Star Wars Campaign Pack

A Gamemaster's Aid for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game

Design: Paul Murphy Development: Bill Slavicsek Editing: Jonatha Ariadne Caspian Star Warriors Scenario: Doug Kaufman Art Direction: Stephen Crane and Kevin Wilkins Graphics: Rosaria J. Baldari Interior Illustrations: Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Playtesting: Paul Balsamo, Peter Corless, and Steve Gilbert

ISBN 0-87431-068-7 West End Games, Inc. 251 West 30th Street New York, NY 10001

®, TM & © 1988, Lucasfilm LTD (LFL). All Rights Reserved. Trademarks of LFL used by West End Games, Inc., under authorization.

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What this Pack Contains

The Campaign Pack contains: one 32-page booklet and one 21" by 33" set of floorplans, comprising the Long Shot campaign, and one 11" by 33" gamemaster screen including additional counters for use with Star Warriors starfighter combat game.

The Gamemaster Screen: The screen displays useful information for running and playing Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. To use the screen, simply prop it up in front of you with the gamemaster side facing you and the player side facing the players. Before using the screen, cut off the end flap that contains the Star Warriors counters.

The Floorplans: The floorplans display the interior of the Rebel vessel Long Shot, which is assigned to the player characters when they join the Rebellion. In addition, the floorplans also provide game statistics for both the roleplaying game and Star Warriors, West End's Star Wars starfighter combat game. Finally, the floorplans detail the non-player characters and Droids who crew the Long Shot.

The Booklet: The booklet contains hints and suggestions on running a successful campaign, background on "Reekeene's Roughnecks" (a unit of Rebel Resistance fighters operating deep behind Imperial lines), and story lines which you can develop into complete adventures. To demonstrate how to do this, we have also included a short adventure, expanded from one of the story lines.

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Running a Star Wars Campaign

Catapult your players into the middle of an epic struggle of light against oppression, of reason against the Dark Side of humanity: greed, ruthlessness and evil. The Rebel Alliance, fighting with courage and conviction and precious little else, wages a continuing battle, with triumphs and set-backs, heroic sacrifices and treacherous deeds, heart-breaking revelations and breath-taking spectacle. These are the elements that make the Star Wars saga live in the minds and hearts of people everywhere.

Your campaign can be as memorable.

What is a Campaign?

A roleplaying campaign is a series of adventures involving the same group of player characters (PCs). Like a book or film series, a campaign continues until the quest is completed, the characters succeed at their task (or die trying), or the audience gets tired of the characters' escapades. Remember, in a roleplaying campaign the audience and the players are the same people.

Campaigns can run the gamut between episodic, like the original TV series Star Trek and its "five year mission to explore strange new worlds" — the players can explore different planets and cultures basically for the sake of exploring, with little relationship between episodes — and climactic, like the Star Wars trilogy, chronicling the quest to rid the galaxy of the evil Empire, and restore freedom and the glory of the Old Republic.

A Campaign is Fun

Why is the latest James Bond flick fun? You know the character. You can anticipate the Bond girls and the gadgets. You want to live the next adventure along with the world's smoothest spy. And you've got to see the next episode of L.A. Law to see who Becker will put the moves on next, what outrageous twist of legality will be exposed, and what's going between Kelsey and Markowitz this time.

TV and movie stars are constantly addressed by their characters' names, because viewers identify the character as a real person. Which man do you know better, Harrison Ford or Han Solo? Solo, of course. You've spent years, over the course of the trilogy, with him. You know his sense of humor, his arrogance, his impatience, his soft spots . . . You can predict what he'd say, what he'd do, in a number of situations. You probably know him as well as you know some of your friends. Maybe better. And it's that sense of reality, of knowing the people, that makes those shows fun.

The first time you play a role, whether as an actor in a play, as a comedian in a skit, or as a player in a game, you're still feeling out the edges. What can this character do, how would he or she react? Setting those limits can be interesting. But the real fun in roleplaying comes when you and each member of your party knows his own and his companions' reactions so well that he or she becomes the character.

Roleplaying in an extended campaign is improvisation. The by-play among characters is more important than the die rolls — because die rolls remind you overtly that this is a game with rules and bookkeeping, and perfect roleplaying follows the flow of the scene and creates the story.

Just as a good movie leaves the audience talking about the actions and events of the main characters' lives, a good roleplaying game leaves the players reminiscing about scenes and actions from their characters' lives. A campaign gives each player the chance to develop his or her character into a real, complex, three-dimensional being.

And It's Fun for the GM, Too

At the same time as the players are developing their characters, the gamemaster is delving into all the activities of a film director. The GM is responsible for more than just an individual character, or even an individual adventure story. The GM gets to handle everything, from non-player characters (NPCs) to constructing planets to creating history.

You develop your characters, too. But since as GM you play all the villains, informants, neutrals, bystanders and so forth, you get to develop the nuances of personality in a whole host of characters. And you work out the world in which the adventure takes place.

Just as George Lucas invented a society with a galactic republic and an emperor, with sentient carp, and no paper, and a magical, mystical Force that binds all living things, so you can populate the stars. You can work out local, or planetary, or system-wide political issues, invent alien races and cultures, create new martial arts or philosophies. You need to know enough about your campaign area, customs, and population to keep the story flowing, and the environment consistent. You don't need to know everything, by any means.

Greedo: Going somewhere, Solo?
Han: Yes, Greedo. As a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss. Tell Jabba that I've got his money.

From the short scene in the cantina, we know nothing about Jabba the Hutt except that Han Solo owes him money, and Jabba is impatient enough with the smuggler to hire bounty hunters to collect his debt. But Han gets the drop on Greedo, and we never hear of Jabba again.

Since Jabba is not mentioned outside this one encounter in Star Wars IV, the director doesn't need to know much else about him than the facts outlined above. If you think about it, you can deduce that Jabba lives on Tatooine, because that is the planet on which the conversation takes place. You could even speculate that he is in Mos Eisley.

It is not until Jabba becomes integral to the plot of Star Wars VI, because he has the frozen Han Solo in his palace on Tatooine, that the director needs to know whether Jabba lives in the city or outside it, or what his palace looks like, or how many guards he employs, or even what he looks like. Until a scene is actually set in Jabba's palace, all the director needs is a few hints and reminders so that the audience doesn't forget the name.

Setting Up a Campaign

So what do you actually have to know about your area and your story before you can begin a campaign?

The Campaign Area. Whether your players are galivanting across whole sectors or canvassing an insignificant moon of a minor planet, you need to be able to describe their location. As Yoda is known to say, "size matters not;" what is important is that your players feel they have room to adventure, and that no direction they turn will cause them to fall out of the game or off the map.

Yes, maps of locations they'll explore in detail, or return to frequently, can be helpful. But you needn't produce a topographic masterpiece of every square kilometer unless that level of detail appeals to you, or advances your plot. There's plenty of time to fill in specifics at a later date for further episodes.

For continuity, a rough history and a political base are of use. What is the governmental situation: is there Imperial domination, one monolithic ruler, lots of competing nations, perhaps no government at all? (If your area is the entire galaxy or a large chunk of it, of course the answer is "all of the above.") Again, you don't need a full description unless your plot hinges on these elements. Many times your players will come up with interesting characters or directions when they are running around in your setting, and a flexible structure allows you to incorporate their ideas.

Interesting and Important NPCs. By "important NPCs," we mean those important to the player characters, not necessarily important to the galaxy at large. Consider all the walk-ons and extras in the Star Wars movies — enemies and allies. You need to create a memorable mix of Rebel superiors, pirates, spies, Imperial tax collectors. Bartenders. Shady contacts. The occasional Droid. An alien jazz band. Whoever it takes to populate your area and make it come alive.

The powerful people in the area — rulers, Imperial officials, local crime lords, and so forth — are probably not going to be the PC's intimates, at least not right away. Instead, prepare a name and a capsule description, and let your plot build toward an encounter, the way Jabba the Hutt's name ran through the trilogy until the climactic confrontation at his desert palace.

Remember, Star Wars is set in a world of white and black; there are few grays. Good guys are heroic, bad guys are villainous, and neutrals are unusual.

A Safe Place for R & R. We're serious. Saving the galaxy can be tough work, and player characters need a place they can go between adventures to resupply, recuperate, and receive new missions. This place should have adequate medical facilities, decent supplies, and perhaps a few knowledgeable NPCs the PCs can turn to if things get too rough. Remember Luke's sojourn on Dagobah? Perhaps your characters want to learn a new skill. And most times, at the end of a mission successfully completed, they'll want to lean back and savor the victories. If not with the pomp and circumstance of a ceremony of state, the way Star Wars IV ends, perhaps with the friendly carousing in the Ewok village that closes Star Wars VI.

In the old sword and sorcery roleplaying games, PCs usually retreated to "town" between their forays into the unknown. But you have lots of other options for a safe house or a home base. Consider the possibilities of a clunky old ore ship, a hidden asteroid, a secret base on an "uninhabited" world. Hoth was an excellent Rebel stronghold because the inhospitable climate not only hampered searches, but precluded the Imperial searchers' consideration as a hideout in the first place. And remember, you needn't limit your PCs to just one haven.

An Adventure. Of course, if you don't have the time or the detail to come up with a complete storyline just now, you can alter one of our published adventures to fit into your campaign. You can also use published adventures once you're into your campaign, whenever you're at a loss for plot development, or pressed for time, or like the ideas dished up in the adventure. If you're running a loosely structured, episodic campaign, you shouldn't have any continuity troubles, and if you've prepared a continuing storyline, the pre-generated adventure might be a subplot, or a sideline job for your PCs to handle in an off moment.

Get Started. You've got the makings. Now get your players together, and put their characters to work. Remember, you don't need to know everything that will ever happen in your campaign as you sit down to the first session. Just start with some interesting details and a problem to solve; both you and your players will learn more as the adventure unfolds.

The Brass Tacks

So how do you make your campaign the kind with which players regale each other at game conventions and office parties? It's a joint effort between you and your players, of course. And at the root of it all are the characters you play.

Characters. The name of the game is, after all, roleplaying. If you get into character consistently, acting differently for each of the NPCs the players encounter, and emphasizing the distinctions between your narrator personality and the people the players are encountering, the PCs will tend to follow your lead. And there are specific techniques you can use to encourage roleplaying among your party members.

As we mentioned in Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, at the end of the Gamemaster's Section, you can use different voices and mannerisms for characters. When Gretchen, a player, tells you, "My character tells her to stop," that isn't roleplaying. But you can answer her in character: stand up, lean menacingly across the table, and in as bass a voice as you can deliver, say: "And I don't like my conversations interrupted, if you take my point." Don't sit down right away. Stand over her a little while, and she's much more likely to react as the character, and not as a player, to the threat.

A lot of little things add up to identify a character. The type of words he or she uses, the moods to which he or she is subject, the body language he or she employs. Don't make all of your NPCs nervous, mousy types, or the PCs won't be able to tell them apart. If a number of NPCs share one trait, give them contrasting secondary traits — one of the mice lisps, another scratches his head a lot, a third begins every other sentence with "Golly, I don't know, but . . . "

The better you have defined your NPCs, the easier it is to know how they react. And the better you know them, the more interesting you'll make them for your players. Over time, the players will come to know your recurring NPCs; along with providing continuity in the campaign, familiar NPCs can be an important plot device within the individual adventures.

Roark: (Coughing.) Well, if it isn't our old friend, Tax Inspector Mothra. (Wheeze.) And how are you today, Inspector?
Mothra: Cut the small talk, Roark. I know you're smuggling, and I'm going to search your ship. But why are you coughing like that?
Roark: (Sniffle.) Oh, it's (hack, hack) nothing. Just a small dose of Merthian lung infection I picked up on Lockest IV.
Mothra: (Backing away nervously.) Uh, Merthian lung infection? It's not serious, is it?
Roark: (Cough, cough.) Oh, no. It's almost never fatal. (Sneezes in Mothra's face.)
Mothra: (Hastily scuttling back into his ship.) Uh, I guess you're clean. But stay out of trouble, Roark. I've got my eye on you. (Airlock slams shut and Imperial ship speeds off.)
Roark: See, Hawk? I told you Mothra's a hypochondriac. Pay up.

Cooperative Plotting. The next most important thing in the campaign is the plot. You don't read books you don't like, and you don't go to movies that don't appeal to you. Neither do players stay in roleplaying games they don't consider fun. While you're the GM, your players have a say in the plot, too.

After you've run a couple of adventures, you should have a pretty good feel for the types of adventures your players like. Tailor your campaign to their activities. If they're a group that likes action and battle scenes, don't give them only investigation.

This doesn't mean you can't nudge them into a less incidiery scenario occasionally, or that always thinking with a blaster won't get them into trouble. A lot of beginning roleplayers go for the action first, because they haven't got enough confidence to really play up the character — or they haven't solidified enough of a character to play up. But character-building takes time, and Star Wars sails along at a pretty fast clip, most times. Don't force your players to change: allow them the opportunities to grow into their characters.

And while you're at it, remember there are more and varied villains in the galaxy than just stormtroopers; let your players occasionally butt heads with other antagonists. Bizarre alien hive minds, ruthless Corporate Sector company presidents, crazed planetary monarchs, evil war Droids built by long-dead alien cultures . . . any or all of these could have aims that conflict with those of the Rebellion.

Keeping the Story Running

This section deals with the grand plan, the overall campaign strategies a gamemaster uses. For suggestions on running the individual adventures that make up a campaign, reread the Adventure Section of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game — there's a lot of good advice on making individual sessions flow smoothly.

One of the most important rules, in managing both individual adventures and whole campaigns, is the one about maintaining a lively pace. You want to keep things moving — when they come to a standstill, you've got what radio people call "dead air."

