Metropolis police

[Balor01]

So I need to stat a "metropolis police". Metagame, I was thinking of three levels of police:
CR 3 - basically bobbies that mostly deal with 1HD commoners
CR 6 - normal police, nothing special but can deal with most young-and-dumb adventurers
Something that can defeat a lvl 10 character

Now, For CR 3 I was thinking something common with perhaps one exception - giving them spellwarped template "just in case" + a device to quickly summon help. (CR 3 or Counter lvl-10 units)

CR 6 is deemed pretty similar with an addition they should be able to deploy fast.

Counter-lvl 10 should be able to deploy fast and defeat, obviously, a lvl 10 character.

Now, what are the restrictions?

I'd really like to just use monster stats, perhaps switch out some feats and go. I do not feel like building entire characters, because for me they are pretty tough to play optimised. Also, an actual monster/construct in service of the law, would be pretty cool.

All of the police should have the ability to incapacitate. I was actually thinking - and forgive my un-optimisation - at lvl 10 of grappler with teleport ability plus dismissable AMF. Something that can deal a ton of nonleathal damage.

That's about what I got. Greater threats are dealt by plot wizards.

I'd appreciate any and all thoughts on how to shape this (fluff included. i'd love monsters/constructs in this), given the fact that they must have:
- rapid deployment ability
- ability to subdue but not kill
- ability to not die to spells or large amounts of damage

... but still have stats. :)


thanks

[JusticeZero]

The quick question here would be this: What are the adventures that low level characters do? And are they openly described as "Can you deal with these monsters, because they're a waste of anyone else's time, but you're weak enough to deal with it"? I mean, they can't say they're special in their background, since the trainees can trounce them one on one.

[Balor01]

The quick question here would be this: What are the adventures that low level characters do? And are they openly described as "Can you deal with these monsters, because they're a waste of anyone else's time, but you're weak enough to deal with it"? I mean, they can't say they're special in their background, since the trainees can trounce them one on one.

I ... dont really know what you are trying to say. I'd just like some good suggestions for my police. :P

[JusticeZero]

What I am saying is that your party will get together and talk about how they are special and talented adventurers, but if they get in a fight with a portly meter maid, it's a boss fight. How do you intend to deal with this?

[Balor01]

Oh, good point. Well, its' a Metropolis. Expecting lvl 2 Warriors as guards is naive. A tad.

[Gavinfoxx]

Actually... yea.

Adventurers SHOULD be able to trounce most town guards.

Yes, even in metropolises.

Yes, by level 6.

Yes, even then.

I would use this as the stats for most guards:

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=641044

And maybe the head of the guard being the heroic version of this (32 point buy rather than 15, with the first hit dice maxxed rather than not).

Really, you don't need more than that. Guards should not be capable of doing adventurer work, adventurers SHOULD be really really badass.

[With a box]

The quick question here would be this: What are the adventures that low level characters do? And are they openly described as "Can you deal with these monsters, because they're a waste of anyone else's time, but you're weak enough to deal with it"? I mean, they can't say they're special in their background, since the trainees can trounce them one on one.

U.S.Army can steamroll almost every incounter, but PMCs sill be contracted and get money form US goverment.

[lord_khaine]

Actually... yea.

Adventurers SHOULD be able to trounce most town guards.

Yes, even in metropolises.

Yes, by level 6.

Yes, even then.

I would use this as the stats for most guards:

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetvie...sheetid=641044

And maybe the head of the guard being the heroic version of this (32 point buy rather than 15, with the first hit dice maxxed rather than not).

Really, you don't need more than that. Guards should not be capable of doing adventurer work, adventurers SHOULD be really really badass.

I completely agree on this, there are a reason for why these people are just town guards, instead of going out into the wilderness Robbing and plundering adventuring.

And i do feel it reasonable that the guys patrolling the streets, dealing with common disturbances or the pickpockets in the market square are a mixture of level 2-3 Warriors, fighters, rangers and rogues.

Thats not to say the town would not have small groups of elite guards, to deal with such things that the normal ones cant, maybe in the level range of 4-6, and maybe also containing an adept or some other minor spellcaster.

Of course, a Metropolis should also have some sort of "oh ****" button to activate in case of serious disasters, that being rowdy adventures or a dragon landing on a roof. That could then either be a handful of golems, or maybe a deal with the local temple to begin burning though the greater planar ally scrolls.

