Characters (3 current and 11 inactive)

Ral Lloyd-George-Kennedy (TonyC): Young cop with a fast car, weird destiny and lots of luck

Carrie Starling (Ken): Cute forensics detective with psi abilities

Ed Lee (Troy): Ex-combat engineer turned support mage

Toby (DataPacRat): Wererat techie/infiltrator INACTIVE

Olson Smith (TonyM): ex-infantry engineering gadgeteer INACTIVE

Thaddeus Carp (Douglas): ex-assistant D.A. turned cop, undergoing changes from magical accident INACTIVE

Micheal Dunkirk (William): ex-military with an infernal Enemy INACTIVE

Savernus Jekyll (Peter): Cop with an unusual past and strange shapeshifting INACTIVE

Joey Steele (Roland): Young cop quickly moving up in the ranks, SWAT qualified INACTIVE

Alan Smith (Peter): Dedicated veteran cop, SWAT qualified NPC STATUS

Farland Oakes (fade): Bishonen (male) elf/were-eagle with insane twin brother INACTIVE

Taejun Park (Douglas): Martial artist serving as special civilian assistant INACTIVE

Mistoffeles (Popeman): Intelligent magic-using cat INACTIVE

Tanner Davenport (Roland): Mage, forensics tech and guitarist INACTIVE

SIU (Special Investigations Unit)

Formed recently after the arrest of the last Chief of Police for murder and corruption charges, this small unit has been given the task of investigating high-profile crimes and threats to the security to the city of Houston.

GCU (Gang Crimes Unit)

This city-wide task force, created in 2014 to deal with street gangs caused by heavy rioting, is detailed with investigating any criminal activity by gangs. Technically, it has priority over vice, robbery, homicide, etc. squads, but low manpower (a third of what it was in 2020) generally forces the GCU to hand off more routine cases to these other squads. The GCU sometimes crosses paths with the Organized Crime Unit (OCU) and Supernatural Crimes Unit (SCU). There has been, unfortunately, little effort to officially clear up these boundary disputes for years as budgets and prestige are at stake. The ordinance that created the GCU defines gangs as "a small group of criminals, numbering 3 or more, who band together for mutual protection and profit" (due to the high crime rate at the time, the definition was intentionally rather broad, but no one has been able to get it changed since).

Legal Enforcement Power and Megacorp Security

Your LEP doesn't apply on megacorporation property unless the security forces present expressly grant it. Even if granted, it can be revoked later at the megacorps whim (if, however, you have a suspect in custody and exit the property before the permission is revoked, you do not have to release him to their security. The same applies to any evidence you may gather). On the bright side, megacorp security has virtually no powers off their property, limited almost entirely to protecting vehicles transporting personnel or cargo. Also, rent-a-cop security at a private business does not get these rights. Fortunately, locations are (usually) clearly marked to reduce confusion.

Example: If you are in pursuit of a suspect and he flees to megacorp property, you may not continue pursuit until you get permission from local security. If security catches the suspect first, they are not obligated to turn him over to the police unless ordered to by a superior of theirs. Welcome to public law enforcement in 2049.

Typical Beat Cop Equipment (all from UT and UT2)

Armor: light clamshell cuirass (PD/DR 4/20) over tailored light monocrys (PD/DR 2/8) suit/uniform, light (infantry) helmet (PD/DR 4/15)

Weaponry: 9mm auto pistol (cased ammo, 17 shots), 5 spare magazines*, baton, small vibroknife

Other: short-range comm, heavy duty flashlight, fire extinguisher tube, emergency medkit (plus: 2 Ascepaline, 4 Quickheal, 3 Soothe, 1 Suspend), handheld ID scanner, electronic handcuffs, police (survival) watch**, tangler grenade

In unarmed squad car: 5.5mm assault rifle w/5 magazines*, 18.5mm pump shotgun w/25 shells, digital camera, 100' roll cufftape, portable fire extinguisher, six-in-one axe, laser cutter, gas masks (2), tear gas grenades (4), elixirs: healing (4), antidote (2), beast speech (1), fire resistance (1).

Police helicopters have similar equipment, plus two or three heavy blankets, although some (1 in 3) omit the assault rifle and shotgun.

