Disclaimer
This is a review of Politically Incorrect Games’s (PIG’s)"Vice Squad". Just so you know up front, I have an arrangement with PIG for an Active Exploits Diceless conversion of Dreamwalker: Roleplaying in the Land of Dreams but I receive no $$ from any other PIG product.
Vice Squad
Vice Squad was designed as part of PIG’s genreDiversion line which markets itself as a series of one shot, setting light games that use basically the same simple game engine.
I’ll be honest. I’ve been looking forward to Vice Squad ever since I first read about it on the PIG home page. The fact that Mark Bruno (Mean Streets) was collaborating on it made me all the more enthused.
I grew up in the 80’s and can remember all the now-cheesy cop and action movies and TV shows---Miami Vice, the A-Team, The Dukes of Hazard, Commando, Knight Rider, ChiPs, The Naked Gun, Police Academy, Die Hard. I’ve recently gotten hooked on the Grand Theft Auto video game series, the latest edition of which, Vice City, is a throwback to those classic shows.
I was really hoping for an RPG that could return me to those times and Vice Squad did not disappoint.
Layout
The PDF is 48 pages long although almost everything you need to play the game is listed in the first 15.
Visually, the layout is nice and clean as are all of PIG’s products. Simple, easy to read fonts and clear headers and subheaders make it an overall pleasant read.
The setup threw me off at first though. The first 15 pages are the character generation and system sections, nicely laid out in a border that looks to be a folder file that I’m guessing was included as game flavor to make it look like a police file.
The next 10 pages include the _exact_ same information, simply laid out without the folder file format. I originally thought this was a mistake and that I had gotten a draft copy. I was going to inform PIG about it but then I realized that pages 1-15 and pages 16-25 were essentially two separate-but-same books (complete with cover and credits), only the latter is printer friendly. This is an interesting design choice. I take my PDFs to the local print store so I want the pretty folder file pages but I know many people print PDFs out on their home computer. Not to mention you can print one "nice" copy and have it bound, then print out relevant handouts for your players from the printer friendly section.
Character Generation
Character creation is simple as it must be for one shot games. There are four Primary Traits (Fitness, Empathy, Reasoning and Willpower) that range in number from 0 (disabled) to 5 (gifted). You have 11 points to distribute among the four traits although you obviously want at least a 1 in each. As an optional rule, players can roll 1d6 for each Trait individually, with a roll of 6 equaling 0.
There are also two Secondary Traits (Reaction and Stamina) derived from a combination of primaries.
Then come a about two dozen Skills which are based around, and default back to the Primary Traits. You have 25 points to distribute among these. Interestingly, you can only choose one skill for every point you have in the corresponding Trait and Skills can never be higher than double the Trait.
So if you have Fitness 2, you can take up to two different Fitness based Skills to a maximum of 4 ranks in each skill.
Next we come to Clichés and this is where I really think the game shines. There are a few dozen different Clichés divided among five different categories (combat, chase, investigation, contacts and authority). There is also a separate set of Clichés for villains that are chosen instead of authority Clichés.
The Clichés are awesome. I think Mark must have gone back and dissected almost every 80’s action movie he could think of. If so, I can think of few better ways to do research. :)
I’ll list a few Clichés here to give you an idea.
Armor Prop
Upon receiving a life threatening injury, the hero reveals that he is wearing a bullet proof vest and restores a number of stamina points equal to his willpower rating.
Explosive Rounds
Firing a gun at explosive or flammable materials will cause them to detonate.
Conversational Nod
The hero does not need to speak in order for other people to understand his intentions or orders in a situation.
Explosive Insight
If a car is about to explode, the hero will know it and be given the chance to escape unharmed.
On Tape
If a hero listens to his answering machine, it will always reveal an extra who is somehow linked to the investigation.
Missing Evidence
The hero will always find a clue that CSI missed if he carried out a second examination of the crime scene.
