Phantom Tong

The Phantom Tong is an organization of changeling criminals.

Background
"We do not exist until you need us to exist."

Criminal to the core, this entitlement reaches into every aspect of illegal behavior, be it prostitution, drug running, gambling, violence, or thievery. Supposedly, this is done to “corner the market” on corruption, keeping it out of the hands of the a freehold’s leaders. Unfortunately, the Tong is sometimes too successful, creating enough chaos to leave the freehold weak to the Others’ depredations. Whether or not the order is justified in its mandate, they are nearly impossible to eradicate, being difficult even to find in the first place.

Organization
Each city’s Dai Los are led by the Dai Lo Dai, who determines the focus of the local Tong. The Dai Lo Dai’s proclivities will set the pace for his underlings. Unsurprisingly, the Tong has its hand in more than just fae matters; the Dai Los have connections with every mortal criminal organization it can find. The order meets each full moon at varying locations so as to set tasks and the like.

Joining and Membership
Prerequisites: Wyrd 2, Larceny 3 Title: Dai Lo (though some prefer Hung Kwan, or “Red Pole Lieutenant”)

One may join the Phantom Tong by “courting” them with momentous crimes. Should these crimes please the local Tong, Dai Los will apparently approach the entrant with an offer to join — an offer that may or may not be genuine; some say that every offer is actually a con, and that seeing through the ruse is necessary to be offered a true invitation, at which point the new Dai Lo will be given control over a particular sphere of criminal influence based on his skillset.

Mien
To remain secret, the Dai Los of the Phantom Tong have been able to mostly suppress any changes to their mien. A perceptive observer, however, can still find signs. In certain lights (full moon, for instance), a Dai Lo’s eyes seem to fade partly out of existence, becoming opaque or translucent — “ghost eyes”, the Tong calls it. Others sometimes breathe out wisps of breath that look like fog but have the haunted eyes and frozen silent mouths of ghosts.

Privileges

 * Criminal Network: Dai Los, upon joining the Tong, can take one free Specialty in either Larceny or Streetwise. Allies or Contacts purchased with experience points and specifically relating to the criminal world possess a reduced experience point rate of new dots x 1.