The Department

Printer Friendly

Credits By: John Conomikes, Joseph Dragovich, Scott R. Pyle Layout and Design: Joseph Dragovich Editor: Jessica Wong Front Cover: Alistair Luck Interior Illustrations: Dave Powell, Alistair Luck, Cole Jeffreys Playtesters: Chris Blum, Tim Cooper, Joseph Dragovich, Marc Dyke, Kieran Mathers, Tim Tegarden, Andrew Welburn Special Thanks: Jessica Wong, Rick Dragovich, Chris Kitching, Michael Fogg Based on Blasters and Bulkheads, by Scott Pyle. Thanks to all of our Kickstarter backers: Beat Cop Larry Pryor, Ryan Keller, Tom Mason, Harry, Shane Mclean, bigmanlittlesoul, Robert Biddle, CrayolaSmoker, Paul Motsuk, Christopher Holden, Andrew Waddell, Mikolaj Laczynski, Alexandra Hebda, DivNull Productions, Nathan Heazlett, DrewSouth, Benjamin Davis, ScottMGS, Dr Mike Lance, Manuel Doria, Eilif, Scott Craig, Nicholas, Paper_and_Plastic, Carla Meier, Jeff Craig, Stephen Hmiel, Paul Morgan, gilesdorrington, mbcthu, Chris Starr, Kirt Dankmyer, Jeff Glover, machshop, Jason Mosack, Vincent Arebalo, Jeremy Fridy, Chris Swan, David A Wendt, anthrorob, Keegan Gibson Detective Marc, Peter Evanko, Austin Stanley, Stuart Hollis, Antoine Bergeron, Rob Didur, Lee Sweeney, Nik Urlaub, Andrew Robertson, Schiav21st, Paul Collins, Todd Estabrook, Junius Stone, David Ross, Evan Rattner, Beyazit Guzelyagdoken, Andrew Maxwell, Timothy Kubista, Joshua Beale, Andrew Dormer, Tony Garry, Stephan Szabo, Sven, anzidei, Rob Norman, David Billinghurst, Chris Blum, Tom Hoefle, Antifnity, Tim Cooper, Rabidchild, David Leppink, Allan Rodda, Jack Waitkus, H Lynnea, Darren, Ravenwing67, Chris Snyder, John Fu, Martin, Thad Hait, Austin Cyphersmith, Jeremy, Holley, John Mcguire, Cameron Kingsley, Derrick Bitner, Michael M Brown, Chris Hensley, Richard Sgro, Marci SnowPerry, Tom Meier, TSINI, Eric Kervina, Philippe Amsler, James Priebnow, Dan Ritchie, Steven Ward, Walter, Tim Tegarden, R1artwork 2nd Lieutenant Horacio Gonzalez, John, midgetmanifesto, Adam Luchjenbroers, Paul Fraser, Stephen, Rodger, John Morrow, William Demjan, Timothy Berry, Steve Daniels, Brent Evans 1st Lieutenant Steven Moy, Nicholas Vitek, Chris Vaughn, GrumpyMonkey, Barry Fujii Commissioner John Hogan, Kai Seger, Dave Fox, Nick Crouch, Jason O' Mahony, Thomas Ball, Christian Mathon

© 2012

ii

Contents Introduction...................................................1 Actions and Combat............................. .6 ..

NPCS......................................................................19 Character Creation..........................25 Missions..........................................................32 The Investigation Campaign.......50 Prime Suspects........................................55 Appendix I.......................................................76 Play Aids........................................................77

iii

Introduction

Skirmish games allow players to do battle on the tabletop using small groups of miniatures, and empower players to tell a collective story with their characters as the central players. In order to play The Department, players will need these rules, a handful of six-sided dice (a few different colors or styles of dice will be helpful), and a team containing suitable 15mm or 28mm miniatures. The Department is meant to be played where players are cooperating on the same side against the game. However, it can work with players creating two distinct sides and battling it out against each other on the streets of 2060s America.

Model Count

As a skirmish game, The Department requires only a handful of miniatures. Players will need a single character model each. The players will also need several figures representing suspects and persons of interest in the investigation. While not strictly necessary for the game, players should also create approximately 6 crowd markers that contain a variety of civilian models.

A Note On “Models” vs. “Characters”

These rules refer to models (the figures used to play the game) and characters (the named personalities created by players) interchangeably.

Table Size

Players using 15mm figures should use a 2' x 2' (60cm x 60cm) or 3' x 3' (90cm x 90cm) play area. Games of The Department using 28mm figures should be played on a 4' x 4' or 6' x 4' terrain surface.

Introduction

The Department provides rules and scenarios for playing skirmish games in a science fiction universe of hard-boiled detectives, robot gangsters and femme fatales. These rules are designed to emulate the film noir genre and its various revivals of the last few decades. The dangerous investigation and desperate combats are ideal for tabletop skirmish and role-playing games.

Basing Figures

Figures in The Department work best mounted on single bases. We like to use metal washers for our bases, but many popular 28mm figures come with 25mm plastic slotted bases, and these work fine as well. Basing 15mm figures on 1/8" x 3/4" Fender washers provides a nice aesthetic result, and still allows for plenty of room on the playing surface. No matter the scale of figures or the base sizes you choose, not all bases need be uniform. The benefits and disadvantages of larger or smaller bases will even out over time.

Game Mechanics The Most Important Rule

The Department is your game. If you don't like the way something works, discuss it with your gaming group and make a change that is acceptable to everyone.

The Goal Roll

The heart of The Department is the goal roll. Most actions in the game require a goal roll, and during every goal roll a model has a certain number, or pool of dice, which its player must roll. The player rolls the dice and looks for dice rolling 4 or greater (i.e., 4, 5, or 6); this will determine the number of goals collected in that throw. Players ignore dice rolling less than 4.

1

Example: Agent Wycowski wishes to strike a suspect. He rolls 5D and gets a 2, 3, 4, 4, and 5, for a total of 3 goals.

Introduction

Models in The Department possess three basic attributes and three derived attributes rated by a number of dice. The three attributes include Prowess, Intuition, and Logic. The three derived attributes are Reaction, Deduction, and Resolve. For example, a model with Prowess 3 would roll 3 dice to strike a target in close combat or at range. As stated above, any die rolling 4+ counts toward the total goals scored, and lower die rolls are ignored.

Freeze! DFM!

The Power of 6

Rolling a 6 in The Department is special. Whenever a model rolls a 6 on a throw it counts as 2 goals. Example: Agent Wycowski's player rolls his 5D Strength and gets 1, 3, 4, 4, and 6 for a total of 4 goals.

Re‐Rolls

Some special traits and equipment allow players to re-roll failed dice for their models. For an easy reminder, the number of re-rolls allowed on a throw can be noted in parentheses next to the relevant attribute or dice pool. For example, a player running a character with 5D in Strength and heavy armor would get 2 re-rolls on Damage Resistance and note them in the following manner: DR 5D(2). Rerolls may be used on each throw of the relevant dice pool. A single die may never be re-rolled more than one time on any given throw.

Unopposed Goal Rolls

In an unopposed goal roll, the player rolls a number of dice equal to her model's relevant attribute, and counts up the number of goals. At least 1 goal is needed to succeed at the minimum level. Example: Officer Doyle tries to leap a 2cm gap between buildings. She possesses 3D in Strength, and so her player rolls and scores a 1, 2, and 5, for 1 goal, just enough to make it to the other side.

Target Numbers and Damage Numbers

Target Numbers represent fixed values that must be matched or exceeded with an unopposed goal roll. This most often reflects non-combat tasks like finding a hidden suspect or examining a clue. Target Numbers are denoted as “TN#”. TNs are set by a given scenario, or the power level of a certain model, or they can be created by a neutral game master or GM. Here are some sample TNs and their relative difficulty levels:

2

TN1 Routine TN2 Challenging TN3 Arduous TN4 Herculean TN5 Godlike TNs usually range from TN1 to TN5; anything higher would be ludicrously challenging. Example: Agent Wycowski attempts to detect a fabricant bumbling around the other side of a plaster wall. It's a TN1 task to spot a model that is not actively hiding. Wycowski possesses 4D for this, and rolls 2, 3, 3, and 5, for a total of 1 goal. He knows the careless fab is there!

Some actions require a certain amount of finesse to succeed. Threshold rolls (also called threshold checks) represent tasks where a certain amount of restraint is required for a character to achieve their goal. Threshold checks are like unopposed goal rolls in that they have a TN, but the TN has a number in brackets behind it, called the threshold (Example: TN 3[5]). As normal the TN number is the minimum goals required to succeed. The threshold in brackets is the maximum goals that can be scored for the action to succeed. If a player rolls more goals than the threshold, the action fails and may have additional consequences as described in the test. Players may choose to roll less than their maximum dice pool in order to prevent rolling over the threshold. Example: Agent Wycowski is interrogating a suspect on the street. He needs to put pressure on the suspect to get the information he wants, but not too much or the suspect will clam up. The interrogation test is TN2[4]. Wycowski has a dice pool of five and decides to roll it all. Wycowski rolls his pool and unluckily rolls 5 goals! He was too persistent in his line of questioning and the suspect refused to answer any questions.

Damage Numbers

Damage Numbers, or DNs, represent a special kind of Target Number in the game. When a character suffers

DN2 DN3 DN4 DN5 DN6 DN7

Fist Knife Slug Pistol Shotgun Large Caliber Assault Rifle (LCAR) Sniper rifle

Example: Wycowski suffers an Assault Rifle shot during a firefight at the docks! He must roll his DR versus the LCAR’s DN6 value. If he fails to match the DN number, he’ll suffer the difference in lost vitality!

Introduction

Threshold Rolls

a hit in combat, or from some other factor like poison gas or a fall, he must roll his Damage Resistance (DR) versus a DN set by the weapon or the circumstance. Section: Actions and Combat explains this in greater detail, but here is a list of sample weapon DNs:

Opposed Goal Rolls

Some of the most important goal rolls in The Department are opposed goal rolls. When one model attacks another, the attacker's relevant attribute is pitted against the defender's relevant attribute in an opposed contest. The model that gains more goals (dice rolling 4+) wins the contest, and in the case of combat, might successfully strike or dodge. In some cases, a model's net goals are added to the effects of its action. For example, in combat, a model that successfully strikes a foe and beats his total by 3+ goals adds +1 to the attack's DN. In all opposed goal rolls, ties go to the defender. Example: Agent Wycowski and Freddy the Rat battle atop a flying car! Wycowski attacks with Agility 3, and so his player rolls 3D getting 1, 4, and 6, for 3 goals. Freddy's player rolls his 3D Agility and gets a 2, 3, and 5, for only 1 goal. Wycowski wins 3 goals to 1; a solid hit, but not enough to add to the DN!

Rounding

Whenever a rule or situation calls for a model to halve a trait, players round numbers up normally. For example, a value of 3 halved is 1.5, which would be rounded up to 2.

3

CharacterMake‐Up The Three Base Attributes

The Department characters are made up of three primary attributes rated in numbers of dice. Base attributes are rarely rolled on their own, but are usually rolled combined with a skill or as part of a derived attribute. They are as follows:

Introduction

Prowess: This is the character's strength, agility and fortitude rolled into one. Intuition: Perception, intelligence, and mental acuity. Logic: A character's mental strength.

The Derived Attributes

Characters in The Department have three additional attributes that further define them. These are determined by the values of the three base attributes. Reaction (Prowess + Intuition): Reacting to a sudden event. Deduction (Intuition + Logic): Link together pieces of evidence. Resolve (Prowess + Logic): Resist taxing situations.

Other Values

Beyond the four attributes, several other values play an important role in defining a The Department character. Unlike attributes, some of these values are not rated in terms of numbers of dice.

Move

A model's Move value represents the number of centimeters (cm) it may move during its turn. Most characters and henchmen in The Department possess a base Move of 6cm. Certain characters may possess traits that increase or decrease their movement. Models can charge an enemy, covering extra ground by adding more to their base Move value after a Running test. Various types of terrain and other special scenario factors can also affect movement. This will be covered in greater detail in Section: Action and Combat.

4

Vitality

Vitality measures a model's health, or how many hits the model can take before it goes down. Most character models start the game with 3 Vitality. Certain character models may possess special traits that alter this base number.

DR

A character’s Damage Resistance is equal to 1 + their Resolve attribute. When a character gets hit with an attack, his player rolls this dice pool to resist the damage.

Movement and Scale

Movement rates in these rules were written with 15mm models in mind, and all measures are in centimeters (cm). However, The Department has been written to just as easily conform to using 28mm scale models. If using the larger scale models, simply convert all measures from centimeters (cm) to inches. For example, a 15mm character model moves 6cm, while the same character in 28mm will move 6”.

Fate

Some characters possess a will to live that grants them an amazing tenacity and resistance. In The Department, this helps to make them the heroes they truly are. A model's Fate equals its starting Logic attribute, and represents a number of free dice a model may add to important rolls during the course of a game round, or use to activate special abilities. A model must announce it is using Fate before any dice are rolled, and once they have been spent, they are gone for the remainder of that round of the game. A model may not spend more than 3D of Fate on any single goal roll. A model's Fate dice replenish at the beginning of each game round during the Fate Refresh phase. Example: Officer Doyle possesses 3D in Logic, and thus has 3 Fate dice available per round. During the course of a game round, her player could spend 2 of her Fate dice on Doyle's turn to give her a better chance to hit on her attack, saving 1 die for later in the round in case she suffers an attack.

To efficiently track the usage of Fate for each character during the course of a game round, players should use distinctively colored Fate dice for each character in the team, and once they have been used, place them aside until the next round. Alternately, players could employ beads or counters to indicate or track a character's Fate use, and as they are spent during the round, set them aside.

Special Traits

Special Traits define alien abilities, extra skills, and weird powers models possess. Many traits are available to models, and all are listed in Section: Character Creation.

When announcing the use of Fate dice, the acting player first decides how many his model will employ on the roll, then the defending player decides how many he or she will use.

Skills

Introduction

Skills are finer specialization of character abilities. Skills have an associated attribute that is always included in their dice pool. When a skill roll is called for in the rules it is either noted with the name of the skill (e.g. make a Running roll) or with the skill and the attribute (e.g. make a Running + Prowess roll). Skills are never rolled independently from their associated attribute.

5

Actions and Combat The Combat Round

1.) Fate Refresh 2.) NPC Actions 3.) Initiative 4.) Take Turns These four phases transform the chaos of cinematic noir combat into a playable and orderly game turn.

Rounds and Turns

In The Department, a round consists of a number of turns equal to the number of character models involved in the battle. Each model gets a turn to activate.

PhaseI:FateRefresh

During this phase of the round, every model that possesses a Fate pool refreshes that pool back up to its starting value. Players should move their different colored Fate dice back onto their models’ data cards to indicate a refreshed Fate pool. Example: Agent Wycowski possesses a Fate dice pool of 4D. He starts the game with 4D in his pool, and during the first round, he spends 2D on various powers and dice rolls. At the beginning of the next round, during the Fate Refresh, Wycowski gets his 2D of spent Fate back. To effectively track his Fate dice and their use, Wycowski’s player, Sky, uses red D6s for Wycowski’s Fate dice, and blue D6s for his normal dice.

Phase II NPC Moves

NPCs will always act before the player characters according to their current subroutine. The NPC closest to the investigators acts first, followed by the next closest, etc. Players may choose which NPC acts first if several are an equal distance. Once activated, the NPCs roll on their current subroutine. It is not important which player rolls and acts with NPCs, but the duty should be shared among players to keep everyone involved in the game when it is not their turn. See Section: NPCs for more information.

Actions and Combat

Like most miniatures games, The Department features a specific sequence of events that helps to organize the chaos of heroic action. This sequence is known as the combat round, or round for short. The Department combat round breaks down into four phases:

Phase III: Initiative

Players determine who acts first by rolling their Reaction pools. The player with the most goals acts first, then the player with the second most, etc... Players move their investigator, and any backup characters that they have attached to them, before moving onto the next player. Ties are broken by comparing Reaction dice pool totals. If these totals are tied, then initiative goes to the player who did not have it the previous round. Players must act in initiative order for this round and may not deviate or voluntarily switch initiative.

The Edge

Models that act early during the round gain specific rewards for their bold moves. The very first model to act in a given round gains a +2D Edge bonus to all of its actions during its activation. For example, Scott wins the initiative for the round. He activates Agent Wycowski. Since Wycowski is the first model to activate this round, he gains +2D to all of his actions. This includes attack, defense, and damage goal rolls.

6

Fate and Initiative

Actions and Combat

Fate dice may not be used on the initiative for the first round of play. During the initiative phases of subsequent rounds, Fate dice may always be used, and the player who lost the initiative the previous round declares first how many dice he will use, and then his opponent can react with her own Fate dice.

Phase IV: Take Turns

In this phase, each model takes a turn and performs a number of actions. There are five types of actions in The Department: Move, Investigation, Free, Combat, and Special. Models may perform one Move action, and either one Special, one Investigation, or one Combat action per turn. Models may perform a number of Free actions up to their Logic attribute rating.

