This is a continuation of the thread [urlhttp://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=18638.0] here[/url]. As before, all critique and comments are appreciated. This post includes the major criminal powers in the sprawl, as well as two terrorist groups.
Notable Organized Crime Syndicates
The Cleveland Mafia
Overview: In the wake of the events turning Chicago into Bug City, the large Italian mafia presence in Illinois had to move. Cleveland was close, and with there already being a mafia presence in Northeast Ohio (specifically Youngstown) it was a logical choice to move to nearby Cleveland. The biggest family in power is the Calabrese family, and they've allied with the Passerell family in the Youngstown Sprawl. Thanks to this, they hold the most criminal clout in Cleveland, but the Yakuza is starting to black their eyes enough to get them worried. They may not be massively racist until you get to the upper echelons of power: the guys in charge are mostly human.
Leadership: Vincent Calabrese is the current Don and is old enough to remember the move from Bug City. He's a large, fairly corpulant older Italian man who runs his little empire with an efficiency that would put most corps to shame. He's best known for his friendly demeanor and seems to enjoy playing the part of the beloved grandfather or favorite uncle. His people know all too well, though, that there's a mean streak in him long enough to keep their rivals honest.
Contacts: There's only one in who's approachable and connected enough to get you in good with this organization: Johnathon Barile. Better known on the streets as Johnny Stockpile, he's a human and self-proclaimed "Black Market wizard" that can apparantly get anything for anyone for any purpose. His confidence leads people to think if he was half as good as he says he is, he'd be the best fence in the city. Joke's on them, he's at least half as good as he says he is and it's partly because of him that the Mafia is doing so well. His only weakness is getting Awakened drugs and magical reagents, but he has the market cornered on just about everything else. On top of that, he's a gregarious sort, hanging out in clubs with a drink and fond of hiring Shadowrunners. Do some good work for him, and he'll talk you up like there's no tomorrow. Do bad work, and he'll act like you don't exist. He's also good buddies with the Freebooters and the Free Trade Association.
Business Ventures: Protection rackets, robbery, drug trafficking.
Membership: All stripes, but rule of thumb: the higher up you go, the more humans and Italians you see.
Base: They run a small B corp in Tower City: Calabrese Security Solutions. It's a front, but it's a front that makes them a bit of scratch on the side (they handle small contracts for private homes and mom-and-pop stores). Their employees are all mafiosos of some type, naturally.
Relations: Thanks to Johnny Stockpile, they have pretty good contracts with the Freebooters and the Free Trade Association. They're allied with the head honchos in Youngstown. Tensions are brewing with the Yakuza. Rumor has it they're entering peace talks with the local vory.
How to Piss Them Off: Disrespect is a huge one, so it's best to be polite and not mess with their business.
The Cleveland Yakuza
Overview: True to the adage of where MCT goes, the Yaks follow (MCT is in a near constant tug-of-war with Ares and Saeder-Krupp for control of the industrial Steelyards) the Tomoyo-kai Yakuza organization is probably best known for two things: kicking the White Lotus Triad out of Cleveland and illegal Awakened merch. There are tensions brewing with the local Mafia family, mostly because the Italians want their control of the mojo market.
Leadership: The current (human, naturally) Oyabun, Shinji Tomoyo is a mage, believe it or not and he claims his birthright can be traced back to feudal Japan. Unsuprisingly, he's also the CEO of local MCT subsidiary Koyashi Heavy Industries with a large presence in the Steelyard. He's a proud workaholic that invests heavily in the MCT ideals of zero zones and disapproval of failure. Essentially this means his people are fanatics that are terrified of failing him. Tomoyo welcomes a war with the local Mafia, seeing it as his chance to kick another syndicate out of Clevleand and strengthen his position, empowering both his corp and his syndicate in one fell swoop but refuses to strike first. After all, his MCT bosses may not particularly care for this war if Tomoyo starts it.
