Private Detectives in 2077

Once again, not a real ad, not a real agency. Artwork ©1989 Jeff Laubenstein, from Sprawl Sites (©1990 FASA Corporation, ©2016 Catalyst Game Labs),  no infringement intended. Photoshoppery by me.

So before we begin the game, there are some things that need to be said about what private investigators are and aren't.

What Can RCI Do?
Investigators for RCI typically help people locate clients' birth parents, find missing or stolen property (though typically not repossess it, despite what the prop ad above says), conduct security audits for small businesses and companies (few if any megacorporations would hire a local firm to do this - they have too much pride), investigate cases of infidelity or missing persons, or any issue the police (or in this case Lone Star or Knight Errant) can't (or won't) do much about. As noted in the above prop ad, RCI does provide personal security for clients. Typically this is just for visiting celebrities, but occasionally a Mr. Johnson may hire them out if they feel their own retinue's firepower and abilities may be lacking.

Another service provided by RCI is that of occult investigations. In the spirit-filled Sixth World, hauntings, demonic possession, and the like are no longer continually scoffed at by skeptics - though there are of course skeptics on both sides of the fence who actively work to debunk the actual fakes.

In short, the bulk of a PI's work involves civil cases and possibly consulting with law enforcement about active cases (willingly or unwillingly, depending on their relationships with the Star and who the players are). Despite not having the gravitas of constantly dealing with criminal investigations, private investigators are NOT above the law.

What RCI Investigators Can't Do
There are a number of things private investigators in general can't do, and a few niggling details about what private investigators in Nebraska can't do. Let's look at the big picture first - the things you can't do as a private investigator.

Licensing: Private investigators must be licensed for the state they are operating in. In this game it's assumed the characters are training to be or are licensed private investigators hired by River City Investigations. Trainees are expected to work with an active licensed investigator for a set amount of time, spend a certain number of hours in the classroom, get certified to carry a concealed weapon, submit an application and undergo a background and fingerprint check (of course in Shadowrun, this would mean a character would have to have a SIN (System Identification Number) - either a real one or a convincing fake). The downtime used to train and recertify isn't going to be played out unless there's a pressing (or entertaining) need for it in the story.

Impersonating Law Enforcement: Because private investigators deal primarily with civil issues, they don't have the same powers as the Star. There's no uniforms, no flashing of a badge or gun - meaning you're not a cop and you can't claim to be one. That's not to say that a former cop-turned-PI couldn't pull some strings with buddies on the force to get info or otherwise try to use what little clout they retain from their past life to do their job, however. Overall, a private investigator is supposed to work with local, state, and federal authorities, depending on the circumstances. Of course, just because you're supposed to "play nice" with the Star doesn't mean you have to like it.

Trespassing: A private investigator can't break into or otherwise trespass on a property, house, or building (some states even require them to get the owner's permission to enter before doing so). The only exemption to this is if the PI is serving papers as a process server, depending on the state they live in.

Surveillance: This is a tricky conditional situation. Private investigators do rely on surveillance and interviews quite a bit, but there are limits to how, when and where they get their information. Wiretapping a phone or other communication system without consent from one of the individuals is forbidden. Nebraska is considered a one-party state when it comes to recording calls and conversations, specifically:

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-290(2)(c) - It is not unlawful under sections 86-271 to 86-295 for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, electronic, or oral communication when such person is a party to the communication or when one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception unless such communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any state.

Across the river, Iowa's law states:

Iowa Code Ann. §§ 808B.2(2)(c) - It is not unlawful under this chapter for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication if the person is a party to the communication or if one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to the interception, unless the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any state or for the purpose of committing any other injurious act.

Pretty much meaning that if the investigator is part of the conversation and wants to record it, they can. Also, if a conversation is being held in public and is naturally loud enough to hear, a private investigator is certainly able to eavesdrop on it. Still, phone (or commlink) taps may require a warrant, which means working with law enforcement.

Taking pictures or video recording of public activities and meetings is not an issue as long as the subjects are out in the open public and not within a private building. That means you can't take pictures or video of them through a window. Mail tampering is right out, especially since the UCAS Postal Service has armed carriers nowadays.

