Ive been doing a bit of research about the mafia lifestyle and the way that they conduct their affairs and surprisingly haven't found a whole lot about it..Go figure right (Omerta).

Anyway on to my point,Ive been wondering about a Made, Capo,Boss, Consig  guy with the ability to whack being able to hit a Don or possibly even a God Father;Being able to eventually start up a family. To me if you  are appointed a hit man to a particular family you are bound by secrecy and if you were ever called to hit a leader of a family and succeed why should you be allowed to run a family of your own?

Well, if my family heads trust me enough to kill a rival crew leader, or don, then why wouldn't they trust me enough to run a family under them or for myself.

You don't have to have set roles, being a hitter is one thing doesn't mean that you can't do other things for the family.

Everyone has to make their bones sometime.

The way things are done around here is absolutely nothing like the way things are done in the real mafia.  You cannot even attempt to compare the two.  All of these mafia RPGs are based more on fictional mafia tales and movies than on actual mafia operations and structures.  Even the so-called rank of "Godfather" is nothing more than a nickname given to a family Boss in a movie.  "Don" is simply a title of respect in Italian and Spanish languages, much like we use the term "sir".  In the real mafia, nobody from a family "branches off" to start up their own family.  They rank up within their own families and will not become a Boss unless the existing Boss dies.  We play this game more like a game of Risk (TM) than like an actual mafia simulation.

I can't top both responses here. but I would just like to add; Made is likely a higher position in the real mafia, but there is a good balance with how the game portrays each level, in my opinion - considering the in-built benefits and the importance (largely influenced by the community) of achieving this rank. the associate feature is particularly well done.