Triads

When the Triads first formed, they might’ve had more in common with neo-anarchists than any other criminal syndicate. The original Triads were called the Tiandihui and were secret societies of anti-government rebels, forming an underground resistance network against the Qing Dynasty in eighteenth-century China. Once they’d succeeded at overthrowing the Qing Emperor, some Tiandihui groups went legit and became “benevolent associations” that supported Chinese com- munities, especially those who emigrated overseas. Other Tiandihui groups didn’t adjust as well to “civilian” life. Unfortunately, instead of carrying the revolution to other countries, they slipped fully into a life of crime and became the Triads we know today. Nowadays, the Triads are involved in a wide range of criminal activities. In general, smuggling of various kinds (including metahuman trafficking) is probably the biggest one, thanks to Hong Kong’s status as a trade hub. The Triad’s involvement in the drug trade was a natural extension of that, focusing mainly on opium, heroin, and their Awakened cousins like red orchid. Oh, and don’t forget Kong chips, Triad-produced BTLs that are so popular, the Triads control most of the world’s beetle trade (CalHots being a somewhat distant second). Counterfeiting brand-name products is another Triad focus—if you’ve ever wondered why so many cheap knockoffs come from Hong Kong, well, now you know. Ironically, the “cheap knockoffs” can end up being more reliable than the original products, since the Triads don’t do the whole “planned obsolescence” thing like corps do. Matrix crime and prostitution round out the Triads’ criminal enterprises. Besides their activities, the Triads are notorious for their arcane, ritualistic structure. They use membership titles inspired by classical Chinese literature and numerology, and each new inductee takes an elaborate series of magically enforced oaths, making your average Triad soldier very loyal. Oh, and the fact that the great dragon Lung is reputed to be involved in a range of Triad activities keeps the money flowing and the foot soldiers alert.