The villain is a pimp

>the villain is a pimp

How can I get my players to treat him seriously?

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(boxer)
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youtube.com/watch?v=Y8NoLF_oD8Q
youtube.com/watch?v=73d6h_go7QI
youtube.com/watch?v=Vc-pQsoTL9c
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the first encounter being the pimp brutally murdering a working girl is probably the easiest way

You count on them not taking him seriously, and then you fuck them for it.

Possibly literally.

So, why the flamboyant outfit? Pimps where I live dress like normal and have a bunch of heavy hitters dudes when there is trouble, and employ hundred of prostitutes (or thousands the big ones). It seems a way to alert the police about what are you doing.

It was the 70's way of saying "I've got money"

he runs every brothel in the city
he can get anyone in the criminal underworld to bow to him
if the players dont treat him seriously, they get beaten and left for dead, with a message not to mess with him and a plot hook

Step 1: Pimp is a Psion
Step 2: The setting presumes said Pimp is ALSO a Thrallherd, meaning some the people he controls are literally devoted as angels to their gods and are in effect, in love with him
Step 3: He has levels in the actual Pimp prestige class from Nymphology
Step 4: He also has spells from that book, which can fuck spellcasters over by runing their preptime
Step 5: The setting in question does not have frequent Psions and operates under the impression that Psions are hidden aspects of society that if found out are presumed to be spellcasters, so the party have difficulty in even identifying the pimp or his evil ways
Step 6: Pimp is a Thrall of Malcanthet or Graz'zt or Disciple of Levistus and sends his used up whores to his patrons, these are all also prestige classes

Have fun with a Sleazy fuck with almost omnipotent control over a brothel, crime network, fingers in the local government to make time hard for PCs, and display just how fucked every spell in the school of Divination is.

Lastly, use the Book of Forbidden Carnal Knowledge opposed to the Book of Erotic Fantasy. Fuck that memebook is barely lore-accurate.

People with money does the extreme opposite of that.
Flaunting gold and all that, apart of invite problems (from crooks or the police/taxes) put you out of the big circles if done that way.

Depends how realistic a pimp you want him to be, and what sort of game it is.

If very, he's a tough guy with a fair bit of muscle, money and goons; he also has access to drugs and no compunctions about violence. He likely also has connections from both suppliers and clients - so drug dealers, runners and local gangs may in his contacts and quite willing to do him a favour.

If you're on the more cheesy and less realistic end, your man will likely have a large and flashy firearm - but gold-plated deagle brand deagles are still a massive firearm, and you can have crazy shit like owning a tiger as a pet and a big solid pimp cane

Actually you can basically copy the life of Jack Johnson, a boxing champion and pimp who would take his pet leopard for walks while sipping champagne, despite the fact that he was black in turn of the century america.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(boxer)
badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=425012623235

so he's a pimp, that's just a job, make him like any other villain. It's no different than making him menacing if he was a chandler. Personally I'd go with the tried and tested mafioso vibe then go down either route A) It's not personal it's just business, and he will punish the party for fucking with said business or B) Those girls at the brothel, they're like family - maybe a party member was cruel or disrespect to that family.

If you've read ASoIaF or watched Game of Thrones, you know that Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelysh owns a brothel, making him a pimp.

Being a pimp is just what he does to make his money. What he does with that money can make him a villain.

Don't.

Have him take very efficient advantage of them not taking them seriously. Give him some sort of villainous goal, or regular goal achieved through villainous means, and then construct the situation such that the Grand Plan somehow fucks over the PCs. But up until they start to take him seriously, have him exploit that vulnerability for all it's worth. Turn him into Tucker's Pimp.

Base him less on Huggy Bear and more on Ramrod from Vice Squad.

Additionally, said pimp may work for Demogorgon's old Consort who is released in a Dungeon magazine questline linking to a shitload of things, such as Asradalon, Savage Tide, a massive war where you kill off Demogorgon, the Layer of the Abyss where Demon Lords and Gods get imprisioned by a Demon Lord Bodak thing that's a vestige that's actually using the prisons in abid for godhood so helping him is in fact a really bad idea.

this

A pimp with a fairly big business would probably have dirt on half the names in town and a fair few favors owed.

Or you could have him as a sexually violent, raping, slaving brute with just enough smarts to pull a fast one on the players, because
this is pretty much mandatory.

You don't need those things. A pimp has leverage over his clients. Powerful nobles, rich merchants, clergy, naughty coutiers, corrupt judges, famous generals. All can be... persuaded to do the pimps' bidding through gentle or not so gentle persuasion. Cross the pimp and you might find your face on posters with bounties for your heretic ass.

Don't make them dress like flashy fucks unless they are actually untouchable, but make sure they throw around gold in big numbers. one way to do this is to have them in some of the same places as the party collecting or distributing money. They have informants literally everywhere and may seem like it from time to time but are never alone. Real pimps are ruthless when they need to be but know exactly what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to. You can use this to your advantage, have the party at a bar or club that the pimp runs or owns, have him settle a dispute in front of an officer or officers with violence or even murder. Make sure the party knows that everyone else that could have stopped it saw it or looked away conveniently.

