Lawman
MAXIMUM LAWMEN ON MEAN 21ST CENTURY STREETS
"Listen, kid, call us whatever you like. Lawmen, badges, pigs. We don't care. The City's in shambles and every day we see people pushing back against the rebuilding. Boosters, cyberpsychos, terror groups, the worst of the worst. I'm not in it for the glory and I'm not looking to flash my gun and act like some big shot Solo. I took an oath to keep this City safe and I take that oath seriously. Someone has to keep the streets safe so civilians like you can walk to the market without taking a stray bullet from the latest gang war. And that's me."
In the old days, they only used to shoot at cops. Now you're lucky if you just take a slug. The Street is mean these days, filled with new drugs, new gangs, and new weapons that make an M-16 look like a kid's toy. If you're on a City Force, you know how bad it is. You're carrying at least four high caliber weapons, most of them full-auto types, wearing a Kevlar vest that'll stop 850 ft/lbs per square inch-and you're still outgunned and outflanked. Half the gangs are cyber to begin with-super speed, super reflexes, can see in the dark, carry weapons in their arms...The other half are freelance Corporate mercs-gangs hired by the Corps to enforce their policies on the Street. And there you are-a beat cop or detective in an armored squadcar, pаtrolling this jungle with the heavy predators.
The Corporate Cops, now that's the life. Heavy weapons, full combat armor, Trauma Team™ backup, AV-4 assault vehicles and gyrocopters with miniguns. But they only patrol the sectors of the City that the Government's licensed them for. The nice, clean sectors full of new office buildings and fancy restaurants-where no jacked up psychopunk is going to ever go on a killing spree with an AК47. You get the bad sections. Burned out buildings and abandoned cars, where every night is a new firefight and another great opportunity for a messy death.
If you're really unlucky, you might draw PsychoSquad detail. PsychoSquad guys get the job of hunting down heavily armed and armored cyborgs who've flipped out. Sure, the PS guys have access to railguns, gyros and AVs. But a cyberpsycho can walk through machine gun fire and not feel it. A lot of the Psycho Squad detectives are crazy themselves. They load up with boosted reflexes, get some monstrously huge guns, and go hunt the cyborgs solo. But you're not that crazy.
Yet.
Role Ability: Backup
The Lawman's Role Ability is Backup. With this ability, Lawmen can call upon the help of fellow officers, based on the Lawman's Rank and the conditions under which they make the call. This Backup is armed and armored based on their Rank.
As a Lawman increases in Rank, they are likely to be promoted withing their current law enforcement organization or be recruited by law enforcement agencies that they can currently call backup from.
When in danger, you can call on Backup from a group of your Backup Rank or lower. As an Action, you attempt to roll equal or lower than your Backup Rank on a d10 to get someone to respond to your call. If you abuse this, your Boss will throw you off the force or fine you as they see fit.
After someone responds to your call, you roll a d6 to find out in how many Rounds your Backup will arrive on the scene. If you roll a 6, instead of your typical Backup, the Backup that arrives will be of the next highest level of Backup, unless you are Rank 10, in which case two separate Backup groups will arrive. If nobody responds to your call, you can always try your backup call again next turn.
Backup Ranks
Combat Number: A Skill Base used for both offensive and defensive. This number combines both STAT and Skill for them. You will add a d10 roll to this value whenever attacking with their carried weapons or equipment or defending. Backup cannot dodge bullets.
SP: The stopping power of the armor on both their Body and Head locations.
HP: The amount of Hit Points that each member of the Backup has.
MOVE & BODY: The Backup's MOVE and BODY Stat, important for movement and for some effects that reference the target's MOVE or BODY (like Death Saves).
Backup Rank 1 and 2
Combat Number: 8 | SP: 7 | HP: 20 | MOVE & BODY: 4
Corporate Security. 4 local renta-cops on the scene, arriving on foot. They carry Heavy Pistols and wear Kevlar.
Backup Rank 3 and 4
Combat Number: 10 | SP: 7 | HP: 25 | MOVE & BODY: 5
Local Beat Cops. 4 local cops on the beat. They arrive in two Compact Groundcars. They carry Heavy Pistols and are armored in Kevlar.
Backup Rank 5 through 7
Combat Number: 14 | SP: 13 | HP: 35 | MOVE & BODY: 4
Sheriff's Department. 2 local "County Mounties" patrolling the exurbs and the highways around the City. They will arrive in a High Performance Groundcar, armed with Heavy Pistols and Assault Rifles, armored in Heavy Armorjack.
Backup Rank 8
Combat Number: 16 | SP: 15 | HP: 50 | MOVE & BODY: 6
Recovery Zone Marshal. Like the Marshals of the Old West, these are lone Lawmen who patrol cities. One arrives on a Superbike, carrying a Very Heavy Pistol, Assault Rifle, Grenade Launcher, and wearing Flak Armor.
Backup Rank 9
Combat Number: 15 | SP: 18 | HP: 35 | MOVE & BODY: 4
C-SWAT. 2 local heavy hitters from the Psycho Squad. They carry assault rifles and rocket launchers, wearing Metalgear. Will arrive from the air in an AV-4.
Backup Rank 10
Combat Number: 14 | SP: 11 | HP: 35 | MOVE & BODY: 6
Nation Law Enforcement/Interpol/FBI/Netwatch. These are serious hitters, operating under the control of national governments or international law enforcement groups. They travel in pairs, will arrive in an AV-4, and are outfitted with Very Heavy Pistols, Assault Rifles, in Light Armorjack.
Unlike all the other forms of Backup, these serious hitters stick around after the conflict ends and assist in investigating the scene. While they will not travel with the Crew on a day-to-day basis, after the first time they are called, the same 2 hitters will always respond to calls for backup connected to the initial call until the "case" is closed or they fall in the line of duty.
Additionally, they can use their Combat Number for these Skills: Accounting, Acting, Conceal/Reveal Object, Criminology, Cryptography, Deduction, Education, Forgery, Interrogation, Paramedic, Perception, Personal Grooming, Resist Torture/Drugs, Stealth, and Tracking.
Slack is a Rank 4 Lawman working the midnight shift. He gets pinned down by a boostergang and calls for backup using his Action, rolling a 4 on the d10, which is a success because it is a result of his rank or lower! He rolls 1d6 to see how man Rounds it will take and rolls a 6! Not only does this mean that in 6 Rounds, backup will arrive, but that also means that instead of 4 Local Beat Cops responding, backup from 1 Backup tier higher - 2 heavy-firepower-wielding County Mounties - will arrive. He takes cover and prepares to hold out until the calvary charges to the rescue.
Role-Based Life Path
Some things are universal. Other things are pretty specific. One of these is how your day job (or night job or side job or whatever - we won't judge you) affects your life. The things that a hard-bitten Lawman on the Street has to face are way different from the glittering club life of a Rockerboy, and they both deal with shit no pampered or privileged Corpo could even imagine. To that end, find below a series of Role-based questions that supplement the regular Lifepath.
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