[Star Wars Saga] The Countdown: One mans journey

[grubman]

So on May 22 we will see a new edition of the Star Wars RPG from WotC. As usual everyone has different opinions. Me? I’m in the excited camp (just like I was when I heard about the very first D6 edition of Star Wars and (much) later, the release of D20 Star Wars).

IMHO both versions of the game (D20 and D6) had something to offer, were a lot of fun, were very playable, and I personally had no problem applying the Star Wars “feel” to either edition. I see this new edition as an attempt to combine some of the stronger points of the D6 system (simplicity, faster play, more cinematic) with the stronger points of the D20 system (better structure, more comprehensive rule set, mainstream popularity). I for one am hoping for a happy merging of the two into the best system for playing Star Wars yet.

In any case..I have the go ahead from my D&D group to start a semi-regular (probably once a month) Star Wars campaign with the release of the new system. In the first preview of the new edition of the Star Wars RPG (located here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/article/SagaPreview1 ) we read this opening:

The Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition rulebook comes out in May. Are you ready for the new core rules? Maybe you've already planned your first character. (I know I have -- Chalkazza, a Wookiee bounty hunter). Or maybe you're outlining your first campaign, cooking up villains and nemeses to throw at an unsuspecting band of heroes. Of course, before you can start blasting stormtroopers and locking lightsabers, you've got to be able to create those wonderful characters.

…And I realized, yeah, I better get started! So what better way to do it than an RPG net thread? In this thread I’ll start to count down the days to the May 22 release date, all the wile describing the development of the first adventure I’ll run my players through.

Hey! That sounds like a Blog!? Well, in essence, it sort of is, BUT, to make things interesting, not only will it be blogish, but it will also outline and detail the entire adventure as I develop and edit it right in this thread. By the time I’m finished, this thread will contain an entire short adventure, detailed and fleshed out, only waiting for the Stats to be filled in with the release of the Saga edition of the rules on May 22nd.

Perhaps this will serve as an inspiration to someone else. Perhaps someone will want to run the adventure I develop here? Maybe someone with artistic abilities will be inspired to post illustrations to help enhance the adventure? Most importantly I will have the ongoing help, suggestions, and opinions of hundreds of RPGnetters in making the first adventure a good experience (perhaps a great one).

So before I start, there are a few things to get out of the way...

FIRST! If your name is Mike, Peter, or Justin (or any other name that sounds like part of a boy band), and you play with a guy named Dave, DO NOT READ THIS! I don’t know if you guys lurk here or not, but if you read this it will totally ruin the fun of the adventure for everyone!

SECOND! This is just for fun. While I employ the standard copy write on what I create and expect everyone to respect that, this work is totally open for free use and free distribution if anyone feels compelled to do so.

THIRD! Star Wars and everything related is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. And the Star Wars RPG and D20 are the property of Wizards of the Coast. This is fun, free, fan work and no challenge to their copywrite is intended.

[grubman]

April 1st

Today I’m getting started. The first thing I always do before getting ready to write a Star Wars adventure is to reread the Adventure Section and part of the Universe Section from the Star Wars D6 Revised and Expanded 2nd edition.

IMHO, this is not only very good and inspirational material for writing/running a Star Wars adventure, it is probably some of the best GMing advice that I’ve read in any RPG.

The Universe section provides a comprehensive and concise overview of the Star Wars universe. It might not be totally up-to-date with the expanded universe and the prequels, but it provides plenty of information without overwhelming the reader with the monstrous beast the entire Star Wars franchise has become.

I’m going to finish reading this to get myself ready, tomorrow I start thinking about my first major decision, Era of play!

[Saz]

I think this belongs in the Actual Play forum.

[Eisenmann]

I think this belongs in the Actual Play forum.

I sure don't. It's about prepping and getting an adventure together for the upcoming release of the Saga rulebook. And possible players have been warned to stay out of the thread.

[philreed]

In my opinion, the best source of inspiration for a Star Wars campaign is the old Marvel series. Specifically, the first two volumes in the collected series.

Doomworld, collecting the first 20 issues. (http://www.amazon.com/Doomworld-Star-Wars-Long-Ago/dp/1569717540/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1769585-4356825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175442340&sr=1-1)

Dark Encounters, collecting 21-38 (just before Empire). (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Encounters-Star-Wars-Ago/dp/1569717850/ref=pd_bbs_8/002-1769585-4356825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175442314&sr=8-8)

[PaladinCA]

I like the premise of the thread. I don't know how much I can add, considering my experience with the D20 version of the game so far (HORRIBLE BEYOND BELIEF :eek: ). I am going to buy the new rulebook however and hope for the best.

Considering my considerable plotting and planning I have worked on for this campaign here...

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?referrerid=&t=264323

This would be the campaign I would be running. It is set during the KOTOR era, following the events that took place in the PC games KOTOR and KOTOR II. It is, for all intents and purposes, what my KOTOR III would have been. :cool:

[SteamPulp]

I have found that stories that I have written for the Serenity RPG work well with Star Wars.
Since I have a couple of freelance projects I need to finish this month I have no time to plan for a SW game (and sadly enough if I did, my group refuses to play in a SW game anyway.

I will buy the next book though, hell I am saving a portion of my Birthday money to do so.

Looking forward to it

[Gentleman Highwayman]

My first task will be to transpose my 11th level Force Adept Living Force character over to Saga Edition rules. This will make the jump from OCR to RCR look seamless. But once I've rebuilt this character as it was originally envisioned, I think I'll have a better understanding of the crunch and what it is meant to do.

After that I think I'd like to go back ... way back and do a Knights of the Old Republic game to run SW as a chanbara or wuxia type game. (Jedi as wandering samurai being ambushed by Sith ninja and scheming politicians.) The players are Jedi on the fringe and will feel the tugs on all sides. Does the group stick together and do what they are told? Do they do the "right" thing? Will the group break down into opposing factions taking sides that leave them on a collision course? Tune in next week students of the Force.

Iain.

[grubman]

April 2nd

Era era era! It’s an item of popular discussion on the forums. There are so many eras to choose from now with KotOR, Republic/Jedi/Prequel, Rebellion, New Republic, New Jedi Order, and finally Legacy.

This was a little more difficult a decision to make than I thought it would be…but, then again, in the end it was very simple.

First I thought about what type of adventures I wanted to run. With the new rules supposedly playing off of the miniature game, and with me having a ton of minis, I want to run a game that gives me an opportunity to use them in cool environments. I want lots of quick action, chases, and combats (duh, it’s Star Wars!).

I easily narrowed it down to the eras I think are particularly cool, KotOR, Prequel, Rebellion, and Legacy. Since my players aren’t as nuts about Star Wars as I am, they are unlikely to know much about the KotOR era and nothing about Legacy. Not only that, but those era don’t have such clear cut goals as the Prequel and Rebellion era do, so I decided to lean toward those.

There are two elements of Star Wars I now had to consider, Jedi and Villains! These two elements would undoubtedly determine what era I decided on.

In the Prequels, Jedi were “common” and that might be fun, but I really didn’t want the campaign to be all about Jedi. Also with all the predetermined political conflict, and the war, it seemed not only a bit difficult to determine just who the enemy, but it also seemed that (with the war or war brewing timeframe) my options for adventures might be a little more limited.

In the Rebellion Era, I had a clear enemy, the over dominating Empire. I also had clear good guys in the Rebellion. Not only did this give me clear cut adventure hooks, but a reason for the players to do “good”. As I’ve said before, I think Jedi are cool, but I don’t like them to dominate my game. The rare force user and mythical conception of the force are just about right for me in the Rebellion era.

So, yeah, I guess I decided to be boring and go with the Rebellion era, set about 5 years before A New Hope (a little earlier than normal, with the rebellion just starting to dig in, but before the major victory at Yavin). I’m the most familiar and comfortable with this era, and it’ll take less effort (none really) for me to get the players motivated and familiar with the setting.

I know a lot of readers were probably hoping I was going to cover some “new ground” here with one of the “fresher” era like KotOR or Legacy. Sorry, hope this doesn’t kill the thread for you.

Next, I’ll set down the basic framework for the campaign before I start brainstorming on the adventure itself.

[Skywalker]

April 1st

Today I’m getting started. The first thing I always do before getting ready to write a Star Wars adventure is to reread the Adventure Section and part of the Universe Section from the Star Wars D6 Revised and Expanded 2nd edition.

IMHO, this is not only very good and inspirational material for writing/running a Star Wars adventure, it is probably some of the best GMing advice that I’ve read in any RPG.

Awesome, I am considering doing a 100 days of Star Wars Saga but if I start now it will be done before the book arrives :)

I have been going through some similar processes to yours. I started with the Galatic Campaign Guide to focus me on what I need to look at for a Star Wars story.

I have also made an effort to track down the Clone Wars on DVD (yes, I know, I am slack). BTW any opinion of the Clone Wars comic series?

I have been pondering the Era. I always find Era to be very hard. My preference is for the Rise of the Empire period of the first trilogy as I feel it is more open. However, I have been considering the following:

1. 100 years before The Phantom Menace,
2. Knights of the Old Republic i.e. post Sith War
3. Force Unleashed i.e. between Episodes 3 and 4.

As the Force Unleashed period looks likely to be supported, this is promising (and looks to be around the same time as the Era you have chosen).

[Bloodcat]

Saga edition and the amount of value many of my D20 Star Wars books have more or less makes me want to sell the lot of it, most at a 100% profit margin honestly.

I couldn't get people interested in it, and I don't like D20 anyhow. Be better to make some money and use the proceeds to buy old TSR era D&D modules and WEG D6 Star Wars stuff since I love the D6 system.

Ive been burned by TWO WOTC Star Wars core rulesbooks that never get used.

I doubt I will make that mistake a third time.

[Skywalker]

Bloodcat, does your comment have any relation to grubman's journey or are you just making a general gripe?

[grubman]

Ive been burned by TWO WOTC Star Wars core rulesbooks that never get used.

I probably shouldn't feed the flame, since, as Skywalker said, it has nothing to do with what I'm trying to accomplish here, but, I also purchased 3 D6 Star Wars editions (1st, 2nd, and 2nd ed revised). So, I don't really get the complaint? New editions for games is common, I certainly wouldn't call it getting "burned". You obviously have an interest or you wouldn't have purchased both editions of the D20 Star Wars, a bunch of the supplements, and wouldn't be reading threads about the Saga edition.

Color me confused at the complaint?:confused:

[unodiablo]

BTW any opinion of the Clone Wars comic series?

Fully awesome. With Space Usagi, the only sci fi comics I've bought in years. (Uh, unless the Grimjack mini series counts...) I love the little small format of the books, even tho it makes them a PITA to store.

Saga edition and the amount of value many of my D20 Star Wars books have more or less makes me want to sell the lot of it, most at a 100% profit margin honestly.

