Beach Cops
The Beach Cops are an all-Retrograde force stationed at the Barracks on the northern end of the Beach, and their primary job is not enforcing law. Their primary job is punching sea monsters. Giant irradiated creatures crawl out of Cheapskate Bay on a daily basis, and the Beach Cops meet them at the waterline with melee weapons, sharpshooting rifles, and the kind of enthusiasm that suggests they genuinely enjoy the work. They do. The Cops have a laid-back surfer vibe that evaporates the instant something with too many limbs breaches the surf, at which point they become the most focused and effective fighting force on the southern coast.
Sheriff Grunt Motley leads the operation, having inherited the position almost by accident when the former Sheriff retired and named him as a joke. The Cops went with it, and Motley has held the role with a casual authority that fits the organization's temperament. He bridged the gap between the Beach Cops and the Center for the Study of Mutated Marine Life, establishing a collaborative relationship where the Cops bring monster bodies and live specimens to the Center in exchange for better tools and combat techniques. Snipers in the force shoot critical organs off animals so the CSMML scientists can recover them intact. Retrograde tourists visiting the Beach hope to catch the Cops in action; farmers take home stories of watching a Beach Cop punch a giant squid to death.
When they are not fighting sea creatures, the Cops reluctantly handle the occasional civil dispute, a duty that visibly "bums them out." They police the ports, maintain the Barracks as the town's fortress and evacuation point, and generally keep order through the same easygoing attitudes that make most arguments fizzle before they require intervention. The Barracks itself is a five-story stone fortress with over a hundred bunks, a medical bay, lounge, and a massive armory. Rarely more than a quarter of the bunks see use at any given time. The Beach has been attacked by Fallow Hopes zealots in the past, but the Barracks' density and fortification turned those assaults into embarrassments for the attackers.
Sheriff Grunt Motley leads the operation, having inherited the position almost by accident when the former Sheriff retired and named him as a joke. The Cops went with it, and Motley has held the role with a casual authority that fits the organization's temperament. He bridged the gap between the Beach Cops and the Center for the Study of Mutated Marine Life, establishing a collaborative relationship where the Cops bring monster bodies and live specimens to the Center in exchange for better tools and combat techniques. Snipers in the force shoot critical organs off animals so the CSMML scientists can recover them intact. Retrograde tourists visiting the Beach hope to catch the Cops in action; farmers take home stories of watching a Beach Cop punch a giant squid to death.
When they are not fighting sea creatures, the Cops reluctantly handle the occasional civil dispute, a duty that visibly "bums them out." They police the ports, maintain the Barracks as the town's fortress and evacuation point, and generally keep order through the same easygoing attitudes that make most arguments fizzle before they require intervention. The Barracks itself is a five-story stone fortress with over a hundred bunks, a medical bay, lounge, and a massive armory. Rarely more than a quarter of the bunks see use at any given time. The Beach has been attacked by Fallow Hopes zealots in the past, but the Barracks' density and fortification turned those assaults into embarrassments for the attackers.
Structure
The Beach Cops are led by Sheriff Grunt Motley, who inherited the position almost by accident when the former Sheriff retired and named him as a joke. The Cops accepted it without question and have followed him since. The force is composed entirely of Retrogrades, operating out of the Barracks, a five-story stone fortress with lead-lined steel gates, over a hundred bunks, a medical bay, lounge, and a massive armory. Most of the force's daily work involves maintaining the Barracks itself, with rarely more than a quarter of bunks occupied at any given time.
Public Agenda
The Beach Cops exist to defend the Beach from the irradiated sea monsters that emerge from the ocean daily. They patrol the shoreline, fight the creatures with a combination of melee combat and sharpshooting, and maintain the Barracks as the settlement's evacuation fortress. Secondary duties include policing the ports to keep trade secure and occasionally settling disputes within the town, though conventional law enforcement remains a distant second priority to punching giant squids.
History
The Beach Cops formed as a defensive force to protect the Beach from the giant irradiated sea monsters that attack the settlement on a daily basis. For most of their existence they operated as pure monster fighters, with law enforcement duties being an afterthought that visibly disappointed them.
A turning point came when Grunt Motley assumed the role of Sheriff and bridged the gap between the Beach Cops and the Center for the Study of Mutated Marine Life. Under this partnership, the Cops began bringing monster bodies and live specimens to the Center, while the Center provided improved tools and combat techniques for fighting the creatures. The Barracks has also proven its worth during external threats; Fallow Hopes zealots attacked the Beach in the past but were easily repelled by the fortress's dense fortification.
A turning point came when Grunt Motley assumed the role of Sheriff and bridged the gap between the Beach Cops and the Center for the Study of Mutated Marine Life. Under this partnership, the Cops began bringing monster bodies and live specimens to the Center, while the Center provided improved tools and combat techniques for fighting the creatures. The Barracks has also proven its worth during external threats; Fallow Hopes zealots attacked the Beach in the past but were easily repelled by the fortress's dense fortification.
All-Retrograde monster hunters with a surfer's grin.