Move Actions

Every model in The Department gets a Move action during its turn. Models can cover up to a number of centimeters equal to their Move value. A model may split this up over the course of its turn, interspersing this movement with the performance of other actions, including Combat. Example: Agent Wycowski has a Move of 6cm. When his turn comes up, he activates and moves 3cm to attack a damaged fabricant. He expends his Combat action, makes a solid attack and knocks the robot out of commission. He then moves the remaining 3cm left on his movement, seeking cover behind a nearby hover car.

Measuring & Base Contact

Players measure all movement in The Department in centimeters (or inches for 28mm scale games), and measurements are taken from the edge of the model's

7

base to the edge of an opposing model's base (in the case of measuring distances for charges and ranged combat). Base contact occurs when one model's base touches another model's base. This is normally the only way enemy models may fight close combat.

Pre‐Measuring

The fast action of The Department does not allow for time for pre-measuring distances. When making ranged attacks or determining distance for charges, it is up to a player's judgment whether or not he has the range or movement to meet his goal. The intent to move or attack is first declared, and then range is measured. If the goal is outside the move or range, the model stops short or the shot goes awry.

Facing

Humans can sense in a 360 degree arc up to a distance of 4cm; beyond that figures can see in a 180 degree arc to their front. Fabricants sense all around them up to 6cm in addition to their 180 degree frontal arc of sight.

Charging/Running

A Charge is a type of Move action. Models who charge make a Prowess + Running roll and add the number of goals in cm to their Move value for that turn. A model charges to either cover extra ground, or meet a foe in close combat. Charging models run all out, and may do nothing else that turn. However, charging models that make it into base contact with another model can make one attack on the model at +2D. A model charging a foe must move at least the last 2cm in a straight line in order to receive the +2D bonus. A model that charges and attacks a foe at the end of its charge is essentially combining its Move and Combat actions for its turn, and can do no other Combat or Special actions that round. Certain Free actions like searching for hidden models may still be attempted prior to charging. Models that charge to cover extra ground can do nothing else but move and perform Free actions during their turn. Charging is the most common method of entering close combat. A model must declare that it is attempting to charge an enemy model before measuring the distance

between them. A model may charge an enemy that it cannot see because of terrain or other factors, but it must first make a TN2 Notice goal roll to succeed. This roll is a Free action. Charging models, instead of striking a model in base contact, may also engage a model in an Investigation action. Models that initiate an Investigation action by charging are at -2D in the first round, as their haste prevents them from taking the time required to be particularly charming or intimidating.

Unlike normal movement, Charge moves may not be split up around other actions. For example, a model

Difficult Ground

Muddy fields, crowds, and uneven terrain can slow a model down. Models moving through areas designated as difficult ground move only 1cm for every 2cm of their Move value spent.

Actions and Combat

Models in active hiding cannot be charged unless the would-be charger wins an opposed Notice vs. Reaction contest. This opposed goal roll is a Free action. A model that fails to detect an intended target cannot charge it, and may instead choose to charge another foe, or do something else.

with a total charge of 11cm could not charge 7cm into an enemy, take him out on the subsequent attack, then spend the remaining 4cm of its Move distance to seek cover. A charge represents a total commitment of action toward either covering extra ground or meeting a foe in close combat, and cannot be split up in the normal fashion.

Models charging through difficult ground do not receive the normal Charge bonus unless their last 3cm of movement before they make base contact are in clear terrain.

8

Knocked Down/Standing Up

Models in The Department will sometimes find themselves knocked down for one reason or another. Models that are knocked down must spend 2cm of their Move action to stand up. A model that has been knocked down may not charge the turn it gets up.

Actions and Combat

Models attacking a knocked down model enjoy +1D to close combat attacks. Knocked down or crawling models enjoy +1D to their defense goal rolls against ranged attacks.

Other Types of Movement

Several other types of movement might allow characters to interact with unique terrain features or take up enhanced positions on the battlefield. These count toward the character’s allotted move allowance during its Move action.

Climbing

Buildings and walls outfitted with stairs and ladders are treated normally for purposes of calculating distance moved. Climbing a surface without stairs or ladders is a special kind of movement that halves the model's Move value. A model may not charge up a vertical surface, and must stop at its base and wait until the next turn to begin its ascent.

Crawling

Crawling is a type of movement that may occur after a model drops prone or is knocked down. A model crawls half its Move score, or if it drops prone in the course of normal movement, half its remaining Move score. Models that crawl and then get up may use their remaining movement as normal (e.g. a model with 6cm movement that crawls 1cm and then gets up would have 2cm remaining Move). Dropping prone may be done at any point in the move and does not cost any movement.

Jumping

A model that wishes to jump a chasm or vault an obstacle makes a Strength goal roll. A model can

9

jump 2cm horizontally and 1cm vertically for every goal rolled. For normal human models this distance cannot exceed the model's total Move value, and vertical jumps may never exceed 2cm. Jumps totaling less than the model's Move value cost the model that much of its movement for its turn. For example, a model with 5cm Move jumps a 3cm chasm, and can then move a total of 2cm more that turn. Horizontal jumps may be combined with the Charge action, but may not exceed the model's total Move + any extra Charge movement for its turn. Through the course of its charge a model may attempt to make vertical leaps over any number of intervening obstacles. This requires the normal Jumping goal roll outlined above, but if the model fails a jump, its movement for that round ends. Players may not pre-measure the distance needed to jump a chasm or vault an obstacle. Instead the intention to jump is announced, then the distance is measured and the Strength goal roll is made. Models that do not score enough goals to make the jump over a chasm fall. See Falling under Environmental Hazards later in this section.

Investigation Actions

Investigation actions allow characters to interact with either suspects or evidence on the tabletop.

Intimidate

Some investigators try to get the information they want by means of physical threats and bullying. Characters may attempt to intimidate a suspect into giving up evidence by rolling their Prowess plus any dice in their Intimidate skill. Characters that exceed the threshold on an Intimidate test receive one more Internal Affairs Point (See Section: The Investigation Campaign) than if they had used the Question action.

Question

The act of interrogating suspects and witnesses by more charismatic means. Characters roll their Logic plus any dice in their Question skill. This is opposed by the target’s Intuition. Success means that the target gives up one piece of evidence. This action is also used to determine the humanity of an unknown suspect.

Negotiate

Process Evidence

Characters can try to derive Evidence Points from an inanimate object (a murder scene, computer terminal, etc. ). Characters roll their Logic, plus any dice in their Process Evidence skill. Success means that the character derives an Evidence Point from the object.

Free Actions

Free actions require little time to complete and usually involve the model trying to quickly sense its surroundings. There are two major types of Free actions anyone can do, but certain special traits might require a Free action, and those will be discussed in Section: Character Creation.

Notice

Most Notice checks using the Deduction + Notice skill attribute are Free actions. A model may perform a number of Free actions equal to its Deduction attribute. A Notice check most often occurs when a model is trying to spot a hidden or out of sight model.

At any time during its turn a model may drop prone as a Free action. Dropping prone immediately ends any Charge action, but normal Move actions may continue at a crawling pace (see Crawling above).

Special Actions

These are actions that cover a wide array of options on the tabletop.

Opening/Forcing Doors

Models may use a Special action to attempt to force open a locked or stuck door. Depending on the scenario or situation, a locked or stuck door will have a TN assigned to it that reflects the difficulty in breaking it down. Models wishing to force such a door open must make a Strength goal roll and match or exceed the door's TN. If they exceed the TN by 2+ goals, the door is shattered. A standard, low-tech wooden door might have TN2, while a reinforced door might have TN3, or even TN4. High-tech bulkhead doors could easily count as TN5 or higher. A model may also open a sealed high-tech door using a Technology special trait check. Generally, this will require a TN3 or TN4 Deduction check.

Actions and Combat

Characters use this skill to attempt to convince a hostile target (see Section: NPCs) to surrender peacefully. If the investigators outnumber the hostile targets on the board, a character may attempt to negotiate the surrender of a suspect. Characters roll their Intuition, plus any dice they have in the Negotiate skill. This is resisted by the target’s Resolve. Success means that the target surrenders and is considered captured.

Dropping Prone

If the scenario dictates that it is permissible, it requires a Special action for a model to bar or block a door, and this must be done while within 1cm of the door.

Hiding

A model that ends its turn in some sort of cover may choose to hide as a Special action. A hiding model cannot be charged or targeted by ranged attacks unless the potential attacker wins an opposed Notice vs. Reaction contest with the hiding model. Once a model chooses to hide, its turn has ended. Attempting to spot a hidden model counts as a Free action. Models hiding in hard cover receive +2D to this contest, and models hiding in soft cover receive +1D (See Cover below).

10

Actions and Combat

11

Hiding models may move normally. Performing a Combat action reveals the hiding model.

an item can either be a Free action or Special action, usually as the scenario dictates.

NPCs do not count hiding officers when calculating outnumbering for the purpose of determining what subroutines they act under (see Section: NPCs).

Some of these actions require goal rolls, and some require only the expenditure of a Special action. The requirements of specific actions in this category will be covered in the relevant scenario descriptions.

Unless otherwise stated in the scenario, player characters are considered hidden at the beginning of scenarios from NPCs.

Disperse Crowd

Use Item/Pick‐up Object

This is a catchall action category that allows models to interact with terrain objectives and objects in the field of play. Some scenarios may call for the use/activation of a particular item (terminal, medical kit, etc.), which could involve a Mind or Agility check. Picking up an item always counts as a Special action unless a scenario dictates otherwise. Using

Players may attempt to use their law enforcement authority to disperse a crowd marker using this Special action. Players must make a TN3 Negotiate check. If this test is passed, the crowd tests to see if its disperses per the rules in Section: Missions.

Station Actions

Some skills only apply to goal rolls made between missions at the station. These actions are covered Section: The Investigation Campaign.

Combat

Damage in Close Combat

Choosing Targets

Additionally, if the attacker possesses Prowess of 4 or greater it adds an additional +1 to the attack's DN (unless he is using an energy blade).

There are two types of combat in The Department: close combat and ranged combat. Both involve opposed goal rolls. A model may expend its Combat action to do one of the two, but not both. In The Department, an attack goal roll can represent both a single, well-aimed blow, or a flurry of shots or swings.

Close Combat

Close combat in The Department requires combatants to be in base contact. Models may move normally into close combat and expend their Combat action to attack, or combine their Move with a Combat action into a Charge. Models that charge into close combat attack at +2D to their Melee Attack skill. The attacking model in close combat rolls its Melee Attack skill (plus special traits or situational modifiers) vs. the defender's Melee Dodge skill (plus special traits or situational modifiers). If the attacker gets more goals than the defender, he has hit, and additional goals can add to the effectiveness of his attack in the next phase of combat resolution. If the defender ties or gets more goals than the attacker, she has fought him off. An attacker who moved normally (i.e., did not charge) into close combat can use its attack action as normal, but does not gain the benefits of charging. Example: Agent Wycowski battles a fabricant worker amidst the chaos of a fab-factory. It's Wycowski's turn and he has just charged into close combat with the fabricant. Wycowski’s player rolls his Melee Attack 3 plus 2 extra dice for the Charge, for a total of 5 dice. He gets 2, 4, 4, 5, and 6, for 5 goals. The fabricant rolls 2, 3, and 5, for 1 goal. Wycowski wins the contest 5 goals to 1, and the players now move on to the damage phase of the combat resolution.

The equipment section presented in Section: Missions lists DNs for various weapons and attacks. A model attacking a foe barehanded has DN2 (+1 if it possesses Prowess 4+). The target model's DR consists of 1 + its Prowess, plus any dice gained from special traits, equipment and/or situational factors. The defender rolls his DR against the attack's Damage Number, and if he meets or exceeds this number he takes no damage. If the defender fails this roll, the number he fails by equals the amount of Vitality inflicted by that attack. Example: Wycowski strikes the fabricant with a slash from his knife and it's time to resolve the damage! The Damage Number for Wycowski's knife attack is a base of 3, plus 1 for the 4 goals he beat his foe by in the previous example, making the total number equal to 4.

Actions and Combat

When choosing whom to attack, a model may target any enemy model it desires, whether they are at range or in close combat.

Damage rolls in close combat match the weapon or attack's Damage Number (DN) against the target's Damage Resistance (referred to hereafter as DR) roll. The attacker's Damage Number may be enhanced by a particularly effective attack. Every 3 goals the attacker’s result exceeds the defender’s by adds +1 to the DN of the attack.

The fabricant possesses Resolve 5, so his DR is 6D (1 + 5). He unluckily rolls his Damage Resistance and gets 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, and 6, for 2 goals. The fabricant fails to match the attack's Damage Number, losing by 2 goals, and thus loses 2 Vitality.

Breaking from Close Combat

A model can move or charge away from close combat, but his opponent can launch an immediate, free attack on the escaping model. This attack is still opposed, as it is assumed that the model breaking from combat is making a fighting withdrawal from combat. If he's fighting multiple opponents, each one gets a free attack. Even if the model breaking from combat takes Vitality loss, it can still get away as long as it does not lose its last Vitality point.

12

If a model attacks and damages a foe, then breaks from close combat that same round, the foe damaged by its attack does not get the normal free attack on the model breaking from combat.

Actions and Combat

Multiple Foes in Close Combat

Models ganging up on a single defender gain a number of bonus attack and defense dice equal to their numerical advantage. If two models were attacking one model, each of the attacking models would gain +1D to their Melee Attack for the attack. If on a later turn, a third model rushed in, all three allied models would gain +2D to their attacks for the three-to-one advantage. Character models with a numerical advantage in close combat may break away without suffering the normal penalty for breaking from close combat. Character models may not enjoy more than a +3D bonus from friends in close combat.

A Note On Leaving Close Combat

Once a model leaves a close combat during its turn, it may not re-enter that same close combat later in the turn. It may enter another combat or perform some other action as the rules allow.

Aid in Close Combat

When a friendly model rushes in to help a teammate assailed by multiple foes, it engages one of the enemy models, and a separate close combat ensues. Keeping them in base contact, move the two models 1cm away from the original close combat. Example: Officer Doyle battles the Freddy the Rat and his fabricant accomplice. Not liking those odds, Doyle's comrade, Agent Wycowski, charges Freddy. Wycowski and Freddy break off into their own, separate close combat 1cm away, while Doyle and the fabricant continue to battle.

Knocked‐Down Models

Models that are knocked down are more vulnerable to attack, and models in close combat against them receive a +1D bonus on the attack goal roll.

13

I don’t know nothin’ an’ I didn’t see nothin’.

Ranged Combat

Ranged combat in The Department occurs when a model attacks another model from a distance. Models use their Ranged Attack skill as the basis for the ranged attack, adding in dice from any special traits they might possess. Defending models oppose attackers with their Ranged Dodge, also adding in dice from any special traits they might possess. If the attacker rolls more goals than the defender, the shot results in a hit. The defender must then

make a Damage Resistance goal roll versus the attack's DN# (just as described in close combat above). Just as in close combat, the attacker adds +1 to the DN of the attack for every 3 goals by which he exceeds his target’s defense goal total. Example 1: A beat cop fires his blaster rifle at a fleeing suspect. He rolls his attack and scores 5 goals on the throw, and the suspect rolls her Ranged Dodge and gets 1 goal for defense. The beat cop has hit, and moves on to damage, adding +1 to his blaster rifle's DN.

Just as in close combat, models struck in range combat roll their DR versus the attack's DN. If they match or exceed the DN, they take no damage, but if they fail, they suffer the difference in Vitality loss.

Firing Into A Close Combat

A model may fire into a close combat, but the target model gains +1D to defense goal rolls due to the swirling melee.

Ranged Attacks While In Close Combat?

Ranged attacks may not be made in close combat. Models in base contact with enemy models must leave combat in order to make ranged attacks. See Breaking From Close Combat above for more information on this.

Seeing Targets

A model must be able to see at least some part of its target to hit it with a ranged attack. If the attacking model cannot draw a straight, uninterrupted line to its target, it may not fire. Friendly models do not block line of site, but enemy models do.

Attack Ranges

All ranged attacks in The Department utilize the same range chart for determining any modifiers to the attack roll. Rather than list individual ranges for each weapon, The Department employs range bands (RB), with each band below Medium granting bonuses to the attacker, and each band past Medium granting bonuses to the defender. The bands and the associated bonuses are: up to 5cm: Point Blank (+2D Attack) up to 10cm: Short (+1D Attack) up to 20cm: Medium (no modifier) up to 30cm: Long (+1D Defense) up to 40cm: Extreme (+2D Defense) over 40cm: Out of Range... Certain types of weapons may count as being in a closer range band due to special abilities or circumstances, while others might treat range bands beyond a certain point as Out of Range. For example, most pistols treat ranges beyond Medium as one band higher.

Actions and Combat

Example 2: Freddy the Rat blasts a foe with his slug pistol, scoring an amazing 7 goals on the attack roll, while his unfortunate target scores only 1 goal on defense! Freddy adds +2 to the DN of his slug pistol!

Could you describe it to me? What grade did you think it was?

Example 1: Officer Rahn fires his blaster pistol at a foe 17cm away. His blaster pistol falls into the Medium range band, so Rahn’s player will fire with no dice modifiers. Example 2: Rahn fires again, this time at foe 22cm away (in the Long range band). Pistol weapons treat ranges beyond Medium as one band higher, so Long range becomes Extreme range, and Rahn’s target will gain +2D to its defense goal roll as a result of this. Example 3: This time a fabricant fires its SMG at Rahn from 23cm away. This would normally count as the Long range band, but SMGs count all ranges beyond Point Blank as one band higher, so Rahn is actually at Extreme range and gets +2D to avoid the shot.

