Night Shift

Sources of Information

The Guardians Of Order Web site offers several downloadable files in PDF format.

• Web Preview – Gives an overview of character creation, though not realy enough to start playing.
• Fast-Play Rules – A quick-start rules handout that lets players create full, random, or semi-random characters on a limited basis.
• Character sheet
• The Tri-Stat dX Core Rules for free!  Guardians Of Order now make their core rules available in PDF form at no charge!  106 pages.

In addition, the guys at TechnoFetish have just released a character generator for Silver Age Sentinels, available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS9. So far it seems to work really well and it saves a lot of headaches.

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Character Creation

Player characters are created based on 150 points.  In addition, players are allowed to rework their characters and reassign points after two or three games.

In addition to the basic 150 points, everyone gets 3 points of Organisational Ties (see below under Rank), so if using the character generator, enter your point total as 153 points.

I strongly recommend using the character generator from TechnoFetish; in conjunction with the Fast-Play Rules download, it makes the process much faster and easier.  However, you will most likely still need to leaf through the book to see the description of the various powers, attributes, etc.

Important: If using the Fast-Play Rules download, ignore the section on page 11 entitled "Phase 5: Select Skill Groups".  There are two ways of handling skills in SAS, Skill Goups and individual Skills.  The two do not mix, and we will be using individual skills (the more traditional approach).  The skill list is included in the TechnoFetish character generator.

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Ranks

Rank is bought as "Organisational Ties" under the SAS rules.  Here is a quick description of what police ranks correnspond to in the game.  Police officers who prove themselves in investigative assignments may be promoted to the rank of detective.  Promotions to the supervisory ranks - e.g., sergeant, lieutenant and captain - are based on civil service examinations.  As you might have guessed, the highest available rank for PCs is level 7, Lieutenant.

You get 3 points of Organisational Ties for free, making the default character rank "Police Officer".  Everything above that has to be bought by paying the point difference.  If your character concept calls for it, you may reduce your rank by one or two points and use the points elsewhere.

1- Administrative Officer

This is the rank of administrative support staff - the folks who file the paperwork, answer the phones, make sure everyone has pencils, etc.  This is considered to be a "civilian" rank, not a "sworn" rank like the others.  Officers traditionally wear khaki uniforms rather than blue ones like "sworn" ranks, and are therefore often referred to as "khaki officers".  There is actually a hierarchy here with "khaki officers" and "khaki sergeants" but they are all answerable to "sworn" officers so I am lumping them together.  Both Janus and Micromaid fall into this category (the former because she is a dispatcher, the latter because she is likely a civilian contractor or employee), as do Grease Monkey (the machine-shop operator) and Charon (coroner).  Vaux Aul may also be a khaki officer, depending on whether Trans-Solar Registry was an administrative or investigative/enforcement arm.

2- Police Trainee

This is the rank you get after coming out of the academy and first being hired on.  Officers with this rank are on probationary status, and are always assigned to work with more experienced officers.  Robyn "Toybox" Slinger is this rank.

3- Police Officer

The vast majority of uniformed officers fall into this rank.  Many police officers spend their entire careers here.  These are "beat cops" who are crime first responders, usually charged with apprehending criminals, patrolling, and doing footwork.  They do not generally investigate crimes, but do secure crime scenes.  Shock-Headed Peter, Dust Devil, Girl One, Irma Geddon, Jeff Smax and Multi-Woman are all this rank.

4- Detective

This is a police officer who has received special training in crime investigation.  Detectives can examine crime scenes for evidence, and are put in charge of investigating specific crimes.  Synesthaesia and King Peacock are Detectives.

5- Sergeant

This is a police officer who is in charge of other police officers. In order to make sergeant you have to pass an exam.  Hyperdog and Monsoon are both sergeants.

6- Detective Sergeant

A detective who is in charge of other detectives.  Phantom Jack is a Detective Sergeant.

7- Lieutenant

Lieutenants are typically in charge of major investigations requiring extensive manpower and/or resources, and may be in charge of specific departments depending on how large the department is.  Individuals who need to exercise authority in the field may also hold this rank.  Peregrine is a Lieutenant, and it is likely that The Voice is too.

8- Commander

Commanders are usually the ones in charge of major departments within a police department and may also exercise considerable command authority when the captain is away.  Wolf Spider is a Commander.

9- Captain

A given precinct or crime division usually has a Captain in charge. Jetman is a Captain.

10- Commissioner

In charge of an entire police department (remember that despite the fact that it covers an entire city, Top 10 is only considered to be a precinct station).  Ultima was a Police Commissioner

It is interesting to note that Top 10 has a very simplified structure compared to most police forces - it is more analogous to a single station house than a city-spanning police force.  This suggests that a lot of the higher police functions (such as Internal Affairs, Criminal Justice, and Organized Crime Division) are handled on a meta-dimensional level.

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Basic Training

Every character gets 30 points to purchase skills, plus an additional 10 skill points for each level of the "Highly Skilled" Attribute bought in character creation.  In this campaign, everyone also gets another 7 points' worth of skills for free, corresponding to the basic police training received at the Academy, so if using the character generator, enter your skill point total as 37 points.  The Basic Training skill package includes:

• Driving 1 (2 pts)
• Management/Administration 1 (1 pt)
• Police Sciences 1 (4 pts)

Combat skills are not included in the basic training package because in the SAS system, they can rapidly destroy play balance.  Instead, I assume that players will buy combat kills and advantages that are appropriate for their character concepts.

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