Would You Allow an LS or KE character..., In a Regular (Non-Cop) SR Game Options

[Mercer]

I started thinking about this at work tonight, in lieu of actually working. As a GM, would you allow a character to be an active duty LS or KE officer, a working cop who runs as a sideline? What sort of qualities would think would be an essential part of the build, beyond Day Job?

[The Jake]

I started thinking about this at work tonight, in lieu of actually working. As a GM, would you allow a character to be an active duty LS or KE officer, a working cop who runs as a sideline? What sort of qualities would think would be an essential part of the build, beyond Day Job?

This is screaming for the Judas Negative Quality IMHO. I'd definitely allow it!

- J.

[Trigger]

I started thinking about this at work tonight, in lieu of actually working. As a GM, would you allow a character to be an active duty LS or KE officer, a working cop who runs as a sideline? What sort of qualities would think would be an essential part of the build, beyond Day Job?

Definitely need the qualities SINner and Day Job.

[AngelisStorm]

Unless he is a deep undercover agent.

I would think about it, but it would depend on the back story. It would require some pretty good reasons why a cop is running the Shadows and not arresting the Shadowrunners (and hasn't gotten himself shot by said Runners).

[The Jake]

Unless he is a deep undercover agent.

Like I said... Judas quality. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

No need for dayjob and similar qualities if he's reporting the actions of an entire shadowrun team back to command. Maybe said cop grows attached to this team mates and decides to rid himself of his former masters. It would make for interesting roleplaying seeing the cop pay karma to get rid of that quality....

- J.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

No traitor concepts in my games. "I don't want to screw over you guys, I'm just playing my character!" just adds insult to injury.

A bend cop, on the other hand, is a lot of both power and trouble. Balancing that can be quite tricky.

[toturi]

Take SINner, Dayjob and Judas. He is a cop (hence the SIN and the job) and he is going to betray LS or KE and he doesn't know it (hence the Judas). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

[Delarn]

I compleatly agree. It could be a NYPD inc. agent also.

[Karoline]

Don't forget about records on file for either LS or KE.

I like the crooked cop idea more than the Judas cop idea. He is the sort of cop who takes bribes like it is nothing and goes into work just long enough to erase some key criminal info on people who just happened to lose a big pile of money right next to him.

[Critias]

I'd make 'em have Sinner, Day Job, and an understanding he's still going to have to pay for his Contacts like normal.

[Starglyte]

Don't see why not a cop can't moonlight as a shadowruner. Training Day could be a good example on how to run such a character. Make sure those Fake IDs are on the ball.

[Mercer]

Training Day, The Shield... most of the cop inspiration is movies about dirty cops, but it doesn't have to be (although it does seem like that would be more fun). There's a few reasons why a cop character might run the shadows. He or she might realize they simply can't make it on a basic patrolman's salary. Or maybe they're just a danger junkie, or a Neo-Anarchist.

Deep Cover is probably a good example of how an "undercover cop" concept could work. But I like the idea of a character who is a cop by day and a runner by night. Dexter (cop, forensic technician, whatever) deserves a mention too.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Played a character like this for over 2 years... worked out prety well, as he was only to infiltrate teh Shadow Community and report back on the contacts and movers and shakers of said community... eventually, though, he was caught in a major run against Mitsuhama and he was outed... ended up in a Mitsuhama orbital prison for Industrial espionage...

Incedentally, he was a Knight Errant Deep Cover Agent... contact with his superiors only about once per quarter... the character was a lot of fun to play...

Keep the Faith

[HANZO]

I used to allow cop players in cyberpunk all the time. Just because he was on the job doesn't mean his duties will over lap. If you have a cop that is just a beat cop, or a patrolman who is to say he gives a rats about some corporate espionage out side his patrol area.

Just because some one is a cop doesn't mean he is robocop and is a single minded law enforcing machine.

He might just see his beat as a job. as a lot of cops do.

While I was not a cop I did work in criminal justice for 8 years. I didnt walk around "looking for wrong doers". I punched a clock, did my 8 and hit the gate. During that time I worked as a bouncer off and on at a local club. One job did not help me in any way do the other.

Although I did run a "black shield" game once where the players were all cops or contracted by them to take care of some of the "harder cases". Black shield was a deep cover operation. My way of bringing judge dread to cyberpunk.

[Snow_Fox]

Or, he could be a perfectly reasonable cop who is more interested in justice and law enforcement than the climbing the corp ladder. He'd have to be off of some of the runs-wet work, arson etc, but look at the vast number of detective and pulp stories and TV shows that have police 'side kicks.'
Peroit's Inspector Japp, Sherlock Holmes' had a large number of policemen he worked with (all named Lestrade in most movies) Spencer has homicide commanderMartin Quirk and Sgt Belson who both have provided back up on a few adventures. Before the serries became just porn Anita Blake had many of her cases handed to her by police officers of the RPIT , or more recently and better for SR, look at Harry Dresden's buddy Sgt Murphy, who had been an LT at the start of the serries but was demoted when she was absent helping Dresden on a run against faeires.

This works especially well for a police officer or detective who believes in justice equally for all like the american founding fathers laid out, corps and their special status would be an anethma to such an officer and the idea of breaking in to discover some dark secret the corp is keeping, like they've unnessessarily jacked up costs on food/medicine/entertainment or supressed info of a rival who could do something cheaper would appeal to them.

heck look at the anime Ghost in the Shell, they ARE police. and especially in the first season of the TV show they were working to reveal corp corruption- the whole Laughing Man plot thread.

[MikeKozar]

Fox covered most of my faves, but I have been watching a lot of Dexter lately. There's a concept that would require some fast talking before I'd allow it.

Another angle (and I know I saw this in a movie) is for the cop to get drug into running via a sense of duty. His brother is in trouble, but he can't save him through the system - maybe he's being held in a extraterritorial prison, due to be volunteered for research testing. His only shot at saving him is to stage a breakout, so he uses his street connections to find Shadowrunners...maybe he can't raise the cash, but the Fixer has an idea for a work-trade program. Obviously having a cop to 'lose' evidence is the traditional angle, but maybe this cop won't cross that line...but the fixer knows he's resourceful and well-trained, and offers him another option: do a job (or two) for me, and we'll get a team together to go after your brother.