From:	Ray Macey <r.macey@*******.qut.edu.au>
Subject:	Re: (Fwd) Lone Star
Date:	Fri, 19 Apr 1996 09:16:52 +1000 (EST)

On Thu, 18 Apr 1996, Gurth wrote:

> Shadowrunners and laws have a love-hate relationship, most of the time biased heavily
toward
> hate's side. But what if some enterprising player wants to be one of the "good
guys," or to
> put it in other words, a police officer? No rules or even guidelines for that in the
Shadowrun
> rules, quite rightly so too, considering the background of the game. Yet, it might be
an
> interesting experiment nonetheless.
>
> Very important is that the gamemaster at least has access to the Lone Star
sourcebook, FASA
> number 7115, in order to get a good grasp of what it's like to be a cop in the Sixth
World.
> Probably also useful, although I have never seen it up close (or from a distance, for
that
> matter), would be R. Talsorian's Protect and Serve, which details the police in the
Cyberpunk
> 2020 RPG. Articles, books, documentaries, and possibly even cop shows on tv or those
reality-tv
> thingies, about American police can also be quite handy for ideas--both for playing
your
> character and for ideas for adventures.

Sorry for not deleting the rest of the message. But I would just like to
say that instances like this are probably going to be covered by the
'Shadowrun Companion' or whatever it's called that FASA is working on.
It's designed to allow P.C.'s to play other types of characters.

Ray.

