The League economic interests
The League is rich, and it has always been a centre of trade, both internally and with assorted groups of foreigners. Anyone prepared to work hard who has any level of moxie or chutzpah can amass a respectable pile of coin. That’s not to say that there are not poor people in League citiers, but there is a perception that people are poor because they “choose” to be. If they had any get-up-and-go they’d join a Camorra and make something of themselves.
The League is entrusted with the Imperial Mint for a reason. At the Empire’s birth, the League's resources in silver were sufficient that it could have come to dominate several of the other Nations – steel currency was partly a clever move on behalf of the Empire. The mint is run by the Civil Service, but defended by League troops and control of the Mint and its guards is a powerful political position. The underside of the vast wealth of the League elite is that it breeds schemes to redistribute it and not everyone is prepared to play by the rules. There is always some up and coming gang prepared to risk hiring a few Bravos to extort a little money and there are constant rumours of people who will do more for money than just threats and a beating. Those that want to be accepted into society make an effort to move beyond such means as quickly as possible - any Camorra worth the name will come down hard on petty crooks such as these.
If the League has no truck with violent crime they do have a love affair with confidence tricksters. Imperial law contains no protections for merchants or those who buy from them and in the League the art of the swindler is much admired. The best are called Mountebanks, after the traditional theatrical character and they are part of Catazarri folk lore, selling the fish from an empty net to a wealthy priest or persuading a Merchant Prince to part with a fortune for a worthless glass bauble. Surprisingly, such deeds are perfectly acceptable within the rules of Dead Reckoning – with one very important caveat - Never tell a living soul what you have done. A Merchant Princess will applaud your ingenuity, provided her reputation is intact, but a Mountebank who makes a fool of her in public had better have some very powerful friends.
Marriage is often an important part of the ritual of becoming fully accepted into a Camorra, to become part of the family. As such, fidelity is demanded and a member of a Camorra that begins an affair risks losing everything. Companions, however, are perfectly acceptable, provided their expectation is for a person's coin and not his loyalty. Prosperous and well to do members of a Camorra, both married and unmarried are sometimes accompanied by a Cicisbeo. At first glance a Cicisbeo is often confused for a Courtesan. Whether male or female they are expected to be an examplar of League society, quick-witted and sharp as steel. Some do provide sexual services but their primary service is to make their patron look fantastic when out and about in League society. A few provide other services, there are legendary Cicisbeo who could draw a rapier and run a man through faster than thought. The word bodyguard is a crude word in the League but some Cicisbeo carry more dueling scars than might seem entirely normal. Over time the profession has evolved to the point where there are some Camorra who will even hire a Cicisbeo who can act as a guide or skilled aide when negotiating in strange waters.