[Balor01]

Adventurers SHOULD be able to trounce most town guards.

Actually ... no. In a metropolis with, say, 1.000.000 inhabitants, taxes and desire to keep trade and working populace safe, will definitely yield enough funds for at least semi-competent police (the one that can deal pretty much with most threats up to lvl 6) + some heavy hitters (lvl 20 wizards).

Is there an item that enables quick summon of "police"? Like a ... cellphone? :P

With immense amounts of money avaialble, expecting lvl 2 warrior guards in a metropolis is really silly.

[With a box]

A wand / command activate item of sending? :D
(Can we make it cheaper for fixed target?)

[Genth]

Have a read of this;

http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/587/roleplaying-games/dd-calibrating-your-expectations-2

I agree with it in terms of realism, although not so much in terms of fun... IMO, I prefer having an asymptotic spread of levels - almost everyone is level 1, but there ARE higher level people. I peg low level soldiers and guards around level 2 or 3, but a metropolis should have a 'swat team' of level 6-ers, and the best non-adventurer fighters in the city (city guard, experienced soldiers and mercenaries) would be -perhaps- level 8 or nine.

In my homebrew 'verse, I've only got about twelve or so NPCs who are above level 12, and the highest level any nameless NPC might be are 'crack super awesome' teams of level 10.

It doesn't matter how much gold you have, a level 20 wizard is one step below a god, and is NOT up for sale.

The only difference would be is if the world you are playing in is crazy dangerous. Orc and goblin attacks every few days, you go for a trip on the highway and get attacked by shambling mounds, dragon attacks at -least- once a year, epic wars with battles that tear the very land apart, 'cos then average people have the opportunity to level that much.

A poignant example. In my homebrew universe there's a group called the Greenscar Raiders, who live on the edges of a massive, terrifying forest filled with ungodly monsters, and will be fighting them routinely day to day. They will sit at an average of level 7, with smaller elite groups reaching 10, and their legendary warriors -maybe- 12. That's because every single day they are dealing with CR5+ encounters.

So unless your metropolis ALSO has CR6+ events happening routinely, that is, at least once a week, then there's no reason or explanation for such beefy guardsmen.

[Balor01]

Have a read of this;So unless your metropolis ALSO has CR6+ events happening routinely, that is, at least once a week, then there's no reason or explanation for such beefy guardsmen.

Wow, this actually makes a lot of sense. In my setting most adult people have 2-3HD. So I guess lvl 3 guards + lvl 6 Swat teams and thats it. Nice.

Also, mechanics question: What is a cheap way to prevent low-lvl guards from dying? Perhaps something that stabilizes them automaticaly? A feat?

[Genth]

Halflings with skill focus:acrobatics, a trait to make them more acrobatic, and a wand of CLW? Dart in, dodge AOO, and poke with stick before getting out?

[DeltaEmil]

Wow, this actually makes a lot of sense. In my setting most adult people have 2-3HD. So I guess lvl 3 guards + lvl 6 Swat teams and thats it. Nice.

Also, mechanics question: What is a cheap way to prevent low-lvl guards from dying? Perhaps something that stabilizes them automaticaly? A feat?Blessed bandages (Magic Item Compendium) cost 10 gp.

If in your setting everyone has at least 2 HD, you could have a specialized paramedic, who is a human level 2 npc class expert with 5 ranks in the Heal skill, the Self-Sufficient and Skill Focus (Heal) feats, a healer's kit, and 13 Wisdom, together with the Healing Hands skill trick (Complete Scoundrel), to instantly heal 1d6 damage when stabilizing a dying guard, as the paramedic will have a +14 modifier to the Heal check.

Another cheap paramedic is a level 1 dragon shaman (Player's Handbook 2) projecting a Draconic Aura of Vigor.

