Town Watch (Town Police)

[blackjack50]

Ok. So. I am revisiting a campaign idea I had. It worked pretty well for my group. But there were some bumps that I had to overcome (which advice here helped a lot). One big issue we had was regarding magic and PCs. (Skip to tldr for question)I am most likely going to create the character/stats for my players and let them roll for some things. They would be responsible for a backstory as to why their persons are in the town watch.

TLDR:

Within a city’s Town Watch (Waterdeep is likely the setting), what would you expect the prevalence of magic to be? My personal view is that casters would not be the deputies/constables/patrolmen. This would be reserved for those of higher ranks. Does that seem correct? Personally...I think it would actually be rare within town watch. To the point that it would be a LT would have limited capabilities, and a perhaps the captain of a precinct would have the most capability, but they might have 2-3 investigators with some form of magic for that purpose.

Please elaborate if you feel I’m wrong. :)

[P. G. Macer]

Ok. So. I am revisiting a campaign idea I had. It worked pretty well for my group. But there were some bumps that I had to overcome (which advice here helped a lot). One big issue we had was regarding magic and PCs. (Skip to tldr for question)I am most likely going to create the character/stats for my players and let them roll for some things. They would be responsible for a backstory as to why their persons are in the town watch.

TLDR:

Within a city’s Town Watch (Waterdeep is likely the setting), what would you expect the prevalence of magic to be? My personal view is that casters would not be the deputies/constables/patrolmen. This would be reserved for those of higher ranks. Does that seem correct? Personally...I think it would actually be rare within town watch. To the point that it would be a LT would have limited capabilities, and a perhaps the captain of a precinct would have the most capability, but they might have 2-3 investigators with some form of magic for that purpose.

Please elaborate if you feel I’m wrong. :)

It really depends on the magic level of the campaign setting you’re playing in. Dragon Heist gives you a good idea of how Waterdeep’s Watch and Guard work, and I’m AFB right now, but I think most have minor magic badge items, but I suspect your hunch is correct unless you borrow the Apprentice Wizard stat block from Volo’s Guide. I can see them being grunts, though more likely, higher-ups-in-training.

[GlenSmash!]

I would figure most watchmen who showed spell-casting ability to would be recruited into special squads, similar to how SWAT teams work today.

[Trask]

I would say that any "full" magic-users (wizards, sorcerers, clerics, druids) involved with law enforcement would be their own department or special unit. They might only deal with rooting out heretics and cultists of evil gods, and in general dealing with magical things over the heads of the other members of law enforcement, but naturally there would be a lot of overlap and different teams and units might work together to stop, say, a monster from undermountain drifting up and taking a place as a criminal boss in the underworld. Wizards might divinate his location so a strike force of martials could kick down the door and arrest or kill it.

[Sparky McDibben]

Alternatively, you can go the Dresden Files route and have the cops use casters as consultants. When the cops know they're out of their depth, they go to the wizard and say, "So, we got a guy who phases through doors and conjures barbed wire rabbits. Is that, like, a magic thing?"

This depends on how expensive magical education is, how civic-minded the local casters are, local politics (are the mages and nobles aligned? Enemies?), and how many casters exist in your setting, et cetera.

[blackjack50]

This helps me to better nail this down.

I will be using Waterdeep as my setting for map and basic references (I don’t have the book but a friend is providing me some info and he is a fellow dm who will assist). I will generate what I need for players and maps off of that.

But I think I will give some basic magic items. Maybe some stuff similar to magic badges and maybe some items in case of emergency. Since my players will be patrolmen/deputies and a “Hue and Cry” period...they will only be carrying some basic arms. I may actually issue the players flintlocks and bayonets rather than melee weapons. But I’ve yet to decide if I want them to be like a 1700s police force/watch or a medieval period. :)

[Ventruenox]

I seem to recall a certain cantrip being used brilliantly (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0512.html) by the city guard.

[Sparky McDibben]

This is probably unnecessary to say, but you might also want to flesh out what the judicial system looks like, because knowing what happens to the criminals after they're caught will help you justify recurring villains much more easily.

[blackjack50]

I seem to recall a certain cantrip being used brilliantly (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0512.html) by the city guard.

Lmao!!! Thank you!!! That is actually GENIUS AND SIMPLE! I’ve got the idea for some basic message stuff, but I love the simplicity of this. I was thinking a dispatcher who does message to a unit on patrol.

[moonfly7]

This helps me to better nail this down.

I will be using Waterdeep as my setting for map and basic references (I don’t have the book but a friend is providing me some info and he is a fellow dm who will assist). I will generate what I need for players and maps off of that.