14

Example 4: A street tough wielding a blaster rifle targets an officer standing 29cm away. The target is at Long range, and with no special modifiers for the blaster rifle, the target gains the normal +1D to defense.

Sometimes I wonder if I could be a fabricant and not know it.

A Note On 28mm

Actions and Combat

The range band chart for 28mm would read exactly the same as for 15mm, except players would replace the centimeters with inches.

Cover

There are two types of cover in The Department, hard and soft. Hard cover is any substance with stopping power, like a concrete wall, car door, or table. Soft cover is a less durable form of cover that still might spoil an attacker's aim or deflect a shot. Examples of soft cover include foliage, bystanders, or drapery. Models in hard cover receive +2D to their defense rolls. Models in soft cover receive +1D to their defense rolls.

As models in The Department are thought to be in constant motion, a model need only be partially obscured by the cover to receive its full benefits. If even just a leg or arm is obscured, the model is in cover!

Stacking Modifiers

Modifiers for ranged combat stack. For instance, if a beat cop fires on a target standing in soft cover 29cm away, his target would have a +2D bonus to its defense roll for the shot (+1D from the soft cover and +1D for the Long range band).

Radius Attacks

Certain ranged attacks (shotgun blasts, grenades, etc.) cover a wider area than normal. A radius attack affects a certain area in inches from the center of the original target, possibly affecting adjacent models. If even a portion of an adjacent model's base is touched by the radius attack, that model must also make an opposed defense roll against the same attack roll as the original target.

15

Example: A dealer fires his shotgun (2cm radius) at a trio of fabs moving toward him down a narrow alley. The first fab in line becomes the primary target, and the second mutant 1cm behind him is also caught in the blast, while the third model standing 2cm behind the second does not have to make a defense roll.

More On Damage

Every model in The Department has a Vitality rating tracked using boxes on its stat profile. A model always begins every one-off battle at its peak Vitality (usually 3 for characters). Models involved in a campaign can sustain injuries that carry over from battle to battle. A model loses Vitality to injuries from battle or its environment, most often whenever it takes a hit in combat and then fails to match the attack's DN. Certain attacks are so powerful that they can do greater damage no matter where they hit. These attacks (usually specific types of weapons) add +1 to their base DN when they beat the opponent's defense goal roll by 2+ goals, instead of the normal 3+ goals. Vitality is marked off moving from left to right on the track, and can never go negative. Once a character model hits zero Vitality, his or her player need not record further damage. Excessive damage cannot take a character’s Vitality below zero.

Optional Rule: Knockback

Players desiring even more dynamic combats can employ this rule. Any character model suffering the loss of 4+ Vitality from a single attack must make a TN4 Agility check or be knocked back 2cm. Knocked back also count as being knocked down. Additionally, the attacker can always choose not to knock his foe back if he would rather the model stay where it is.

Environmental And Other Hazards

Characters also take damage from environmental hazards like heat, drowning, and falling, as well as weird effects from chemicals that could temporarily inhibit movement or actions.

Characters struck by torches, trapped in flaming explosions, or otherwise surrounded by flame or super-heated steam suffer a chance of catching fire. Characters who come in direct contact with fire must make a TN3 Reaction check or catch fire themselves. Once aflame, a model suffers a DN3 hit each round when it takes its turn. This damage is resisted at the beginning of the model's turn, before any other actions are resolved. A model may use a Special action to put itself out. This requires only the expenditure of the Special action and succeeds automatically, but only if the model removes itself from the environment which caused it to catch flame in the first place.

Drowning

When a character fails a Strength check while in deep or hazardous water, he or she must immediately roll DR versus a DN4. Bonuses of armor do not apply to this check.

Falling

Falling often results in injury. The DN of a fall is equal to 1 plus 1 for every full 2cm the model falls. Falls of 1cm or less are ignored. Models who survive a fall begin their next turn knocked down, and must spend 2cm of their Move value to stand up. Example: Freddy falls 8cm from a fire escape. When he hits the ground, he rolls his DR versus DN5 (1 + 4).

Characters become stunned when they fail to resist the effects of certain grenades or weapons. A stunned character may either take a Move action or a Special/Combat action, but not both. Any character attacked by a stunned character gains +1D to defense goal rolls. A stunned character must take a Free action at the beginning of its turn and make a TN3 Resolve check. If the check succeeds, the stunned condition ends, but if it fails, the character remains stunned. The effects of multiple stunned conditions do not stack. Example: Naz suffered a hit from a flashbang previous to the start of her turn. She failed the grenade’s TN4 check and became stunned. When her turn begins, her player makes a TN3 Resolve check for her and got only 2 goals - she’s still stunned! She can either move on this turn or perform a Special or Attack action, but not both. On her next turn she’ll check again.

KO Checks

When a character marks off its last box in the Vitality track this forces a Knockout (KO) check. When a model has its last Vitality box marked off, it must make a TN4 Resolve check to remain standing. If the model fails this check, place it face down on the table where it last stood. Unless a comrade can apply a med kit to heal the fallen character, the model is effectively out of the battle.

Actions and Combat

Burning

Stunned

If the model makes its KO check, it can remain standing and fight as normal. However, if it sustains any further Vitality loss, it is KOed with no further Resolve checks. The model is placed face down to await its fate. Characters who end the game KOed must roll on the postbattle injury table. See Section: The Investigation Campaign for more details. Example: Already injured during a previous round and down to her last Vitality, Officer Doyle suffers a blaster shot from a foe and rolls her DR pool versus a DN5. Doyle's player rolls poorly, getting only 2 goals. She suffers the difference of 3 in Vitality loss. With only 1 Vitality at the time, this shot takes her to zero! Doyle's player rolls her Resolve 4 versus the normal TN4 and scores only 2 goals. The Princess suffers a KO!

16

Coup de Grace

Actions and Combat

KOed models are at the mercy of their enemies. An enemy model in base contact with a KOed foe can elect to spend its Combat action and deliver a Coup de Grace blow that removes the model from the table. No roll is necessary as the KOed model is utterly defenseless. Models removed from play due to this maneuver suffer a further -1 on their post-battle checks, for a total of 1D6 - 2. See Section: The Investigation Campaign for more details. A model that is in base contact with both a KOed and a fully functioning enemy model cannot deliver a Coup de Grace, as it must fully concentrate on battling the more dangerous foe. Models may perform a ranged Coup de Grace by spending their Combat action and making a TN3 Ranged Attack goal roll.

Weapons

Models in The Department will often use ranged or close combat weapons. If a model has a weapon on its profile, it is assumed to be able to produce and use that weapon as a Free action. For example, if Freddy possesses both a blaster pistol and a knife, he can use either during the course of his turn by switching from one to another as a Free action. Players should keep in mind which weapon their model is currently wielding, as the number of Free actions a model possesses is limited by its Logic, and switching back and forth will quickly exhaust them.

Combat Maneuvers

17

Heroic combat is all about cinematic, actionpacked fight scenes involving dynamic leaps, whirlwind attacks, and improbable maneuvers. The following maneuvers allow models on the tabletop to simulate that kind of fast-paced, dynamic action. Each maneuver counts as a Combat action. Each maneuver is presented with

its name and rule description. Players and fans of the cinematic action genre are encouraged to develop new maneuvers of their own, although all players should agree upon a maneuver's rules before it is used in a game.

Aimed Shot

Character models attempting ranged attacks can sacrifice some of their movement to make an Aimed Shot. A model that moves 2cm or less may declare that it is making an Aimed Shot. Aimed Shots add +1D to the character model's attack goal roll. Henchmen groups may not use this maneuver.

Disarm

If an attacker declares a disarm attempt before rolling the dice, he makes a close combat attack as normal, but if he hits he causes no damage. Instead, the attacker and defender make opposed Prowess (each chooses his best stat) goal rolls. If the attacker wins, he has successfully knocked one of his foe's weapons (attacker's choice) from his person. The weapon lands in a random direction 1cm away from the model, and may be retrieved as a Special action. Disarms may be attempted at the end of a Charge. Disarms may also be used to relieve models of certain scenario objectives they are carrying around with them. Unless the target model has used a Special action to secure the scenario objective in a pouch or sack, the object is a suitable target for this maneuver. Lost weapons are always recovered at the end of the game.

Trip

A Trip maneuver is an attack that does no damage, but if it succeeds, knocks the opponent down (see the rules for knocked down models above). Models that are tripped within 1cm of the edge of a sheer drop could fall, and must make a TN2 Agility goal roll to avoid falling. This maneuver may only be used for close combat attacks.

Grapple

Characters in close combat may attempt to grapple and restrain their opponent. Instead of attacking, a character may roll his Prowess plus Grapple vs. his opponent’s Prowess plus Grapple. If the attacker succeeds, the defender is subdued and restrained; they may not move or take any actions except make one escape attempt per turn. An escape attempt is a TN5 Prowess check. Success means that the subdued target may act as normal.

Actions and Combat

18

NPCs NPCs are a critical part of The Department. Interaction with NPCs forms the core gameplay of the rules. Short of the prime suspect, most NPCs will either be major or minor suspects.

NPC Actions

These suspects are people who are tangential to the investigation, but nevertheless either have information that might be useful or have gotten in the way somehow. An example being a drug dealer’s bodyguards or rioters that attack the officers. Minor suspects have the following profile and are armed in a fashion as described by the scenario. Minor suspects can be scanned to see if they are fabricants using a remote or a verbal test. If they are found to be fabricants, they possess +1D Prowess and +1D Melee Attack.

NPCS

NPCs are not the dynamic jacks of all trades that players’ characters are. As a consequence, they may only perform actions in which they have appropriate skill points. For example, a minor suspect may strike a foe in melee, since they have 1 die in that skill, but they may not attempt to negotiate, since they do not have any dice in the skill.

Minor Suspects

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­

19

Minor suspects that are apprehended may be interrogated at the station with a TN2[4] Question or Intimidate check. They may only ever give People or Place Evidence Points.

Major Suspects

Major suspects are persons that have a direct connection to the investigation or have evidence that will provide a significant boost to the investigators. Major suspects can be scanned to see if they are fabricants using a remote or a verbal test. If they are found to be fabricants, they possess +1D Prowess and +1D Melee Attack.

npcs

Major suspects that are apprehended may be interrogated at the station with a TN3[5] Question or Intimidate check. They can give any evidence that the scenario dictates.

Using Lethal Force

While police regulations stipulate that officers are permitted to use lethal force if they feel their lives are

threatened, the reality is that officers are often punished for using lethal force unless they are directly attacked first. The modern media is extremely critical of any perceived police brutality and though police departments have become more adept at controlling social media than their turn-of-the-century counterparts, there is still a real danger of a media circus surrounding officers that harm innocent suspects. Characters may only use lethal force on an NPC if that NPC has attacked them first. Any investigator that attacks a suspect before they are attacked will receive an Internal Affairs Point (IAP) for each attack. The only exception to this is if the officers have the Kill on Sight warrant on a major suspect. NPCs that are KOed with lethal force are considered to be dead for the purposes of interrogation at the station. They are either actually dead or so injured that by the time they could be interrogated, their evidence will be out of date or useless to the investigation. Fabricant suspects can have their memory cores scanned as outlined below.

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

20

­ ­ ­ ­

Non‐Lethal Force

Determining Humanity

When an NPC is KOed or apprehended with non-lethal force (including a successful Grapple), lay the figure face down. These characters are considered immobilized. Immobilized characters make a TN5 Resolve check to see if they come to/break their bonds. Characters that succeed at this roll act as normal that turn, using the Hostile subroutine. Non-lethal force includes:

Players may initiate a verbal test on an unknown suspect by performing a TN2 Question check while in base-to-base contact with the suspect. The suspect must be on the Normal subroutine. The verbal test may be repeated as many times as the players wish and the suspect is using the Normal subroutine.

Officers have a bit more leeway when using non-lethal force. Investigators may use non-lethal force on any suspect that is using the Hostile or Fleeing subroutines (see subroutines below). Any suspect that is KOed by non-lethal force and is down at the end of the scenario is considered to be apprehended (see below).

Apprehended vs. KOed

Characters that are KOed by lethal force are considered to be dead for the purposes of interrogation back at the station. Characters KOed by non-lethal force are considered to be apprehended and may be interrogated back at the station (see Section: The Investigation Campaign).

Fabricants

Fabricants have different rights and can be treated differently by officers in the field. Generally, dealing with fabricants is much easier than dealing with humans, as there is really no such thing as unlawful arrest or police brutality for fabricants at or below a grade 6. Fabricants have the following differences in their treatment by players: Players may use non-lethal force on a fabricant suspect without provocation.

Players may use lethal force on a fabricant suspect that is using the Fleeing subroutine. The threshold for Interrogation checks on fabricant suspects is increased by 1.

When and if this test is passed, roll a D6; suspects are human on a 4+. Per federal law, all suspects are considered human until proven fabricant. Suspects that are KOed and brought into the station have their humanity determined while they are being booked. The station’s large fabricant scanners are able to determine the humanity of a suspect quickly and reliably. Roll 1D6; the suspect is human on a 4+.

npcs

Grapple attacks Blaster weapons set to stun Flashbangs EMP Blaster

Players equipped with a fabricant scanner may scan a suspect by performing a TN4 Process Evidence check. Failure on this check means that the scanner cannot determine the humanity of the suspect. The test may not be repeated and the players must perform a verbal check on the suspect.

Subroutines

NPCs will react in a particular way to their surroundings, based on three distinct subroutines. The subroutine that the NPC is currently using is the subroutine that they are considered to be “on”. The scenario will determine what subroutine an NPC uses at the beginning of the scenario. If the scenario does not specifically state what subroutine the NPC uses at the beginning of the scenario, they should start on the Normal subroutine. At the beginning of the NPC’s activation, assess the situation and roll on the appropriate chart to determine the action of the NPC. Note that the number of officers that an NPC is aware of is determined by the officers in line of sight. Hidden officers do not count towards determining outnumbering.

21

Visible Officers

Unless otherwise stated, players begin a mission hidden. This represents the fact that suspects don’t necessarily know what the investigators look like, nor are they aware that the officers are after them. Visible officers are defined as non-hidden player characters or backup characters that are within an NPC’s arc of sight or detection. Officers can be hidden and still within line of sight. For the purpose of subroutines, an officer is within line of sight if the NPC can draw a straight unobstructed line from any part of their model to any part of the officer model.

npcs

Assessing the Situation

When determining on what table to roll, it is important to note that it is assessed from the figure’s perspective and not the general situation. For example, there may be more officers than suspects on the table, but if the suspect can see more suspects than officers (including himself), then that suspect would roll on the table “there are fewer visible officers than suspects”. The same applies to the other suspects. NPCs are only aware of other characters (friend or foe) that they can see.

Going Hostile

Suspects of any type will immediately switch to the Hostile subroutine if they are attacked by officers.

Choosing Targets

Suspects will always attack the closest visible officer.

Normal Subroutine

Suspects are either unaware of the officers or don’t perceive them as a threat. Just go about your business.

22

If every officer in the NPC’s line of sight is hidden

1-3 Scan for the fuzz: Roll a Notice check on any officer in line of sight. 4-5 Quick look around: The figure stays in place but randomize their facing. 6 Move: Move D3cm in a random direction. If there are officers in line of sight that are not hidden, but there are fewer visible officers than suspects

1-2 See if there are more: Roll a Notice check for all hidden officers at +1D. 3-5 Try to slip away: The figure moves to the nearest cover and hides. It will only hide if it makes it into cover or a crowd marker. 6 Aw snap, the fuzz: The NPC rolls immediately on the appropriate Fleeing subroutine, applying the result. If there are more visible officers than suspects

1-3 Try to slip away: The figure moves to the nearest cover and hides. It will only hide if it makes it into cover or a crowd marker. 4-6 Aw snap, the fuzz: The NPC rolls immediately on the appropriate Fleeing subroutine, applying the result. If there is an officer in base contact

1 Bolt: The suspect immediately charges directly away from the officer in base contact. The officer may attempt to stop this by immediately making a TN3 Grapple check. Success means the suspect is held in place. Failure means they complete their movement. 2 - 5 Nothing to hide: The suspect does nothing and submits to whatever the officers require. 6 You’ll never take me alive: The character immediately makes a Melee Attack on the officer with whatever weapon he has. The NPC is now hostile.

Fleeing Subroutine

The suspect feels that discretion is the better part of valor and has decided to leg it from the cops. Suspects using this subroutine want nothing more than to get away from the players.

Getting Lost

1-4 Leg it: The suspect moves directly away from any visible officers. The suspect will not seek cover, but will run as fast as they can (including charging) away from the police. 5 Run and hide: The suspect will move towards the nearest cover or crowd marker and hide. 6 Surrender: The suspect does not want to run anymore and gives himself up. The suspect is immediately counted as apprehended.

