Topic: Seeking Ideas for an SM law enforcement campaign

[PiXeL01]

Hey there

I am used to running fantazy campaigns, so I have little experience in running sci fi. I ran a little using the new SM rules, written by Defendi (good work), but RMFPS rules has never been me, being a veteran of RM2 for decades. This means I have picked up the old SM2 rules and started on that.

Based on my players wishes we have started a campaign where they will be on the side of the law in their region of space. This is highly unusual for me and I am more or less hitting a wall on possible scenarios to throw at them.

So I am turning to you for possible ideas of what kind of scenarios or cases they could encounter.

As for the setting itself it is more or less set close to the edge of the Empires sphere of influence. The Empire went under close to two centories ago and the galaxy is trying to pick itself up again without a common focus point.
The players are a part of MAUL, a law enforcement agency, which takes care of cases which isnt limited to a single planet, between the planets or cases such as organized crime, kidnapping and that kind of cases. A bit like the FBI I would guess.
The campaign is so far limited to five systems in close proximity which has joined together to form for a trade alliance and then a commenwealth.
As for the rest of the galaxy little is know. Long range communication was for the most part destroyed along with the empire itself so there is little contact with anyone else. A lot of information was also lost, which has set humanity as a whole back centuries even possibly millinia in technical evolution.
As for what caused the Empire to buckle under all is known is that it was a great war that did it. If it was civil war, an invasion of an outside force or even a combination, if not a third reason isnt known either.

Right now I have my players tackling a piracy case, which has a newly discovered twitch, but after that I am not sure where I will take them, so please help.

Thank you in advance

[David Johansen]

Well, first, I'd probably decide if my model is Starsky and Hutch or NYPD BLUE, or Law and Order.  Then I'd crib plots like crazy.

For my own tastes the tales would deal with corruption and moral decay in the department as the ever increasing rules the police are constrained by make their job ever more difficult while the criminals they face seem more and more rational victims of a system gone bad.  There'd be a perky lawyer and a pregnant clerk who's baby would eventually have to be delivered during a firefight in an elevator.

[RandalThor]

There are soooooo many things you can do, where does one start?

First of all, you could look into some of the Traveller stuff. At least one of the settings/versions dealt with exactly what you are doing - building back up after a major war.

As MAUL gets out there they are bound to run into others doing the same thing, some still huddled on their world, some may be a bit more along than MAUL (have more worlds under their belt, so to speak). Diplomatic relations will be needed - as well as those who will transport the diplomats. Snotty, selfish diplomats can cause all sorts of trouble for an adventuring group. Or you could run a Jericho-like story line where a neighboring government (much like MAUL) feel the need to attack MAUL for resources they do not have and cannot produce.

Uncovering old records could lead to search missions on worlds lightyears away. The worlds would be dangerous, possible with intelligent, but barbaric peoples that would need to be dealt with. Perhaps the locals have mystified the ruins that the PCs want to check out. Having to undergo certain 'rites' could be seriously dangerous or insanely funny, depending upon how you want to play it (it is always good to run the range of emotions during adventures, I feel, as the funny parts are funnier when they are balanced with serious part).

Perhaps there are elements within the government (or civilian elements) that desire to be in power. Maybe they feel they can do a better job, or perhaps they are just the egotistical alpha-types that just feel the need to be running the show. Maybe they are better and the PCs must face a crisis of loyalty. Maybe they are secret infiltrators from another as of yet undiscovered system (or systems) that use infiltration to undermine the powerbase of the governments they want to take over. Or maybe they are servants of those that I describe next.

Was there a secret reason why the old civilization fell? Maybe there can be one. It could be a here-to-fore unknown alien species that believes humanity (and its allies) to be a threat and needed to be taken out. Now it goes about securing world after world, system after system as they are easy pickings. [This would be the overall campaign that could be discovered through clues they pick up during other adventures - sort of X-files it for a while. Then they would need to convince people in authority which could/would be trickey. Then you go on to the direct actions against the enemy, while trying to get other worlds/systems to join them. Again, an overall campaign.]

Hope you can see that there are numerous adventuring possibilities with a sci-fi game, as many or even more than with a fantasy game. The only problem with sci-fi and modern games is that it is harder to isolate the characters from the rest of the world than it is with fantasy games. Cell-phones, computers, hyperspace communicators all make that a bit more difficult and it gets a bit monotonous and frustrating for the players if there is always an "unnusual energy that is disrupting communications."

If you would like some more detailed ideas. Just let me (and everyone else on the board) know, there are some seriously *old* gamers here (of which I am one, so there  ).

[markc]

 I would also have you look at Traveller as thier is some good stuff thier as I found out by buying the PDF's at a internet site. The material gave me lots of good stuff to work with and I only had a little to do with conversions. As a matter of fact I loosely used thier starship rules and deck plans for the game and SS and AA for the damage etc.
 I would also look at FireFly, any Star Trek series, Star Gate [to seom extent], B5, CSI etc. As any of those will give you great ideas for adventures.
 Also how future tec is the setting? Are thier any strange things that go bump in the night? Like in Dark Space? Or maybe you can mix a little Shadow World into the setting? Or Cuthulu [sp?]. Or a group of telepaths like in B5 or X-Men? IMO just try and mix it up and have fun.

