"The Department - A quick game report" Topic

I played a couple of games of the Department and wrote up the second one for my blog:

link

All in all I quite enjoyed it and hope to play more soon.

What problems with the rules are you finding?

Mostly minor details. A couple of omissions mostly. Not enough to put me off the game at all.

Very nice!

The biggest unanswered question I have is, if I don't interview or interrogate a suspect, how am I supposed to find out if they are a fabricant when i'm in combat with them?

I'm not sure, but I think you always treat a suspect as human unless tested by a scan or verbally. But if that is the case, I am not sure what the advantage is in scanning them except you get to be slightly more violent! But then, their combat stats get better, so they become tougher.

Maybe we are missing something…

Well, I'm glad you're as confused as I :)

I had the same thought.

I think I read that in one of the previous reviews, as well, e.g. treating them as human, until proved otherwise.

I've never played The Department, but I was looking through related threads a bit ago. Apparently, one of the advantages to scanning is that it means you don't get IAP points etc., as even if they turn out to be a fabricant after the fact internal affairs apparently presumes you wanted to beat up a human.

TMP link

That's a good call. I'd read that before but forgot about it.

Thanks for the link… that clears that up, but i'm not totally satisfied by that…Is the lack of IA points more important than facing a not-as-dangerous opponent?

Hi Guys,

Love the game report Chris. What figures are you using?

Theadvantage of scanning is what you described, it allows you to be rougher with suspects that you confirm to be fabricants ahead of time. You can use lethal force which lets you puyt suspects down early.

This has an andvantage in a lto fo later scenarios. It allows you to pick on fabricant suspects and get the jump on them.

Say for instance, in the Bust The Dealer scenario, if you can scan the suspect (or determine with a warrant) before aproaching him, you can take him out without approaching him, thuis minimizing you risk, and the resources needed to take him out.

for a lot of suspects, scanning is not really feasable, sometimes in a firefight, you have to assume their human. Like the gang that jumped you in the battle report, there is no really good way of scanning them. And in this instance it dosent matter, since you can go full bore on them anyway.

For what it is worth, the fluff reason for hiddin faricant acting like humans, is that fabricants that have had skinjobs are programmed to mimic humans in physical characteristics. Since fabricants don't have a flight or fight response per se, they will continue this ruse until they are sure they have been found out.

Hope that helps, thansk for the writeup.

-Joe

For what it is worth, the fluff reason for hiddin faricant acting like humans, is that fabricants that have had skinjobs are programmed to mimic humans in physical characteristics. Since fabricants don't have a flight or fight response per se, they will continue this ruse until they are sure they have been found out.

This works for me! Thank you for your response, makes sense.

Do the rules permit fabricants to be scanned from a distance, and if so, how?

I thought it might only be possible to scan them from up close, like in an interrogation.

Hi Joe

No problem, pleased you liked it. I'm currently using figures from my collection of moderns. The ones in the report are civilians from Rebel Minis and the main character is actually an 'Irish hitman' from the same company.

Out of interest, does anyone check the forum at the Department of Fabricant Management website? I posted a few questions after my first game but have not had any response.

@Mako11: The rules under the fabricant scanner equipment listing give a range of 10cm. There are a few little rules which are easy to miss!

Thanks for the info.

No doubt, a Quick Reference Sheet would be useful for games.

No worries. My PDF has subroutine and weapons/equipment QRS at the back which I keep out. But yes, I'm thinking of compiling a list of all the things I flick through the rulebook for!

Hi everyone;
Reading through this, has me wondering when the printed/bound rule book is coming out.
Thanks
Joep

Not sure who makes the hottie in the long dress, but she is quite attractive, and appears to be carrying a gun, so looks like a good candidate for The Deparment, if you need a dangerous, or well-armed female character:

TMP link

joep123 the rules have been out since salute 2012, which was when I got my copy.

Thanks arngrimson.
Is that the pdf only or a soft cover or hard cover book?
I'd rather get the book instead of going the pdf route.
Joe

soft cover. Going by the department website they've sent all the kickstart copies out, so you should be able to buy a hardcopy soft cover now.

I got it:-) Well, almost got it, its on its way from the UK.
Ordered it from the department website.
Can't wait!
Joe

Got the rules and I'm disappointed in the sloppy editing.

Thats a shame.
I'm still looking forward to getting my copy, will post my thoughts here.
Joe