Sir where were you on the night of the 25th? npcs

It may occur that an NPC will at times trap themselves in an alley or some other dead end. While the NPC will go around small obstacles (cars, dumpsters, etc.), they should be allowed to flee into alleys with dead ends or cul-de-sacs. While NPCs are residents of the terrain in question, their knowledge of the terrain is not perfect. Fans of modern police reality shows will note that this sort of thing happens all the time and leads to many suspects being apprehended.

If there are more visible officers than suspects

If every officer in the NPC’s line of sight is hidden...

1-2 Keep running: The NPC charges directly towards the nearest table edge. 3-5 Look over your shoulder: The NPC makes a Notice roll for all of the officers in line of sight. 6 I think I lost them: The NPC is now using the Normal subroutine. Roll immediately on the appropriate chart. If there are more suspects than visible officers

1-3 Leg it: The suspect moves directly away from any visible officers. The suspect will not seek cover, but will run as fast as they can (including charging) away from the police. 4-5 Run and hide: The suspect will move towards the nearest cover or crowd marker and hide. 6 Maybe we can take them: The NPC makes a TN2 Resolve roll. Success means the suspect switches their subroutine to Hostile and makes an immediate roll on the appropriate table. Failure means that this roll should be treated as a 4-5 on this table.

Hostile Subroutine

The suspect is raring for a fight and thinks he might have a chance taking the officers on. If every officer in the NPC’s line of sight is hidden...

1-2 Where did they go?: The NPC faces the last visible officer and makes a Notice check on every hidden officer with in line of sight. 3-5 Root them out: The suspect moves towards the location of last visible officer and makes a Notice check on the closest hidden officer. 6 They must have run off: The suspect is now using the Normal subroutine and rolls immediately on the appropriate table

23

If there are more visible suspects than visible officers

1 Kill the pig: The suspect moves towards the officers (even if it means going out of cover) and makes a Ranged Attack at the officers or attempts to charge towards the officers, if they do not have a ranged weapon.

npcs

2-5 Shoot ‘em: The suspect takes one Move action towards cover and the second to fire at the nearest visible officer. If the suspect is already in cover, then they will make a Ranged Attack at the officers. Suspects without ranged attacks will attempt to Charge the closest officer.

24

6 Say hello to my little friend: The suspect performs two Ranged Attack actions at the nearest visible officer. The second is an additional action that exceeds their normal allotment of two actions. Suspects without ranged weapons will also use two Move actions in an attempt to Charge the officers. This extra Move action uses the model’s base Move; then the model makes a Charge action.

If there are more visible officers than suspects

1-4 Shoot ‘em: The suspect will take one Move action towards cover and the second to make a Ranged Attack at nearest visible officer. If the suspect is already in cover, it will remain stationary and use a Ranged Attack to attack the officers. Suspects without ranged attacks will attempt to Charge the closest officer. 5-6 This might not be winable: The suspect immediately makes a TN2 Resolve check. If they pass, treat this result as a 1-4. If they fail, they are now using the Fleeing subroutine. Immediately make a roll on the appropriate table.

Character Creation

This chapter will take players step by step through the process of making a character. Players spend build points to make their characters, including any special abilities they might possess or equipment they’ll begin play using. For the standard campaign, each player has 50 build points to create their characters.

Step 1: Purchase Attributes

Player first buy dice in their three primary attributes (Prowess, Intuition, Logic) and then use those values to determine their derived attributes (Reaction, Deduction, Resolve). Each die of primary attributes cost more than the last. These costs are cumulative. Primary attributes are as follows:

Prowess (5,6,8,12) Intuition (4,5,7,11) Logic (4,5,7,11)

Example: a Prowess of 3 would cost 19 points (5+6+8 points)

Example Character: Agent Wycowski Prowess: 2 (11 points) Intuition: 2 (9 points) Logic: 3 (16 points) Reaction: 4 Deduction: 5 Resolve: 5

Total points: 35

Step 2: Purchase Background

Background traits define what the character’s life was like before they joined the department. A character may only purchase one background trait.

Bills to Pay

Character Creation

The Department strives for the sort of storydriven play that bridges the gap between tabletop role-play games and miniature battle games. Players can use these rules to create unique cops and criminals that best suit the sort of tabletop tales they want to tell. The Appendix contains some pre-made characters that serve as examples of the kind of characters this system can produce. This provides a quick and easy way to get playing the game without having to spend any time making up stats for your models.

You just took this job because hurting people is all you know. You played linebacker in college and spent some time as a bouncer before you joined the DFM. You really don’t like being a cop, but the pay is good. In a time when you either have a good job, or no job, that’s about all you can ask. Effects: You get +1D on Prowess rolls on the tabletop and -1D on Logic rolls.

Cost: 7 points

Tragic

You have a loved one that was killed by a fabricant. It’s pretty safe to say that you hate robots and it generally shows in your job performance. You’re professional to fabs, but you’re not very nice either.

25

Effects: You receive +1D on all rolls involving fabricants using the Hostile subroutine and -1D on rolls dealing with fabricants not using the Hostile subroutine.

Cost: 0 points

Family

character creation

You come from a long line of cops. Your dad was a cop, your mom was a cop, your aunt was a cop. As far back as anyone can remember that has been the family business. It’s in your blood and you are a better cop for it. Effect: Your innate expertise gives you +2D on all rolls for Combine Evidence actions at the station.

I plead the fith by my right as a grade 7.

Cost: 5 points

Technophile

You love gadgets and anything electronic. You did well on your engineering degree in college and joined the DFM to get a chance to use it. Effects: You receive +2D on all Logic rolls.

Cost: 5 points

Fresh Recruit

You are right out of the DFM academy in Langley Point; what you lack in experience you make up for in the intense training that the program entails. Effects: You may choose two free trainings instead of one. You are -1D on all station actions.

Cost: 0 points

Veteran

You’ve been in the DFM as long as anyone can remember and before that you were in the FBI. You’ve seen just about every illegal and immoral thing that man or machine can do. Nothing really shocks you. Effects: Each mission, select one skill you have at least 1 die in. For the remainder of the mission, your dice pool cannot be lower than 3D. This background has no effect at the station.

Cost: 3 points

26

Step 3: Select your Training

Your training represents the set of skills that you picked up at the academy. They are a set of skills which may be modified by purchasing additional skill dice later in the process. Unless they have the Fresh Recruit background, characters may only choose one training.

Administration

You were groomed to fly a desk your whole career. Why you’re out doing field work with the grunts is anyone’s guess. Though it may have something to do with the time you took the chief ’s daughter out. Either way, you are a filer not a fighter, but you are pretty useful back at the station. (Perks) Pick 2: +1 Bureaucracy, +1 Negotiate, +1 Question

Cost: 0 points

Investigation

You learned the fine art of analysing a crime scene in the field. You’re also not bad at questioning suspects. Your home is in the field, however. Once you are back in the station, you quickly get buried in paperwork.

You wanted to get into pharmaceuticals, but your PhD wasn’t good enough to get a job. You are trained to collect evidence in the field and analyse it in the lab. You are not much good in a gunfight, but that’s what the beat cops are for, right? (Perks) Pick 2: +1 Process Evidence, +1 Bureaucracy, +1 Deduction

(Pitfalls) Pick 1: -1 Negotiate, -1 Notice

Cost: 0 points

Generalist

You laughed when they asked you to specialize at the academy. You took as many courses as you could. You would need them all when you hit the streets. (Perks) +2 to any one skill of your choice

(Perks) Pick 2: +1 Notice, +1 Question, +1 Process Evidence

(Pitfalls) None

Cost: 0 points

Negative Skil s

(Pitfalls) Pick 1: -1 Bureaucracy, -1 Intimidate

Pacification

You learned the fine art of using your muscle on the streets. You don’t necessarily have to be really big, but it helps. Your work in the field revolves around making sure perps stay away from the eggheads and that reluctant people are persuaded to talk. Some people call you a thug, but you have a badge and they don’t, so what do they know? (Perks) Pick 2: +1 Attack, +1 Defense, +1 Intimidation

(Pitfalls) Pick 1: -1 Process Evidence, -1 Question

Cost: 0 points

Cost: 5 points

It is possible that, at the end of character creation, a character has a negative value in one or several skills. In this case, the player would roll the base attribute (Prowess, Intuition, or Logic) minus the negative value of the skill. A dice pool may not ever be reduced to zero in this way and must remain at 1D. However, any bonuses must be applied before the subtraction for the negative skill is applied.

character creation

(Pitfalls) Pick 1: -1 Attack, -1 Melee Dodge

Analysis

Example: Officer Wycowski has a -2 in Bureaucracy. He has a Logic of 2 and would thus only have a dice pool of 1D. Due to a particularly good mission, he receives a +2D bonus for his Bureaucracy rolls. He would calculate his pool as follows: Prowess 2, +2D bonus, -2D for his Bureaucracy skill, resulting in a pool of 2D.

27

McCarthy Unit

Your division specializes in rooting out unregistered fabricants. Some say their methods are draconian, but 75% of fabricant crime is perpetrated by unregistered fabricants.

I am functioning normally within factory pre set parameters.

Effects: Additional Interrogation actions at the station cost 1 Budget instead of 3.

character creation

Violent Crimes

This division gets called in when local police think that a violent crime was perpetrated by a fabricant. Often their work puts them in the line of fire. Effects: +1D on Injury table rolls.

Fabricant Crimes

FC gets called in whenever a dangerous fabricant is on the run. They are the bloodhound of the DFM. They specialize in taking the tiniest piece of evidence and using it to find the runaway fab.

Step 4: Select Your Division

Players must select one division for which they are a part of. The division is where the character gets their paycheck and gives them certain advantages in either the field or the station. Players should only select one.

Enforcement

You spend most of your time on the streets. You have a sixth sense when it comes to dealing with people, and you can get a crowd to disperse with a few choice words. Effects: +1 Notice, +1D when attempting to disperse a crowd.

28

Effects: +1 Reaction and Process Evidence actions at station are at +1 die.

Administration

In these days of tight budgets, even desk jockeys need to do field work. You push papers, and no one appreciates that. But your skills can be the difference between a warrant being issued and a perp going free. Effects: +1 Bureaucracy.

Lab

Every team needs a lab guy on the beat. They gather the evidence and make sure that evidence gets put to good use at the lab. Effects: +1 Process Evidence and additional Combine Evidence actions (performed by you) at the station cost 1 Budget instead of 3.

Step 5: Purchase Skills

Notice (+Intuition) (2 points /die)

Detect something physically hidden (TN or resist Reaction)

Ranged Dodge (+Prowess) (5 points /die) Defend self against attack (opposed Prowess + Attack)

Melee Dodge (+Prowess) (3 points /die) Defend self against attack (opposed Prowess + Attack)

Ranged Attack (+Prowess) (3 points /die) Attack someone (resist Reaction or Prowess + Defend)

Melee Attack (+Prowess) (3 points /die) Attack someone (resist Reaction or Prowess + Defend)

Intimidate (+Prowess) (2 points /die) Get information through threats

Collect evidence at a scene (Integrity of scene determines TN)

Bureaucracy (+Logic) (2 points /die) Deal with red tape and paperwork

Running (+Prowess) (2 points /die) Increasing movement (+1 cm per success)

Grappling (+Prowess) (2 points /die) Subdue suspects physically

Step 6: Purchase Special Traits

Players may further personalize their characters by purchasing additional special traits for them.

Born on the Streets

This character was raised in an urban environment and feels at home among masses of people and crowded urban streets. Effects: The character treats crowd markers (see Section: Missions) as clear terrain. Additionally, the character treats any difficult ground in built up or urban areas as normal clear terrain.

Cost: 1 point

Question (+Logic) (2 points /die)

King Kong Ain’t Got Nothing on Me!

Negotiate (+Intuition) (2 points /die)

Effects: Gain +1D to DR checks.

Question a passerby, victim or suspect

Convince an unwilling target to give themselves up (resist Resolve)

character creation

Characters may purchase additional skills in order to further augment their characters. Skills are purchased 1D at a time. Characters may purchase as many skills as they have points for. The first 3D in a skill are costed below, and each additional die cost +1 point from the costs below. A character may have a maximum of 5D in a skill. Skill dice obtained from backgrounds, divisions and training count towards maximum dice and die costs. These skills may be purchased once at character creation, and may not be taken again by spending experience.

Process Evidence (+Logic) (2 points /die)

Models possessing this trait can be difficult to take down due to grit, resourcefulness, or just sheer luck!

Cost: 2 points

29

Iron Will

Characters with Iron Will gain +1D to Resolve on KO checks.

Cost: 1 point

character creation

Buddy Cop

When selecting this special trait, select one other character as your partner. When within 4cm of that character, you receive +1D to Melee and Ranged Attack rolls.

Cost: 1 point

Getting Too Old for This

Characters with this trait receive +1D on Bureaucracy rolls, but also receive -1D on close combat attacks.

Cost: 1 point

Questionable Associates

Once per mission, as a Free action you may automatically generate a piece of People Evidence from a suspect in base contact using the Normal subroutine. This automatically generates an Internal Affairs Point.

Cost: 2 points

Ladies’ Man/Flirt

You receive +1D on Question checks when dealing with suspects of the opposite sex (note: players should determine the gender of their character at creation and use the gender of the NPC figure to determine who is of the opposite sex).

Cost: 1 point

By the Book

You may use your station action to make a single Logic check. You may take a number of IAP away equal to the number of goals from any player. This may only be done once per campaign turn.

Cost: 2 points

30

Famous

You are famous for your police work. You always get the job done. The department has decided that you are good for PR and that you deserve an extra 10 budget at the start of the campaign. The problem is that your fame makes it hard for you to blend into a crowd. You never begin a mission as hidden.

Cost: 1 point

Making New Special Traits

Players desiring to create their own special traits for The Department should follow these loose guidelines. Traits confer either minor or major bonuses. A minor bonus adds at most +1D or some lesser benefit in a very specific situation. This could be +1cm of movement, or +1D to attack goal rolls. A major bonus would include a +1D bump to an Attribute score, or significant game benefit like a Natural Attack. A 1 pt. trait should confer at least two minor bonuses or one major bonus. A 2 pt. trait should confer a major bonus and perhaps a minor bonus as well. If players deem a trait to be particularly effective, they can price it at 3 pts. to ensure its game balance. Players should remember that this process is an inexact science, and play-testing might be needed to get a trait’s cost right.

Mighty Blow

Characters possessing this trait add +2 to the DN (instead of the normal +1) of their close combat attacks if they possess a Prowess of 4 or higher.

Cost: 2 points

Sharp Senses

Characters possessing this trait add +2D to their Notice checks for spotting hiding models and locating scenario objectives.

Cost: 1 point

Tough

Characters possessing this trait gain +2 re-rolls on KO checks. This trait is not suitable for fabricants.

Cost: 1 point

Fabricant

Cost: 2 points

Personal Sidearm

Characters with this trait may purchase one sidearm (i.e. anything with pistol or rifle in the name, see the Section: Missions) to replace their department-issued service revolver. The player must pay the base cost of the weapon +2. This is now the character’s default weapon and may take this on a mission without having to spend the budget to acquire the weapon for a specific mission. Note that some missions only allow the use of pistol-sized weapons. In this case the character will not be able to wield a rifle personal sidearm and will instead use the standard issue pistol.

Weapons

Characters do not buy weapons and equipment at character creation. Unless they take the Personal Sidearm trait, they are given a standard issue DFM slug sidearm (profile below). Characters wishing to bring additional equipment on a mission must use their budget on a per mission basis (See Section: Missions).

Step 7: Finishing Touches

Once your character has been built, the finishing elements need to be noted on the Character Record Card (see Appendix II: Play Aids). Note the following:

This is usually 6cm, but this can be affected by traits.

Vitality

A character’s starting Vitality begins at 3, but traits like Fabricant can alter this.

Fate Dice

A character’s starting Fate dice pool equals his or her Resolve attribute.

Points Total

Add up the total cost of all of the character’s backgrounds, options, and traits and note it here.

Building Teams

Players undertaking the investigation campaign solo, or playing a competitive game should organize their figures into teams. Players should follow the guidelines below when setting out to make their operative teams. Players can also agree to waive any or all of these guidelines.

character creation

Characters with this trait are grade 7 fabricants in the employ of the DFM. Fabricants can take more punishment than humans, but once they reach a certain point, they go down for good! They start the game with +1 Vitality, but when they lose their last point, they are automatically KOed with no Resolve check. Fabricants also receive +1D on Investigation checks involving fabricant suspects and -1D on Investigation checks involving human suspects. Fabricant characters also receive +1 IAP when they generate Internal Affairs Points.

Move Value

1.) Total Points

Players should settle on a total points value for the whole team. The rules above allow for the creation of a balanced and diverse crew of operatives at 100pts. Players desiring a larger, more powerful, or more numerous band could agree on a larger total; 200 pts. would work well as the next level for determining size.

2.) Max. Character Cost

Players might want to set a maximum points cost for starting characters in order to avoid the creation of “super-men” who could unbalance games. A 50 pt. cap on characters enables the creation of very powerful, but still mortal, models.

31

Missions Missions are the core experience in The Department. Each mission consists of the scenario and the preparatory actions required.

