So I recently picked up a copy of Groundhoggoth Game's The 'Hood. I've been having a fun time reading through it. As I was going through the pages I realized something. Quite a few of the playbooks remind me of characters from the Guy Ritchie film, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. So I thought it'd be a fun little exercise to look through the four main characters. (It's a Guy Ritchie film there's a plethora of people that could be considered main characters. But I'm just going to stick with the four mooks who get cheated out of their money at a card game and set off the events of the movie). Then stat them up in the 'Hood. Alright everyone let's Barf forth some Brittanica.
Eddie (The Borrower)
Name: -1
Hush: +1
Brass: +1
Wise: +0
Straight: +2
Moves of Note: Scrounger
I'll be honest with you, Eddie was the hardest of the four to choose a playbook for. The whole premise of the film is that he is two-bit crook who can hustle a few quid here or there. But his main talent lies in cards and gambling with cards. Yet from what we see in the movie he's not particularly good at his talent. He's not particularly reliable, hence his Name of minus one. He can be somewhat discreet, subtle and he's nothing if not bold (he enters a card game with notorious East-End gangster Hatchet Harry and sasses the man upon meeting him) hence his Hush and Brass of plus one. He's not particularly smart though, he doesn't have a plan outside of climbing into a bottle. When he loses the card game and honestly isn't aware of the fact that Harry was cheating. Hence his Wise of plus zero (the lowest I could finagle with this particular playbook). Otherwise he's pretty much a law-abiding citizen, other than hanging around with some unsavoury types. I chose to make him a Borrower since throughout the movie he seems to do nothing but leech off of his friends. Relying on them to put together most of the hundred thousand pound stake in Hatchet Harry's card game. He also seems to work primarily with Bacon for a source of income, a very parasitic activity. When he's not leeching off of them he's leeching off of his father JD the owner of the local pub. Hence why I chose the move Scrounger to reflect how JD turns his back on Eddie towards the end of the movie.
Bacon (The Merchant)
Name: +1
Hush: -1
Brass: +0
Wise: +2
Straight: +1
Moves of Note: Clearance Sale
When I first came up with the idea for this post, I knew Bacon was going to be The Merchant. The opening scene of the movie has him hawking stolen jewelry on a street corner. As he says "Handmade in Italy, hand-stolen in Steppney. It's as long as my arm, I wish it was as long as something else." (Apparently Jason Statham actually worked as a street vendor before making his debut with this film. Watching this scene I can believe it). He obviously has the credibility and the connections to get ahold of stolen merchandise. Hence the plus one in Name. He's not particularly subtle about selling his wares and according to the original script he got his nickname after getting arrested a lot when he was younger. Hence his minus one to Hush. He also appears to be the most Streetwise of the bunch, giving him a Wise of plus two. I went with the Clearance Sale move to reflect his street-hawking with Eddie as a lookout. He seems more concerned with selling his stock for cash rather than hanging onto it.
Soap (The Drone)
Name: +0
Hush: -1
Brass: +1
Wise: -1
Straight: +2
Moves of Note: Store Room, Office Supplies
Soap gets his name because he likes to keep his hands clean of anything illegal. He's proud of his legitimate job as a Chef, so he was a natural pick for the Drone playbook. He doesn't appear to be very well respected among the criminal community so I gave him plus zero Name. He also isn't very subtle or good at keeping his mouth shut. Demonstrated when he pulls out a bundle of knives in a Pub when it's decided that the lads are going to rob the neighbours. By the same token he seems incredibly enthusiastic and determined about the whole thing. So he gets minus one Hush and plus one Brass to reflect these characteristics. Also due to the public display of the knives and a big fuck-off machete, as well as his distancing himself from the underworld. He demonstrates that he's not the most streetwise of people earning him a minus one Wise. I've gone ahead and given Soap the Store Room and Office Supplies move. Again related to the incident where he shows up with a bundle of knives. Now while they don't look like something you'd find in a kitchen knife-block. It was a better choice for the character than any of the other moves.
Tom (The Go-Between)
Name: +2
Hush: +1
Brass: +1
Wise: +0
Straight: -1
Moves of Note: Negotiator, Fence
Tom has a lot in common with Bacon in that he sells stolen merchandise. He's not a street vendor though and he seems to be the character most involved in illegal dealings. Since when they decide to rob the neighbours he's the one who does the negotiating with Nick the Greek. In order the sell the weed on to a potential buyer. So I personally think that that makes him a Go-Between. As the narrator says he's the entrepreneur of the group. He's seems incredibly well-respected in the underworld (despite constant jokes about him being fat when he's in fact skinny) earning him a plus two in Name. While he's also much more discreet than seemingly anyone else in the group. Earning a plus one to Hush. He also seems quite bold and determined reflected in how handles himself when Nick tries to give him the run-around. I went with the lowest Wise there was for the Go-Between Playbook since he hangs onto the incriminating shotguns. Instead of disposing of them, all because he wants to get back the seven-hundred quid he paid for them. Again he's the most crooked of the bunch so he has the lowest straight. I went with Negotiator to reflect how wonderfully he handles Nick trying to screw him over. "Not when the price is two-hundred pounds and not when you've got Liberia's deficit in your sky-rocket." Fence is kind of self-explanatory since that seems to be his primary job.