Vigilante Judge
The hero can obtain a search warrant within 15 minutes
I LOVE these things. Every time I read one my mind flips back to an example from a movie or show. Clichés do an awesome job of setting the mood and the flavor of the game.
To finish chargen, the player picks a Stereotype derived from any one of countless Hollywood cop movies (Loner, Maverick, Grizzled Veteran, etc.).
This section is followed by rules for character advancement if the group decides to run Vice Squad as more than just a once shot.
System
The actual system itself is very simple, but solid and well thought out. For task rolls (including combat) you add your Trait and Skill (and add/subtract any of the standard modifiers) to get the Skill Total, then roll under on a 2d6. A chart is referenced for degrees of success and failure. To be honest, I really don’t care much for chart-based task resolution, but this one is very simple and is located right on the character sheet so it’s not bad at all.
After the system section comes solid combat, vehicle and chase rules (all using the task resolution core mechanic) and then a section on villain Clichés and stereotypes.
And that’s it for the actual game, all 15 (or 10) pages worth.
Handouts
Page 26 of the PDF is a character sheet. The format is one I really like. It lists everything you need on hand during both character generation (point rundown for Traits and Skills) and gameplay (all the Traits, with associated Skills listed underneath, a "health" meter for tracking wounds and the Success Table chart I mentioned above.
The next few pages are sample cop and villain stereotype sheets statted out.
After these come a handful of vehicle stats (and vehicle character sheets), mostly for sportscars and boats, but also stats for an 80’s police cruiser and a generic car and motorcycle. I’m familiar with most of the cars (Corvette, Lamborghini, Delorean, etc.) but know nothing about boats. Thankfully, the designer included a handy, and pretty thorough, description of each car and boat.
Adventures
Four sample adventures are provided to close out the book. They are designed with the assumption that the characters are members of the local Vice Squad and are all pretty solid. A couple have some pretty neat twists and/or complications.
Just a note here: I get the feeling that outside of these scenarios, if the players opt to be heroes, this game works best with a small group of say 1-3, maybe 1-4 people _including_ the GM. The reason being that it’s hard to justify why all 5-6 cops would be traveling around in a gang. A line of cop cars, even unmarked ones tends to draw a lot of attention. However, there is a relatively new series on FX called The Shield that handles this problem nicely. The players/actors are part of a "strike team" that is basically on its own so long as they produce results. I think is particularly well suited for an RPG. It is also great inspiration for a Vice Squad game in particular and the scenarios would tend to support this format. In any case, I sincerely recommend checking out a few episodes of The Shield.
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The Playtest
I had two players for this game and they both wanted to be villains a la GTA: Vice City, rather than cops. The Clichés got them laughing from the start and helped them jump right into the spirit of the game during chargen. One designed a character loosely based on the character from the video game GTA 3 and named him The Wheelman. His specialty was obviously driving. He started with a black Hemicuda muscle car that we had to stat out. If anyone has ever seen the Phantasm series you’ll know what kind of car I’m talking about.
The other player designed a character based loosely on a more violent and psychotic version of Michael Jackson, complete with red zipper jacket and parachute pants. His name was Mikey the Razor and his specialty was knives that he kept hidden up his sleeves and in his pockets. He asked and I agreed to let him develop his own Clichés. One was that he would never run out of knives. The other was that he could start breakdancing and if he was in a crowd, people would gather into a circle around him and clap.
The game went smooth. I don’t know what it is about one shots but they really encourage people to cut loose. We started with the premise that the PCs were street level thugs with no real conscience or morals who were looking to make a name for themselves in the underworld. They started by contacting a local crime boss in Miami (I used characters and the map from GTA: Vice City) who was looking for freelance work.
I actually ran them through three different scenarios that I had to create "on the fly" after I adjusted from the original assumption that the players would be playing cops. One involved a shakedown of three businesses (a laundromat, a taxi company and a deli) for protection money. The first two shakedowns went smooth but the deli owner’s sons were on hand and they put up a bit of a fight with fists and baseball bats. The Wheelman took a few lumps but after The Razor spilled some blood, the deli owner agreed to pay.
