🚔 Lawman
“The badge doesn’t mean what it used to. Doesn’t matter. Someone has to hold the line. Might as well be me.”
🎯 Identity
Play this if you want to be like… Judge Dredd • Dirty Harry • RoboCop • The Shield • Blade Runner
You’re the law — whatever that means in Night City. Maybe you’re an honest cop in a corrupt department. Maybe you’re a corporate security enforcer. Maybe you’re the only thing standing between civilians and the chaos.
Many Flavors of Law
Lawmen aren’t just NCPD beat cops. They could be corporate security, Trauma Team emergency responders, MAX-TAC cyberpsycho hunters, bounty hunters, or even Nomad pack enforcers. Your “badge” is a metaphor — what matters is you have authority and institutional backing.
💡 Character Concepts
Choose your angle — each plays completely differently:
- The True Believer — You actually believe in justice. In Night City. Good luck.
- The Corrupt Cop — Everyone takes bribes. You just know who to take from.
- The Burnout — You’ve seen too much. You drink too much. You’re still the best.
- The Reformer — You’re trying to clean up the department. They don’t like that.
- The Vigilante — The badge is a cover. Your real work happens after hours.
- The Detective — You solve cases. The violence is just a side effect.
🎮 Role Ability: Backup
You’re not alone. Your department sends backup when you call. As an Action, roll d10 ≤ your Backup Rank to get a response. Then roll 1d6 for Rounds until arrival. If you roll a 6, backup is upgraded to the next tier (if Rank 10, two groups arrive instead).
Backup by Rank
Combat Number combines STAT + Skill — add 1d10 when attacking or defending. Backup cannot dodge bullets.
Rank 1–2 — Corporate Security Combat #8 • SP 7 • HP 20 • MOVE/BODY 4 Four local renta-cops arriving on foot. Heavy Pistols, Kevlar.
Rank 3–4 — NCPD Beat Cops Combat #10 • SP 7 • HP 25 • MOVE/BODY 5 Four cops arriving in two Compact Groundcars. Heavy Pistols, Kevlar.
Rank 5–7 — Sheriff’s Department Combat #14 • SP 13 • HP 35 • MOVE/BODY 4 Two County Mounties in a High Performance Groundcar. Heavy Pistols, Assault Rifles, Heavy Armorjack.
Rank 8 — Recovery Zone Marshal Combat #16 • SP 15 • HP 50 • MOVE/BODY 6 One lone Marshal on a Superbike. Very Heavy Pistol, Assault Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Flak Armor.
Rank 9 — C-SWAT Combat #15 • SP 18 • HP 35 • MOVE/BODY 4 Two Psycho Squad heavy hitters in an AV-4. Assault Rifles, Rocket Launchers, Metalgear.
Rank 10 — National Law Enforcement / Interpol / FBI / Netwatch Combat #14 • SP 11 • HP 35 • MOVE/BODY 6 Two serious hitters in an AV-4. Very Heavy Pistols, Assault Rifles, Light Armorjack. These agents stick around to investigate after the fight and the same pair responds to related calls until the “case” is closed. Can use Combat Number for: Accounting, Acting, Conceal/Reveal Object, Criminology, Cryptography, Deduction, Education, Forgery, Interrogation, Paramedic, Perception, Personal Grooming, Resist Torture/Drugs, Stealth, and Tracking.
Limitations
Backup won’t help with illegal activity. Use your badge wrong and lose it.
📘 How to Play
Roleplay Tips
As a Lawman, you live in the tension between the system and doing what’s right. Night City’s law enforcement is underfunded, corrupt, and overwhelmed. Every call is a moral choice:
- Do you follow procedure and let a suspect go on a technicality?
- Do you bend the rules and risk your badge?
- Do you take the bribe and look the other way?
The best Lawman stories come from that gray zone where the law and justice aren’t the same thing.
Common Situations
| Situation | Roll This | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crime scene investigation | INT + Criminology | Examine evidence, read the scene |
| Interrogating a suspect | COOL + Interrogation | Opposed by Resist Torture/Drugs |
| Spotting an ambush | INT + Perception | Key survival skill |
| Reading a witness | EMP + Human Perception | Detect lies, gauge emotions |
| Chasing a suspect | DEX + Athletics | Or Drive Land Vehicle for vehicle chases |
| Taking down a subject | DEX + Brawling | Non-lethal takedowns |
| Calling in backup | d10 ≤ Backup Rank | Your core ability — don’t forget you have it |
| Navigating bureaucracy | INT + Bureaucracy | Requisitions, warrants, red tape |
Tactical Tips
- Call backup early. It takes 1d6 rounds to arrive — that’s time you need to survive alone.
- Use your badge. Persuasion checks with authority backing gain situational modifiers.
- Handgun is your bread and butter. Invest in it — you’ll fire it more than anything else.
- Investigation wins the game. Combat is easy to start; Criminology and Deduction solve the cases that get you paid and promoted.
- Know when to holster. Not every encounter needs bullets. The best Lawmen are talkers first.
🔑 Key Skills
These are the skills that define the Lawman playstyle. Invest here first.
🎯 Primary — Law Enforcement
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🔍 Investigation
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⚔️ Combat
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📋 Quick Reference
Recommended STATs
| Priority | STATs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High | REF, COOL | Combat accuracy and authority |
| Medium | INT, EMP | Investigation and reading people |
| Low | TECH | Leave repairs to the Tech |
Starting Gear
- Service pistol (Heavy Pistol) — Standard issue
- Badge and credentials — Authority and access
- Light Armorjack (SP 11) — Body armor
- Agent — Department communications
📜 Role Lifepath
What kind of law do you enforce?
Why did you become a Lawman?
d6 Motivation 1 Genuine belief in justice 2 Family tradition 3 Only job you could get 4 Power — authority feels good 5 Revenge — crime took something from you 6 Reform — change from inside
What's your relationship with the department?
d6 Relationship 1 By the book — respected 2 Loose cannon — tolerated 3 On thin ice — one more mistake 4 Connected — politics protect you 5 Outsider — don’t trust the system 6 Dirty — you take bribes
Who's gunning for you?
d6 Enemy 1 Criminal you put away (they’re out) 2 Corrupt officers 3 Gang you’ve targeted 4 Corporate interest you crossed 5 Internal affairs investigating you 6 Family of someone who died
🔗 Connections
Related Roles
- Solo — Combat focus without the badge
- Exec — Authority through corporations instead of law
- Fixer — Knows the same streets, opposite side of the law
World & Lore
- Lawman Lore — History and details of Lawmen in Night City
- NCPD — Night City Police Department
- MAX-TAC — Maximum Force Tactical Division (Cyberpsycho Squad)
- Trauma Team — Emergency medical response corporation
Rules & Mechanics
- Skills — Complete skill list and descriptions
- Combat — Combat rules for when backup isn’t enough
- Ranged Combat — Handgun and Shoulder Arms mechanics
- Damage and Wounds — How damage works