Mission Sequence 1. Select mission

3. Purchase any warrants and/or any additional equipment for the mission, by spending budget/equipment 4. Play the scenario

Mission Attributes Cost

The amount of budget/ evidence that players must spend to play the mission. A mission’s cost represents the paperwork that needs to be filed, warrants that need to be collected, and the general legwork required to put the players in a position to attempt the scenario. Any budget or evidence spent paying for a mission is lost, regardless of whether the mission is successful.

NPC

This provides a list of NPC models needed for this scenario. This also lists the A.I. subroutines that each NPC will follow during the mission (See Section: NPCs). The number of NPCs may fluctuate depending on the number of players taking part in the mission.

This section lists the prohibitions for each mission set out by the DFM. Players that violate these specific prohibitions will accumulate Internal Affairs Points.

Objectives

This section defines specific objectives and rewards for the mission. Success at objectives means the players accumulate the evidence they need to play the prime suspect scenario. Failure at one or more objectives means a loss of additional Budget or Evidence Points. While objectives are the main source of evidence, players are also able to generate additional evidence from minor suspects or evidence found during the mission.

missions

2. Pay the budget and/or evidence required to play the mission

Prohibitions

Warrants

Warrants are items that players may purchase with Budget and Evidence to alter the conditions of a mission. Warrants represent additional legwork above and beyond the minimum requirements for the mission. Players may purchase two warrants per mission.

Humanity

The characters pour over surveillance footage and track the movement of the major suspects in the mission. They have determined whether the suspect is a fabricant before the mission starts. Roll 1D6 for each major suspect; on a 4+ they are a fabricant.

Cost: 1 Place Evidence

32

Arrest

The characters gather together sufficient evidence to get an immediate arrest warrant on a suspect. Players may purchase this warrant in missions where they are normally prohibited from initially arresting suspects.

Cost: 1 People Evidence

missions

Shoot on Sight

Grade 6 fabricants and below have no right to life or liberty under the Constitution, and can be decommissioned without trial if they are found to be used in a crime. Players purchasing this warrant may choose one major suspect already known to be a fabricant. Players may KO this model during the mission without risking an Internal Affairs Point or needing to be attacked first.

Note that when this conflicts with a mission objective, the warrant takes precedent. The suspect must be known to be a fabricant ahead of time, so this warrant may be combined with the Humanity warrant.

Cost: 1 People and 1 Place Evidence

Enhanced Surveillance

The players dispatch department resources to pinpoint the suspects before they approach. Players purchasing this warrant may deploy an extra 6cm past their deployment zone. Cost: 2 Budget

The Armory

At character creation, players are issued their standard department issue sidearm. Players may also use their budget to acquire additional weapons or equipment for a specific mission. Equipment purchased in this way is only able to be used in the mission for which it was purchased. Players may spend as much Budget as they want on additional equipment.

Blaster Pistol

The new tech on the block that fires a high energy laser. DFM issue models have the option to be set as an electro-laser, able to stun fabricant and human alike.

Just because I’m plastic doesn’t make me any less human than you!

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN5, count range bands past Medium as one higher. Notes: Set to Stun*

Cost: 2 Budget

Blaster Rifle

High energy laser used for taking out targets at a distance. Relatively rare out on the streets due to their cost, but the DFM is one of the better funded agencies in the federal government. Effects: Ranged combat only, DN6 Notes: Set to Stun*

33

Cost: 3 Budget

EMP Blaster

Short-barreled energy rifle especially effective against fabricants. It’s not designed to stun them, but fry their neural nets. Effects: Ranged combat only, DN6 vs. fabricants, DN3 vs. humans. Notes: Fabricants KOed by this weapon have a chance of having their memory banks disabled. Roll 1D6 on a 5+, the fabricant suspect’s memory has been destroyed. The suspect can not be interrogated at the station or have its memory scanned.

Cost: 1 Budget

Your dukes, the only thing between you and the mean streets (unless you choose to take a more effective weapon that is). Effects: Melee combat only, DN2

Costs: 0 Budget

Stun Grenades

Thrown explosive with a radius effect. Stun grenades contain either special gases, short-burst sonics, or other agents that cause temporary confusion against any targets that fail to resist their effects. Any number of different grenade types count as only one selection for weapon limits. Effects: Ranged combat only, radius 4cm, TN4 Resolve check or Stunned

Cost: 2 Budget

Heavy Armor

Full body armor consisting of metal or ceramic plates over a tightly woven super-dense body suit. Effects: +3 re-rolls to DR checks

Cost: 2 Budget

Not that much to say. It’s something sharp with which to stab someone. Effects: Close combat DN3

Costs: 1 Budget

Light Armor

Body armor consisting of metal or ceramic plates, or tightly woven super-dense fibers. Effects: +2 re-rolls to DR checks

Cost: 1 Budget

Med Kit

This small case contains slap-patches and other medicines for treating injured characters. Effects: The character using the kit makes a TN4 Logic goal roll. If successful, the user, or a character model in base contact regains 1 lost Vitality. A single Med Kit may only be used twice in one scenario. May not be used on fabricants.

missions

Fists

Knife

Cost: 2 Budget

Sniper Rifle

This colorful title comprises any number of large, high-energy or high-caliber weapons. Effects: Ranged combat only, +1D for range bands over Long, base DN6. Armor Piercing, -2 re-rolls provided by armor or gear. Notes: Models using a sniper rifle must possess Prowess 4+ to move normally and shoot with it. Those that do not may only move 2cm if they plan to shoot the weapon that turn.

Cost: 4 Budget

Fabricant Scanners

Suite of high-tech gear that allows the character to better a suspect’s humanity.

34

Effects: Range 10cm. Note that if this is used to detect the humanity of a suspect, it may only be used once per suspect. Failure to detect the humanity of a suspect with the device means that a verbal test must be administered (see Section: NPCs)

Cost: 1 Budget

Shotgun

Simple but effective weapon that fires a cloud of small shot. Effects: Ranged combat only, DN4, radius 2cm

missions

Cost: 2 Budget

DFM Standard Issue Slug Pistol Simple but effective. Over the last 50 years slug weapons have gotten more efficient and more deadly. Effects: Ranged combat only, DN4, count range bands past Medium as one higher

Cost: 0 Budget. The DFM issues all officers with a slug pistol out in the field.

Large Caliber Assault Rifle

Older style military rifle. Largely abandoned by the US Army, some National Guard units and local police forces still use them. Still effective against most street toughs and fabricants. Effects: Ranged combat only, DN6, +1D Ranged Attack beyond Short range band

Cost: 3 Budget

Sub Machine Gun

High-energy, rapid fire pistol wattage laser excellent for hosing multiple foes at short range. Effects: Ranged combat only, DN5, count range bands beyond Point Blank as one higher, radius 3cm

Cost: 3 Budget

35

Weapon Notes

The following entries list weapon notes and options applicable to some of the equipment listed above.

Set to Stun

Effects: Blaster pistols and blaster rifles may be declared as Set to Stun. It takes only a Free action to set a blaster to stun. Doing so means that the weapon is -1DN and that any model KOed and subsequently removed from play as a result of losing its last Vitality to a stunning weapon treats any Dead results on the Post Battle table as one level higher. NPCs KOed by stunning weapons are considered apprehended at the end of a mission.

Backup

Players may also use their budget to receive some additional assistance on a mission. Backup characters are purchased for one mission only. While backup is purchased from the communal budget, each backup character is assigned to a particular player to control for that mission. If a backup character is KOed for any reason during the mission, the controlling player receives an Internal Affairs Point. Backup characters never gain experience and cannot have their equipment modified. Players may never use a backup character’s equipment, even if they are KOed. Backup characters have a smaller skill array than a player character. Backup characters may not use any skills that they do not possess. For example, a field technician can use their Process Evidence skill, but would not be able to attack since they do not possess that ability. However, they would be able to defend themselves in close combat.

Lab Technician

Technicians are sometimes dispatched to crime scenes where a large amount of evidence needs to be collected. They travel unarmed, as any weapons residue or power signature runs the risk of contaminating the scene. Cost: 2 Budget

missions

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

36

State Police

The DFM is a federal agency, but sometimes utilizes state or even local police in their investigations. These police are responsible for securing the scene and providing extra muscle for DFM agents when a particularly high priority target needs taking down.

missions

Cost: 1 Budget

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

37

Riot Officer

Sometimes DFM agents need to operate in an area where crowd violence is a distinct possibility. Riot officers specialize in controlling hostile crowds. Unlike 20th century riot police, modern riot officers control crowds with high-tech solutions rather than coordinated action. Cost: 3 Budget

missions

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

38

Mission Briefings

The following section describes the standard missions that players may undertake during the course of the investigation campaign. For more infomation on how to select scenarios, see Section: The Investigation Campaign.

missions

Terrain Placement

Because The Department is largely a cooperative/solo game, there may be some temptation to arrange terrain and objectives in a manner that is advantageous to the players. Though the designers have made every effort to create scenarios and rules that are challenging to the player, a certain amount of restraint is required to make the game fair and challenging to the players. The best advice is to not think too hard about how to place the terrain. Just place it in a way that makes that table look like a real city block or any other terrain the players want to represent.

Mission Events

Players will often need to roll on specific mission events. These events interrupt the action that triggers them (such as a movement) and are resolved completely before the action can continue.

Crowd Terrain

Crowd markers add a new and dynamic type of terrain to certain The Department scenarios. Crowd markers represent a particularly large mass of people gathered around a shop or street vendor. These sorts of crowds can pose a significant obstacle to player characters during the course of a battle. Crowd markers consist of a 6cm diameter base with several civilian models placed in a group. The civilian models should be arranged with enough space to place one or two character models among them. When building crowd terrain, a very cinematic effect can be created by placing the civilian models in little scenes, such as people watching a street performer or haggling over goods. For the purpose of aesthetics, players may scatter about a few singly-based civilians to complete the look of a crowded street.

39

However, these are purely decorative. They do not block line of sight and can be moved or removed to the needs of both players. Crowd terrain counts as difficult terrain and has a few special rules differentiating it from normal difficult terrain.

In the Crowd

Models in base contact with the crowd and within the crowd marker count as being “in the crowd”. Models in the crowd may not fire out, as the mass of people would prevent them from getting a clear shot. Crowds add +2D to a model's defense goal rolls. Models may engage in close combat within the crowd, but their targets enjoy a +2D bonus to their defense goal rolls due to chaotic nature of battling amongst so many bodies.

Dispersing the Crowd

For the most part, the confusion of fighting prevents civilians in crowds from taking decisive action to save themselves from the fighting. However, there are several conditions where a crowd will potentially disperse. Crowds test to disperse immediately after the following events.

1. If a model is taken out of action within 4cm of the crowd marker or within the crowd marker.

2. If a close combat is fought within the crowd marker. Grapple attacks do not provoke crowd dispersion.

3. If a 5D+ radius attack goes off anywhere within 6cm of the crowd. 4. If a model uses the Disperse Crowd Special action

A crowd that faces one of these conditions rolls 1D6, and on a 4+ it disperses. Remove the crowd terrain immediately. Any models within the removed marker or in base contact with the marker must make a TN3 Agility goal roll or suffer a DN4 hit as the fleeing crowd tramples them. Crowds that have dispersed will not reform during the battle.

Mission 1: Grass the Neighborhood

The most basic form of police work. Investigators usually hit the streets when they begin an investigation or when other leads grow cold. It is surprisingly effective. The tangled web of politics and petty jealousies in dodgy neighborhoods provides a plethora of people willing to provide information to the police in exchange for a perceived or actual reward.

Evidence Generated: People

Prohibitions None

Setup

Place 6 buildings on the table in an agreeable manner. Place 1D3 +1 persons of interest (minor suspects) on the table at least 12cm away from each other. Select two persons of interest and place a crowd marker within base contact.

Deployment

Deploy within 5cm of a random table edge and at least 8cm from a person of interest (Minor Suspects).

1: Regular citizen with no information 2: Unwilling to give information - Make an Intimidate TN2[4] to get 1 piece of People Evidence. Exceeding the threshold means the NPC now uses the Fleeing subroutine. 3-4: Concerned citizen - Make a Question roll. For every 2 goals you receive 1 piece of People or Place Evidence (randomly determine) 5: Minor criminal record - Make a TN1 Negotiate check to convince them to give up information or you will take them in. Success yields 1 piece of Place Evidence. Failure yields no evidence.

missions

Cost: 5 Budget

Person of Interest Event Table (Roll 1D6)

6: Runner - Model flees from the players without resisting. The suspect is now using the Fleeing subroutine. In addition, roll 1D6. On a 4+, the suspect is a gang member. D6 minor suspects with slug pistols emerge from 1 randomly determined crowd marker. These suspects are hostile.

Ending the game

The game ends when all of the persons of interest have been investigated.

Objectives

Investigate all leads and apprehend all suspects.

Events

When within 3cm of a person of interest.

You have the right to remain silent. If it is determined you are artificial below grade 7, your core wil be scanned.

40

Mission 2: Meet the Snitch

missions

Despite numerous cultural admonishments against it, snitching is a time-honored tradition in the criminal community. The investigators have secured the services of a snitch that claims to have information pertinent to the investigation. As is always the case, the snitch insists the investigators meet them on his turf, which is not a neighborhood that is friendly to cops. It might be best to bring the riot squad. Cost: 5 Budget

Evidence Generated: Financial, People

Setup

Set up 6 buildings in a mutually agreeable manner. Place the snitch in the middle of the table. Place 1 crowd marker in base contact with the snitch, then place the 2 other crowd markers within 12cm of the snitch.

Deployment

Deploy within 5cm of a random table edge. Objectives

Meet the snitch: Players will need to meet the snitch and roll on his random events table. Ensure the snitch’s (minor suspect) safety: After the players have rolled in the snitch’s random events table, the snitch will have been seen to be working with the police and any rioters will attack them as well. If the snitch is KOed, the players all receive an Internal Affairs Point. Take the snitch in: If the players roll a 1 on the snitch’s event table, he needs to be apprehended and taken into the station.

41

Prohibitions

Players may not attack the snitch until they have good reason to do so, so they cannot just hit him with a stun device and call it a day. Technically, the snitch has done nothing wrong, so any investigators that attack the snitch before they roll on the random events table will accumulate an Internal Affairs Point. Players that attack a crowd with lethal force, even a rioting crowd, receive an Internal Affairs Point. Players that attack any rioters with lethal force will also receive an Internal Affairs Point for each attack. If a riot does break out, individual rioters are minor suspects and can be apprehended to interrogate at the station.

Officer Wycowski, my name is Sergeant Brown. I’m with DFM Internal Affairs. Mind if I ask you a few questions?

Special Rules

Smell bacon: The players are not going to effectively hide in this neighborhood. The players are not hidden at the beginning of the game. Potential riots: When the police enter some neighborhoods, tensions run high. If an investigator starts or ends their move within 6cm of a crowd marker, roll 1D6 and consult the table below. This table should be rolled every time an investigator moves or begins their move within 6cm of a crowd.

1: Panics and flees - Apprehend the suspect for interrogation at the station. 2: Paranoid - Pass a TN2 Negotiate roll, or he flees as if a 1 was rolled. 3-4: Gives information - roll Process Evidence. 1 or 2 goals yields 1 Financial Evidence, 3 or more yields 2 Financial Evidence 5-6: Something special - As 3-4 and has ledgers (worth 1 Financial), but wants 3 Budget for them. Players may refuse, but those that choose to pay the Budget will receive an Internal Affairs Point.

Ending the Game:

The game ends when the players have met the snitch and there are no rioting crowds. The game also ends if the sntich is KOed or flees off the table.

missions

1: Riot incited - The crowd boils over and attempts to eject the investigators from the neighborhood. The crowd will now only disperse on a roll of 6+ (only test during normal crowd dispersal conditions). If the riot does disperse, they are removed like a normal crowd marker. Aside from disgorging individual rioters, rioting crowds are treated like normal crowd markers. Once a crowd riots, D6 rioters (minor suspects), armed with improvised weapons, appear in base contact with the crowd. They act in the NPC phase of the round and will move to attack the nearest investigator, or the snitch if the players have already rolled in the snitch’s event table. If the snitch’s crowd riots he will attempt to flee, as if a 1 was rolled for his event.

The snitch: Once an investigator gets within 3cm, they roll 1D6 for the meeting and consult the table below.

2: Protesting - Any player moving within 3cm of the group must stop and end their movement if they move within 3 cm. When rolling again for this crowd, subtract 1 from the roll. Multiple occurrences of this result are cumulative. 3-6: Nothing eventful - The crowd gives you a few menacing glances, but are not hostile.

42

missions

Mission 3: The Murder Sweep

The sad fact of 2060s America is that in certain areas, death is a common occurrence. The murder rate has increased pretty significantly since the 2040s. DFM agents often get called to homicides (and fabricides) that may be of interest to the investigation. The advantage of modern police work is that officers are on the scene mere moments after the murder takes place. The disadvantage is that the murderer is usually still around and looking for an out. This sometimes puts them in conflict with the investigators. Cost: 2 Budget

Evidence Generated: Place, People

Setup

Place 6 buildings in a mutally agreeable manner. Place a chalk outline to determine the location of the murder scene. Place one crowd within 6 cm and 5 more crowd markers at least 6 cm away from both the murder and the other crowd and within 12cm of the murder scene.