All firearms have D-tags and anti-theft systems.

Standard gear for a plainclothes detective is a service pistol w/3 clips, Handy (PDA/phone/camera), cuffs, Latex gloves, 4-6 evidence bags, small flashlight, and a PD2/DR 10 concealed vest. Individual detectives can vary greatly.

Most detectives carry a tactical vest in their car trunk for emergencies: PD3/DR 12 (ceramic insert of DR 35 over vitals, front and back), 4 large pockets, 4 attachment straps (typical gear: 5 extra pistol magazines, flash-bang grenade, tangler grenade, emergency first aid kit, heavy duty flashlight, multitool, fire extinguisher tube)

* One magazine is loaded with Mana Drained bullets, for use against certain enchantments (Deflect/Reverse Missiles, in particular) or magical beings. These are similar to, but not the same as, Depleted Necronium rounds (which are not available in this setting).
** Replace survival database with database of selected laws and department policies.

Typical SWAT Weapons and Armor

Armor: Medium Combat Armor (PD/DR 6/30 torso, 4/20 limbs, 4/12 hands/feet, 4/18 head, 4/10 faceplate) with built-in digital camera and short-range comm

Weaponry: Urban Assault Weapon and 10mmC Heavy Auto Pistol. Three loads of ammo for each weapon (including one magazine loaded). Snipers use either a 7mmC or 15mmC rifle, depending on the situation. A 40mm grenade launcher, using various chemical rounds, is issued when required (normally attached to a 10mmC SMG).

Notes: Except for core command positions and some specialists, all SWAT members are part-time members. Entry requirements are 3 years in law enforcement (and at least one year with HPD) and Guns (Light Auto)-12+ and Tactics (Counterterrorism)-12+. SWAT teams are used primarily in hostage situations and for VIP protection, but have also been used in raids where heavy weapons and armor are required.

HPD in 2049

For simplicity, I will divide Houston into the same patrol divisions as today, with a North and South Patrol Command. Each of these are further divided into 5-6 patrol regions, which are subdivided into 3-5 beat areas. Since I am most familiar with southwest Houston, your characters will be attached to South Patrol Command and most of their cases in the area bounded by Westheimer Road to the east and Highway 290 to the north. Yahoo! Maps is one good source for a Houston area map; HPD also has a website with maps for various patrol beats.

Intel Ratings

For intelligence gained off the street, I will use the designators from GURPS Special Ops. If you don't have that book, the reliability of the source is rated A (completely reliable) to E (unreliable), with an F for a source that can't be judged. Accuracy is rated 1 (confirmed by other sources) to 5 (improbable), with a 6 for accuracy that can't be judged. Thus, A1 indicates the best possible intel source, while E5 is the worst, and F6 is information that cannot be judged in any way.

Police and Civilian Weapons

7mm Light Pistol: Dam 1d+2, SS -1, Acc 3, 1/2 Dam 135, RoF ~3, Shots 10, Rcl -1, Wt 0.9
9mm Medium (Police Issue) Pistol: Dam 2d+2, SS -1, Acc 4, 1/2 Dam 150, RoF ~3, Shots 17, Rcl -1, Wt 2.3
10mmC SWAT Pistol: Dam 3d, SS -1, Acc 4, 1/2 Dam 200, RoF ~3, Shots 20, Rcl -2, Wt 2.75
10mm Heavy Pistol: As SWAT Pistol, but Shots 10