Eliminating Dead Air

In a movie, a scene that crawls is likely to end up on the cutting room floor. The same thing should happen in a roleplaying game. Cut out the dead air mercilessly. Pauses happen; players need time to think, or GMs need time to think, or stories need time for plots to bear fruit. But all of these gaps can be tightened up with good editing.

Star Wars is action — the characters tumble from one jam to the next with nary an extra breath. Players, working without all the script and rehearsal time of actors, are likely to be indecisive, to try to consider all the options, to search for the right choice. Don't let them agonize endlessly. Throw another character at them, fire a warning shot, nudge them with plot situations that require immediate attention. You're the director, remember, you need to keep the ball rolling.

On the other hand, maybe they've come up with a plan you're totally unprepared for. If winging it won't work, ask for a snack break to work out the implications, or assign the PCs a short task they must do first — like organizing among themselves who has what equipment before they go into space in individual escape pods. It'll give you time to figure out what to do with six escape pods instead of one disabled freighter!

The biggest dead air culprit is story time. The PCs have to travel from Kashyyyk to the Corporate Sector, a hyperspace journey of . . . two weeks? That's a lot of dead air. Or they have to meet someone at dawn, and it's mid-afternoon now. More dead air.

Your players don't want to have to describe what they're going to do for long periods of down time. And you don't want to tell them, "Well, nothing happens." So use the cinematic techniques that filmmakers employ.

Slow dissolve. The streets, before dawn, have a peaceful quality, an emptiness that belies the hustling trade they will be filled with in just three hours. As the morning stars fade into the gathering brightness . . .

Or:

Fade to black. Fade in on Kashyyyk street, two hours to dawn . . .

Or even:

The afternoon fades to full dark, and the stars describe their slow arcs across the heavens. Just as dawn steals, lightfooted, across the plain south of town . . .

Don't feel that ten minutes of game time must elapse for every ten minutes of story time. Remember, as the narrator of the story, you can make time disappear whenever things are dragging.

Linking Your Adventures

Whether your overall campaign is episodic or climactic or somewhere between the two extremes, it still involves the same group of people. The characters have memories, and their players do, too. Occasional references to previous sessions' problems, discussions, and encounters give your campaign a nice feeling of history. Also, if the players get the idea that their actions do affect the course of future events, they're going to think things over a little more carefully.

Roark: Oh, look. It's Customs Inspector Mothra. How's it doin', Motty?
Mothra: That's Associate Governor Mothra now, Roark. I'm glad to see your lung disease is all better now. Funny, but there isn't any mention of it in the medical databases. Well, I hope you have a nice stay on my planet. (To an aide.) I want these scum watched 26 hours a day. If they even spit on the sidewalk, nail 'em.

And you can foreshadow upcoming adventures. A clue the PCs discover could mean nothing to them now, but after study, reveal valuable information about a later episode. Even if you don't have any idea what the next adventure is, you can give hints, as long as they're vague enough. Then at your leisure, or by the player's perked up ears, you can decide which clues are actually important to develop.

As you slip past the technicians, you overhear them discussing something called "Operation Blue Harvest"; they wonder what could possibly require as much manpower and money . . . Ooops. No time for more, there's your contact up ahead. She motions you into a room marked "Astrogation & Mapping" . . .

Gamemastering Tip: Things Happen Outside Your PC's Control

The galaxy is a big place, and no matter how heroic, your PCs can only affect a little tiny piece of it. It's a good idea to have your campaign area change as the campaign progresses — people die, governments fall, stars explode, bars get remodelled — life goes on. It's only in reruns that everything stays the same.

At the start of an evening's play, one GM we know hands his players a newspaper, the Antares Monthly Herald, which outlines recent events in his campaign area. The GM also uses this prop to feed his players clues and hints about upcoming adventures. You don't have to go that far, but if you do something along those lines, your campaign will be the better for it.

Supply and Advancement

As in life, good things in roleplaying come to those who work. PCs able to requisition everything they need never get to test their ingenuity and imagination. And as they become jaded with constant advancement, you have to entice them with ever-larger payoffs. An inflationary reward spiral can mess up a campaign something fierce.

If you find you have given out too much equipment, don't be bashful about letting some of it break, or get stolen or impounded (the life of a hero is full of unfortunate setbacks). You can dismiss the excess equipment from the campaign entirely, or design an adventure in which the PCs have to work like dogs to get it back.

Roark: Okay, I've had it. That's the third comlink we've lost. What, are the natives all kleptos?
Bazaar seller: (Slyly.) Actually, kind and gracious sir, if you talk of your wondrous far-speaking stick, the lizardflies are fond of metal trinkets. Perhaps, oh exalted one, they have taken your devices.
Roark: Taken them where? Lizardflies? I want them back.
Seller: It is no easy thing to hunt the lizardflies. They nest, most perfect of all strangers, in the cliffs above Outreachial. Many days travel. Very hard.

Don't be stingy about awarding skill or Force points, however. Give them out when a character deserves them, following the guidelines in the Star Wars: the Roleplaying Game rulebook. Note that, as the PCs grow in skill, you will have to adjust the strength of their antagonists accordingly.

Build Toward a Climax

Star Wars IV, V, and VI comprise a complete campaign with a grand climactic conclusion. The campaign chronicles the adventures of Luke Skywalker and his friends; it concludes when Luke redeems Darth Vader and defeats the Emperor. If the scriptwriters had wished, they could have continued the campaign — the Emperor could have escaped and Darth Vader could have remained evil — but they decided their audience deserved a happy ending.

We suggest ending your campaign in a grand finale because it is both more emotionally satisfying than an endless quest, and it also answers the question of what to do with characters who have become too powerful: you retire them from play, and make up new ones for the next campaign.

Even episodic campaigns can end climactically. Consider the travails of the all-powerful alien confronted in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The United States originally launched the Voyager probe on an endless mission to collect data for 20th century Earth. It had untold adventures, related only by the fact that the probe was exploring that sector at the time. It became huge. And finally, it came home. The PCs in an episodic campaign may not realize how much their experience has changed them until some grand adventure ties all the seemingly unrelated threads together.

The end of the campaign doesn't have to mark the end of the PCs' careers; they can continue to play in your next campaign. However, if they become too powerful for you to come up with interesting challenges for them, or your players are getting bored with their characters (it happens), you should definitely consider mustering them out. They can always fight the Empire somewhere off-screen. After all, true heroes never really retire.

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The Long Shot Campaign

To give you an example of how a typical Star Wars campaign should look, as well as to provide you with a ready-made campaign framework to build upon, we have developed the Long Shot campaign. This episodic campaign has an exciting setting (Fakir sector), interesting NPCs (Lens Reekeene, Captain Ixsthmus, etc.), a rest and recreation area (Home base), and a number of adventure outlines to help you get started. We suggest you look over this information to get a feel for how to create a campaign yourself. We also think it makes a wonderful introductory campaign to get you and your players into the Star Wars galaxy.

Campaign Background

The time is shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star in Star Wars IV: A New Hope. Shocked and demoralized by their stinging defeat at Rebel hands, and now under the masterful guidance of Darth Vader, the Imperial forces are slowly regrouping for their next great offensive. Still dramatically outnumbered and outgunned, the tiny Rebel fleet has fled and hidden, hoping to avoid battle until strong enough to defeat the mighty Empire.

Though the Rebel fleet has disappeared, the flame of hope continues to burn across the galaxy, as on a thousand planets, brave, freedom-loving beings band together to fight the Empire. These unsung heroes, lacking manpower, supplies and communication, with no thought of reward or glory, are waging a brilliant, ruthless, incessant underground war.

They are the Rebel guerrillas, the Resistance. They are called "Irregulars."

The Irregulars

Space is large. Unimaginably large. The Emperor, obsessed with stamping out the heirs of the Old Republic and the last organized resistance to his rule, is scouring the galaxy for the hidden Rebel fleet.

If he can find the Rebels quickly and bring them to battle, he will win, and his rule will be unopposed. Each moment is critical, for the longer he takes to find the hidden Rebels, the stronger they become.

To comb the vast reaches of space, the Emperor has stripped the Empire's interior of much of its troops and ships. Believing this area to be secure and well beyond the Rebellion's reach, he has left just a skeleton force to protect it.

To combat this tactic, the Rebellion has seeded small groups of Irregulars deep behind enemy lines to attack the inadequately-protected interior and draw ships and troops from the search.

These Irregulars, hiding on secret bases in the vast reaches of space, disguised as merchants, criminals, travelers, or Imperial troops, strike hard and fast. They attack factories, government centers, garrisons, and space stations. They rob Imperial storehouses, bug Imperial communications, kill or terrorize Imperial governmental officials, and incite beings everywhere to revolution. They sneak in, hit their targets, then withdraw before the Imperial warships can attack.

The economics of insurgency suppression are simple: 10 Imperial ships must be deployed to neutralize one guerrilla ship. The Emperor cannot afford to ignore the Irregulars: this would be a sign of weakness his countless enemies within the Empire would be quick to exploit. Besides, the Irregulars are doing too much damage. Reluctantly, the Emperor has recalled some of his ships to deal with them. Thus, the Rebel fleet has gained precious time.

Reekeene's Roughnecks

One group of Irregulars is known as "Reekeene's Roughnecks." Founded by Lens Reekeene, a human female mercenary, her husband, Mikka, a brilliant mechanic, and Santhou Lazith'chika, an alien student of the Force, the Roughnecks have been plaguing the Fakir Sector of the Bakchou arm of the Empire for months.

Based on a clunky old giant water hauler hidden in space, the Roughnecks number about 60 starship pilots, warriors, medics, engineers, and support personnel, plus an undisclosed number of spies and secret sympathizers. In addition to the base ship, the Roughnecks possess 10 smaller ships: several outdated X-wing fighters, one stock light freighter, two ore haulers, and one modified pleasure yacht, the Long Shot.

You will find dossiers on Lens and her key associates in the pullout section, and information on the Long Shot and her crew on the color map. Look through them now. Also note that there are counters for the Long Shot, the pirate ship, and Imperial shuttle from the "Tests of the Godking" adventure, an Imperial pursuit ship from "Outline Four," and an old TIE fighter from "Outline Five" provided on a flap attached to the GM's screen, for use with Star Warriors battle scenarios.

Lens Reekeene's philosophy of warfare is simple but effective: keep moving, hit 'em where they ain't, keep 'em nervous, and never tell anybody more than they need to know.

Her application of this philosophy is flawless. Her base ship, called Home, never stays in one place long enough to be spotted; her ships are specifically ordered to turn tail and run at any sign of real resistance; she specializes in attacking Imperial governmental offices; and no one except Lens and her husband knows where the base ship will be at any given time or where the other ships will be attacking. Bewildered and outfought at every turn, the Imperial Governor-General of this sector has requested immediate reinforcements. He has ordered an entire battle-fleet to destroy them.

Home Base

The Roughnecks' base ship is a huge old Tsukkian water freighter. The main hold has been converted into a landing bay for the Roughnecks' support craft; several other holds have been transformed into living quarters, communications centers, and supply warehouses. The ship is clunky, outdated, unarmored, and unarmed. If the Imperial forces discover its location, a single TIE fighter can easily destroy it. So Home base keeps moving, following no discernible pattern and never visiting the same place twice.

Personnel leaving Home base are not told where the ship will be going next. Instead, they are given the frequency and coordinates of a communications satellite to which they must send a request for pickup when their mission is completed. The com satellite forwards the message to another, and then another. The message may pass through as many as six satellites before it reaches Home base. New orders or coordinates for pickup are sent back through the same circuitous route. While this necessitates a communications delay of up to two days, the safety of Home base is ensured. Direct communications between ships and the base are not only forbidden, they are impossible.

Physical Description

Home base is the haven the player characters will go to between missions to rest, resupply, and receive new orders. By all rights, no action of any kind should take place there; therefore, we have not developed a detailed layout of the ship's interior. Players should be told that Home base is a large, drafty ship, obviously held together by spit and bailing wire. Rooms are small and uncomfortable, hallways are poorly lit and suffer from intermittent gravity fluctuations, and equipment is old but well-maintained. Discipline is good; morale is extremely high.

Personnel

As the campaign progresses, you will introduce characters from the ship to the PCs: Captain Hark'r, the supply clerk, Emdee-five, the medical Droid, Lens, Mikka, Santhou, as well as other fighters and pilots. The PCs should grow to like the other Roughnecks and feel as though they have become part of a family.

New player characters may enter play at the base. These are obviously newly-recruited Roughnecks or those recently returned from extended off-base duty. (Of course, new PCs may be started on a planet, rescued from a prison ship, or any other way that fits their background and the story line.)

Maintenance

The maintenance personnel on Home base are very skilled at ship repair and modification. If a ship can limp its way to the base, they can probably fix it. Though, as Home base often lacks equipment and supplies, the repairs are usually jury-rigged. (An adventure could revolve around finding and stealing a replacement hyperspace over-thruster for a disabled X-wing.)

Supplies

Due to timely "donations" from Imperial container ships, Home base is well stocked with food, clothing, water, fuel, and medical supplies. Weapons are somewhat scarce. There are enough grenades, blasters, blaster rifles, and blaster ammunition packs to go around, but Reekeene's Roughnecks sorely lack larger and more powerful weapons and ammo. Unless the player characters can prove a real and pressing need for heavy firepower, on most missions you should issue only blasters and grenades. (Of course, they can always try to steal other weaponry from Imperial ammo dumps . . . )

Other common articles are usually available — space suits, macrobinoculars, backpacks, flexisteel lanyard, breath masks, comlinks, glow rods, etc.

