Citizens of Mingmei (some possible contacts for you to pick up)

If you are having some trouble coming up with contacts, I will be listing here some NPCs that could be picked up at chargen. You may even meet and befriend them in game. Note you aren't required to take any of these contacts, they are just provided as something to help you with. In case you are wondering, no, I am not the artist for any of the images. Just found them on the internet.

Criminal Contacts
These contacts are all either independent criminals or members of gangs/Yakuza clans. They can be a good source of blackmarket goods and information. They are sorted by connection rating and then alphabetically by first name.

Name: Akane Jorōgumo Role: Awakened Ghoul Connection: 1 Home district: Kita Barrens Though she is a ghoul and a member of the Zombies gang, she is the only member who is known to occasionally deal with outsiders. Other than providing potential access to the completely ghoul gang, Akane is skilled at Psychometry. This allows her to receive visions about people who have handled an object. She is more than willing to use her skills for whoever wishes to make use of it, however for payment, she requires a pound of metahuman flesh. Literally. The fresher, the better.

Name: Gary Sanders Role: Con Artist Connection: 1 Home district: Yuuenchi Though he looks like a complete idiot, Gary is actually a pretty smooth talker and makes a decent living by conning tourists out of their money. From time to time he hires himself out as an "actor" to shadowrunner teams. On jobs, he uses his expertise to distract front security, allowing the team to sneak by in the chaos.

Name: Hanzo "Red" Kimura Role: Troll Street dealer Connection: 1 Home district: Odori This low-level street dealer is your basic corner drug dealer. As a member of the Sumiyoshi clan, he has dreams and aspirations of getting rich and rising up the Yakuza ranks, but odds are he will be killed in a gang fight long before he ever gets that chance. Even if that weren't the case, him being a troll means he will never be respected enough to be promoted anyway. Despite being something of a loser, he is out on the street all day every day, so he sees and hears about all sorts of things. He is a great source of information and of course drugs. If he likes you, he might even put in a good word with his boss if you are looking to contacting more important members of the Sumiyoshi clan.

Name: Kai Zoku Role: Matrix Pirate Connection: 1 Home district: Denki-Cho Need the latest episode of Matrix Trolls? Kai can get you every episode of any show you want, sometimes even before they air! It is a dangerous life he leads. One misstep and he could be paying thousands in fines and even facing up to 5 years in prison! If that is not enough, he can even fix up your bricked hardware after it has been attacked by deckers and viruses! He is truly a man of many dangerous talents.

Name: Tomi Gomi Role: Street Rat Connection: 1 Home district: Morumotto Tunnels The tunnels beneath Mingmei are vast and dangerous. It pays to have a guide if you don't know what you are doing. For a price, she will happily guide you through the tunnels. Hell, she will happily do just about anything if you pay her enough.

Name: Akina Nagamimi Role: Decker/Fixer Connection: 2 Home district: Higashi Projects As the only elf member of the Kozakura-ikka yakuza clan, she somewhat sticks out in her gang. During a gang battle she was paralyzed from the waist down and has been stuck in a wheelchair ever since. But that hasn't stopped her from being one of the highest ranking members of the admittedly relatively tiny gang. Her hacking skills are top notch, and she has used those skills to create some of the best forged IDs in the city. If you need a fake SIN to rent an apartment with or license for your illegal gear, she is the girl to talk to. And if you need something hacked that has matrix access, she can get in there as well. For obvious reasons, she does not take jobs that require her out in the field.

Name: Ichiro Doumeki Role: Spirit Dealer Connection: 2 Home district: Mingmei Institute of Sorcery Though he officially works as a professor at MIS, Ichiro makes most of his money by binding spirits using the university's resources, and selling off those spirits' favors to whoever will pay him for it. Should he ever get caught, he would be kicked out of the university, and probably arrested. But for now, he is content making money on shadowrunners who need help from powerful spirits and don't have the magic abilities to summon them on their own.

Name: Jin Nigata Role: Elf Coyote Connection: 2 Home district: Nishi Slums Once a smuggler, Jin was arrested and held in the Nishi prison before it fell to a prisoner riot. Freed in the riot, he decided to use his skills to smuggle people instead of goods. If you need unofficial transport to any of the other islands, no questions asked, he can arrange it for you. He has quietly been taking some of the people in the slums to other countries where they can try to restart their lives without fear of the Desian government coming down on them.