GPS Tracking: Private investigators cannot place a GPS tracker on a vehicle without the consent of the owner. If a client wants to put a GPS tracker on a vehicle, it has to be in their name (for example, a husband tracking his wife's use of his vehicle to confirm suspicions of infidelity).

Hacking and Information Gathering: Ah hacking (or decking) - one of the great activities in Shadowrun. Hackers and deckers do a lot with regard to information gathering both online and offline. Online it's a matter of having the finesse to get into and out of a system without getting caught or at least getting away with the information. Offline, it's a matter of social engineering - pulling the wool over some poor wage slave's eyes and asking the right questions to get the needed information - or the security information to get to the actual goods. Private investigators can't hack into social media or e-mail accounts, nor can they run license plates without reason or access protected information (school, bank, medical records; phone records, etc) without the account holder's consent or a court order.

Legal Arrest: In today's United States, private investigators do not have the power to make a legal arrest, like a police officer can with handcuffs and the Miranda Rights. However, private investigators can make a citizen's arrest such as when an individual is endangering the public (attempted kidnapping, domestic abuse in public, etc) or when a federal offense is witnessed (like bank robbery). Some states require written consent for a PI to make specific arrests or may allow a PI to serve an arrest warrant under special circumstances.

Bounty Hunting: That leads us to another topic - bail bonds and skip tracing, commonly known as "bounty hunting". Nebraska frowns hard on the profession of bail bondsman to the extent that it's not a legal profession here. Meanwhile, in Iowa, bail bonds are legal. Unfortunately, as one Council Bluffs bail bondsman learned, you can't just chase your quarry down in Nebraska and bring them back to Iowa.

So That's 2016 - What About 2077?
Well, that's a good question. Things are going to be different. Laws get repealed, changed, loosened, tightened, circumvented, and generally bent out of shape in the dark future. There are sure to be specific requirements for PIs who are mages or technomancers that won't apply to regular gumshoes. Then there are always the regular tropes associated with private investigators in books, movies and TV - like the "I'm your buddy on the force so I'm gonna look the other way" card, and whatnot. I'm no expert and this is just a general overview. If something comes up in the game, I'll most likely determine if applying the modern law or a changed future version fits the story or if it's going to be handwaved.

That's the long and short of it from what I've researched. As the game progresses, I'm sure there will be more details unearthed...

QuikFacts: Omaha in 2077

>>>>>[What we have here is a capsule note on the Omaha 'plex in 2077. It's not by any means a complete entry here of our humble little sprawl on the prairie. It's not all orks and trolls wearing cowboy hats, drinking drek beer and listening to country music, and it certainly isn't humans and elves living it up in West O. In the 223 years since it was founded, it’s become something more than just a cowtown. Big Red and I'll be updating the database in the near future...]<<<<< - Darksylvre, Sysop (3:22:41/09-22-77)

>>>>>[What's this "we" drek?]<<<<< - Big Red, Sysadmin (3:25:00/09-22-77)

>>>>>[He's kidding. Really. Still, the Awakening created a new frontier and Omaha is on the Edge once again. Not even the SURGE and Crash 2.0 could keep this town down!]<<<<< - Darksylvre, Sysop (3:28:20/09-22-77)

OMAHA IN 2077 
Population: 1,760,562

Human: 83% (roughly 1,461,266)
    White: 83%
       Jewish: 2%
       Irish: 7%
       Italian: 3%
       English: 4%
       Czech: 3%
       German: 18%
       Polish: 3%
       Swedish: 2%
     Black: 13%
     Hispanic: 3%
       Puerto Rican: 3%
       Aztlaner: 83%
       Cuban: 2%
     Asian: 1%
       Chinese: 19%
       Vietnamese: 8%
       Asian Indian: 14%
       Japanese: 15%
       Filipino: 12%
       Korean: 13%
       Hmong: 4%
       Hawai'ian: 2%
       Guamanian: 2%
     Amerindian: 1%
 Elf: 2%
 Dwarf: 1%
 Ork: 14%
 Troll: <1%
 Other: 1%

Source: The Shadowrun Wiki 

River City House Rules

Basic Character Generation

Character generation will use the 400-Build Point rules in the main rulebook. However, before you start in on that, think about the type of character you want and answer the questions in the Character Quiz (Runner's Companion, p.18); alternately, you can use the "20 questions" questionnaire in the second edition rulebook

.

