The Golden Dragon Society
The Golden Dragon Society is the most powerful Chinese Triad in Emerald City (and possibly along the West Coast). It controls all criminal activity in Jadetown, and with influence that extends throughout the rest of the city. The Society had its founding during the frontier days of Emerald City, and has been the dominant criminal organization in Jadetown for the last 80 years. Until recently, the group has maintained its influence through the strong leadership, ruthlessness, and guile of their head, Uncle Zhi Chi, otherwise known as Dragoneye, but with his unexpected death, the Golden Dragon society has found itself without a strong leader, and struggles to find a suitable candidate before their vast empire falls into ruin.
The Golden Dragon Society is organized along traditional lines with an inner council led by the head and consisting of the vice-president, an English secretary, a street secretary, and a legal secretary. This council is referred to as the Five, and while they are not necessarily directly related to each other, they are considered to belong to the Chi clan. Directly below them are the other high officials of the Society, always totaling 32 in number. Only those who have been accepted into the 32 either by birth, marriage, or “adoption”, may ever be elevated to serve as one of the Five. The competition among the 32 to be made one of the Five is stiff and often deadly, and only the strong leadership of the head has prevented an outbreak of violent internal conflict. Only the Five know the full extent of the Society’s membership and activities, with those lower down the ranks given access to only the information they need to know for their positions.
The high ranking officials are served by mid-level lieutenants, with each lieutenant acting as a department head with sole responsibilities in regards to a single illegal activity; one acts as a liaison for Triad–associated street gangs, while another liaises with independent criminals who operate in Jadetown, and another supervises all protection rackets, etc. The lieutenants all share a healthy rivalry amongst one another, with most hoping their actions will not only bring them to the Five’s attention, but have their efforts rewarded with an entry into the 32 and the possibility of sitting on the inner council. Though this boon is rarely granted, it is possible.
The footsoldiers of the Society are organized into separate gangs consisting of a dozen or more men. All the gangs are named after different types of Chinese mythical creatures (the Coiled Dragons, the Fiery Phoenix, the Jade Ki-Lin, etc). Each gang is designated their own area of operations, though more than one gang may have the same responsibility, so the loss of one gang doesn’t cause the collapse of an entire operation. Gangs rarely interact, except in cases where a large group is necessary to deal with a problem, such as dealing with foreign gangs encroaching on Society territory.
While the Golden Dragon Society is heavily involved in criminal activity, it also owns and runs a number of legitimate businesses as well. These businesses these are not included in the group’s structure; they operate just like any other business, except their owners are also members of the Society. Both the Society’s business and criminal activities are carefully executed in a professional manner, leaving nothing to chance.
Well over half of the Society’s annual revenue comes from its legitimate business. In addition, Uncle Zhi was one of Jadetown’s most respected (and feared) entrepreneurs, a public leader who had a strong presence on the boards of various charities and financial institutions. This allowed him direct access to some of the most powerful figures in Emerald city and gave him political clout all his own.
The Golden Dragon Society is involved in a number of different criminal activities, and is always willing to consider new enterprises it can become involved in. Currently, the society is most heavily involved in assassinations, car theft, credit fraud, gambling, identity theft, prostitution, protection rackets, smuggling, and black market live animal and animal parts trading. They have also participated in human smuggling, usually to bring unfortunates who have paid huge sums into the country, but also to bring workers for their brothels.
The headquarters for the Society is a large Chinese import warehouse outlet known as Lucky Dragon Imports. From the outside the store appears to be nothing out of the ordinary, and indeed the business is exactly what it appears to be, but behind closed doors, both on the upper floors and the basement, the building is a highly fortified stronghold. At least 40 heavily armed gang members act as security; those in the shop act as simple salespeople and are secretly armed, while other more openly armed members guard the other floors. The basement acts as a way station, temporarily warehousing illegal goods until they can be shipped to their destinations. At least five guards are found here at all times. The second floor was the former opulent residence of Uncle Zhi, but is now inhabited by one of his few living descendents: granddaughter Feng-li Chin. The top floor is the Society’s business and meeting rooms. Guarded by at least ten guards at all times, the floor is booby-trapped, contains a state-of-the-art security system, and is only accessible via a combination-locked elevator. The floor also contains the board room, a full set of living quarters, an armory, and the computer system.
While the Society is still focused mainly in Jadetown, it has expanded its sphere of influence far beyond those limited confines. Many of its legitimate business concerns can be found in the Downtown and Riverfront districts, employing not only those of Chinese descent, but many others besides. The drug operations performed by the Society can be found all over the city, which brings them into direct confrontation with other criminal syndicates working those territories.
With the death of Dragoneye, the Golden Dragon Society has found itself at a bit of a loss. Uncle Zhi provided the triad with strong leadership and a firm hand, but he failed to leave any official indication in regards to whom he wanted to succeed him. Currently, his granddaughter Feng-li is acting as leader, but this is far from satisfactory as far as the remainder of the council is concerned. Though Jackie Lee supports her claim as Uncle Zhi’s direct descendant, the rest of the council, led by Harry Deng, strongly oppose her rule on the grounds that she is a woman and she does not possess the powers of Dragoneye. This has led the Society to become fractured and conflicted, with backstabbing, intrigue, and lies disrupting its stranglehold on power in Jadetown.
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