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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Derren" data-source="post: 6164022" data-attributes="member: 2518">So I am back and I intend to finish the overview of the factions today + a small explanation of the game system.Lets start withA Shadowrunners best friend, unless they shoot at youLets be honest, a Shadowrunner is not really a law abiding citizen (or a citizen at all, lacking an ID etc.) and over the course of their life, no matter its duration, commit a lot of crimes. One of those crimes is the possession (and use) of highly illegal weapons. And while a normal ganger might be satisfied with a used handgun with filed off ID a Shadowrunner typically wants something bigger. Those things are not usually found in the back of the car of some shady character two blocks down the street. Instead you have to turn to the organized crime to get what you want.Dealing with organized crime is a tricky business. Get too close to them and you are expected to join them formally (a offer you shouldn't refuse). Go too often against them and they can hunt you down nearly as well as a pissed off megacorp can. And of course all syndicates compete with each other (and the factions within each syndicate).The big crime syndicates in Shadowrun are:The MafiaThe good old Mafia straight from the Godfather movies. They have branches (families) everywhere with a Don at the head and like in any good clan are feuding with each other. This internal conflicts resulted in them losing a lot of ground to the other syndicates.The TriadsChina based crime organization which is has made great progress in North America and dislikes the Yakuza with a passion. That comes from they being a pawn of a Great Dragon who has a rivalry with the Great Dragon which controls the Yakuza. The Triads very often employ mages and have less problems with dealing with awakened people than other traditional groups.YakuzaThe Yakuza are deeply ingrained in Japan and generally wherever there is a Japancorp (especially Mitsuhama) the Yakuza aren't far away. Inside Japan they often operate rather openly with no fear of reprisal. As mentioned, they are also heavily influenced by a Great Dragon. Also there is a schism going through them at a moment resulting in a traditional faction who do not allow non humans and a more liberal faction who have no (less) problem with them.The VoryThe Vory are the Russian version of the Mafia and have made quite a scene within the criminal circles. While most other syndicates are bound and limited by tradition is some way or another, the Vory have no such limitations which, together with their violent methods, allowed them to expand quickly and push out the other syndicates.Soulopa RingsThe Seoulpa Rings are a (or rather many) Korean crime syndicates which do not have all that much luck in North America where they pretty literally got destroyed by the other syndicates. The survivors organized them in small, independent cells and specialize in Matrix crime as there is less of a turf war going on there.TanamousEven though most body parts can be cloned in the year 2075 some people can't or don't want to wait or just hope for a bargain. Those people turn to Tanamous, assuming they have no problems with the donor of the organ they want being alive at the time of the order and being quite unaware that they have agreed to donating body parts in the first place.Tanamous is the biggest organ-legger around with connections to nearly every hospital to get new raw material and informations. That means they have a quite extensive DNA database to get the perfect organ for you.They also deal a lot in used cyberware and supply meat to ghouls which also make up a bigger part of their members as they can keep the leftovers.The Gangs go Go GoNot all that different from organized crime, gangs are more open with their criminal activities, often doing them for kicks instead for money. That doesn't mean they don't like money though. Very often gangs accept only one specific metatype as a member, making them all pretty racist. There is also a special type of gang called Go-Go Gang (hence the title) which are biker gangs which do not only like to drive very fast but also to shoot stuff. At "best" they are rich kids blowing off steam, at worst total maniacs. Initiation rituals often include destroying vehicles with heavy weapons while driving more than 100mph.HalloweenersOnce a big gang in Seattle they got destroyed by other gangs and are now rebuilding. They have a tendency to use flame weapons a lot, especially the old guard.AncientsA elf only gang which has branches all over the world. They do not keep territory like other gangs and very often have ties to the elven countries and are used as smugglers and even as cover for black ops. So don't be surprised when you expect to go against normal gangers and suddenly have to fight against people with quite modern equipment and special forces training.VikingsA nordic biker gang practicing neo paganism and liking heavy metal a lot. They had ties to the terrorist organization Winternight which makes them even less sympathetic than other gangs.</blockquote>

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