The base occasionally has sophisticated intelligence-gathering and surveillance equipment — bugs, security Droids, spy satellites, forgery equipment, and the like. This is strictly rationed and almost never issued unless a mission absolutely requires it.

Squads

The combat and transport personnel of the Roughnecks are broken down into attack units called "squads." A complete squad includes from four to 10 soldiers, a medical officer or Droid, and a pilot and co-pilot. Each squad is issued a vehicle; depending upon circumstances, several squads may share a common ship and pilots.

Squads are designated by color, i.e., "Red squad," "Blue squad," etc. Squad members wear small arm-patches displaying their colors. Lens Reekeene, her husband, and the support personnel wear white patches; Santhou, the alien student, shuns military insignia and wears no patch. The PCs and their pilot and co-pilot are part of Green squad and wear green patches.

Receiving Mission Instructions

When a squad is to receive an assignment, they are told to assemble in the briefing room. They usually have a few hours to prepare — get cleaned up, say farewell to companions, record holoeletters, clean weapons, etc. In the briefing room, Lens or Santhou give them their instructions and answer questions. At this time the PCs may make requests for additional equipment; if granted, you could arrange that the equipment be brought to their ship. Once briefed, for security the characters are forbidden to talk to anyone other than Lens, Mikka, or Santhou.

We recommend that the Roughnecks have the right to refuse a mission, but that doing so almost always results in the character's dismissal from the group (and from the campaign).

Once the characters have received their instructions, they proceed immediately to their ship and disembark.

Missions

Roughneck missions are aimed at disrupting (and stealing) Imperial supplies, intelligence-gathering, recruitment, and destruction and demoralization of Imperial forces, with an overall goal of drawing Imperial ships and troops from the front lines. (We've provided five such storylines with a variety of goals for you: see the following sections.) Squads are discouraged from engaging in gratuitous battle with Imperial troops and ships: staying alive to fight another day is strongly encouraged. As the Roughnecks have few ships and scarce chance of getting more, keeping the ship whole and safe (and, if possible, unsuspected of being a Rebel craft) is of prime importance.

Most of the Irregulars' operations are covert. The Roughnecks' ships are equipped with a variety of forged identities, as are the soldiers and pilots themselves.

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Campaign Adventure Outlines

This section describes several adventure outlines, or story ideas, for the Long Shot campaign.

Story ideas aren't complete adventures: each provides a general plot line for an adventure, suggesting objectives, locations, obstacles, staging tips and interesting personalities. To develop the story ideas into complete adventures, you will have to determine the buildings, equipment, weather, etc. found at the encounter locations, draw maps, and list the attributes and skills of the non-player characters. You might decide to add secondary and incidental encounters to the adventure, also. Additionally, you might create scripts to open the adventure and get the players right into the action. See the next section and Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game page 88 for examples of how to prepare scripts.

The Long Shot campaign, as we have presented it, is episodic: the order in which you play the adventures below is not important, and no combination of adventures below builds to a big climax. If you'd prefer a more climactic campaign, watch your players reactions as they complete the first adventure. What elements of the story excited them the most? Can you develop those elements through the next couple of adventures? Can you think of some event to occur in the last adventure and tie all the exploits of Reekeene's Roughnecks into a grand scheme?

Here's an example. There's an Imperial spy named Marska in "Tests of the Godking" (adventure outline one). What if she escapes alive from the planet featured in the adventure, Masterhome. Then, in a later adventure, the PCs could hear of her, or run into her, again — only now she's higher up in the Imperial secret police. Perhaps she gets the better of the PCs in their second encounter. By the end of the campaign, Marska may have worked her way up to the post of Governor General of Fakir Sector — and sworn to wipe out Reekeene's Roughnecks. The climax of the campaign could be a knock-down, drag-out fight to the death between the PCs and their old adversary, Marska.

Or maybe the campaign could come full circle, back to Masterhome for a decisive battle between the Empire and the PCs over the fate of the planet, if your players liked the lizard people a lot. Or maybe the pesky pirates from the first episode of the "Tests of the Godking" keep popping up, undermining the reputation of the Rebel Alliance with their thievery, and the PCs eventually decide to track them back to their secret hideout for a Star Warriors space battle climax. The possibilities are endless.

To show you how to develop the individual adventure outlines of this campaign, the first story idea, "Tests of the Godking," is already fleshed out into a short, ready-to-play adventure in the final section of this booklet. If you read the adventure outline below, then read the expanded adventure in the last section, you'll see what we did to make it complete. This illustrates the kind of color and detail we think is necessary for a full, satisfying session of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

Note that each adventure begins with a hyperspace time. Distances are vast in Star Wars, and travel takes time. But remember the dead air rule — don't bother with describing the time unless something happens. In Star Wars IV, seven days elapse in hyperspace as the heroes travel from Tatooine to Alderaan — and we see about 10 minutes of that time on screen: Luke practicing with his lightsaber against the remote, Han putting in his two cents worth, Artoo playing a hologame with Chewbacca. The activities suggest what was happening for the whole length of the trip, and develop facets of each character's personality — and don't bore anyone.

Because these story ideas are outlines, most of the details are either left out or not firmly established. Often, what sounded like a perfect plot has a few sticky places in the logic or execution of a necessary step. Perhaps you'll come up with a solution you like better than ours. As always, please feel free to alter, expand or modify the story ideas to meet your needs.

Adventure Outline One: Tests of the Godking

Background

Masterhome is a small planet of marginal importance located well outside the sector trade routes. It has a few mineral resources and a bellicose indigenous population with little technology and a primitive social structure. Because of this, Masterhome has thus far avoided serious Imperial attention.

The Alliance, desperately short of supplies, wishes to make a trade deal with the people of Masterhome. They will provide teachers, doctors, and engineers to the Anointed People (the dominant intelligent life form on Masterhome) in return for foodstuffs. To this end, the PCs are assigned to journey to Masterhome and open negotiations with the ruler of the planet, called the Godking.

Masterhome

Masterhome is a relatively young, Earth-like planet. The climate and terrain are fairly pleasant, with conditions similar to those found in the northeast United States. Plant life is varied and hardy; animal life is the same, with reptiloid forms predominating. Large, furry, warm-blooded tyrannosaur-like creatures called "eaters" are abundant and very dangerous.

According to the PCs' computer tapes, the sentient life-forms on Masterhome are large, lizard-based creatures who call themselves the "Anointed People." Roughly humanoid in shape, but with a long, spiked tail, the Anointed People live in a feudal society, with "Godlings," the nobility, ruling over the "Unwashed," the serfs. Above the Godlings is the Godking, the ruler of the planet and the person the PCs must meet.

The hundred-year-old tapes also indicate where the palace of the Godking is located, and include a language translation program.

Also according to the tapes, the Anointed People are warlike in the extreme. The Godlings, who live in huge fortified castles, are constantly involved in vicious territorial battles with each other, and the Godking spends most of his time putting down revolution attempts. The tapes advise extreme caution when dealing with these belligerent beings.

The PCs should learn to take information from hundred-year-old tapes with a grain of salt.

In fact, the Anointed People haven't had a real war in almost a century. The various Godlings do gather their people and march off to "war" every spring, but these are relatively bloodless affairs which the people look forward to as a chance to dress up in interesting clothing, meet potential mates, and visit distant lands. The pompous titles like "Godking" are meant to confuse and amuse players, gamemasters should realize that these beings are actually intelligent, capable people who happen to cling to outmoded, now-ceremonial traditions.

Episode One: Pirates of the Void

Hyperspace: 1 week.

Space pirates, disguised as Rebel privateers, attack before the jump.

Episode Objective: To get from Home base to Masterhome in one piece; to discourage pirates from pretending to be Rebels and giving the Alliance a bad name.

Obstacles: The pirates.

Episode Two: Rebels in the Godking's Court

After disposing of the pirates, the Long Shot reaches orbit around Masterhome.

Episode Objective: To make contact with the Godking and open negotiations involving trade agreements which will provide the Anointed People with technological assistance and the Alliance with much-needed supplies.

Reconnaissance Over Masterhome

The PCs may learn more about the Anointed People by scouting the planet. They can:

• Kidnap/keep under surveillance/talk to a native.
• Wander around in the woods.
• Use the Long Shot's long-range scanners or skulk around near a Godling's castle.
• Scout the Godking's castle.

Meeting the Godking

Several years ago, a star ship landed in an open field near the castle. A male human emerged, claiming to represent the Rebellion. That "Rebel," however, was actually a stellar conman — was, in fact, the pirate captain encountered in the first episode. After promising to sell the Godking an elixer of eternal life, the conman robbed the royal treasury and escaped in his ship.

When the PCs arrive, the Godking will appear to be quite cordial and friendly to them — he respects the power of their weapons — but during negotiations a series of strange occurrences may suggest to the PCs that something weird is going on.

The Godking is testing them. Before deciding what to do about the aliens, he wants to find out everything he can about them: their honesty, their courage, and the power of their weapons and technology. If the PCs are properly heroic and honest, he will perhaps trust them. If, however, they fail to measure up, he will — throw them in his dungeons?

The Empire Arrives

Several days later (allowing the PCs time to execute various plans they might have) — after the Godking accepts them — Siene calls them from the Long Shot and tells them that an Imperial shuttle has entered the atmosphere. He doesn't know if their ship was spotted, but the captain is making a break for it. They will try to return in a few days.

The Imperial shuttle settles to the ground in an open field near the castle. The door to the ship opens, heavy black smoke spilling from within, and 30 or so stormtroopers issue forth and form a circle around the ship. The Godking sends an emissary (ceremonial honor guard of 25 armored lizard-men?) to the vehicle to see what the occupants want. When approached, the stormtroopers burn down the emissary, the honor guard, and a bunch of civilians.

Inside the Imperial shuttle Resurgence ride Lord Dixton, the new Governor General of the sector; his retinue, including Marska the Imperial spy; a stormtrooper honor guard; and the shuttle crew. The Resurgence was damaged when they made a hasty jump to hyperspace to avoid a Rebel attack. They crew intends to fix the ship somehow — perhaps they haven't called up any records of Masterhome, and expect to find a human outpost, a trader, or some equipment worth cannibalizing for parts. At worst case, they can use pieces of their own ship to effect the repairs.

If he hasn't already, the Godking decides to join the Rebellion right then and there. As his first act, he will destroy those enemies in the ship. He asks the PCs if they wish to participate.

Episode Three: A Deadly Little War

The Godking plans to destroy these Imperial invaders who have brought true violence back to Masterhome.

Episode Objectives: To defeat the stormtroopers and capture the Governor General and his staff.

Attack on the Resurgence

The Godking's Plan: The Godking wants to assemble his knights, march onto the field, and destroy the invaders in honorable combat. This is a bad plan.

If the PCs raise objections, the Godking will acknowledge his ignorance in these matters and ask them for their advice.

Leading the Anointed People: Any frontal assault, even if supported by the PCs' modern weapons, is doomed to failure, or at least will cost an inordinate amount of life. Anyone wise in the ways of the Force will certainly "have a bad feeling about that." To succeed, they will have to be clever. They have the resources of an entire planet at their disposal, but they may have some trouble figuring out how to apply these resources.

Here are some possibilities:

Siege Equipment: The national museum in the castle has several old ballistae and one large catapult. The ballistae's arrows can cut through the Imperial troopers' armor? The catapult could throw rocks at the ship's blaster, or it could hurl burning oil at the stormtroopers. The chances that the operators will hit what they are aiming at are slim.

A Large Diversion: The Anointed People have discovered a scent which attracts the large, hungry eaters and drives them into a frenzy. This plan could also backfire in a big way.

Molotov Cocktails: Players who have watched enough war movies might suggest that a crock of oil with burning rags attached makes a nice missile.

Other Resources: Bolos, gliders, pits, deadfalls — anything a medieval society could construct in two days is available to the PCs.

Into the Resurgence

The best way to capture the Imperial ship is from within. If the PCs come up with a good enough cover story, they can get inside the vessel. From there, they can disable the heavy blaster, capture the Governor General, or do any number of other sneaky things.

The End

Shortly after the climactic battle, the Long Shot returns to Masterhome, accompanied by several X-wings and a Rebel light cruiser. If the PCs have failed to take the shuttle, these ships do so easily. In any event, the PCs can return to their ship and leave the planet, taking with them the gratitude and friendship of the Anointed People and the Godking. They also receive the honorary title of "Assistant Demi-Gods."

Adventure Outline Two: The Heat of Freedom

Background

Alabash is a young world on the far edge of the Fakir sector with an extremely volatile volcanic system covering most of the planet's surface. The hazardous conditions have made mining operations too expensive.

Until now.

Rebel spies in the Imperial Resource Procurement Bureau have discovered that the Empire is pulling in 600 tons of high-grade alantium (an important component in starship hull design) a month from the planet.

The PCs are sent to Alabash to spy on and disrupt the operation.

Outfitting: The PCs are given blasters, blaster packs, comlinks, protective clothing, breath masks, and 25 thermal detonators. In addition, they are given forged passes, secret codes, and identitags proclaiming them as ReProBu inspectors. The Long Shot is refueled and resupplied, its markings changed to match the PCs' cover.

Episode One: A Needle in a Molten Ocean

Hyperspace: 2 days.

Only one small communications satellite orbits the planet. Successful Technical skill rolls indicate that these satellites are commonly used to relay messages between a planet's surface and an outsystem source.

The volcanic activity blocks surface probes and makes it impossible to locate the mine from orbit.

Episode Objective: To locate the mine.

Obstacles: Hazardous planetary conditions, any creatures native to Alabash, and the mine itself.

Scouting

To have any chance at all to spot the mining complex, the ship must fly at a relatively low altitude and use visual ID.