Name: Takeshi Miho Role: Elven Bookie Connection: 2 Home district:Denki-Cho If there is a wager to be made, Takeshi is there to take bets for it. While the majority of bets that he takes are on various sports, he does accept bets on just about anything you can think of. He occasionally even gets wind of runs that teams are going on and takes bets on their successess as well as how many of the members will actually survive it. These bets actually draw some crowds among the underworld as he has riggers who quietly film the job as it happens with surveillance drones. This obviously does nothing for a runner's anonymity, and occasionally the footage is acquired by authorities and used against them, but the lure of extra cash can be enticing., particularly among newer shadowrunners looking ot prove themselves in the community.

Name: Tammy Smith Role: Rigged Extractionist Connection: 2 Home district: Koujou Her day job involves flying whatever needs flying at the Victorian Aeronautics airport. While that pays the bills, she finds it kind of boring. That is why she hires herself out as a pilot to shadowrunner teams. Primarily she provides helicopter transport for hire, though if the team has some other vehicle for her to drive, she can handle that as well, though she isn't happy if the vehicle isn't modified for rigging. Outside of her skills as a pilot, she can get a team access to Victorian Aeronautics, provided she has assurances that damage will be kept to a minimum as she still needs to be able to work there.

Name: Buki Daitenken Role: Weapon Fixer and Mr Johnson Connection: 3 Home district: Kita Barrens A member of the Ningen Seinensha, Buki is the main supplier of firearms to the small gang. He claims to be able to get his hands on any kind of firearm there is, and judging by the gang's impressive arsenal, he may not be wrong. Though he primarily supplies the Ningen Seinensha, he does supply those he trusts, though he only trusts humans. He also offers work to human shadowrunners from time to time. His work always involves acquiring new experimental weaponry which he later sells; often to the same people who stole the weapon to begin with.

Name: Ken Tochigi Role: Dwarven Info Broker Connection: 3 Home district: Shinginko Got some interesting data or hot new information? If it's valuable and isn't publicly known Ken will pay for it, no questions asked. However, his business model relies on trust that the information is not widely available, so he only deals with those he knows to be trustworthy. Should you start shopping that information to multiple buyers, that is a quick way to get him screening your calls.

Name: Madouka Doumeki Role: Talismonger Connection: 3 Home district: Majoukoya Madouka is one of the so called witches of Majoukoya. While rumors claim that she is a practitioner of blood magic, she is simply a peddler of magical goods. Some of those magical goods happen to be very dangerous and illegal, but they have nothing to do with blood magic. Should you come across any interesting magical artifacts, she will purchase them as well.

Name: Tōhin Kobaisha Role: Fence Connection: 3 Home district: Nakajuku Got some hot gear you need to sell off? Tōhin is the guy to go to. He specializes in high end art and jewels, but if it is rare or valuable, he can probably find a buyer. As a front, he runs a small art museum where he has a strict policy about shadowrunners coming in through the delivery door in the back. Those who fail to follow protocol will get the authorities called on them. A man has to keep up appearances, after all.

Name: Yusuke Daiki Role: Street Doc Connection: 3 Home district: Higashi Projects Once a promising surgeon, he lost his license after he was accused of taking advantage of women during sedation. Though it was never actually proven, the accusations were enough to ruin his reputation in the medical community. He now works as a street doc in an old building in the Higashi Projects. Most of his work involves patching up wounds and installing cyberware for members of the Kozakura-ikka yakuza clan, though he is not formally a member of the clan and is allowed to work on whoever he wishes. Shadowrunners with nowhere else to go often come to him as well. The cyberware he can offer is not top of the line, usually standard or used stuff that he has harvested from the bodies of dead yakuza. But if you are SINless, where else are you going to go?

Name: Naru Hodō Role: Shark lawyer Connection: 4 Home district: Goujasu District Are you in deep legal shit? Are you a poor SINless bastard who is about to be locked into a deep dank hole by a big bad corporation that is ready to throw away the key? Know your rights and call Naru Hodō! If he can't get you off the hook, you don't pay!