I couldn't get people interested in it, and I don't like D20 anyhow. Be better to make some money and use the proceeds to buy old TSR era D&D modules and WEG D6 Star Wars stuff since I love the D6 system.

Uh, at least you have game books that have gone up in value since you've bought them? :D I don't think Saga edition is going to bring down the prices on the old d6 books and the compatible-with-work d20 edition(s). I have a couple books for both d6 & d20, and they're still useful no matter what version of the game you play.

I've got a bunch of doubles of old TSR D&D modules if you're looking to trade too. ;)

[Skywalker]

Fully awesome. With Space Usagi, the only sci fi comics I've bought in years. (Uh, unless the Grimjack mini series counts...) I love the little small format of the books, even tho it makes them a PITA to store.

Is that for the Clone War Adventures (manga sized) or the Clone Wars (full sized)?

[Tori Bergquist]

Woooo! I'm with you Grubman! I have high hopes for the new Saga edition, which sounds like it will blend the best of the best together for Star Wars goodness.

I've been working on a grand and epic Pre-Rebellion campaign for some time now, and eagerly await this new book. I've bought all the Star Wars game stuff to date.....I do not feel in the least bit burned.

The only thing I'm likely to be changing in the new game: minimizing the miniature useage in the rules, since I am sure the new Saga book will heavily integrate miniatures useage in the combat, given the enormous success of the minis game. Not that I wouldn't mind using them, but I just can't afford the time or space to collect a bunch of little plastic chunks that aren't dice.

[grubman]

Not that I wouldn't mind using them, but I just can't afford the time or space to collect a bunch of little plastic chunks that aren't dice.

Tori, I have a simple solution...move next door to me, then you can borrow my minis whenever you want...of course you'll have to play in my adventures and GM me through yours. :D

[RedFox]

Woooo! I'm with you Grubman! I have high hopes for the new Saga edition, which sounds like it will blend the best of the best together for Star Wars goodness.

As do I. There's not much I've heard of yet about Saga Edition that has me worried, and most all of it has me excited.

The only thing that really concerns me is how the condition track works out in play, and if they've finally got a vehicle / space combat system that works.

That space and vehicle combat has been combined gives me high hopes, though.

[Peter LaCara]

This may be the first edition of Star Wars d20 that I actually buy instead of flipping through while in Borders on a lazy afternoon. I have this idea for a Clone Wars game that starts the day after the Battle of Geonosis and goes through Order 66 and beyond that culminates in an epic last stand against Vader and his arrayed legions. Should be good times, if I ever get around to it. I'm still running a nWoD Hunter game and I'm going to be starting an Exalted Lunars game as soon as I get the book in my hot little hands, and my friends have been nagging me to run Earthdawn for like, a year now, and I'd like to run an Eberron game I've had brewing in my head, so I don't know when the hell I'm going to find the time for it.

But I will. I will.

[grubman]

April 3rd

In thinking about where I want the campaign to lead I’ve come up with some good directions. The obvious one is that the PCs are going to become involved in the Rebellion and join the alliance. While this is going to happen sooner than later, I still rather have the actual joining be part of the campaign, rather than a starting point.

I always liked the little adventure in the 1st edition of Star Wars D6, so I think I’ll use that as a session (with some modifications) right after the introductory adventure I’m going to write (In this thread). That adventure effectively gets the PCs on their way to the alliance, so with the first adventure I can concentrate on MAKING (or forcing ;)) the PCs want to join. Further adventures will involve rebel missions leading up to the battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star (from a different point of view).

So, now that I know where I’m going, I can concentrate on how to get there and what I want to accomplish with this first adventure:

Game elements
-Introduce the new game system
-use a cinematic pace with lots of action and mini use
-make an adventure playable in 1 or 2 sessions (max)

Player elements
-Starting as first level pee-ons
-Create a common bond for the PCs
-Give the PCs a reason to hate the Empire
-Give the PCs the means to come into contact with the Rebellion
-Give the PCs a back-story for further adventures.

Now that I’ve established what I want to do it’s time to start brainstorming! I already have a good seed of an idea, I’ll spend the rest of the day brainstorming on it, fleshing out a core outline, and post what I’ve got tomorrow.

[AusJeb]

I always liked the little adventure in the 1st edition of Star Wars D6, so I think I’ll use that as a session (with some modifications) right after the introductory adventure I’m going to write (In this thread).

What was that adventure? I remember the choose-your-own introductory adventure, but I don't remember another one.

[Ifshnit]

Nice summaries so far, Grubman. Speaking of adventures, have you seen the adventure snippets presented in "The Rebellion Era Sourcebook?" Given what you've described so far, I can imagine that those adventure snippets, NPCs, etc., would dovetail nicely with the d6 little adventure and your ideas.

[Jason D]

I've got to admit that I'm still tempted by this new edition, but my inclination is that if I pick it up and run a campaign, it'll be set 50-100 years after the original trilogy, (roughly the same timeframe as the Legacy of the Force setting). However, it will be almost entirely my creation based on where I think the Expanded Universe should go rather than where it went. So it'll be one of those "Nothing you've read applies here" settings.

That way, I don't have to deal with the enormous amount of backstory that KotoR entails (which would be my second most favored setting).

[loconius]

I'm very much interested in this new edition, but from a different standpoint.

I wanted to run a game where the players play imperials, like grunts not the big bad evil guys. And tell the story from their point of view. They will still be competent enough to best name characters as the campaign goes along. With their capabilities they have to decide: Do we use our skills to improve the empire in our own image or aid in its absolute destruction!

Over all I’m just interested in the work they have put forth into this new version. The changes sound promising and will likely be used in my other games [notably Eberron and d20 modern among other d20 games]

[Tori Bergquist]

Tori, I have a simple solution...move next door to me, then you can borrow my minis whenever you want...of course you'll have to play in my adventures and GM me through yours. :D

Hmmmm not a bad idea.....where do you live again? I can start shopping for jobs in the area and see what's available.

When you live in one of the top five most economically depressed states in the nation like I do....and the gaming scene around here is negligible......the idea of moving sounds pretty good!
:D

[HumAnoydd]

Originally Posted by Skywalker
BTW any opinion of the Clone Wars comic series?

I like them well enough but IMHO they don't stack up to the far superior Republic comics written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Jan Durseema. You could probably find a lot of inspiration from those comics.

[Skywalker]

grubman's comments have made me spend $60 at GM Sarli Games to get 44 SW miniatures.

On the up side, the set should more than cover all my SWRPG needs. Damn you, grubman!

[Skywalker]

I like them well enough but IMHO they don't stack up to the far superior Republic comics written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Jan Durseema. You could probably find a lot of inspiration from those comics.

Cheers, I have read a few of the Republic ones and enjoyed them a lot.

[grubman]

What was that adventure? I remember the choose-your-own introductory adventure, but I don't remember another one.

My sister has the rulebook right now and I don't remember the name, but it is just a small thing with the PCs planning to meet a rebel contact in some mines. Once there the storm troopers show up and it's a race for the PCs to get to the getaway ships. It’ll fit nicely as a in-between for this adventure I'm working on and the next one I have planned (a full fledged rebel mission).

Nice summaries so far, Grubman. Speaking of adventures, have you seen the adventure snippets presented in "The Rebellion Era Sourcebook?" Given what you've described so far, I can imagine that those adventure snippets, NPCs, etc., would dovetail nicely with the d6 little adventure and your ideas.

Thank you :), they would be longer and more frequent except that my time is limited these days. Everything I do is pretty much being done on my 30 minute lunch break.

I did have that book, but I sold it along with all my other supplements (except the Ultimate Alien Anthology), and don't really remember that much about it. One thing I've learned about myself is that I'm a core book guy. I use the hell out of a RPG core rule book...but most supplements sit on my shelf half read...sometimes not read at all. Now I try (try :o ) not to buy that many unless they really interest me. I do use the essential guides a lot, I guess I just find them more useful for my personal uses.

Hmmmm not a bad idea.....where do you live again? I can start shopping for jobs in the area and see what's available.


Wisconsin, dude! You wouldn't last the first winter unless I gutted a Tauntaun and shoved you inside. :D ha ha ha!

Seriously, it's odd, I've done research, it seems the lower the crime rate and the better the jobs and economy...the worse the weather.

Weird.

grubman's comments have made me spend $60 at GM Sarli Games to get 44 SW miniatures.

On the up side, the set should more than cover all my SWRPG needs. Damn you, grubman!

Oh hell! When I convinced people to buy Savage Worlds from the little guy it felt good...now I'm supporting the conglomerate giant! What have I become?! AAAAAG!

But seriously, I love my Star Wars minis :). When the first set came out someone said to me, "Get in on it right away!" and I'm glad I did. Collecting the D&D miniatures is impossible to even think about doing...collecting the Star Wars miniatures would be downright depressing if I was trying to start now.

Fortunately, all the miniatures you really need to play the RPG are the ones that sell for dirt cheap and are easy to get lots of.

[Skywalker]

Fortunately, all the miniatures you really need to play the RPG are the ones that sell for dirt cheap and are easy to get lots of.

I would personally like to pimp GM Sarli's store. Having sets designed into thematic groups for use with the RPG is cool.

[grubman]

April 4th

OK, I’ve got the basic outline of the plot, as well as a ton of ideas in my head for fleshing out the action. Some of this is Cliché, some is classic Star Wars tropes, and hopefully a little of it is original grubmanish.

Rough Draft Plot Summary

GM Backstory: The Emperor has sent one of his dark side adepts to a remote planet to check up on the apparent profit skimming of an Imperial officer in charge of the mining operation there. He is also supposed to check on rumors of rebel recruitment activity on the same planet.

Once planetside the Dark Side adept feels “a disturbance in the force”, the amateur force abilities of one of the PCs. The Dark side adept adds the investigation of this to his mission. This means either bringing the PC to the Emperor or destroying them.

Enter the PCs

I decided I want the PCs to start as adventuring novices, first level, and all fairly young. Much like Luke in a New Hope, they feel the Empires grip, but they feel small and unimportant in the scheme of things. They will start trapped on a small outer rim mining world controlled by the Empire with no real hope for a prosperous future. They have been drawn together because all of their parents have been killed in mining accidents caused by the poor working conditions. They despise the Empire for the deaths of their parents, and the fact that they still have to work for them with little hope of ever breaking away to a more fulfilling life. (Establishing the bond)

The adventure will open, in the middle of the action, with them getting a rare chance to score enough credits to get off planet. A creature has been killing miners, and a reward has been offered by the empire for its destruction. (Opening right with a action scene, combat in the mines)

After killing the creature (hopefully) they return to camp, only to be screwed out of their reward by the imperial officer in charge (a nice little role playing scene). This will lead to more hate for the empire, and frustration at not being able to make a difference.