After staring at volcanoes, lava rivers, boulders, the odd pile of smoking slag, creature encounters? — the ship comes across a 100-meter-wide, 10-meter-deep trench cutting through lava pits, ridges, slag — everything — running straight as far as the eye can see.

The trench leads to a 500 meter by 500 meter platform armed with huge blasters and a small defensive shield. The PCs can recognize it as some kind of a huge strip-mining and processing factory complex. The factory floats 20 meters above the ground, sucks up a 100-meter-wide swath of land, extracts the valuable elements, and spews out a fine spray of pulverized dust behind it.

If the PCs initiate conversation, a polite voice requests identification; after a few moments, they receive permission to land.

Episode Two: Abandon All Hope . . .

The landing pad is small: the PCs' ship is about the largest it can accommodate. The same voice which spoke to them before issues from hidden speakers, requesting that they go to the reception area.

It then announces that the PCs' passes and code words are out of date and they will be detained until confirmation of their identities arrives in about 48 hours.

Just then, heavy blast doors rumble down from the ceiling, blocking the passage back to the ship. Until such time, the voice continues, they will be confined in this area.

Episode Objective: To destroy the factory and escape with their lives.

The Escape

The PCs must escape the reception area. One detonator will do the job. Otherwise, the door can be cut with a lightsaber? opened with blasters?

A reasonable con job will do the trick, as well: i.e., claiming to need medicine back on the ship, etc. The Droid brain is pretty naive; if lied to, it learns quickly, however.

Their ship cannot leave until the access portal is opened, the shields are disengaged, and the blaster cannons are destroyed.

The Factory

The factory is fully automated. There isn't a single living being on it, just lots and lots of specialized Droids run by one pretty intelligent Control Droid. Disguises are pretty pointless — Control knows that any lifeforms, no matter how dressed, are intruders.

The factory consists of eight main sections: repulsorlift engines, ground intake suction devices, elemental separators and storage areas, refuse disposal sprayers, shields and weapons systems, Droid repair center, sensors, and the control area.

With the exception of the control area, these units are extremely massive. Control dispatches repair Droids immediately to fix any damaged units. To permanently disable the factory complex, the PCs have to destroy or reprogram Control, or cause the main engines to explode. Control cannot be reprogrammed from anywhere but the access panels in the control center.

The Control Droid is one of the Terreene Brainiac class of artificial intelligences. It is well-programmed and equipped to find and extract ores from the planet's surface; equally able to defend itself from external attacks. It rather lacks in equipment to defend itself from treacherous assaults from inside, but it is capable of some interesting improvisations.

The PCs can talk to the computer from several comlinks scattered throughout the factory, or they can use their own comlinks to do so — risk revealing location? Control will be unfailingly polite, expressing deep regret even while sending hordes of murderous crane Droids to stomp the PCs into applesauce. Control cannot, repeat, cannot be induced to self-destruct by any verbal machinations.

As it becomes aware that the PCs have escaped, the factory will first activate "vermin control" Droids armed with small blasters and poison gas. If forced to improvise, Control attacks with repair Droids armed with battering rams, lubrication Droids, and automated forklifts. Other tactics: disrupting gravity, gassing corridors, sealing secondary bulkheads, turning off lights, etc. Eventually, however, the PCs should reach the control center or main engines.

The Climactic Battle

The PCs have one final obstacle to overcome: if they are in the engine room, it's a huge engine maintenance Droid, armed with industrial lasers, vibroblades and grasping mandibles; if they are in the control center, it's the control maintenance Droid, a huge, tentacular unit which attempts to grab and squeeze them to death. Once these are dispatched, the PCs can destroy the factory and escape.

Adventure Outline Three: Assault on Repair Station M13

Background

A new Imperial ship repair and refueling outpost, M13, has been set up on the planet Mycroft. The PCs' mission is to harass the outpost, capture prisoners for interrogation, steal supplies and weapons, and, if possible, destroy Repair Station M13.

The PCs are given a description of the planet Mycroft, a map of the outpost's surroundings, and a list of the personnel and equipment suspected to be at M13.

Their mission is part of Operation "Retribution," in which many targets will be attacked simultaneously.

One part of Retribution will be a full-scale attack on an Imperial space station in another system. This should draw off many of Mycroft's TIE fighters and the Imperials cannot send reinforcements to the outpost for at least three days.

Lens simply tells them to hit hard, do maximum damage at minimum risk, and get out after two days.

Outfitting: The PCs are assigned blasters and ammunition, fuel for their ship, food, camouflaged clothing, comlinks, macrobinoculars, a dozen grenades, and, at the GM's option, one heavy weapon. Operation Retribution is straining the Roughneck's limited resources to the breaking point, and the PCs will have to make do. Outfitting also asks the PCs to keep their eyes open for blaster packs, medical supplies, and landspeeder gravmotor alternators.

Episode One: Deadline on Mycroft

Hyperspace: 1 week.

A failure in the hyperspace engines delays the PCs, giving them but 24 hours to prepare for their attack?

Long-range scanners show that there is one Imperial frigate in orbit.

Episode Objective: To scout Repair Station M13, check maps, detail the personnel and equipment at the station, learn the guards' routines, and plan the attack.

Mycroft

Mycroft is an Earth-type planet with a wide variety of climates and terrain, ranging from frozen polar icecaps to hot, arid deserts.

The outpost is located in an area of low, forest-covered mountains. It is winter.

There is no sentient life in the area.

There are, however, several varieties of large animals populating the forests — including something quite similar to a black bear but with mottled green fur and raccoon-like hands, and a large flying carnivorous thing with a long, snake-like body and 12-inch poisonous fangs. The animals are ravenous from the long, cold winter, and could give the Rebels some trouble.

Watching the Outpost

The outpost is designed to support Imperial exploratory and picket vessels operating on the fringes of the Fakir sector. It can only handle those vessels that can actually land on the planet with berthing for 12 TIEs, six one-man scout ships or two corvette-class patrol boats. In addition to fuel and supplies, the outpost also has from 25 to 30 mechanics, doctors, bureaucrats, and support personnel permanently stationed at the base. Spaceship crews sometimes spend leave there while their ships are under repair, and so does the occasional civilian.

The outpost is guarded by 20 stormtroopers armed with heavy blasters. In the event of attack, the support personnel will grab blasters and attempt to aid in the outpost's defense, but these bureaucrats and mechanics have neither the training nor the inclination for combat and tend to panic under fire.

The stormtroopers have at their disposal three landspeeders mounted with blaster rifles and several reconnaissance Droids. The outpost is surrounded by a low-voltage electric fence, more to discourage large hungry animals than determined attackers.

The outpost's warehouse contains several dozen blasters and ammunition, as well as ship parts, food, and other general supplies much needed by the Roughnecks.

Looking for Trouble

If the PCs are careful, there will be little or no combat during this phase — alerting the outpost to their presence is definitely A Bad Thing, which will result in heavy air patrols of the area, deployment of extra security guards, etc., and possibly necessitate scrubbing the mission.

Therefore any sabotage or killing before the TIEs leave should be made to look like an accident.

Unless they have ineptly alerted the outpost, early morning of the second day after they arrive, the landing bay hatch slides open and the TIEs zoom off into the heavens. There, they enter the frigate which promptly shoots into hyperspace.

Episode Two: The Attack

It is impossible to anticipate the form of attack the characters will attempt against the repair station, however, the commander of the outpost has laid down specific guidelines for dealing with external attacks.

Stage 1 Situation normal. Two stormtroopers patrolling electric fence, two stationed in command center/power room, two in landing bay, two in storage area, two patrolling halls, and 10 off duty. Non-security personnel's movement unrestricted.

Stage 2 Electric fence alarms triggered/stormtrooper misses report/other unusual situation. Same as above, except that five of the off-duty troopers are sent to investigate. Non-security personnel's movement unrestricted; if off duty, outpost commander returns to command center.

Stage 3 Base under attack. All off-duty stormtroopers assemble in command center and are ordered to defend strategic points or counterattack. Periphery patrol guards retreat to landing bay. Non-security personnel issued blasters and ordered to defend posts.

Stage 4 Base falling. If landing bay secure and contains spaceworthy vehicle, all non-security personnel retreat to landing bay. If bay is under attack or otherwise useless, personnel grab survival gear from supply and retreat into woods. Command personnel set command post on auto-destruct and attempt to escape. Stormtroopers cover retreat.

Adventure Outline Four: The Plant

Background

Several weeks ago the Alliance received the plans to an Imperial Communications Center located in a high-security compound just outside the city of Takari on the planet Iyuta. Analysis of the plans has determined the Center's weakness: it is built atop an ancient sewer system.

Lens theorizes that it might be possible to plant a powerful listening device under the Communications Center. Because the planet houses important Imperial governmental offices, it is fairly heavily guarded by battleships and spy satellites — the PCs will have to go in under cover.

They are to make contact with Chilla, a Rebel spy who works as a bartender in a place called The Rusty Bucket. She will provide them with additional information as well as transportation out to the sewers.

Outfitting: The PCs are given blasters, ammunition, comlinks, glow rods, 5,000 Imperial credits, an inertial tracking device, and a powerful bugging device about the size of a large suitcase. Their ship is fueled and victualled, and they are given identitags appropriate to their cover stories.

Episode One: Undercover Escapades

Hyperspace: 5.7 standard days.

Episode Objective: To come up with a good cover story; to locate the Rusty Bucket and find Chilla.

Obstacles: Imperial customs officers, a no-longer-existing meeting place, rowdy Imperial marines, possible imprisonment, and a secret double-cross.

The Spaceport

At the Iyuta spaceport, Imperial customs officers search the Long Shot thoroughly for contraband. If none is found, the PCs' cover story is taken at face value (unless it is truly implausible). Mediocre docking facilities come steep, and the PCs are warned to stay within the city.

The City

Takari is a small city on an underdeveloped planet. Like all resort towns, the food and board prices are outrageous.

The Rusty Bucket burned down last week. If questioned, neighbors will tell the PCs that Chilla is currently working "somewhere down on The Strip."

The Strip is a section of Vark Street with about seven bars catering to bored Imperial marines with nowhere else to spend their money.

The marines don't like outsiders on their turf asking questions. To gain their cooperation (and avoid a beating), the PCs may be forced to bribe the marines? gamble with them? engage in arm-wrestling or drinking contests? If these actions are not enough, Imperial Security shows up shortly after a fight breaks out and arrests everybody.

If arrested for something trivial like fighting in a bar, the PCs' cover stories can save them from a hefty fine (though not from a hefty fine. (If charged with murder or assault with a deadly weapon, they are in much deeper trouble, facing interrogation? imprisonment in the famed spice mines of Kessel? That'll be a whole new story line.)

Eventually the PCs find Chilla in a small bar called "The Giant Step." She provides them with directions, suitable mounts for the overland trek to the sewer (vehicles would be detected entering the Communication Center's sensor network), and an old surveyor's map of the sewers. Accompanying the PCs may encounter natural hazards on the journey to the sewers, but, strangely, they won't meet any Imperial patrols.

Down Under

The ancient sewers of Iyuta are dangerous places, populated by various and sundry tentacular monsters and scaly man-like creatures with huge eyes and big teeth. The spot where the PCs are to plant the bugging device is several kilometers in from the entrance and they can encounter cave-ins? mudslides? and attacks from the hungry populace? But once again, there are no Imperial troops or monitoring devices guarding the subterranean passage, and the PCs plant their device without incident.

Episode Two: The Heat is On

The PCs enter the sewers, plant their device, and discover the double-cross.

Episode Objective: To realize that the entire mission is a plot against the Rebellion; to find a way to make the plot benefit the Rebellion in the end.

Obstacles: Sewer creatures, others depending on details of Imperial plot.

The Sting

On the way out of the sewers, the PCs stumble across (or, if they have gotten on good terms with any of the sewer's inhabitants, are directed to) the remains of a woman about the same size as the woman they know as Chilla. A detailed search finds a small comlink recorder lying in the mud next to her body.

The message it contains is in a Rebel code. An easy Knowledge roll is needed to decipher: "Cover blown Imps on my trail Wounded Hiding in sewers Double agent Long live the Roughnecks — Chil . . . " The recording ends suddenly.

Obviously, the entire operation is a setup. Are the Imperials planning to bushwhack the PCs when they leave the sewers? Follow the Long Shot back to the Rebel base? Feed the Rebels false information through the bug?

You must decide what the Empire's objective for this operation is. In our opinion, the Imperials would be most interested in finding the Rebel base. They would therefore not attempt to capture or kill the PCs on the planet, but would instead try to follow them back to Home.

The Climax

From this point the flow of the adventure depends on the PCs' actions and the Empire's objectives. If there are zillions of stormtroopers hidden near the entrance to the sewers, do the PCs fight it out with them? Find a different exit from the underground — then sneak up and ambush the ambushers? Fight their way back to their ship?

If the Empire is hoping to follow the PCs back to Home base, they will be extremely careful not to tip off their presence but have a fast ship in orbit ready to follow them.

The PCs might attempt to get even for being duped by making a raid on the Communications Center? Capturing the Imperial spy who has impersonated Chilla? Planting not a bugging device as the Imperials expect, but a big load of explosives (timed to go off shortly after the PCs leave the planet)? Once in space, the Long Shot can evade (or destroy) their tail and then rendezvous with Home.

Adventure Outline Five: Lens Reekeene Is Missing

Background

The PCs are assigned to deep-space surveillance of the (rebuilt) Imperial Communications Center on Iyuta using an experimental long-range scanner/decoder. As it is entirely possible the Communications Center can monitor their transmissions, they are to maintain com silence and make weekly reports to Home using a hyperspace message Droid pre-set with Home's location.

