Triads (Shadowrun)

The Triads are one of the great powers in the late 21st century of the cyberpunk fantasy world of the Shadowrun roleplaying game.

The History of the Triads
Triads (Heaven and Earth Society) are the world's oldest criminal organization, almost 400 years old. During those centuries, numerous Triads were exterminated and numerous other Triads were created. Some of the Triads are centuries old (e.g. Red Dragon Association and the White Lotus Society).

It's origins start with a monastery of Shaolin monks who did a favor for the 2nd Manchu emperor of the Qing dynasty in 1674. The emperor or his advisers (depending on the source) repaid them by ordering their extermination. Manchu soldiers destroyed the temple and massacred the monks, except for 5 who survived. The Shaolin survivors devoted themselves to overthrowing the Qing dynasty and established five anti-Qing groups which evolved into the Triads.

Unfortunately for their cause, the Triads were unsuccessful and the Qing dynasty ruled till 1912. By then the Triads had become an inseparable part of Chinese culture. Rebellions need to be morally flexible, get covert funding, and maintain secrecy to survive. Which incidentally are the same qualities a successful criminal organization needs. Since the rebels had lived as outlaws so long it was easy to transition to becoming full fledged criminals.

The Republic of China which succeeded Imperial China, encountered challenges that made it difficult to establish itself successfully, among them warlords. In these chaotic times, the Triads were able to take advantage of such opportunities and their membership exploded while profits skyrocketed. Then disaster struck in 1949, as the Communist Party seized power and cracked down on the Triads.

The Triads relocated to Hong Kong, and those who stayed in the People's Republic of China were forced to keep an extremely low-profile which caused membership to plunge and profits to crash. In turn the Triads in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Macao thrived as they virtually established monopolies over different legal and illegal business sectors and industries. The Communist government would crush the smaller groups, but they were never able to eliminate the Triads as a whole.

Heaven and Earth Society
The Heaven and Earth Society is the world's most flexible criminal society which has resulted in such longevity. As the world changes, the Triads have kept up with the times. By creating a culture of influence peddling and corruption, they became an integral part of Chinese culture and therefore the Triads as a whole cannot be eliminated.

The Triads have a viral method of propagation, making it easy for the Triads to spread rapidly to new territories. While the Mafia may have hundreds or a thousands in a city, the Triads are likely to have far more.

Major Triads: 37

Members: 1,000,000 (minimum)

Of all the world's criminal syndicates and cartels, the Triads are possibly the most ruthless of them all. The influence of the Triads is widely felt, they have a long established tradition, and their crimes can be particularly savage. Triads are heavily reliant on magic, standing out from other crime syndicates in their use of mystical forces. It is rumored that the supreme leader of the Triads is the Great Eastern Dragon, Lung.

Since they lack a central leadership, conflict resolution within the Triads are often bloody and brutal. Yet, they are capable of considerable finesse and restraint if the situation calls for it. That same lack of central control, makes the Triads more flexible in adapting to-and taking over-new territories. Triads attract mages at a higher rate than other crime syndicates. The specialty of the Triads is Awakened drugs, as they are very efficient at finding, testing, and preparing the drugs with the best street value.

Organization
The level of organization among the Triads varies greatly, from loosely organized associations (e.g. the 289's) to highly structured groups (e.g the Red Dragon Association). Members are given numerical codes based on Chinese numerology to identify their rank.

Modern Triads are created by absorbing smaller Chinese gangs. All members of a Triad use centuries-old Triad hand signals, take the loyalty oaths, and speak in the numbered code. When it comes to the Triad leaders (Dragonheads), most of the Shan Chu lead public lives as businessmen.

The Triads unlike the Yakuza prefer secrecy and keeping a low profile when possible. Therefore unlike a Yakuza oyabun, the Shan Chu embraces a cover of humility. Where a Yakuza boss will sit on the board of an international corporation, the most powerful Triad dragonheads publicly run a restaurant or small business by day. Which leads them to be underestimated by those unfamiliar with the Triads.


 * The leader of the Triad is the Shan Chu (Lodge Master - 489) who is a quasi-legitimate businessman whom has very little to no contact with the rank and file members.


 * Below are the "483" ranked members. The Fu Shan Chu (Deputy Lodge Master, the top ranked 483) who handles the day-to-day management of the Triad. Next are two of equal rank; the Heung Chu (Incense Master) who is a mage and enforces tradition, and the Sin Fung (Guardian) who does the recruiting. Last are the Sheung Fa (Double Flower), whom the Triads send out to establish new branches of the Triad.