Name: Shen Kenshin Role: Mah-Jong Parlor Owner Connection: 4 Home district: Izakaya Once a monk, Shen trained for much of her life in a monastery. There she learned kung-fu as well as a rejection for all material and worldly possessions. When she left the monastery, that quickly changed as she grew a taste for the worldly possessions her Buddhist teachings taught her to refuse. In particular, she became addicted to gambling and eventually decided to open her own mah-jong parlor. Her parlor is quite successful, though even more successful is the underground fight club she runs beneath the parlor. Both Yamaguchi and Sumiyoshi clan members come here to bet and test their mettle. Shen has only one rule: keep the fighting to the ring. Thus her parlor has become a sort of unofficial neutral ground for the yakuza clans to meet and talk peacefully when necessary.

Name: Shutaro Ando Role: Yamaguchi Cleaner Connection: 4 Home district: Denki-Cho This well-dressed gentleman works for the Yamaguchi clan as a cleaner. He is extremely skilled at making evidence go away, making him highly trusted among the Yamaguchi elite. Though he is a good source of information on the Yamaguchi clan, his professionalism generally prevents him from speaking about his bosses unless he is speaking with someone he trusts won't be using the information against them. Most importantly, he is the guy you want to know when the shit hits the fan and you need to make bodies go away before the police show up.

Name: Yoshiko Satou Role: Mr Johnson Connection: 4 Home district: Kinza District It is quite unusual for an ork to be a geisha. It is even more unusual for one to own an entire geisha school. Yet, against all expectations, Yoshiko has managed to proudly own the Gokagai School of Geisha in the illustrious Kinza District. Those willing to pay her exorbitant tuition fees can also learn to be expert geisha. At least that is her business on the surface. In truth, she trains women to become kunoichi, also known as female ninjas. Once trained, her students are well versed at entertaining their targets so as to lull them into lowering their guard before killing them. Though many people assume this "entertainment" is a euphemism for prostitution, members of the school are strictly forbidden from having sexual relations while on a job. Thus entertainment usually takes the form of pleasant conversation, shamisen playing, singing (particularly enka), tea ceremony, and occasionally massage. Thanks to her work, she has connections that allow her girls access to many events and exclusive venues. She uses these connections to send her girls wherever a client needs them to go. Though most of her girls work directly for her, some girls do choose to go out on their own. Yoshiko remains on good terms with these girls and even offers jobs to them from time to time. She is also known to pass off work to shadowrunners when the job warrants it. Thus she is an excellent source of wetwork, as well as a way into whatever event a shadowrunner may wish to sneak into.

Name: Aku Ayashi Role: Mr Johnson Connection: 5 Home district: Majoukoya Aku is a Johnson who specializes in magical jobs. If it involves stealing an ancient artifact, killing a paranormal critter or spying on magical research, Aku is probably the guy offering the job. It is believed that the jobs are paid for by Ankev Industries, but there is no way of knowing that for sure. Though the jobs pay well, many runners who work for him end up disappearing under mysterious circumstances.

Name: Katrina Belle Role: Awakened Foreign Prostitute Connection: 5 Home district: Odori Cashing in on her good looks and western features, Katrina has made a name for herself as a professional escort. While being a red-headed foreigner in a country consisting of 95% black-haired Desians already makes her something of a unique commodity in her profession, she is also a trained magic user who uses her magic to great effect in the bedroom. She is quite popular among those who can afford her services, which include high level yakuza, corporate upper management and other fairly wealthy people. She also secretly uses her powers to learn secrets from her wealthy clients which she offers to those willing to pay her for them. Aside from being an excellent source of information, she has many important connections that make her a valuable person to know.

Name: Takahiro Miyagi Role: Mr Johnson Connection: 5 Home district: Denki-Cho Though he works as the manager of a pachinko parlor, Takahiro's main business comes from hiring shadowrunners. He is rumored to have connections to Denso Electronics as many of his runs seem to indirectly benefit the corporation. However, like any good Johnson, he speaks nothing of his benefactors. He is known among shadowrunners to have good payouts for risky B&E or matrix work, and he refuses to hire runners who regularly cause a lot of collateral damage. Though the jobs are difficult, his hires are confident that they aren't about to be double crossed for doing their jobs. The fact that Takahiro never offers wetwork is also appealing to many runners.