Barring that, you can always grab an archetype (pre-generated character) from the Shadowrun Fourth Edition Anniversary rulebook or Shadowrun: 2050. Be advised that the Shadowrun: 2050 archetypes may need some tweaking to fit in the 2070 era.

Advanced Character Generation

Once your first character gets killed, retires, or otherwise leaves the game, you can continue on using a character created using the 400 build point method in the core book. This method allows for more detailed character concepts and options, such as bonded spirits, foci, mystic adepts, or registered sprites. If going through 400 build points seems a bit daunting, you can make use of the PACKS (Pre-Generated Auxiliary Character Kit System) in the Runner's Toolkit, which presents a number of kits at each step of the process.

With regard to experience, we can certainly tweak the new character so they're up to speed with the rest of the crew - if you want. Sometimes adding a newbie to a crew of experienced characters can be fun, but it's up to you, the player, to decide if that's what you want to do.

The loss or retirement of your first character also opens up a number of other possibilities with regard to character metatypes and variant metatypes. Additional character concepts in Runner's Companion allowed (with GM permission) later in the game include:

• Changeling (RC, p.57-59, 73-75)
• Drake (RC, p.59, 74-76)
• Metavariants
  • Dwarf, Gnome (RC, p.54-55, 71)
  • Dwarf, Koborokuru (RC p.53, 71)
  • Dwarf, Menehune (RC, p.54, 71)
  • Elf, Dryad (RC, p.51, 71)
  • Elf, Night One (RC, p.51, 71)
  • Elf, Xapiri Thëpë (RC, p.53, 72)
  • Ork, Hobgoblin (RC p.49-50, 72)
  • Ork, Ogre (RC, p.50-51, 72)
  • Ork, Oni (RC, p.51, 72)
  • Troll, Fomori (RC, p.55-56, 72)
  • Troll, Giant (RC, p.56-57, 72)
  • Troll, Minotaur (RC, p.57, 72)
• Pixie (RC, p.65, 84)
• Shapeshifter (RC, p.66-67, 86-88)

 

Running The Shadows By Post

Posting Frequency: I'd love it if we could manage a turn a day for this game, but I know that's not going to always be possible (if ever). At any rate, if we can manage a turn or two a week minimum, I'll be happy. 

Being AFK (Away From Keyboard): Like I said above, life happens. If you don't make a deadline, don't sweat it. I won't kill or penalize the character. What I'll do is try to have the character act as best I can approximate, including rolls.

Roll20/Hangout Sessions: If possible, I'd love to have a live Roll20/Hangout session once a month. I know people's schedules are all different and life happens, but we should give it a shot.

Roleplaying Action and Combat: In play-by-post games, description and detail are important things to remember. You don't have to describe every wrinkle on a character's creased brow - I myself was told by an English prof that I use "an economy of words" in my writing - but describing your character's actions in some detail and interacting in their "voice" is beneficial to the game and the character under the cinematic rules (p.75, SR4A rules, and shown below).

Combat is going to be one of two types:

• Quick, simple fights where your choices are simple (fight, run, or die). I can resolve these quickly, but if you want to make the necessary rolls, that's fine.
• More detailed fights will be where I describe the environment and situation followed by your initiative rolls and description of your actions. For example, I might write: "Responding to Thunder's insult, the ork biker kicks him in the joy department, causing your fellow runner to curl up in a ball on the floor. The ork then rests one of his boots on the side of Thunder's face, rubbing the sole in to ensure maximum comfort. The ork's fellow gangers immediately stand and start swinging at anybody not wearing their colors. The red-headed elf who's been staring at you grins, pulls a black rose from her sleeve, and starts to leave out the back way. What do you do?"

