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[Gilliam]

Hi all, I'm working up a campaign plan for the other side of the shadows.  That's right, playing as Lone Star.  I'm not planning on starting this with my table-top group until next summer at the earliest, as I am completing my last 2 semesters of an ELT degree, and I don't want shadowrun to end up getting in the way of that (as I have a tendency to do).

Anyway, I'm envisioning a campaign full of beat-cops, focusing mainly on the interactions between "partners" while being challenged by a populus that hates them.  My main inspiration for this game is the TV drama from the 80's known as Hill Street Blues.  

I'm thinking of splitting the players up into "partners" of 2, each with a Lone Star unit, and giving them a patrol route, with occasional involvements in larger operations.  I'm tempted to try and have some of the player's at the detective or undercover level of policing, but I'm wary of creating two non-cooperative parties.  My group has the tendency to become belligerent if given an excuse to do so.

My current plan is for 4 players, I might expand to 6.

Mainly what I'd like this thread to help me produce is a set of Character Creation Guidlines that will allow my players to make unique individuals, but without creating super-cops.  My thoughts are to begin at about 300 BP's, and adjust from there.

As a side note, if you have any ideas for amusing/trying situations for a cop to get stuck in, feel free to contribute those as well.

I'll have a sample beat cop built sometime soon (just probably not tonight) He/she'll be up her soon.

[Gilliam]

Race:      Human   (0 BP)

Body:            3     (20 BP)
Agility:          3     (20 BP)
Reaction:   3   (20 BP)
Strength:   3   (20 BP)

Charisma:   3   (20 BP)
Intuition:   3   (20 BP)
Logic:      3   (20 BP)
Willpower:   3   (20 BP)

"Basic 8 BP total"   (160 BP)

Magic:      0   (0 BP)
Edge:      3   (20 BP)

Attributes total   (180 BP
Initiative:   6
# of passes:   1

Active Skills:
Pistols      3   (12 BP)
Shotguns   3   (12 BP)
Etiquette   2   (8 BP)
--Police   (4)   (2 BP)
Negotiation   1   (4 BP)
Leadership   1   (4 BP)
Clubs      3   (12 BP)
Unarmed Combat   3   (12 BP)
Athletics Group   2   (20 BP)
Perception     3     (12 BP)

Skills Total:      (106 BP)

Equipment (Precinct issued per officer) and therefore free.
Uniform Armor Jacket (5/3)
Uniform Armor Clothing (3/0)
Lone Star Colt Manhunter
--Laser Sight built in
--4 clips of regular Ammunition (64 rounds)
Defiance EX shocker
--4 darts for the magazine
(Can be used as a stun weapon in close combat)
1 set of metal restraints
10 sets of plastic restraints
Rating 4 handheld Transciever unit

Equipment (Precinct issued per car) and therefore free.
Remington 990 shotgun
box of 20 loose flechette rounds

Commlink (vehicle-mounted)
-Novatech Airware stock hardware (R 3, S 4)
-Iris Orb stock OS (F 3, S 3)
--Browse 3
--Edit 3
--Scan 3
--IC program rating 3
---Attack 3
---Armor 3
--Accessory: ID scanner 3
--Accessory: Holo-screen
--yadda yadda yadda

2 Inhalers, one dose of Jazz each

Equipment (Personal) possible points: 14 for personal 'ware and or contacts.

Note: this character currently breaks the rules for the "basic 8 attributes", and he's a normal squishy human.  with a 300 BP point limit, a player can't even legally create a normal human.  Therefore, I'm upping my BP cap to 320.  This leaves 34 points up in the air.  Resources are also capped to 1/8 of the starting BP cost (divide 400 by the usual cap of 50).  1/8 of 320 is: 40.  That seems a little high for just a beat cop, I'll lower the resource cap to 20 (leaving a possible 100,000 for personal 'ware choices)

I'd be interested in seeing some other take's on this general "beat cop" model, so the semifinal rules for character generation would be 320 BP, no more than 160 into the "basic 8", and no more than 20 in resources.  Magic is okay, but I'd be surprised to see a beat cop with a magic over 2.  I would like to see a build incorporating the "knack" edge out of Street Magic.  

[kv]

Standard Build Total (according the the 4th Book) is 400 BP, 300 for extreme low-tech, and 500 for high-powered campaigns, with no more than half of that spent on attributes.

