Questions that I would love answered [Dredd]

[judge morgan]

Hiya,

Just finally finished acumulating all of the old D20 Dredd rookies guides and supplements and I have a few questions that I would love some of you more experienced Dredd RPG and Dredd-in-general fans.

I have also recently started buying up graphic novels, old mags/megs and collecting the complete case files - my Dredd addiction started late in life but is all consuming at the moment...

My questions are a blend of rules/character creation questions as well as the interpretation of the Dredd world into the RPG in some of the rookies guides. Since my knowledge is relatively new found, some explanations may exist in strips that I have not yet read...

Question 1 (rules and lore) in 3 parts

In the RG to Brit-Cit it mentions several times that Beat Judges do not receive training in any firearms and cannot take firearms related feats unless learnt outside of the Justice Department.

This causes 3 problems for me.

First up - the Stinger and Bumf guns are listed as a pistol and rifle respectively - does this mean that the Beat Judge is not proficient in the use of these weapons? Or is he proficient in them as single weapons only?

Secondly - There are no weapon proficiency requirements for the Sea Watch judge from the RG to Atlantis and the Black Atlantic, yet Brit-Cot judges are listed as being able to take that class as a prestige class - how is this disparity between MC-1 and BC originated Judges in Sea Watch and the BC inablity to use firearms at all covered, especially since you can only take 1 Prestige class other than Station Sergeant/Sector Chief? This also applies to using MG-1 templates such as Ocean Patrol for Royal Navy.

Thirdly - In both the first Atlantis story arc and in Judgement Day, Judge Armour is shown using guns. Lots of them. Yet he does not appear to be a TAR judge per-se due to his uniform. In addition, in Judgement Day he is in command of a squad of men using firearms similarly dressed. What is the explanation for this disparity?

Question 2 (rules)

In the RG to Atlantis and the Black Atlantic under the Harbour Patrol judge it mentions that many judges alternate between the Harbour Patrol and Immigration Control, implying a mixture of prestige classes, yet the overall limitation in the game that players can only take 1 Prestige class other than Station Sergeant/Sector Chief? Or is this a specific exception to the general rule?

I have several other questions/points, but will leave it at that for now, mainly to see what sort of response, if any, they will get. I should point out that I do accept GM deiscretion on these rules, but wanted to gauge the general consensus. I am not currently a member of a gaming group (married, baby, new to my area etc) and this is mainly just fan-boi interest and minutiae obsession - but I just cannot get the Beat Judge discrepancies out of my head!

Thanks in advance for your answers

 

[JudgeThrash]

Some hard questions. Ill try to give a logical explaination. Im fairly new to the RPG too and like you have been buying of Dredd RPG books, case files and graphic novels.

Question 1: I would say proficient in the use of one. While the judge may not be carrying one on the beat he probably received training on the use of the them.

Seawatch judges would be on "special assignment" and would fall under the rules and redulations of Atlantis. Just like any police from the UK serving on the International Police Taskforce use a variety of weapons.

Judgement day was a very special sistuation and every amount of fire power was needed

Question 2: Dont have a good answer to that other than often times judges are required to cover other positons as needed.

Hope this helps some. Im sure there are much better answers out there.

 

[judge morgan]

Some hard questions. Ill try to give a logical explaination. Im fairly new to the RPG too and like you have been buying of Dredd RPG books, case files and graphic novels.

Question 1: I would say proficient in the use of one. While the judge may not be carrying one on the beat he probably received training on the use of the them.

Seawatch judges would be on "special assignment" and would fall under the rules and redulations of Atlantis. Just like any police from the UK serving on the International Police Taskforce use a variety of weapons..

That is my rede on it too - but how would they cordinate with their Mega City 1 counterparts? I suppose you could say that the 6 week training course at Hendon included bumping up the weapon proficiencies to all pistols and rifles... and that they would then be issued a PC 101 when assigned to Sea Watch.

Or I could just give them the Aqua-Def prior life to account for the weapon proficiencies and just ignore the age implications of that prior life and 10/11 years (varies in the text) judge training at Hendon.

Part of me just wants to have Beat Judges be proficient in all pistols and rifles by training, and have access to the relevant feats, but to only be issued with lethal firepower as and when necessary, such as secondment to Mega-City 1, Atlantis Sea Watch assignment etc. This would remove problems like Detective Judges getting weapon focus in the PC 101 without being proficient in its use, or Pilot judges being issued a weapon which they cant use. Not to mention the Signs and Portents Bri-Cit psi judges being proficient in pistols while their regular beat colleagues are not!