>
> Starting A Campaign
> First of all, it should be stressed that all characters should be law enforcement
officers for
> a "cop campaign" to work. If we take, for instance, four players, and one
wants to play a street
> samurai, the second a combat mage, the third a merc, and the fourth a cop, things
will most
> likely not work out very well--one of the characters would either be busting the
others all
> the time (probably not good for inter-player relationships), or she'd get into _deep_
drek
> with his superiors for aiding known felons (probably not good for player-GM
relationships).
> There are some solutions, though, so you don't need to give up just yet. One is to go
ahead
> as described above, and see where the ship runs aground. Go with the flow, until the
flow stops.
> Then either try to save the mess, or quit and make new characters.
> Another option is to make all characters law enforcement officers even though they
may be street
> samurai, combat mages, and whatnots. Street samurai? Chromer cop. Combat mage? DPI
combat mage.
> Merc? FRT trooper. For nearly any kind of regular shadowrunner, a Lone Star equivalen
can be
> found if you look hard enough. And if that still doesn't work, make them
"irregular assets" that
> get called in when the Star can't be seen handling a certain situation.
> The last option mentioned here is the one that requires good thought, good
roleplaying,
> and a good gamemaster. It is to make one (or more, but preferably only one) of the
PCs an
> under-cover cop infiltrating in the shadowrunners' little world. Why he would do this
is up
> to the player and gamemaster to ponder about, but once a plausible reason has been
invented,
> only the player actually playing the cop should know what his or her character really
is. Then
> have him go along with the players, acting like a regular shadowrunner, and at the
same time
> double-crossing them so his superiors can get a fix on who to arrest. The superiors
might even
> be tempted to help along, making life easier for the shadowrunners without them
knowing it, in
> order to keep the agent undercover with a false identity instead of underwater with
concrete
> shoes on. (Such as shipments of narcotics into a certain country on the North Sea...)
>
>
> Wages
> People working for a corporation get paid for it. They wouldn't if they didn't, would
they? So
> players playing the role of police officers should receive a paycheck each month from
which
> they will have to try and live like good citizens do.
>
> [Note: I need info here on how much cops would make in SR...]
>
> All police officers naturally have a SIN, like any other citizen. Without a SIN, it
would be
> rather hard to become a police officer in the first place (although there might be
some private
> security firms that don't have such a silly requirement...).
>
>
> Other Law Enforcement Agencies
> Although this article focuses on Lone Star, the main security provider in Seattle and
many other
> North American cities, there is no reason why it could not be adapted to other
corporations.
> Knight Errant, Eagle Security, and so on could all very well be represented. The
gamemaster
> needs to make up his or her own requirements for those; base them on NPCs published
in FASA's
> adventures and you're on the right track already.
>
>
> THE CHARACTERS
>
> Career
> What will from now on be referred to as a "career" in this article, is a
short way of defining
> a policeman: foot patrol officer, DED trooper, etc. To make things easier, we'll
assume all the
> NPCs on pages 126 to 132 of the Lone Star sourcebooks represent a career within Lone
Star.
>
> Race
> It's recommended not to use the More Metahumans optional rule, seeing that more than
80% of the
> Lone Star street cops are humans, a figure that's even higher in administration.
Senior
> management (admittedly, not many players will be here from the start) even has 98%
humans.
>
> Magic
> Since Lone Star employ magicians, there is no trouble with playing a magically-active
cop
> character. These will nearly invariably end up in the Department of Paranormal
Investigations
> (DPI, or "Dips"), except for the few that become SWAT team members or
perform similar functions.
>
> Skills
> All Lone Star officers must take the following skills; these are learned as part of
basic
> training.
>
> Etiquette (Corporate): 2
> Firearms: 3
> Police Procedures: 3
> Unarmed Combat: 2
>
> Some additional skills must be taken for a number of careers. This makes some careers
only
> available to characters with a certain number of Skill Points, as indicated.
>
> Resources
> Although it is tempting for many players to start with 400,000 or even 1,000,000
nuyen, it
> is recommended that the gamemaster prohibit this unless the player in question wants
to play
> a chromer cop, or an other kind of cop characters who needs lots of money or Force
points.
> Ordinary beat cops rarely accumulate gear and vehicles worth several hundred thousand
nuyen
> without winning the lottery at some point in their lives.
>
>
> Must-Buy Equipment
> All Lone Star player characters start with the following equipment, which they must
buy from
> their Resources money. This list has been compiled by looking at the main text and
the NPCs
> in the back of the Lone Star book, and simple common sense.
> If players want to start with less nuyen than required to buy this equipment, the
gamemaster
> has the option of either not allowing the player to make a cop character, or to allow
him or
> her to buy the equipment from the 3D6x1000Y each character receives at start-up.
>
> -Basic equipment: belt, flashlight, holster, uniform, etc. (all-in price: 450Y)
> -Helmet in Lone Star style (SRII p.257, 200Y) with integral commlink (500Y), total
> helmet cost 700Y
> -Life signs monitor/Medical beacon (LS p.117, counts as Basic DocWagon Contract,
5,000Y)
> -Low lifestyle (1,000Y) or higher
> -Pistol or revolver (cost varies) with 3 full reloads of regular ammo (cost varies)
> -Stun Baton (SRII p.254, 750Y)
> -Vest with Plates (SRII p.257, 4/3 armor, 600Y)
>
> Total cost (including Low lifestyle): 8,500 nuyen + weapon & ammo cost
>
> All this equipment is that required for "the job," except maybe the
lifestyle. The reason for
> that one is that Lone Star does not hire people without a reliable way of contacting
them at
> their home address. Coffin #15184, Novelty Hill Sleep & Eat, Redmond is not the
place to live
> if you aspire a law enforcement career.
> Characters can buy any other equipment, for personal use, from any money left over.
They should,
> however, think pretty hard about buying items that are outright illegal, or about
permit-
> required items without buying a permit. If the boss finds out they could very well be
in
> trouble.
>
> Some careers require additional equipment which must be purchased at character
creation.
> Note that police characters do not need to buy vehicles except for personal use;
these are
> issued by Lone Star when needed--a cycle patrol officer will be issued with an
Electraglide-
> 1000 and all the stuff the machine carries when she's on duty.
>
> Contacts
> All cop characters must take a Street Cop contact, or any contact from the Lone Star
book.
> This contact is one of the two free contacts the character receives. A Gang/Tribe is
also
> recommended, representing the police department as a whole, although gamemasters may
find
> this creates problems for characters with little Resources money. In such a case,
either
> disregard the Gang/Tribe contact requirement for all players (not just for the ones
with too
> little money), or start those characters who can't afford it off as new recruits who
haven't
> really got to know the corporation's way of working yet.
> Apart from these restrictions, the players are free to choose contacts as they like,
although
> it should be clear that some contacts would be frowned upon by the brass--a street
cop having
> close relations with the Yakuza might find himself having to explain just what those
relations
> really are...
>
> CAREERS
> Following are short descriptions of each career, including any required skills,
Attribute values,
> and/or equipment. Unless otherwise noted, all careers require the basic skill package
and the
> basic equipment package mentioned above in addition to the skills and equipment
listed below.
> Skills listed are the minimum required--they are learned in training at the level
indicated.
> Many officers have higher skill levels. If Attribute minimums are indicated, this is
for humans.
> Metahumans should apply their racial modifiers to the values--if Body 4 is required,
an ork
> should have Body 7 for the same job.
> The "total costs" are only for the required skills and materials; the
optionals have not been
> included. The basic packages have been included, however.
>
> Airborne Patrol Pilot
> Skills: Rotorcraft 3 (preferably specialization inWasp or Yellowjacket at higher
level).
> Cyberware: none required, but vehicle control rig recommended.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: Armed Combat and Etiquette (Street) skills recommended. Wasp or
> Yellowjacket helicopter issued when necessary.
> Total cost: skill points 13, monetary 8,500Y
>
> Auto Patrol Officer
> Attributes: Body 3, Quickness 4, Strength 3.
> Skills: Car 3.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: Armed Combat and Etiquette (Street) skill recommended. Ground
> vehicle issued when necessary.
> Total cost: Attribute points 13, skill points 13, monetary 8,500Y
>
> "Chromer Cop" Patrol Officer
> Skills: no extra required.
> Cyberware: any desired by individual.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: Armed Combat and Etiquette (Street) skill recommended.
> Heavy cyberware recommended. Additional weaponry recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 10, monetary 8,500Y
>
> Corpsec Officer
> Skills: Interrogation 1
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Beretta Model 70 with 3 clips, Partial Heavy Armor (6/4)
> Extra notes: Car and Etiquette (Street) skills recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 11, monetary 19,607Y
>
> Cycle Patrol Officer
> Attributes: Body 3, Quickness 4, Strength 3.
> Skills: Bike 3.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: Armed Combat and Etiquette (Street) skill recommended.
> Ground vehicle issued when necessary.
> Total cost: Attribute points 13, skill points 13, monetary 8,500Y
>
> DED Trooper
> Attributes: Body 4, Quickness 4, Strength 3, Intelligence 4.
> Skills: Firearms 4, Stealth 2.
> Cyberware: Smartlink, wired reflexes (1).
> Equipment: Full Heavy Armor (8/6), H&K MP-5 TX with 3 clips
> Extra notes: pistol recommended.
> Total cost: Attribute points 17, skill points 16, monetary 86,985Y, Essence 2.5
>
> Division of Investigation Detective
> Attributes: Intelligence 4.
> Skills: Computer 2, Electronics 2, Etiquette (Street) 3, Interrogation 3,
> Police Procedures 5, Psychology 2, Sociology 2.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Armor Jacket (5/3)
> Extra notes: Armed Combat skill recommended. Various intrusion gear recommended.
> Total cost: Attributepoints 9, skill points 29, monetary 9,400Y
>
> D.P.I. Combat Mage (Astral Back-Up)
> Skills: Conjuring 4, Magical Theory 4, Sorcery 4.
> Spells: Clairvoyance 3, Confusion 3, Control Actions 3, Detect Enemies 2, Manabolt
4.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: no cyberware recommended. Various foci recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 22, monetary 8,500Y, Force points 15
>
> D.P.I. Combat Mage (Special Ops)
> Skills: Conjuring 5, Magical Theory 5, Sorcery 5.
> Spells: Bullet Barrier 4, Clairvoyance 3, Detect Enemies (Extended) 4, Mob Mind 3,
> Spell Barrier 4, Stun Bolt 4, Wrecker 4
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Full Heavy Armor (8/6), Uzi III with 3 clips
> Extra notes: no cyberware recommended. Most are initiates and cannot be created as
> beginning characters. Various foci recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 25, monetary 29,259Y, Force points 26
>
> D.P.I. Combat Mage (Standard Back-Up)
> Skills: Conjuring 4, Magical Theory 3, Sorcery 4.
> Spells: Bind 2, Clairvoyance 3, Confusion 3, Mana Bolt 3, Personal Combat Sense 4.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Armor Jacket (5/3), Uzi III with 3 clips
> Extra notes: no cyberware recommended. Various foci recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 21, monetary 10,144Y, Force points 15
>
> D.P.I. Mage Detective
> Skills: Conjuring 3, Magical Theory 5, Sorcery 4.
> Spells: Analyze Device 3, Analyze Truth 4, Clairvoyance (Extended) 3, Detect Life 3,

