
before. This can be helpful, but it can also be hurtful.
Activation: Introduce a past fling, no more than once
per scene.
Effect: Take a d6 Asset. Give the Fixer a d6
Complication.
Archetypes 11
 Femme Fatale
The term means “dangerous woman,” but it’s not
restrictive. You’re the proverbial black widow, the
honey trap, the sweet little lie. Whether you mean to or
not, people get too close to you, and this puts them in
vulnerable situations.
Thief: You embody the phrase, “thief of hearts.” You
don’t even mean it. You accidentally get in too close,
and they accidentally become attached. You have
no intention of following through. After all, it’s just
business. They never see it that way.

Grifter: You know just the right buttons to push. A

look in the eyes, a couple of sweet words, and they New Talent: Honey
love you. Whatever they need you to be, that’s you.
Hacker: <3 is the universal language, and you speak
Trap
it fluently. You’ve got a way with words, and do not With a little time and a few batted eyelashes, you can get

hesitate to use them. A quoted poem in the signature someone on your side, if only for the moment.

line of your email, or a picture of a cat with a funny Activation: You’re interacting with any Supporting

caption, and you have them eating out of your palm. Character controlled by the Fixer. Spend a Plot Point.

Hitter: You’re the ultimate bad boy, and they run to Effect: Gain an Asset equal to their highest die,

you like moths to a candle flame. Half the time, you reflecting a moment of impulse, where they help in

can’t tell whether your Marks want to fight you or spite of their better instincts. Also, give the Fixer a d6

knock boots with you. The other half the time, they Complication.

want to do both.
Mastermind: You’re the brain that everyone wants
to touch. While you get far more attention than a
Mastermind should, this means you can generally
seduce your way into favorable engagements even
with your worst enemies. It won’t win the Job, but it’ll
put players into the right positions.

12 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
 Monk
Your character is the devoted stoic, the chaste, the scion.
The Job is everything. Emotion, personal agendas—these
are things for lesser criminals. When you’re not on the
Job, you’re studying your form and going over your past
successes and failures. You’re dedicated to perfection
and the platonic ideal of your work. You’re lost in the
romanticism of your crime fantasy.
Grifter: You’ve long-since abandoned “you.” You don’t
have an identity. You might have forgotten your birth
name. Now, you’re a chameleon. You expect the Crew
to call you by your current identity. You expect them
to know which they’re speaking with at the time.
Hacker: You exist in cyberspace. If it cannot be done
on the grid, you are having none of it. Your Crew may
have never even met you in person, you’re so tied to
fiber optic cables and satellite transmissions.
Hitter: You live kung fu. You right wrongs. You travel
the world looking for challenges. You don’t touch
anything that may poison your body or distract
your mind. You see your body as a weapon against
the wrongs of the world, and you must sharpen that
weapon constantly.
Mastermind: Your brain is single-handedly responsible
for keeping your Crew alive, for rescuing victims,
for stopping Marks, and for maintaining a constant
balance between those factors. This takes its toll. But
instead of medicating yourself, you throw yourself
further into the Job, letting research and theory act
as your therapy.
Thief: There is nothing but the game, the thrill, the
chase. Everything about you is temporary, because
everything can—and will—be stolen. You can’t see
a lock without opening it. You can’t see a pocket
without picking it. You don’t even need the contents.
You just need the freedom of access that only your
skills can provide.
New Talent: Laser
Focus
When you’re only doing one thing, you’re a machine.
Activation: You’re in a Fight Action and using your
primary Role. Spend a Plot Point.
Effect: Add a d12 to your roll. Take four d4 as well to
reflect the single-minded focus and the neglect for
outside concerns.
Archetypes 13
 Mother
You care for your charges, whoever they may be. You find
strays, and you keep them safe. You teach them. You help
them. And when they do wrong, you punish them. But
even if they do wrong, you will always stand beside them
and support them. Generally, you act as mother over the
Crewmembers. This isn’t always the case.
Grifter: You flow from duty to duty to duty. A mother
does so many things, and you’re a master of doing one
at a time, perfectly. Since everything is in character,
you have no problem dropping one role, and moving
on to the next without missing a beat. This means that
in some conversations, you can be different people to
different partners all at the same time.
Hacker: You cultivate networks. You have all these
little gardens you’re growing in cyberspace; each one
is like a child you take pride in and protect. For each,
you have a vision. For each, you have a plan. You’ll not
rest until these communities serve those purposes.
Hitter: You’re the mother bear. You cling to something,
and woe betide the poor fool that tries to tear that
thing away from you. There are scars and broken
bones all over the world that stand testament to your
legendary defensiveness.
14 Hollywood Hacking
vs. the Real World
Mastermind: You’re the classic den mother. You
brought a Crew of miscreants together, and you’re
turning them into heroes. You’re proud of every
accomplishment. You’re hurt by every transgression.
You allow nothing short of success from them, not
because you want success, but because you feel they
deserve it.
Thief: You had a hard upbringing. Now, you take in
orphans. You defend the defenseless. You find youth
just like you, and you make sure they don’t grow
up the way you did. The Crew sometimes wonders
where your cut of the spoils goes, but they don’t ask
questions about why your mailbox is filled to the
brim with letters from children.
New Talent: Nurturer’s
Instinct
You’re always willing to take the fall for your charge.
Within the Crew, this means you’re willing to get burned
while they step up their game.
Activation: A Crewmember is Taken Down. Spend a
Plot Point.
Effect: You’re Taken Down in their place. Somehow,
someway, you intervened and took the brunt of the
punishment.
 Rebel
You’re bad to the bone, and nothing’s going to stand in
your way. Sure, you’ll do the good guy thing. But you’ll do
it on your terms, on your schedule, and you can always
walk away. Nothing ties you down.
Grifter: You play off your involvement with the Crew
as just another act. It may very well be. You shed your
skin and walk away every now and again. When the
Crew calls, you laugh it off. You don’t get why that’s
a problem. You’re a free spirit, and they should just
respect that.
Hacker: You live by a code. It’s a pirate’s code. You’re
mercenary; it just happens to be that the good guys
Thief: When you’re around, the Crew sometimes
turns up with empty pockets. No offense meant, but
you’ve got to turn a profit, and sometimes “alternative
revenue streams” really mean “no pay for this Job.”
Your Mastermind knows you well enough to watch
closely any time you’re talking to a Mark that might
be interested in a double-agent.
New Talent: The Little
Backstab
Sometimes, you have to pull the unexpected, and put the

