I am about to embark on another Shadowrun game, my gaming groups' third. SR4A. Last time they played runners in Sydney, and I ran into a problem- the players were facing moral dilemmas every time they were asked to kidnap or harm someone. I wanted this to happen to some extinct, but the players were getting bummed out. So, this time I want to allow my players to have the moral high ground, and only tempt them with treachery, not out right reward them for it.

Hence, the players are agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based in Seattle. Instead of plotting runs, they will collect evidence and solve mysteries, track down killers and kidnappers, foil terrorists and deal work with Knight Errant on daily basis.

I've still got a few month to prepare, but I have my players sold on the above pitch. Two players have pitched me character ideas- A phys adapt Drake, fresh out of the academy, and a young hacker, "such a good criminal the FBI hired me."

What do you guys think? Can it be done, has it been done? You guys helped me out a lot with my last game, I appreciate any ideas.

Can totally be done, and can be awesome. I recommend you checking Vice, because it has a chapter on Law enforcement. One thing it does state is that the FBI has a KickA$$ l33t hacker division, if i recall it correctly. The point is, a law enforcement campaign tends to have less shiny toys, because it's not money based, so you better develop some way to give the players material rewards that aren't related to carsh earned (perhaps you award more Karma and you place some Karma to Gear rule to control the way characters are allowed acess to the Bureau's stashed gear. )

I'd love to play on your campaign sir.

Third edition had a Missions source book that listed alternative campaign ideas and playing law enforcement was one of them (along with Doc Wagon and Military). Ghost Cartels offers it as an option for playing through that campaign as well. So it is certainly possible to do and has been suggested in SR before.
Garou has some good ideas and points on things you'll need to consider regarding cash and gear.
You may also need to consider which qualities you allow into the game as some aren't really suitable for Law Enforcement or don't make sense (Criminal SINner perhaps or Made Man for example.) The main thing with campaigns of this type with regards the gear is if it is needed for a mission, the PCs boss or commander will likely provide it for that mission. Hitting a terrorist hide out? Sure, have an Ares Citymaster and some SWAT armour. Just give it back when you are done. If a player wants these things outside of a job context, that's where you can run into problems with cash.
A lot of players however, just want a chance to play with the big toys and so long as that happens every once in a while, you can probably keep down the purchasing of some of the bigger, pricier toys. The only place this won't hold true is cyber/bio/gene/nanotech. Then again, maybe Uncle Sam wants the FBI to sport some Wired Reflexes, at least while working for the Man.
A thing to consider about the possible lack of expensive combat related gear, is if your group doesn't all have that sort of stuff, then when they run into a bad guy who does, it can make the combat more interesting. If your group all have 1 or maybe 2 IPs, a guy with 3 or 4 IPs becomes a serious threat and it allows you as GM to play with less over the top adversaries. Not every challenge need feature a cyber zombie to put the fear of god into the PCs.
Ummm, yeah, that's about all for now.

That's not necessarily true Mantis. An Undercover FBI agent could get both Criminal Sin and Made Man. Would be the ultimate insider. He is a criminal! His SIN says so!

About the Gear, i rather like the idea of a "mission budget" that would work well with the whole Shadowrun idea. The main difference is that it is Resource Allotment, and if you don't use it, the money disapears on mission end. A lot of agents would try to launder it, but that's what Internal Affairs exists to fix, isn't it? Considering your players seem to be on the ethical side, i don't think that would be a problem.

Bioware and cyberware are more complicated, because you can't just order someone to return his Cyberskull. That's why the Karma Cash (1 - 5000y) is a good idea for 'personal assets'

"Mission Budget" is something I will definitely use now that you mention it. I've told the players I will issue them their official gear after character creation, so anything they buy upfront is personal equipment, not to be used on the job. I've also alerted them to the dangers of F rated equipment, and how it could loose them their job.

F rated equipment just requires a signed requisition if you work for the goverment. It is not forbidden to the government.

To be more precise, there are of course different grades of forbidden. An FBI agent isn't going to get a 5 gallon can of nerve agent no matter how many requisitions he sends in. But an area jammer? Sure, no problem.

Keycard copier, maglock passkey, celuar glove molder? Got a warrant? Pick it up from the supply room, just bring it back.

20 kg of plastic explosives? You got the FBI cert for explosive breaching? How about 4 keys of rating 15 and the firing chain, bring back the safey caps and file a report to get more.

AV missile? Fill out this form to explain what the reason you need it is, include a copy of your current qualification card for the missile and get the SAIC to sign off. Bring back the tube and the sight.

This can also be used to add the dimension of an explicit career path.
Special agent Montgomery doesn't have the authorization for this equipment but he has two commendations and a friend in procurement so he is able to get a special dispensation. He's on track for a promotion in a couple cases.
Senior Special Agent Dewalt would normally be authorized for this gear but he has two disciplinary citations and his authorizations need to go through internal affairs. Maybe if this next case goes smoothly he can salvage his sinking career.

Note that equipment authorization mechanics could also be applied to warrents, safehouses, access to prisoners/specialists, etc.

Soooooo many possibilities.

Seconding the 'Vice' recommendation.

They have some potentially hilarious ideas involving the mythical 'inter-agency co-operation' in which agencies will sometimes go after each other (through runners) to collect evidence they won't give up through official channels, steal clues so everyone's on the same page(or trade it to ANOTHER agency for something they actually do need), or even just to delay an investigation long enough to that they can claim credit for a big case.
After all, possession is 9/10th's of the law

Might I recommend you search these very forums for the custom campaign setting designed by Wounded Ronin regarding Texas Rangers. Maybe not precisely what you had in mind, but some good conflicts and concerns for you to incorporate.