Contacts: Getting on the good side of the Tomoyo-kai is almost impossible if you aren't a MCT citizen or of Japanese/Korean descent. For Shadowrunners though, there is a woman ambitious enough that you could use as a resource. Sakura Ishii has gotten it into her head that she could be one of the few female Oyabuns, and she has the MCT connections and enough trust in the organization (she's a kobun) to try it. If only Tomoyo would get out of her way...just be careful. If Tomoyo finds out you're helping her subvert him, he will most certainly be...unhappy.
Business Ventures: Human trafficking, gambling, illegal magic, smuggling.
Membership: You don't get into the Yakuza if you aren't Japanese or Korean, and you don't get any real power unless you're a human or elf. And they aren't very inclusive towards women either.
Base: The Koyashi Heavy Industries Main Coporate Office in the Cleveland Steelyards.
Relations: The tensions with the Cleveland Mafia are reaching critical mass, but they mostly ignore the other criminal elements, preferring to keep their criminal activities "in house". The Rockers claim to be in with these guys, but they aren't.
How to Piss Them Off: Same as the Mafia, more or less. The main difference is the Yaks will probably torture you first. Being anti-MCT is also a no-no.
The Cleveland Organizatsiya
Overview: Ah, the Russian Organizatsiya. Pretty much the bottom of the rung as far as Cleveland organized crime goes, but that doesn't mean they aren't making a mint. Masters of the protection racket, they took a page out of the Yakuza's book and figured out how to extort B and C level corps and bank and they have fingers in human trafficking. They commonly hire runners to deal with people trying to get out of their "contracts."
Leadership: The most senior vor v zakone in Cleveland is a female Ork (believe it or not) named Anya Grekov, a SINless Russian expatriate with a sociopathic streak a mile wide. She's more or less bought Lonestar off completely and runs her territories through fear. Completely ruthless and heavily dedicated to increasing her own personal fortune, she's only kept in check by the other local vorys. Is suspected the other vorys are just waiting for her to keel over any day, as the woman is pushing 50.
Contacts: If you want to meet the local Organizatsiya, being a Russian with a criminal SIN might get you enough cred for them to notice you. If not, your best bet is the tolkach elf named Grigori (actually Gregory) Yelizarov, Cleveland born but with 100% Russian blood. He speaks English and Russian fluently and knows pretty much everyone worth knowing in the Cleveland underworld. He'd be one hell of a fixer if he wasn't a card carrying member of the Organizatsiya and most people weren't so insistent on calling him Mr. Johnson.
Business Ventures: Human trafficking, protection rackets, drug trafficking, robbery.
Membership: Just about anyone who's Russian and wants in, and they don't discriminate if you have a criminal SIN. Non-Russians exist, but they generally don't rise above being a bratok (soldier) or bratki (low level mobster).
Base: A high-end Russian eatery known as the Moscow Lounge nearby Playhouse Square.
Relations: They're entertaining the idea of a treaty with the Mafia and are good customers of both the Freebooters and the Free Trade Association. If they agree to the Mafia alliance, they'll be enemies of the Yakuza but the two normally stay out of each other's way.
How to Piss Them Off: Messing with their bottom line and of course disrespect. Don't use the word bitch or its Russian equivalent (suka) in their presence just to be safe.
The Cuyahoga Free Trade Association
Overview: The Cuyahoga Free Trade Association (usually shortened to the CFTA) isn't actually based in Cleveland, but their influence is still felt. This absolutely massive ring of international smugglers started in Cuyahoga County, absorbing other smuggling associations until they grew to a global scale. They're practically a megacorp without the extraterritoriality and have a fleet of vehicles to get anyone or anything across land, air, or sea. Think the Freebooters times 10,000. They're famous for also having professional shadowrunners on staff and anyone who makes a move against them soon finds their supply lines mysteriously drying up. They've been trying to absorb the Freebooters for years, but while they've had some success adding the former gangers to their organization, the group as a whole has too much youthful independence to "sell out."
Leadership: The dwarf in charge is named Jack Lyons, and is more of an acting CEO than a crime boss. He's comfortable with his virtual monopoly over smuggling in most of Ohio and having a decent stake in a good portion of the globe. The guy is well known for loving the corps and private sector security, as he considers them so corrupt and inept his business is more or less unimpeded (indeed, his association has worked for them a few times), but he chugs a massive cup of Haterade when it comes to government regulations. Known for an inflated ego, he's still personable enough despite his elitism.
