Triads

"勝利或死亡。"

Triads are a type of crime syndicate originating in southeast China (most famously Hong Kong and Macau). Much like their Japanese counterpart - the Yakuza - Triad gangs are active around the entire world in places with a notable Chinese minority population, including Fortune City.

Fortune City Triads

Triads aren't as deeply rooted in the city as the Yakuza gangs, but have in the last ~50 years gained a very prominent role in the underworld. The largest, and historically unrivaled Fortune triad is the White Dragon Gang (bái lóng bāng, 白龍幫), who for a long period of time ruled the Chinatown area with an invisible iron fist. White Dragon is still a very large and active gang, running everything from prostitution rings to paid assassination squads and trading in drugs, weapons and other illegal goods.
Rivalry with the Yakuza has existed since day one, both over turf, revenge, money and general Sino-Japanese animosity. The area bordering Chinatown and Gomino-Yama has at times been a full-on warzone, but things have in general been quieter between White Dragon and Moto-Gumi during the last decade. Somewhere in this slow de-escalation process, a new player suddenly appeared on the map: the so-called Group of Nine (Zǔ Jiǔ, 九組), a mysterious triad with much fewer members but a more brutal and reckless M.O that quickly made both Yakuza and the older triad see them as a threat. Gang wars have flared up again in recent years, and there doesn't seem to be an end anytime soon: Zǔ Jiǔ have made their goal of "citywide domination" very clear.

Structure

As with the Yakuza, Triads have an intricate hierarchy that holds the organization together. The positions have numerical codes as well as names - at the top of the syndicate is the 489, or "Dragon Head", serving as the main leader. All notable sub-positions such as enforcers, operation officers and administrators have codes in the 400-range. An ordinary member is referred to as a 49, and the term for an uninitiated associate is "Blue Lantern".

Type

Illicit, Syndicate

Alternative Names

黑社會 (hēishèhuì, black society)

Demonym

49, 49:er

Location

Chinatown