Somewhat bizarre question...?

[the_eggwhite]

I'm working on something for a game, and have a bit of a gap in my knowledge. I'm looking at a kind of professional advancement system for a fantasy world, and need to work out what the next level would be in this particular career path:

I've got the following for my "out-and-about, largely opportunistic thief" type career path:

Lifter - Somebody who steal unattended or unsecured items, which are usually of little value. They don't have to interact with people unless things go wrong.

Mugger - Somebody who uses force (or more often the threat of force) to separate an individual from their valuables. This lets them get at more valuable goods.

Sandbagger - Somebody who makes themselves appear innocuous, waiting to be sure that their mark is unaware of them before making their move, usually knocking the mark senseless and taking their possessions before they can be identified. This lets them get at valuable goods with little chance of being identified.

What's the next step up in training and career for this kind of young professional? I suspect it might be something to do with picking targets... but if I go that way, what would be a good name for it?
(For reference, con artists, hired muscle, housebreakers, pickpockets and fences are in different progressions already)

Comments

[samaritan1975.livejournal.com]

Well, to steal from V for Vendetta.... Fingermen?

[samaritan1975.livejournal.com]

What about 'tracer'?

[anonymous-james.livejournal.com]

Someone who's good at hiding, and sneaking, and has skills to break in to houses and cars? Car jacker? Cars are usually more valuable? Perhaps if cars don't exist (in your fantasy world) then perhaps highwayman?

The problem is that the "Largely Oppurtunistic Thief" relies a huge amount on luck - and eventually it will fail them. So unless you give them special luck type bonuses, someone on this career path is more likely to switch to a one of the other ones you mention, most of which are viable paths to go to from here.

[ex-thankyouk577.livejournal.com]

The escalation that I can see between those careers is an elevated use of violence in each case. Perhaps the next step is armed robbery.

How about "bandit"?