Outfitting: As this is a routine mission and no violence is expected, the PCs are issued only blasters, blaster packs, fuel, supplies, and extra entertainment holocubes. They also receive a message Droid, a somewhat supercilious personality named UP-S2 (Yupee-Estoo).

Episode One: Do You Hear What I Hear?

A boring mission suddenly becomes a matter of life and death when the PCs intercept a disturbing message: Lens Reekeene has been captured!

Episode Objective: To scout Lens' prison and come up with a rescue plan.

Obstacles: A sun about to go nova; a TIE fighter; a heavy blaster.

A Slow Start

The subspace chatter is routine and traffic is light; it seems as though nothing of any real import is going on in the sector. The PCs dutifully send the probe Droid off with reports on the expected grain harvest on Lorimax, the addition of two new Thran-class vessels to the Fakir-sector fleet, and the abandonment of the Imperial garrison in the Flankers.

More weeks pass. Work on building NPCs' characters: the PCs lose billions of imaginary credits to Symm playing sabacc, Captain Ixsthmus lectures his captive audience on the importance of solemnity for those in battle, and then disaster strikes.

I've Got a Bad Feeling About This . . .

Shortly after the PCs send their message Droid on its four day circuit to Home and back with this week's crop of news, an Imperial probe slams into an emergency landing near the Communications Center. The priority message Communications sends to Imperial cruisers stationed in orbit around Iyuta reads, when decoded:

"Priority ONE Message: Lens Reekeene, leader of Reekeene's Roughnecks, has been captured. Capturing vessel damaged; has landed at abandoned base on Flankers. Flankers's sun expected to go nova in 144 hours. Proceed to Flankers immediately and take her into custody. Determine whereabouts of Roughnecks base and identity of all traitors in sector. Good hunting. End Message."

The Imperial cruiser radios back that it will be able to leave in 16 hours; as the trip will take 50 hours, they will have about 80 hours of leeway before the sun goes nova.

Options

The PCs have no way to contact Home. Their probe is gone, and the nearest emergency rendezvous is almost three full days off. If anybody is going to rescue Lens and the entire Rebel presence in Fakir sector, it will have to be them.

Taking the fastest, riskiest course for Flankers and leaving immediately, they can reach the system in about 40 hours, or 26 hours ahead of the Imperial cruiser. Transmitting a bogus message to the Communications Center may gain as much as 20 hours additional head start, depending on the message.

What Has Gone Before

Traveling in a lone X-wing on her way to a secret rendezvous with the sector's high command, Lens was ambushed by an Imperial scout ship. She suffered heavy damage to her engines and lost her R2 unit in the initial onslaught. Attacking with an incredible ferocity which stunned the Imperial captain (who had been expecting surrender), Lens fired a salvo of proton torpedoes into the scout ship from close range, scoring three hits and causing the vessel's fuel pod to explode quite dramatically.

Unfortunately, Lens's vessel was close when the fuel pod went up, and her ship was further damaged by shrapnel. The scout captain brought his wounded vessel around (rather more cautiously, this time), picked Lens up, and limped to the Imperial base on Flankers.

Discovering that the base has been abandoned, the captain sent off a hyperspace probe Droid to get help. He and his crew are hidden in the Imperial garrison, with the prisoner, ready to repel attackers and awaiting rescue.

Looking Around

Reaching the planet, the PCs discover that energy fluxes generated by the dying sun disrupt the ship's scanners, though they are still capable of spotting the Imperial garrison.

Note: If you own a copy of the Star Wars Sourcebook, use the garrison described therein as a basis for designing your abandoned facility.

Descending to look things over, the PCs discover that the garrison has been stripped almost clean — the AT-ATs and AT-STs are gone, most of the heavy guns are also missing, and there is no sign of human life anywhere.

Once they move in really close, the Captain guesses the Long Shot is a Rebel ship come to rescue Lens, and opens fire. One dilapidated TIE fighter emerges from the garrison's hangar bay, and one mounted heavy blaster begins firing from the garrison.

Episode Two: Cat and Mouse

After dealing with the TIE and gun, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues, as the PCs search the base on foot for the prisoner.

Episode Objective: To defeat the Imperials and rescue Lens.

Obstacles: The Imperials; the impending nova; a fast-approaching cruiser.

A Most Dangerous Game

The Long Shot isn't particularly helpful in the search — its sensors are disrupted by the sun? the Imperial buildings are shielded? — so the PCs must go into the buildings and find her themselves.

Knowing the terrain much better than his pursuers, the Imperial captain stays on the move, while watching for opportunities to ambush the PCs. The PCs are cheered by periodic messages from Siene updating them on the acceleration of the imminent nova.

The battle ends when all the Imperial forces are destroyed, or the PCs convince the captain to surrender. With luck, they rescue Lens just as the Imperial cruiser arrives. As they leave the system, they have the satisfaction of seeing the sun explode — taking the cruiser with it.

---

Pullout Section

Tests of the Godking: Adventure Script

Use the following script to start your adventure. Your gamemaster will tell you what part (or parts) to read. Read your lines out loud when your turn comes around. Speak the way you think your character would talk, and listen to what the other characters say.

Start the Script

1st Rebel: Let's move, Green squad! Captain Ixsthmus isn't the type that likes to be kept waiting.

2nd Rebel: I wonder what he wants us for? Do you think we're finally gonna get a mission?

3rd Rebel: Quiet down! We'll find out soon enough.

GM: You enter the bridge. Captain Ixsthmus, an Ithorian, stands facing the doorway. His co-pilot, the Sullustan named Siene Symm, is at his station, efficiently working the Long Shot's controls.

4th Rebel: Green squad reporting as ordered, sir.

GM: The Captain scowls in your direction, muttering something about being saddled with raw recruits, as he flips a switch that activates a holoprojector. An image appears in the center of the bridge.

5th Rebel: It's Lens Reekeene, the commander herself! I guess we are getting a mission!

GM (as Lens): "Greetings Green squad. Congratulations on completing your training. As you know, the Rebellion is facing critical supply shortages. Therefore, the Rebel High Command has instructed us to direct our efforts toward finding new sources of food and material. Your first mission is to contact the leader of the planet 'Masterhome,' and open negotiations to provide supplies for the Rebellion."

6th Rebel: Masterhome? I've studied about that planet. A scouting expedition went there almost 90 years ago.

2nd Rebel: Right, right! That's the place with those lizard creatures who call themselves "the Anointed People."

GM: The holograph blurs for a moment, then Reekeene's image is replaced with that of Santhou, her alien advisor.

GM (as Santhou): "The Masterhome expedition, the only one ever sent to that planet, reported that the Anointed People were bloodthirsty primitives living in a feudal state almost totally lacking in advanced technology. The Empire has long ignored Masterhome; we cannot."

1st Rebel: I did my homework during basic, too. If I remember correctly, the planet's ruler is called the Godking, and the original expedition had lots of problems with hostile locals.

3rd Rebel: Oh, great! This is sounding better and better.

GM (as Santhou): "You are authorized to offer trade of technology in return for food. This may include doctors, teachers and engineers, but no weapons."

4th Rebel: In other words, they want us to go to the planet, make friendly noises to the ruler, and see whether it's worth a follow up?

2nd Rebel: Maybe we can even get the Anointed People to join the Alliance!

6th Rebel: I don't know . . . this all sounds like a long shot to me.

GM (as Santhou): "Captain Ixsthmus has the route to Masterhome in his astrogation computer; your computer library has been loaded with planetary survey maps. We've also given you several language tapes, and ship's stores have equipment to help you carry out this task.

"Remember, we are the good guys. No coercion, no extortion, no threats. And hopefully, no killing, unless absolutely necessary to preserve your lives or your ship. May the Force be with you."

With that, the holoprojector shuts off.

5th Rebel: How are we going to handle this? I say finesse is required. Finesse and style.

2nd Rebel: That leaves you out! Do you think we should scout out the terrain, see if anything's changed? It has been 90 years!

GM: Suddenly, the "Red Alert" signal blares through the Long Shot's com units.

3rd Rebel: Hey! What's with the noise and flashing lights?

GM (as Siene Symm): "Intruder entering from hyperspace."

1st Rebel: It's on an interception course . . . heading straight for us!

4th Rebel: It'll be in combat range in two minutes. We'll never be able to jump to hyperspace that fast!

5th Rebel: Great! Just great! How are we supposed to accomplish anything with all these interruptions?

GM (as Siene): "Battle stations please, gentlebeings."

6th Rebel: Battle stations? On a yacht? I have a bad feeling about this!

---

NPC Dossier

The Roughnecks

Lens Reekeene
Rebel General; Leader of the Roughnecks
Template Type: The Merc; human female.
Physical Description: Lens is 55 standard years old, about 1.6 meters tall, and looks like a dumpy, ill-tempered, sour-pussed shopkeeper. Dark in coloring, she has icy, piercing blue eyes. Lens wears standard work clothing and carries a blaster slung on her left hip and a vibroblade in her right boot.
Attributes: DEX: 3D+2; KNO: 2D+2; MEC: 2D+2; PER: 2D+1; STR: 3D+2; TEC: 3D
Improved Skills: Command: 7D; Others: determine as necessary.
Speech: Lens's manner of speech is commanding and elegant, not at all what her appearance suggests.
Objectives: To gain revenge against the Empire for destroying her mercenary command; to protect the Roughnecks as consistent with her first objective.
Background: Fifteen years ago, Lens commanded a merc company on garrison duty for the Sartran Corporation. When Sartran was disbanded by the Empire for treasonous activities, Lens' mercenaries were imprisoned on trumped-up conspiracy charges. She was released three years ago. Discovering that most of her command had died in prison, Lens joined the Rebellion.
Lens has made the Roughnecks one of the most effective units in the Irregulars. Her only flaw is a too-great willingness to take risks.
Lens is cold and formal with everyone except her husband. She never smiles.

Mikka Reekeene
Second in command and chief engineer of Roughnecks; Lens's husband
Template Type: The Outlaw; human male.
Physical Description: Mikka is 60 years old, but looks younger. He stands 1.7 meters tall and has a dark complexion. He is overweight, but carries it well. Mikka wears standard mechanic's overalls and tends to leave a trail of dropped hydrospanners and microswitches wherever he goes.
Attributes: DEX: 4D; KNO: 3D; MEC: 2D+2; PER: 2D; STR: 3D+1; TEC: 3D
Improved Skills: Starship Repair: 7D; Others: determine as necessary.
Speech: When excited, Mikka tends to lapse into a heavily-accented brogue which nobody else can understand. He is one of the few humans who can actually speak Wookiee.
Objectives: To protect his wife; to help the Rebellion; to design the best hyperspace alternator sequencing module in the galaxy.
Background: Mikka worked for the Sartran Company as an engineer; when it was disbanded he was also imprisoned. He met and married Lens in jail; when released through a clerical error, he begged, borrowed and stole enough money to purchase his wife's freedom.
Mikka has joined the Rebellion more or less because his wife has; he is basically non-political. He is an effective co-leader of the Roughnecks, counterbalancing his wife's aggressiveness with native caution and humanity.

Santhou Lazith'chika
Advisor to Lens and Mikka
Template Type: Alien Student of the Force; male, species unknown.
Physical Description: Santhou is 2 meters tall on a thin, almost gaunt, frame. He is roughly humanoid, but he has an extra joint in his legs and much larger eyes. His skin is a pasty green in color, giving him a corpse-like appearance which is augmented by his low body temperature. Santhou constantly wears a long black robe.
Attributes: DEX: 2D+1; KNO: 3D+1; MEC: 2D; PER: 2D+1; STR: 3D; TEC: 2D; Con: 2D; Sen: 2D; Alt: 2D
Improved Skills: Con: 7D; Others: determine as necessary.
Speech: Santhou speaks with a slow, depressed-sounding voice.
Objectives: Rid the universe of the evil of the Dark Side.
Background: No one knows about Santhou's background, where he comes from or why he is here. Though he's wandered through known space for at least 200 years, no others of his race have ever been encountered. He won't discuss himself or his people at all.
Like many students of the Force during these troubled times, Santhou hides his true power behind a veneer of buffoonery. Knowing that humans consider his appearance to be almost macabre, he has exaggerated this by adapting the pompous, hyper-dignified, doleful and pessimistic mannerisms of a grade-B holomovie undertaker. Most people consider him creepy.
As much as he tries, Santhou cannot hide his real humor and warmth. Not even Lens knows why he is here. In spite of this, she has grown to respect and like him. After her husband, Santhou is her chief advisor.

Bakki Sourthol
Red squadron leader
Template Type: Brash Pilot; human male.
Physical Description: Young, tall, fair, and handsome, Bakki is the archetypical pilot.
Attributes: DEX: 3D; KNO: 2D; MEC: 4D; PER: 3D; STR: 3D; TEC: 3D
Improved Skills: Starship Piloting: 6D; Others: determine as necessary.
Speech: Enthusiastic and disarming, Bakki laughs a lot.
Objectives: To be the best pilot in the Rebellion; impress women.
Background: Bakki joined the Rebellion after failing to gain entrance into the Academy due to his father's political beliefs. He loves flying more than anything and considers everything else boring (except possibly women).
He is bright, cheerful, friendly, totally fearless, and thoroughly likeable (unless you are jealous of him). If he weren't a Rebellion pilot, he'd probably be a holoshow star.

