D20 Modern: Law Enforcement

[Ryacko]

Any suggestions on how to run law enforcement in a d20 modern game?

[B0nd07]

That's a pretty broad question. Is there anything specific you're having trouble with? Other wise, I'd say like you would for the town guard in a fantasy type setting, but with guns and cars.

[Crow]

There's a book that has loads of premade NPC's in it for D20 modern. Hella useful book as it has police, security, paramedics, secretaries, etc...

Actually it's the Menace Manual. Has a whole chapter devoted to NPC's.

As for running them, just do things like they do in real life.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Get a copy of the GURPS Cops eBook. GURPS books are, famously, 90% non-mechanics material that tells you how to run games around X. GURPS Cops is probably one of the top 10 RPG books I have ever read, out of several hundred.

[B0nd07]

I guess I'll expand and try to answer some unasked questions.

The size of the force would depend on the size of the town/city with more officers the bigger it is. There would be a small chain of command that would go something like, commissioner > captain > lieutenant > sergeant > officer for large cities. Most of the force on duty would be in cars, either by themselves or with a partner or a dog, patrolling an area. Some would be on foot, probably in a specific location like a train station or mall for example.

An officer would try to avoid a confrontation, but is trained to defend him/herself until able to subdue the attacker or until backup arrives. An officer would prefer to use non-lethal means, but if attacked with a deadly-weapon, will use deadly-force.

Some example officer stats can be found in the core rule book in the Friends and Foes chapter.

Pepper in some corruption and whatnot to taste, and there you go.

Hope that helps.

[Ryacko]

Thanks, but how do I run an investigation into the player characters?

I'll check out hte GURPs Cops book.

[chiasaur11]

Remember: Every station has a Constable Nobbs and a Sergent Colon.

No exceptions.

[Comet]

Remember, if the PC's do anything horribly wrong and you need to teach them a lesson:

CSI magic always finds the criminals. Always.
And then just bring the S.W.A.T to their footsteps.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Thanks, but how do I run an investigation into the player characters?

I'll check out hte GURPs Cops book.

Into the PCs? As in an internal investigation? Check out The Shield, maybe.

It doesn't really differ from other investigations, except by subtlety and surreptitiousness. The investigators are going to be careful, snoop around in everything the PCs have ever done, try to get something to hold over people they think might testify (possibly falsely) against the PCs, and so on. They may try to infiltrate the PCs' group, and will definitely try to divide and conquer - find something to hold over as many of the PCs as possible (evidence of a crime, real or invented/planted), then try to flip them and get them to testify against the others. Surreptitious car/house searches are possible, probably with a warrant (which means they have to show probable cause first; such a search with no warrant or PC is going to be useless, since the evidence won't be admissible). Once there's enough to go to court (witnesses and evidence), the PCs will be arrested and charged, and bail hearings and the like happen before the actual trial.

[B0nd07]

Thanks, but how do I run an investigation into the player characters?

With you as DM/GM, the investigators will know as much as you want them to. You can determine how much by answering a few questions, which include, but aren't limited to, the following.

Are they new in town or have they been there a while/live there?
How famous are they?
Are they actively involved with less than legal activities?
Are they trying to lay low?
How long has the investigation been running?

Depending on the answers, the investigators could not even know who the PCs are to knowing where they are/will be.