> Mind Probe 2.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: no cyberware recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 22, monetary 8,500Y, Force points 15
>
> Foot Patrol Officer
> Attributes: Body 3, Quickness 4, Strength 3.
> Skills: Etiquette (Street) 2.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: Armed Combat recommended.
> Total cost: Attribute points 13, skill points 12, monetary 8,500Y
>
> FRT Trooper
> Attributes: Body 5, Quickness 6, Strength 4, Intelligence 4.
> Skills: Car 2, Firearms 5, Stealth 4.
> Cyberware: Smartlink, wired reflexes (1).
> Equipment: Full Heavy Armor (8/6).
> Extra notes: Weapons issued depending on current function in FRT (see pages 33-35
& 130,
> Lone Star).
> Total cost: Attribute points 21, skill points 21, monetary 28,500Y
>
> Highway Patrol T-Bird "Jammer"
> Skills: Vectored Thrust 3 (preferably specialization in GMC Harpy at higher level),
> Vectored Thrust B/R 4.
> Cyberware: Vehicle control rig (3).
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: vehicle issued when necessary.
> Total cost: skill points 17, monetary 308,500Y, Essence 5
>
> Riot Control Constable
> Attributes: Body 4, Strength 4.
> Skills: no extra required.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Armor Jacket (5/3), Large Riot Security Shield (+2/+0), Net Gun, Scorpion