5.5mm Assault Rifle: Dam 5d+2, SS -4, Acc 10, 1/2 Dam 530, RoF 12*, Shots 30, 50 or 100, Rcl -1, Wt 7 (w/50 round mag)
7mmC Assault Rifle: Dam 5d+1, SS -3, Acc 9, 1/2 Dam 500, RoF 10*, Shots 60, Rcl -1, Wt 7.2
7mm Sniping Rifle: Dam 6d, SS -4, Acc 11+2, 1/2Dam 740, RoF ~3, Shots 10, Rcl -1, Wt 7.7
18.5mm (12-gauge) Riot Shotgun: Dam 4d, SS -4, Acc 6, 1/2 Dam 25, RoF ~2, Shots 7+1, Rcl -3, Wt 10
18.5mm (12-gauge) Assault Shotgun: Dam 4d, SS -4, Acc 6, 1/2 Dam 25, RoF 10*, Shots 10, Rcl -3, Wt 12
9mm Folding SMG: Dam 2d+2, SS -2, Acc 3, 1/2 Dam 100, RoF 10*, Shots 20, Rcl -1, Wt 5.1
10mmC SMG: Dam 3d, SS -3, Acc 8, 1/2 Dam 200, RoF 12*, Shots 60, Rcl -1, Wt 5.9
Urban Assault Weapon: As 10mmC SMG or 18.5mm AS, except shotgun Shots 4; Wt 10
40mm UBGL: Dam 12 yds CHEM or 8dx2 HEC, SS -1, Acc 7, 1/2 Dam 90, RoF 1/4, Shots 1, Rcl -1, Wt +4.1

Case Files

Season Four

Case 4.7: Earth Attacks! (June 16th, June 24th, July 14th, July 21st, August 11th, 2007)

The team is off to Mars to destroy the demonic gate that will lead to the destruction of Earth, with Mr. Klein present as an uneasy ally. The team is paired with a Ranger team, who is responsible for transporting and arming the nuke to destroy the gate. Rather than taking a space ship (the RTS Thunder Child), the force elects to use some transformable battlesuo\its and trek through the Dreamlands to the Mars portal there, then exit a short distance from the German outpost near the cavern holding the demon gate. The force evades a massive shoggoth in a valley and deals with a moderatelly benign dragon to gain access to the Mars gate. Once at the outpost on Mars, they find it deserted. However, magical scouting reveals that several of the Germans remain, turned into zombied by the spider goddess in the cavern. The team decides to use their spare nuke to destroy the outpost, timed to go off after they enter the cavern. This turns out to be a vital distraction as the spider queen and more zombies attack in the caves. The zombies are easily destroyed by the battlesuits' weaponry. The spider goddess retreats after failing to bribe the team to leave the caverns.. (to be expanded)
Case Disposition: The demon gate is destroyed and the team returns to Earth via spaceship. The Germans claim then two experimental fusion reactors catastrophically malfunctioned. Klein vanished before the team exited the caverns after setting the last charge and a backup made from Mr. Atomic Coffee.

Case 4.6: The Big Easy (April 7, April 21, May 5th, May 19th, June 2nd 2007)

The team is sent to New Orleans to talk to a woman who claims to have information on murders committed in Houston. Enroute, they encouter a cycle gang attempting to hijack a car carrier; the teams manages to stop the attack. Once in New Orleans, they meet with (to be expanded)

Case 4.5: Man of Steel, Woman of Stone (January 13th, January 27th, February 10th, March 10, March 24, 2007)

On the day back from vacation, while having lunch at Chez Bruno's, six members of the Lepercan gang begin trashing a car belonging to a member of the Nightwalker gang across the street. The PCs intervene, only to have a man suddenly run into the scene and get hit by a bus. The Lepercans scatter. Upon attending to his mangled body, it is discovered that he is a full cyborg. Three MiB's shortly arrive and try to take over the scene, but fail. When an ambulance arrives, some PCs insiste on riding along. The EMTs refuse, which delays things long enough for a second ambulance to show up. The MiBs leave and the original EMTs, caught as fakes, run. One fake EMT and one Lepercan is caught and taken back to HPD by Ed. Rally, Carrie and Toby get the cyborg (who keeps asking to be killed) into the Speedline and rush him to the hospital. There, he gives Toby his identity. Back at the station, Ed discovers that Evil Chang is working there and has a crate for him with special contents -- Rhian from the Dreamlands, who apparently has fallen in love with Ed.

