A few weeks ago I got a copy of the "crime noir" rules called The Department. They're based on the popular Goalsystem mechanics, and are marketed as basically Blade Runner, where you play as a cop looking for droids pretending to be humans.Without the Fabricants in there, it's just a straight up Police Procedural game, and that's exactly what I was looking for! So I took the rules and used them for the 70's (the way we think of the 70's, not the reality) Police Action Game I've wanted to do for quite some time.
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| Suggested listening while reading, here. Opens a new window. |
Detective Steve Kracker is a tough, by the book, veteran.
Detective Cabrodine Jack is a cop with a tragic past, a ladies man, and cool as an arctic cucumber.
Episode One
In pursuit of Stanton Strulovitch, a high level assassin and master of disguise. He's pulled some big jobs in the past, and word is out that he's planning something huge now. The Department is placing their best on it, Cracker and Jack, to crack the case!
Starting at the beginning, the detectives decide to hit the streets, Canvas the neighborhood and see what they can turn up. They've got four people of interest that they think might have the skinny they need.
Steve spots one of the people they want to rap with so he makes his way across the street. She sees him and moves over to talk. She's coming across as a concerned citizen, and while she has a lot to say, none of it is useful. Steve shrugs off the woman's less than subtle hints for cash, and heads off catch up with Cabrodine.
Cabrodine strolls up the sidewalk towards the guy at the door, the guy they want to talk to. But before he can get there, the guy obviously spots Steve and makes him for a cop. The guy quickly slips into the crowd trying to lose the officers.
Even with the mass of people Cabrodine succeeds in spotting him and moves right up to him. The guy isn't nearly as friendly as the chick Steve talked to, but Cabrodine was able to Intimidate him into giving up some useful information.
"All right, already! Look, I don't get involved in that sort of thing. Hold on! I don't but there's a guy I know, Micky Patterson, he would be the one you should talk to. I don't know where he is. I don't!"
Their third person of interest is further down the street, just milling around a doorway. He suddenly turns South and begins to wander off. Steve and Cabrodine start sprinting after him. Just before they catch up, the guy ducks around the corner of the building. (I love random movement!)
Steve catches up to the guy easily after that since the corner he cut around doesn't actually go anywhere. He finds the guy just standing there, just getting out of the wind for a smoke. A quick round of questions determines that he's just a regular person, he wasn't running from the officers just walking, and he doesn't have any useful information at all.
The last person of interest they want to talk to is all the way across town. There's a lot of walking and running involved in getting there. Fortunately the suspect is just pacing around in circles the whole time instead of wandering off.
Steve and Cabrodine finally catch up to the guy in the back alley parking lot. The guys know him, Clint Moore. Goes by 'Tots' for whatever reason. He's got a minor criminal record, and frankly, skulking around here doesn't look all that good. The guys manage to convince him it's better if he just gives up some information.
"What'ca doin hangin' round here, Tots?"
"I'm thinking we should haul you in, spend some time downtown until we can sort it out. Unless you know where we could find Micky Patterson, then maybe we would have something else to do today."
"I aint sayin' nothin. But yeah, we can go waste the day down at the station. But then you couldn't enjoy this nice day down at the market on Hanover, right?"
The guys take the info and let Tots wander off on his own.
Mission outcome: Success. All Persons of Interest investigated.
Gained 1 People evidence, and 1 Place evidence.
Evidence
People: 4/1
Place: 3/1
Electronic: 2/0
Financial: 4/0
Physical: 2/0
I really like this game. It may not read as exciting to others, but playing it certainly is!
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