Thugs are violent criminals with little respect for the law and society's norms, engaging in street-crime, thefts, and crimes that involve more muscle. They are usually quick to anger and become involved in gangland violence or vice in later life - they can also be Inmates who continue to engage in gangland activities even while imprisoned as members of prison-gangs. They are usually not as organized as the "professional criminals" and are used as enforcers or "muscle" within gangs, engaging in extortion, intimidation and other activities that require a more brutal approach.

Some thugs remain as violent Anarchists rather than gangsters in later life, these types of criminals are commonly known as Hooligans and are infamous for their glorification of violence and lawbreaking - Hooligans often engage in casual acts of violence for the sheer "fun" of it and thus commonly overlap with Barbarians.