Don't make him just a pimp. Pimping should just be one of many of his criminal professions.

Succubi
could also be a cheap way to kill the pimp

>Succubi
>cheap
Oh yes, just the low low price of your soul

That's why you raid an orphanage or something first and trade what you find for their service.

This..... youtube.com/watch?v=Y8NoLF_oD8Q

And this is how you get a pimp after you for raiding his supply

Yes, but now you have shapeshifting demons helping you.

>the players encounter a disgruntled pimp, who is willing to pay you in gold, drugs or puss and ass in order to take down his rival: A sleazy warlock undercutting his business to fund his infernal studies
>the warlock's chief lackey is a powerful succubus pretending to be a lesser one in order to acquire a steady supply of souls

Boom, there's your plot hook OP

For some interesting pimp-ly variations consider that at various times churches have sanctioned and even ran brothels, so your pimp could be a priest or bishop, with lots of power behind him (if you want to mix that with a more regular pimp you could go the baby-eating bishop of Bath and Wells route)

Now don't you go with that libel against the good bishop, his greatest sin is merely a tipple in the eve

give him an Irish accent

Give him a bitchin' slap attack that can put you under a sort of mind control so you'll go fuck for him

fucker is actually the god of love

he knows Mass Sexy Polymorph and Bigby's Hand, and casts them in that order on the party. That's right, you just got pimp-slapped and then pimped!

By treating him like a real pimp and not an American blacksploitation joke. Maybe look into East Europe human trafficing or the UK's muslim child sex gangs. No big feather hats there, just abuse, slavery and police corruption.

>The villain is a rapist and a robber, a back-alley thug, who can get away with dressing flamboyantly because nobody cares about his victims
>How can I get my players to treat him seriously?

You tell me.

>alert the police

>implying the police aren't taking bribes
>implying you aren't signalling success to make others back off your turf

"CHAOSH, ESH AH LADDAH."

He's working with foreigners and has no respect for natives

shouldn't souls be sold by their owners willingly?

>Hey kiddo how do you fancy trading your soul for a bowl of oatmeal?
Solved

Make him a bad add naturally. The baddest man I've ever seen was a pimp. I'm in STL and this huge black dude wearing all white pinstripe is walking down the road and not even 5 feet behind him is this smoking honey in this tiny pink dress carrying 2 briefcases just trying to keep up.

Show your players what charisma and money can get you in a city.

I dunno where do you live, but the latter is exactly why you don't do that, a big fish (like a cartel or Mafia) will be interested in get a piece of the pie, all of it if it makes money, so unless the pimp has strong contact with one of those groups, he is screwed in all the ways.

>Father Is Just Another Word For Motherfucker

I can't remember the name of the theory but there's a pretty convincing sociological theory that chav/trash/pimp fashion culture exists as a twisted mirror of actual wealth. When you acquire any amount of money as a poor person you want to appear wealthy, so what do you do? You emulate what you see on TV as symbols of wealth. Depending on what media you consume, you end up with this kind of faux-wealth aesthetic that actually signifies the opposite of what they're intending.

tl;dr Pimps/chavs/gangstas/trash wear gaudy clothes because they're trying to emulate wealthy lifestyles without the wealth to do so accurately.

Every time I think Veeky Forums hits peak autism, I see a post like this.

>low-class people are foolish for flaunting their meager wealth to others of similar means, because such displays ensure that they will never be invited into the social circles of the truly wealthy!

Like, how are you still alive right now? Does someone make all of your decisions about when to eat and sleep?

youtube.com/watch?v=73d6h_go7QI

Rory isn't really a pimp, but this scene is one I thought of when you are spreading stories to make them take a threat seriously.

Why are you so butthurt?

Make him Number One.
youtube.com/watch?v=Vc-pQsoTL9c

>In the city, there's been a string of assassinations of high-profile left-wing, secularist politicians.
>As this trait becomes more and more obvious police inquiries and public opinion point to an obvious set of candidates: the city's local far-right, heavily religious political group, especially their leader.
>An understandably worried low-level member of this organisation hires the party to investigate these claims anonymously so as to not appear to be admitting guilt by default.
>The party investigation begins and they eventually arrive at a brothel to try to scope out information on this assassin. The owner, an incredibly stereotypical, not-at-all subtle pimp, is established to be very knowledgeable of all the criminal inner workings of the city and highlights a few leads
>Following the leads given to them, plus some additional evidence they found along the way, the trail of evidence does lead them predictably to the leader of the religious group.
>However, the trail goes completely cold just before they're able to actually link him to the murders
>The party takes a strong arm approach, threatening to do unspeakable things to him unless he confesses, but not saying what he should be confessing in order to prevent a false confession
>Finally he cracks: "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I love my wife, but that girl [pimp name] offered me was too beautiful to pass up! But I'm no hypocrite! Look, I even set a goal to decriminalize his line of work!"
>Suddenly, it clicks. All the victims had plans to LEGALIZE prostitution, which would make it subject to tax and government oversight, which would seriously damage the Pimp's prospects and business model. Meanwhile, he found a high-profile religious right politician who he now had dirt on. So he promised the right wing leader to not reveal his infidelity, and to remove his political opponents, and in exchange, once he got to power he would decriminalize it instead.

