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Heat Wave
The Rookies Begin
by Michele Armellini
This is an introductory adventure starting a campaign with beat cops as PCs. Beat cops are less flashy than FBI agents, and creating a campaign for them can be challenging. It has its own rewards, however, or at least, opportunities -- some of which closely linked to what might seem just problems.
The GM should talk with the players about a cops campaign. If they seem to think Lethal Weapon, this isn't the right setting. They want to be at least detectives, or maybe SWAT agents. However, if they mention Hill Street Blues or Adam-12, then this is the setting for them. GURPS Cops is the recommended sourcebook, and pages CO41-42, CO45, and CO77-80 will be very useful; but the adventure is described in generic terms, and the GM can use it with his preferred ruleset.
Pitfalls And Opportunities
A campaign focusing on beat cops has a few problems of its own. Instead of being deterred by them, why not trying to see them as opportunities?
- The biggest problem is that a cop's job is thankless and repetitive. The officer responds to a burglar alarm, and discovers it was a faulty siren. He spends half an hour for a routine car accident. Then he stops in a bar. Then an abused wife calls for help -- it's the fifth time she calls. This isn't cinematic.
However, these situations will sometimes develop. The alarm actually signals a burglary. A drunken celebrity was driving. A brawl erupts in the bar. When the . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: November 1, 2002
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