Ronin - A samurai with no lord or master.
Welcome to Neo-Japan
It is the year 2202, and Mega-Corporations have ruthlessly consolidated power: they make everyone, from the lowliest wage slave to the most powerful government leader, dance to their tune. Many people sell their lives to these megacorps, believing they have no choice. With these megacorps come the exponential advancement of human society, powerful AI and sophisticated machines, biotechnology and cybernetic enhancement have become the norm, and provide numerous physical advantages- for those who can afford it. These megacorporations eclipse even governmental powers, with the entirety of many major nations being completely owned by the shareholders of various megacorps.
Neo-Japan, one of the technological capitals of the world, is one such nation under the dominion of these megacorporations. Carved into various chunks of territories by some of the largest megacorporations in the world, the majority of continental Japan has been converted into a sprawling jumble of metropolitan communities, industrial wastelands, and concrete highways bracketed by the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean.
In this era of corporations, espionage, sabotage and cutthroat business are the norm. The shadows cast by these towering metroplexes are long, and in these shadows, the world's underworlds thrive. Entire societies live and die in these shadows, relying on these black-market underworlds. They are exploited and abused, yet powerful in their own way. The Mafia, Yakuza, and other crime syndicates have grown explosively as their networks provide anything that people want to buy. The megacorps like to believe that they let these underworlds survive, for their own purposes. When the various megacorporations want something done, but don't want to dirty their hands, they often turn to elite criminal operatives within the underworld.
These criminal elites go by different names depending on where in the world one is. Here in Japan, these specialized criminals for hire are known as 'Ronin'. More than just petty pickpockets or thugs, these Ronin are the professionals of this Black-Market society. Often former Spec-Ops and soldiers from private megacorp-militaries and espionage teams, these Ronin are cut from a different fabric than your typical gun-toting thug or Yakuza enforcer. Ronin are by nature skilled warriors, saboteurs, spies, and assassins. Contracted to fulfill any and every type of underhanded task imaginable, these Ronin often work by themselves or in small teams, and are typically loyal only to themselves or to the payroll of their employer. Despite this, Ronin will typically not attack one another, unless absolutely necessary, often upholding themselves to a code of personal honor, and generally avoid wanton mass murder- though these definitions are not universal.
The Tokyo District of Neo-Japan, holds some 1 billion people within its district limits, its dense population shoved into coffin sized apartment buildings, and massive housing complexes. Some 60% of its population are affiliated with one of the big megacorps, the rest struggle to get by through temporary positions, McJobs, criminal activity, and "Gray Area" operations. Ronin fall into this last category. Tokyo's dense nature, as well as its identity as one of the most technologically advanced regions of the world, make it an ideal location of Ronin operations. Gangs fight over turf. Criminal organizations battle for control of extralegal materials. Politicians and Corporations jockey for administrative power. The Tokyo District is what Ronin like to call a "Target-Rich Environment".
Life in Neo-Japan is rough, but rough is the norm for Ronin and the rest of the Japanese Underworld. Ronin can go from working high profile jobs that earn somewhere in the tens of thousands of credits, eating at the finest establishments and sleeping in the biggest apartments, to the next day struggling to survive on scraps, hopped up on too many chems and sims to be cognizant. The life of a Underworlder isn't easy, or particularly long for that matter. But many would argue it as a better existence than to be a wageslave of a megacorporation.
This RP will revolve around a small group of Ronin, as they try to eke a living for themselves in this turmoil filled city called Tokyo. When we find ourselves involved in a job that may be just over our heads, we will be forced to do whatever we can in order to survive. Just another set of pawns in a world of corporate espionage, thrust into a world of Neo-Japan, where neighbors don't trust one another, and brothers stab each other in the back. Superhumans challenged by ideas of morality and forced to balance ethics and profit, as we fight for survival in this tumultuous underworld. How will we fare? Only time will tell.
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Hi everyone! Welcome to the Interest Check for Ronin: Neo-Japan. This is a concept I've been toying around with in my head for some time now- as you can clearly see, it is heavily influenced by Shadowrun, as well as Ghost in the Shell, along with some of the older cannon from my other series Falling Skies. That being said, to those of you who are familiar with my Falling Skies lore, know that this is an entirely different universe. This RP will focus heavily on a small set (3-4 characters) of 'Ronin', private mercenaries if you will, analogous to Shadowrun's Shadowrunners, and like Shadowrun will hopefully feature large amounts of morally gray decisions for us to make.
Technology and Terminology
Ronin Creator
Since this RP revolves around Ronin, you need to know how to build one. As a general rule, every bit of equipment will have some sort of cost attributed to it. Each player will start out with 50,000 Credits with which to create their character. NOTE: Exceptions to the rules will be allowed, HOWEVER, I must be contacted through either PM or thread to discuss the exception you are making.
Rules:
1. This Roleplay will have above average standards. I will be expecting at least a few well written paragraphs, and absolutely NO ONE LINERS.
2. Please do not write in first person.
3. No Mary/Gary Sues, its alright for your character to be a hero, but they're not perfect.
4. No God-modding. Its no fun for anyone. Also keep in mind that your character is not invincible.
5. This RP will have mature content. Violence, foul language, and mature themes are freely allowed. However for the sake of decency any sexual acts will fade to black (or will be taken to PM) before it goes too far.
6. Player Knowledge is not necessarily character knowledge. Just because you know something (be it through OOC or someone else's post) does not necessarily mean your character knows.
7. As GM, my word is law, I will expect you to respect any executive decision I make.
8. If players find a ruling of mine unfair, they are allowed, and encouraged to speak up and offer sound reasoning to dispute my decisions. Provided the discussion is productive, polite, and reasonable, decisions I make may change.
Character Sheets:
The following are the Character Skeletons for the Ronins. Keep in mind that this team has been together for a few years. A new guy is okay, but 4 new guys is not okay. Since this is a small scale RP, it is not first come first served. Unique and eccentric is good, but you should also be able to show a degree of professionalism, otherwise it'd be pretty difficult to make it on your own- this is assuming you were working either on your own or in small groups before joining the current group. Also, there is no reason for anything to be "????" or "Classified" general knowledge is not necessarily character knowledge, and if other character's shouldn't know about something make sure you stress that. If there really is something that must be kept that top secret, PM it to me.
Here's my character for a reference/example