Based on the situation, you'll need to supply your character's immediate long- and/or short-term goals. For example, your character's long-term goal might be to find the troll street samurai who burned them in a run gone bad. Your short-term goal in the situation above might be: "Hit the ork with my chair, then make my way to the nearest door or window. If the elf draws a gun or starts to cast a spell in my direction, I'll throw a knife at her. Once I reach a door or window, I'll jump through it, get on my motorcycle and find a motel in the next town. In the morning I'll try to sell the datachips I stole and replace the knife I lost. I'll also check around to see if there are any trolls who look like the street sam who left me holding the bag in the Joslyn run.

Your posts should take into consideration as many contingencies as you can think of (such as the possibility of the elf casting a spell in the above example) and should describe your actions in enough detail to avoid ambiguity. For example, if your character is locked in a jail cell, you can't just simply say "Escape." You need to do something like "have my cellmate stage a distraction so we can knock the guard out" or "try to pick a fight with the guy in the cell across the hall so the guard comes in," or otherwise outline some definite course of action.


The Cinematic Rules: Since not everybody is going to have the rulebook open on their phone, tablet, or computer while reading this, I'll reprint the cinematic rules here for your benefit.

• Hits occur on a 4, 5, or 6, rather than just a 5 or 6. This makes it much more likely for characters to succeed in their tasks; extra hits can be interpreted as “flair.” This may be a preferred style of play if you’re seeking dramatic action-movie scenes with lots of stunts and flourishes.
• Up to three extra dice will be awarded to characters who describe their actions in colorful, inventive ways.
• If you do a particularly excellent job in describing your character's action and/or interacting in character, the "Rule of Six" will be applied to your roll (if Edge has not already been applied), meaning all dice coming up a 6 are counted as Hits and rerolled. Any additional Hits rolled are then included and 6's are included and rerolled until no more 6's come up.
• You may use Edge to negate all of the damage inflicted by any single attack (the attack miraculously misses or leaves you unharmed) at a dramatically appropriate point in the game. This requires GM approval.

Welcome to the Gateway on the Edge!

Those of you who read my blog, Outside the Boxed Set, are probably wondering - "Why another blog? Doesn't this guy have enough projects on his plate?" Well, it's not really a blog. It's a wiki that's sort of disguised as a blog. This wikiblog, bliki, or whatever you want to call it, is a public database for players in my River City Shadows (formerly "Tales of the River City Wrecking Crew") online campaign. Here you'll find info on characters, places, and things in my campaign, including recaps of the adventures of our River City Investigations crew.

To illuminate readers a bit better, I'll repost my original post from Outside the Boxed Set.

Original Shadowrun logo by Jeff Laubenstein, Jim Nelson, and Dana Knutson. Photoshoppery by me.

I'm nostalgia's fool when it comes to a number of RPGs. Shadowrun, like Traveller, Pendragon, Cyberpunk 2020, and Call of Cthulhu, is a game that piqued my interest, but I jumped in somewhat late in the game once I had the economic means to buy the books. At any rate, by the time I took the plunge Shadowrun had hit its third edition and it wasn't getting a lot of good feedback due to the introduction of otaku - kids able to access the Matrix without cyberdecks - in addition to the changes made between editions.

So, I just held onto what second books I had and waited. Fourth edition rolled around and I hemmed and hawed, unsure about technomancers and what they could do to the world I fell in love with in the second edition, but it was Shadowrun's 20th anniversary, so I grabbed the 20th anniversary edition of the rulebook and I was hooked - sort of. By this time, the books were hitting the $45.00 mark for the core rules and sourcebooks were $30.00. With Catalyst at the helm, the PDFs weren't much cheaper than buying them in print. At any rate, I took my time and got what I could.

At any rate, having divested myself of the local convention and FLGS gaming scenes, I decided to try and assemble my friends for a hybrid play-by-post/Roll20 game. The majority of the game will be handled in a play-by-post format to accommodate everybody's changing schedules and we'll have an actual live meetup on Roll20 once a month if possible. After getting no input from the group on what to run, I just made an executive decision and BAM! Shadowrun. :)

Why Shadowrun?

Why not? Cyberpunk is a good genre, but Shadowrun has a bit more character, despite William Gibson's opinion. What's that? You want to know what William Gibson thinks about Shadowrun? Well, if you insist.