While Ed attempts to straighten this out, Olson brings up a nuclear powered coffee maker he has whipped up. On the way back to the station from the hospital, Rally, Carrie and Toby are followed by a pickup up. When they turn the tables and start following it, an occupant of the vehicle attacks them with a Molotov cocktail. In the traffic pileup that ensues, the pickup comesback and the three men inside try to finish off the team -- Rally is severely ignjured, Carrie removed one attacker's manhood and Toby summons a fire elemental that destroys the pickup and one attacker. The unwounded attacker prevents capture by biting on a fake tooth filled with poison. The team eventually makes it back to the station, sending tissue and fluid samples from the cyborg down to the lab. After conversation in the break room involving Rhian, the fire mage Sgt Agnes Delecour, the possibility that the cyborg was a suspected serial killer now supposedly in a mental instituation and introduction of the Mr. Atomic Coffee, the team splits up briefly. Ed takes Rhian to leave her at his house briefly, while the others talk to the fake EMT captured earlier.

A strike team hits the hospital, forcing the cyborg and wounded hitman to be moved to a military facility. Ed discovers from a neighbor that Rhian became ill and was taken to the same hospital; once he arrives, she can no longer be found, but the doctor that treated her claims that she appears to be collapsing on an atomic level which may result in a nuclear explosion. Though magic, Ed finds that she is located at the same mental hospital that Bergmann was supposed to be at. He forces his way in, then loses his trace on Rhian. The security guards turn on him and Ed teleports back to his car in the parking lot. Rally and Carrie, who have been interviewing Bergmann and the hitman, immediately head to the scene.

Everyone arrives, including Olson in a battlesuit. The team splits up and follows the SWAT units into the building, where most of the occupants have either vanished into the basement, or remain in the basement. After a shootout in a truck parking area, the destruction of a warbot that killed four cops, and the stopping of two attack cyborgs appearing as girls, the team discovers a gateway in a wall of the basement. While it is being studied, Olson goes on through. Other team members follow, and join Olson in a firefight in what looks like an office reception area. The opposition is neutralized and it is suddenly discovered that they are on Mars, but a loudspeaker warning alters the team that where are only minutes before the structure self-destructs. Ed regains his trace on Rhian, who is nearby. They find her in chains, atop a bomb. Ed disarms the device and Olson grabs Rhian. The team flees back through the gate just as the lab on Mars is destroyed. Before they can leave the basement, Rhian undergoes siezures and after a white flash, her stone skin is gone, replaced by normal flesh.

Interlude: Children of the Moon (December 16th and December 18th, 2006)

Toby and Olson are sent to New Amarillo, Luna to investigate the apparent suicide of the facility's chief engineer, and end up with more than they expected.

Case 4.4: It's A Steve Winwood Apocalypse (Oct 7th, Oct 21st, Oct 28st, Nov 4th, Nov 18, December 3,  2006)

The team is assigned to question Yanyu Fang, who is being held in Nassau, The Bahamas, about the unreported theft of a small nuclear bomb, and recover it while creating as little notice as possible. Olson Smith is assigned to assist the team.

Act I: Help Me Angel(a): The morning after arriving in Nassau, Rally is confronted by his old enemy Angus, who wants Carrie to provide Rally with a daughter. Using a favor owed him, Rally arranges a midnight fight with Angus. Questioning of Yanyu reveals that by the use of an elixir of forgetfulness, she doesn't remember where she placed the (now armed) nuke, but a memory chip she may have given to one of three men (one of whom is a relative of Carrie's) shows the location. She says the nuke was a target of opportunity; her real mission was to steal some computer files for a Mr. Klein. Toby obtains some of her personal effects to cast a ritual on, Rally goes looking for special iron for custom shotgun loads for his duel and Carrie, Ed and Olson go to question the three men. Pepe Starling has the chip and turns it over, promising any help he can. Rendezvousing back at the hotel, all the information is poured over and it is determined that Yanyu buried the nuke on Gracy's Cay, a very small island in the norther part of the Exuma Island chain, about 60 miles away. Unfortunately, it was most recently the home of a sorceress and is infested with zombies. The team loads up on weapons from the military plane they flew in on and pick up the three bomb experts and gets Pepe to take them to the island. Along the way, they pass within uneasy range of the boats used by the notorious Ortiz brothers for smuggling and piracy, and Toby casts rituals on everyone but Pepe that he hopes will repel zombies.

