Wherein your humble scribe succumbs to the siren song of Mini Six once again. The fabulous Precinct ’77 mini-setting continues as the inspiration.
Lt. Dankowicz hit the lights and siren on his unmarked cruiser. He checked the mirror, smiled at the sight of his magnificent ‘stache, and pulled out into the traffic on Canal to pursue the purple ’73 Lincoln he’d been on the lookout for. Funk Washington would be behind the wheel, on his way back to Harlem after having picked up a shipment from Hu Fong Lee. And it was time he and Washington had a little chat.
Funk saw the lights come on in his rearview, fidgeted nervously with the Playboy keychain dangling from the ignition, and punched the gas. He swerved the big car out into oncoming traffic to pass a couple of delivery trucks and nearly ran head-on into a tour bus. Cursing, he took a hard, squealing right down an alley hoping to lose the fuzz. Instead, he found himself at a dead end as the unmarked cruiser pulled in behind him.
Lt. Dankowicz approached the Lincoln cautiously, but didn’t draw his service revolver. He didn’t want to send the wrong message to the man inside. As he got to the car the heavily tinted window rolled down and Funk Washington looked at the detective with cold, bloodshot eyes.
“Shit, Ox,” he whispered harshly. “What the fuck you doing? Lee’s as good as grass and you pull me over? What the fuck, man? I been workin’ this sting for three months now. What. The. Fuck?”
“Sorry, Melvin,” the big man replied wistfully, leaning down to make it look like he was questioning the driver. “It’s just, you know, Gina’s been getting all weird on me lately. She completely flipped out that I boxed with Torres. She’s threatening to move out again and I really need to chew the fat with my old partner, just to clear my head and get some, I dunno, perspective?”
Lt. Washington gritted his teeth, but felt his heart soften just a bit. “Write me a damned ticket, and let me get outta here before you blow everything, foo. You call me up at my pad tonight and we can meet at McSorley’s. But damn, Ox. Don’t mess this shit up over Gina. You know that bitch be crazy. And that’s the only perspective you need, brotha.”
Lt. Edward “Ox” Dankowicz
Might 4D Agility 2D+2
Wit 2D+2 Charm 1D+2
Skills: Brawl 5D, Muscle 5D, Dodge 3d+2, Investigation 3d+2, Bad Cop 2D+2, Contacts 2D+2
Perks: Ladies Love The ‘Stache
Complications: Jealous Lover
Gear: Badge, Handcuffs, Service Revolver (4D)
Static: Dodge 11, Block 15, Parry 12
Body Points: 36
Armor: none
Lt. Melvin “Funk” Washington
Might 2D Agility 2D+1
Wit 3D+1 Charm 3D+1
Skills: Guns 3D+1, Investigation 4D+1, Legalese 4D+1, Good Cop 4D+1, Bad Cop 4D+1, Undercover 4D+1
Perks: Ethnic Background (African-American/speaks “jive”)
Complications: Bad Rep
Gear: Badge, Handcuffs, Service Revolver (4D)
Static: Dodge 7, Block 6, Parry 6
Body Points: 28
Armor: none
This is awesome. Telling a 70’s era cop-drama by way of character vignettes. I can almost hear a disco beat pulsing somewhere . . .
You get a chance to game this? I had been putting together a sort of modern noir campaign years ago using the original d6 rules, but my players balked and wanted to stick with good ‘ol fantasy.
Thanks! I’m glad you dig it, G-Man. I’d prefer some funk to the disco, but otherwise, yeah!
Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to actually game this out yet. My group is exceptionally sporadic and we’re in the thick of two campaign arcs that we just haven’t been able to wrap up. Introducing something new right now is suicide. But hopefully I can find a way to sneak something in before the end of the year.
Too bad your players balked at the modern noir. That sounds like something I’d enjoy for sure. Players. Eff ’em 🙂
Yeah, too bad you can’t ref without ’em.
This is off the subject, oh Venomous One, but have you checked out the Icons RPG yet? Rules-lite(ish) superheroics with some old V&V and Marvel Superheroes flavor. Also some interesting conventions (only the players roll dice; villains ‘miss’ if the PC’s flub their defensive rolls).
Yeah. Players are to gaming like customers are to business. You hate ’em, but you have to have ’em 🙂
I have picked up Icons and flipped through it a couple of times at my FLGS, and it does tempt me. But I absolutely abhor the d6-d6 resolution mechanic. I know you can do 2d6-7 and get the same effect, but I hate that, too. I’m a grouch, I tell ya.
It’s a shame, because the book itself seems well done, and I’m sorely tempted to do some supers gaming in the near future. Plus, the ION Guard supplement tempts me like few other supers genre concepts ever have. But in the end I know I wouldn’t be happy running it, so I’ve opted to save the dough on this one.
I’m an old Champions player from way back, but I can’t imagine actually running it again, strictly due to the weight of the system (which is why I looked at Icons in the first place). So I’m trying to figure out just what to do. Using BRP & my PDF copy of Superworld seems like the most likely route. But something lighter also calls to me. We’ll see what happens 🙂
Good suggestion, though, G-Man. And I hope someone else out there has my share of fun with the system!
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