From an article by Ben Lincoln in The Peak (issue 7, vol. 100, Oct. 19, 1998):

Peak: "How do you feel about the role-playing game systems out there that are obviously based on your work?"

Gibson: "To the extent that there was a Cyberpunk movement-and there wasn't, really, but to the extent that there was, the five or six people who I knew in 1981 who were doing this stuff and had a radical aesthetic agenda, at least in terms of that pop-art form of science fiction, [and] one of the things that we were really conscious of was appropriation. Appropriation as a post-modern aesthetic and entrepreneurial strategy. So we were doing it too. We were happily and gloriously lifting all sorts of flavours and colours from all over popular culture and putting it together to our own ends. So when I see things like Shadowrun, the only negative thing I feel about it is that initial extreme revulsion at seeing my literary DNA mixed with elves. Somewhere somebody's sitting and saying 'I've got it! We're gonna do William Gibson and Tolkien!' Over my dead body! But I don't have to bear any aesthetic responsibility for it. I've never earned a nickel, but I wouldn't sue them. It's a fair cop. I'm sure there are people who could sue me, if they were so inclined, for messing with their stuff. So it's just kind of amusing."

Shadowrun - then and now

*snerk* Whatever. Like Gibson, some gamers deride Shadowrun for its mixing of genres. In reality, it helped to revitalize RPGs by taking two genres and making something new and different rather than another bog-standard fantasy or sci-fi game. Though I'm a fan of high fantasy more in the realm of Tolkien - which includes halflings - Shadowrun still resonates with me despite its lack of halflings. I guess it's because adding magic and faith to a high-tech dystopia gives the setting a bit more hope than normal. Some people seem to enjoy grimdark settings without so much as a glimmer of light. I need light, even if it's a light at the end of a tunnel - and not necessarily from an oncoming train.

Why Omaha?

Just to break the repetition of "Why not?", let me answer that question with another question. Why Seattle? Seattle has been the base setting for Shadowrun since the beginning. Yes, the various editions have covered various other cities, including Denver and Chicago, and some enterprising fans have given their own home towns the Shadowrun treatment. For all that it has to offer, Omaha deserves some Shadowrun lovin' as well.

Omaha - what it is and what it isn't. What it will be once the game is over is another question... :D

For the record, Omaha isn't an oversized farming community. Trust me, I've lived in places like Iowa Falls and Cherokee, and they're both cities that still hold tight to their agricultural roots (at least they were when I left them behind). Omaha is truly metropolitan in a lot of ways. That doesn't mean that it's forgotten its cowtown roots. Even though the stockyards are no longer in operation, agriculture - and beef in particular - are still a big part of Omaha. Likewise, the shadows of Omaha are certainly more than trolls and orks wearing cowboy hats, drinking crappy beer, and listening to country music. It's also more than elves and humans living the high life out in West Omaha.

The history of Omaha encompasses many cultures, the most important of which is that of numerous Native American nations and their lore. Shadowrun lore has centered mostly on Native American nations in the American Northwest - the Pueblo, Ute, Salish, Algonkian (or Algonquian - not to be confused with the Algonquin), Athabascan, Aleut, and Tsimshian. The Sioux are also covered.

The Midwest was home to many more tribes and nations than just the Lakota and Dakota Sioux. Just as everything in nature is interconnected, so too are the tribes. That means I've got a lot of research ahead of me, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

Omaha is also home to Offutt Air Force Base, Eppley Airfield, and the Union Pacific Railroad, which means that events like the Crash, Crash 2.0, the infestation of Chicago by insect spirits, and the subsequent exodus of Chicago residents has had an effect on Omaha in various ways. So, yes, Omaha has a lot of plot potential in Shadowrun. Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get some help fleshing this stuff out. Mike Fontaine wrote up an awesome sourcebook on Omaha in Shadowrun which I'm helping to edit, and there were several local gamers who also helped me fill in some of the other gaps.

So Here's The Setup...

Tales isn't your average Shadowrun campaign. A lot of times the stereotypical campaign can be described as “mercenary” or “organized mayhem”. “Tales” is intended to be a little more heroic and cinematic. Our heroes and anti-heroes are new or established employees of River City Investigations, a private detective and consulting agency that works both sides of the Missouri River, but is based in Omaha. There will still be organized mayhem, but hopefully for the better, not worse (hence the "Wrecking Crew" bit).

