Blackjack's People #152
The Players
By Blackjack [Blackjack's Shadowrun Page: www.BlackjackSR.com] [BlackjackSRx@gmail.com] [@BlackjackSRx]

Posted: 2019-06-28

Mr. Ran

Archetype: Human Saidoh-Gumi Yakuza Boss

As much a socialite as he is a gangster, Mr. Ran is the definition of cool, calm and collective.  Always speaking clearly (and with a perpetual satisfied smile on his face), Mr. Ran likes to get to the point of any business deal at the beginning of a meet (usually over a fancy dinner) instead of the traditional hobnobbing.  But after a deal is worked out, the 5,000 nyuen a bottle wines pour freely, along with some of the best food in the city (which damn well better to be made to Mr. Ran’s liking as it would not be the first time he’d have a cook beaten over an undercooked steak.)  Mr. Ran, either through boredom or as an investment, will sometimes take a fledgling runner under his ‘wing’, calling them to mysterious meals at 3:00 in the morning to discuss their ‘progress’, a subject Mr. Ran will always seem to have an unnerving amount of information about. 

Mr, Ran’s dealings are usually out of the league of the other crime bosses, involving high level extortion, elite prostitution, forbidden BTLs, as well as legitimate channels such as real estate.  While preferring to handle tense situations himself through negotiation before his bosses even find out about them, Mr. Ran also has access to the full resources or the Yakuza empire, although his pride may prevent him from ever using them.  Mr. Ran still has a significant sized army of his own loyal soldiers to take care of any ‘business’ that can’t be negotiated to a peaceful solution.

Lucia Savelli

Archetype: Human Cosa Nostra Mafia Underboss

Seizing control of her family’s territory after a bloody coup during which she personally executed her own two brothers, Lucia has spent the time since she gained control to beef up her soldiers and plan a more militaristic stance on how she intends to hold and expand her territory.  Aggressive and abusive, Lucia relies on straight up fear to keep her forces compliant, hunting down and brutally executing any defectors.  An upper echelon collection of guards, most of whom are magicians, keep the cattle at bay and allow Lucia to continue her reign.

With her family reduced in power after the repercussions of the coup, Lucia is quickly using heavy coercion, occasionally breaking into violence, to keep her remaining territories, with eyes on expanding back into their old territory once they are strong enough.  Lucia has also reestablished her family’s dominance in the street level drug and weapons scenes and is regularly on the brink of war with those who lost out as a result.  Always preparing for that way, Lucia Savelli was prove more effective than expected should a full war break out.

Lia Huan

Archetype: Human Hip Sing Association Tong Boss

One hundred and ten years old and wheeled around in chair that constantly feed her the fluids needed to keep her alive, Lia had a synaptic booster implanted in her late 80s that has allowed her to continue to process information at the speed and accuracy of someone half her age, even as her body decays around her.  Nobody as of yet has tried to remove or replace her because she’s still an excellent ground commander, personally (well, virtually) riding along on raids, getting information from drones, processing this information, and then laying out an air tight plan.  These ‘probe’ raids into competitors’ territory (most notably Lucia’s) have been solely for information gathering, during which Lia has been able to ascertain the full extent of Lucia’s ‘hidden’ army.  Rather than simply building a better overall body count by going on a hiring spree of her own, Lia has simply stepped up her existing troops’ training and equipped them with the latest in weaponry, armor, vehicles and, most importantly for Lia, the latest observation drones.

Lia and Lucia compete in the same drug market, although when it comes to restricted and forbidden weaponry sold at the street level, the Hip Sing Association is second only to MS-13.  Lia’s drive to upgrade all of her army’s equipment has also led to a sudden deluge of used (but still fairly state of the art) weaponry, the sale of which Lia all but rubs in Lucia’s face.  (“Yeah, bitch!  This is the shit we THROW AWAY!) 

Sergio Dengra

Archetype: Ork Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) Commander

Although some argue MS-13’s use of violence is overstated, don’t tell that to Sergio who killed no less than 5 of his commanders before becoming one himself.  And in a world where the end of a ruler’s reign usually comes at the end of a gun, Sergio has reversed some of the more brutal internal gang policies so he wouldn’t find himself in such a position.  Not that the men and women he commands are coddled.  While they finally have a promotion system based on merit, the things these men and woman have to do to get into the upper echelon can still be harsh.  From old men to babies, Sergio expects no target to be beyond elimination, and if gang business requires it, soldiers will be sent out to do the deed – or get shot refusing.  Sergio does not care for negotiation, the ace up his sleeve being the numerous gangs he supplies with heavy weaponry in surrounding areas that are ready to jump to his assistance if things get rough.

While Sergio’s crew has a small bit of territory of their own, they are not afraid to sell in anybody’s territory if he payout outweighs the risk.  However, they do use their own overt brand of diplomacy but refraining to sell in quantity any gun currently being touted by a competitor.  This still leaves plenty of guns to be sold as everything from tasers to assault cannons are on menu.

Trang Thanh Sang

Human Black Dragons Triad Boss

Street level sex and BTLs and, more often than not, some combination of the two.  This market is the comfy domain of Trang Thanh Sang, as he is currently without a serious competitor in either area.  And sure, all organizations and gangs tend to at least dabble in these domain, but Trang has built it into a fast paced, organized, VR, AR, freaking everything driven business.  The Amazon plus Uber of getting off.  With options for download, drone delivery (of BTLs, not hookers, although that would be fun to see) hotel rooms on permanent rent, and the traditional hooker-gram, no fantasy is too weird or dark.  Which is probably the only real crack in a solid empire: Everybody else hates them.  Rumors both confirmed and true offer up horrible tales of how their ‘service personnel’ are treated with a few unconfirmed rumors of men and women being ‘sold’ to create death fantasies and even blackjack BTLs.

With nearly no army, Trang stays in control through the use of blackmail and extortion, often towards gangs and organizations he doesn’t even compete with.  Trang is going all in on the notion that, if a war does break out, he’ll have enough weight on everybody to keep them the fuck away from his business.

[See also: Dark Dealing]