Los Angeles '89

The Setting of Play is Los Angeles, 1989. I'm french, I've never been in the USA, but I've seen a lot of crime dramas. A lot of these pictures aren't even set there, but what are you going to do about it? You can thank TV and Films for that.

The idea is to run a sort of Cyberpunk-type game, structure-wise, except modern, with no sci-fi or fantasy elements whatsoever. Cause I like down to earth.

I'm not aiming for Feng Shui either - characters aren't super-powered action heroes. They'll go to the hospital or just die if they get shot. Violence is going to happen but it should be 25% Desperate, 25% Dark Comedy and 50% Senseless. Dangerous People not necessarily because of their larger-than-life skills, but because they're playing with Dangerous Toys.

There's three setups I have in mind. The first is that the players are the first members of a gang or small criminal syndicate. Maybe they just took over after a power vaccuum. Maybe they're small fry trying to make it big. Focus on sandbox play, players have to be proactive and deal with problems while trying to accrue power and influence, mayhem ensues.

Another approach is the Troubleshooters. Like the hit men of Pulp Fiction or the titular Reservoir Dogs, PCs would be a crew of professional criminals working for some kind of independent Fixer type figure. Someone a bit scary and a bit silly, like Hatchet Harry from the Guy Ritchie crime/comedies. They do odd jobs, following a mission-focused framework ala Shadowrun. Or maybe a bit more open, like Vampire.

The third one is a bit like the second, except the players are cops. I don't know much about realistic portrayals of cops, but basically they'd all work in some hodge-podge patchwork unit of mavericks and weirdoes, and get assigned various cases other people don't want to deal with. Some rivalries with other "actual" police clans like Vice or Homicides, and a layer of corruption and paranoia from dealing with dangerous criminal syndicates and potentially Internal Affairs or the Feds.

Since I'd be using a map of Los Angeles (approximatively) and already have a fair idea of the setting (don't want to get smothered in details), most of the prep would be making up a few factions and a few NPCs. I don't want to overprep, so I'll probably introduce them episode by episode, based on the needs of any given adventure. One explicit thing I want is to maintain a sense of tongue in cheek or weirdness to it all, which means I need strong NPCs - memorable dudes that, while being and acting serious, are a bit off in one way or another. Another way to emphasize the oddity is to play the bits regular "cool" action/crime movies don't show - have a scene with the players just eating burgers or waiting an hour in the car waiting for some dude to arrive. Let them do ridiculous Pink Mohawk plans, but have it backfire when they get in over their head and start to embrace the power fantasy. Cops and other criminals are competent but bumbling fools - people in stressful situations with a bit less composure than actual real-life professionals would probably have. Fargo instead of No Country for Old Men.

I don't remember this movie but I like the looks of the dude on the left.

I'll make some random tables to help generate fun characters. Expertise and other Traits aren't going to be very important - I'll roll 2d6 with Traveller stats as they feel simulation-y and down to earth, record exceptional attributes' descriptors, and maybe have a table or two for specialties/expertises. Don't think it needs to be very detailed. What I really want to detail is stuff like fun nicknames, how they wear their suit if wearing a suit or what ridiculous attire they adopted instead. Small trivial bullshit to make them feel more like real people. Real movie people.

Two tired but entertained PCs listening to "the plan" from a third one, behind the camera.

Ideas for factions include: the LAPD, the FBI, Crips & Bloods, Yakuzas, Tongs, Triads, Mafia, Mafiya, whatever the Israeli mafia is called, Seoulpa Rings, independent weirdoes, some guy from the CIA being shadier than most criminals you've met, probably some City Official's goons around some upcoming election (governor? mayor?), etc. Expect people to have alliterative names.

Don't fuck with the Rabbi. (from Lucky Number Slevin)

It's all in the facial expressions.

The kind of baddies that they'll send after you once you piss somebody off.

Why not swords?

You can look cool, sometimes...

But you won't most of the time.