Captain Hark'r
Supply Master
Template Type: Smuggler, Noehon male.
Physical Description: Short and green, Hark'r has four arms and large fly-like eyes as is typical for one of his species. He appears to be somewhat pudgy for a Noehon.
Attributes: DEX: 3D+1; KNO: 2D+1; MEC: 3D+2; PER: 3D; STR: 3D; TEC: 2D+2
Improved Skills: Bargain: 5D; Others: determine as necessary.
Speech: Hark'r speaks like a British gentleman, sprinkling his speech with ingratiating phrases like "my dear fellows," "old chap," and "dear boy," which sound obviously insincere.
Background: Formerly a merchant, Hark'r had the misfortune to pass quite close to Home base, where he was promptly captured. Fearing he would sell information about the Rebel base to the Imperials, Lens gave him two options: spend the duration of the war on a primitive planet with no ship traffic or space communications technology, or spend it on Home base. Figuring that the chances for escape were marginally better there, Hark'r chose Home.
Discovering that Hark'r has a natural talent for management, Lens put him in charge of the commissary and supply department of the Roughnecks — she keeps a close watch on him of course, and he is absolutely terrified of the woman. He repeatedly attempts to bribe the PCs to smuggle him off base.

Tests of the Godking

Following is a list of the non-player characters appearing in "The Tests of the Godking" adventure.

Crew of the Martinette

Captain Jayhawk
Commander of the pirates
Template Type: Pirate; human male.
Attributes: DEX: 3D+2; KNO: 2D; MEC: 3D+2; PER: 3D; STR: 2D+2; TEC: 3D
Improved Skills: Sword: 4D; Streetwise: 3D; Piloting: 5D; Con: 3D+2.
Personality: Pirate captain; cool, ruthless, nasty.
Equipment: Saber (dam: str+1D), blaster pistol (dam: 4D), comlink.

Mirthen
Second in command
Template Type: Quarren; male.
Attributes: DEX: 1D+1; KNO: 2D; MEC: 1D+1; PER: 3D; STR: 2D; TEC: 2D+1
Improved Skills: Brawling Parry: 3D+1; Gunnery: 3D+1; Gambling: 4D; Search: 4D; Brawling: 3D.
Personality: First mate; vicious, bloodthirsty, rather stupid.
Equipment: Blaster pistol (dam: 4D), comlink, 2 sticks Waste-it (narcotic).

Other Pirates (6)
Template Type: Humans; male and female.
Attributes: STR: 3D; all other attributes: 2D
Improved Skills: Brawling: 3D+2
Personality: Typical scum of the spaceways.
Equipment: Blaster (dam: 4D), comlink.

Inhabitants of Masterhome

Typical Unwashed (Peasantry)
Template Type: Anointed People; male and female.
Attributes: DEX: 2D; KNO: 2D; MEC: 1D; PER: 3D; STR: 3D; TEC: 1D
Improved Skills: Club: 2D+2; Melee Parry: 2D+2; Streetwise: 3D; Bargain: 3D+1; Gambling: 3D+2; Lifting: 4D; Stamina: 4D.
Personality: Cheerful, friendly.
Equipment: Club (dam: str+1D), assorted peasant stuff.

Typical Godling
Template Type: Anointed People; male and female.
Attributes: DEX: 2D; KNO: 3D; MEC: 1D; PER: 3D; STR: 2D+2; TEC: 3D
Improved Skills: Sword: 3D; Melee Parry: 3D; Gambling: 4D.
Personality: Cheerful, friendly, not stupid.
Equipment: Sword (dam: str+1D), assorted nobility stuff.

Godking
Template Type: Anointed People Ruler; male.
Attributes: DEX: 2D+2; KNO: 3D+1; MEC: 2D; PER: 3D+2; STR: 4D; TEC: 2D+1
Improved Skills: Sword: 3D; Melee Parry: 3D; Bureaucracy: 4D+1; Bargain: 4D+2; Command: 4D+2; Con: 5D; Gambling: 4D; Brawl: 5D.
Personality: King of the Anointed People; friendly, quite intelligent.
Equipment: Sword (dam: str+1D), crown.

Creatures

Eater
Description: Huge dinosaur-like creature; a rhinoceros with long legs and huge teeth; attracted by griff-meat.
Attributes: DEX: 3D; STR: 7D.
Skills: Bite: 4D.
Attack: Bite (dam: 7D).
Movement: 2D

Likka
Description: Anointed People riding beasts; long-legged crocodiles; ill-tempered, controlled by reins attached to likka's eyelids.
Attributes: DEX: 2D; STR: 4D.
Skills: Bite: 1D
Attack: Bite (dam: 4D+1).
Movement: 2D+2

On Board the Resurgence

Captain Gorgi
Template Type: Standard Human; male.
Attributes: MEC: 3D; TEC: 3D; all others: 2D
Improved Skills: Blaster: 2D+2; Brawling Parry: 3D; Dodge: 2D+2; Astrogation: 3D+1; Piloting: 4D; Command: 2D+2; Gambling: 3D; Brawling: 3D
Personality: His ship comes before all else.
Equipment: Blaster (dam: 4D), comlink.

Hal First Mate
Template Type: Standard Human; male.
Attributes: DEX: 3D; STR: 3D; all others: 2D
Improved Skills: Blaster: 3D+1; Dodge: 4D; Gunnery: 3D; Piloting: 2D+2; Starship Repair: 3D; Brawl: 3D
Personality: Loyal to his captain, Hal will follow his orders.
Equipment: Blaster pistol (dam: 4D).

Stormtroopers
Lieutenant Mistran
Template Type: Stormtrooper Officer; male.
Attributes: DEX: 3D; STR: 2D; all others: 2D
Improved Skills: Blaster: 5D; Brawling Parry: 4D; Dodge: 4D; Command: 3D
Personality: Smart, cool, highly-dedicated; itching for glory.
Equipment: Heavy blaster pistol (dam: 5D).

Sergeant (2)
Template Type: Stormtrooper Officer; male.
Attributes: DEX: 1D*; STR: 3D*; others: 2D
Improved Skills: Blaster: 3D+2; Brawling Parry: 3D+2; Dodge: 3D+1; Brawling: 4D+2
Personality: Mistran's flunkies; unimaginative, loyal.
Equipment: Blaster rifle (dam: 5D).

Typical Stormtroopers (40)
Template Type: Standard Stormtrooper.
Attributes: DEX: 1D*; STR: 3D*; others: 2D
Improved Skills: Blaster: 3D*; Brawling Parry: 3D*; Dodge: 3D*
Personality: Standard-issue blaster-fodder.
Equipment: Blaster pistols (36); blaster pistols & blaster rifles (4).

Imperial Governor-General and Party
Governor-General Lord Dixton
Template Type: Standard Human; male.
Attributes: PER: 3D; All others: 2D
Important Skills: Bureaucracy: 4D; Cultures: 3D; Bargain: 3D+2
Background/Personality: Cowardly blowhard; typical carpet knight.
Equipment: Expensive clothing, poison ring (dam: 1D+stun).

Marska
Template Type: Standard Human; female.
Attributes: PER: 3D; all others: 2D
Important Skills: Vibroblade: 3D; Blaster: 2D+2; Dodge: 3D+2; Melee Parry: 3D; Con: 4D; Security: 3D+2
Personality: Dixton's "secretary;" secretly a spy for Emperor; pretends to be airhead; extremely smart and fanatically loyal to Empire.
Equipment: Vibroblade (dam: str+1D+2), hold-out blaster (dam: 3D+1).

Lyn and Perspik Dixton's secretaries
Template Type: Standard Human; male.
Attributes: All: 2D
Important Skills: Bureaucracy: 4D; Languages: 3D
Personality: Non-descript bureaucrats; non-fighters.
Equipment: Portable computers.

Pistak and Lancoln Dixton's bodyguards
Template Type: Standard Human; male.
Attributes: DEX: 3D; STR: 3D; all others: 2D
Important Skills: Blaster: 3D; Brawling Parry: 3D+2; Gambling: 3D; Security: 2D+2; Brawling: 4D
Personality: Standard leg-breakers; just doing their job, will surrender if outgunned.
Equipment: Blaster pistol (dam: 4D).

* Figure shown includes increase/decrease for armor.

Maps

Map 1 — Players' Map: Shows the area around the Godking's castle, including the forest, stone bridge, river, dirt road, damaged shuttle, well, huts, moat, and Godking's castle.

Map 2 — Gamemaster's Map: Shows the interior layout of the Imperial shuttle Resurgence with numbered room locations (1-11).

Imperial Shuttle
Craft: Resurgence
Type: Imperial Cargo Shuttle
Length: 54 meters
Crew: 4
Passengers: 50
Cargo Capacity: 1,000 metric tons
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Nav Computer: Yes
Hyperdrive Backup: Yes
Sublight Speed: 2D
Maneuverability: 1D
Hull: 4D
Weapons:
Heavy Blaster Cannon
Fire Control: 2D
Combined Damage: 6D
Shields:
Rating: 2D

---

Tests of the Godking: A Short Adventure

Introduction

In the last section we presented five adventure outlines, set in the Long Shot campaign, that could be developed into full adventures. In this section, we've taken the first outline, "Tests of the Godking," and expanded it for you.

Experienced gamemasters should immediately modify this adventure to their own needs, perhaps using only the basic story line and main NPCs as the foundation for an adventure of their own. Inexperienced gamemasters, however, are encouraged to stick to the adventure as it is presented. Admittedly it's lots of fun to make up your own adventure, but if you've never gamemastered a roleplaying game before, we suggest you take advantage of the detail and structure that this one offers.

Be sure to read the adventure carefully. The more familiar you are with the story, the less you will have to refer to it later, and the easier it will be for you to run.

Adventure Materials

Here's what you'll need in order to run this adventure:

• The pullout section. The center four pages of this booklet contain a map, an NPC roster, and the introductory script. The map and the roster are for the GM only. The script should be copied and distributed to each player, and each should be assigned a part to read. If you don't have access to a photocopier, simply pass the original around the table.
• Dice. Six-sided dice are used in Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. You'll need at least six of them.
• Extra templates (or facsimiles of such) for players to create new characters.
• Pencils for everybody.
• Food and drink. After all, this is a game, and games are social activities. Eat, drink, be social.

Getting Started

Once everybody is at the table, the first order of business is to generate player characters. If possible, the players should coordinate their characters to ensure that the group contains a healthy mix of skills. See Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game page 7 or the Gamemaster Screen for more details.

If your players wish to bring in characters used in earlier adventures, that's okay — if they fit in with your campaign. Really experienced PCs may unbalance the adventure and campaign. Remember, you are the GM: it is your job to ensure that the game is fun and fair. If a PC doesn't fit, have the player generate a new one.

After everyone has created a character, read the "Players' Introduction" out loud. It assumes that the characters are new recruits to Reekeene's Roughnecks and the Rebellion. If the PCs have been around for a while, you may have to modify the information somewhat.

The Script

Use the script in the pullout to start the adventure. The script helps get the players into character while setting the scene. Assign each player a part (such as "1st Rebel," "2nd Rebel," and so on). If you have six players, each player reads one part. If you have five, on player should read both "3rd Rebel" & "5th Rebel"; if four players, one should read both "1st Rebel" and "6th Rebel" as well.

You must read the parts labeled "GM." These lines are descriptive text, as well as all the NPCs encountered in the opening sequence.

Players' Introduction

Read the following out loud:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . Shortly after the destruction of the Death Star, Rebel Irregulars do their best to capture the attention of the dreaded Imperial Starfleet currently searching for the Rebel fugitives from Yavin. These partisan forces, operating deep within the Empire, harass the weakly-defended core systems in an effort to force at least part of the fleet to break off from the search. Their guerrilla tactics are an effort to buy the Yavin group the time it needs to find a new, more secure base planet.

You are members of Reekeene's Roughnecks, a Rebel Irregular unit working in Fakir sector. After six weeks of training, you've been assigned to Green squad and the converted luxury yacht Long Shot. You depart your base, a big old Tsukkian waterhauler called Home, for a routine flight when suddenly Captain Ixsthmus calls you all to the bridge.

Lay out the map of the Long Shot. Give the players a moment to look the map over and introduce their PCs to each other. Then hand out the script and begin.

Start the script.

When the script is finished, turn to Episode One.

Episode One: Pirates of the Void

Summary

En route to Masterhome to begin their mission, the PCs' vessel is waylaid by pirates disguised as Rebel privateers. They outrun the privateers or stand and fight. Eventually, their ship reaches Masterhome.

Red Alert!

Begin this episode as soon as the script is finished. Don't give your players a chance to ask questions about the campaign background. They've been given enough details to get through this opening battle. Afterward, when things calm down, Captain Ixsthmus or Siene Symm can fill them in on the Roughnecks, Irregulars, and Home.

Let them tell you how they are responding to Siene's command. If they don't immediately occupy a station, Captain Ixsthmus will have a few sharp words for them later. Battle stations include the navigation/computer station, communications/shields station, engineering, and the turbolaser well. Someone may want to run to the supply room to check on the equipment Santhou mentioned, too. A listing can be found under "Ship's Stores" later in this section.

Ahrr, Mateys!

Read the following out loud:

As the Long Shot gathers speed, heading for hyperspace, Siene Symm continues to update you on the situation. "Scanners indicate the vessel to be a Corellian stock light freighter. The vessel's speed suggests that the ship's engines have been modified; scanners indicate that its shields are somewhat heavier than is usual for such craft. Life-form sensors indicate eight sentients on board." A short pause. "Incoming message. I'll pipe it through the ship."

A coarse voice rings through the com unit. "Ahoy yacht! This is Captain Jayhawk of the Rebellion privateer Martinette! We mean to take your cargo, and will let you and your vessel go free. Heave to and drop your shields or we will fire on you."

Ixsthmus shuts off the com and speaks to you. "Unknown any Rebel privateer vessel Martinette. Suspect ruse — pirates or Imperial spies. Comments and suggestions?"

Ship's Stores

In ship's stores the PCs find:

• Three weeks standard food and fuel rations.
• One blaster pistol for each crewmember, plus three spares.
• One blaster rifle.
• 30 blaster energy packs.
• 8 stun grenades.
• Four medpaks.
• 10 comlinks.

