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Fluff / Cutters
The CuttersOverviewThe Cutters are a First Tier gang that sprawls across the continent of North America, with chapters in most American sprawls and connections in the British Isles and parts of South America. [1] The gang has around 10,000 members worldwide, with an estimated 350 operating in the Seattle subsidiary of the gang. Their colours are green and gold and their symbol is a crossed switchblade.[1] Like many other gangs, the Cutters are out to make money. What makes them unique is their pursuit of the bottom line, which has seen them take on a pseudo corporate structure. [1] According to the UCAS IRS, the Cutters see annual profits ranging from 50 to 100 million nuyen [2] HistoryThe Cutters started out as a low level street gang, mostly dealing with street violence and drug dealing. They soon grew to become one of the largest gangs in North America, however in 2055 the Seattle chapter gang was almost entirely wiped out. [1] This was not the result of a gang war, but a biological weapon that was released on them by Telestrian Industries. [3],[4]. The gang was able to rebuild itself and has been able to build back up to and surpass their glory days. [5] OrganisationOrganisational StructureThe Cutters divide themselves up like a corporation in their endless pursuit of profits, to the point where they call they have a Board of Directors who advise and direct the leader of the gange, called the CEO.[1] A Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Intelligence Officer and a VP of security report directly to the CEO. [1] The gang is divided into corporate divisions, like the Department of Logistics and Supply Management that handles smuggling operations. [1] This corporate mirroring is so close to the real thing that sometimes miscommunications occur, leading to gang members being supplied with medkits instead of machine guns. The Cutters have proven to be adept at reacting to these changes on the fly and simply adapt while sending in a report to the higher ups afterwards [1],[6] Factions of the gang are named after the sprawl they operate in, so the Seattle based chapter is called the Seattle Cutters. [7] LeadershipUnlike other gangs, the guys at the top aren’t just the strongest motherfraggers on the block. Often, they’re the most cunning and charismatic that make it to the higher ups. [2] They also prefer to use their real names when they conduct operations, though the SINs and backgrounds of most of the known members high up in the operation have had data expunged or hid their real identities well. [1] There are six members of the Board of Directors that are responsible for the high level strategic direction of the gang.[1]
Seattle LeadershipIvan “The Terrible” Janovich is the current leader of the Seattle Cutters after an internal power struggle with previous leader Vladimir. Ivan has been pursuing business deals and joint ventures with the Seattle Vory and rumour has that they killed Vladimir when he wouldn’t play ball. [8] LieutenantsFahd is a business developer for the Seattle Cutters who acts mostly as a figure head and is used as a convenient diversion when needed. [6] Springblossom is a competent Deer shaman that earned her position through dedicated service to the gang and to the old boss Blake. She spends a lot of the her free time in a menthol induced stupor to “feel the spirit”. [6] Bubba is a massive rednecked ork from the Atlanta Cutters who was transferred to the Seattle Cutters to act as their war boss. He answers only to his Ivan and occasionally to other LTs. [6] OperationsThe gang is organised by division instead of by geographical location, with each department controlled by a VP. This structure makes it very difficult for the cops to impact the gang, as the street level punks they usually arrest is equivalent to arresting a low level wageslave that works for a multinational corporation. [1] Divisions include: Logistics and Supply Management, which handles the black market smuggling for the gang. Procurement, which handles the purchasing of arms, vehicles and drugs. Sales, which handles selling everything from black market weapons to street level BTL dealing. [2] To protect themselves from the dangers of the streets, the Cutters usually work as middlemen and drug brokers and take a cut of the profits from other gangs. Whenever one of the gangs they were doing business with is slaughtered, arrested or otherwise taken out, the Cutters are quick to approach their successor and offer them a deal. If a street gang decides to try and go independent, the Cutters make sure to “renegotiate their contract”. [2]. The Cutters primarily deal in drugs, arms dealing, protection rackets, people smuggling, and act as “freelance security work” for corporations. They also work closely with Shadowrunners and acting as brokers, fixers and fences for them. [2],[8]. The gang actually operates as one massive network in the shadows, with higher level members providing the equipment, technology and magical supplies for shadowrunners, other criminal syndicates and even some corporations. Their fixing network has everything from prime runners to fresh on the streets shadowrunners. [2] They tend to deal in quality, not quantity when it comes to product and have been known to get their hands on milspec equipment. [2],[7] Gang LifeThe Cutters don’t discriminate on metatype, gender, ethnicity or race, however elves are unlikely to rise high in their ranks. They embrace awakened talent and welcome Changelings and Shapeshifters [2] All that matters to the Cutters is that you can make them more money. Their initiation ritual involves a new recruit setting up their own scam operation under the watch of at least two witnesses. The recruit must pull off the scam and make some money, however the actual amount is inconsequential. Recruits can try three times within a two month period before the gang “lets them go” [7] The gang invests in its promising members, providing cyberware and firearms to their street level operatives. There are even rumours that the gang has an academy where members can learn more about heavy weapons and finances. This is rumoured to be located somewhere in the Sioux nation or the PCC. [2] The gang is also rumoured to sponsor members to go through Ivy League education and top tier military academies, however they still value street smarts over any amount of business degrees. [2] TerritoryThe Seattle Cutters are not constrained to a section of the city, and operate all across the sprawl. [8] The Cutters have franchises in Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Detroit, Toronto, New York, Washington FDC, the Caribbean League, the British Isles, parts of Europe and South America [1],[7] RelationshipsThe Ancients and Cutters are deep enemies and hate each other. The two avoid open war, as its bad for business, however tensions flare frequently. [9] Relations between the Cutters and Seoulpa Rings, particularly the Komun’Go are strained. Members of the gang will go out of their way to humiliate the other, for reasons unclear to any outside of the fued. [7],[10] The Cutters maintain good relationships with many of the larger criminal syndicates and smaller gangs. The organised crime syndicates call on them for smaller procurement tasks or for when they need to outsource a job through the Cutter’s network of fixer. [9] Most gangs respect the Cutters and rarely clash with them and in return the Cutters leave others alone. Other big gangs buy gear from the Cutters they couldn’t acquire on their own [7],[9] The Vory work closely with what’s left of the LA Cutters and Seattle Cutters, which could spell the start of a takeover or merger to give the Vory a stronger foothold in North America and to hit the Mafia territories on the east coast. [8] It is rumoured the Cutters have deals with certain corporations to supply them with surplus stock, which they sell off on the streets. [2] Lone Star and the Cutters have an agreement to buy cyberware removed from prisoners.[11] The Cutters don’t run their own medical facilities, but are on good terms with many street docs. [2] Shadowrunners and mercenary crews usually speak well of the gang and their dealings. The Cutters have a good reputation in the shadow community and if a job goes wrong, it won’t be because they have sold you out. [2] TriviaThe Cutters don’t graffitti or mark their territory with their symbol and instead go out of their way to make sure everyone else knows that they’re the Cutters. [7] Their fixation on the bottom line allows them to work well in situations where the normal gang thuggery would damage potential relationships. While they may still cut you down in the street for looking at him funny, a Cutter will always get his money first. When it comes to personal rep or the bottom line, the latter always wins. [7] References |