DOMINION

INTRODUCTION

Dominion (a.k.a. Dominion Tank Police) is a sporadic manga series from the fertile (and sometimes twisted) mind of Masamune Shirow. The premise behind the strip is pretty simple (and more than a little silly); in the future, crime has reached a point where the police are equipped with full-sized tanks in order to combat criminals. Naturally, using main battle tanks in a city to fight crime is bound to cause problems, not to mention the questionable stability (and crime-fighting ethics) of the Tank Police themselves. And of course, the criminals they pursue are equally nasty...

For GMs running cyberpunk genre games, Dominion (especially the original Dominion anime) is loaded with all sorts of great ideas. There is a virtually psychotic police force, gun-crazy androids, rogue replicants, strange genetic experiments, potentially toxic air-pollution, corporations with hidden agenda's, stop-at-nothing mercenaries (in cool suits of powered armor), the list goes on and on.

This introduction (and associated character sheets) are drawn for four different sources. These sources are: Dominion (manga), Dominion Tank Police Acts 1-4 (anime), Crusher Police Dominion (anime) and Dominion: Conflict 1 (manga). Of course, there is no real continuity between these different series (with Shirow himself stating he's treating his original Dominion series and the Conflict 1 series as two different worlds). So, I decided to sort of blend everything together while writing this introduction and the character sheets.

WORLD DATA

Shirow never goes into great detail as to what state the world is in (in fact, he never clearly states what year it is, I go with "early 21st Century"). In the original Dominion (as well as the Dominion Tank Police anime) the world is covered by a thick cloud of bacteria. This cloud can get thick enough to blot out the sun, clog unscreened engines, and kill anyone without a filter mask. In Crusher Police Dominion and Dominion: Conflict 1 the cloud is gone (either eliminated or ignored).

The Bacterial Cloud

This cloud is best represented by a NND that affects the character per a desired interval on the Time Chart. The NND will be STUN only until they pass out, at which point they will take both NND STUN and BODY damage until they die. Depending on the severity of the cloud, this damage can range from 1/2d6 to 2d6 (or more) of damage each interval. The interval's are variable, and could range from once every 5 hours (for a light cloud) to once every minute (for a thick cloud) to once every Phase (for an instantly lethal cloud).

This damage can be averted if the character in question is wearing a toxin filter mask. This is a white, cone-shaped mask that fits over the user's nose and mouth. This mask is bought as follows:

Life Support (Expanded Breathing) (5 Active Points); OIF (-1/2). Total Cost: 3 points.

An atmosphere such as this is not a recommended environment for exerting oneself. Anyone performing any sort of strenuous activity should pay anywhere to x1 1/2 to x2 END when using anything costing Endurance.

Japan

As mentioned before, Shirow doesn't have much to say about Japan (at least, in the original manga). As it stands, Japan looks to be much the same as it is now, although in Dominion: Conflict 1 it seems the JDF (Japanese Defense Force) has been disbanded and and ex-JDF officers have been incorporated into the police. Shirow has mentioned the possibility the Dominion: Conflict 1 and Ghost In The Shell universe are one and the same... (not to mention that a Ghost In The Shell fuchikoma shows up in Crusher Police Dominion and the Puma Sisters show up in Ghost In The Shell).

Newport City

According to Shirow, Newport City is located in the Shinhama ward of the Tokushima Prefecture. The city actually extends out over the bay, since most of the available land area is already been built up. Most buildings in Newport city have a very "organic" look to them, almost as if they were grown in place (or poured). As a side note, one can make a case the Newport City found in the original Dominion series might not even be in Japan.

Sand Sea

In the original Dominion anime and manga, the seas are made from sand. Ships have been made that can travel both on and under the Sand Seas, shipping both cargo and people. Some of these sandships can get quite large, although they seem to be limited to diving to a depth of no more than 5 meters or so before the pressure becomes enough to rupture the hull.

CHARACTERS

Dominion features a wide variety of characters. I have written full character sheets for 5 of them; Newport Tank Police Officer Leona Ozaki, her mini-tank Bonaparte, the infamous Puma Sisters Anna and Uni, and the artificial lifeform known as Greenpeace Crolis.

Other Characters

Crusher Police Dominion introduces a whole host of new characters (and removes a few, like Al). Some of the new people are....

