As of writing this article, I’m still neck deep in my first time experiencing the Yakuza series. But instead of something as blatant as recreating Kiryu within the framework of Dungeons and Dragons, I decided to instead take some inspiration from one of the supporting characters and build something inspired by the character within a ruleset that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as I think it deserves – Green Ronin’s Modern AGE. This system is an expansion of the basic AGE rules that were created for the Dragon Age roleplaying game and further refined for their Fantasy AGE release. Modern AGE ditches the “three class” structure in favor of building characters based on broad backgrounds and professions and further refining that character through selecting more talents and ability focuses as they increase in level. It’s a great way to handle creating characters that would fit in well with a modern day setting.
In the Yakuza series, we’re introduced to Makoto Date, a cop whose investigation into a high-profile murder puts him in contact with the Dragon of Dojima, tangling him up in Kiryu’s story in a big way. And while it’s not an uncommon trope, I figured it would be a fitting first attempt for a character within the Modern AGE rules.
Michael Dano was born and raised in the suburbs to a working class family. While not wealthy, his parents did what they could to provide for him, even if that meant working extra shifts when he was old enough to look after himself. And so he was raised on a lot of television, specifically syndicated police procedurals. He knew from an early age that he wanted to help people, and that he possessed a keen eye into understanding exactly how people worked. And so after school, he applied to become a part of the police force in the nearby city.
And while it wasn’t exactly everything he had imagined, it was the job he loved and wanted to continue doing. He enjoyed interacting with civilians and helping them work through their problems. And he quickly became the cop that you wanted to see pull up if you needed them – always friendly in a professional capacity, and always willing to listen to you no matter who you were in the city’s hierarchy.
But being a cop isn’t easy – besides long shifts and dangerous calls, there was the internal politicking as well. There’s no such thing as a clean police force, but Michael kept himself away from the dirty side of the job and the department as best as possible. He figured that as long as he was keeping his nose clean, he would have no trouble in his own work. Unfortunately, this attitude did little to endear him to the dirty cops in the precinct while also making him the perfect patsy.
It was eventually engineered that he was the cop that was left holding the bag after a particular drug raid left several dealers dead and a good amount of evidence “missing,” seized by several cops who were selling on the side. With his record, he managed to avoid any jail time, but was bounced out of the force after several decades on the force.
But Michael still wanted to help people – the work was in his blood and he was damn good at it. So he went through the steps to become a licensed private investigator. That way he could still help the people of his city without necessarily being shackled by the dirty business that was happening downtown – the wealthy clients that could pay let him work pro bono for those that couldn’t. And his reputation made him someone that people sought out.
And that’s where Michael is now – he’s not getting any younger, but he’s still very good at his job. And with his type of work, it won’t take much to find himself tangled up in something bigger and more dangerous than he originally suspected – something that would require allies… something that would push him to further levels of ability and skill.
Ben Erickson
