The Armoured Garden:

This is the first part of a city for use with the Aberrant game system from White Wolf. Firstly it deals with the main characters and then goes on to describe, Very roughly, the area itself.

The Five Metal Dragons

Dragon 1: To-ji Ajimoru

Avatar: Prime (Black Dragon)

Physical Description: 25yrs Old. Tall (for Japan) ~ 5’ 11”. Black hair cut short. Ordered business suits that make him look older than he actually is.

Economic genius. Controls finance. Owns:

• Rishiri Green Hill Hotel
  
• Daisetsu-zan Pharmaceuticals
  
• Sounkya Computing
  
• Amerika Bank
  
• Hachigatsu Security
  
  APs: Mental, domination, Shielding.
  
  Dragon 2: Shiga Kogen
  
  Avatar: Earth (Brown Dragon)
  
  Physical Description: 32yrs old. Short, fat and sweaty. Balding but tries to conceal with poor wigs.
  
  Controls a department store and is in direct competition, and covert war, with the third Metal Dragon, Ginmondo Okusu. Also Controls:
  
  
• Achiba Dept Store
  
• The Green Leaf Tong
  
• Kogen Transco (The public transportation system in The Armoured Garden)
  
  APs: Mega-Stamina, Armor, Mega-Strength.
  
  Dragon 3: Ginmondo Okusu
  
  Avatar: Air (White Dragon)
  
  Physical Description: 13yrs. Short and thin. Long hair. Child. Killed by the White Samurai tong 14yrs ago with whom he still holds a grudge. Was found immediately and underwent the rite. A Very frightening figure to all who work for him.
  
  At war with Kogen. Highly Nationalistic. Does not like foreigners. Especially Xenophobic against Europeans. Controls:
  
  
• Okusu Dept Store
  
• Osore-Zen Tong
  
• Kami-no-hashi Electrics
  
  APs: Mega-Wits, Hypermovement, Mega-Perception
  
  Dragon 4: Akita Hienshu
  
  Avatar: Water (Blue Dragon)
  
  Physical Description: 27yrs old. Heavy set but avg. height. Powerful Presence. Eyes transfix.
  
  Akita is a powerful presence in all of The Armoured Garden’s criminal fraternity. Uses a cult of personality to control. Is constantly trying to move into other areas but is constantly thwarted by unknowns. Controls:
  
  
• Hard Fist Tong – Muscle/Rackets
  
• Iron Dragons – Intelligence
  
• Blossom Winds – Drugs
  
• Venerable Kitsune – Laundering/‘Legal’ crime
  
  APs: Mega-Charisma, Healing, Invisibility.
  
  Dragon 5: Mark Ellison – aka Elias
  
  Avatar: Fire (Red Dragon)
  
  Physical Description: 18yrs Old.
  
  Horror of horrors one of the Dragons has reincarnated in an American body. Has strange powers but is unaware of heritage. Currently running from tongs and has tried to settle in other areas only to be chased out.
  
  APs: Mega-Dexterity, Quantum Bolt, Bodymorph.
  
  Powers inherent to all Dragons:
  
  Elemental mastery of the element associated with each dragon.
  The Dragons can become actual honest-to-goodness dragons. This is a really powerful power and as such is only used sparingly.
  
  History of the Dragons
  
  Key points:
  
  Five metal Dragons made pact with elementals that grated them great powers over various spheres.
  
• Also gave them limited immortality, but instead of living forever the bodies die while the mind survives.
  
• To overcome this, the Dragons have to perform a rite (of remembering) to bring the Dragon back to ‘life’.
  
• The Dragons do keep their powers so they can’t just use any body. They have to find the body the powers have been reincarnated into.
  
• The powers do not follow in direct familial lines. Any blood relations can gain these powers.
  
• A young daughter of the fifth Dragon ran away from home to go to America. She started a family. This was around the mid 19th century.
  
• A distant relation of hers, Mark Ellison, is born 1979 weeks after the death of the fifth Dragon.
  
• The other four dragons desperately want to preserve the quintet because if they all die no one can perform the rite to bring their minds back from wherever they are.
  
  Who knows this:
  
  
• The five Dragons, obviously, apart form Mark. Possibility exists of the fifth Dragon’s mind being contacted by a medium.
  
• Some of the family members of the Dragons know.
  
• Several Scholars across the world are familiar with the myth but they believe it to be just that.
  
• Maynooth Grant
  
• The Shugenda of the White Samurai Tong. Currently working as a chemist in a pharmacy, owned by To-ji Ajimoru. Called Ho-ji Hiro. Also monkeywrench.
  
  How to involve the characters:
  
  
• Introduce Mark as a lost soul looking for help. His powers are pretty pyrotechnic and impressive. He has no idea how he got them or why. He asks the Characters to help him.
  
• If the characters are with Mark he could be the target of a kidnapping by one of the Dragons.
  
• If the characters know any of the Dragons or Maynooth Grant they might try to recruit the players in an attempt to find the Dragon.
  
  The horror of finding out that your personality is going to be subsumed by an ancient being is probably enough to persuade most characters to help.
  
  White Samurai Tong
  
  This group is one of the tongs that live on the wharf. They are dedicated to destroying the Five Dragons. A small minority remained in Japan but the vast majority of this highly secretive society have travelled to America to combat the Dragons.
  
  
• No resources as such. Capable at a push of buying cars and some technical weaponry. What they do have is a powerful Shugenda class of magic users. Have limited manpower but what they have is very well trained in combat and stealth.
  
• The Shugenda can mimic low level super powers but cannot duplicate them without ingredients and time to prepare receptacles for the spells.
  
• Formed in 1272 they have had surprising success at destroying the mortal aspect of the Dragons but have had no success in destroying the immortal aspects.
  
  Visual Keys:
  
  
• It certainly is an armoured garden. All around there are examples of great beauty - flower arrangements, beautiful architecture and general affluence.
  
• This area is very affluent but it has its darker side. Along the wharf a group of rival tongs have recreated an ancient Japanese village structure. Small huts are evident next door to large warehouses. The whole area is dwarfed by the financial district, owned by To-ji Ajimoru.
  
• Now for the armoured part. CCTV covers the whole of the area, no matter where you go; you will be watched by someone. Also the larger buildings are either covered in barbed wire or are surrounded by fences and armed guards. These guards are dressed in black jump suits wearing facemasks and carrying large SMGs or if outside the gates of the corporations, smaller holstered, but still visible, pistols.
  
  Music:
  
  
• Björk – Homogenic
  
• Michael Danna – Exotica
  
• Björk – Post
  
• Yes – Close To The Edge