offer the best opportunities. A bad guy Hacker steals Crew in a little danger to bring everything together in

from people who have six or fewer zeroes at the end the end.

of their bank accounts. A good guy Hacker goes after Activation: A Crewmember is in a Fight Action. Spend

the richest Marks in the world. a Plot Point before they roll.

Hitter: You’re unchained, and this is why you’re so Effect: Take their highest die. Add it as an Asset for the

valuable. You don’t hesitate to break faces right open. Wrap-Up Flashback.

Sometimes, you break open the wrong faces, but

that’s the Mastermind’s problem. In a Crew, someone
always has to act as your cleanup and sometimes as
your public relations.
Mastermind: You don’t really know what you want.
You know the Job, and you know how to accomplish
it, but the path to get there is anyone’s guess. You play
loose with your Crewmembers. They don’t like it, but
you slip it past them with urgency. They don’t get
time to argue. By the time the Job’s done, you’re on to
the next one.

Archetypes 15
 Credits
Writing: Photography:
David A. Hill Jr. Page i: The team face Damien Moreau head on © 2010 Leverage
3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Page ii: Nate, Eliot and Hardison listen to their informant. ©
Editing: 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sally Christensen Page 1: Eliot might be in trouble. © 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings,
Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Development: Page 2: Archie Leech, played by Richard Chamberlain. © 2010
Cam Banks Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3: Damien Moreau, played by Goran Visnjic. © 2010
Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Layout & Production:
Page 5: Sophie’s sacrifice. © 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All
Daniel Solis Rights Reserved.
Page 7: Parker and Eliot in their undercover Christmas outfits. ©
Based on the LEVERAGE Roleplaying Game by Cam Banks, 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Rob Donoghue, and Clark Valentine with Tiara Lynn Agresta, Page 8: Eliot and Hardison On the Run. © 2010 Leverage 3
Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Matt Forbeck, Stephanie Ford, Laura Anne Gilman, Fred Hicks,
Page 9: Dr. Anne Hannity, played by Lisa Brenner. © 2010
and Ryan Macklin Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Page 11: Eliot Gets a Guitar Lesson from Kaye Lynn (Alona Tal).
© 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Page 12: Nate Trying to Figure out What’s Going on with
Duberman. © 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
Page 13: Things get heated. © 2010 Leverage 3 Holdings, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.

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PRODUCTIONS, ltd.

Margaret Weis Productions, the Cortex System, Cortex Plus, and the Cortex Plus logo © 2012 Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.
© Leverage Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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