All this time they have been hearing rumors of a Rebel Hero somewhere planet side, and when the PCs hear that a stranger is in the local cantina, they assume it’s them and curiosity will (most likely) draw them there. Once they meet the stranger (the dark side adept, who gladly poses as a rebel agent to get the PCs to a more intimate location), the local imperials (along with the officer in charge) arrive to arrest him and the PCs are assumed to be conspirators, and the PCs will most likely have to fight their way out. (Another cool combat scene with lots of minis and terrain)

Once outside, the stranger tells them to escape the compound and meet him/her at a rendezvous point, then disappears. The PCs must escape via some speeders. (A chase scene).

Once outside they go to the scheduled meeting point only to find the stranger waiting with an ambush of imperials! The force using PC is given the ultimatum, join the Emperor and embrace the dark side (not to mention allowing his friends to be killed), or die.

The PCs fight a dramatic (but impossible to win) battle. Just before defeat, they are rescued by the true rebel planteside. The Dark side adept escapes (or, I’m thinking, is knocked into a chasm, pit, or some other cheesy exit for a re-occurring villain). The rebel gives them the information leading to the next adventure (the one from the D6 1st edition rulebook, remember ;)).

End first adventure (hopefully wrapped up in one fast paced session).

Next, the actual rough draft begins. I have a very good idea of where I’m going with this and just need to get everything down now. The main villain is fairly fleshed out in my head and will be introduced in the next segment.

[HyrumOWC]

April 4th
SNIP

Damn you Grubman. Now you've got me thinking about running a game or getting a friend to run one so I can play.

Arg.

:D

Hyrum.

[Skywalker]

That's pretty cool Grubman. My only one comment is whether to make the darkside adept a little more mysterious at this stage so he can be more tempting to the force using PC. Perhaps the offer he is given is for him to join the dark side adept in order to save the other PCs. There could also be a strong inference that the force using PC brought the imperial scrutiny down on the PCs.

[naturaltwenty]

I mentioned the release of the game to my normal gaming group and they are already calling me and asking me..."when we gonna play it, when we gonna play it?"

Side-thread. I'll run it during the rebellion era because I've got almost all the d6 books for this. Conversions not that hard so I've got a ton of adventures.

Anyway - what miniatures set has the most rebellion era figs?

Later

[Skywalker]

Anyway - what miniatures set has the most rebellion era figs?

From GM Sarli Games:

http://www.gmsarligames.com/catalog/images/Imperials20070202.jpg

http://www.gmsarligames.com/catalog/images/Rebels20070322.jpg

[Blizzardborn]

Wisconsin, dude! You wouldn't last the first winter unless I gutted a Tauntaun and shoved you inside. ha ha ha!

Seriously, it's odd, I've done research, it seems the lower the crime rate and the better the jobs and economy...the worse the weather.

Weird.


Of course the crime rate is down. You try standing in a freaking snowdrift for hours waiting to mug some chump who's probably wearing enough padding he won't even feel it when you slug him. And don't even get me started on trying to outrun the cops after a bank job with chains on the tires.

BB:D

[grubman]

That's pretty cool Grubman. My only one comment is whether to make the darkside adept a little more mysterious at this stage so he can be more tempting to the force using PC.

Oh, he will be at first, in fact he will be masquerading as a rebel recruiter at first :D Of course, it’s a short adventure full of action, so the mystery won’t last long…but it’ll be fun.

Tomorrows report will explain the back-story more fully.

[grubman]

Damn you Grubman.

3 pages and I've been "Damned" twice. Either I'm doing something right...or terribly wrong! ;)

[naturaltwenty]

From GM Sarli Games:

[IMG] Snipped fancy images

Another 50.00 added to the economy! Oh and I won't damn you again grubman - I'm not a hata :)

Thanks,

[HyrumOWC]

3 pages and I've been "Damned" twice. Either I'm doing something right...or terribly wrong! ;)

I know the previews have gotten the guy I want to run the game interested, and he's heavily invested in Revised. (Being that he wrote a good chunk of it. :))

(And yes, he's a "famous" designer. However, since I game with a few other "famous" designers I hate name dropping. I do get to play in some kickass games though. :))

Hyrum.

[Wolfen Pundit]

It's an extremely cool scenario, Grubman, but I've gotta play Devil's advocate here a little. It seems just a little railroady to me. But I guess the main about it that struck me that way was the way the party gets rescued by an NPC group at the end. I always kind of considered that a big no-no.

Just sayin' :o .

[grubman]

It's an extremely cool scenario, Grubman, but I've gotta play Devil's advocate here a little. It seems just a little railroady to me. But I guess the main about it that struck me that way was the way the party gets rescued by an NPC group at the end. I always kind of considered that a big no-no.

Just sayin' :o .

Yes on both accounts, and both are adressed in the adventure.

Railroad. This adventure is set up in a series of scenes, like a movie. The point is to progress from scene to scene rapidly. Each scene presents the players with a situation, and it is up to them to solve it and move on to the next scene. It's not so much railroady (IMHO) as a way of keeping the action moving and interesting. There isn't any "down time" and there isn't any sort of, "OK, what do you want to do now?"..."um, we walk around town, are there any neat shops?". For example, I wouldn't present a scene like this: You walk into a cantina, there are a bunch of shady folks about...what do you do? I will present it like this: You walk into a cantina, there are a bunch of shady folks about, The contact you are looking for is sitting in a chair being grilled by 3 stormtroopers...orr something like that. The point is to imediately give the PCs something to do without wondering, let them come up with a way to solve the problem, and move on to the next scene. I'm more interested in everyone having fun and playing the game than some of the more "traditional" "freedoms" of role playing.

That end scene is going to be one of the options, depending on how the PCs are fareing in combat. If they are kicking ass, they will end up rescuing the Rebel, if they are on the recieving end of the ass whooping, they wil be rescued. I know being rescued by a NPC has often been sited as a no-no, but in this instance it is for a reason, that being, to help get the PCs involved in the Rebellion. This isn't the main "climax" anyway, so it shouldn't leave the PCs with any bad taste in thier mouth.

[grubman]

I’ve decided to present this exactly as I’m writing my rough draft. When this is finished I’ll try to get layout done and present it in a PDF (that I’ll sucker someone to host on their site).

From this point on, and help with editing or suggestions will be appreciated, even things like misspellings, poor grammar, ect. I won’t take it as an insult if someone points out my poor writing skills.

Questions about future installments or where I’m going will probably be short and curt, since if I had time to answer such questions in detail, I would already have them written up and posted ;).

If I have time I’ll probably do some illustrations, but my work is amateur (to say the least) and if anyone is bored and wants to do any kind of illustrations, feel free to post them right on this thread…In fact it would be awesome! Make sure to state who the illustration is by, so you can be properly credited. I’ll probably want to use them in the final PDF, but, as stated below, they are completely your work and property.

So, without further ado, we get to the meat and taters…

April 5th

A Much Larger Universe
By: David Bezio
A Star Wars Saga RPG Adventure

STAR WARS is a property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and is used without permission. The STAR WARS SAGA RPG is a property of Wizards of the Coast Inc. and is used without permission. No challenge to either copyright is intended.

This document A Much Larger Universe is the property of David Bezio 2007. The illustrations are the property of the artist and used with permission. This document may be redistributed in an unaltered form and printed out for personal use or non-commercial distribution. Any other use of the text or illustrations without written consent from the author or artist is strictly prohibited.

This adventure for the new Star Wars Saga RPG is designed for 3 first level characters, but can be easily modified for more or less players. 3 Pre-generated characters are provided in the adventure complete with statistics and background notes. The Pre-generated characters aren’t necessary to play the adventure and you can use your own characters, but check with your Game Master first as he may have some requirements or suggestions.

STOP! The information in this document is for the Game Masters eyes only! If you plan to play in the adventure do not read any further or you will spoil all the fun and surprises!

Part One: Game Masters Introduction

The following information introduces the adventure to the Game Master. Included herein is an introductory story that fills you in on the background of the adventure, followed by a description of the adventures design and how it is meant to be run, a quick summary of the adventure, and finally the description and statistics of Sazzora Zen (the adventures main antagonist).

Sunset on Cappella 3

The gaunt figure momentarily turned her pale face to the dull triple sunset of Cappella 3. The purple and orange colors reflected off the haze of dusty sand-devils on the horizon. What may have passed as the most beautiful time of day on this dry rock of a planet simply marked the time of day to Sozzora Zen. The appointed hour of contact had come. Without further hesitation she stalked gracefully up the clattering ramp of her Firespray-31. She could sense the twinge of fear in the 6 Imperial Stormtroopers who watcher her ascend the ramp from the small dilapidated docking bay. “Good,” She thought with a smirk, “Fear inspires obedience.” She should know, for the fear inside herself was mounting as she made hew way to the bridge.

The dull blue glow of the holonet image filled the chamber, as did the rhythmic breathing. The Image of Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith appraised the kneeling figure before him. After a moment he addressed the young Nagai, “Sozzora Zen, I trust your investigation is complete?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“It is Lord Vader”, Sozzora spoke without raising her eyes from the floor, “It is as you expected. Lieutenant-supervisor Pheil has been embezzling Imperial profits from the mine project on Capella 3.”

The Sith Lord nodded slightly. This was no real surprise to him, “And, what of the Rebel recruiter that is rumored to be in the Capella system?”

“Nothing. If he is here he hasn’t revealed himself.” After a moment of silence Sozzora continued, “Shall I have Pheil incarcerated?”

“No,” said Vader, his voice momentarily rising in volume. He seemed to contemplate for a moment and then continued in a more modest tone while pointing a gloved finger at his lithe apprentice, “Phiel has influential family in the Core Worlds. It wouldn’t sti well with the Emperors plans to upset them in this way. Assasinate him, and do it under the guise of the very Rebel that has eluded you.”

“As you wish, Lord Vader…” Sozzora Zen paused and chanced a look at the imposing shimmering visage of the Dark Lord.

“Is there more, apprentice?” Vader asked, the emotionless masked face tilting just slightly to one side in question.

Sozzora was not sure if she should continue. If she was wrong she would be reprimanded. But, if she was right, and failed to speak, the punishment would be much more severe. “I’ve felt a presence since I landed on this planet. A force user, I’m sure although the power is weak and underdeveloped. Perhaps just a rogue force sensitive…perhaps something more.”

Darth Vader contemplated his apprentice and Sozzora held his gaze for a moment before involuntarily looking to the floor once more. At last he spoke, “You must find the source. If there is potential for power there, you must bring the wielder before me. If the source is weak or unattainable…see to it that it is destroyed.” With this the Dark Lord turned away and the holonet image flickered and disappeared.

Sozzora Zen rose to her feat and subconsciously touched the handles of the two Lightdaggers strapped to her thighs, “It shall be done as you desire.” She whispered into the empty chamber.