Points to Consider

Time to discuss options. Let the players lead the conversation, but use the captain and first mate to point them in the right direction and provide suggestions as necessary. (Don't abuse the NPCs' authority over the PCs — the final decision is up to the players.) Here are the important questions the PCs have to answer:

Are the intruders really Rebellion privateers? Probably not. If the PCs suggest it, Siene can use a Rebel codeword in a radio message to the pirates: they won't respond properly.

If not, who are they? It's possible that they are Imperial spies, but if so, what are they up to? They are more likely just plain pirates pretending to be Rebels to misdirect Imperial retribution.

Fight or flee? The captain is against any space battles. "Enemy ship as fast; better shields. Perhaps better armed." The captain is willing to make a run for it, but the enemy ship will be within firing range before the Long Shot can make a hyperspace jump.

Surrender? The Long Shot isn't carrying any particularly important cargo, but the ship itself is quite valuable: the pirates will certainly commandeer it.

Pretend to Surrender? Aha. There are only eight people on board the pirate ship; remember the sensor readings. Assuming they leave two or three behind to man their vessel, at most five or six will board the Long Shot. In addition, once the two vessels are airlocked together, the enemy ship won't be able to use any heavy weaponry against the Long Shot without risking severe damage to itself — a blowout in the PCs' ship would also suck atmosphere out of the enemy craft.

Something else to think about: The only way the Rebellion can succeed is with the support of the people; if the Rebellion gets a reputation for stealing from civilians, its popular support could be badly eroded. If possible, these pirates should be put out of action.

What to Do?

Flee: Discretion is the better part of valor and all that. If the players decide to flee, let the Long Shot get away. You can have it take a few hits for color, but the ship should escape with just superficial damage.

Fight a Ship-to-Ship Battle: They can do it in spite of the captain's objections. The enemy ship's statistics are listed at the end of this section; the Long Shot's are on the map. Run the battle using the ship-to-ship combat rules in Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game or the advanced rules in the Star Warriors board game. Counters for the Long Shot and the Martinette are included in a flap on the GM screen. The enemy ship will flee after being lightly damaged; if the Long Shot can severely damage it before the freighter achieves hyperspace, it will surrender.

RPG Notes: Start the ships at medium range. The Long Shot needs to survive 10 combat rounds to achieve hyperspace, or they can outrun the pirates by moving beyond long range, or they can destroy the Martinette.

Star Warriors Note: Start the pirate ship in the right-hand set-up box. Long Shot starts anywhere along the right-hand edge of the map. The map is static. The game ends when one ship is destroyed or the Long Shot escapes off the left-hand end of the map.

Pirate Stock Light Freighter

Crew: 8
Cargo Capacity: 100 metric tons
Consumables: 2 months
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Nav Computer: yes
Hyperdrive Backup: yes
Sublight Speed: 3D
Maneuverability: 1D
Hull: 4D
Weapons:
One Twin Laser Cannon
Fire Control: 3D
Damage: 6D
One Heavy Laser Cannon
Fire Control: 4D
Damage: 6D
Shields:
Rating: 4D

Star Warriors Data

	Martinette
Ship Type: Martinette	Roll: 6
Pilot's Guns: —	Jink: 4
Gunner's Wpns: DMF/SHP	Bank: 5
Body: 12/8	Overturn: 10
Speed Max: 6	Overspeed: 8
	Accelerate: 6
Turn No's: 1 — 1/1	Over Accel.: 8
2 — 2/2	Decelerate: 7
3 — 3/2	Overdecel.: 12
4 — 4/3
5 — 4/4	Damage Ctrl: 6
6 — 5/4	Pinpoint Fire: 6
7 — 5/4	Snap Fire: 6
8 — (6)/(5)	Targeting: 7
9 — (7)/(5)	Angle Shields: 3
	No. of Shields: 4
Difficulty No's:	No. of Aux Pow.: 3
Stabilizer No.: 6	R2 Unit?: No
½-loop: 8
Slip: 4

Let the Pirates Board (a surrender or surprise attack): Six pirates board the Long Shot. They order the PCs and crew to assemble in the common room, disarm them, and then lock them in a storage area. After assuring themselves that the Long Shot is unoccupied, the pirates leave a prize crew of four on the ship to take her to their base, and the remaining pirates return to their vessel. They dump the PCs on a primitive planet to await rescue.

That's their plan, anyway; the pirates aren't really expecting any resistance; if half the villains are wounded or captured, the remaining pirates will attempt to withdraw; if six are wounded or captured, the survivors will surrender. (The pirates' statistics can be found in the pullout.)

If the PCs capture the pirate's ship, Captain Ixsthmus suggests that they contact Home base to have somebody pick them up.

If the PCs allow themselves to be captured, you're in trouble. You can: A) design a pirate's base for the PCs to escape from; B) have a Rebellion vessel intercept the pirate's ship and free the PCs; or C) have an Imperial vessel do the same. The last option is the most interesting, as then the PCs will have to convince the authorities that they are victims of the pirates and rightful owners of the Long Shot, and not pirates themselves. Eventually, once the PCs are freed and reunited with their vessel, the adventure can continue.

In Orbit

Once in orbit around Masterhome, the Long Shot can use its sensors to probe the planet.

The planet's atmosphere is breathable; the climate, temperature, and ecology of the northern continent, near the largest visible city, approximates the conditions found in upstate New York during springtime.

The city, about six square kilometers in size, is composed of one- and two-story wood and stone buildings surrounding a large walled castle. Life-form sensors indicate about 20,000 man-sized beings in the city. The city is surrounded by forest running for hundreds of kilometers in all directions; small farms, towns, and castles occupy clearings which dot the forest.

There is no evidence of any technology on the planet more advanced than that found on Earth during the Middle Ages.

That's about all that can be determined from orbit. Go on to Episode Two.

Episode Two: Rebels in the Godking's Court

Summary

The PCs scout Masterhome. Eventually, they reach the court of the Godking and deliver their message. The Godking expresses interest in joining the Rebellion, but strange, semi-life-threatening things keep happening. The PCs discover that the Godking doesn't believe them. Then the Empire shows up.

Reconnaissance Over Masterhome

According to their instructions, the PCs are to present their credentials to the Godking Tristtan, who holds court in the largest city on the northern continent. If the PCs do so immediately, proceed to "Meeting the Godking" below. If, however, they decide to look around first, use the following section to determine what they see and, if necessary, design some encounters for the inquisitive characters.

The Anointed People

The Anointed People are green-skinned, lizard-based humanoids, somewhat larger and stronger than humans, but also slower and clumsier. They stand upright on two feet, balanced by a large tail. Their heads are longer and narrower than humans and are equipped with an impressive set of pointed teeth. Typical Anointed People dress in colorful robes and carry large cudgels; the nobility wear suits of exotic scale armor and carry nasty-looking broadswords.

The Anointed People live in a primitive feudal hierarchy: the Godking on top, below him the Godlings (the nobility), and below them the Unwashed (everybody else).

While retaining the outward trappings of a warlike race, the Anointed People are more socially advanced than they appear. Though each spring the local nobles call their vassals together to march off to "war" against their neighbors, the engagements are almost totally bloodless, resembling overly-enthusiastic lacrosse matches. The loser of the "war" must surrender a tribute to the winner — this usually means that he foots the bill for the big three-day party that follows. There hasn't been a real war on Masterhome for 75 years.

The Anointed People are quite fearless, but dislike bloodshed for aesthetic reasons. They will find it quite difficult to credit the PCs' stories about a cruel, ruthless Empire, believing that any advanced civilization must have learned to live in peace.

With the exception of the Godking, who has ample reason to distrust aliens, the Anointed People will be extremely friendly to the "off-world barbarians" (the PCs), throwing them huge parties and wining and dining them until the characters are quite sick.

Technologically, the Anointed People are backwards.

Their civilization is at approximately the level of medieval Europe — swords and shields, wood and stone buildings, animal-drawn wagons, high infant mortality, poor sanitation, etc. They will respect the PCs' advanced technology, but not to the point of awe.

Godking: Say, stranger. That's a neat . . . thing you have there. What's it do?
PC: It's a space ship. It travels between the stars.
Godking: Sounds interesting. But why would anyone want to? Something the matter with the star you came from?

Typical Unwashed: The Unwashed are big, burly, cheerful, and, as their name suggests, ignorant. They won't believe that the PCs come from another planet, and if the PCs convince them, they won't care very much. They will happily discuss the weather, the upcoming spring wars, local politics, and farming with the PCs, especially if the PCs offer to buy them a drink at a local inn. The Unwashed love games of chance.

Typical Godling: Godlings are like Unwashed, but more informed. Aware of the existence of other worlds and other intelligent beings in the vast reaches of space, they better understand the potential gains — and risks — attending the arrival of aliens with unknown powers and motivations. They will treat the PCs with guarded friendliness, but will decline to discuss anything important with them, saying that is the Godking's business.

The Godking: The Godking is like his subjects, only better. A shrewd politician, he has employed guile, diplomacy, good public relations and enlightened tax policies, to make his 40-year rule a time of unprecedented prosperity and freedom for his people. He is quite suspicious of the PCs, having been tricked and robbed by aliens before.

Overflight

Following are capsule descriptions of the places the PCs are likely to want to visit on the planet: the forest, a small town, a small castle, the big city, and the big castle. If the PCs decide to do an in-depth study of the polar ice cap, you'll have to make up a description on your own, i.e., "It's white and very cold. Now what?"

The Forest: Filled with green trees, babbling brooks, and open meadows, life-form sensors indicate a variety of animals roaming the woods, ranging from mouse- to elephant-size. Occasionally, Anointed People wander the forest, typically solitary males carrying spears and hunting bags slung over their shoulders.

The hunters offer to share a haunch of griff-meat (a local delicacy) with the PCs. After several minutes a loud scream sounds in the distance. The hunter exits hurriedly explaining that "eaters" are attracted to the smell of griff-meat and suggesting that the PCs leave as well.

A Village: Small wood buildings, about 20 of them, clustered around a well or at a crossroads, usually within sight of a small tower or castle, make up a village. The inhabitants bustle about their normal day's work: farming, tanning, blacksmithing, streetcleaning, etc. Once the PCs' vessel is sighted, everybody stops working, rushes out into the street, and waves wildly at the ship.

If approached, the villagers are extremely friendly to the PCs. Some of the youngsters may decide to examine the vessel, whacking it with rocks and sticks, attempting to yank off protruding parts, etc., until their parents chide them for rudeness and send them to bed without their supper. After the initial excitement wears off, most of the villagers drift back to work.

A Small Castle: A large central building surrounded by a five-meter wall, the castles closely resemble medieval European castles. From up-close it can be determined that clinging vines cover the walls and flowering aquatic plants float in the moat, suggesting that there hasn't been a war in the area for some time. There are 15 guards lounging around the castle walls and courtyard.

If the PCs approach the castle gates on foot, the guards will stare excitedly for a second, grab their spears, and yell for the Godling. The Godling invites the PCs in for lunch, punctuating the meal with a flowering, long-winded, complimentary speech which says nothing. If the PCs broach their mission to a Godling, the Godling will politely say that only the Godking has the authority to make treaties.

If they have been especially polite, the Godling will stage a three-day feast in honor of the PCs, which culminates with the unexpected arrival of another Godling and his army, who challenges the local Godling to battle. The battle looks fierce — the lizard-men rush together and smash large, heavy clubs against each other's heads — but their thick skulls prevent damage beyond a headache. The fight is over when one side retires from the field, then the party continues.

Note: There are plenty of chances for the PCs to get into trouble here. If they attempt to stop the upcoming battle they will insult everybody and ruin the party; if they join in the fight they may get their heads bashed in (their skulls are much thinner than the lizards'); or worst of all, the PCs may use their blasters against the enemy force. If so, the fighting will stop immediately, everybody will look at the PCs in disgust, and the local Godling will attempt to arrest them.

The Big City: The city is about six square kilometers in size and is composed of one- and two-story wood and stone buildings. The castle, three times the size of the smaller castles outside of town, sits in the middle of the city.

The city is much the same as the smaller towns, only larger. The inhabitants are quite friendly and curious; they cluster about the characters asking questions and offering to buy them drinks. The PCs can wander the city, though they won't gain a whole lot by doing so: they can visit the farmers' market, have a drink in one of the many inns, or waste their time in any other fashion they choose.

After several hours, city guardsmen will approach the PCs and convey the Godking's greetings and his request for them to present themselves in his chamber.

The Big Castle: Similar to the small castles, on a bigger scale. The number of guards is increased accordingly, to 45. When the PCs arrive at the castle, they will be escorted into the throne room where the Godking awaits them.

Using Violence Against the People: Ixsthmus is dead set against this — at least unless the Anointed People attack first (which won't happen). If the PCs leave the vessel and threaten natives with their personal weapons, the Godking's soldiers attempt to capture them unharmed, displaying a casual contempt for personal danger in the process. If captured, the PCs will be taken to the Godking, who will incarcerate them in the rather comfortable castle dungeons until he figures out what to do with them.

Meeting the Godking

When the PCs request an audience with the Godking, 20 guards escort them through the main gates, up the stairs and into his chamber. The throne room is huge and ornate. Massive fluted columns support a balcony which runs along both sides of the room; the walls of the chamber are covered by elaborate tapestries displaying colorful martial scenes; gaily dressed courtiers and pages fill the room with an excited murmur as the PCs enter.

The escort marches the PCs to the center of the room, then they stand at attention behind the PCs, spears at their sides. Trumpets sound, the crowd grows silent, and the Godking enters.