Not a real ad, not a real detective agency. Artwork ©1989 Jeff Laubenstein, from Sprawl Sites (©1990 FASA Corporation, ©2016 Catalyst Game Labs),  no infringement intended. Photoshoppery by me.

There are also a number of themes and concepts we may explore and investigate in the campaign:

• Black Ops, Hearts of Gold: Although the characters are antiheroes or perhaps even criminals, they still know right from wrong and act for the better of others and the community – even if it means they have to give up the big payoff. Overall, they run the shadows in order to get the big payoff and get out or otherwise improve their situation or the life of someone close to them.
• Starting Out Small: Rather than starting in media res, the heroes start out small and grow in power; as they grow in strength, the scope of their world grows as does the heroes' influence.
• Balance: There are many forces in Shadowrun that are purported to be the “ultimate”. Magic. Faith. Technology. Money. While they can impart great power to those wield them expertly, those who do not exercise the proper amount of responsibility and respect can find themselves off-balance. That imbalance can easily lead a person to be blinded and corrupted. Only by achieving balance can one maintain harmony.
• Strength in Diversity/"United We Stand": In Shadowrun diversity has grown beyond just skin color and beliefs. Trolls, orks, elves, dwarves – and others – have given some cause to rethink their approach toward and philosophy about life. Those same changes have given others all the more reason to cling fearfully to their outdated notions and prejudices. Only by overcoming those prejudices and fears and by embracing diversity can we find strength.
• The Bond of Family/Power of Love: The turmoil found in Shadowrun's future history has no doubt torn families asunder as well as reinforced the bonds of kinship. Does a hero come from a family torn by strife? Will they find their own dreams at odds with that of a patriarch, a matriarch or sibling? Will they mend the torn bonds or break with tradition?

Of course, there's the cinematic/heroic aspect and other details to consider as well, including Rule Zero.

• The Rule of Rules: Every piece of tech, spell, metavariant, variant rule, etc. is subject to change or removal at the discretion of the GM. Even if a game element is initially permitted, if it is later deemed incompatible with the campaign, it will be modified or removed. Any characters (PC or NPC) that use that element will be required to adjust to the change (in other words, no grandfathering). The GM will attempt to keep this sort of thing to a minimum (if at all), but sometimes this may happen in the process of keeping the rules appropriate to the campaign setting. Rationale: Some things that may seem like a good idea at one time may turn out to be a bad idea in use. No grandfathering also maintains a consistency with the game setting and prevents people from abusing the letter of the rules if they choose not to respect the spirit.
• The Pilot Episode: The first adventure will essentially be the “Pilot”. That way if something goes sideways or needs to be altered or “rewound” so to speak, it won't ruin the rest of the campaign. Essentially, this is a variation on Rule Zero (see above) but applies in tandem with Rule Zero.
• Episodes and Arcs: Like Buffy and Angel, Tales will be mostly episodic but those episodes will get the heroes involved in wider arcs. As a result there will be “villains of the week” as well as the big bad evil guys.
• Tone: The influences and inspirations of this campaign include The Dresden Files, Leverage, Buffy, and Angel, along with a variety of cyberpunk authors and movies.
• Layers and Revelations: Rather than dive in with both feet and founder around, we're going to start at the shallow end and walk/swim toward the deep end. This is to allow me – a neophyte Shadowrun GM – and any players new to the system and setting to adjust to the complexities and idiosyncracies.

To kind of further illustrate the tone of the game, here's the theme song for the campaign (George Lynch's "We Don't Own This World) and the end theme (Tomoyasu Hotei's "Tenkuu no Diva"). Some people might not think these songs fit, but if you're looking at things from a cinematic point-of-view, they do. To me, cyberpunk music is more than techno or industrial metal. There's so much more to Shadowrun than gunplay and hacking the Matrix, and as I've said above, there's so much more to Omaha than just beef and agriculture.

So that's the game in a nutshell... a very large nutshell. Whether you're a spectator or a player, watch this space for more developments, chummers!