[grubman]

Sorry it's so late today, I got called in early to work today and didn't have time to do anything this morning. 58 hours this week (woohoo! double time!).

Todays installment answers a lot of Design questions, in the form of tips on running the adventure. Hopefully experienced GMs won't take this as an insult, I'm just hoping this clarifies a lot of questions as to why the adventure is presented as it is. Tomorrow I'll present the cleaned up adventure summary.

On a side note (welcoming discussion, but not looking to start a flame war, as I love both D6 and D20 Star Wars), I re-read the force section in the D6 rulebook today. It’s really a refreshing look at the Jedi and the force, not so bogged down with all the EU and prequel stuff. What really struck me as odd (on reflection) is the age old argument that D6 is so much simpler than D20. Rereading this section made me realize that the details of D6 are every bit as complicated as D20 if you choose to use all the rules. The common argument that D6 is so simple, “just pick a number and roll the dice” doesn’t really hold water when, at its core, the D20 mechanic is just as simple, “pick a DC, roll a D20 and add the modifier”. The devil of both systems is in the detail. In any case, I’m really getting my hopes up high about the Saga edition of the rules…hopefully not too high.

But, without further delay, here is todays late installment…

April 6th


Running the Adventure

As you can see by the introductory story, there is a lot going on that the players aren’t going to be privy to right away, perhaps not at all. The adventure is the result of the player characters being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting caught in the crossfire of events larger than themselves. As play progresses they become an important part of these events.

This adventure is set up in a series of scenes. The key to successfully running the adventure is to move quickly from scene to scene. Don’t get bogged down with the unimportant and mundane events that take place in-between scenes. More importantly don’t give the players time to wonder what to do or wander aimlessly about. This will slow down the fast pace of the adventure and snuff out the excitement. Present the scene and the situation, allow the players to react and respond, and finally resolve the conflict, make a quick narrative of the between time, and move on to the next scene.

Naturally there will be times when your players do something totally unexpected or go off on a tangent. This can be fun, and often results in some to the most enjoyable role playing experiences, but, if it begins to drag, make sure to pull the adventure back on track before you lose your players attention. This adventure is about quick action and decisive problem solving, not about monotonous contemplation and extensive planning.

This isn’t to say that the players must be completely railroaded along the adventures track. Each scene allows the players to make their own decisions about how to proceed. Sometimes the objectives of a scene will be extremely obvious, but, how the players accomplish that objective is where the true fun lies. Those Game Masters or players who prefer completely open ended adventures will probably be disappointed, but, this adventure is designed to enjoy the game mechanics and role playing aspects of each scene as concise problems that need to be solved before progressing. In the end, these scenes form the complete story.

The entire adventure spans 3 days of game time. This timeframe is unimportant, however, and you may want to expand the time (in narrative) in-between some scenes. This will be especially helpful if the player characters the really beat up in combat and need more time to recover via natural healing, drugs, or even a bacta tank.

[grubman]

OK, now I feel like I'm getting somewhere :)

Today is my 6th month wedding aniversary, so me and the SO are going out after work! With the holiday on Sunday, not sure if I'll have an entry or not.

In any case, HAPPY EASTER to everyone who celebrates it.

April 7th

Summary of the Adventure

What follows is a quick summary of each scene in the order it appears in the adventure. This will give you a look at the basic plotline of the story, and an idea of how the scenes lead into each other. The most obvious flow of the scene is portrayed here. Needless to say, your scenes may not play out exactly as in the scene summary. Do not attempt to play the adventure from the summary alone, the full scene descriptions contain a lot more detail and excitement.

Scene One: Gronk Cats (Combat)
An unknown beast has been killing miners where the PCs labor for the Empire. A reward has been offered for the destruction of the beast and the players have entered the mine to kill the creature and collect the reward.

Scene Two: Imperial Logic (Role Playing)
The PCs return to town to collect the reward and hear rumors of a Rebel agent somewhere on the planet. The Imperial in charge screws the PCs out of their reward, fostering even more anti-Imperial feelings.

Scene Three: An Unexpected Visitor (Role Playing)
A stranger shows up in the small mining town, and the PCs figure it must be the mysterious Rebel they have heard of. They meet up with her in the local cantina to talk about joining the rebellion. The Force user among the PCs recognizes her as another force user.

Scene Four: Guilt by Association (Combat)
The party in the cantina is cut short when the Imperial officer, from scene 2, shows up with a bunch of battle droids to arrest the Rebel scum! And, guess what? The PCs are under arrest for fraternizing with a Rebel. The Rebel initiates a fight and the PCs are sucked in.

Scene Five: Getting out of Town! (Vehicle Chase)
The PCs and the Rebel agent made it out of the cantina, but they still have to make it out of town. The Rebel tells the PCs of a meeting time and place and they separate. The PCs must race their battered swoop bikes out of town with battle droids trying to stop them at every turn.

Scene Six: Meeting with Destiny (Combat)
The PCs go to the rendezvous point to meet with the Rebel agent. Once there, the truth is revealed, the Rebel Agent is actually Sozzora Zen! What’s more, there are 6 stormtroopers waiting in ambush. Sozzora has come to collect the force user alone, the other PCs are of no use or importance to her.

Scene Seven: the Real Adventure Begins (Role Playing)
After dealing with Sozzora Zen, thePCs finally meet the real Rebel agent. He gives them information on how to get off planet and join the rebellion. This leads into the next adventure.

[HyrumOWC]

OK, now I feel like I'm getting somewhere :)

Today is my 6th month wedding aniversary, so me and the SO are going out after work! With the holiday on Sunday, not sure if I'll have an entry or not.

In any case, HAPPY EASTER to everyone who celebrates it.

Congratulations and Happy Easter yourself!

[naturaltwenty]

I at least started my campaign poster (also working on an intro movie). Have a good Easter - brunch is on my schedule!

http://www.naturaltwenty.com/images/shadowsrise.jpg

[HyrumOWC]

I at least started my campaign poster (also working on an intro movie).

What do you plan on using to make the movie?

Hyrum.

[naturaltwenty]

Probably MS Powerpoint - all I really do is play the 20th Century Intro and roll the Star Wars theme. Then the episode text scrolls up as the music plays.

Later

[grubman]

I at least started my campaign poster (also working on an intro movie). Have a good Easter - brunch is on my schedule!

If only I had mad skills! Oh well, my players are going to have to settle for my players handout (coming sometime next week) and hopefully some (amature) character illustrations by yours truely, if Iget the time.

[grubman]

Guess I have a little time before going to brunch for a special Easter installment (although I’m not sure about tomorrow). This segment gives a description of Sozzora Zen, the main antagonist and a villain I’ve already grown to love as I write this adventure.

Sozzora was designed to be a fairly weak (but more powerful than the PCs) villain that can grow in power as they do, and provide a reoccurring villain for my campaign. I’ve attempted to keep her feeling star Wars-ish by incorporating elements of my two favorite female villains in the star wars universe, Asajj Ventress and Lumiya (aka Shira Brie), but, made her much less mature and refined, so I can develop her unique personality through play (GMs have to have some fun too!).

April 8

Sozzora Zen

(Nagai Dark Side Adept/ Nagai Page 103, Ultimate Alien Anthology/Suggested miniature figure, Clone Strike set 34/60 Dark Side Acolyte)

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s182/grubman/34_DarkSideAcolyte.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Insert Saga Statistics Here (when Saga comes out)

The Main Antagonist of this adventure (and possibly a reoccurring villain) is the Nagai Dark Side Adept, Sozzora Zen.

At the time of this adventure, the Nagai aren’t a race widely known to the Star Wars galaxy. The Nagai are currently enslaved somewhere in the unknown regions by the Tofs.

Sozzora Zen escaped slavery and fled when she was but a teenager. Nearly dead she punched in random hyperspace coordinates before passing out. Her battered shuttle was picked up by a passing Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of Lord Darth Vader himself.

Darth Vader immediately sensed the seed of latent force ability in the young captive, as well as her burning rage and hate. Rather than destroy her, Vader nurtured her negative energies and taught her to control the force as one of his many apprentices.

An agent of Darth Vader, Sozzora Zen goes where the Dark Lord commands. Darth Vader is the only figure she respects, but as a mentor, not a master. Her years of bonded slavery instilled in her a refusal to ever accept the control of another over her free will. Vader realizes that this lack of complete discipline will eventually force him to kill her, but, for now her desire for knowledge of the dark side keeps her in check.

The Emperor is willing to allow Vader to have several such apprentices, as long as they don’t become too powerful.

Sozzora is still young, in her mid 20s. She is generally angry and brooding. She is sometimes prone to outbursts of arrogance, violence, or hostility. She has the pale gaunt features common for her race, as well as long jet black hair she often wears in a single pony tail running down her back. She generally wears tight fitting cloths that don’t hamper her athletic abilities, preferring black, red, or dark green. She wields two lightdaggers (green blades, not the red of the Sith), stylized light sabers with 12 inch long blades.

[grubman]

Just a snippet today to tell about the next installment. Didn't get to do much writing on the holiday.

Today, I need to come up with a mineral (or something) that can be mined from natural cavers and dug mines. I'm thinking about the mineral from the Bane novel, but read that from the library, and can't remember what it was called (of course that one makes you bald, and that doesn't really fit in with the adventure). Anyone know what it was called (the mineral, not the novel). Any other suggestions from previously published SW material would be appreciated also. I'm going to do some research myslef today and see what I come up with.

April 9

Part Two: Players Information

What follows is information for the Game Master to impart to his players. This part includes a player’s handout and 3 pre-generated characters.

The player handout gives a brief summary of the state of the Star Wars universe at the time of the adventure, some background on the planet the PCs are starting on (Capella 3), general information on their life and background as a group, and finally the introduction that leads into the adventure itself.

Each pre-generated character provides all the statistical information needed to play them as well as individual histories and back stories. The Game Master will also find a section entitled “Game Masters Hooks” for each character. This is a secret about each character that can be developed during play in later adventures, or form the basis for an entire adventure in and of themselves.

Supply the players with the pertinent information (and a full copy of the Players Handout), and let them choose a character (or create an appropriate character of their own) in advance. This should allow you to immediately begin with scene one of the adventure whey you assemble for the game session.

[PaladinCA]

Wasn't it Cortosis?

Used to modify armor and melee weapons (mostly blades) when mixed with a metal alloy. Supposedly makes the alloy it is mixed with energy resistant at a cost to durability.

[Ifshnit]

Wasn't it Cortosis?