TANK POLICE EQUIPMENT

Original Dominion Series

Armored Jacket: This is long sleeved tanker's jacket set with ballistic plates on the shoulders and torso. It is bought as follows:

Armor (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); Activation Roll 10-/Locations 9-12 (-1 1/4), OIF (-1/2). Total Cost: 5 points.

Berretta Model 92 Pistol: The issue sidearm is never specified in the series. I'm using the Mod 92 since it is a pretty generic 9 mm and is a common police sidearm. In Dominion Tank Police, the issue sidearm is obviously the Berretta Model 93R.

Berretta Mod 92: RKA 1d6+1 (20 Active Points); 15 Charges (-0), OAF (-1). Total Cost: 10 points.

Berretta M93R: RKA 1d6+1, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), 20 Charges (+1/4) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1). Total Cost: 15 points.

Ingram MAC-10: The issue SMG for the Tank Police looks to be the Ingram MAC-10. One could also substitute the Uzi.

RKA 2d6-1, +1 OCV, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), 32 Charges (+1/4), Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) ( Active Points); OAF (-1). Total Cost: 27 points.

Dominion Conflict 1

Armored Jacket: Armored Jacket: This is long sleeved tanker's jacket set with ballistic plates on the shoulders and torso. There is also an armored plate on the elbow and the knees. It is bought as follows:

Armor (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); Activation Roll 11-/Locations 9-12, 15 (-1), OIF (-1). Total Cost: 6 points.

A variant of this adds an armored plate along the forearm and back of the hand.

Armor (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); Activation Roll 11-/Locations 6-7, 9-12, 15 (-1), OIF (-1). Total Cost: 6 points.

Seburo MN-23 Subrifle: This is a multipurpose, non-lethal police rifle. It fires rubber "stun" rounds, gas shells, anesthetic rounds, and tracker shells. This weapon is the size of a large submachine gun, and probably fires a 5.56 mm round. Attacks for the rifle should center around 5 Damage Classes. Rubber rounds would be bought as a normal EB, anesthetic rounds are STUN-only attacks, and gas rounds would be a NND attack. The MN-23 is capable of full autofire, and looks to have a 30 round magazine. It has a built in flashlight, knife, and a long elastic cord to attach the weapon to the officer's belt.

Billy Club: The billy club is a three-sectional duraluminum shaft. It extends from 35 to 85 cm in length (14" to 34").

Hand Attack: +3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); OAF (-1), HAnd-to-Hand Attack (-1/2). Total Cost: 9 points.

Cufftapers: this is a small, hand-held dispenser that is used to create plastic-tape restraints. The cufftaper holds about 8 meters of tape (26 feet). The tape cannot be cut by most knifes, instead it must be melted off with a special laser.

Entangle: 3d6 (Standard Effect: 3 BODY), 5 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 16 Charges (-0), OAF (-1), Cannot From Barriers (-1/4), Set Effect Hands/Feet Only; -1), Must Follow Grab Or Target Must Be Willing (-1/2), No Range (-1/2). Total Cost: 14 points.

Other equipment: Newport Police officers also carry a small folding knife (like a Swiss Army knife), a repoboard (computerized report board), notebook, and a small communicator card.

Tank Police Tanks

In the original Dominion series, the police use full-sized tanks for patrol purposes. These tanks are blue, and instead of using treads have large, spherical drive wheels. In the anime Dominion Tank Police, the tanks are called bio-tanks and are said to be made out of plastic. The tanks are pretty well armored, but are no where near as tough as modern main battle tanks. A DEF of 14 to 15 would be best. For armament, the tanks have what looks to be a long barreled 75 mm main gun, a coaxial "stun" gun (firing some sort of "rubber" round), and 6 smoke projectors.

In Conflict 1, the Newport Tank Police use an assortment of mini-tanks and APCs (other departments do use full size tanks, however). Most of the mini-tanks are based off the Bonaparte model, and have interchangeable turrets (including a derrick and winch version, rocket launcher, firefighting model, and so on). The APCs are low, flat, 6 wheeled models and don't look to have any form of armament.


Anna and Uni Puma | Bonaparte | Greenpeace Crolis | Leona Ozaki

Return to Anime and Manga Character Adaptations