Gang Initiation, No pain, no gain... Options

[Garland]

So one of the characters in my campaign is currently a scrub for the Crimson Crush. He's recently done right by the gang and helped out in a war with the 405 Hellhounds. The boss he reports to is ready to sponsor him into the Crush as a member.

What I'm trying to do here is tap into the collective sadism of the Dumpshock community to come up with an appropriate initiation ritual.

SSG suggests a "beating in" or "sexing in." The former is too mundane, and the latter is somewhere I'm just not going to go, frankly. I'm looking for something a little more flavorful; something that still plays up the usual gang pecking order (like the 2 options presented by the SSG) but is more unique to the Crush.

A couple of ideas I had were:
- Surviving being run over. I like this idea because it involves pain, and fits in nicely with the Crimson CRUSH. It also reinforces the initiate's place in the gang if one of the current members does the squashing.

- Gauntlet. The character has to ride (or run on foot, or just stand in the middle of the street) while the rest of the rang rides their bikes in the opposite direction and take shots at him with melee weapons.

- Some sort of physical challenge, like stealing a license plate off of a speeding road-train.

- Coup-counting, like knocking the rearview mirrors off of Lone Star patrol cars or something.

Anyway, the character in question is an ork adept (shamanic way, Bull).

Any of you have good ideas?

I don't mind if my players read this; surely they've heard awful rumors about guys getting initiated.

[Catsnightmare]

I have a completed character that I haven't played yet, a physical adept who goes by the street name of Sticks. A highly improved clubs and reflexes adept who is a former gang member gone big time to the shadows. He has a minor annoyance enemy flaw in the form of that his old rival gang use him as a membership initiation ritual. Prospective members of the rival gang have to go and fight Sticks and last a certain amount of time and not get beat unconcious before the time limit.

Make the new gang initiate fight a superior opponent in melee and stay standing more than a certain time limit.

[Fresno Bob]

Two words:

Motorcycle Joust.

[ef31415]

Beer Run!

In the middle of the Barrens. In full gang colors.

Should attract a lot of attention.

[Kanada Ten]

Is there anything the character has boasted about being good at or apt to, especially within gang earshot?

[Crimson Jack]

I like the pinata-gauntlet idea. Visually, that's a funny one. Here are a few ideas off the top of my head:

1. Endurance Fight - One-on-One, or multiple-on-one, melee with an endless line of gang members. Rank awarded if the player can make it past a certain number of combatants.

2. Headlight Blinking - Have a few gang members ride with the wannabe. As they troll the streets, they flash their headlights at oncoming traffic. The unlucky SOB who responds with a similar flash is the target for a beating/slaying while the rest of the gang watches him go to town. This leaves room for an ugly situation with women, the elderly, and children being present.

3. Theft - If physical violence isn't in order, perhaps knocking over a Stuffer Shack (or other small store) for quick loot. This risks getting one's mug on camera.

4. Target: Lone Star - Having an act of vandalism on Lone Star presents a dangerous initiation as well. Maybe removing the headlights off of a Star squad car while its parked somewhere, slashing all of the tires on a car parked outside the donut shop, smashing in the windshield while an officer is sitting in his parked car or likewise spray-painting it in the same scenario.

5. "Spunkball" - This is a real one. Gang members point out a car (typically at a stop light) with the windows down. The wannabe has to throw a gasoline-soaked rag (wrapped in tin foil and topped off with a firecracker or explosive device up to an M80 in size) into the vehicle. The miniature explosion typically lights the interior of the car on fire when it explodes, causing severe burns and injury to the driver and occupants.

6. Kidnapping - This might be tough to pull off, especially if the gang requires that the wannabe do it in a well-populated area.

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

[Crimson Jack]

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

And then the rest of the gang rapes his family, terrorizes his housing complex, and tortures him to death...

[Fresno Bob]

[Arethusa]

Oh oh oh. This one is real and very dangerous!!1 If you see a car with its lights off at night...

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

Fix your Quote citation. That was Crimson Jack's comment, not mine.

[Arethusa]

You all look the same to me.

[Weredigo]

Good Initiation for Any Gang. Stealing a Rival Member's Bike, Take a baseball bat to a Mailbox (that's at the other end of town) and try to make it back to the clubhouse in one peice, with the bike.

[Arethusa]

[Weredigo]

Gangs of rich wasp suburbs would buy the bike off the rival.

[Fresno Bob]

Or have drive by arguments.

[Pistons]

[Weredigo]

Well being that we usually Involve Ancients, Halloweeners, and some new Dwarven Gang we've created (Hammers) I'm quite uninformed Crimson Crush. What is thier attitude, their specialty.

[Paul]

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

I still think random murder is a pretty good one, and I see no reason why it shouldn't be a floor for initiation activity.

[Paul]

I don't disagree with that.

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

Shocking.

[Kanada Ten]

[Crimson Jack]

Actually, that thing about Spunkball was something I read that happened in Navato, CA after the rumors hyped it up. I've read the same thing about the headlight blinking initiation scenario as well. Hype/hoax to begin with, now there are several national reports of the initiation rite. We had one of these events happen here in Washington (Renton), where a gang smashed into a car that flashed their lights back at them and then drug a dude and his girlfriend out of the car and beat them up.