99% of the general public have no idea how hard it is to keep them safe from the tiny minority of folks that look to do them harm. Our job as cops is to make sure that crimes get prevented where possible, and solved where necessary. We face off against street level thugs, corrupt businesses and politicians, abusive partners and organised crime. Occasionally the odd bad cop. Watching The Detectives is a police procedural, where you get to solve the crime, arrest the bad guy and keep civilization ticking over. We play weekly, voice and video. The system is mostly automated and VERY deadly. Getting shot can easily end a character, so stay safe out there. Watching The Detectives is a game for 4 or 5 cops working cases as they come across their desks. The lives of the PCs are just as important as the cases, and we really dive into the backgrounds of each PC. Solo sessions are available to allow the players to really explore their characters. We really value roleplaying over rollplaying, and character interaction is key. The story is lifted from the headlines of Australia's news, and merged together to make them interesting to play. [CLAIMER] This game has been running for a few years now, and it's time for a new generation of cops to stand on the thin blue line. Over the years we've had experiences with several different types of people and players. So here's a few things I'm going to get out in the open from the start. This game is run for the players, not for the GM. I run a collaborative game, not an antagonistic one. That means that I don't build stories to test you, or scenarios designed to kill your characters if you make one bad roll. If you come up with a really cool idea that completely thwarts the plots of my NPCs, that's great. You were smarter than me, and that should be rewarded. It happens a lot. While that's all very nice, I do need to talk about what does not fly in this group. We've literally had actual neo-nazis try to infiltrate this game in the past, under the guise of "free speech at all costs" and other thinly veiled euphemisms. They didn't really have the social skills to play the long-con, and tipped their hand pretty early. Long before we fell for their lines. The experience was disturbing, but it really helped me solidify my perspective, and how we will run this group. We will protect the most vulnerable against the bully. That means zero tolerance for sexism, racism, or any prejudicial behaviour against anyone dealing with things they can't change. Everyone is who they are, and no one gets to give people shit for that. And we will draw a distinction between the way people were born and the choices they make. Racism is a choice, being born a given race is not. It's pretty simple. That all means that we'll quickly boot anyone who bullies, intimidates or otherwise mistreats anyone else for things they can't change. And yes, we're including gender identity in things a person is born with. Trans people are who they are, and we love them. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but we're done with not punching nazis. Screw them and their cowardly enablers. I've also booted coke addicts (yes, plural) who were happily ignoring the miserable global consequences of their habit. Also we have evolved a safe word - "firetruck". This word can be used at any time to stop any conversation for any reason. We will all respect the rights of anyone in the group to stop any in-game or out of game conversation if it's making them uncomfortable. The game will address real-world topics like sex and violence, but we're not edge lords or dude bros. Now that all that is out on the table, we hope you want to help us bring order to chaos in Melbourne 2008.