The next scenario involved killing a pimp who was not only moving in on the boss’s territory but also getting the boss’s girls hooked on drugs. The Wheelman used money from the previous scenario to buy a gun and they went looking for the pimp. The pimp had been tipped off (by one of the boss’s men who didn’t like the PCs) that they were coming and was ready. He and two of his henchmen ambushed the PCs as they drove up. The PCs killed the henchmen but the pimp jumped into his I Roc Z and took off. A car chase ensued and ended with the pimp being forced off a bridge and into the ocean.
The final scenario involved the PCs taking the pimp’s girls out to a local nightclub and convincing them to work for the boss (and get them off drugs). This started as a social adventure with a few empathy based Skill rolls. The Razor got to do his dance Cliché and won the admiration of everyone in the club. :) The girls eventually agreed to the proposal.
Of course, the pimp, having survived the crash, was waiting for them outside the club. A big gun battle took place in the parking lot. The Razor went down but The Wheelman managed to hotwire a van and run over the pimp.
And that was basically the end of the session. Gameplay was fast and often cinematic. I tried to explore different aspects of the system to see how well they worked---melee combat, driving, firearm combat, carousing, etc. They went off without a hitch although I must say that I ditched the Success Table chart after a few Task Rolls. This is purely a personal bias. The chart is simple and handy since it is located right on the character sheet but I absolutely hate having to reference anything more than dice during gameplay.
The Clichés were especially amusing although they usually provide more flavor than actual bonuses and are obviously not meant for power gamers. The players hummed period music and added their own 80’s style dialogue and references for even more flavor.
Gripes
Just so I don’t come off as a complete PIG fanboy, I will list a few _very minor_ gripes.
First is the complete lack of artwork. Now, I know the genreDiversion is a fledgling product line so you’re not going to find Lofgren/Storn/McHugh caliber type art but I would have liked to have seen some pictures, even goofy clipart like guns or vehicle silhouettes, to break up some of the text. That said, the folder file layout makes up for this somewhat by being pleasing to the eye. In reality, the book is only 15 pages long so I don’t suppose its too much of a problem, just thought I would mention it.
Another thing I noticed is that while the chargen section was a delightful read, the system section was somewhat dry. I would have liked to see some colorful setting specific examples of task rolls and such but again, this is really a minor thing.
Lastly, I have a very small gripe with the tone of the adventures. After reading the Clichés, I planned to run a light hearted Vice Squad game with more of an emphasis on humor and a return to 80’s cheesiness. These adventures were all solid and well done but a bit more gritty than I would have liked and needed some tweaking to conform to my (and I’ll emphasize, this is just _my_) vision of the game. In the end it turned out to be a moot point because my players had no intention of being cops. *sigh* :)
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Overall
Vice Squad is to 80’s cop shows and action movies what Cartoon Action Hour is to 80’s cartoons. I really enjoyed this game. My players also had a blast and they’re already talking about what they want to do next.
This game take you back, people. For $4 Vice Squad is a damn good bargain and I honestly hope this game eventually goes to print. Even more Clichés and vehicle stats, new stereotypes and some good artwork would make Vice Squad a welcome addition to any gaming shelf.
I suggest renting some old buddy cop movies or practically anything that deals with the 80’s to get you in the mood. They don’t even have to be cop movies. Movies like the Wedding Singer, the Terminator, and the Breakfast Club as well as videos on MTV or VH-1 when they’re running an 80’s hour will all help spark some imagination.
That’s all for me people. Gotta go watch some Sci-fi Channel reruns and figure out how an intelligent Pontiac Firebird would stat out as a PC. :)
Pete
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Buy Vice Squad here:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1803&src=pigames
Check out the genreDiversion line here:
http://www.brettmb.com/pigames/genrediversion.html