 * At the next level are the officers of the Triad, starting with the Hung Kwan (Red Pole, 426) who is the military commander whose job is to coordinate the underling gangs. The Pak Tsz Sin (White Paper Fan, 415) is an accountant who is also in charge of Matrix activities. The Cho Hai (Grass Sandal, 425) is the public face of the Triad when it comes to gangs and businesses, who pays and collects the graft and bribes.


 * Rank-n-file members are the Sze Kau (49), the enforcers of the Triad. Said enforcers may officially act as muscle or security. They may be in charge of running a business or safehouse. Perhaps they are hitmen who few know about.

Activities
After the collapse of the Chinese government and the fragmentation of China, the Triads made a lot of money selling food, weapons, tech, and whatever else was needed to the warlords and the desperate people who lived under their rule. The profits were used to build up their criminal empires and for some of them, to expand outside of China. Under the direction of the dragon Lung, the Red Dragons became the most ambitious and expanded throughout the Pacific Rim.

Today, the Triads are involved in a wide variety of criminal activities, as well as legitimate business activities. When it comes to the Golden Triangle, they control the trade in both opiates and Awakened drugs grown in that region. The Triads likewise control most of the "Better Than Life" simsense chip trade. Vice is an old standby, both gambling and prostitution. Manufacturing counterfeit goods, human trafficking, and the smuggling of both legal and illegal goods are all activities that the Triads are deeply involved in doing. In most cities where the Triads (or Tongs) have a presence, they normally control smuggling. Matrix crime is a growing business, including theft of online banking accounts, data brokerage, and identity theft.

Triads have a death grip on criminal activities inside China and Hong Kong, and dominate the underworld in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, the Triads are the oldest criminal syndicates and they are the largest syndicates in the United Kingdom. The Triads are the dominant criminal power in the region of Southeast Asia, with the Big 3 Triads (Red Dragon Association, Smoke Circle Society, and Black Chrysanthemum) extending their control over all of Southeast Asia. They have a strong presence in Japan, Canada, and the United States. They are present in both mainland Europe and South America, but are minor players in those two regions.

Membership
Triads recruit through both relatives and active street gangs. Among the Chinese diaspora they also recruit from the Tongs. Not only do they recruit Chinese but also other Asians and non-Asians, both human and metahumans, and even women. Han Chinese dominate the Triads, both in numbers and in leadership positions. They outnumber and usually outrank other ethnic Chinese who in turn outrank other Asians. Westerners are below the Chinese. Metahumans and occasionally women have held leadership or positions of power.

Secrecy
The Triads use magical oath rituals in their initiations which make the infiltration of Triads by law enforcement and interrogation of Triad suspects incredibly difficult. If a Triad member breaks the loyalty oath, violent physical reactions occur immediately often leading to death (e.g. bleeding from the eyes, pores, mouth, etc). Members value secrecy and being subtle. Many members keep their membership secret. It's thought that they use a secret language based on facial and hand gestures.

Triad Philosophy
The Triads believe that man must be in harmony with both heaven and earth. Despite being a criminal organization they therefore also see themselves as a philanthropic organization. If there is war, Triads will enter the war zone and supply the refugees with the supplies they need though they will make sure they profit when doing so. When operating in a totalitarian state, the Triads will organize rebellions against the regime and make sure that they will benefit afterwards. They have many law-abiding SINers among their members. Triads see all their members are part of their family.

Magic
Triads were the first major crime syndicate to understand the changes happening to the world with the return of magic in 2011 AD. Because of their centuries-long mystical rituals and traditions, the Triads were able to adjust faster than rival groups and therefore became the first to use magic in their operations. Which gave them a stranglehold on the underworld in China and the Golden Triangle, which they continue to maintain till today. Apart from the fact that they greatly outnumber rival syndicates when it comes to manpower, it is magic which is the biggest edge that the Triads have over rival syndicates.

Shadowrunners
The Triads neither like or dislike shadowrunners. To them shadowrunners are simply mercenaries to be used to the benefit of the organization. It's the experience of shadowrunners that Triad "Johnsons" are often older, superstitious, and talk in metaphors. The Triad will often team the shadowrunners with Triad muscle, whom either help by creating a diversion or acting as backup. If the shadowrunners cross the Triad, magic is always used to retaliate on the shadowrunners.