Or to just follow the portrayal of Brit-Cit judges like Judge Armour as canon and just use Street Judge as a model for them and use Detective Judge, Back Street Judge, Pilot Judge, and Station Sergeant as Brit-Cit specific prestige classes, using Mega-City 1 prestige classes for Undercover division (wally squad), Riot Squad, Royal Navy (Ocean Patrol) and Tek and Med judges. I would keep the TAR judge prestige class, but perhaps change the pre-requisite requirements to match the MC-1 heavy weapons judge...

I have not yet read the Armitage strips, which I assume forged the vast bulk of the translation to the RPG for Brit-Cit, but I must say that the disparity between that book's classes (background fluff is excellent!) and what I have seen in the comic is profound. I just cant get my head around the weapon proificiencies - Cal-Hab and Emerald Isle judges all can use deadly firearms, but Brit-Cit beat judges cant? Even when canon states that the best Cal-Hab judges are recruited to patrol Brit-Cit? Not to mention citizens from MC-1 crossing the trans-atlantic tunnel who are ALL more proficient with weapons than almost all Brit-Cit judges!

Thanks for your reply Thrash - I know that the boards are quite slow, but I am surprised at how few replies I have got - more than 30 views and no other comments? Am I really the only one anal retentive and obsessive enough to be chewing on this?

 

[Dredd Times]

I may be able to shed a bit of light on the current questions about The Rookies Guide to Atlantis and the Black Atlantic as I wrote the book. The Atlantis supplement was written at the same time as The Rookies Guide to Brit-Cit and though I did have access to some of the material at the time it was being written by John Calibur I was working from a draft and not the final published product. The discrepancies are a result of not having the complete manuscript to work with more than anything else and should have been edited out during that process of the books publication.

Having read and loved all the stories involving Brit-Cit, I would say that all the judges have very similar training as their Mega-City One counterparts, though not as intense due to the nature of the Academy of Law and all should have the basics that we would expect to see as detailed above. I would use the basic Street Judge template but have the character being at second level rather than third personally.

The second part of your question has more or less been answered above. All judges from Mega-City One and to a lesser extent Brit-Cit are expected to work in other areas of their justice departments, with Dredd himself being the Marshal of Luna-1 for a short while and even crossing over into accounts!

Remember that the rules do allow for both the players and the GM to change what they don’t feel works well, and its great to see that people are still using my work!

Any more questions on this or other Dredd rpg products I will be only to happy to try to answer.

Marc

 

[JudgeThrash]

I agree, people are shy to respond. Dredd seems to violate its own canon frequently. Best advice on that is to ignore the blatent errors. Ive been working on a Cursed Earth supplement/expansion for a few months and its amazing how it will say location x is here in one prog then say its over here in another. You just have to sort of "wing it" with some things and make it fit what you want it to be with out violating the "intent" of the writers.

 

[judge morgan]

Thats true Thrash - and thanks for replying DT

 

[Dick]

Question 1 (rules and lore) in 3 parts

In the RG to Brit-Cit it mentions several times that Beat Judges do not receive training in any firearms and cannot take firearms related feats unless learnt outside of the Justice Department.

I part wrote the guide (Cal-hab and Emerald Isle sections) and I could never understand why the beat-judge had no firearms training, I would imagine it was to give them a more British 'bobby' feel to them. I imagined Brit-Cit slightly different from the main author, he wanted it wacky and more in keeping with 2000AD, I would have liked it more gritty like the one portrayed in the novels Medusa Seed and Deathmasques. Just give your beat-judges the needed proficiencies.


Question 2 (rules)

In the RG to Atlantis and the Black Atlantic under the Harbour Patrol judge it mentions that many judges alternate between the Harbour Patrol and Immigration Control, implying a mixture of prestige classes, yet the overall limitation in the game that players can only take 1 Prestige class other than Station Sergeant/Sector Chief? Or is this a specific exception to the general rule?

In the D20 system you can have as many prestige classes as you want.

Also concerning the Emerald Isle judge, go ahead and give him a gun with lethal rounds instead of baton rounds, the Emerald Isle story shows them to use weapons that kill.