Roles are Traits rated by dice. They’re broad skills, applicable in any situation that might come up in the game. The dice you assign to the Roles determine what you do to help the Crew. So you have Mastermind d8, or Thief d10? That’s great, but what do you do with that exactly? Let’s cover this in detail.

Your primary Role is the one you’ve rated at d10. You’re often referred to by that Role—Parker’s a Thief, Eliot’s a Hitter, etc. This Role defines your main job within the Crew, and the sorts of activities you’ll be attempting most often. When the Fixer calls for a roll to decide the outcome of a given action, he’ll usually call for a player to roll Attribute plus Role. But which Role?

Here’s a recap on Roles; see more details on page 20.

Grifters deal in trust. They gain it, and then use it against the people who’ve entrusted it to them. They’re at their best in social situations and are good at acting, lying, and manipulating people. Pretending to be a businesswoman from Germany, convincing a Mark to buy a fake Rolex, or distracting a guard so the Hitter can knock him out would all be rolls made on Grifter.

Hackers deal in information. They get it for the Crew, deny it to the Mark, use it to help the Crew, or manipulate it to take the Mark down. They usually do this by cracking computer networks and security systems, but Hackers are also often good with physical tools and obtaining items the Crew needs. Hacking a network firewall, eavesdropping on the Mark’s cell phone, and “airbrushing” a photo ID would all be rolls made on Hacker.

Hitters deal in force. They engage in direct combat to put force on bad guys, getting them out of the way. Engaging in combat, sizing up a tactical situation, and intimidating a guard would all be rolls made on Hitter.

Masterminds deal in plans. They formulate the plan at the start of the Job and coordinate the team’s efforts to stay on track. They deal with the unexpected events that threaten to blow every plan. Figuring out where the Mark might have hidden the money, noticing that three unexpected guards are coming in the front door, and guessing what sort of bribe would best win the Mark’s confidence would all be rolls made on Mastermind.

Thieves deal in access. They get themselves and the Crew access by breaking through security systems, and they use access to steal items or information. Sneaking past a guard, cartwheeling through a room of laser sensors, and picking the Mark’s pocket would all be rolls made on Thief.

Your secondary Role is the Role you choose to put your d8 rating in. This decision says a lot about what sort of (fill in primary Role here) you are. You might tend to solve problems related to your primary Role with a bias toward solutions your secondary Role would be good at. Or maybe you used to serve in your secondary Role on a different Crew, and you’ve decided to change your professional focus. You’ll find ideas for what these combos actually mean in the next section.

When recruiting a new Crew, you’ve got to cover as many bases as possible. That’s why we’re going to go through each of the classic Roles for you, one at a time, in alphabetical order. To give you a feeling for what you should be looking for. Each of the following sections includes vital data on who these people are, what they do, and how this works to your advantage in the game. Trust me, you’re going to be coming back to this chapter a lot, even after you’ve got your Crew together.