The ultimate, unexpected power play

It's more like...a chimp trying to imitate human style. Pathetic and cringeworthy, and a huge waste of money.

...

you'd think most drow males are pimps (or whores)

Play him straight. Pimp hat, cane, pimp hand, hustlin' hoes, ebonics, loud voice. Just because he's charismatic and funny doesn't mean he isn't dangerous.

Because he a poor-ass nigga wit no grillz

Make him charismatic, charming, and likeable when he wants to be. A suave man with a silver tongue. Have him be a puppetmaster, manipulating high ranking officials and bribing law enforcement to turn a blind eye.
And make him absolutely brutal; if people mess with his business, he won't hesitate to kill. Make him near untouchable for the party, so taking him down is a goal. And make his business dark and twisted, where he acomodates for the most depraved fetishes. Have some of his working girls be abused, addicted, and tormented. Make sure the party know exactly how bad he is via the damage he does to others.

Holy shit. Why does everybody suck Jackie Robinsons dick but nobody talks about this guy?

That's a fucking ace scene, especially if you remember the flaming dude before

The gaudy jewelry is because when you're arrested, the cops can seize any money you have on you, but must return personal property. It's a way of keeping wealth on you at all times while not risking losing it if a cop decides he has enough evidence to bring you in for questioning.

Fuck knows, he sounds amazing.
If some stories are to be believed he gave a speech on sportsmanship to the goddamn KKK at one point, and drank shots with Rasputin

That's a fucking ace scene, especially if you remember the flaming dude before.

'achet 'arry seems like he'd fit in here too, though 'e's a purveyor of sex toys rather than your average pimp
youtube.com/watch?v=naGOZoHxA-I

Combine these two and you have perfect pimp.

A Pimp Named CIA

You play it completely straight and highlight the darker sides of illegal prostitution.

He wears a big purple coat with a silly hat and has a cane, but lots of his girls are under age, trafficking victims, barely speak the language, are forcibly addicted to narcotics as a means of control, are beaten for not meeting quotas, and maybe even killed if they're caught snitching to the party or the cops.

A huge reason why countries decriminalize sex work is because when the girls are able to act as free agents or at a regulated brothel the above abuse is less likely to occur, and when it does they are able to go to the authorities for help without fear of penalty

That's actually a pretty decent use of a subtle distinction, though the pimp would still be a criminal unless he can hide his earnings well - which he probably can, all things considered

Let them underestimate him until it's too late. Or just let them see him lose his shit and beat the shit out of one of his working girls if you want them to really know he's evil scum.

Even in the 70s when the pimp look was actually a thing, people thought that it was silly and comic and kitsch and didn't take it seriously. Because people won't admit it, but when they think pimp they think of the stern but funny and charismatic and appealing guy they bought a few hours with that dead eyed hot chick that time.

If you saw the world from her point of view, then suddenly he looks very different. And that at least hasn't changed. Go spend a few days volunteering at a project that helps victims of sex trafficking. You'll see a whole different side to a pimp that the loud costume and mannerisms try to camouflage away.

>seeing the world from a literal whore's point of view

Why would I ever want that?

The players start off as his underpowered slave/whores.

He's a pimp AND WHAT, dumbass?
What does he do to be scary?
Does he threaten to kill women for not paying up? Have him get caught beating one of the women he pimps out and then act like it didn't happen to the party.
Have him wave a gun/sword around to show he doesn't give a shit about shooting people.
Have him kidnap children. Have him sell orphans into slavery.
Give them a REASON TO FEAR HIM.
The jolly, incompetent king is all fun and games until he has a grumbling servant executed for not moving fast enough during a feast or blows off reports of people starving due to resources he misappropriated with a joke.

I was hoping this guy would get a mention.

The pimp is a nosferatu.

That's really all you need.

The Pimp is a Malkavian with a fish on his head.

>Pimp is found to also have brothels specializing in children
>Has pact with devils/demons to harness the evil of such unthinkably evil acts
>Arranges for partakers to die soon afterward so that they go to the hells and build up Asmodeus' ranks

Nothing like old fashioned moral outrage.

Oh, and if any of your players try to partake, you know who to kick out.

It originated in the late 1800's-early 1900s reconstruction era South. A great number of poor black and white women were hoeing and were scammed by pimps. The style of dress is an anachronism of ex-sharecroppers suddenly coming upon boatloads of (tax free) cash.

Just make him unironically a pedophile, or at least cater to them.

No need to get the hells involved until shit has already hit the fan. Pedophiles got good money, for some reason.

Don't call it a Pimp

He caters to ALL fetishes.

Including the ones that involve the working girl/guy not surviving.

"At nulla cost satisfactio." Satisfaction at any cost.