ORIGINS: The Steel Police

With the upcoming release of Neuroshima Hex – Steel Police, we would like to share with you a chapter from the Neuroshima RPG that inspired the creation of this army by Michal Oracz. The Steel Police will debut at Essen Spiel and be available in US distribution at the same time.

The Steel Police

An elite group of soldiers, who hail from a broken up group of Navy S.E.A.L.S. Long ago the Seals lost contact with their command and tried to arm themselves on their own. They found heavy armor in the military warehouses. They also found weapons, developed just before the war started, before the bombings. When the armors had found their owners – men and women who lived to fight, a new formation was born. It has been a couple of years though, before they started calling them the Steel Police. After thirty years the successors of the panzer-soldiers consider themselves to be the law and peace keepers. Usually they come to a village or a city raided by bandits, and they start the purge. Their fight with crime is ruthless. They always use the best available weapons and don’t skimp on the ammo. The regular citizens started to welcome them with relief and happiness. There are lot of rumors going around on the wastelands and people see the Steel Police as the legendary saviors. The Policemen approach the admiration with reserve. They’re just doing their job. They still keep the law, bound in steel armor.

Name: Steel Police
Leader: name unknown
Location: nomads
Members: 20
Weaponry: good or very good (armors)
Equipment: standard
Enemies/allies: admired where they appear for the first time
Admission: chosen by the leader
Fame: 4

At some point the civilians start to see the downsides to having their saviors around. When the Steel Police is close, you need to watch out for your behavior, just like you’d be careful around a feral cat. The soldiers cannot control their instincts, they kill without thinking only because someone sneezed, shouted or moved rapidly. They resemble inhuman automatons, cobras coiled up to strike – to attack. Any conversation with the Steel Police is possible only if you have perfect control over your behavior and good command of words.
It is said that the armor changes people. The helmet merges with the human brain and the chest piece – with the torso. The armor makes you faster, stronger, more perceptive. While wearing their armors the Policemen are almost cyborgs. Unfortunately, the neuro-feedback cancels out many human behaviors and moral reservations. Effectivity comes at a price. The armor-clad become merciless protectors of the law – bloody predators. When a Steel Policeman dies, the remaining ones drag his armored body out of the battle at any cost. Then a successor is sought out. This way the mission is passed on.
The soldiers do not see anything out of place in their behavior. They act in one, pre-determined way. It doesn’t change, just like an avalanche will not change its way for a mountain-goat. When the citizen’s hesitation turns to hate, the Policemen look for another abode. It doesn’t take much more than hinting at them to go away. They find a new place and impose their laws there. Again, the crime is exterminated, and it even might occur that another Policeman will die. Even if she or he loses his or her life, it still is impossible to pry the weapon out of their hands, because the armor lives on. There’s a voice coming from the helmet’s speakers:

This area is under the protection of the Steel Police.
…This area is under the control…