Casting Shadows

It is Sunday and that slides us into my second response for #RPGaDay2026 where we will take a look at the conception of characters in the Rivers of London RPG by Chaosium. Our prompt for today is Stature which is a fun one to consider and to consider how to interpret for play. The weekly filter stays as Drive, and the daily filter for a Sunday child is Blessed. This combination serves as my prompt for thinking about a background or NPC character which would work well with the character we looked at yesterday, PC Everett Balcom.

In the series of urban fantasy police procedural Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch, the small circle of characters directly connected to the Special Affairs Unit of the London Metropolitan police slowly expands through other services and sources of consultants across the UK. In addition, the facility of the Folly itself is adapted, modernized, and over the course of several major operations has to welcome large numbers of staff unseen within its walls since WW2. The roleplaying game works with this ongoing development and so the characters we make are a part of all of these changes. A forgotten relic, once respected, thought to be slowly expiring on its own, is now flush with new life as it rapidly conforms to the needs of the 21st century and a recognition that magic in the world is not dying after all.

When thinking about character generation, some games – this one included – offer simple means to have characters be of different levels of professional competence as a function of something like age. At first, when looking at the prompt of stature for today, I thought that might be an interesting way to go, but with the weekly filter of drive, I changed my mind. Coupled with drive this leads to the obvious ambitions which are a part of coming to understand an organization in motion. While one might hope that many of the people in an organization might be members to best serve their community through the opportunities that organization provides, we have to understand that some will be members to serve only themselves. Knowing, and caring, about the difference is a life lesson that we might wish to resurrect.

In an organization like the police, we have an interesting mix of physical, social, intellectual, and technical skills at play which we cannot reasonably expect any given officer to excel in equally. One with greater talents for administration will be forced in a sense to seek promotion in order to better serve. How, on the surface, would that look any different than someone with a desire for more authority seeking those same promotions?

What if, in the tradition of police procedurals, we were to have a pairing between an earnest life-saver and thief-taker like PC Balcom and a fellow officer who is as focused on where the i’s remain undotted and who loathes an uncrossed t? Both dedicated. Both professional, and in tune with PACE compliance, both wanting high closure rates, and keen for good performance reviews. One wanting to do the job helping the average citizen with their troubles, the other working toward improving their stature within the police. What sort of interactions would that support? How would the friction begin to show? Where would their efforts align harmoniously and where would they fray in fun discordance?

This could be something vaguely competitive yet friendly like Riggs and Murtaugh or Holmes and Watson, of course – but in this instance that unmatched urge in one partner toward or need for an improved position within the organization adds new notes we perhaps do not see as often. Adding in uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the motivation just sweetens the deal.

If we were in chargen for a set of players, to match the tone of the Rivers of London game I, personally, would not be looking for one of the players to take on the role of a character they intended to push toward evil or actively play as a conniver and greed-focused self-server and I doubt that the folks I prefer to play with would either. While I think an antagonistic relationship, such as one presented in the books, can work between player characters, it tends to be most impactful if the two players could generally run those characters in separate sessions, and occasionally in the same session. In this game, however, the tone is one that yearns toward the light-hearted and expects people to rise to their best, not sink to their base natures.

All that said, there is a real benefit to having a devious NPC and seeing what bleeds through in the GM’s portrayal of them that is only recognized in hindsight, and there is an equal benefit to playing a PC who is misjudged as being self-serving, when they are not.

For PC Everett Balcom, I think it would be fascinating if he were to be in regular contact with an adroit paper-pusher assigned to the Folly from the Case Progression Unit. SAU officers have a little more on their plates than run-of-the-mill officers from other precincts, have a wider area in which they might be required to operate, and have fairly junior or fairly laissez-faire superiors at the top of the unit’s chain of command. A go-getter like Balcom might rush through paperwork in order to focus on solving a case and so being saddled with a perfectionist whose duty is ensuring compliance and completion of all the necessary forms could be a hoot.

Let’s imagine a young officer, a year or so younger than Balcom, with good schooling, the right accent, a solid background in economics and accounting, and great manners. Imagine further that they have taken Balcom on as a personal project – not just for their own sanity and job security, but for Balcom’s chance at promotion as well. Imagine how often this young desk-jockey might be able to make a street cop like Balcom look bad, or have to bring him to heel to preserve a case. Imagine the opportunities for sparks to fly and tempers to flare, even while both pull in the same direction?

Perhaps, to further suggest difference we use a name that screams greater privilege, snootier upbringing, and no fear of cliche?

Leslie Saint-John Weldon-Smythe

Tomorrow we start in on Day 3 and the second calendar week of the event per the infographic with Monday’s prompt, Poise. We will be using a different game and so heading off into new territory! The first day has been opening up with a bang as August 1st makes its way around the globe, so my anticipation for the event has been heightened. How about yours?