Contacts: Not hard, chummer. Any fixer worth the name at least has heard of this group.
Business Ventures: Smuggling, illegal blockades, and shadowrunning.
Membership: Highly inclusive, they'll take anyone who has skills they can use and they're always hiring.
Base: They're rich enough that they own a chain of stores called Essential Imports which is where they conduct business both legal and otherwise.
Relations: They try to stay neutral, and they normally succeed. When someone moves against them, they passively run a shadow campaign to cut their supply lines. When the vitriol dries up, they jack up their prices for whoever messed with them and everything goes on as before. They want control over the Freebooters, but not bad enough to cause a blood bath over it
Terra Fist
Overview: Eco terrorist malcontents, this specific branch of Terra Fist is spread throughout the UCAS but is particularly concentrated in the Great Lakes Areas and along major riverways (like the Ohio River). In Cleveland specifically, they're known for running terror campaigns against corporate interests along both the Ohio River and Lake Erie, looting whatever they can. Their strikes are shockingly coordinated and Lone Star and corp armies alike are stuck. Several lower level soldiers have been arrested, but they're nowhere near catching the ones in charge.
Leadership: The boss of Lake Erie and the Ohio Riverway is known as the Kingfisher, and not much is known about him. What has been hypothesized is he's likely a former UCAS Navy Seal (it would explain their tactics and unusual organization) who's brought along a few military buddies for his terror campaigns and he has a patron that keeps his people supplied. What is known is that he is an expert in aquatic warfare, sabotage, and both amphibious and non-amphibious infiltration. He also has a penchant for quieter weapons he can use on land or in the water (particularly the harpoon gun). You can believe this, too: he won't stop until the pollution has been excised from Lake Erie and the Ohio Riverway.
Contacts: Getting in the Wolfpaw Tribe's good books would be a huge help in meeting this terror group. Being obvious about attacks on corp interests will also likely attract their attention (they've broken lone terrorists out of jail before), particularly around the Cleveland waterways.
Business Ventures: Terrorism and robbery.
Membership: Assorted nature nuts, but also some suspected ex-military people. They've got all sorts of conservationally minded people working for or with them.
Base: Mobile, but they can always be found around the Great Lakes areas or the Ohio River.
How to Piss Them Off: Any moves against them or messing with nature will torque these guys off, but they're not good enough friends with the Wolfpaws to get insulted if the tribe's attacked.
Relations: The Wolfpaw Tribe works with them and they like to hire out the gang to make noise for them or even get magical backup. They're in a secret alliance with the CFTA (this is their suspected "patron"). They don't typically associate with any other criminal elements.
Alamos 20,000
Overview: These metahuman hating psychos first came to public attention with a bombing campaign in Ohio, so it's only natural they're hanging out around Cleveland. Unlike Terra Fist, the Alamos likes to make their statements by hitting political institutions and policlubs, particularly those either led by metahumans or with metahuman sympathies. They have the local Humanis chapter in their pocket (and by extension the Cleveland mayor), but no one (read: non-criminals) knows anything about that.
Leadership: They're a pretty secretive group, and while everyone knows about their involvment when something goes down, no one knows how they're organized or who's really in charge. Law enforcement has been spinning their wheels (or just bought off) on these guys since the attack in New Visions, and it's theorized that they're not one unified organization but instead made up of multiple cells with slightly variable agendas.
Contacts: Well, if you're in the inner circle of Humanis you're probably in with these guys already. If you're enough of a human supremacist, these guys will probably find you. It's not easy contacting them.
Business Ventures: Terrorism. Possibly other criminal activity, but that's unknown.
Membership: Racist humans. Actual racists, not just any biased bigot.
Base: Unknown, but likely numerous. Some people theorize it's the wreckage of Los Alamos, New Mexico, but that's unlikely.
How to Piss Them Off: Being metahuman or having metahuman sympathies. They only make large scale attacks, though.
Relations: No one likes them other than the more radical Humanis chapters. It's suspected that the Freebooters and the CFTA have done business with them, but they don't ask questions and will do business with nearly anyone.