Yep. And from Wookiepedia:

"Cortosis ore was a very rare, brittle, fibrous material whose conductive properties caused lightsabers to temporarily short out upon contact. This effect made cortosis a useful material for anti-lightsaber melee weapons, though with repeated strikes, a lightsaber could still cut through it. This substance was used extensively in shadowtrooper armor, as well as the Cortosis battle droids during the Clone Wars, and the Force-using group known as the Jensaarai. The cortosis used for this armor was smuggled out from Bespin's Cloud City. The walls of the Imperial Palace were also lined with cortosis ore.

Cortosis was expensive to mine because it was so rare and it absolutely had to be refined. Pure, unrefined cortosis ore was for unexplained reasons energized, killing anyone who touched it with his/her bare skin, even Hutts, who have energy resistant enzymes in their sweat. Miners had to have filter equipment, or else the cortosis particles would accumulate in their systems, causing hair loss, sickness, and eventually death. The substance was heat and energy resistant, and was mined using hydraulic jacks. Energy tools, such as plasma torches were virtually useless.

During the New Sith Wars, the Outer Rim Oreworks Company mined cortosis on Apatros. This is where future Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Bane was born and drilled cortosis for several years before fleeing to the Sith Army.

During the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council discovered that the Confederacy of Independent Systems was mining cortosis on Bal'demnic, and dispatched a task force led by Halagad Ventor and Sha Koon to sabotage the operation.

Large deposits of cortosis were also known to be on Duro.

A cortosis bladeSome sources claim that cortosis is just resistant to lightsaber strikes, and doesn't cause any effect on the weapon itself. The position of the Star Wars RPG is that both are correct. However, it is said that this is because it is a mix, and this has been proven to be said in RPGs such as Knights of the Old Republic.

In Star Wars EU, there are two types of cortosis — cortosis ore and cortosis alloy. The cortosis ore deactivates the lightsaber, and the cortosis alloy simply blocks the blade, making cortosis something of a marvel of metallurgy, as nothing known about how the ore accounts for the relationship between the actions of circuit-interruption or energy-blade blocking. It should be noted, however, that cortosis is very brittle, and breaks easily. This is why it is mixed with other metals, to form cortosis alloy. However, the alloy loses the shut-down capability of the ore. Even when mixed, however, cortosis still makes the alloy weaker."

[grubman]

Possible, although the bald thing might cause a little bit of a problem still. Is there any information on Dolovite, from Splinter of the Minds Eye? It's been so long since I read that book I can't remember if they said anything about it. The planet of this adventure is a dry dusty rock, so if Dolovite only thrives in a swampy enviroment I guess it won't work either.

[grubman]

Here is the players handout. I'm getting the distinct feeling very few people are actually reading this thread, and I might just continue the adventure on my own. If it's not going to be of use to anyone else (or at least fun to read) I don't want to waste the space on RPGnets front page every day.

In any case, lots of excitement with the newest preview up at WotC. Of course, everyone gets excited when something new comes along. The true test is who will still be playing it a year or two from now.

April 10

Players Handout

The Star Wars Universe
It is 5 years before the dramatic battle of Yavin and the events of the original Star Wars movie trilogy.

The tyranny of Emperor Palpatine and his New Order is at its peak. The Imperial Senate is corrupted by self serving politicians while the Imperial Governors and Moffs control all key territories with an iron fist. It is a time of suppression, martial law, and alien prejudices.

Still, there is hope. A budding rebellion has been gaining ground. Many politicians and planetary governments secretly support this movement. Men and women who strive for a change attempt to join this elusive group. These individuals hope to make a difference in the galaxy and bring back the ways and freedoms of the Old Republic.

This is your time.

Capella 3
If there was an armpit of the galaxy, the rock and dust planet of Capella 3, in the outer rim, would be it.

In its early years, its location along colony trade lanes made it a popular stopping point for smugglers and honest traders alike. In time, a modest spaceport and supporting community developed. The rest of the barren planet remained relatively uncolonized.

About 15 years ago, a rich deposit of Dolovite was discovered, and the Empire was quick to move in. Laborers were imported with diverse backgrounds. Some were law breakers given the option of working off their debt, others were promised high wages, while others simply wanted to escape to the outer rim and start a new life. Once there, however, workers found that housing, medical, sustenance, and equipment costs far outweighed their wage. In time everyone was deep in debt to the Imperial supervisors. Children became indentured servants, and the mining colony became little more than a slave camp. Few were able to afford transport off-world, and most end up dying in the mines.

The Characters
You have vague memories from before your days on Capella 3, but they seem distant. You have been on this rock so very long, and indentured servants to the Empire, you know little else. You three have formed a bond at a young age when your parents all became casualties of the mines poor working conditions.

You spend countless hours working the mines, slaving for a debt that will never be paid off. In your meager free time, you work on your battered swoop bikes. You all dream of someday escaping from Capella 3 and making a difference in the galaxy… perhaps even joining the rebellion, if you only knew how.

Adventure Introduction
Life in the mines of Capella 3 has always been dangerous, but, events of late have been particularly bad. Bodies, or parts of bodies, have been found daily, bloody and ripped to shreds, in a new branch of the mine. What horror is stalking the new tunnels can only be guessed.

It took some time for Lieutenant-supervisor Pheil (the Imperial officer in charge of operations on Capella 3) to take any action. The loss of a few workers was initially insignificant, but, now it was hampering productivity and affecting the profits.

Rather than risk his own men, or his beloved battle droids, Phiel has issued a reward of 5,000 credits to anyone who can track down and destroy the mysterious horror of the mine. The reward will be paid upon proof of the killer’s capture, dead or alive!

Most people aren’t willing to risk their necks, even for that type of credits…but you are different. 5,000 credits should be just about enough to clear your debts and get you off of this rock once and for all.

You are at the entrance of the new branch of the mine. It is dark, humid, and deserted. A faint metallic smell fills the musty air, and a distant dripping echoes down the rough hewn passages…

[PaladinCA]

I don't want to waste the space on RPGnets front page every day.

It isn't a waste of space. In fact, I give you kudos for posting something original, non-repetitive, and un-cloned. ;)

I'm finding the thread interesting so keep it up.

I'm feeling rather selfish at the moment so my own interest should be all that matters to you. :p

After all, I'm tooling around the galaxy in the largest WMD ever created. If my overinflated sense of self-importance doesn't sway you, then consider the consequences of disagreement. :D

[Ifshnit]

Capella 3

As an aside, every time I see this I think "a capella" - the singing planet.

[GoldenApe]

I didn't see anyone else post this. I thought you might find it useful. I always re-read it when I'm planning a Star Wars game.

<a href="http://ptgptb.org/0022/theforce.html">The Force of the Story by SteveD</a>

[Breschau of Livonia]

One suggestion (which I don't think I saw in the earlier pages - but I may have missed). West End Games had this idea in their Rebellion Sourcebook that the Rebel Alliance was formed several years before the Battle of Yavin from several previously unaffiliated groups that had been pursuing their own private activities against the Empire.

Here it is from Wookiepedia:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rebel_Alliance#Early_foundations

Less than two years before the Battle of Yavin, the three main resistance forces of Chandrila, Alderaan, and Corellia joined forces and signed the Corellian Treaty. This was the founding document of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, and set out the structure and framework of the Alliance. For the first time, scattered resistance groups began to unite and form into a real threat to the Empire. It was during these meetings that the Declaration of Rebellion was ratified. Mon Mothma was selected to be the Chief of State for the new Alliance, though this would cause some considerable friction between her and Garm Bel Iblis. Despite the fact that it was still small and woefully outnumbered, the Rebel Alliance was finally a reality.

Might be neat to incorporate those various factions and lead up to that.

[Bobaloo]

I may not be commenting, but I'm definitely reading. I'm subscribed to the thread, so I see every update. I also want to start up a new campaign witht the new rulset. Your posts help to keep me excited about it.

Thanks for sharing your work.

[Geburah]

Rough Draft Plot Summary
All this time they have been hearing rumors of a Rebel Hero somewhere planet side, and when the PCs hear that a stranger is in the local cantina, they assume it’s them and curiosity will (most likely) draw them there. Once they meet the stranger (the dark side adept, who gladly poses as a rebel agent to get the PCs to a more intimate location), the local imperials (along with the officer in charge) arrive to arrest him and the PCs are assumed to be conspirators, and the PCs will most likely have to fight their way out. (Another cool combat scene with lots of minis and terrain)

Once outside, the stranger tells them to escape the compound and meet him/her at a rendezvous point, then disappears. The PCs must escape via some speeders. (A chase scene).

Once outside they go to the scheduled meeting point only to find the stranger waiting with an ambush of imperials! The force using PC is given the ultimatum, join the Emperor and embrace the dark side (not to mention allowing his friends to be killed), or die.

The PCs fight a dramatic (but impossible to win) battle. Just before defeat, they are rescued by the true rebel planteside.You'll have to excuse me if I'm being dense, but I have a question: I'm not sure I understand why you need the second meeting? I mean, the Imperial posing as a Rebel is in a position to have the players arrested by the locals, saving her a whole lot of trouble. I wouldn't thinks she particularly worried about "blowing her cover" since she's found what she's looking for in the first place, right? The chase and second meeting, as presented here, just don't make sense to me.

Also, I intensly dislike the "Impossible to win" battle and associated Deus Ex Machina. I'd rather have the Dark Side Adept be overconfident or make a crucial mistake that makes the battle one that can be won in the first place... And have the (Rebel) cavalry arrive in the aftermath and be full of admiration.

[grubman]

I'm finding the thread interesting so keep it up.


For you, anything! :)

As an aside, every time I see this I think "a capella" - the singing planet.

It's actually the last name of one of the people on my mail route. I get names and ideas from the strangest places.

West End Games had this idea in their Rebellion Sourcebook that the Rebel Alliance was formed several years before the Battle of Yavin from several previously unaffiliated groups that had been pursuing their own private activities against the Empire.

very interesting. It's beyond the scope of this particular adventure, but it's certainly something I'm going to explore as the campaign progresses.

You'll have to excuse me if I'm being dense, but I have a question: I'm not sure I understand why you need the second meeting? I mean, the Imperial posing as a Rebel is in a position to have the players arrested by the locals, saving her a whole lot of trouble. I wouldn't thinks she particularly worried about "blowing her cover" since she's found what she's looking for in the first place, right? The chase and second meeting, as presented here, just don't make sense to me.

Also, I intensly dislike the "Impossible to win" battle and associated Deus Ex Machina. I'd rather have the Dark Side Adept be overconfident or make a crucial mistake that makes the battle one that can be won in the first place... And have the (Rebel) cavalry arrive in the aftermath and be full of admiration.

Really? Did you read the rest of the posts? Some elements remain to be revealed, but I think the opening story and the finished plot summary clear up your questions. If not I hope it becomes clearer as the adventure progresses, or I'll have to do some rewriting.

The chase follows a fight in the cantina. Sozzora has to get the PCs to a more remote place...she also needs time to orginize her lackies before they get there, so she leaves them and agrees to meet them later.