Name: Lau Sumiyoshi Role: Heir to the Sumiyoshi Clan Connection: 6 Home district: Nakajuku Though he doesn't look like much, Lau handles much of his father's day to day business affairs. He often goes between various warehouses, brothels and other Sumiyoshi owned businesses, ensuring that everything goes smoothly. He is an expert at Kyudo, the Desian martial art of archery, and always has his trusted bow handy, should there be any clashes with the Yamaguchi clan. As Kyudo is a national sport, his bow is one of the few legal weapons that may be openly carried on the streets. In addition to being a good source of information on Sumiyoshi affairs, Lau is known to work as a Mr Johnson from time to time, usually hiring shadowrunners to attack Yamaguchi properties so as to avoid endangering his own people who are fewer in number than the members of the Yamaguchi clan.

Name: Masahiro Yamaguchi Role: Heir to the Yamaguchi Clan Connection: 6 Home district: Nakajuku An accomplished swordsman, adept and party boy, Masahiro is currently the next in line to run the Yamaguchi clan whenever his father steps down. He knows a great deal about what is going on in the city's underground and may even introduce his father to those he think are worth introducing. When he isn't partying or raiding the Sumiyoshi clan, he spends much of his time training in his personal dojo where he is surrounded by a small army of ninja adepts who train under him. For an adept who is looking for some serious training, Masahiro is one of the best teachers around. He is also a connoisseur of fine weapon foci, for those looking to buy or sell a powerful magical blade.

Legal Contacts
These contacts are all "normal" people with regular jobs. Shadowrunners are allowed to know people who aren't criminals too.

Name: Hirohito Takayama Role: Stage Magician Connection: 1 Home district: Nakajuku Though he is completely mundane, Hirohito always longed to be a magician. Though he would never have any magical talent he quickly learned how to simulate it through sleight of hand. He now makes a living doing magic shows in clubs around town. He is good enough at what he does, but nothing special, especially compared to people who wield real magic. Still, he has the charisma to bring the audience into his performance, impressing them nevertheless.

Name: Kireina Yuumei Role: Shrine Miko Connection: 1 Home district: Kokoro Temple A miko of minor magical ability, she spends most of her time working at the Temple of the Heart. There she sells ema to lonely people looking for love. Her beauty makes her quite popular among frequent visitors and she has even developed something of a small fan base, which both she and the other priests find embarassing.

Name: Marie Kishi Role: Blogger and Animation Enthusiast Connection: 1 Home district: Yuuenchi If it is animated, this girl has not only seen it, but has hundreds in assorted toys and other merchandise as well. To pay the bills, she works at the Brightstar Studios theme park and can even hook up her friends and family with free tickets. But her passion is animation. If you need to know anything about an anime show, convention, store or voice actor, she can go on for hours. She writes about it extensively in her blog: Animotion.

Name: Mori Katou Role: Simsense Porn Star Connection: 1 Home district: Daiterebi Though he often acts like he is a VIP for all the pieces he has been involved in, the fact of the matter is, as a male porn star, no one could care less about who the heck he is. And even those who might recognize him from his work would probably not admit it in public out of embarassment. He knows a few big names, but has no real pull with any of them. The only people who really even acknowledge him are guys who are looking to hook up with his female costars. At the very least, he has gotten some credit for arranging these meetings.

Name: Noriko Hotaru Role: Hate Group Member Connection: 1 Home district: Odori Noriko is a member of the Anti-Magic League, a hate group devoted to eliminating all magic in the world. She is the group's only elven member, and what she lacks in rank or influence, she makes up for in pure hatred for the awakened. She publishes a blog filled with conspiracy theories about Ankev Industries, Wishmaker Inc and even Majoukoya. If there is some magical trouble going on, she is sure to expose it to the world to demonstrate how dangerous and unnatural magic is.

Name: Sanji Boroboro Role: Professional Martial Artist Connection: 1 Home district: Izakaya A life long martial artist, Sanji runs a personal dojo in the heart of Izakaya. He is a skilled fighter who has won several world championships, so he is quite sought after as a sensei in the martial arts community. He has a strict policy about who he will and won't train. No yakuza or gang members, no one with a criminal record, and no tattoos. Some of his students have lied their way past these rules, but whenever they are found out, he always banishes them from his dojo.