And if your budget is high enough, you can hire runners as diversionary tactics on a investigation, or to collect evidence inside a home without a warrant, or even better, to collect it in extraterritorial places.

Come on, admit it.

Every Shadowrun player in existence would love to say the following. "Good evening, gentlemen. I am Mr. Johnson, and i have a job that would be well served by your... particular skill sets."

It isn't an illegal search if it isn't on UCAS territory. ...

We've done some similar stuff-a game where they played Lone Star undercover's; a few others where they played Corporate Law Enforcement. The evidence gathering is basically leg work of another kind so I think it can be done. Pacing is always an issue, and make sure you understand that as agents of the law the pay out isn't the same. They don't get to negotiate, and they will likely have access to equipment and resources that the average Shadowrunner might not have.

Have fun with it though!

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I've read through Vice, and familiarized myself with the setting info there. The Yakuza will be showing up as a reoccurring villain, but I want to feature different capers every week, so organized crime will only be part of it.



This leads me to my big question- What kind of authority does the FBI have in 2073? Vice details Knight Errant's powers of search and seizure, should the FBI have more? I'm definitely using it as the starting point.

Does the FBI hacker need a warrant to take over a runner's commlink, or only probable cause? Is spell casting excessive force? I'm going to try and codify some of this before I start playing, so I don't have to make snap civil liberties decisions during a run.

And now you have a reason for the characters to have both FBI Procedures and Evidence Law as good knowledge skills. Spoil your evidence and it can be worse than not getting it in the first place.

If you have to make this up, please post your decisions; I'm tempted to try this with a group of mine...

Another thing.

Look somewhere for GURPS COPS. It's an old Third edition PDF, but it is not too hard to find because it was one of the last books of the 3rd edition.

It has an extensive treatment on policework on many levels, what you can and what you cannot do.

Inside of extraterritoriality? Basically none. Inside of the UCAS? I imagine it something like the movie Elite Squad. The people who vote and pay you (i.e., SINners) expect you to stop people if that's what it takes to get things done. A guy without a SIN is barely a guy at all. HOWEVER, the media is on the watch, and if they splash images of your squad mowing down an innocent or unarmed person, there will be hell to pay.

Noted. I'll make sure the players know the consequences of making a bloody scene.

The FBI? What fun!

Take a look at the FBI fitness test. Make all your players try to pass it. When they all flunk (unless someone's quite an athlete), tell them, "that's why FBI agent characters have physical attribute minimums."

They also get stuck with whatever the equivalent of a Glock or Sig .40 would be. Apparently 10mm was too manly and hardcore for the FBI.

But, seriously, it would be a lot of fun. Think of how the FBI raided Anonymous. You could have some comedy theater where the player characters raid some Anonymous dude's house, and he's this pale flabby computer guy, but he also plays lots of Call of Duty and goes nuts trying to repel assaulters with a carbine or something he keeps by his desk.

There could also be all kinds of government and police procedures the PCs must adhere to, just like the old Police Quest series of adventure games.

Honestly, it sounds like my kind of game. It would really make me happy to play in such a game!

Maybe you can even reach out to a retired FBI agent as your technical consultant.

Huzzah!

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=11960

And when the campaign ends, there'll be plenty of potential FBI contacts for future characters

Makes sense the federal gov just becomes another Johnson who wants deniable assets to use against corps. makes perfect sense.

I think the OP wanted a variation from the deniable asset thing, Snow. The idea is that they are agents inside a structure, not deniable at all. Part of the fun would be to still manage to solve cases like that.

The red tape and BS would pile up quickly I imagine. It's an interesting concept but you have to think of what the players in this scenario can't do and the repercussions if they get caught doing something they shouldn't be. Different strokes.

Good to see that other people are doing this. Damn. So I have some advice and tips- not sure how useful they'll be to you, but here goes.

Funding: Mission fund sounds like a fine idea- wish I'd thought of it myself. Attempted to work in a mechanic for an agency fund along the lines of the group fund we use in our other Shadowrun game, but couldn't make it work the way I wanted. Instead, I ended up borrowing the rep system right out of Eclipse Phase. Rep is a bit more abstract than hard cash, so it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. The limiting factor for favours and equipment requisition is there, along with the penalties for betrayals of trust and the loss of equipment.

Equipment: Gave my players access to basic SWAT armour sans modifications, and a list of the small arms that would be available to them for regular use, along with occasional access to vehicles. Personal weapons are allowed within reason. There's been no problems with that yet. Considered putting together specific load-outs depending on the mission, but it could get too fiddly. If anything, you can always fall back on the age old GM limiting factor of giving the opposition a lot of the same gear that the players have. Someone else mentioned putting the players in situations where they don't have access to that kind of gear, which is a fine idea. Been meaning to do that more myself.

Missions: There's plenty of fodder for this in the movies and television. "MI-5" is excellent plot fodder- most episodes are simple, character-driven affairs which would probably play out well in a game. If your players aren't entirely familiar with the Ghost in the Shell franchise, I'd recommend ripping that off wholesale. Also, check out the first Patlabor movie. For published runs, Divided Assets is a good one, and goes well with your moral choice theme. (I had to re-work it as a False Flag Operation to make it work as a government job, though.)

Other Sources: Gurps Cops is a good one. See also Gurps Special Ops and Gurps Mysteries. Ah, Gurps. I may not like your system at all, but your supplements are pretty much the best thing ever. On the Shadowrun side, there's some fun things in Spy Games and Conspiracy Theories.

Hope that helps. Good luck to you.