The final battle isn't impossible to win (bad choice of words), in fact the players will win...even if they end up needing help (IF). The final battle is going to take place on a cliff, and the desired result is that Sozzora will plumet into the chasm. The players will have every opprotunity to accomplish this...but it's a RPG, so you never can tell what will happen. :)

[HyrumOWC]

I'm definitely keeping up with what's being posted. So please, keep it up. :)

Hyrum.

[grubman]

Imperial army question? What are standard imperial ground troopers called? I'm not talking Stormtroopers (who are supposed to be elite), I'm talking the regular ground troops, those guys in black and oversized helmits?

[PaladinCA]

Imperial army question? What are standard imperial ground troopers called? I'm not talking Stormtroopers (who are supposed to be elite), I'm talking the regular ground troops, those guys in black and oversized helmits?

As far as I can recall, the guys in black are Imperial Navy Troopers. You should check the Imperial Sourcebook (D6) to verify. The special forces handbook (D6) might have that information as well.

[EarthsShadow]

DAMN!! :)

I like this thread, it's making me want to play and run Star Wars again. Not that it is hard to do, because everything I've read about the new Saga edition is something that I am liking. Hell, I've already conviced myself to take the skills system and put that into my current Arcana Evolved game, retrofitting all the characters and making them more versatile.

Keep it up, don't stop.

Now, I just have to convince my wife to let me buy more Star Wars miniatures for use in the games......

oh hell!

[Ifshnit]

Imperial army question? What are standard imperial ground troopers called? I'm not talking Stormtroopers (who are supposed to be elite), I'm talking the regular ground troops, those guys in black and oversized helmits?

As far as I know, they're just the "Imperial Army." So, Army officers, soldiers, etc. They're standard dress is:

Light-grey overalls.
Olive grey open blast helmet.
Combat vest armour [optional, in RPG sources].
Black belt with silver buckle, utility boxes and holster.
Long-sleeved black gloves.
Black boots.
Black goggles.

According to the Force.net (the Star Wars Technical Commentaries), that is.

For reference, their dress is similar to the AT-ST pilots in ROTJ. For officer reference, there's General Veers.

[Ifshnit]

those guys in black and oversized helmits?

Those are Death Star specific personnel (security and technicians), IIRC. Although the EU has them in other Imperial installations as well (again, security and technicians, though).

[GoldenApe]

From what I recall, they didn't all wear oversized black helmets. The ones operating the Death Star's Superlaser had oversized black helmets that curved back. The troopers in the AT-AT's(and AT'ST's, if memory serves) wore open-faced black or grey helmets.

[grubman]

From what I recall, they didn't all wear oversized black helmets. The ones operating the Death Star's Superlaser had oversized black helmets that curved back. The troopers in the AT-AT's(and AT'ST's, if memory serves) wore open-faced black or grey helmets.

Guess I was just thinking back to the old D6 metal minis I used to have, those allhad the big bhelmits...sort of anti-rebels for teh SW miniatures battles game. :)

[grubman]

Thanks for all the support :) I'll continue as planned. Today I have the first two pre-generated characters. Tomorrow I will present the last one, as well as the background hooks (I would have had them all typed up, but I couldn’t help watching American Idol last night).

Hard to believe I’ve gone this far and haven’t actually started writing the adventure itself! Oh well, that should be coming on April 13th. Those sections will be a little more involved, hopefully breaking them up into a few posts won’t be to confusing to anyone.

These are the characters I’m going to have my players play. Pre-gens give me a little control over balancing the group, as well as giving myself built-in plot hooks. My players won’t feel restricted by this, and, in no time, they will breath unique personalities into these characters. Your players may differ. Doesn’t really matter, as long as there is one amateur force user in the party the adventure is completely playable.

April 11

Pre-Generated Characters

Kell Starskimmer
Untested Jedi Apprentice
(Suggested Miniature: Revenge of the Sith Jedi Knight 12/60)
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Race: Human
Sex: Male
Handed: R
Age: 18
Wt: 60 kgs
Ht: 1.5 m

Insert Saga Statistics Here

Kells Background

Your mother had been a padawan learner when the Empire took control of the galaxy. Her lack of skill and power kept her from the attention of the Emperor. Even though she went into hiding, she retained her loyalty to the Jedi ways and ideals.

She sensed your force abilities when you were young. Despite your fathers protests she helped you to harness your power and taught you to control the force. All the while she warned you to keep your abilities secret, and only use it in dire need, lest the Emperor become aware of your existence, and seek to destroy you.

On your 16th birthday you came home from your shift in the mine and waited for your parents to get home. They never did. An Imperial officer came to your home to inform you that they perished that night in a cave in. The Officer also informed you that you inherited their debt, and would have to pay it off by becoming an indentured servant of the Empire (a politically correct way of saying “slave”). You swear the officer took pleasure in your misery, and chucked as he left your abode.

As you wept alone that night, the spirit of your mother came to you as pure force energy. She told you to be strong and not weep for her, as she was one with the force now. She told you to look in her old footlocker before fading into nothingness.

In her footlocker you found a birthday present wrapped and labeled to you. . Inside you found her lightsabre.

You currently work as a laborer in the mines and as an emergency medical technician when needed.

Zimm Lectrode
Mechanically gifted scoundrel
(Suggested Miniature: Rebel Storm Twilek Scoundrel 59/60)
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Race: Twilek
Sex: Male
Handed: R
Age: 20
Wt: 80 kgs
Ht: 1.9 m

Insert Saga Statistics Here

Zimms Background

Your mother was the slave girl of a violent and notorious crime lord deep in Hutt space. Your father was the crime lord’s mechanic, who fell in love with your mother and rescued her. Together they ran away to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to hide. They ended up on Roak-5. When hard times hit they took jobs in the mines.

Despite the hard labor and imperial abuse, they had each other and that seemed to be enough. When your father died in the mines (when you were very young) due to poor working conditions your mother actively protested against the Imperials who ran the mine. Soon afterwards she also died in the mines, although under extremely mysterious circumstances.

Your mother raised you to despise slavery and the traditional chauvinism of Twilek society. Your life as little more than a slave of the Empire and the deaths of your father and beloved mother have made you hate the Empire.

You have a tattoo of a Twilek skull peired by a dagger on your right shoulder. You have had it your whole life, and your mother has always warned you never under any circumstances to show it to anyone.

You currently work as an engineer and machine operator in the mines.

[grubman]

As promised, here is the last of the Pre-gen characters. Time to start on the actual body of the adventure itself :).

April 12

Grimmrod Boddo
Brash Pilot and Soldier
(Suggested Miniature: Universe Rodian Black Sun Vigo 28/60)
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Race: Rodian
Sex: Male
Handed: R
Age: 19
Wt: 70 kgs
Ht: 1.5 m

Insert Saga Statistics Here

Grimmrods Background

You never knew your father as a kid. When you were about 8 your mother was killed fighting a Ghest that attacked your village. You spent two years in an orphanage in Equator City on Rodia before your father showed up mysteriously one night and took you to Capella 3, where he was working in the mines.

A secretive man, your father never spoke about his past. Still, it always seemed as if he was on the verge of telling you something before stopping and going silent again. You would often see him staring out the window at nothing and fingering a small key he always seemed to have on his person.

Your father did spend a lot of time with you, however, and when he wasn’t working in the minds he was constantly teaching you how to use all types of weapons, and how to control vehicles.

After 9 years you finally felt as if you were becoming close to your father when fate again played a cruel trick on you. Your father was trapped under a cave in and suffocated when the Imperial officer in charge refused to handle the situation till his lunch break was over. You where orphaned again and stuck working in the mines of Capella 3.

You keep your fathers mysterious key on a chain around your neck as a memory of him. Perhaps some day you will find out what it opens.

You currently work as a demolitions specialist in the mines.

Game Master Plot Hooks

What follow are just a few plot hooks for further adventures if using the pre-generated characters. These won’t have any bearing on this adventure, but, may give you ideas for directions to take the characters in the future.

Kell Starskimmer
Kell doesn’t need many plot hooks. Once this adventure is finished Darth Vader, and perhaps even the Emperor, will be aware of him…that is complication enough in anyone’s life. However, eventually Kell will need to find a new teacher. In his lightsabre hilt is hidden a coded message that tells of a secret hideaway of his mothers master. Perhaps something helpful will be there.

Zimm Lectrode
The Crime lord who owned Zimms mother is actually Zimms father. He is a cruel and powerful man who considers Zimm both his heir and his property. Bounty hunters have been scouring the galaxy for Zimm, looking for the Twilek with the telltale tattoo.

Grimmrod Boddo
Grimmrods father was actually the Red Trooper, one of the galaxies most notorious, but skilled, bounty hunters. The Red Trooper is wanted for both crimes AND employment by the Empire, Rebellion, and several criminal elements. Finally the pressure got to be too much and the Red Trooper packed away his blood red armor and escaped to a place where he could be left alone. Before leaving he picked up his son in the hopes that he could do one worthwhile thing with his life. The Key Grimmrod has opens a storage locker (on a convenient planet) with the armor of the Red Trooper.

[Skywalker]

You know one thing I have noticed. There are very few good female non-Jedi SW minis.

[grubman]

You know one thing I have noticed. There are very few good female non-Jedi SW minis.

Ther are a good quantity, just not many "generic" ones. Theres Leias, Padmes, Mara Jades, Aurra Sings, The witches of D...er...whatever, Guri, Twileks, and a few more.

But yeah, I agree, not enough generic spacers and such.

[PaladinCA]

Perhaps they will produce a common characters set in the future.

BTW: Grubman, I have been inspired by this thread and the preview threads and I am going to re-tool my KOTOR game to use the new system.

[Skywalker]

Ther are a good quantity, just not many "generic" ones. Theres Leias, Padmes, Mara Jades, Aurra Sings, The witches of D...er...whatever, Guri, Twileks, and a few more.

But yeah, I agree, not enough generic spacers and such.

Yeah, many of them were rares. I ended up with a Twilek Bodyguard, a Zabrak spacer, Guri and the Mystral Shadow Guard. I also have 4 female Jedi (including Jaina Solo).

[grubman]

Perhaps they will produce a common characters set in the future.

BTW: Grubman, I have been inspired by this thread and the preview threads and I am going to re-tool my KOTOR game to use the new system.

All the minis for the adventure I'm doing here are common and uncommon. There are a couple minis that would be cooler if converted, but I don't think anyone is going to buy a $20 mini just to cut it up and paint it to play my one session adventure :).

Most of the frequently used minis can be picked up for a song on eBay.

I look forward to seeing what you do :D I have the next 2 adventures after this one planned, but then I'll be looking for inspiration ;) (that means ideas to steal).

