Authority figures, such as police officers, can present problems in larps, as competitive players may want to abuse their authority. Café Casablanca (written by Cruel Hoax Productions) limited their powers by giving them a limited supply of Authority Points that they had to spend to carry out official actions.
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| Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Here’s how it worked.
(Although I have played Café Casablanca twice and been on the GM team once, I don’t know how effective these rules are, as I didn’t interact with them.)
Authority points
Each law officer (Captain Renault, the inspectors, the prison commandant and harbour security) has a number of Authority Points on a card that looks like this:
Police Officer A Authority Points
- Usable any time: O O O O O O
- Usable Friday evening: O O O O
- Usable Saturday morning: O O O O
- Usable Saturday afternoon: O O O O
- Usable Saturday evening: O O O O
- Usable Sunday: O O O O O
The numbers varied by character rank. Higher-rank characters got more points (the numbers above are for a senior officer, not the highest-ranking officer, and certainly not the lowest).
Officers also get an authority briefing sheet that explains how the rules work.
Gaining authority points
Officers can earn more Authority Points by performing their duties well and often. (e.g., arresting a wanted felon and having them jailed gets the player more Authority Points, even if the captive later escapes).
Gross abuse of Authority Points can cause an officerto lose points.
Points are rewarded/taken away by the Police HQ GM.
Authority Rules
General rules
- Police Authority does not extend into the Casbah (a lawless area in Casablanca)
- It costs double to expend Authority Points on anyone with a blue badge (such as German officers, who strictly have no power to arrest here, as Casablanca is controlled by the French Vichy government).
- Outranking someone does not mean they are your slave. They may be given duties (such as “investigate so-and-so”) but not specific actions (like “shoot him”).
Exercising authority
Exercising authority (spending Authority Points) allows officers to take the following actions:
Create papers (0 Authority points): For example, replacing a passport.
Searching a room (4 Authority Points, or 2 with a warrant): Used for searching a character’s room (characters have an in-game location where they could store items). The magistrate (the Police HQ GM) may be approached for a warrant first (which must specify the location to be searched and what is being searched for). (2 points will be returned if an illegal item is found, or 3 points if the item specified on the warrant is found.) Non-illegal items will be left in place unless specified on the warrant.
Inspect papers (1 Authority Point): An officer may inspect any character’s passport upon demand. If they don’t have a passport or their papers are obviously out of order, the officer gets their Authority Point back, plus an extra, and the culprit is automatically arrested. They must be given new papers before they leave police custody (lack of papers is not a jailable offence).
Search person (1 Authority Point): After inspecting someone’s papers, an officer may search a character’s person to see what items the character is carrying. Nothing may be confiscated unless the person is arrested.
Arrest (4 Authority Points): An officer may arrest a suspect who accompanies them to the police station, where the suspect may be held and questioned for up to 15 minutes. The suspect must show any items he has on his person, but they may not be confiscated unless the person is jailed or the items are illegal.
If the magistrate (the Police HQ GM) agrees you have sufficient cause for arrest, three Authority Points will be returned (unless they were arrested during an inspection of papers). An additional two points will be returned if the suspect is on the “wanted” list.
(The Café Casablanca rules didn’t cover adding people to the wanted list, but I would require 2 Authority Points (and a strong argument) to add someone to the wanted list.)
Throw someone who has been arrested in jail (3 Authority Points): Can only be used at the police station, and only on a character under arrest. The character must remain in jail for one hour or until released. (During this hour, the player is issued a “friend of” badge to arrange his own rescue if he is not being questioned.) People on the wanted list cost no points to jail.
A prisoner’s items may be taken by the police and placed in the evidence locker (maintained by the magistrate/Police HQ GM) and returned to them when they leave after an hour. Prisoners who break out of jail do not get their possessions back!
Imprison a jailed player (9 Authority Points from three different officers, each contributing 3 points each): Can only be used on a jailed character, and only if a magistrate (the Police HQ GM) agrees you have sufficient evidence and cause.
This action restarts the one-hour clock for being in jail. During this hour, the player is still a “friend of” his character.
After one hour, the character is sent to the concentration camp in the desert and should be played out to enable a dramatic rescue (ie, the player should be marched through the game space under guard, visible to everyone). If not rescued, the player is issued a replacement character.
Execute a jailed player: (12 Authority Points from three different officers, each contributing 4 points each): Can only be used on a jailed player, and only if a magistrate (the Police HQ GM) agrees you have sufficient evidence and cause.
This action restarts the one-hour clock for being in jail. During this hour, the player is still a “friend of” his character.
After one hour, the character is executed by firing squad one hour after the sentence and should be played out. (ie, the player should be executed in the game space, visible to everyone.) If not rescued, the player is issued a replacement character after the event.
(As far as I know, no character has ever been executed in the three runs of Café Casablanca that I have been involved with.)
The wanted list
One character started the game on the wanted list.
Crimes
Other than the usual (murder, arson, burglary and so on):
- Being a citizen of an enemy state (Britain, China, etc.)
- Carrying contraband (guns, explosives, military secrets)
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