Name: Setsuko Kaigara Role: Urban Brawl Athlete Connection: 1 Home district: Harabuya A member of the Mingmei Urban Brawl team, the Mingmei Dragons, Setsuko is about to begin her first season of the very popular sport. Prior to joining the team, she was a regional champion in sprinting and came second place in the local archery competition. She is replacing Shi Kaminari after he tragically passed away last season when he was struck by a train during a match. Hopefully she does well as his replacement.

Name: Toru Takahashi Role: Wage Slave Connection: 1 Home district: Shinginko Toru is "that guy". You know the type. The kind of guy who somehow exists in an office despite being a complete asshole that makes inappropriate jokes and hits on anything with two legs. That guy. The kind of guy who makes you miserable all the time while still somehow convincing you that you are good friends. That guy. The guy that, despite being an overall terrible person, always seems to be the one who gets the promotions and the pretty girls. That. Fraggin'. Guy.

Name: Yuuna Suzuki Role: Rookie cop Connection: 1 Home district: Koujou Full of optimism and a desire to make the world a better place, Yuuna was recently given her first assignment in Koujou. Nothing ever happens in Koujou though, so it is one of the most boring details a cop could ask for. While she diligently does her job, she yearns for the chance to see some action and make a difference in her community. In her enthusiasm, she has personally introduced herself to just about everyone in the district, hoping that a good relationship leads to good community outreach. It is unclear whether her methods are successful or not because nothing happens in Koujou.

Name: Kaoru Wanpisu Role: Investigative Reporter Connection: 2 Home district: Daiterebi Digging through the cracks of society, Kaoru is always on the lookout for the next big story. If you have a corporate conspiracy you want to expose, she is the girl to go to. Her bosses might not always release her more controversial stuff, but she sure as hell will make sure it gets heard anyway. She also has a wealth of informants who can get her all kinds of information on just about anything in the city.

Name: Ken Nakagawa Role: Cowboy street cop Connection: 2 Home district: Denki-Cho Being a street cop in an area that is overwhelmingly controlled by yakuza is a shitty job. Despite the criminal activity in the area, he has a cordial relationship with the local gangs that basically goes, "don't do any illegal shit in front of me and I won't hassel you". He absolutely hates this detail though and longs to be promoted to one of the nicer areas of town. While he knows better than to vent his frustration on the local yakuza, other criminals are not so lucky. More than one criminal has ended up with a few broken bones while "resisting arrest". Still, despite his grumpy manner, he is generally an honest cop doing his best to police an unpoliceable area.

Name: Miku Yamanashi Role: Secretary Connection: 2 Home district: Wishmaker Inc Branch Office This poor, overworked girl practically never sees the outside of her office, except to sleep. She is the personal secretary of the branch head, Sarah Peterson. When she does get some time off, she tends to spend it drinking at local bars. Once she has had a few in her, she can be pretty loose lipped about the things that are going on at work.

Name: Momoka Nakamura Role: Private Investigator Connection: 2 Home district: Nakajuku In her younger years, she helped out the yakuza as a mage for hire. Eventually she decided to go legit and began working as a private investigator. Her clients are primarily rich people who suspect their spouses of cheating. Through the use of drones and magic, she always manages to find out the truth. She doesn't much like that kind of work, but it is what pays the bills. Given a choice, she would rather investigate more important crimes, but doesn't want to be associated with a police force because she thinks they are all corrupt.

Name: Taisei Nanamei Role: Emergency Medical Extraction Specialist Connection: 2 Home district: Harabuya When people with extraction plans in their insurance coverage need emergency evac, this is the guy that comes to pull your bacon out of the fryer. He and a small team of specialists show up and ensure that their client is safe by any means necessary. His team is trained to handle every kind of situation from angry mobs, to corporate security, to rampaging spirits. Should you need a quick patchup, he is also a trained paramedic and can give you whatever first aid you might need.