But I think I will give some basic magic items. Maybe some stuff similar to magic badges and maybe some items in case of emergency. Since my players will be patrolmen/deputies and a “Hue and Cry” period...they will only be carrying some basic arms. I may actually issue the players flintlocks and bayonets rather than melee weapons. But I’ve yet to decide if I want them to be like a 1700s police force/watch or a medieval period. :)

I'd suggest giving them some magical, throwable manacles that have a pretty simple DC 13 save to avoid. Also possibly a gag that does the same thing, for stopping casters from using verbal components.

[Sparky McDibben]

You could actually go full Batman on the gadgets. Have an arcane doo-dad for every occasion: a portable silence zone that lasts for a minute, the anti-casting shackles from Frozen, sling pellets loaded with dust of choking and sneezing (tear gas). I would love playing a Thief rogue in that game. Obviously not if you have an artificer, though.

[Finback]

Fighters can be the basic cops; artificer does forensics. Wizards, warlocks and sorcerers are SVU (special Vancian unit).

And anyone with a high Cha who has a musical instrument as a proficiency? They're

BARD COPS
BARD COPS

WHATCHA GONNA DO

[opaopajr]

Whatever matches your vision of the setting of Waterdeep. It's your interpretation of the fictive world at your table. If it then ends up unmanageable or overwhelmed by PC shenanigans, feel free to adjust demographic ratios (or PC features) closer to what you feel is right. :smallsmile:

Finding consensus among strangers is fun for some advice. But the most exciting thing is finding out your individual interpretation and bringing it to life. It makes your table -- yours. :smallcool:

[Anderlith]

I don’t like the idea that ALL wizards are higher rank. It seems to me that it would cause a LOT of issues with the regular guys. More likely is that wizards/Casters would be assigned to squads on an at needed basis. The highest ranking constable would give orders for what spells needed, that way you don’t get hotshot wizards popping off fireballs in crowded bazaars. Treat it like Shadowrun, they have extensive stuff about it.

[KragBrightscale]

I love the idea, lots of potential for urban based plot lines! Politics, corruption, mystery, intrigue, and conspiracies!

I could see there being a clear distinction between your average city guard (who deals with petty crimes, mans lookout posts, the walls, dealing with the commoners, the occasional wild beast or overgrown sewer rat etc) and those who are trained and equipped to deal with threats of a more Magical nature.

Separate divisions, competition, politics, and loyalty to your group. And that’s not even considering private detectives, mercenaries, guilds, and other powerful forces who probably have their own armed forces or access to some.

I think a reduced magic setting allows for more creative use of resources available. Besides, I doubt any local authority would approve of the high chance for collateral damage that comes with high tier magic use in the city.

Other thoughts:

does the city have a magical array set up that limits magic use in the city?

What is the public’s view on magic?

Can magic be used to feed the city? Or is magically modified food hazardous and outlawed.

Are there lawyers ( law/lore-Bards?). Trials? Jail time? Executions? Fines? How does it all work?

I’ll leave it at that for now, but I admit urban settings are my favorite!

[Chauncymancer]

What I would expect, from a game billed as drawing on the hue and cry era, is that there wouldn't be higher ups. Or rather, there wouldn't be lower ups. In the hue and cry era, all full time police officers are elected officials, equivalent in function to a sergeant or higher: Beat cop style grunt work is done as a part time job or by volunteers who work under the supervision of an elected constable. It's an old school hireling game. A city like Waterdeep is going to be split into boroughs (about 30 of them) and teams of five constables will be elected by the people in that borough (or appointed by a Lord of Waterdeep, or both) to be sort of a combined Sheriff/CSI/SWAT team.
Which is, logically, why we're in full adventurer kit. We're the elected leaders of a team about 25 strong on any given day, invested with a badge of office to track the facts that will be brought before a judge of the land in sworn deposition and to hold the accused still until a judge can be brought before him. You're not going to serve a no-knock warrant on the thieves guild without a Ring of Protection and a +1 Shield, I tell you that.

[Sigreid]

You can go another route and decide casters aren't really that rare and a low level wizard cop ain't that special.

[LordEntrails]

Arcane casters in Waterdeep are not really a part of the Guard or Watch. They belong to the Watchful Order. The Watch and the Guard call upon them as needed, and some of them are nominally engaged in specialty law enforcement in the normal course of things.

If you are going to use Waterdeep as your setting, their is tons of material on the DMsGuild to call from. Plus various wikis and old source books. IMO, don't go too far astray from what has previously been written; one, some players might be familiar with it already and be confused, and two, why reinvent the wheel?