Objectives

Process Evidence on the murder scene and investigate all crowd markers by moving within 3cm of them.

I thought these things weren’t supposed to hurt humans!

Special Rules

Crowds: Inevitably bystanders will gather around a killing. When within 3 cm of a crowd, roll on this event table. Once players have rolled on the table for the crowd, it is considered investigated. Players should not roll on the table for investigated crowds.

1: Murderer is enraged - The murderer (major suspect armed with a knife) jumps from the crowd and attacks on the NPC activation. If they defeat the triggering player, the murderer begins fleeing as if a 6 was rolled. 2: Distracting - all rolls within 12 cm of the murder scene are at -1. 3-5: No event 6: Run away! - Murderer panics and flees from crowd; catch him if possible. Roll another D6. On a 4+, this was a gang related shooting. D6 minor suspects armed with slug pistols appear from the crowd and cover the murderer’s escape. These suspects use the Hostile subroutine. When within 3 cm of the murder scene, roll on this event table:

1: Gore galore - Roll Resolve TN2 or lose your lunch, contaminating the scene and reducing the total Evidence gain from the scene by 1. 2: Industrial strength cleaner is covering the area The TN for checking the scene by is increased by 1. 3-4: No event 5: Local authorities preserved scene perfectly - The TN for checking the scene is decreased by 1. 6: Make a TN3 Notice check to find an important clue (worth 1 Physical Evidence)

43

Ending the Game

The game ends when the players have investigated the murder scene. After rolling on the event table, every character may make a TN3 Process Evidence roll within 1cm of the murder scene to gain 1 Place Evidence, applying any modifiers above. Failure means no evidence is collected. The investigators may not retrieve more than 3 Evidence by investigating the murder scene.

missions

44

Mission 4: Bust the Dealer

Putting pressure on a local drug dealer is a good way of getting evidence for an investigation. Though a dealer may not be directly connected to the investigation, they usually have their ear to all aspects of the illegal economy and it’s pretty easy to gather enough evidence to bring them in.

missions

Cost: 5 Budget and 1 People Evidence

Evidence Generated: People, Place, Financial

Prohibitions None

Setup

Set up 6 buildings in a mutually agreeable manner. Place the dealer (major suspect) in the center of the table with D3-1 bodyguards (minor suspects) armed with submachine guns. Place 3 crowd markers at least 6cm away from the table edge and at least 3cm away from the dealer. The dealer and the bodyguard start using the Normal subroutine.

Deployment

Deploy within 6cm of a table edge of choice.

Objective

Arrest the dealer.

Special Rules

Crowds: If an investigator gets within 6cm of a crowd marker, roll on the table below. 1: Dealer's snitch is on the lookout - Pass a TN2 Intuition roll, or the dealer switches to the Fleeing subroutine and the bodyguards to the Hostile subroutine. 2: Druggie - A minor suspect armed with a knife appears in base contact with the investigator and attempts to mug him. Make a TN3 Grapple check to apprehend the suspect or give 2 Budget and get 1 IAP. Dealer will be alerted if you choose to apprehend the druggie instead of paying him. 3-5: No event 6: Concerned citizen gives you information about the dealer - Gain 1 People Evidence. The Dealer: The dealer uses the regular subroutines except when he is using the Normal subroutine and is within base contact of an officer, in which case he uses the following table. 1: Attempts to attack the officer with his fists The dealer is now hostile as well as his bodyguards. 2-3: Tries to cut a deal - 2 People and 2 Financial if you let him go. If you accept this offer, the investigator in base contact receives 3 IAP. If you refuse this deal, the dealer will switch to the Hostile subroutine. 4-6: Submits to arrest without incident.

45

Mission 5: The Nightclub

The officers have managed to link a nightclub with their prime suspect. It seems that there are some sort of shady dealings at the club that they would like to observe. That requires a wiretap which, even in today’s high-tech world, needs to be planted by hand. Cost: 10 Budget, 2 Place Evidence

Evidence Generated: Electronic, Financial

As this is an undercover job, players may not take any backup characters and may only take weapons that contain the word pistol in their name or submachine guns. Officers receive one IAP for each Ranged Attack within the main club area if the main crowd has dispersed. Objective

The objective is to plant the bug in one or both offices and leave without alerting the guards. The tap will succeed if an officer manages to spend their entire turn planting the bug in the office beyond the line of sight of any of the guards. Evidence provided by major suspects: none, no major suspects. Setup

Place a building interior at least 25cm x 25cm. The inside should be divided into three rooms: one large room and two smaller adjacent offices. The building has two entrances, one main entrance and one back door. Each office has one entrance. There should be at least 12cm of exterior space outside the club. Place 1 crowd marker off to the side at the main entrance and one minor suspect armed with a pistol and

Inside the club, place two minor suspects armed with slug pistols and light armor. The interior of the large club room counts as one large crowd marker that disperses on a 5+ instead of 4+. Deployment

Deploy 5cm in from any table edge. Special Rules

In Da Club: Unless the crowd disperses, the minor suspects in the club will not fire at the officers unless then officers fire first. Once the crowd disperses, minor suspects will fire on the officers.

missions

Prohibitions

light armor (a bouncer). At the back entrance is a minor suspect armed with a submachine gun and light armor.

When the crowd is in the club, the 8cm detection radius does not apply due to the noise and the music. NPCs may only make Notice checks when officers are in their front 180 degree arc of sight. Getting In: Players may not enter the club unless they pass a TN3 Negotiate or Intimidate check on either door guard, or they KO or apprehend the back door guard. All investigators may attempt this Negotiate check twice in total. On the second failure, the minor suspect at the door will attempt to grapple the investigator. It is assumed that all of the minor suspects are linked by radios and therefore, if any of the two exterior guards go hostile, the two interior guards will use the Hostile subroutine as well, and move directly towards the character that has caused the first guard to go hostile. As the minor suspects have no outstanding warrants, officers that attack the minor suspects before being attacked themselves will gain 2 IAP.

46

missions

Planting the Bug: To successfully plant the bug, officers will need to enter, spend an entire turn (taking no actions), and exit an office without crossing the line of sight of any of the guards. If the bug is successfully planted, the tap is a success. Each bug produces D6 of any combination of Electronic, and Financial (players' choice). If the investigators manage to plant a bug with any of the guards using the Hostile subroutine, the bug has been particularly well planted and will yield an additional 2 Electronic Evidence.

47

Ending the Game

The game ends when all officers have either been KOed or exited from a table edge.

Mission 6: Bust the Lab

Luckily urban decay has provided a plethora of abandoned buildings for skin chefs to ply their illegal trade. Cost: 10 Budget, 1 People, 1 Place, and 1 Financial Evidence Evidence Generated: All

Prohibitions None

Objectives

Officers must apprehend or KO all suspects in the building before they destroy their equipment and computers.

Setup

Set up 6 24cm x 24cm terrain tiles to represent the floors of an abandoned building. Each floor is largely open, but should contain a fair amount of debris, oil drums, freestanding walls, old furniture and whatever else one would imagine an abandoned building to contain. In the corner of each tile there should be a 5cm x 5cm stairwell room. This should have one door. Put the terrain tiles in order from 1 to 6. 1 being the ground floor and 6 being the top floor of the building.

Player characters are not considered hidden at the beginning of the scenario Players should then take 6 identical poker chips, labeling 1 “lab” and 2 "guards", and leaving the rest blank. Randomize the chips and place 1 on each terrain tile face down. Players are then deployed in the stairwell of board 1 or 6 (players' choice). Players may split their group if they wish.

Special Rules

Moving between Floors: Officers beginning their turn in the stairwell area may travel to any other stairwell for a single movement action. Officers moving into the stairwell must wait until their next turn to move between floors.

missions

The players have managed to isolate an illegal synthskin lab. Though legal, the production of synthetic skin is highly controlled, as unregistered fabricants often use synthskin to hide in plain sight. Consequently, illegal labs are often evidence goldmines that provide financial data, contact lists, paper trails and high level suspects to officers that can successfully bust them. Synthskin “chefs” are often recruited from from meth cookers and the processes have similar requirements for security and waste disposal.

Investigating the Floors: As soon as a player enters a floor from a stairwell, flip over the poker chip. Blank chips note that there is nothing on this floor. Flipping the guards chip means that D6 minor suspects armed with blaster rifles and light armor are randomly distributed on the floor. They are automatically hostile. They will appear within line of sight and in cover if it is available. Flipping the lab chip means that D6 minor suspects with armed with pistols and D6 minor suspects armed with submachine guns and light armor are present on this floor. All are immediately hostile. Place 5 pieces of lab equipment randomly around the floor. The suspects with pistols are hostile towards the lab equipment, trying to destroy the evidence before the police seize it. Whenever the subroutine instructs the model to attack, they instead will

48

charge towards the nearest lab equipment piece. When the suspect gets in base contact with the lab equipment, roll a D6; on a 5+ the lab equipment is destroyed. Aw Snap, the Fuzz: When the players flip a guard or the lab chip, they should then flip all the remaining chips to reveal the location of the lab and the remaining guards. The pistol-armed suspects will begin rolling on the subroutine to destroy the lab equipment.

Ending the Game missions

The game ends when all of the suspects are either KOed or apprehended, or all of the lab equipment is destroyed.

49

Each piece of lab equipment is worth 2 of any combination of Evidence Points (player’s choice) on a TN3 Process Evidence roll. If this test is failed then the lab equipment is useless and yields no evidence.

The Investigation Campaign The goal of the investigation is to accumulate enough Evidence Points in order to play and win the prime suspect’s final scenario, before the players’ investigation budget runs out.

The Pre‐Campaign Setup Each player creates a 50 point character.

After character creation, players should select the prime suspect they will be facing in a mutually agreeable manner. The prime suspect is the kingpin of the operation, whose influence will affect the investigation (See Section: Prime Suspects).

Campaign Resources The Budget

The players’ Budget score represents the money and time that the DFM is willing to devote to the investigation. If the Budget ever drops to 0 or below, the players lose, as they are thrown off of the case. The exception being that if the Budget is reduced to 0 (or below) as the result of paying for the base mission cost of the prime suspect’s mission, the players may

play through the mission, as it represents their last chance to catch the villain before getting pulled from the assignment. The players’ Budget starts at 100. The Budget may never go over 100.

Campaign Difficulty

The investigation campaign as presented here is designed to provide a reasonable challenge to players that have a reasonable familiarity with the game. Player groups wishing to make the campaign easier or harder can do so by adjusting the starting budget. A higher budget means that players have more time to gather the evidence they need, and more resources to purchase equipment and backup. Conversely, a lower budget means that players are able to play fewer missions and make fewer mistakes before they get thrown off the case. Newer investigator groups could start with 120 Budget, and more seasoned groups could start with 80 or lower. Players could challenge themselves by seeing how low a budget they can start with and still defeat the prime suspect.

investigation campaign

At the heart of The Department is the investigation campaign. Players battle against time and budget to bust a major case. In the investigation campaign, players cooperate to bust fabricants and apprehend the prime suspect of the plot.

Evidence

The goal of every mission in The Department is to accumulate Evidence Points. These points represent clues and pieces of evidence that the investigators use to find leads, get warrants and eventually find the prime suspect. Players are ultimately saving for the prime suspect’s final scenario, but they will be required to spend evidence already collected to play higher level missions, which allow the players to gather other types of evidence. The five types of evidence are as follows: People: Evidence gathered from questioning lowranking suspects and the surrounding community. Places: Evidence gathered from crime scenes that may lead to something more concrete such as bullet casings, fibers and CCTV footage.

50

investigation campaign

Electronic: Evidence gathered from computers used in the criminal network or files that contain metadata useful to the investigation. Financial: Paper trails that show financial transactions directly linked to the prime suspect or one of his high level lieutenants. Physical: Evidence that directly links the prime suspect to a crime, such as a gun used by the prime suspect or a recorded conversation ordering a hit.

Internal Affairs Points (IAP)

Not so much a resource, as points the players will occasionally accumulate due to negligence or intentional illegal action. The more Internal Affairs Points the players accumulate, the greater chance that the DFM’s internal affairs team notices the players’ illegal activity and sanctions them. Internal affairs can cut budgets, suspend officers and ultimately fire the players. Each player keeps track of their own Internal Affairs Points. Missions may have specific conditions where characters generate Internal Affairs Points, but generally, players generate Internal Affairs Points when:

51

They fire a weapon at a suspect within 2cm of a crowd (1 IAP per attack action) They exceed the threshold of a Question or Intimidate roll (1 IAP per goal that meets or exceeds the threshold) They attack a suspect using the Normal subroutine (1 IAP per attack) They KO with lethal force a human that is using the Fleeing subroutine and not the Hostile subroutine. It should be noted that, for the purposes of IAP, suspects are human until proven fabricant (1 IAP per attack) A backup character is KOed for any reason (1 IAP per character KOed)

The Campaign Turn Step 1: The Mission

Players select a mission and pay any associated budget or evidence costs related to the specific mission they wish to play. Players should consult Section: Missions for more detail on the costs and rewards for missions.

Step 2: Post‐Battle Results

When character models in The Department end the game in a KOed state, or worse, wind up removed from play entirely via a Coup de Grace maneuver, they could suffer serious injuries or even death! After each campaign game, players should check the status of each of their KOed or Taken Out models on the Character Post-Battle Table below.

Fate dice may never be rolled for these checks, but they may be “burned” to add a +1 to the D6 roll. Fate dice used in this manner are gone for the rest of the campaign, representing that the character has used up some of his luck for good in cheating death or serious injury.

Character Post‐Battle Table Roll

Result

0 or less: Dead or destroyed! 1 - Laid Up: Miss next battle 2 - Serious Injuries: -2cm Move next battle, -1D attack rolls 3 - Light Injuries: -1cm Move 4 - Minor Scrapes: No ill effects 5 - Minor Scrapes: No ill effects 6+- Inspired Recovery: +1 Experience Example: Agent Doyle and her partner Officer Filch both fall in battle. Doyle suffers a KO result and finishes the game in that state. Filch was KOed,

Earning Experience

In addition to earning experience for surviving neardeath events, characters gain +1 experience for surviving each battle, and +1 Experience if they took any number of opposing characters out of action. Taking a character out of action means forcing him to make a KO check that he subsequently fails. The number of characters Taken Out does not matter: whether a character KOs one, two, or even four foes in a battle, he still gains just +1 Experience. Characters do not gain experience for performing Coup de Grace maneuvers. Characters also gain 1 Experience for successfully obtaining evidence in the field. They may only ever get +1XP for this, regardless of how much evidence they obtain.

investigation campaign

KOed models roll 1D6 - 1 on the table below to check the extent of their injuries. Taken Out models are in even worse shape, and must roll 1D6 - 2 on the appropriate table below to determine their fate. They roll a single D6 and subtract 1 from the result. However, before rolling, the player should roll the model’s Resolve, with every 2 goals scored applying a +1 modifier to the die roll on the table.

then subsequently Taken Out via a Coup de Grace. Their player moves to the post-battle stage of the game and checks their status. First, she makes a Resolve check for each of them and scores 3 goals for Doyle and only 1 goal for Filch. Doyle gets +1 to her D6 check, and Filch gets nothing, as at least 2 goals were needed to gain a bonus. She then rolls a D6 for each of them, getting a 4 for Doyle and a 2 for Filch. The +1 the officer gained for her good Resolve check cancels out the -1 from being KOed, so her final result of 4 stands, and she suffers only Minor Scrapes. Alas, poor Filch is dead, as the -2 for being Taken Out lowers his dice result of 2 to 0.

A character may also gain experience for accomplishing specific scenario objectives, and these circumstances will be detailed in each scenario description.

The Benefits of Experience

Every 5 experience points a character earns allows him or her to increase some capability relevant to his or her role in the team. We call these character milestones bumps. Every time the character reaches a bump, his or her player should roll on an appropriate table below and note the result. A character may only roll a specific D6 result once, so if he rolls the same D6 number twice, he should roll

52

again until he gets one he has not already rolled. Bumps that appear on a chart multiple times may be rolled that number of times. For example, if a chart lists +1 Vitality on a result of “1” or “2”, you could garner up to 2 additional Vitality from that chart.

investigation campaign

Bumps that grant points toward purchasing new special traits may be “banked” for future use. In this way a character can save 1 pt. until he earns a second one, and then could buy a 2 pt. special trait.

Fighter Bumps

These bumps work well for characters who earn their credits in the thick of combat. Roll 1D6 1

+1D Melee Attack Skill

2

+1D Ranged Attack Skill

3

+1D Melee Dodge Skill

4

+1D Ranged Dodge Skill

5

+1D DR

6

+1D on KO Checks

General Bumps

Being good in a fight is not the only way to being a good cop. Characters wishing to hone their investigation skills use these bumps. Roll 1D6 1

2

53

+1 Vitality +1D Negotiate

3

+1D Question or Intimidate

4

+1D Process Evidence

5

+1D Fate

6

+1cm Move

Non-Random Advancement

If players dislike the idea of random advancement, they could all agree to just select which bump they want from the tables.

Step 3: Station Actions

After experience has been determined, players then process the evidence and the suspects that they have collected in their mission. Players should track how many suspects are apprehended and Evidence Points they have collected.