Name: Taro Doubutsu Role: Parazoologist Connection: 2 Home district: Yuuenchi An employee of the Yuuenchi Zoological Park, Taro is in charge of keeping any awakened critters they happen to have on display in good health. In addition, whenever awakened critters are found throughout the city, he is usually the one they call to lend his expertise in their identification and apprehension. Some wealthy people also hire him to train awakened pets to be loving members of the family.

Name: Yuusuke Takahashi Role: Bartender Connection: 2 Home district: Izakaya This fun loving guy is the life of the party at his small, hole-in-the-wall bar somewhere in Izakaya. Rumors abound that he used to be a shadowrunner who decided to retire and open up a bar. The bar's name is "The Finish Line", which many believe to be a reference to the end of his "running" days. While his bar is completely on the up and up, it is a place where many shadowrunners congregate to meet up and talk shop. The bar contains hidden, sound-proof meeting rooms with built in astral barriers and white noise generators to prevent nosy interruptions. These rooms also come equipped with karaoke machines for those who want to sing out some stress. Yuusuke claims these rooms are strictly for private karaoke and anything else that happens in them is not his responsibility.

Name: Akane Honda Role: Mechanic Connection: 3 Home district: Kojou Akane runs a small mechanic shop. She is an honest worker who can fix any vehicle or drone you throw at her for a reasonable fee. From time to time her clients are unable to pay for the repairs so they end up giving her the drone or vehicle, which she sells off for a reasonable price.

Name: Hana Morita Role: Rising Simsense Star Connection: 3 Home district: Daiterebi Though she has been slowly making a name for herself in low-budget simsense horror flicks, her true love is the stage. She plans to become a famous singer someday. In another few years, who knows? She might be the next Sandy Johnson or Eric English!

Name: Haru Tanii Role: Corporate Headhunter Connection: 3 Home district: Shinginko For the right price, he is able to lure anyone to your company. If you have no one specific in mind, he can find the best fit for whatever position you need filled. He is a great source of information on corporate politics as well as who the most desired corporate employees of Mingmei are. And if you need a job working for a big company, he is the guy who can get you hired.

Name: Ken Satou Role: News Anchor Connection: 3 Home district: Daiterebi The face of news in Mingmei, Ken Satou is a house name to everyone in the city. Though he is a minor celebrity in the town, most people do not know what he actually looks like because his television personality is an animated avatar. Still, his voice is definitely the voice of news. The news has obviously been screened and approved by corporate sponsors so he kind of says what they want him to say. So his avatar represents some kind of biased news and that's great.

Name: Momo Saito Role: Tailor Connection: 3 Home district: Kinza District While she was a gang girl once upon a time, she cleaned up her act after getting arrested and now makes a living making custom clothing for the wealthy. While the majority of her clothing is purely decorative, some of her clients do require their clothing to function as protection. She has developed a reputation as someone who can craft armor that has both the beauty of form, and the security of function. Her armored creations don't come cheap, but her clients are always happy.

Name: Ryu Kenshin Role: Cult Recruiter Connection: 3 Home district: Church of Happy Science A celebrity among those in the church, Ryu is one of the most active and successful recruiters for the Church of Happy Science. He has many fans who adore him for both his good looks and his magical abilities. When he is not away from the church on recruitment drives, he often binds spirits to protect the church from those who would wish it harm. He claims that his abilities were given to him directly by El Cantare himself, which only makes him even more popular among the faithful.

Name: Ami Yumi Role: Nightclub Owner Connection: 4 Home district: Nakajuku Owner of the exclusive nightclub, Electric Moonlight, Ami is a shrewd businesswoman as well as extremely fashion conscious. The club is popular among the younger crowd, though occasionally celebrities do make their way onto the dance floor. Ami has met a great number of DJs and musicians over the years and is a wealth of information about the club and music scene. She is also quite friendly with many of the young, wealthy elites in the Goujasu District.

Name: Dr Dexter Harrison Role: Cyberware Specialist Connection: 4 Home district: Daiaku Motors Branch Office The doctor is a developer of cyberware and is often in need of test subjects to try out his experimental prototypes on. In his excitement to push his inventions forward, he sometimes installs his products before they are properly ready for metahuman use. This can lead to some unexpected bugs. Still, the trials are free (once you sign a few NDAs), so perhaps a minor side effect is worth the trouble. If one is not feeling quite that adventurous, he can also install top of the line, non-experimental cyberware as well. This costs considerably more than free however.

