Game in the Brain

 Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition FREE Quickstart
We had the game Last night, run by our GM beng (who also happens to be my gastroenterologist). I found the adventure well written. Very well written as I noticed its Clues (I love mysteries) were well placed. Of course the only problem was that we were 3rd Worlders (From the Philippines) and DYSTOPIC Police ABUSE is a well-known phenomenon. So well known with the Drug War in the philippines that all the abuses are formulaic (“nanlaban”  is when the Police would say the victim “tried to fight” and they killed them. in the Philippine drug the International Criminal Court found so many red flags that the current president has decided to make the Philippines leave the ICC). 

Suffice to say we played ourselves like Philippine Policemen (the Philippine National Police aka PNP). the lack of checks and balances, the lack of civilian oversight, etc… I’m sure Indian and African or any 3rd Worlder would relate. Which made several CLUES be prematurely revealed. When your police force act like THUGS and gangsters the adventure becomes different. 

Still very well written, and even if we were thugs. there was a mystery – knowing there was no chain of custody, no paperwork, we had the excuse to act like Murder Hobos – able to kill and loot. Knowing that we all “watched each others back” – we got our story straight. 

Even the GM – knows all these abuses and know what whats going to happen. 

SPOILER. 

There was a VERY one-sided encounter in the game. One that could result in the TPK which was a RED HERRING. Knowing it was a one-sided encounter – we all agreed given the type of policemen we were – We’d just turn a Blind Eye. Heck even if the VICTIMS were actually THERE, we’d still turn a blind eye – like many 3rd world Policemen and some in corrupt police forces in developed worlds.

 We were all laughing as we imagined writing our “Police Reports.” you can imagine the entire group rehearsing their lines and stories. 

Laughing so hard about police corruption, incompetence, and abuse in a Dystopic Setting. They forget that “Dude some places in the Philippines are WORSE than this, imagine how much of the world is WORSE than the police in this Book.”

My personal experience AUDITING a branch company and the abuses they did – plus the criminals it was involved with fuels a lot of my game and writing inspiration. 

I’m aware of police abuses in the US but wait till you hear about the ones happening in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc… 90% of the world. 

Irony – in the Philippines a LONG running TV show based on a Movie “Ang Probinsyano” is about a Idealized Cop doing good deeds. Its hilarious because people would give death threats to the Villain Actors. its So crazy – in light of Philippine Politics (where we elected our Martial law Dictators Son as a new president and we have billions of govt funding for Propaganda).  

So Playing Cops in a Dystopic Setting resonates strongly to 90% of the world where this is NOT FICTION but a fact of life. It ends up not being scary – because culturally so many MEMES have come out in their own cultures – Philippines have a lot of Police abuse memes – that it has become funny. 

Would I play a Dystopic Policeman again? 

Yes 

Why? It’s hilarious – roleplaying how they get away with everything – having second or third homes, wives and mistresses, and many illegitimate children (this is a Trope in the Philippines, i wouldn’t be surprised if this is true in other developing countries). When You play as a Dystopic Policeman – you are playing someone who can get away with anything.  Many cultures have processed such HORRIFIC things into comedy and humor. 

It makes you realize that maybe Call of Cthulhu – existential dread and dark depressing settings – got it wrong. People are not in Asylums going crazy – they are hard drinking and hard laughing sorts of people who have accepted terminal human corruption and abuse. That human trafficking and sacrifice in Dark Noir Settings fail to capture the Memes that emerge – to make so many Jokes about it. 

corruption and debauchery that becomes so predictable. 

Given that the Philippines can charge people for Libel even if the statement is factually true – we would never share the recorded session. But a bunch of friends roleplaying Corrupt Policemen and their shenanigans is truly horrifyingly hilarious. 

I want to know the Memes in other cultures about police abuses. It would be a source of “Holy Shit REALLY!?!” It would be a mix of horror and surprise and seeing the various flavors of resigned “We’re fucked” 

maybe developed countries may have good policemen, and some in developing countries. but definitely those in developing countries spend more of their time avoiding doing evil and minimizing doing evil – which itself is hillarious. Imagine your forced to keep choosing the lesser evil.