THIS SECTION IS FOR GAME MASTERS (GMs) ONLY!
DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER IF YOU ARE A PLAYER!
Dangerous Toys is a single-session HRGB adventure, set in the modern day. The adventure works best in a Law Enforcement Campaign for 3-6 players. Dangerous Toys is divided into several sections:
SETTING
Where and when the adventure takes place.
STORY BACKGROUND
The important events that establish the conflicts presented in t h e story.
CHARACTERS
Suggestions about the types of characters that the players should create for the game.
IMPORTANT NPCs
The list of important background characters and antagonists the characters will meet.
CHARACTER GOAL
Possible actions that can lead the characters to a successful resolution of the adventure.
PLOT ELEMENTS
Notable events that may occur during the adventure, places the characters may visit, and challenges the characters may be forced to overcome.
CAMPAIGN EXPANSION
Suggestions for expanding the adventure into a law enforcement campaign or mini-campaign.
If the players are creating their own characters, the information in the Setting, Story Background, and Characters sections should be shared with them by the GM as needed. All other information is meant only for the GM, and will be uncovered by the players as the session progresses.
SETTING
It is December 20th and Christmas is coming. The city of Detroit and the Great Lakes region is suffering through one of the worst winters on record. Statistic say that crime is down in the city over the last decade, although Detroit's police might disagree.
Detroit rests on the shores of Lake Michigan, on the Canada-US border, next to Windsor. Detroit has an extensive waterfront, as well as several housing projects that are among the most poverty-stricken in the country. Extremely affluent suburbs, such as Grosse Pointe, are only a few miles away down Interstate 94.
Detroit was once a powerhouse of industry, but after the factories left the city in the late 60s and early 70s, crime and poverty skyrocketed. Corruption in the city government was pervasive, and racial tensions ran high, which sometimes lead to brutal riots. Things have taken a turn for the better in the last few years: the murder rate is down, drug use is in decline, and unemployment is lower than it has been in decades.
Unfortunately, the city still has a long way to go, and plenty of those people who benefited from the crime-ridden 70s are still alive.
STORY BACKGROUND
Over the last six months, there has been a number of shootings involving various gangs across the border, in Windsor, Ontario. This action quickly attracted the attention of Canadian law enforcement agencies, since the guns being used are illegal in Canada. The police, as well as the media, suspect that the guns are coming from the USA, most likely from nearby Detroit itself. No one, however, has been able to determine how the large quantities of automatic weapons are being transported. Several law enforcement agencies in the USA and Canada are co-operating to put an end to the gun trafficking before any civilians are caught in the crossfire.
Unknown to the characters, the guns are being smuggled across the border disguised as toys. A toy company executive with a drug habit has made an arrangement with a Detroit crime gang. In exchange for a continuous supply of drugs, the executive is allowing the criminals to use his company's shipping contacts as a cover for their arms smuggling operation. The guns are taken to a warehouse, where they are painted and altered to look like toys, then smuggled over the border into Canada, where they are sold to Canadian gangs. The plan was going smoothly until a customs officer took a close look at the shipment, and instantly realized that the toys were, in fact, real guns. The driver who makes the cross-border runs offered the customs officer a cut of the profits. The officer had fallen on hard times due to a serious addiction to gambling at the local casino. Eventually, he was forced to take out several large "loans" from a loan shark to continue to feed his addiction, but due to his poor betting habits (which he called a string of bad luck), he had troubles paying back the "loan". To avoid the "penalty fees" of the loan repayment, the customs officer agreed to "look the other way" whenever shipments of toy guns crossed the border. Since then, he has become deeply embroiled in the smuggling operation, ensuring that the shipment of guns clears customs without any problems.
CHARACTERS
This adventure is for 3-6 players, who should each assume the role of members of a Law Enforcement agency from either side of the border (since a joint Canada-US task force is investigating this crime). The characters can belong to the Detroit Police, Michigan State Troopers, Windsor Police, Ontario Provincial Police, or Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Players may also wish to play federal agents such as members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the FBI, U.S. Custom Service, or Canadian Customs.
Players could also play private investigators who have been hired by relatives of one of the shooting victims, or perhaps called in by the local police to help with the investigation in "unofficial" ways. At least one of the players in the group should create a character with ties to the Detroit Police Department, to prevent numerous problems for crossing jurisdictional boundaries, although it is not mandatory since all levels of law enforcement have been asked to assist with this case.
12 Stat Points, 20 Character Points, and 20 Skill Points are recommended for character creation.