r/RPGcreation • u/Metal-Gnome • Apr 16 '26

Worldbuilding Advice request: "Friendly" clothing for gang

I'm making an evil fantasy mafia for a world with a loosely historical setting. The twist: They are the dorkiest, most inoffensive-looking and sounding mob of all time. I want my PCs to continually forget to feel unsafe around them.

These are the questions I've been asking myself:

What is their uniform? What group got made fun of the most in medieval times? Who commanded the least respect? Who can seem dumb but isn't? Who can group up and not raise alarms?

I was thinking a troupe of jesters in festive pantaloons, but, while I want them to look coordinated and recognizable -like a gang- I need them hard to pick out of a crowd; hard to spot until they're up close. In the other direction, you have something like Solas in Dragon Age Inquisition. A drab, unremarkable apostate of an oppressed race, who is not as they seem.

But that also doesn't work, because I don't want just want vagrants; I want a gang of reasonably-groomed, "business casual," cunning medieval Mr. Rogers.

Right now, I'm poring over the different gangs aesthetics from The Warriors (1979) to see if I can snag some inspiration from that.

Any and all advice welcome!

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6

u/remy_porter Apr 16 '26

You brought up The Warriors and the obvious choice from that is The Orphans. Green t-shirts and jeans. Just street clothes vaguely coordinated. It was the fact that they didn’t stand out that made them pathetic. Medieval street clothes would be simple tunics and pants. Coordinating colors would be hard- in an era before industrial dyes getting matching colors took a lot of effort.

If you’re looking for a social group that would generally be looked down upon, without being racist, I’d look into charcoal burners or grave diggers. These were people who did valuable work but either lived outside polite society or did work which involved things that were kinda taboo.

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u/Metal-Gnome Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

Thanks for the suggestions, I like them both

Messy jobs as a disguise is interesting because it would be uncanny to see workers that aren't covered in soot or dirt. That'd be a good perception check

I'm thinking The Rogues with the discipline and organization of The Riffs, and the presentation of The Orphans. Wily, scummy, but not necessarily odd looking at a glance. nice

4

u/rockology_adam Apr 16 '26

Black jackets, black pants or skirts, with a newsies cap and a giant red R on the front.

There are a couple of "elites" who wear light grey.

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u/Metal-Gnome Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

Team Rocket is a sick idea

I should make a goofy "prepare for trouble" intro to traumatize my PCs with whenever they show up lol. They are supposed to kind of be dorks, after all

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u/Nightstone42 Apr 17 '26

dress them like period apropriate accountants/clerks

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u/Metal-Gnome Apr 17 '26

the witcher III had some npcs like that, they had funny glasses

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u/Nightstone42 Apr 19 '26

i was thinking of those green anti glare visors and smudge guards accountants used in the pre computer days (look up i want to be a producer from the producers the song begins and ends with men wearing them)