Name: Lieutenant Mitsu Tomoyama Role: Cowboy Lieutenant Connection: 4 Home district: Kinza District This decorated officer has suffered many injuries in the line of work over the years, so now much of his body has been replaced with cyberware. These injuries have only served to make him better at his job. He is absolutely ruthless in his pursuit of criminals and often picks up clues that more inexperienced officers would miss. He is not heartless though, and actually has many criminal contacts from his younger years. Mostly people that he arrested a few times in the past on minor charges. His one pet peeve is the Nishi Slum, where he once served as a corrections officer for a short time. He would love nothing more than to get the area back under Cowboy control, but understands that the corporation's resources have limits and that is simply not a priority.

Name: Momoko Tanaka Role: Head of Security at Tomiyama Farming Archology Connection: 4 Home district: Tomiyama Farming Archology A company woman for many years, Momoko is very happy with her job. Few people want to mess with the food supply, so it is a relatively safe job. Still, she does not let that lower her guard. She ensures that the arcology is always as secure as possible. When she has time off, she is unable to leave the arcology so she secretly spends her free time on the matrix, engaging in sexual role play. She has a taste for all sorts of different fetishes, but her favorite involves being an anthropomorphic rabbit who is tied up and forced to do various things in front of a crowd of matrix gawkers. She remains anonymous behind her various avatars so her private tastes are a secret to her friends, family and coworkers.

Name: Nozomi Akira Role: Shinto Priest Connection: 4 Home district: Umie Temple As the head priest of the Umie Temple, Nozomi is in charge of maintaining the pristine waters of both Lake Umie and the various natural hotsprings that can be found around it. He does this with the aid of the other priests as well as the water spirits that live in the area. He is a powerful diviner and it is said that he can reveal the future with incredible accuracy.

Name: Andrea McConnell Role: Scientist Connection: 5 Home district: Linnorm Power Plant Andrea is one of the top scientists at the local power plant. She is in charge of managing all operations and is the highly important to the R&D department. She personally knows every Linnorm head and is rumored to even have spent the night with the CEO, Ormr Anundr XXXII. She has degrees in physics, chemistry, geology and thaumatology, though she is not awakened. If you need an expert opinion on something, she is certainly the person to turn to.

Name: Jani Takehara Role: Boy Band member Connection: 5 Home district: Daiterebi A member of the nationally famous boy band, "Sexy Boys". He is instantly recognized by people all over the country. While he doesn't wield any particular political power and possesses no real skills other than singing and looking cute, his name can open doors in many communities.

Name: Waruko Kanazawa Role: Ankev Industries Local Head of Security Connection: 5 Home district: Ankev Industries Branch Office This imposing woman is a vampire magician of impressive skill. When things go wrong in the labs, it is her job to clean it up. This usually involves putting down powerful, magical threats, or hunting them down if they should escape from confinement. When she is not on the clock, she spends her time slumming with the poor in the tunnels. There she quietly feeds on the unwanted SINless to sate her vampiric hunger.

Name: Muku Kanto Role: Mayor of Harabuya Connection: 6 Home district: Harabuya As mayor of Harabuya, Muku has a lot of pull in the city, at least within her district anyway. Within Mingmei, this is about the most powerful government office one can hope to get, the only higher office being the mayor of Mingmei itself. She often gets rid of minor infractions for her friends, parking tickets, misdemeanors and the like. In particular, she is very loyal to her church and does everything she can to support its members, including arranging for a train line to be built from downtown Kinza to the church. Her political clout and favors to the church has earned her a high ranking within the Church of Happy Science.

Name: Sarah Peterson Role: Branch head Connection: 6 Home district: Wishmaker Inc Branch HQ The local branch head of Wishmaker Inc, Sarah Peterson is an extremely powerful person in Mingmei. She is a powerful corporate mage with access to a vault containing many ancient, magical artifacts. She is currently studying the effects of leylines on magical artifacts. To those she is associated with it is a trivial matter to arrange magical training, although she always expects a favor to be granted in return.