[grubman]

April 13

Hope this isn’t too big of a disappointment, but I put down the pen last night and picked up the pencil (Ok, I did them both at the computer, but, you get the idea..)

I know I’m no great artist, and this isn’t going to wow anyone, but, here is my rendition of Sozzora Zen.

In the final movie production Jennifer Love Hewwit, Hillary Swanke, and Linda Hamilton applied for the part. I had to pick Jennifer Love Hewwit. Congratulations Jennifer, we begin shooting on Monday!

So…enough goofing, tomorrow I will present Scene One in it’s entirety, instead of in two parts. Hope my little “artistic” break doesn’t suck too much.

Sozzora Zen
By: David Bezio

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[grubman]

Now that we get to the meat and potatoes of the adventure your opinions, advice, and edits will be greatly appreciated. Does the scene make sense? Does it read wee and is it understandable? Do you feel confident you can run it from this text? Any notable grammatical errors? All will be appreciated.

This scene went through a lot of changes during the writing. First, the action was going to be against a huge creature outside of town, just outside its layer. The beast was unbeatable unless the cave entrance was caved in on top of it. Then it changed to a group of pirates with hostages in the mine. Then the pirates changed to rebellious inhabitants of the planet.

I had to take a step back and think about what I wanted to accomplish with this scene. #1 get them in the mix right away. #2 teach them (my players) the new Saga combat rules.

In the end I decided on the scene presented below, and I like it the best. Simple and too the point, with a minor twist.

Mottzbob is just a play on the name Cheddar Bob from 8 mile (you know Mozzarella Bob). Don’t ask me why these things pop into my head!?

One last note, I changed the element being mined from Dolovite to lommite, since that element is found on Elom, which seems to be a desert type planet also.

In any case, hope you enjoy…

April 14

Scene One: Gronk Cats

Play a bit of the Star Wars theme song if you have it and read or paraphrase the following:

You have been cautiously traversing the rough new branch of the lommite mines of Capella 3. Even underground on this scorching planet the air is warm and the dust clings to your sweat turning in to a muddy mix. The sound of falling pebbles and distant echoes penetrate the ominous silence and a musty rotten smell fills your nostrils.

Suddenly you hear a loud shriek…or is it a squeal!? The piercing sound of a blaster being repeatedly fired rips through the tunnels and fills the cavern just ahead with bursts of bright light.

Piggy in Trouble

In the cavern just ahead the PCs will find Mottzbob, a Gammorean miner. Mottzbob has the same goal as the PC’s, getting the 5,000 credit reward.

Mottzbob has stumbled into the Gronk Cats lair (The creatures responsible for the recent deaths in the mines). There he was attacked by 6 Gronk Cat “kittens” and is fighting for his life. He will need the aid of the PCs or will probably be overpowered and killed.

The Reward’s Mine!

After the Gronk Cat Kittens are killed Mottzbob starts cutting off their heads and collecting them into a sack. He plans to bring the heads back as proof that he has eliminated the threat.

Mottzbob has no desire to share the reward with the PCs. If they persist on asking to split the reward or threaten him, he will pull his blaster and warn them to stay back. He will then attempt to back his way out the door.

Here Comes Mom

However things play out, just before Mottzbob exits the chamber, or the PCs initiate combat, a huge dark shape jumps down from a ledge and tunnel above. The shape is the Gronk Cat mother (there is no male Gronk Cat) and it lands full on Mottzbob. With one chomp she tears the squealing Gammorean in half…and then advances on the PCs. She can smell the dead bodies of her babies and is in a frenzy.

Map of the Mine

Taking full advantage of the great Star Wars Collectable Miniature Game (from Wizards of the Coast), I’ve pictured the Rancor Pit map from the Attack on Endor. This map is perfect for playing out scene one. If you don’t have this map, and suitable cavern map will do just fine (one you draw is fine). Have the PCs enter from the upper left corner of the map, and set Mottzbob near the center of the map. Place the 6 Gronk Cat Kittens adjacent to, or within 3 squares of the Gammorean.

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Mottzbob

Gammorean Miner
(Gammorean Page 61, Ultimate Alien Anthology/Suggested miniature figure, Rebel Storm 47/60 Gammorrean Guard)
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Insert Saga Statistics Here

Mottzbob is even more odious than the average Gammorrean. He is more obese, has constant flatulence, reeks of urine, and drools whenever he talks. Mottzbob talks to himself in the 3rd person and is a bit paranoid. He ended up on Capella 3 in an attempt to hide from a gambling debt. The reward money will go a long way to clearing him.

Gronk Cat

Gronk Cats are nocturnal carnivores native to the caves and rock plains of Capella 3. They have greenish mottled skin with a coat of coarse grey hair covering their back and underbelly. They posses fierce raptor-like claws and have a disproportionately large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.

Adult Gronk Cats are large, about 4 meters from heat to tail. The kittens of this species are indistinguishable from the adults in every way except for their small (about 1 meter in length) size.

Gronk Cat Kitten
(Suggested Miniature: Universe Vornskr 31/60)
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Insert Saga Statistics Here

Gronk Cat Adult
(Suggested Miniature: Universe Nexu 23/60)
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Insert Saga Statistics Here

[grubman]

Was hoping to get a little bit of feedback on Scene One before posting Scene Two. Must be that I’m just such an awesome writer that Scene One is perfect in every way ;).

With Scene Two we get into a bit more role playing, and gives a lot more opportunity for things not covered in the adventure path to happen. The nice thing about this adventure is it’s very possible for the PCs to go off in a totally different direction, and still end up crossing over the adventures path again (at least that is the way it’s supposed to be designed. ;)

Oh well, any opinions, advice, or questions appreciated:

April 16

Scene Two: Imperial Logic

After the PC’s have defeated the Gronk Cat pride advance to scene two and read or paraphrase the text below. If the PCs don’t defeat the Gronk Cats, and are still alive, you’ll have to improvise a bit more. Have them return to the compound dejected, but still have Rhiney approach them with his gossip, then feel free to have Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil call them to his office to add some fines and charges to their debt based on them causing damage to the mines by shooting it up with blasters, or some such tripe.

You ride an ore skimmer back to the Imperial Mining Compound with the body of the Gronk Cat lying in the cargo bed. You pass through the fortified security gate and the Imperial Trooper stationed there looks down at you with disgust.

As you progress through the streets people begin to notice you and put the puzzle pieces together. It isn’t long before you are greeted at every corner by cheers of support and thanks.

From one of the many dirty side alleys comes Rhiney, a Gungan kid who idolizes you. When he spots you a grin spreads across his face. He runs up to trot along side the ore skimmer. As usual, Rhineys mouth is running a mile a minute.

“Wow! You got it! Er…what is it? Man it’s ugly! I knew if anyone could get the reward it’d be you. 5,000 credits wow! What are you gonna do with that? Hey, guess what? Old Greeble went to Capella Station to pick up some Duo-spanners. Guess what he saw? I’l tell you. He saw Stormtroopers! Real ones, all in white armor. Old Greeble says they were looking for a Rebel! Yeah, the rebellion has come to Capella 3, well at least one Rebel, a hero or spy or pilot or something. Man I wish I had 5,000 credits, I’d buy a speeder bike, or a dewback, or get the hell off this rock…”

Rhineys voice fades into the background as you come to the compounds Control Center. This is where you will find Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil, collect your reward, and say goodbye to Capella 3.

The Imperial Control Station

The Imperial Control Center is a two level office, communications tower, and operation control center for the mining operation. It is the cleanest and best maintained building in the compound, along with the officers’ barracks behind it.

While there are no Stormtroopers stationed on Capella 3, there is an entire garrison of standard Imperial Troopers based here for security and motivational purposes. A dozen of these Troopers patrol the halls of the Control Center.

In addition, Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil has “acquired” 10 Baktoid Combat Automata B1 Series Battle Droids (equipped with rudimentary robot brains) from a smuggler apprehended at Capella Station. The Battle Droids are his priced and joy and serve as his personal bodyguard.

Two Imperial Troopers guard the front entrance. To gain access the PCs must persuade these guards they have reasonable business with Pheil. If convinced, the Troopers require the PCs to leave all weapons in a security box just inside the door. The Troopers will then call on two additional Troopers to escort the PCs to Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheils office.

Screwed by the Man!

Lieutenant Supervisor Pheil has a plush office with a large wooden desk. The walls are lined with documentation of awards and commendations (several are forgeries that a scoundrel might notice). There are also several pictures of him with Imperial big-shots (several of these are also mock-ups).

Pheil sits behind the desk when the PCs enter. His 10 Battle Droids stand about the room at ridged attention with blasters trained on the PCs. Two Battle Droids guard the door, four flank the desk, and the other 4 are lined against the back wall behind the desk.
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Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil is interested in hearing the PCs story, but any blatantly disrespectful actions will be greeted with a dismissal and the PCs will be escorted from the building. Any outwardly hostile action will be dealt with swiftly, as the Battle Droids and Imperial Troopers are more than willing to use their blasters (set to stun). Any such actions will land the PCs in a detention cell until they can be properly dealt with.

In any case, Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil has never had any intention of actually paying the reward. The next section details many reasons why. Feel free to choose whichever you feel is the best, use multiple reasons, or make up one of your own.

Lieutenant Supervisor Pheils reasons

Reason One) The PCs never filed the proper paperwork for an official “Imperial Contracted Bounty Hunter” license, and are thus unqualified to receive any monetary rewards for services rendered.

Reason Two) The document detailing the reward stipulations has several sections containing fine print. In a nutshell, the term “dead or alive” is used, but subsequent sections explain that the reward is reduced to 50 credits if the “dead” option is chosen.

Reason Three) The PCs rampant and irresponsible blaster usage in the mines has caused a cave-in. The amount of damage caused has resulted in a 10,000 credit fine against the PCs. The reward will be subtracted from the 10,000, so only 5,000 worth of debt will be assessed to the PCs.

Map of the Control Center

Most likely a map of the Control Center will be unnecessary. However, the PCs may initiate combat (a bad move) or come up with some other devious plan that requires more detail of the layout. Use the half of the Cloud City Map (from the Rebel Storm Ultimate Missions book) shown below. Let the Security station represent Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil’s office.
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Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil

Human Imperial Officer
(Suggested Miniature: Rebel Storm Imperial Officer 29/60)
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Insert Saga Statistics Here

Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil is one of those sleazy Imperial officers you just want to punch every time you see him. He is incompetent, arrogant, and cruel. His position has been granted to him simply as a favor to his influential family, though he refuses to accept this himself.

Pheil is a petty middle aged man who enjoys the pain and suffering of the minors under his control. He doesn’t even care much for his fellow Imperial underlings. His only “love” is for his Battle Droids.

Pheil has been financially cut off by his family until he learns some responsibility in the Imperial Army. His officer pay doesn’t support his personal standard of living, however, and he has been stealing credits from the mines profits by selling some lommite to smugglers.