Station Actions

When at the station, players who were not KOed during the mission may perform 1 station action for free. These players may perform an additional 1 station action for 3 Budget each. Backup characters used during the mission may not perform station actions, as they are temporarily assigned to the investigation. Players may not use Fate on station actions. Station actions include:

Interrogate suspect/scan fabricant data bank Combine/change evidence Ask for more budget Heal Vitality

Interrogate Suspect / Scan Fabricant Data Bank

Human and fabricant suspects that were apprehended rather than KOed can be interrogated for evidence. One suspect can be interrogated per use of this action. Each suspect may only be interrogated once, using only one skill. If the roll is failed, the suspect has nothing useful to contribute. Interrogation is a threshold roll. Exceeding the threshold on an Interrogation roll fails the roll and nets the testing character 1 IAP as they push their interrogation into the realm of police brutality. Players that exceed the threshold when rolling their Intimidate skill generate 2 IAP instead of 1.

When interrogating a fabricant suspect, increase the threshold by +1D, as there are few laws protecting fabricants (even high grade ones). Minor suspects will give 1 People or Place Evidence Point (roll 1D6 1-3 People 4-6 Place) by passing a TN2[4] Question or Intimidate check.

Fabricant suspects that were KOed during the mission (or more politely, decommissioned) can have their data banks scanned for useful evidence. This follows the same procedure as interrogation above, except that the Process Evidence skill is rolled rather than Question or Intimidate. In addition, players that exceed the threshold on a data bank scan do not generate Internal Affairs Points.

Combine/Change Evidence

Sometimes evidence processed in the field can be more useful when further refined back at the station. Players may attempt to combine different types of evidence into a new type with a TN3[5] Process Evidence check. Failing the roll means that the evidence is not combined, but still remains in its original form. Exceeding the threshold means that the evidence is not combined and is destroyed in the process. Success means that the 2 original Evidence Points are combined into a new Evidence Point. The allowed evidence combinations are below: 2 x People = 1 Financial 2 x Place = 1 Physical 1 People + 1 Financial = 1 Electronic

Ask For More Budget

Players may ask for more budget on a TN2[5] Negotiate roll. Players receive 1 Budget per goal. Exceeding the threshold means the asking character gets 1 IAP per goal equal to or over the threshold.

Players that were injured during the mission must use budget to heal their injuries. Players may spend 1 Budget per Vitality they wish to recover. Medical advances have ensured that treatment is nearly instantaneous and does not put too much of an effect on the investigation. Characters who were KOed last mission must spend 3 Budget to be healed to full capacity. It is assumed that the characters are rushed to the hospital and that their injuries are treated. They simply send the station the bill.

Step 4: Internal Affairs

In this step players see the consequences of the rules violations they have committed over the course of the mission. Each player makes a goal roll, rolling 1D6 per Internal Affairs Point they have accumulated and consulting the table below. Unless instructed by the table, players discard any Internal Affairs Points after rolling and applying any consequences. 0 goals - Verbal Warning: At the end of next mission, if ANY IAP are generated, add 1 to the total. 1-2: Ongoing Investigation - Internal Affairs allows you to continue your investigation while they look into your case. Your Internal Affairs Points are carried over to the next mission.

investigation campaign

Major suspects will give 1 Evidence Point per goal rolled over the TN3[6] Question or Intimidate check. The evidence given can be any combination of the evidence provided by the mission.

Healing Vitality

3: Budget Cut - Lose 1D6 Budget 4 : Case Review - Lose 1 randomly determined Evidence Point. 5-6: Probation - The player cannot go out on next mission. 7+: You're fired - Good day sir. The player is thrown off the case.

54

Prime Suspects

Prime suspects have several unique aspects: Fabricants: Prime suspects will often modify their fabricant agents or enhance them in some way. This rule affects all fabricants during the campaign.

Environment: This is the effect the prime suspect has on the campaign as a whole.

Randomizing

At times, the rules will require players to randomize an undetermined number of tokens or suspects. The method of randomization is not important, only that it is mutually agreeable and the chances are relatively even between the possibilities. One good method is to take an appropriate number of playing cards out of a standard deck. Assign each one to a particular object and then shuffle them into their own stack. Players can then select one card to determine which object is selected.

Prime Suspects

Prime suspects are high priority targets for the DFM. Rather than simple soldiers and cappos in organized fabricant crime, these power players organize and run criminal networks. The prime suspect is the ultimate target of the players’ investigation. Though they are not confronted until the final scenario, their influence can be felt throughout the investigation, as investigators combat their agents and goons. Most prime suspects do not have a stat profile like minor suspects. They rarely do any sort of dirty work and if they do, they are rarely more effective than major suspects.

55

Nick

Prime Suspects

Anti-Human Terrorist Cell Leader Nick is recent escape from Fabridyn labs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nick’s escape was preceded by anomalous neural patterns that his handlers were unable to normalize. Nick escaped the facility in May 2061 and immediately jumped a bus to Dallas, where he met up with the synthskin chef Tom Mako. After his skinjob, Nick has frustrated every attempt to apprehend him and return him to Fabridyn. The recent bombing attacks on residential neighborhoods in the Texas panhandle have been linked to Nick and his new terrorist network. Nick was believed to be brought into custody by Amarillo police, but since they were lacking a functioning fabricant scanner at their station, they were unable to determine his humanity and he was released. Profilers at Fabridyn believe that Nick is planning another major bombing attack, using lower

grade fabricants to act as mobile bombs. DFM agents have been able to isolate Nick’s hideout to somewhere on the Texas/New Mexico border. Fabricants: Hiding - Nick’s association with Tom Mako makes his skin jobs particularly effective. Tests to determine the humanity (both verbal and remote) of a suspect are +1D greater than normal. Environment: Terrorists - Whenever a known fabricant or a suspect of unknown humanity is KOed with lethal force, immediately roll 1D6. On a 5+ the suspect was a mobile bomb and explodes in a DN5 blast with radius 6cm. Fabricants that explode are completely destroyed and will not yield evidence.

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

56

Prime suspects

SUS: 4612134 Built: August 2060 Grade: 7 Manufacturer: Fabridyn Industries Wanted For: Terrorist Threats, Trafficking in Unlicensed Fabricant Parts, Assault, Impersonating a Human Being.

57

Compound Buster

The investigators have pinpointed Nick’s hideout and need to take him out

Evidence Required: 2P 4PL 1E 3F 1PH

Prime Suspects

Cost: 15 Budget

Prohibitions

None. Shoot on sight.

Setup

Place the compound structure in the center of the 48cm x 48cm board. The compound is underground and is represented by three separate 24cm x 24cm floors. Place two guards (minor suspects with assault rifles) about 3cm away from the compound on opposite sides of the building. The compound’s rooms should be suitably terrained with interior walls and other cover. As this hideout is in a pretty desolate stretch of the New Mexico desert, the rest of the table should be sparse with terrain.

Objectives

KO or apprehend Nick and escape off the board.

Special Rules

Entering the compound: Shooting or failing to KO a guard in 1 turn will raise the alarm (note that guards will not explode per Nick’s fabricant special rules). The door to the compound is locked and needs to be opened. It can either be picked or forced. Picking is a TN3[5] Logic roll and forcing is a TN3 Prowess roll. Forcing the door or meeting the threshold on picking the lock automatically raises the alarm (see below). Raising the Alarm: The game begins with the officers hidden (unless they take backup which is never hidden). The alarm is

58

raised if an investigator is in line of sight of a suspect for one full turn without that suspect being immediately KOed. Once the alarm is raised, D6+1 per player minor suspects with assault rifles will appear in 6 turns from a random board edge. From this point on every 3 turns, D3 minor suspects armed with assault rifles appear from a random board edge. All reinforcement suspects use the Hostile subroutine. When outside the compound, they will ignore the directive of their subroutine and charge directly towards the investigators every turn until they get within line of sight of the investigators. They will then use the Hostile subroutine as normal. Fighting in the compound: The compound has three levels. Each floor has a 5cm x 5cm stairwell in the center. The stairwell is an uncovered spiral stairwell, so it contains no cover. Investigators beginning their move within the stairwell may move between any floor with one Move action. Each floor contains the following suspects. All suspects during the scenarios are confirmed to be fabricants: they may be shot on sight. Ground Floor: Contains 2 minor suspects armed with submachine guns and light armor. Basement 1: Contains 2 minor suspects with assault rifles and light armor. Bottom Floor: Contains Nick and 2 minor suspects with assault rifles.

Ending the game

The game ends when Nick is apprehended or KOed. If Nick is KOed, the other fabricants will continue to fight indefinitely. If he is apprehended, or convinced to surrender, the rest of the fabricants will switch to the Fleeing subroutine. If the players KO Nick, they will need to escape off any board edge to end the game.

Steve

Prime Suspects

Fabricant Mad Scientist In 2055 Fabrimatic corp. made the ultimate outsourcing decision: they wanted to replace their research team with grade 8 fabricants. Steve was the first research fabricant of that series. Rather than escaping, Steve was stolen in a raid on the Fabrimatic’s Seattle facility in 2058. It seems that Steve has managed to get away from his captors and is operating on his own, doing illegal fabricant upgrades and skin jobs. He was last seen in April leaving a Bellevue tenement.

Fabricants: Increased grade - Suspects that are determined to be fabricants are +1D ranged combat and close combat skill. Environment: Increased technological level - Suspects replace any pistols with blaster pistols and any submachine guns and assault rifles with blaster rifles. Any fabricant suspects are also considered to have light armor.

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

59

Prime suspects

SUS: 6548734 Built: January 2056 Grade: 8 Manufacturer: Fabrimatic Wanted For: Trafficking in Unlicensed Fabricant Parts, Impersonating a Human Being, Synthskin Possession

60

Prime Suspects

Night of the Fabricant

Steve has been using discarded parts from all of his fabricant upgrade jobs to build a horde of grade 1 fabs to occupy a section of Seattle. The players have tracked him down just in time to witness Steve’s activation of his horde. Steve has created three automated fabricant creators in an old block of tenements. Steve is in direct control of these creators, so taking out Steve will take out the creators. Evidence Required: 2P 4L 0E 0F 4Y Cost: 10 Budget

Setup

Place three buildings with at least two entrances at least 24 cm from one board edge and at least 9 cm from each other. The player will enter from this board edge. Place 1 fabricant drone (minor suspect with knives) per player outside each building; these will seek and attack the nearest investigator each turn. This replaces any subroutine they would normally use. These fabricants are mindless. You cannot Negotiate with or Intimidate them.

Objectives

Eliminate the Mad Scientist

Special Rules

Fabricants: Place 1 fabricant per player outside each building; these will seek and attack the nearest investigator each turn. These fabricants are mindless. Players cannot Negotiate with or Intimidate them.

61

Endless horde: Every time a fabricant is killed, remove them for 1 turn, and the turn after that place 2 fabricants back on the table within 5 cm of a random building.

Investigating the buildings: Players must enter each building in order to find Steve. When an investigator enters a building, roll on the table below. Steve is hiding in one of the buildings and must be routed out. When they players find him, he will use the Hostile subroutine. Fabricants cannot enter or exit the buildings. When a building is investigated, remove all fabricants spawned from that building, then place 1 fabricant within 5cm of each remaining building Event table for first building entered

1-2: Ambush - Place 1 fabricant per player in the building. These fabricants use the Hostile subroutine. 3-5: Big Red Button - Building is disabled, but the scientist is elsewhere. 6: There He Goes - The scientist escapes out the back door, flees for the nearest building and leaves 1 fabricant per player behind him at the back door (the one opposite the players) to aid his escape. If both entrances are blocked by investigators, he and the fabricants in the building will stand their ground and attack the investigators at the entrance with the fewest visible officers.

Event table for second building entered

1-2: Ambush - Place 1 fabricant per player in the building. These fabricants use the Hostile subroutine. 3-4: There He Goes - The scientist escapes out the back door, flees for the nearest building and leaves 1 fabricant per player behind him at the back door (the one opposite the players) to aid his escape. If both entrances are blocked by investigators, he and the fabricants in the building will stand their ground and attack the investigators at the entrance with the fewest visible officers.

Event table for third building entered

1-6: He's Here and Pissed - The scientist holds his ground and sends 2 fabricants per player to attack the players.

Ending the game

The game ends when Steve is apprehended or KOed.

Prime suspects

5-6: There He Is - The scientist holds his ground and sends 2 fabricants per player to attack the players.

62

Rmb - 0

Prime Suspects

Rogue Military Fabricant Rmb - 0 is the latest military grade fabricant on the market. One of the latest grade 8s, it is designed to be entirely self sufficient, operating behind enemy lines, blending into the human population and conducting state sponsored acts of terrorism. Rmb - 0 was just about to be sent overseas when it escaped its handlers and began running guerrilla raids on the urban population. It is undetermined whether this was caused by a malfunction or deliberate sabotage.

Fabricants: Training - Rmb-0 is designed to hack into and upgrade local fabricants in order to establish a local insurgency. Fabricant suspects are +1D in both ranged and melee combat. Environment: Sloppy - Rmb-0 is designed to cause as much havoc as possible, covering its trail just enough to elude destruction and no more. With the help of DARPA, the DFM is able to easily recognize Rmb-0’s trail. All Process Evidence rolls are TN -1.

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

63

Prime suspects

SUS: 8675309 Built: June 2061 Grade: 8 Manufacturer: General Fabricant Wanted For: Murder, Assault, Destruction of Property, Impersonating a Human Being.

64

Dragnet

The characters have managed to isolate Rmb-0

Evidence Required: 2P 4PL 0E 0F 4PH

Prime Suspects

Cost: 10 Budget

Setup

Place 6 buildings on a 24cm x 24cm board. Randomly scatter 10 tokens per player over the board keeping them at least 6 cm from a table edge. Divide the board into equal quadrants. Players may deploy from any board edge.

Objective KO Rmb-0.

Special Rules

Lurker: The investigators know for sure that Rmb-0 is in the area, but his combat camouflage keeps him hidden. The tokens represent any little noise, a metallic contact, or a thermal anomaly. The players must investigate these tokens in order to find Rmb-0 the hard way. For the purposes of determining victory conditions and number of counters on the board, backup characters count as players. Every turn, before investigators act, roll 1D6 for each quadrant of the board. 1-2: Each token moves 1D3cm towards the nearest player. 3-4: Each token moves 1D3cm towards the closest edge (randomize if two sides are equal). 5-6: Each token moves 1D3cm towards the second closest edge (randomize if two are equal).

65

Roll 1D6 when an investigator moves on a token

1: Trap - Pass a TN2 Reaction or suffer a DN3 hit 2: Stepped on a Twig - All tokens in the quadrant move 1 cm closer to the player 3-5: All Clear - Nothing happens 6: Tracks - Move the 5 closest tokens 2cm in a direction determined by the player Roll 1D6 if a token moves onto a player character.

1: Attacked - Suffer 1 Vitality damage that cannot be negated 2-3: Trap - Pass a TN2 Reaction check or suffer 1 Vitality damage 4-5: Smelling Blood - All tokens in the quadrant move 1cm closer to the player 6: Just a mouse... you hope If a token contacts a board edge, it escapes off the board.

Ending the Game

1. If 2 tokens per player escape off the board, Rmb-0 manages to slip your dragnet.

2.If there are less than 2 tokens per player on the board, randomly determine which one is Rmb-0. Rmb-0 will never surrender (re-roll if the subroutine indicates this). Rmb-0 begins the game using the Hostile subroutine.

Christian

Prime Suspects

Fabricant Facestealer Christian is the name given to fabricant FB-0984561, who escaped from a Fabridyn plant in South Bend, Indiana. Christian is a standard service model built for Chicago mayor Fukizia. Upon its escape, Christian made its way to the Chicago area, ostensibly to better blend in with the large fabricant population. DFM agents initially figured that Christian would make its way to Mayor Fukizia’s residence as it was instructed to do. Being only a grade 4, DFM agents were not looking for any signs of creativity from Christian. However on June 28th 2058, Christian disappeared from scanners and is suspected to have gotten a skin job. Since grade 4s do not normally get skin jobs, it is suspected that Christian received some modification, either willingly or forcibly, by some organized crime unit. Christian’s EM patterns have been detected on several persons, which indicates that it has been shifting human identities rather

rapidly. More troublesome is that it has been impersonating several key figures in the Democratic Party of Chicago. Whether Christian is acting alone or as a puppet of another organization, it seems that it is infiltrating the party in order to run for mayor of Chicago against Mayor Fukizia. Fabricants: Harder to Detect Fabricants - Whoever Christian is working for has access to better than average skin job equipment. Tests to determine suspects humanity are TN+1. Environment: Chance to Lose Evidence - It is difficult to pin evidence to Christian or someone it is impersonating. Often, evidence that is collected turns out to be attributed to the real person Christian is impersonating. At the end of each mission roll 1D6. On the roll of a 1, 1 random Evidence Point collected during the mission is deemed inadmissible and is discarded.

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

66

Prime suspects

SUS: 9857624 Built: July 2060 Grade: 4? Possible Neural Upgrade Manufacturer: Fabridyn Wanted For: Fraud, Extortion, Impersonating a Human Being.

