Freebie #1 The Police - Part II

In my last post, we discussed figuring out how good the local constabulary is at doing its job. Now, we will go over how they can do their job.

So, you have determined the basic skills of the police, their Investigate and their Gather information skills. Now, you must figure out how hard their job is on this case.

Firstly, the base Difficulty Class of any investigation is 20. What this means (for those unfamiliar with d20 system games) is that the police must roll a d20 and add their appropriate skill, and if the total is greater than the DC then they have succeeded. However, the DC of 20 is simply the base; you must see what modifiers are out there that can and will alter the final DC.

Character Opposition

If the PCs are worth their salt, they would have done something to cover up their dastardly deeds. In the example I gave from my own game, the PCs set fire to the building after killing four goon-type guards. To represent the PCs attempts at covering up, I allowed one character (the one who used to be a professional thief) to make a roll to see how well she covered up the evidence. The character's roll was a total of a 23.

For every 5 on the characters' skill checks to avoid detection add +1 to the DC and a further d6 weeks to the duration of the investigation.

In this case, the roll adds +4 to the DC and 4d6 to the length of the investigation.

Other Modifiers

There are a plethora of other situations and environmental factors that can effect the final DC of an investigation. I will list several here, but GM's should feel free to add more depending on the setting, locale, and style of play.

Shots Fired - The number of volleys of gun fire is the modifier. If the PCs exchanged fire in two separate instances, then the modifier is +2

Population Density - Higher population densities means more potential witnesses.

Population Density Table
Empty         +3
Low           +1
Average       0
High           -1
Dense        +3

Environmental - This is sort of a catchall category, one that covers all sorts of environmental factors not covered elsewhere. From loud trains to thunderstorms, to billowing clouds of sand or seeping silica, factors within the crime scene's locale that can affect the subsequent investigation. The modifier is left to the GMs discretion, but should rarely exceed +3, unless of very large proportions.

Early - Not many people are early risers; +1

Broad Daylight - Many people out and about who can easily see what's happening; -2

Night - Too dark to see clearly; +1

No Lighting - No artificial illumination; +2

Poor Lighting - Insufficient illumination; +1

Well Lit - Duh; -1

Low Traffic - Not too many people walking/driving/flying through the area; +1

High Traffic - Lots of people walking/driving/flying through the area; -1

Security Recordings - Available from onsite or through an offsite recording agency; -3

Proximate Security - Available from nearby recording devices (security cameras, ATM's, etc.); -1

Lucky Breaks

The final modifier to the base DC is the Lucky Break roll. Even if no other modifiers are applied, this one always is. This is just simple luck that benefits either the constabulary or the PCs. Roll a d10, treating rolls of 10 as 0. Then, roll a second d10 using the same rule. Subtract the second roll from the first roll, even if that would give you a negative number. You will get a number between -9 and +9. This is applied to the base DC, and serves as the ultimate modifier.

Investigation Checks

The constabulary now get their turn to roll dice. You have determined their skills and the DC of the checks that they must make. Calculate how many weeks the investigation will go on based on their skills and PC interference. The constabulary get to make one roll per week for either Investigate or for Gather Information

For the police to figure out what happened and who did what to whom, they must pass both checks within the allotted time frame. Natural 20's are never an automatic success in these rolls. If the modifiers to the DC have made it impossible for one of the skills to ever be successful, the police will have an idea, perhaps even know who was responsible, but be unable to prove it. If neither roll is possible, the case will run its course, and unless the PCs do something else to bring attention to themselves or their actions, it will quietly be put into the cold case files.

If, however, both rolls are successful, the police will be able to apprehend and prosecute the PCs. On a successful check for either skill, for every 5 that the constabulary exceed the required DC, reduce the length of the investigation by 3 weeks. If they beat it by 10 or more, they may decide to bring the PCs in for questioning by the half point of the investigation. If they beat the DC by 15 or more, they may decide that they have enough evidence to arrest the characters.

Please note that these rules are currently geared toward the more modern end of the time line; no contingencies are in place to cover magic or psionics either. This is sort of rough-and-tumble for now. I'll look into these other factors at a later date and see if I can fit them into the paradigm. If so, look forward to a printed product some time in the future!

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GMs are, as always, free to modify the rules for duration of case. In some instances, it would seem counter intuitive to decrease or increase the investigation time, and so if the GM feels it necessary, he should alter it.

I'll be working on a PDF sheet for download to help folk figure this one out. It might be a good idea to laminate the sheet so you can reuse the sheet over and over again. Another hint, if the PCs are going to be running around the same town for some time, than it might not be a bad idea to roughly map out the town for Crime Rates and Police Reputation, and perhaps even for more than one policing agency if more than one has jurisdiction within the area.

That's all for now. This is the first of many Freebies that I will try to put out at least every two months. I hope it helps! (As if there was any doubt.)

Enjoy!