That being said... Lonestar supplies its officers with JAZZ!?!??! I'm so mugging me a beat cop later today!

  -kv

[Gilliam]

it's listed, when it talks about jazz itself, that lone star and knight errant use it to even the score between them and some of the more cybered gangs out there.

I'm planning on landing the players (cops) in the middle of a full-scale gang war between 3-5 factions.

and that's not counting yakuza and mafia stuff

they'll be fighting for their lives.

[kv]

I know that it talks about cops using Jazz to keep up with Shadowrunners, but honestly I don't think it's issued by the precinct. I was under the impression that it was still illegal, but that it was used like truckers sometimes use meth or cocaine to stay up for days at a time and drive.

I think this is a really interesting idea, though. I'd love to see the roleplaying opportunities that come from having someone play a dirty cop.

  -kv

[Gilliam]

I wasn't really intending for anyone to end up as a dirty cop, but that's certainly an interesting option.  I was looking mostly to model the old series from the 80's, Hill Street Blues.  I'm trying to figure out how to get the same dynamic going, but it's difficult.  The series had several "beat cop" characters, and 4 "detectives" then there were administration characters.... and of course, Veronica Hamel, playing a public Defender.

[kv]

I'll be the first to admit, my knowledge of Hill Street Blues extends to the information that it was a show about cops, and not much further than that.

  -kv

[Gilliam]

awww, I thought the show was more universal than that.  Oh well, if you're ever looking for a good drama, and you feel the current network yahoos have failed you, pick up an episode or two (or maybe a season DVD).  It's good stuff, the episode structure and chracter dynamics set the stage for NYPD Blue, and, more notably ('cause I actually watched it), the GOOD seasons of E.R.  HSB is easily worth anyone's time.

anyway, does anyone else have a thought on my campaign brainstorming?

[mercy]

you know not all street cops are mundanes and not cybered the lonestar also has really good medical covage
are you going to allow the players to make adepts or full blown mages

[Gilliam]

short answer, mercy, yes.  I want to cap magic at 3 or so...althought my build point threshhold will make 3 hard to top anyway.  I'm fully open to it, and LS would provide some non-cyber comms gear for an awakened beat cop... assuming they didn't just stuff him/her into the DIPs (Department of Paranormal investigation).

but yeah, magic yes, magic rating over 3?  no...

[Ouija]

I still have the guidelines from an old GM of mine that was a campaign for FedPol: Special Investigative Services (SIS).  Which is the shadow asset of FedPol. They still conduct legal operations, but act much like shadowrunners.  Although it stems way back to 2nd Edition rules, I mention it because I think it might be of help.  In this campaign, the GM had an age cap of 30-45, years of service being a minimum of ten, no more then two attributes lower then 3, gave a list of required skills and levels but grouped them together at 10 build points, gave them 5 free contacts which had to be FedPol officers or personnel of equal or lesser rank and not assigned to SIS.  He also gave them the gang "FedPol" at no cost (which has long since been eliminated), but grouped a pretty extensive list of gear at only 8 build points, and last but not least gave them a salary of 40,000 or 3,333/month.  If you want more specifics just message me and I'll share them with you.  Maybe it could help some with the hierarchy of the force (he includes the names and ranks of command from the president down to SIS squad Corporals). 

[Gilliam]

I'd considered doing something like that... actually drawiing up a precinct, complete with org-charts... but I realized it would be a lot of work...

Mostly, it worked pretty well the last time around with me just winging it.  The campaign fell apart, not because of any lack of theme... I just had totally inconsistent attendance from all involved... and I was playing in the back of the game store... so I had to stop and answer questions from annoying onlookers.  I am really looking forward to starting this up again, with 4th ed rules, and getting some better assurances that people will actually show up.

I'd have 4 people one week, then 8, then 2...then people just stopped showing up at all.  It got really frustrating.  I kinda want to move on to a different group, but then again, the same group of people are behaving a lot better now in this exalted game I've become involved in, so who knows.

[Fortune]

I know that it talks about cops using Jazz to keep up with Shadowrunners, but honestly I don't think it's issued by the precinct. I was under the impression that it was still illegal, but that it was used like truckers sometimes use meth or cocaine to stay up for days at a time and drive.

Actually, I believe it was developed by Lone Star itself (or another Corp under contract to Lone Star) for use specifically for their officers.