Group Contacts

The following contacts have been acquired by members of the group during game play. The contacts have different loyalty scores for different characters so their loyalties are listed by character that can consider them a contact.

	A.I.D. Connection: 6 Loyalty: Wujen, Chougou, Torpor, Sun, Ichigo - 1 The Arcane Institute of Defense is a shadow organization that claims to seek to stop the threat of supernatural creatures as well as magical sources of great power. They claim to only work with people who show themselves to have good moral character and after observing the group in action, they have offered to provide the occasional job, with no obligations and appropriate compensation.
	Crazy Carl Connection: 1 Loyalty: Sato - 1 Owner of Crazy Carl's Coffin Emporium, Crazy Carl is a foreign ghoul who attempts to (poorly) disguise himself with an over-the-top cowboy costume. There he sells used coffins and apparently discreetly disposes of their contents, if needed.
	Dr Nozomi Emoto Connection: 4 Loyalty: Emiko, Kitaro - 1 In her younger days, she worked for the military as a covert operative/assassin, but eventually retired to apply her practical knowledge into making weapons in the private sector rather than using them. She is currently working on laser research for a Yakuza-run weapons lab.
	Professor Toru Morikami Connection: 2 Loyalty: Sato - 1 Decades of studying the occult have made the professor into a bit of an eccentric person. He is perfectly friendly, but follows many rules to avoid paranormal threats which most people can find confusing or off-putting.  Still, if you can get around his quirks, he is an excellent source of information on all things paranormal and occasionally a source of items that may be used as weapons to such creatures.
	Michiko Morimoto Connection: 2 Loyalty: Chougou, Wujen, Sam - 1 An investigative reporter who is obsessed with reporting on stories that involve the occult. Her stories are not usually published since they can rarely be verified and are often simply terrifying for the local populace. Still, she gets some interesting stories published from time to time, which keeps her employed. She is an excellent source of information on local paranormal sightings, even if many tend to shrug off her stories as nonsense. She is particularly grateful to Chougou, Wujen and Sam for speaking about their encounter with a jiangshi on the record to lend enough credence to her story on it to allow it to be published.
	Mushiba Connection: 3 Loyalty: Wujen, Chougou, Torpor, Sun, Ichigo - 1 Leader of the Jingai, Mushiba is a troll's troll, capable of tearing apart vehicles with his bare hands. After saving his girlfriend Nanase from a rival gang, he has given patches to those who were involved in the encounter, claiming that the patches will mark them as protected by his gang. He has also promised to fulfill a single favor, whatever it may be, some time in the future.
	Jun Nobunaga Connection: 1 Loyalty: Kitaro - 1 An elven ex police officer who was kicked off the force after being arrested for doing drugs which he claims he needed to keep visions out of his head that were driving him crazy. He now spends his life on the streets, abusing the drugs that put him there in the first place. Though he knows quite a bit about the inner workings of Cowboy, he is reluctant to share it as he still sees the people working them as his old friends and doesn't want to do anything to endanger them. That said, he is unable to work due to his criminal record, and his drug addiction is all that keeps him going, so he's willing to do quite a bit for another hit.
	Rokudenashiko Connection: 2 Loyalty: Kitaro, Sam, Ichigo, Fuchougou - 1 A highly skilled decker and vagina artist. She has been hunted by Cowboy, partially for her art which is considered to be obscene, but mostly because she went out of her way to hack their systems and replace all files with images of vaginas. She has since faked her death and gone into hiding. She is particularly paranoid and tends to text in code. She never uses audio calls (because she has a hearing deficiency), nor does she ever meet in person, for fear of revealing to the police that she is not actually dead.
	Kumi Takeda Connection: 3 Loyalty: Kitaro - 1 A moderately successful fashion expert who uses her knowledge of Feng Shui to improve the lives of those who she dresses. She isn't the most famous in her field, but skilled enough to provide results.
	Harumi Yousei Connection: 1 Loyalty: Wujen, Sun, Torpor - 1 Harumi is a dryad bound to a peach tree in the wilds north of Mingmei. She is a known spellcaster with some unique spells which she uses to protect a small farm of squatters from external threats. She is a skilled fighter, mage and swordsman with a strong sense of honor which has endeared her to the squatters who are violently loyal to her.