 I am also working on a space setting that is split into three sections and one is sort of like you have described above. So I can understand what you are going through as I have been wracking my brain also for future adventures to run by my group. I have basicly come up with almost any adventue plot will work, I just have to adjust it for the setting.   

MDC

[markc]

 I was just posting on another thread at thought you could also use the Twilite 2000 adventures for a series of objectives on a single planet. Or if they get shot down and have to survive for a time.

 If the setting is hard sci-fi Traveller 2300 or on the other end Dune, Fading Suns, Star Wars stuff or Battle Tec stuff for a more war game type feel.
MDC

[markc]

 Another thing I use is the newspaper for generating ideas. So this week i would use Kosovo [sp?] trying to become its own country and other countires are for and against them, as a basis for an adventure idea.
 The PC could be on a blockaid adventure, or to ensure free passage for ships, investagating a murder of a high ranking offical by one party or another in the country trying to break away or in a country that is for or against them breaking away.
 I also try and look at the part of the paper that has unusual events for the week. Such as the high and low temp spots and crasy evebts. For example I can not remember when but in India I think thier was a small by who had a pet anaconda that weighed 200 pounds that proteted the boy from rampaging monkies. I would take this and make an animal hunt or a animal barrier adventure out of it. Or manybe the monkies were geneticly modified to take the child but picked the wrong one. So a few days after the PC's come into investagate another child is taken and they have to retreve him/her.
MDC 

[Dax]

Switch your TV on.
Watch police-, FBI-TV shows. Also CIS, Columbo.
Mainly you are playing policemen, adapt those story to a future setting.
A murder has to be solved, drugs deals to be ended ...
So instead of car chasing there are space ships, didn't sound very interesting, but that would be a setting problem.

In the end there will be routine.
What you try, are city adventures (less action and more role playing).
It is a hard task (if I would try it with my group they would maroon me - actually they did).

OK, how to solve the problems:
Split the different parts of police investigation on different planets: The rich, the poor, the industry, the criminals, the agra-world.
(Of course the distinction is smooth: the successful criminal is rich, some poor try to get more by illegal means, the industrial workers want to relax with drugs, ...).
Now we have pretty much travel between the planets: Food, goods, illegal passengers, smuggling (drugs, weapons, persons) and therefore the necessity to control it.

To make the often traveling between the system exciting is a hard task.
There will be engines failure, EVA* repairs, there will be attacks (but seldom) to stop the investigation; "What is this signal about ? Seems to be a emergency beacon. Oh it stopped, we have to investigate now, no one else could find it again.".

You can even introduce some X-Files: Alien or normal human activity, what about the rumors of people who could read and even alter ones mind ? (Or if Psy is known, rumors about technology to power Psy up or give it to anyone.)

What is the political system the planets have ?
There are always seperatist (all planets), perhaps someone try to make a coup d'etat (a party or the military). What about religions - are there some fighting each other ?

Following the above there might be a plan to murder someone and the PC could be assigned as bodyguards. (but this isn't their normal business - but perhaps it belongs to the drug case).
___

Sorry, for the mess above, but it was the result of brainstorming
Once again, investigation kind of adventures are hard to perform, good luck.

Switch your TV off, start adventuring.
___

*This is an explation for me, because everyone here knows what EVA means:
EVA = Extra Vehicular Activity (out of the star ship in a vac suit).

[RandalThor]

Sorry, for some reason I totally missed the whole "law enforcement" angle of the question..... (we see what we want to see.....).

I agree with Dax, in that I could not do an entire sci-fi campaign on being cops (even FBI-like cops), just not as interesting to me as uncovering ancient alien civilizations and dealing with meglomaniacal baddies out for galactic domination.

But, there is a series of novels that deal with what you are talking about. I don't know if the setting is like yours, but it is definately about a bunch of 'lawmen' in a future sci-fi environment. Can't tell you what it is called either, but you look in your local book store (Borders, Barnes & Noble, whatever) and you should find a few. Maybe check your local library, that way it is much cheaper (as in free, I like free, free is good).

Also you could look to Blade Runner, the movie for inspiration - Dekker (Harrison Ford) was a cop.

[PiXeL01]

Thank you for all your input. It will really help to set my mind in motion or at least give me places to seek more inspiration.

I too am afraid of boring them with trivial cases, which is why I hope to give them something exotic, like maybe the homocidal maniac was actually a valkarie*(sp), diplomatic crisis or at least test and try their ethics and sense of justice in a way they arent used to.
I guess my players are pretty much used to thinking only about number one, but now they have to think about the law as well as pedestrians, witnesses and so on both from a new angle, but also a hell of a lot more. An example could be they are got on the case to find a kidnapped little girl, but when they find the man who did it, they might discover, that the place she was taken from wasnt a school after all (it wasnt even her real parents) but a secret lab (go go stuff stolen from firefly).
Other issues could be the ethics and rights about replicants and clones. This is the angle I am aiming at, hopefully I can get it done.

