Criminals

Runners are a fractious and varied group. It’s nearly impossible to generalize about them, except to say that individuality is core to their identity. By definition they live outside the law, and as a consequence they mostly lead a solitary existence. They do not have overarching organizations or affiliations, or indeed much of anything that makes any one runner similar to another. They come from all walks of life, vary dramatically in skill sets, goals, and available resources, and don’t even have a dress code.

Criminals are in it for themselves. All runners are technically criminals, at least if you ask the corps, but these runners embrace it. They make self-interest an art form and don’t care who gets hurt so long as they get ahead. Many Criminals engage in more traditional forms of crime as well, stealing data and money with equal gusto. Criminals are good at covering their tracks and employing a variety of dirty tricks to attack from an unexpected angle.

Case Study: THE YAKUZA

The yakuza are the most mysterious and secretive of the criminal organizations operating in 3019. Equal parts organized crime syndicate, legitimate business conglomerate, and secret society, yakuza organizations are extremely hierarchical, with their roots stretching back centuries to the gambler and peddler classes of Edo Japan. Yakuza have come a long way from their seedy roots, both geographically and socially. Considered extremely dangerous by law enforcement agencies, these “chivalrous organizations,” as they call themselves, drape themselves in a cloak of mystery and disinformation that hides both their activities and their history. They cover themselves in ornate tattoos, take part in arcane rituals, carry monofilament katanas, and are given ancient titles within the organization such as oyabun and waka gashira. While much of this seems like little more than theater, the rituals, tattoos, and feudal titles help to forge its membership into powerful criminal syndicates with strict roles for each member to fill and numerous complex levels of loyalty owed. Yakuza groups specialize in high-tech and white-collar crimes, activities such as money laundering, corporate espionage, and the buying and selling of political favors. They are also behind many high-end casinos and questionable simsensie studios. Among their ranks are some of the most talented runners to be found in New Angeles; these Netcriminals spend their time scouring the datafortresses of megacorps, governments, and rival orgcrime syndicates searching for any scraps of information that might yield a lucrative business proposition or criminal enterprise. No one knows precisely who is in charge of the many yakuza groups in New Angeles. Some suspect they have ties to Jinteki because the syndicates are relative newcomers to the New Angelino orgcrime scene—just like Jinteki—and most yakuza territory is in Nihongai, not far from the Jinteki arcologies.