A little help please.

[Brevitt]

I am currently running a modern paranormal campaign. Last session I had a new player but a couple of my normal group were on holiday so I sidetracked things slightly and ran something pre written.

The Idea was that all they had to do was stop a Hummer from crossing over a broken train crossing. At the last second a second Hummer drives by them and gets hit by the train creating doubt as to whether they stopped the right car.

Unfortunately new guy shoots the driver of the second car in the head(crit success), then slips his gun into an NPC's pocket.

My problem is I don't want my characters to go round shooting civilians without consequences and I don't really want the new player to lose his first GURPS character after 1 session. The characters work for an unofficial organization. The character does have an as yet unspecified 30 point secret I think there might be a way out for him there but I can't quite see it.

Any help appreciated

[Ragitsu]

Let us know what Disadvantages the player characters have.

[Brevitt]

The shooter is Colour Blind[10], Duty dasngerous[15], Stubborn[5] and secret[30]
The other Pc Alchoholic with a current hangover[15], addiction tobacco[5], Bad Temper[10], nosy as a quirk

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Brevitt

My problem is I don't want my characters to go round shooting civilians without consequences and I don't really want the new player to lose his first GURPS character after 1 session. The characters work for an unofficial organization. The character does have an as yet unspecified 30 point secret I think there might be a way out for him there but I can't quite see it.

I think he's just *acquired* a secret. He killed someone, without official sanction for his doing so, and then rather than acknowledging it and turning himself in for trial, he sought to conceal the action and framed an innocent man. So he has a Secret ("I'm the murderer the cops are looking for) whose consequences could include facing the death penalty, making it worth 30 points. And every time you roll a 6 or less, it will come up and he'll have to deal with it.

And I would point this out to him explicitly.

Of course, if the cops come looking for him, he might kill them. But that's a good way to go from a 30-point Secret to a 60-point Enemy.

Beyond that, does his sponsoring organization KNOW he did this? If so, how will they deal with it? Strong reprimand? Demotion? Taking him out and shooting him? Obviously they can't turn him over to the police. . . .

Bill Stoddard

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Brevitt

Unfortunately new guy shoots the driver of the second car in the head(crit success), then slips his gun into an NPC's pocket.

My problem is I don't want my characters to go round shooting civilians without consequences and I don't really want the new player to lose his first GURPS character after 1 session.

Well, if the guy that is shot and the NPC that the gun was stashed on are unlucky and clueless (respectively), then I can see how the new guy might get away with what he did.

If there were any witnesses, traffic cameras, etc. to the shooting, then the new guy and/or his associates could come under investigation. The guy he stashed the gun on, once he realizes a gun has been planted on his person, might decide that the best thing to do is to go to the police.

[Brevitt]

Well the car rolled onto the tracks anyway and got hit by the train. So emergency services were arriving as we left it. The gun will have the PC'S prints on it not the guy whose pocket it is in.
Is it realistic for the police to just ask a few questions then let everyone go. They don't know the guy was shot yet.

[Brevitt]

Luckily the guy who has the gun is the bodygaurd of a main NPC it was there first meeting with the main guy the full party had run into the bodygaurd before and one of them got maced by him.
Actually it has helped writting it down not just fussing it in my mind.

[The Benj]

Originally Posted by Brevitt

Well the car rolled onto the tracks anyway and got hit by the train. So emergency services were arriving as we left it. The gun will have the PC'S prints on it not the guy whose pocket it is in.
Is it realistic for the police to just ask a few questions then let everyone go. They don't know the guy was shot yet.

I think the standard response for an accident occassioning in death is not to let people go who seem involved and/or are witnesses.

[AmesJainchill]

Originally Posted by Brevitt

Well the car rolled onto the tracks anyway and got hit by the train. So emergency services were arriving as we left it. The gun will have the PC'S prints on it not the guy whose pocket it is in.
Is it realistic for the police to just ask a few questions then let everyone go. They don't know the guy was shot yet.

Depends on the evidence, the beat cop/detective and the local prosecutor.

Basically, in the U.S., things proceed in this fashion:

Cops find out a crime has been committed.
They gather evidence--interview witnesses or suspects, collect physical or electronic evidence, etc.
If they have a suspect, a judge, after reviewing the evidence, issues a warrant to arrest the suspect.
After collecting and analyzing all the evidence and interviewing all suspects, etc., the detective and the D.A. go over the evidence and decide whether or not to go to trial. If there's not a strong case, the D.A. may let it go. However, the PC might gain a negative reputation with the local police or community if the detective or a reporter, etc. decides to remember him, especially in serious cases.
If they go to trial, there's a grand jury that examines the evidence and whether a crime has been committed and whether the police have the right guy. With a good lawyer and the right plea or evidence, the trial might go no further than this. Then you go to the usual trial scenes you see in movies.

Also depends somewhat the local justice system.

If the PCs try and BS a cop in a corrupt/brutal regime and the cop doesn't like it, bad things could happen--PCs beaten, held for months for a trial that could have happened earlier, held in an interrogation room for the whole 24 hours of his arrest, etc.

If the evidence is hinky (suspicious) or confusing, IMO, the cop/detective would be inclined to ask more questions and look into things more.

If, however, the PCs have everything "wrapped up in a neat little box with a bow on it", with a plausible explanation, the cops will be more likely to let the PCs go with a session of followup questions.

If the evidence is unclear or not in the prosecution's favor, then then PCs have an advantage. However, if the PCs give the impression they're BSing the cops, the prosecutor may want to go forward with the case out of spite, even if the PCs have a clear plea of self-defense (or duress, etc.).

the full party had run into the bodygaurd before and one of them got maced by him.

[b]This could be important for law enforcement.[b] Were there any witnesses to this? Which PC got maced, the murderer? This could establish motive or prior contact between the bodyguard and the PCs, and the police might want to talk to them.
They wouldn't issue an arrest warrant, but if the crime is serious enough, they'd probably put it out through the national police comm system that X person is a person of interest and if he's stopped for a traffic warrant or brought to a hospital or something in another state (and the original local cops asked nicely in their fax), a local detective would show up to ask the PCs a few questions about the situation--like why he left the original town so fast, what he does for a living, who these other four people are who he's always with, uncomfortable things like that.

[Brevitt]

My current thinking is.
Police arrive and begin to interview everyone. Npc's and Pc's give a story that matches and shouldn't arouse to much suspicion.

Everyone is let go after having details ect taken(at this point the police wont know the driver was shot before the train hit the car.

Now the bad guys bodygaurd has the PC'S gun that is a murder weapon.

The pc has his secret defined with several people who can turn him in giving me plenty to work with when I roll less than six every session.