So there you have it, the four main protagonists from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Statted up with playbooks from the 'Hood. This was a fun little experiment for me. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Until next time be sure to +1, comment, follow and reshare. Box cars all around and have a nice day.
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| Our protagonists (I wouldn't dare call them heroes) from the left to the right. Eddie, Bacon, Soap and Tom. |
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| Eddie acting as a plant and lookout while Bacon hawks stolen jewelry. |
Name: -1
Hush: +1
Brass: +1
Wise: +0
Straight: +2
Moves of Note: Scrounger
I'll be honest with you, Eddie was the hardest of the four to choose a playbook for. The whole premise of the film is that he is two-bit crook who can hustle a few quid here or there. But his main talent lies in cards and gambling with cards. Yet from what we see in the movie he's not particularly good at his talent. He's not particularly reliable, hence his Name of minus one. He can be somewhat discreet, subtle and he's nothing if not bold (he enters a card game with notorious East-End gangster Hatchet Harry and sasses the man upon meeting him) hence his Hush and Brass of plus one. He's not particularly smart though, he doesn't have a plan outside of climbing into a bottle. When he loses the card game and honestly isn't aware of the fact that Harry was cheating. Hence his Wise of plus zero (the lowest I could finagle with this particular playbook). Otherwise he's pretty much a law-abiding citizen, other than hanging around with some unsavoury types. I chose to make him a Borrower since throughout the movie he seems to do nothing but leech off of his friends. Relying on them to put together most of the hundred thousand pound stake in Hatchet Harry's card game. He also seems to work primarily with Bacon for a source of income, a very parasitic activity. When he's not leeching off of them he's leeching off of his father JD the owner of the local pub. Hence why I chose the move Scrounger to reflect how JD turns his back on Eddie towards the end of the movie.
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| Bacon giving the best sales pitch I've ever heard to buy stolen jewelry. |
Name: +1
Hush: -1
Brass: +0
Wise: +2
Straight: +1
Moves of Note: Clearance Sale
When I first came up with the idea for this post, I knew Bacon was going to be The Merchant. The opening scene of the movie has him hawking stolen jewelry on a street corner. As he says "Handmade in Italy, hand-stolen in Steppney. It's as long as my arm, I wish it was as long as something else." (Apparently Jason Statham actually worked as a street vendor before making his debut with this film. Watching this scene I can believe it). He obviously has the credibility and the connections to get ahold of stolen merchandise. Hence the plus one in Name. He's not particularly subtle about selling his wares and according to the original script he got his nickname after getting arrested a lot when he was younger. Hence his minus one to Hush. He also appears to be the most Streetwise of the bunch, giving him a Wise of plus two. I went with the Clearance Sale move to reflect his street-hawking with Eddie as a lookout. He seems more concerned with selling his stock for cash rather than hanging onto it.
Soap (The Drone)
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| The Knife Incident. |
Name: +0
Hush: -1
Brass: +1
Wise: -1
Straight: +2
Moves of Note: Store Room, Office Supplies
Soap gets his name because he likes to keep his hands clean of anything illegal. He's proud of his legitimate job as a Chef, so he was a natural pick for the Drone playbook. He doesn't appear to be very well respected among the criminal community so I gave him plus zero Name. He also isn't very subtle or good at keeping his mouth shut. Demonstrated when he pulls out a bundle of knives in a Pub when it's decided that the lads are going to rob the neighbours. By the same token he seems incredibly enthusiastic and determined about the whole thing. So he gets minus one Hush and plus one Brass to reflect these characteristics. Also due to the public display of the knives and a big fuck-off machete, as well as his distancing himself from the underworld. He demonstrates that he's not the most streetwise of people earning him a minus one Wise. I've gone ahead and given Soap the Store Room and Office Supplies move. Again related to the incident where he shows up with a bundle of knives. Now while they don't look like something you'd find in a kitchen knife-block. It was a better choice for the character than any of the other moves.
 |
| Tom in the middle of negotiations with Nick the Greek. |
Name: +2
Hush: +1
Brass: +1
Wise: +0
Straight: -1
Moves of Note: Negotiator, Fence
Tom has a lot in common with Bacon in that he sells stolen merchandise. He's not a street vendor though and he seems to be the character most involved in illegal dealings. Since when they decide to rob the neighbours he's the one who does the negotiating with Nick the Greek. In order the sell the weed on to a potential buyer. So I personally think that that makes him a Go-Between. As the narrator says he's the entrepreneur of the group. He's seems incredibly well-respected in the underworld (despite constant jokes about him being fat when he's in fact skinny) earning him a plus two in Name. While he's also much more discreet than seemingly anyone else in the group. Earning a plus one to Hush. He also seems quite bold and determined reflected in how handles himself when Nick tries to give him the run-around. I went with the lowest Wise there was for the Go-Between Playbook since he hangs onto the incriminating shotguns. Instead of disposing of them, all because he wants to get back the seven-hundred quid he paid for them. Again he's the most crooked of the bunch so he has the lowest straight. I went with Negotiator to reflect how wonderfully he handles Nick trying to screw him over. "Not when the price is two-hundred pounds and not when you've got Liberia's deficit in your sky-rocket." Fence is kind of self-explanatory since that seems to be his primary job.
So there you have it, the four main protagonists from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Statted up with playbooks from the 'Hood. This was a fun little experiment for me. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Until next time be sure to +1, comment, follow and reshare. Box cars all around and have a nice day.
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