67

Operation Facelift

The investigators have managed to isolate all of Christian’s identities. They will all be attending a Democratic fundraiser. Agents must identify the real Christian quickly and put it under arrest.

Prime Suspects

Evidence Required: 4P 4PL 2E 2F 2PH Cost: 20 Budget

Setup

The game takes place on a 48cm x 48cm board decorated to look like a large dining hall or convention center. The Board should have a single 6cm wide doorway. This is the only exit point. The board should have an assortment of tables, chairs and buffet pieces. Place 3 minor suspects per player and 1 crowd marker per player all at least 9 cm away from the table edges.

Objective

Subdue or eliminate the fabricant threat in 3 + ½ the number of investigator turns.

Special Rules

The Party: All minors suspects begin using the Normal subroutine. Finding Christian: Investigators can make a TN2 Question roll to determine the identity of a suspect. Any investigator can attempt to further isolate Christian by rolling a Deduction check, the TN equal to the remaining unidentified suspects. Success isolates the Facestealer to 1 suspect per player (randomly determined).

68

The players then have 3 turns to successfully question the isolated suspects (even if they have already been identified). Once these suspects have been identified, the player with the highest deduction must then pass a

TN(number of suspects) to isolate Christian from the remaining suspects (randomly determined from remaining suspects).

Ending the game

Once isolated, the investigators are able to apprehend Christian in a number of ways. 1. They can KO Christian with lethal force if they have purchased the shoot on sight warrant. However the mission is failed if any innocent civilians or suspects other than Christian are harmed.

2. They can attempt to convince Christian to surrender with a TN 4[5] Negotiate check. If the check fails, Christian will switch to the Fleeing subroutine and try to make for the door. If the threshold is exceeded, then Christian will attempt to fight his way out. He will switch to the Hostile subroutine.

John

Prime Suspects

Fabricant Revolutionist John’s origins are largely unknown. His power signatures and other forensic traces seem to suggest he is of Chinese or British manufacture, yet all physical descriptions and surveillance footage measures his proportions as a distinctly American model. John has been linked to several high profile murders in the North East, including Pennsylvania State Senator Jack O’Brien. It is believed that John is either working for or leading some sort of revolutionary group that targets community leaders and politicians. John is currently believed to be in the Washington D.C. area plotting his biggest hit yet. It is not currently known how John will strike, but his usual method is to use a high powered rifle to take out his targets from a reasonable distance.

Environment: Foreign Money - Whoever John’s backers are, they have the resources to equip their agents with the best equipment. In the rules, when it says that a suspect is armed with a pistol, they are armed with submachine guns and when it says they are armed with submachine guns, they are armed with assault rifles. Fabricants: Good Shots - John’s agents are particularly good shots. All fabricant suspects have +1 Ranged Attack skill.

­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

69

Prime suspects

SUS: 2436578 Built: ? Grade: Possible 8 Manufacturer: ? Wanted For: Murder, Assassination of an Elected Official, Impersonating a Human Being.

70

Defend the Eagle

The players have managed to isolate John’s next hit before he has a chance to do it. Now all they have to do is catch him before he can pull it off.

Prime Suspects

Evidence required: 4P 3PL 2E 5F 2PH Cost: 5 Budget

Setup

Start with a 48cm x 48cm table. Place the government official near one edge of the board facing the far side (a stationary NPC that will never move). Place 3 crowd markers per player near the official, but no closer than 4cm, and all in his front 180 degree arc. Place 1 concealed sniper marker per player at least 24cm from the official and at least 6cm from each other.

Once an investigator has successfully checked a crowd or position, roll 2D6. On a 12, John is present in that marker. Place him on the table in base contact with the marker. He will automatically attempt to make the shot on the next NPC phase (See Taking the Shot below). Regardless of the whether John is found in a successfully investigated marker, note that the marker has been searched. John will be in the last marker searched if he is not in any of the others searched. The Spook Level: John takes his time to line up his shot, but will take it early if he feels threatened. The Spook Level is the measure of that pressure and should be tracked on a separate sheet of paper or a large die. The Spook Level starts at 0.

The players start on the same board edge as the official.

Roll 1D6 at the start of every turn; deduct this amount from the Spook Level. The Spook Level may never be less than 0.

Objectives

The following actions increase the Spook Level.

Root out John by checking crowds and sniping positions, and eliminate him before he has a chance kill the official.

Special Rules

Feds: Its pretty easy to spot the men in the black suits with the ear pieces. The players do not start the scenario as hidden.

71

chance the take the shot. Investigators must be in base contact with a crowd and successfully check it on a TN1 Notice check. Sniping positions are checked on a TN2 Notice check.

Rooting Out John: Players needs to check as many crowds and potential sniping positions as possible, in order to find John before he has a

Checking a crowd (+2 Spook)

Checking a sniping position (+1 Spook) Failing on these checks generates an additional +1 Spook

Taking the Shot: John will take the shot under the following circumstances.

1. If a player discovers him in a crowd marker or sniping position, place John in base contact with the marker in which he was discovered. John will take the shot on the next NPC phase and, due to the rushed nature of the shot, will only succeed on a 4+. Regardless of whether he successfully kills the official, he will switch to the Fleeing subroutine.

Ending the Game

The game ends when the official has been killed or when John is KOed, apprehended, or flees off of the table. Players fail the mission if the official is killed.

Prime suspects

2. If the Spook Level is 4 per player or higher, the assassin takes the shot and kills the official on 5+. If he fails to kill the official, randomly determine his position from the remaining unsearched crowds and positions. John will use the Fleeing subroutine.

3. John takes the shot on the round 8 NPC phase. He automatically kills the official. The players have failed.

72

Tom Droga

Prime Suspects

Human Hate Group Leader Not all prime suspects are rogue fabricants. One of the DFM’s primary charges is also to protect fabricants that are being used legally. Tom is a pro-human hate group leader based out of Orange County, California. Tom has led a number of high profile anti-fabricant riots, and destroyed several large fabricant manufacturing centers in southern California. Tom was placed on the DFM prime suspect lists when it was suspected that he was gathering resources for another riot on the Honda plant on Balboa Island.

73

Fabricants: None - Tom’s organization does not use fabricants of any kind. All suspects during the campaign are human. The shoot on sight warrant may not be purchased.

n w o n

k n

u

Environment: Fabricant Hate - DFM agents aren't welcome in Orange County and Question or Intimidate checks are +1TN. Any fabricant character suffers a further +1TN to Question checks and Intimidate checks.

Prime suspects

SUS: 5827954 Born: 23 December 2012 Place of Birth: Irvine, California Wanted For: Embezzlement, Inciting a Riot, Illegal Decommissioning of a Fabricant

74

Defend the Plant

The investigators have managed to find the time and place of Tom’s raid on the Honda Fabricant plant. The investigators need to defend the plant, but must do it with non-lethal force, as civilian casualties would be a PR disaster for the DFM.

Prime Suspects

Evidence required: 6P 5PL 1E 1F 2PH Cost: 5 Budget

Objectives

Break the crowd and get them to disperse before they reach the factory.

Prohibitions

Players may only use non-lethal force.

Setup

On a 48cm x 48cm board place 3 buildings in a mutually agreeable manner. On one side place 4 rioters (minor suspects armed with improvised weapons) per player at least 10cm on one side (chosen by the players). For the purposes of determining the number of rioters, backup characters count as players. On the opposite side, the players may deploy anywhere on ground level within 6cm of the edge which represents the gates of the factory. Players may deploy up to 10cm of additional barricades.

Special Rules

Riot Line: The agents are clearly visible and do not count as hidden for this scenario. Rioters: Rioters begin using the Hostile subroutine. If ever a rioter finds itself without a target, they will move 6cm directly towards the players’ deployment zone.

75

The Crowd: The edge where the rioters deploy is a seething, angry mob which is slowly approaching the players. The mob is considered impassible terrain and advances straight ahead 6cm at the beginning of the NPC phase. The crowd ignores any barricades or buildings. If the crowd reaches the players’ deployment zone, they have reached the plant and will loot and wreck it. If the crowd reaches the factory, the investigators lose. At the beginning of the NPC phase, the crowd disgorges an additional D6 rioters, which immediately make a 10cm Charge move towards the players. Breaking the Crowd: After all investigators have acted, but before the next round begins, roll 1D6 for every rioter that the players have KOed with non-lethal force; if the roll shows 4 goals or more, the crowd has been broken and retreats. The game ends and the factory is safe.

Ending the Game

The players win if they successfully break the crowd. The players lose if they fail to break the crowd before it reaches their deployment zone.

Appendix I: The Department as a Pen and Paper RPG

Characters

Players create characters using normal methods, but they should use 70 pts instead of 50. To facilitate storytelling and player durability, RPG characters have 6 Vitality instead of 3.

NPCs

Players running an RPG session will need a variety of enemies for the players to fight, interrogate, and interact with. Minor and major suspects are a good start for GMs to use as mooks and other disposable characters, though they are encouraged to modify them to suit the specific needs of the story. Players should use the same process that player characters use for more important characters in the campaign. Backup characters can be used to support the players, or as NPCs in their own right. It is recommended that the GM controls backup characters rather than the players, to prevent them from being treated as an item of equipment.

Gameplay

GMs running an RPG session need not conform to the rules of the cooperative campaign, though they can adapt its concepts to their story. Here are a few ideas on how GMs can adapt the cooperative campaign rules. Internal Affairs Points: Players could still accumulate IAP for any breach of regulation. GMs should use their discretion when determining what accrues an Internal Affairs Point. GMs should also be aware of what misdeeds are visible to the department. While there is certainly more surveillance in the 2060s than today, American privacy groups have managed to keep public and police surveillance well behind the rest of the world.

appendix I

The main focus of the rules in The Department is to enable players to conduct investigations and fight battles with miniatures on the tabletop. However, The Department can also be used as a light pen and paper role playing game. In pen and paper RPGs, a Game Master (GM) directs the story and NPCs for the players. Though these games can use miniatures, it is assumed in this section that players will not be using miniatures and terrain, though they may be using a map to track character positions in combat. The following rules should be used when playing The Department as an RPG.

The GM should set an IAP threshold for players. Players crossing this threshold face consequences determined by the GM. Unlike the cooperative campaign, IAP consequences should affect the entire investigation rather than individual players. Some sample thresholds include: 5 IAP: Players are put on suspension with leave for one game week. Players lose their arrest authority and must turn in their service weapons for this period. Players choosing to act further on the case do so without the authority of the DFM behind them. 7 IAP: Players suffer suspension as above and damages from a legal action against the department must come out of the characters’ budget. This can either be a direct numerical penalty to the players (players lose 10 Budget) or more abstract (players cannot use backup characters for one month when they get back on the beat). 10 IAP: One of the players is set for termination from the force. Unless the players are able to call in a few favors or negotiate another settlement, one of the players (chosen by the GM) is off the case.

76

Subroutine Quick Reference Sheet Normal Subroutine If every officer in the NPC’s line of sight is hidden

1-3 Scan for the fuzz: Roll a Notice check on any officer in line of sight. 4-5 Quick look around: The figure stays in place but randomize their facing. 6 Move: Move D3cm in a random direction. If there are officers in line of sight that are not hidden, but there are fewer visible officers than suspects 1-2 See if there are more: Roll a Notice check for all hidden officers at +1D.

3-5 Try to slip away: The figure moves to the nearest cover and hides. It will only hide if it makes it into cover or a crowd marker. 6 Aw snap, the fuzz: The NPC rolls immediately on the appropriate Fleeing subroutine, applying the result. If there are more visible officers than suspects

1-3 Try to slip away: The figure moves to the nearest cover and hides. It will only hide if it makes it into cover or a crowd marker. 4-6 Aw snap, the fuzz: The NPC rolls immediately on the appropriate Fleeing subroutine, applying the result. If there is an officer in base contact

1 Bolt: The suspect immediately charges directly away from the officer in base contact. The officer may attempt to stop this by immediately making a TN3 Grapple check. Success means the suspect is held in place. Failure means they complete their movement. 2 - 5 Nothing to hide: The suspect does nothing and submits to whatever the officers require. 6 You’ll never take me alive: The character immediately makes a Melee Attack on the officer with whatever weapon he has. The NPC is now hostile.

Fleeing Subroutine

If every officer in the NPC’s line of sight is hidden...

1-2 Keep running: The NPC charges directly towards the nearest table edge. 3-5 Look over your shoulder: The NPC makes a Notice roll for all of the officers in line of sight. 6 I think I lost them: The NPC is now using the Normal subroutine. Roll immediately on the appropriate chart. If there are more suspects than visible officers

1-3 Leg it: The suspect moves directly away from any visible officers. The suspect will not seek cover, but will run as fast as they can (including charging) away from the police. 4-5 Run and hide: The suspect will move towards the nearest cover or crowd marker and hide. 6 Maybe we can take them: The NPC makes a TN2 Resolve roll. Success means the suspect switches their subroutine to Hostile and makes an immediate roll on the appropriate table. Failure means that this roll should be treated as a 4-5 on this table. If there are more visible officers than suspects

1-4 Leg it: The suspect moves directly away from any visible officers. The suspect will not seek cover, but will run as fast as they can (including charging) away from the police. 5 Run and hide: The suspect will move towards the nearest cover or crowd marker and hide. 6 Surrender: The suspect does not want to run anymore and gives himself up. The suspect is immediately counted as apprehended.

Hostile Subroutine If every officer in the NPC’s line of sight is hidden...

1-2 Where did they go?: The NPC faces the last visible officer and makes a Notice check on every hidden officer with in line of sight. 3-5 Root them out: The suspect moves towards the location of last visible officer and makes a Notice check on the closest hidden officer. 6 They must have run off: The suspect is now using the Normal subroutine and rolls immediately on the appropriate table If there are more visible suspects than visible officers

1 Kill the pig: The suspect moves towards the officers (even if it means going out of cover) and makes a Ranged Attack at the officers or attempts to charge towards the officers, if they do not have a ranged weapon. 2-5 Shoot ‘em: The suspect takes one Move action towards cover and the second to fire at the nearest visible officer. If the suspect is already in cover, then they will make a Ranged Attack at the officers. Suspects without ranged attacks will attempt to Charge the closest officer. 6 Say hello to my little friend: The suspect performs two Ranged Attack actions at the nearest visible officer. The second is an additional action that exceeds their normal allotment of two actions. Suspects without ranged weapons will also use two Move actions in an attempt to Charge the officers. This extra Move action uses the model’s base Move; then the model makes a Charge action. If there are more visible officers than suspects

1-4 Shoot ‘em: The suspect will take one Move action towards cover and the second to make a Ranged Attack at nearest visible officer. If the suspect is already in cover, it will remain stationary and use a Ranged Attack to attack the officers. Suspects without ranged attacks will attempt to Charge the closest officer. 5-6 This might not be winable: The suspect immediately makes a TN2 Resolve check. If they pass, treat this result as a 1-4. If they fail, they are now using the Fleeing subroutine. Immediately make a roll on the appropriate table.

Weapons Quick Reference Sheet Blaster Pistol

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN5, count range bands past Medium as one higher. Notes: Set to Stun* Cost: 2 Budget

Blaster Rifle

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN6 Notes: Set to Stun* Cost: 3 Budget

EMP Blaster

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN6 vs. fabricants, DN3 vs. humans. Notes: Fabricants KOed by this weapon have a chance of having their memory banks disabled. Roll 1D6 on a 5+, the fabricant suspect’s memory has been destroyed. The suspect can not be interrogated at the station or have its memory scanned. Cost: 1 Budget

Fists

Effects: Melee combat only, DN2 Costs: 0 Budget

Stun Grenades

Effects: Ranged combat only, radius 4cm, TN4 Resolve check or Stunned Cost: 2 Budget

Heavy Armor

Effects: +3 re-rolls to DR checks Cost: 2 Budget

Knife

Effects: Close combat DN3 Costs: 1 Budget

Light Armor

Effects: +2 re-rolls to DR checks Cost: 1 Budget

Med Kit

Effects: The character using the kit makes a TN4 Logic goal roll. If successful, the user, or a character model in base contact regains 1 lost Vitality. A single Med Kit may only be used twice in one scenario. May not be used on fabricants. Cost: 2 Budget

Sniper Rifle

Effects: Ranged combat only, +1D for range bands over Long, base DN6. Armor Piercing, -2 re-rolls provided by armor or gear. Notes: Models using a sniper rifle must possess Prowess 4+ to move normally and shoot with it. Those that do not may only move 2cm if they plan to shoot the weapon that turn. Cost: 4 Budget

Fabricant Scanners

Effects: Range 10cm. Note that if this is used to detect the humanity of a suspect, it may only be used once per suspect. Failure to detect the humanity of a suspect with the device means that a verbal test must be administered (see Section: NPCs) Cost: 1 Budget

Shotgun

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN4, radius 2cm Cost: 2 Budget

DFM Standard Issue Slug Pistol

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN4, count range bands past Medium as one higher Cost: 0 Budget. The DFM issues all officers with a slug pistol out in the field.

Large Caliber Assault Rifle

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN6, +1D Ranged Attack beyond Short range band Cost: 3 Budget

Sub Machine Gun

Effects: Ranged combat only, DN5, count range bands beyond Point Blank as one higher, radius 3cm Cost: 3 Budget