Our dive into important NPCs and groups in Whistleleaf City continues with…
Law Enforcement
The police in Whistleleaf City follow the general standards, powers and limitations that all police forces in Oregon have. They are adequately funded and trained for their public roles, but low morale and corruption is a (rarely acknowledged) problem for them. A very small minority of the cops have any clue about magic, monsters or The Scene (even the city’s police chief is ignorant of the occult), but they are still a major force to be reckoned with. Even monsters tend to think twice about harming an officer of the law, as such cases tend to trigger a swift and merciless response from plenty of determined and armed men looking for payback.
Park Ranger Luke Rice
Keeping an Eye Out, age 34.
Luke Rice works as a patrolling warden of state park near Whistleleaf City. He’s been on the job for 8 years and has managed to figure out the existence of the supernatural at work, especially the reality of monsters lurking within the park. He does not know much about magic, he knows even less about The Scene, but he has managed to dig up enough facts on monsters that he now hunts them with decent amounts of success. He keeps what he knows and does a secret from his superiors, family (he’s married with 1 daughter), friends, colleagues and tourists, of course. He does not want to cause a panic, get branded a madman or attract attention from any OTHER monsters that may be lurking in the city. Ranger Luke is a talented and mature man with light brown skin, canny brown eyes, a bushy mustache and wavy short brown hair. He keeps his ranger uniform and other belongings well-maintained. He keeps all sorts of “non-standard” miscellaneous gear hidden in his car, his house and his workplace. Just in case his “secondary duties” come to the fore-front.
Detective Martin “The Chuckwagon” Ives
Playing the Game, age 45.
Martin Ives, nicknamed “The Chuckwagon” by his disrespectful partner, is a homicide detective working in Whistleleaf City’s biggest precinct. He takes bribes, lets the wealthy and connected taint investigations, and enjoys the fruits of his corruption. Detective Ives learned the truth about The Scene a decade ago and it has not changed much about his outlook. Martin has long ago decided he cared more about his own profit and position in the system than about morality, truth and doing the job right. He is fully committed to serving the powers that be in hope of a reward, which dictates how he does his work. The Scene just gave him new and different powerful people to be bribed by. Over the course of his career, he has buried murder cases, lost evidence and let influential perps off the hook. His star has risen in accordance with his venal servitude. His “friends” under the table include a well-off criminal magician who helps him out with stuff from time to time. Detective Ives is a pasty and slightly withered man with unkempt red hair and suspicious green eyes.
Special Agent Sarah Bates
Federal Bloodhound, age 36.
The top federal agent in Whistleleaf is Sarah Bates, a talented veteran professional investigator on the trail of a serious bad guy. She is very driven when it comes to her job and a methodical straight shooter with good training in all aspects of her duties. She is a neatly dressed and serious-looking African-American woman with black hair cut short and intense hazel eyes.
The GM decides what actual case Special Agent Bates is currently investigating; it could be a serial killer, local police corruption, an organised crime syndicate trafficking illegal merchandise across state borders, a foreign spy ring or any felony of state/nation-wide impact that’s mundane (on the surface, at least). She currently has had no contact with the supernatural and does not believe it exists, but her current investigation might just lead her straight into the jaws of something from the other side. (As a particularly nasty move by the GM, she may be investigating what the PCs have done, or have them brought in for questioning if she has reason to suspect them.)
Detective Duane Pullman
Undercover Cop, age 36.
The Whistleleaf PD has an officer working undercover, close to where The Scene is operating.
His description and character sheet were already detailed at https://tabletoprpg333.home.blog/2022/04/10/the-kings-head-tavern-pt-3/
Taskforce Silver Torch
Taskforce Silver Torch is a secret federal government agency assigned to investigate and suppress the occult. Due to its severe and sensitive jurisdiction, it has no official sanction and the agency must operate completely “black.” The agents of Taskforce Silver Torch are disavowed, must work under a cover story (usually “a classified JTTF”), can’t legally take advantage of most official resources available to federal agents, and cannot reveal what they know or do to proper oversight. From the outside looking in, they’re more espionage than law enforcement.
They are the “Men in Black”, so to speak. Most people in The Scene assume that the government is aware of the supernatural on some level, but they have no idea how many within their ranks are in on the secret or how they are responding to it. They certainly do not know anything of the anti-occult agency charged with researching, covering-up and eliminating supernatural elements within the US. Most agents can be modelled via the Man-in-Black Generic NPC, but there are taskforce support operatives who know and can provide magic (or/and psionics if available) and genuine occult knowledge to the agents in the field. Taskforce Silver Torch has plenty of resources to bring to bear for their mission; unlicensed firearms, unconstitutional surveillance outposts, stolen cars, illicitly obtained blackmail material, confiscated contraband and brutally recruited informants. They have several secret hideouts with on-site prison cells, handy for studying captured monsters and magicians. They may even have limited access to illegal top secret mad science gadgets (like the stuff in Psi-Tech, for example) for use in their work.
TO BE CONTINUED
Three Hundred and Thirty-Three 