[sideswipe]

it depends on a few things, the setting, the rulers, the cities "alignment" the wealth of the town (inflated? poor?) and a few other things.

mostly have most guards as level 1-3 warriors. a a small squad of them with saps should be able to take any bar brawl and disputes. they should also have spears and small shields so they can use phalanx rules and lethal damage against real threats.

every 50 or so should have either a lvl 5 or 6 warrior as a captain or a low level ex adventurer with say 3-4 class levels in something relatively mundane.

about 5% (so if a city has 100,000 people about 5000 guards should exist) should be guards, at least. and a lot more should be militia just in case.

about 1% of the guards (50 if 5000 guards) should be a crack team that consists of lvl 6+ class levels and they should be unique. and used for higher danger things to the city.

this obviously is not including secret police, spies, and other things.

if the city is rich, they should probably have a squad of iron golem type creatures with wings in case of attack from magic or very powerful things. maybe even ethereal creatures and other things that anything but a high power mage would not be able to deal with. these are emergency shock troopers.

if the city is evil, use daemons as the shock troopers. or something that sort of equivalent for their beliefs. no one will mess with things that can eat their souls if they have a right mind.

good cities should use celestial's and other things as allies and shock troopers. with the richest cities maybe having a solar or two.

of course this only applies to big metropolis's (metropoli?) as there are by maths some epic commoners in those cities usually and maybe some lvl 18 + adventurers and other types possibly even epic.

so they need epic defences.

but epic defences are very expensive, so used only in emergencies and only if vital.

most of it should be low level warriors. 500 of them will eventually take all but the most powerful (optimised) fighter or barbarian.

[Balor01]

Blessed bandages (Magic Item Compendium) cost 10 gp.

Another cheap paramedic is a level 1 dragon shaman (Player's Handbook 2) projecting a Draconic Aura of Vigor.

Splendid :)

[pwykersotz]

You're looking for pages 113 and 114 from Cityscape. They have stats for guards.

[Gavinfoxx]

If a civilization really really wants beefy non adventurer people... there are ways.

As long as you have one guy capable of casting psychic reformation -- ideally as a psi like ability, or some way to mitigate the xp cost -- a civilization might want to make people werebears, and psyref the Change Shape skill onto them.

And if you want to look at some weird things that magical civilizations can do...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aG4P3dU6WP3pq8mW9l1qztFeNfqQHyI22oJe09i8KWw/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14zilT4WGOyHM0AfpG4-GmD2FkgDg1HZ9HC1cTleQHds/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z9NJIs751Af3i0IEIJwCkIp9H9YFiZYZ7u-wmYVaheI/edit



Actually ... no. In a metropolis with, say, 1.000.000 inhabitants, taxes and desire to keep trade and working populace safe, will definitely yield enough funds for at least semi-competent police (the one that can deal pretty much with most threats up to lvl 6) + some heavy hitters (lvl 20 wizards).

Is there an item that enables quick summon of "police"? Like a ... cellphone? :P

With immense amounts of money avaialble, expecting lvl 2 warrior guards in a metropolis is really silly.

Those folk are not town guards though.

They are on call retired adventurers, who have decided to live there. And the Wizards don't need to be 20th level...

[jiriku]

For your third group, the something that can defeat 10th level characters, I'd suggest an awakened, advanced runic guardian with an inscribed teleportation spell. And perhaps class levels. It can be a national treasure that's been owned by the city-state for many generations, and is too irreplaceable to risk for any task more critical than defending the capital from direct threats (like high-level adventurers run amok). Or it might be tasked to defend the city as part of the parameters of its original creation, and thus refuses to leave. This explains why even with such a powerful construct defending the city, there is still plentiful need for low-level adventurers.

[Darkweave31]

You could, perhaps, have a hive of formians (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/formian.htm)contracted to uphold law and order within the city. They are beings of pure law after all...

Then there are also inevitables (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/inevitable.htm)which are generally a higher CR which could also be contracted by a large enough metropolis.

These are, of course, options that would lead to a very fantastical setting where seeing such creatures is commonplace, so take that into account.

[Genth]

Heh, having inevitables in your city as guards is fun. Some of them are crazy powerful, but if you know the law, you can legal-weasel your way out of things.

Plus you can have Arbiters -everywhere-, floating around, peering at people. Since Arbiters can "Always sense the direction of the nearest non-arbiter inevitable" they make for a fun CCTV system. Your evil characters can have fun taking potshots at them, or blinding one and spraypainting it.

Your city would have to be extremely lawful-aligned in mindset to have that though...

You could have the whole city set out as a clock...

...

...

I gotta go write this down.