> Machine Pistol with 2 clips Gel ammunition
> Extra notes: Etiquette (Street) skill recommended.
> Total cost: Attribute points 12, skill points 10, monetary 13,500Y
>
> SWAT Combat Mage
> Skills: Sorcery 5, Stealth 1.
> Spells: Clairaudience 4, Clairvoyance 4, Mana Bolt 4, Stun Ball 5
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Armor Jacket (5/3), Scorpion Machine Pistol with 2 clips
> Extra notes: no cyberware recommended. Various foci recommended.
> Total cost: skill points 16, monetary 10,250Y, Force points 17
>
> SWAT Decker
> Attributes: Reaction 5.
> Skills: Computer 5, Computer B/R 3, Computer Theory 5, Electronics 3, Stealth 2.
> Cyberware: Datajack, headware memory (30 Mp)
> Equipment: Partial Heavy Armor (6/4), Scorpion Machine Pistol with 2 clips, Sony
CTY-360
> cyberdeck.
> Extra notes: cyberdeck is usually highly modified.
> Total cost: Attribute points 14, skill points 28, monetary 123,750Y, Essence .5
>
> SWAT Rifleman
> Attributes: Body 4, Quickness 5, Strength 3.
> Skills: Firearms 4, Stealth 2
> Cyberware: Wired reflexes (1)
> Equipment: AK-97 with 3 clips, gas vent 2, and laser sight, Armor Jacket (5/3)
> Extra notes: none.
> Total cost: Attribute points 15, skill points 13, monetary 11,278Y, Essence 2
>
> SWAT Sniper
> Attributes: Reaction 5.
> Skills: Firearms (Sniper Rifles, Ranger Arms SM-3) 6, Stealth 3.
> Cyberware: Smartlink.
> Equipment: Ranger Arms SM-3 with 20 rounds regular and bipod.
> Extra notes: none.
> Total cost: Attribute points 14, skill points 14, monetary 15,440Y, Essence .5
>
> SWAT Spotter
> Skills: Stealth 3.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: Thermographic binoculars.
> Extra notes: none.
> Total cost: skill points 13, monetary 8,850Y
>
> Undercover Agent
> Skills: Acting 4, Disguise 2, Stealth 3.
> Cyberware: none required.
> Equipment: no extra required.
> Extra notes: civilian clothes, equipment, etc. required, but left to the agent's
> discretion here.
> Total cost: skill points 17, monetary 8,500Y
>
> Watcher
> Skills: Computer 3, Electronics 5, Electronics B/R 3, Etiquette (Street) 3, Stealth
5.
> Cyberware: Radio, vehicle control rig (3)
> Equipment: Beretta 200ST with 2 clips.
> Extra notes: other equipment issued as necessary.
> Total cost: skill points 28, monetary 9,354Y
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
> there's a hope please send it faster don't forget to pass a riot
> -> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
> -> The Character Mortuary: http://huizen.dds.nl/~mortuary/mortuary.html <-
>
> -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
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>
>
> --
> Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
> Maybe I'm all messed up. But this is the only time I really feel alive.
> -> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
> -> The Character Mortuary: http://huizen.dds.nl/~mortuary/mortuary.html <-
>
> -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
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> GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE
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>