Battle Droids

(Suggested Miniature: Any Battle Droid miniature)
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Insert Saga Statistics Here

These are old discontinued Clone Wars era Bactoid Combat Automata B1 Series battle droids. The have been fitted with rudimentary droid brains and are capable of limited reason, although their primary function is battle and guarding Liertenenat-Supervisor Pheil.

Imperial Troopers (Army)

(Suggested Miniature: Rebel Storm Bespin Guard 41/60)
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Insert Saga Statistics Here

Imperial Troopers are infantrymen not skilled enough to make it to the corps of the elite Imperial Stormtroopers. They are all human. Some actively support the political ideals of the Empire, while others simply view their duty as a job.

[Skywalker]

Was hoping to get a little bit of feedback on Scene One before posting Scene Two. Must be that I’m just such an awesome writer that Scene One is perfect in every way ;).

Yeah, not much to say so far. The story is trucking along nicely.

In the case of scene two, players may resent being forced to give up the reward so I think its important to ensure this is directed at the NPCs and not the GM. I think the mention of the Rebel willcertainly help as it gives the PCs some option to channel their revenge down the line, even without the reward.

Have you considered emailing Rodney or Owen with these? They are top quality and it seems that they would make a great official mini-adventure path to highlight the new edition, especially given your SW mini advice. Plus you may even get to look at Saga early for NPC stats.

[grubman]

Have you considered emailing Rodney or Owen with these? They are top quality and it seems that they would make a great official mini-adventure path to highlight the new edition, especially given your SW mini advice. Plus you may even get to look at Saga early for NPC stats.

I've considered it...I could be wrong, but I assume the internet is small enough (and RPGnet is well known enough) that they may have gotten a heads up. They probably aren't interested in my amateur efforts, since WotC probably has thousands of better writers to pick and choose from.

The idea of getting help with stats early has been the thing making me consider it, who knows, I may get lucky :).

[Skywalker]

I've considered it...I could be wrong, but I assume the internet is small enough (and RPGnet is well known enough) that they may have gotten a heads up. They probably aren't interested in my amateur efforts, since WotC probably has thousands of better writers to pick and choose from.

The idea of getting help with stats early has been the thing making me consider it, who knows, I may get lucky :).

You never know unless you try. I have been surprised in the past.

[grubman]

OK, I know I took two days “off”, which seems like a lot to me…but no one else probably even noticed. I had a few personal things the first night, and Tuesday was D&D night. So I didn’t have time to write.

An edit from past posts…The title has changed from A Much Larger Universe to A Much Larger Galaxy.

Interesting tidbit: At my D&D session, two of the players confirmed that they have pre-ordered the Star Wars Saga rulebook from the FLGS. It’s nice to know that I’ve gotten them excited enough to want to get the rules. I have to admit my feelings are just a tad mixed. It’s a compliment that they purchased it primarily for the game I’m going to run, without a doubt. It’ll also be nice that they can have a hand in generating their own characters, and I won’t have to waste a bunch of time on teaching the rules. On the flip side, it would have been a little nice to be the only one to truly know the rules for the first session or two…just to take a bit of the pressure off. Fortunately the guys aren’t rules lawyers, I just don’t want to have to be corrected too many times, as it sort of takes away from the GM “authority”.

A note on Railroading (for the inexperienced GM): I just want to comment a bit more on “railroading”, a term I really don’t like. As you can see as the adventure progresses, what is presented here is the most likely path, and a natural progression of time. That isn’t to say there aren’t other things that may happen, some of which I mention in passing, and others that will be totally unexpected. Skipping scenes, deleting scenes, or making up new scenes are an unwritten part of the adventure that every GM is probably experienced with. This adventure and the progressions of scenes tell a story suggestion, with probable outcomes and possibilities. I guarantee that everyone’s experience will be entirely different…yet, at the core I think they will be much the same. In any case, if the GM feels he must steer the adventure (“railroad”) at crucial moments (for whatever purpose) it is imperative that the players don’t realize it, and believe every choice they make is their own. Don’t force the players to make the choice you want, simply make that choice the most intelligent choice. However, never miss the opportunity to capitalize on the creativity of your players, some of the best adventures are those that start as something and end as something entirely different.

Without further delay, I present scene 3.

April 19th

Scene Three: An Unexpected Visitor

After the PCs are safely outside the Control Center give them a moment to complain amongst themselves, then close the scene and fast forward to the next day. Read or paraphrase the boxed text below to start the next scene.

Note: If the PCs are beat up badly from the fight with the Gronk Cats, you may want to increase the time lapsed between the last scene and this one (enough to have them healed up). Alternately, you may narrate the fact that they visit the Mining Compounds Medical center and get some medical attention or healing drugs.

The following morning you are still fuming over the way Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil cheated you out of your reward. You didn’t think your hate for the Empire could get more intense…but it has. It’s obvious to you that the Imperials will do whatever it takes to keep you on Capella 3 until you die.

It is a typically hot dry day. Heat waves distort the landscape and your mouth tastes like dust. You have a little less than an hour before your shift in the mine starts. You dejectedly work on your dilapidated Swoop bike, changing the hydro-plugs and boost converters.

An excited group of kids goes running by, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. One of them stops and veers toward your group, it’s Rhiney.

“Hey! Have you guys heard? There’s a stranger just sitting in the cantina! She’s some alien even old Greeble has never seen. I heard she looks tough! I’m gonna go check it out for myself.”

Rhiney takes a look around and takes a step closer, behind one hand he wispers to you.

“Old Greeble says she’s that Rebel that has those Capella Station Stormtroopers running around like a Bantha with their tusks in their bums.”

With that he turns and runs to catch up with his friends.

Why Walk?

Hopefully the PCs will be intrigued enough to go to the cantina to check things out. The Cantina is only about 2 Kilometers away, but why should the PCs walk? Remind them that they have just finished repairs on their swoop bikes, and the short ride will kill two Hoojibs with one spanner by getting them to the Cantina and test driving the Swoop Bikes. Scene five is potentially a Chase scene, so having the swoop bikes handy will make that scene more exciting.

Kells Cantina

Kelliokie is a gruff female Zabrak (Suggested Miniature: Revenge of the Sith Zabrak Fringer 55/60) and proprietor of Kells Cantina a rundown mud-brick bar very similar to the Cantina featured in Star Wars IV a New Hope. There are a few beat up droids outside the main entrance along with a few junky speeders parked close by. There are groups of kids and curious elders peering excitedly into two small oval windows.

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There are 3D4 random miner customers in the Cantina at any given time, but right now there are 6. The patrons are all currently seated as far away from the “stranger” as possible (Suggested Miniatures: Use any that you like).

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When trouble breaks out all the patrons, including Kelliokie make for the nearest exit. They are all simple folk and not fighters.

You probably won’t need a map for this scene as it is (most likely) mostly role playing. You will for the next scene, however, so if you like to set things up early, feel free. Use the Mos Eisley map from Rebel Storm Ultimate missions. This has a good cantina as well as showing the area around the cantina. If you don’t have this map, simply draw a suitable one.

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Gimme a Drink!

When the PCs enter the Cantina, they will see Sozzora Zen sitting alone at the bar sipping on a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The rest of the patrons sit at tables as far away from her as possible, and the room is strangely quite.

Sozzora has come to fulfill her mission by masquerading as the Rebel Agent. She is certain that Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil will show up at any moment.

Hopefully the PCs will take the bait and approach Sozzora. She will play the part of cautious, yet bold, Rebel recruiter if the PCs start to question her.

Feel the Force

When the Force using PC enters the Cantina, Sozzora is instantly aware of them. She also realizes that this is the second target she is looking for and the force has guided her well. Sozzora can’t make her move on the PC here. She will have to wait to lure the PC to a more advantageous position after her primary mission is resolved.

The Force using PC, however, may also sense Sozzora! Have the PC make a (Insert proper Saga test here). If the PC makes the roll, he feels a “bad vide in the force” that something bad is about to happen. While this feeling is caused by Sozzora and the Dark Side, Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil is about to bust through the front door…and the inexperienced PC is likely to assume that was the cause of the vague premonition.

Joining the Rebellion

After the PCs have approached Sozzora, are convinced she is a Rebel, and have “convinced” her that they want to join the rebellion, move directly to scene four.

[grubman]

I'm pretty excited! Every preview of Star Wars Saga looks good to me,and shows me I'm going to be able to run Star Wars in the style I like. Just like I was hopeing in the OP it seams like a nice melding of the D20 system and D6 elements that make each individual game good. Not only that, but the elements inspired by the SWCMG, that I absolutely LOVE, may be the biggest thrill for me.

I've got the Saga rulebook and two cases of A&E miniatures pre-ordered from my FLGS. May is going to be a big month for him...at least when I come in to make my $3000 purchase. :)

The following scene, along with scene One, are the two initial scenes that enspired the entire adventure.

April 21

Scene Four: Guilt by Association

Things seem to be going the PCs way for a change, as they have made contact with a rebel agent that seems to be interested in recruiting them. Unfortunately, the Empire is about to ruin their plans…again.

Pheils Plan of Attack

The PCs aren’t the only ones who have gotten wind of the “Rebel” in the cantina. Word has also reached Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil. Figuring one rebel, not to mention an alien AND female, can’t be too much of a threat, he has decided to arrest her personally. Pheil is hopeful this will be just the kind of feather in his cap that can earn him a promotion from this assignment.

Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil has gathered his 10 Battle Droids and has made his way to Kells Cantina. He has sent 2 droids around back to guard the rear entrance, and has stationed 2 outside the front entrance. He has radioed the detention cell supervisor, and even now, two Imperial Troopers are in route via landspeeder.

Making an Entrance

Just as the PC’s wrap up the formalities with Sozzora Zen, read or paraphrase the following:

Suddenly the door to the Cantina bursts open and Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil struts in flanked by 6 Battle Droids. 2 of the droids follow him to the table while the other 4 fan out around the room.

Pheil looks at you all with disgust before speaking.

“So, rebel scum, you dare oppose the Emperor!? Obviously you didn’t know Lieutenant-Supervisor Pheil was in charge of this compound, entrusted by the Emperor himself to maintain order. You are all under arrest, for treason!”

Pheil barely gets the last word out of his mouth when Sozzora Jumps to her feat. In a fraction of an instant you hear the double snap-hiss as her two lightdaggers ignite. With deft precision she decapitates the imperial officer, who’s expression had just turned to terror.

Before anyone can consider this too much, have everyone roll initiative and proceede with combat.

The Battle


Statistics for Sozzora Zen can be found in the Game Masters Introducction, while statistics for the Battle Droids are located in the details of scene 2.

The Battle Droids assess the situation and decide the PCs are a threat that must be terminated. They will attack till eith