Act II: Take It As It Comes: The team reaches the island in the late afternoon, with everyone but Pepe and one of the bomb techs heading inland (those two remain on the boat). The burial site is quickly reached a couple hundred yards inland, with some other curious mounds in the area. The nuke is disarmed; a note from Klein is isnside but the disc is not. After discovering that some sort of creatures are buried in other mounds,  the team heads back for the dock, only to discover their boat is gone. Loud moaning can be heard in the jungle behind them. Suddenly, three zombies explode out of the sand fifty yards away and begin shambling towards the team. The team retreats to the stone bait hut and barricade themselves inside. Shortly, the two smuggling boats seen earlier enter the bay and, stopping short of the pier, demand the team's surrender. Fortunately, the ghost of the sorceress who last owned the island reveals herself to Toby and provides assistance in return for a promise to perform a minor task in her abandoned home. The smugglers are dealt with by a cunning plan, which is added by Pepe's sudden return -- one boat is blown up by Carrie telekinetically firing a pirate's rocket launcher into his boat, while Pepe runs over the other and cuts it in half. Toby refuses to leave the zombies on the iland, with souls trapped inside them, so while part of the team goes to perform the task for the ghost, the rest of the team gathers the zombies for physical destruction. At the sorceress' house, the team members open a chamber holding what was supposed to have been the sorceress' backup body when she died, but instead another ghost has inhabited it -- Valerie's.

Act III: Valerie After some arguing, the team at the house heads back to the beach, where all the zombies have been collected in the bait hut. With an improvised flamethrower, Olson sets fire to the building and the zombies are all destroyed. Aith some minor problems, the boat returns to Nassau just ahead of the storm. All of the team except Rally and Toby head back on the plane to Houston. Rally and Toby pick up Yanyu at the police station and return with her to the hotel, for some further questioning. At midnight, Rally heads up to the hotel roof for a special appointment.
Case Disposition: The nuke is recovered but the disc is not. Yanyu escapes from Toby after a third party distracts him. Rally is demotd and suspended for this.

Case 4.3: Snakes in a Bunker (Sept 9th, Sept 23rd, 2006)

The team, with a new member (Toby) must protect a paranoid ex-military intelligence officer (Daniel de Soto) from some former special ops soldiers who were turned to vampires due to faulty intelligence analysis on his part. After a viscious assault on his bunker (built under his house), including hundreds of snakes controlled by the vampires, all the vampires and most of the snakes are killed, his house blown up and the bunker partly wrecked.
Case Resolution: DeSoto is saved and the vampires are killed.

Case 4.2: Living Dead Girl (July 29, Aug 12, Aug 26, 2006)

Rally is awakened early in the morning by a woman's ghost, who asks him to avenge her death, then the vanishes. Later in the day, the team is assigned a missing persons case (and the ghost is a dead ringer for the wife of the missing woman, who appears to be very much alive). Ed signs for a special Jaguar modified by the R&D Lab. The team learns that the missing woman, Hillary Durant, was strongly against the marriage of her brother, Victor, to Renee Haayen and vanished shortly before the wedding. It was also learned that Hillary had a ring that made it difficult to cast information spells on her (Victor has a matching wing, which he gave to Renee). The team collected a DNA sample for Hillary (and covertly from Victor and Renee). The groundskeeper, Evil Chang, provided the team with the name of Mason Talbot, a disreputable alchemist, despite nearly being killed by the Jaguar's security system. [more to be added later; basically Hillary bought an elixir from Talbot that allowed her to switch bodies with Renee, whom she killed in Hillary's body and hid. Unknown to her, Victor bought a enslavement potion he gave to "Renee" after they were married so he could access her personal fortunes without difficulty. Talbot was egged on into a madman's rant by Ed (after he took a potion of wisdom) where Talbot confessed all.]
Case Resolution: Hillary/Renee is arrested for the murder of Renee, Victor is arrested for the use of an illegal elixir on Hillary/Renee and Talbot is arrested for the manufacture and sale of illegal elixirs.

