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{{Useful Notes}}
Sometimes, [[The Con]] can be carried out by a single person - the [[Con Man]] - especially if it's a simple confidence scheme. Other times, there's just too much work for one person to do, or the particulars of the con are such that a group of people are needed to have any chance to pull it off.
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The roper moves [[The Mark]] into [[The Tale]], sometimes by simply being an attractive woman, although this is changing as the stereotype of "an attractive woman who's suddenly interested in you is a Roper" becomes widespread. Much like a cowboy ropes in a cow that's straying from the herd so that she doesn't get away, the Roper "ropes in" the mark that's straying from the con so that he doesn't get away. The roper can have a mark lined up, but not have [[The Tale]] to tell, so is in need of a [[Con Man]], or can be dispatched by the Con Man to bring in a specific target.
This has nothing to do with [[Fast Roping]], the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' monster, or the landlords from ''[[Three's Company]]''.
'''The Shill'''
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In this context, this is an accomplice who falsely "approves" the proposition in such a way that his "support" encourages [[The Mark]] to go for the deal. A good shill gives the impression that they are going to grab all the goodies, so the [[The Mark]] had better move fast, with an increased bid.
Other uses of the term Shill are listed at [[The Shill]]. Has nothing to do with [[Character Shill]] or [[Character Shilling]].
'''The Napier'''
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Some roles can be filled by people with special skills - [[The Driver]] can get the Con Crew to and from the site of the con, [[The Cracker]] or the [[Playful Hacker]] can get background on the mark, and so on - but these people rarely if ever actually take a direct role in the con.
Compare [[Caper Crew]]. Not to be confused with people who run [[Fan Convention]]s.▼
▲Not to be confused with people who run [[Fan Convention]]s.
{{examples|suf=s}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* One issue of ''[[The Muppet Show
== [[Film]] ==
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* In ''[[Ocean's Thirteen]]'' Danny Ocean and his crew demonstrate a new casino game at a convention as part of their scheme to rob Willy Bank. Terry Benedict plays the shill who wants to install it in his Biloxi properties, which in turn gets Bank interested.
* In the opening to ''[[Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels]]'', the [[Anti-Hero]]es are selling stolen goods in the street. One of them, playing the shill, triggers the audience's enthusiasm by saying "Did you say ten pounds? That's a bargain; I'll take one."
* In the [[
* Early in ''[[The Journey of Natty Gann]],'' Natty acts as an impromptu Shill for a street vendor played by [[Scatman Crothers]]; finding him haggling with a woman over the price of a pot he is trying to sell her, Natty pipes up that she'll pay him his asking price for it, putting an end to the woman's efforts to talk him down to a lower amount.
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** Albert Stroller (Robert Vaughan's character) is usually the Roper ''and'' the Shill.
** Either Danny or Albert is usually the Napier.
* ''[[No Reservations]]'': Anthony Bourdain has written of the need for a ''débrouillard'', an unofficial function within some commercial kitchens whose job it is to get the crew out of the weeds by any means necessary. Questionably sourced ingredients and oddball cooking techniques (deep-fried steaks among them) figure large in the role, which makes it The Fixer.
*
*
▲** Sam is the Fixer; he provides Michael with the tools he needs to do his work, as well as using his many "buddies" to get info from legal channels. Unlike most fixers, Sam actually does do fieldwork too.
▲** Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck is the Fixer, but he also gets his hands dirty.
* ''[[Leverage]]'':
** None of the characters are exclusively the Fixer, although all have done elements of this as a part of the various cons that they have been involved in. The most frequent individual for this role is generally Eliot, in contrast to his [[The Big Guy|other]] major function.
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** When Albert took the role, demonstrating an anti-back pain medicine, his cover was catastrophically blown when his "sudden recovery" became a full tap-dance routine. A later case involving Albert however - with the Peckham Spring - was successful enough to allow the scam to eventually fool literally the entire country.
* In an episode of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' in which Neelix and Tom are trying to prove they're still "street", they decide to pull the cup-and-pea trick on the Doctor. To get him interested, they let him see Tom be the Shill by successfully finding the pea.
== [[New Media]] ==
* Vita has played the Shill in Rowan's shell game in ''[[Vigor Mortis]]''.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[Shadowrun]]'', the Fixer is a non-player character, usually called "Mr. Johnson", who provides shadowrunners with work by connecting them with contacts from [[Mega Corp]]s / the underground / whoever wants dirty work done. Fixers can also help you track down people who can give you the gear you need.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In the online detective game ''[[Sleuth (online video game)|Sleuth]]'', your character's license as a [[Private Detective]] will be revoked if you make three wrongful accusations. However, you can go to a Fixer - the shady character who hangs out in the back of the downtown bar - and pay them to clear your record to avoid this. The more often this happens though, the more expensive it gets. The flash version of the game even specifically calls this character The Fixer.
* In ''[[Suikoden IV]]'', a male
* John plays the Shill (however unwillingly) at one point early on in ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]''
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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** Homer Shills for Grampa when selling "Simpson & Son's Revitalising Tonic". It doesn't work, largely because his face is on the bottle.
** Another episode has one of Snake's con tricks facilitated by a Shill who looks and sounds remarkably like Snake himself, who is almost 100% certainly related to Snake in some fashion ("Way to go, ''bro''!").
== [[Real Life]] ==
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Con Man]]
[[Category:
[[Category:The Con]]
[[Category:Dirty Social Tricks]]
[[Category:The Index Team]]
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