Anyway, thank you again and keep it coming if you please

when this session is done I will give you a write up of what the case turned out to be.

PS: hmm, corruption ...

[yammahoper]

"It escaped from the labs!!!!!!"

A super soldier, an android, a telepath, whatever.  Some corp was developing something nasty and it gets away.

"Look out, its a rogue XXX."

CEO's who steal a fortune and hire the guns to keep it.  Any President or Military Captain could steal a ship, or even a fleet.  Cops gone bad and executing crooks gangland style.  Lots of options.

Just rememberto add that twist every now and then.  The escaped android is a new science but built to be a war machine, and it fled because it doesnt want to be a war machine, even though it has a 155 OB in just about every weapon it can shot or weild.  The bad cops are bad, but the leader is addicted to neo-crack...after being wounded in a raid and tortured for four days by drug dealers, who fed him neo-crack like candy.  a couple of the squad OD'ed, now the rest seek vengence...and a steady supply of neo-crack.

LOVE a good sci fi story.

lynn

[David Johansen]

Also, Asimov, Isaac: The Caves of Steel, Robots of Dawn etc... A cop with a robot partner together they fight CRIME!

[chk]

heh. actually somewhat on topic:

http://www.shadowunit.org/

[Oldgrue]

Funny thing about SF campaigns is that they tend do be a fantasy campaign in shiny pants.
What's the thematic difference between an 'arrow that always flies true' and a 'heat seeking gyrojet round'? A +1 magic sword, and a (insert quality brand name here) vibroblade are pretty much the same thing.

What you're really doing is just pushing the scale up a step. 5 planets is roughly equal to 5 towns, and the civil war between the coastal state and the inland state could just as easily be the Fisher's and baker's guilds. Orcish invasion? Why not a battlefleet?

The trick is to make your players believe in the change of pants.

So, they've got a piracy case...which of course leads to a Pirate...or Cartel.
Is the Cartel doing anything else naughty?  Trafficking in slaves, or just putting folks out an airlock?  Are the pirates based in a hidden cove asteroid field?

[DJRJ_AU]

How much do you want to mess with your players?  Lots?  Splendid!

Think back to the last campaign or you ran, regardless of setting.  Can you picture the PCs in that previous campaign, or as I would like you to think of them, "The Defendants", and all the sordid things they sank to?  Excellent.  Given that the PCs were busy doing what PCs do best, namely be free and easy with various elements of the law regarding concealed weapons, property damage, theft, assault, murder and generally carrying on all cranky it appears that you have the perfect foils for your Law & Order wannabes, all you have to do is to "upgrade" these murderous thugs into a sci-fi setting and then put the new PCs into a special task force dedicated to bringing these felons to justice.  Run your players through re-runs of what they've already done, but from the other side of the law.  That's part one.

Part two?  This is the fun part, you'll love it.  What did I say about PCs before?  Free and easy with the law?  Uh huh, you betcha!.  How long do you think it's going to be before the player's natural tendencies reassert control, and thereby have the heroic Guardians of Law acting in a less than worthy fashion?  I'd give it 2 or 3 sessions, 4 tops, and then it's back to business as normal.  Don't stomp on them immediately for their transgressions, that would spoil things later on.  Let them run free for a while, as long as you like, just make sure you keep plenty of notes. You'll still have them on a leash during this (they can't flagrantly break the law just yet after all), and the Internal Affairs Bureau will have all manner of childish delight in hanging the PCs from it.  Start small, no more than whispers, rumours and such and work up from there gradually while the PCs dig themselves in even deeper.  Then, once the rumours have had a chance to be ignored by the players, start an investigation into the PC's behaviour in the background; let them find out about part of it by accident and allow the PCs to panic and try and cover their tracks - Using even more methods of questionable legality to do so.

Part three, should you go there, would be something like "The Fugitive", only the PCs really are guilty and are trying to stay one step ahead of the Law...

Trust me, they'll love you for it (or stake you out on the nearest ant hill - it's an even bet either way).

[RandalThor]

FEAKIN HILARIOUS!!!

[buddha]

I did something similar in a Blue Planet campaign I ran a couple of years ago. We had not played for a long time and to get a grand finale I got 3 of the players of the original group to make new characters, told them that they had to hunt down one of the old characters and bring back his head (in cryo stasis).

So they went from earth and to Poseidon, the Blue Planet, and started following their old characters tracks. They saw quite a few episodes on captured by surveillance cameras and interviewed a few victims and eye witnesses. They were shocked at the brutal behavior of these monsters they were chasing.

And then I ended it all with a shout-out between the old and the new group. I had to get an assistant GM, separated the old players with their new characters and the new players with the old characters and let them hunt each other on a deserted island.

Fantastic.