Case 4.1: When in Rome ... (April 6, April 20, June 3, June 17, July 1, 2006)

Ed and Rally meet Carrie's Cajun cousin, who is in town on business, as they head out for lunch after spending the morning on paperwork. As their lunch winds down, a nearby bank is robbed by a gang of clowns in a clown car. Rally gives chase. In the end, partly due to Ed magically filling the perp's car with dirt, it loses control, vaults through the air (tossing out clowns and dirt as it spins) and smashes into the ground, exploding. All of this is caught on camera by a News54 helicopter, including an on-scene interview of Rally and Ed. Fortunately, they are given a new case and leave. Gaius Hirtius Varro, a rich, eccentric old man (who lives like he was in Imperial Rome) was founded dead from a snapped neck in his study that morning by his young wife (Octavia). After contacting his lawyer (to open a floor safe), they discover the dead man (who was a writer on genetics and bioengineering in the 2020's) was writing a "tell-all" memoirs. However, the printed copy the lawyer had seen was gone. A hidden chamber off of the study contained a computer that had had the hard drive removed. However, a tech viewing through the camera in Ed's Handy spotted an odd memory chip which turned out to be a small (1 GB) Flash drive. This was sent back to HQ for study. A full copy of the manuscript was found on it, talking about the Meliorare Society, an outlawed group devoted to the forced evolution of humans through bioengineering and members who had escaped arrest in the late 2020's when the group was (supposedly) shut down worldwide. The team also discovered a troll had been present at the house; he was tracked down to an abandoned hotel and captured, along with the hard drive and printout of the memoirs being recovered. The team went to meet with the troll's contact at the Fuzzy Grape, to find who had hired him. The troll's contact was a police informant who, before he could name names, was interrupted by a couple of men who were there to take the hard drive. A firefight and riot ensued, with Ed being seriously wounded after setting fire to two suspects. The team was able to capture Kami, a teenage psychic assassin. Back at the station, in return for having a cortex bomb removed, she told everything she knew, including current members of the Society (this confirmed statements in the memoirs). When the team discovered that the troll had never arrived back at the station, they went back to the hotel, to discover that the two officers left in charge had shot each other and had attempted to burn the troll to death (foiled by a water pipe overheard bursting). Three teenagers suspected of drug use who had been in the hotel when the team originaly showed up were missing; the last radio report from the officers on the scene was that they were letting the teens go. A divination from Ed indicated that two of the teens may have been mentally controlling the officers. With the help of a police Seeker mage, the team tracked down the three teens to a cajun restauraunt. Another firefight and riot ensued, with Ed setting fire to another suspect, but all three teens were taken into custody.
Case Disposition: The three teens are being held on attempted capital murder charges. The troll is being held on a murder charge. Kami was found hung in her cell, an apparent suicide. A decision was made not to go after the higher members of the Society at this time due to how the law protects megacorporations and their employees (and the names from the memoirs and Kami are high up in several megacorporations).

Season One, Two and Three Cases

R&D Lab Inventions

Cyberpigeon: This is a regular pigeon that has enhanced vision and hearing, along with a tiny implant computer. It can be (more or less) controlled by a simple remote unit.

D.I.C.K (Dimensional Integrity Collapsing Keg): Resembling a hand grenade, it has a blast radius of 3 meters. It transfers any persons or objects in the radius to a random dimension using an artificial, microscopic black hole. The objects return several days later within 5 miles of the original explosion.

EL-7: This small pistol is a prototype electrolaser, with "stun" and "kill" settings. The battery is good for five shots and range is 20 meters.

Morphing Imp: This bioengineered creature, about a pound in weight and 6" tall, can take the form of any small, inanimate object. It remembers everything it sees or hears, but after 36 hours suffers a catastrophic loss of data if not blanked.

Multi-Detector: This box-shaped sensor can be set to detect the presence of magic, spirits, psionics and cheese.

Nova Bomb: This mine creates a 10 meter magnetic containment field around it, teleports in a sufficient volume of the sun's upper atmosphere to fill this volume and, after 7.1 seconds, teleports everything inside the containment field into the upper atmosphere of Neptune.

Vampire-Proof Armor: This is a full suit of fine chain-mail (similar to that used by divers to resist shark attacks) that covers everything but the face (which is protected by a Lexan mask).

Vampire Detector: This simple box, with only an on/off switch, ceases beeping when in the presence of a vampire. As the distance from a vampire increases, the beeping increases in frequency.