The Godking is remarkably unimpressive. The shortest lizard the PCs have yet seen, he wears his silver crown and ceremonial robes with a casualness that approaches slovenliness. (It's an act; he's among the strongest of his race.) He ambles in from a doorway behind the throne, carelessly acknowledges the bows of the courtiers (and the PCs, if they bow), pushes his crown back on his head, scratches his ear with his scepter, hitches up his robes, and sits on the throne.

"Space guys, huh?" he says in fair Basic, sighing. "Just what I need." An aide whispers something in his ear.

"Huh? Oh, right." He shoos the aide away. "As lord high Godking of the most holy Anointed People, I most graciously welcome you travelers from a most distant land to the blessed shores of Masterhome, etc., etc. So, what's on your mind?"

What's on the Godking's Mind?

Several months ago, another alien vessel visited Masterhome. The owner of the vessel, one Captain Jayhawk, presented himself as a member of the Alliance, fighting against the evil Empire. Captain Jayhawk appeared at the castle and asked the Godking to join the Rebellion. The discussions continued for several days, until one morning it was discovered that Jayhawk and his ship had left during the night, taking with it several hundred pounds of gold and jewelry from the treasury room. They left two very dead guards behind. Annoyed, frustrated, and quite humiliated by the episode, the Godking had it hushed up. He suspects the PCs are here to steal from him yet again.

Show and Tell

After they finish their presentation, the Godking politely thanks them, saying he has to think it over. He also asks the PCs the following questions:

• Is the Empire really as evil as the PCs say? Why do all its subjects put up with it?
• How is the Alliance better than the Empire?
• Who's going to win the revolution?
• What do we gain by joining the revolt? The Empire has left us alone up until now, so why make it mad at us?
• What will all this technology get us? It doesn't seem to have done you guys much good.
• How do I know this isn't just a bunch of malarkey?

Throughout their replies, the Godking listens intently, pretending to weigh each response carefully. After each PC has had an opportunity to speak, the Godking thanks them and asks them to stay as his guests at the castle, then he retires until dinner. He is unwilling to confront them with his suspicions until he learns what their abilities are. He assigns 20 lizard soldiers to accompany the PCs as an "honor guard," while he goes off to devise challenges to test their mettle.

The Tests

Honesty: At the banquet held for the PCs that evening, Godling Satrank, sitting next to a PC, whispers: "The Godking will never agree to your request; he's too afraid of losing his power. Help me depose him, and I'll give you whatever you want. What do you say?" Satrank is asking this at the request of the Godking; he'll report the PC's answer to his king.

Biology: At the same banquet, one of several mildly toxic substances will be introduced into each PCs' dinner. Roll a die for each character: 1-3, no effect; 4, nausea; 5, drowsiness; 6, poison. Each character may make an easy Perception roll to notice and avoid the tainted dish. If a PC is affected, the Long Shot's medical Droid can effect a cure. The Godking will be suitably apologetic, while noting the substance which caused the discomfort.

Strength: The Godking himself challenges a PC to a wrestling match. This is a simple opposed roll; the Godking will use his Strength; the PC can use either Strength or Dexterity. High roll wins.

Greed: Some time during the evening, the chief of the guard offers to buy one of the PCs' blasters. He opens the bidding at .2 kilograms gold (equivalent to 500 credits), and will go as high as .75 kgs.

Alertness: If the PCs agree to stay in the castle, a lizard attempts to slip quietly into a PC's room during the night and steal his blaster and comlink. If caught and captured, the Godking has the lizard "severely thrashed and dumped into the dungeon until he learns his lesson" (i.e., given several gold pieces and sent out through a side entrance). If the thief gets away, the Godking institutes an immediate search, but (not surprisingly) will find nothing.

High-Tech: In the following days, the Godking presents the PCs with several more overt challenges to test their abilities, including: healing a sick lizard, improving the lizard's farming techniques, stopping the sun from moving, heating and cooling things, etc. The Godking simply has no idea of the PCs' limitations and abilities. For all he knows, they may be able to snort fire and read minds.

Combat: The Godking takes the PCs on a grand hunt. He, the PCs, and about 25 retainers, armed with throwing spears and swords, ride likkas into the woods in search of griff. Discovering several of the deer-like creatures in the distance, the Godking asks the PCs to kill some with their blasters. If successful, the PCs carry the bodies back on their likkas as a trophy.

Several minutes later the party is attacked by an eater, driven into a frenzy by the smell of dead griff. The eater concentrates on the PC carrying the body. The Anointed Peoples' spears and swords are almost totally useless against the eater; if the PCs decide to fight the monster, they are pretty much on their own.

The Verdict

If, in the trials, the PCs have proven themselves pure of heart, strong of spirit, and in possession of truly awesome firepower, the Godking decides that they probably aren't associated with the hated Captain Jayhawk. He agrees to help the Alliance and apologizes for his mistrust, telling them of Jayhawk's theft. If the PCs defeated Jayhawk in the first episode, they may be able to get the Godking's treasure back, earning his gratitude. Just then, the Imperials arrive.

If, however, the PCs haven't allayed his suspicions, the Godking tells them that he needs more time to think it over, thanks them for their cooperation, and with the support of 30 spear-toting warriors who suddenly appear in the throne room, "suggests" that the PCs give over their blasters and tell those on board the Long Shot to surrender as well. Just then, the Imperials arrive.

The Empire Arrives

The PCs' comlinks beep. When they answer, read out loud (as Siene Symm):

"Red alert, guys. Imperial vessel entering the atmosphere. Looks like it's going to land. If we're to get out before they spot us we've got to leave now — can't wait for you to get back to the ship. Better stay hidden until we come back with reinforcements, or they leave. They'll be within scanning distance shortly. Good luck. Symm out."

Off in the distance you hear the Long Shot's engines roar as the ship rises and zooms away. Suddenly the air is rent by a sonic boom. Almost directly above you appears a black speck which rapidly grows into the form of an Imperial shuttle.

As the shuttle descends, it becomes obvious that something is seriously wrong with the vessel. It is listing badly — suggesting a grav motor malfunction — and the ship's surface is scarred with blast marks.

The ship slams to a violent landing almost directly on the spot where the Long Shot stood; the doors open, spilling black smoke out into the city. After several seconds, 30 stormtroopers trot through the doors and set up a defensive perimeter around the damaged ship.

If the PCs explain that these are Imperials, the Godking decides to play it safe.

"Spread the word," he snaps to an advisor. "Nobody is to talk to these outworlders without my express consent." The advisor hurries off. "Grissom," he says, turning to another Godling. "Get an honor guard together and go down to see what they want."

The Godking leads the PCs to a balcony to watch Grissom talk to the stormtroopers. As Grissom approaches with 25 spear-carrying soldiers, the PCs can hear a stormtrooper shout something. Anyone trying to distinguish the words can discover they're standard "Halt in the name of the Emperor, or I'll shoot" statements. The PCs are probably too far away to halt Grissom in time to save him. Grissom pauses in confusion, then marches forward, his hands open in front of him. The stormtrooper shouts once more, then the large blaster on top of the ship opens fire on Grissom and the warriors, while the stormtroopers fire into the helpless crowd. Dozens of lifeless forms are left lying in the street.

The Godking turns grimly to the PCs. "Looks like we've joined the Rebellion after all. Now, how do we get at those bastards down there?"

The Situation Aboard the Good Ship Resurgence

The Imperial shuttle Resurgence is currently transporting the new Governor General for the entire sector, Lord Dixton, to the sector capital on Vakkar. It carries 40 stormtroopers and mounts a heavy blaster cannon.

Attacked in transit by Rebel forces, the Resurgence made a hasty jump into hyperspace, suffering major systems damage in the process. It has made an emergency landing on Masterhome to perform repairs. The captain estimates it will take him two days to repair the engines enough to jump into hyperspace. To do so, he will have to cannibalize parts from the ship's life support system and repulsorlift unit (which is why he landed the vessel) and possibly even use some of a very unhappy protocol Droid's delicate microcircuitry.

Obviously, capturing the Governor General could be of enormous value to the Rebellion. Dixton, his retinue, and the ship's crew will provide little opposition; the stormtroopers, however, are another matter. They are not particularly heavily-armed, carrying only blasters.

Still, that is quite an effective force against the Anointed People's primitive weapons, especially when backed up by the shuttle's blaster.

Episode Three: A Deadly Little War

Summary

The PCs discover that the damaged Imperial shuttle is carrying the new Governor General for the Fakir sector. With the help of the Godking and the Anointed People, they attack and capture him, gaining a great prize for the Rebellion.

Here's My Plan

The Godking leaves the balcony, shouting for his warriors to attend him in the throne room. His warlord brings in a map of the eastern part of the city with the location of the Imperial ship Resurgence marked on it. (Give Map 1 to the players. It's in the pullout.)

As the PCs pour over the map, the Godking discusses plans with his warlord. "We march up Vine Street, deploy into battle formation, and charge, sweeping the enemy before us like likkas."

It should occur to the PCs that this is a bad plan. They may attempt to explain to the Godking that the stormtroopers are quite capable of killing all of his warriors as easy as they killed Grissom and his honor guard. If so, the Godking will glare at them for a moment, then slump and ask if they have any better ideas.

How to Attack an Imperial Vessel in Three Easy Lessons

There are several ways the PCs can attack the Resurgence: a simple, multi-flank attack, relying on the massive numerical superiority of the lizards to overwhelm the stormtroopers; a diversion by the PCs to pave the way for the lizard's rush, even a ruse or trick of some sort to get one or more PCs into the ship to disable its heavy blaster or its crew in some way. The lizards are fearless, and will press the attack no matter what their losses, but some creative thought from the players can cut down on the Godking's losses and win redoubled support for the Rebellion. Real creative players can think up lots of nasty surprises for the stormtroopers.

Gamemastering Note: The Cute Fuzzy Guys Never Die — Or, the Ewok Effect

In Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, a bunch of spear-carrying Ewoks cheerfully defeat several hundred armor-clad, blaster-toting stormtroopers supported by two or three armored AT-STs. As far as we can tell, in the battle dozens of stormtroopers fall, while but one Ewok perishes. This can be contrasted with the attack against the Rebel stronghold on the ice planet Hoth during The Empire Strikes Back, in which hundreds of better-armed and armored Rebels die defending themselves against the attacking stormtroopers.

Are the Ewoks much better fighters than front-line Rebel troops? Certainly not. The Ewoks succeed so admirably because it makes Jedi a much more satisfying tale, just as in Empire the Rebels are whipped because it is necessary for the storyline. Empire is a downbeat movie — Han is captured, Luke is defeated by Vader, and the Rebellion suffers a serious defeat at Hoth — the death of the Rebel soldiers in the battle serves to show us graphically the Imperial forces' overwhelming might, making us feel all the more for the Alliance and eager to see the Empire get its just desserts. In Jedi, the Emperor is defeated, Darth Vader returns to the Light, and the Empire falls. It would have greatly detracted from our satisfaction at this happy outcome if in the process we had had to see hundreds of the little furry guys cut down like so much wheat.

To a certain extent, you should use spear-carrying extras in your adventures the same way: to further the plot and create mood. In this adventure, the players have two choices: send their friends the lizard men on a suicide charge against entrenched stormtroopers, or use subtlety and guile to accomplish the same ends at a much smaller cost in life. If the players choose the bloodier path, let the lizards pay for it with their lives. However, if the players are smart and cautious, they should be rewarded with a much smaller butcher's bill.

Expecting little trouble on the well-patrolled space routes, the Resurgence was only lightly protected by several TIE fighters assigned to escort the ship to its hyperspace jump point; the little convoy was caught completely by surprise by a squadron of Irregular X-wings just before jump-off.

To avoid destruction, the Resurgence made a hasty jump into hyperspace. The ship was dumped into normal space several lightyears from its intended destination, suffering severe damage in the process. With life-support failing and the hyperdrive engines crippled, the captain released a distress buoy and limped the vessel to the nearest habitable planet, Masterhome, to effect repairs.

Stormtrooper Setup

The stormtroopers are deployed as follows: 21 are in foxholes surrounding the vessel; 2 are standing guard in area 4 within the ship; 15 are resting in area 6; and 2 are manning the heavy blaster in area 7. (See Map 2.)

A Note on Stormtrooper Tactics: These men are trained to combat situations. Very rarely will they group more than three stormtroopers together for any reason, be it conference, movement, guard duty, changing watch, or what have you, in any one area with the remotest chance of unfriendly fire.

You should decide upon the location of the 21 stormtroopers and their foxholes and sketch them in on the map; as additional stormtroopers are deployed, indicate their arrival in the same manner.

Note: The ship's heavy blaster cannot fire directly astern of the vehicle, as the ship's rudder blocks it; it also cannot fire nearer to the vessel than 5 meters.

The Anointed People's Attack

Unless the PCs come up with a better idea, the Godking assembles his 200 warriors to assault the stormtroopers. Each warrior carries one spear and one sword into battle. They lumber slowly toward the ship, then, when in range, they toss their spears, rush in, and attack the troopers with their swords.

The battle will continue until the stormtroopers surrender or retreat into their ship. The lizards will suffer at least 75 percent casualties in the assault.

So What are the PCs Supposed to Do About All This?

Whether they have figured it out or not, the PCs' mission is to capture the Imperial Governor General while minimizing civilian casualties. There are several ways they can attempt this:

Disable the Ship's Heavy Blaster: It is nearly impossible to destroy the heavy blaster from long range. Designed to withstand the rigors of space combat, it is extremely rugged and almost impervious to the PCs' hand weapons (a very difficult chance to destroy it with a blaster shot). The Anointed People have a catapult that might knock it out, or the PCs will have to somehow get on board the ship.

Draw Some of the Stormtroopers into an Ambush: "Lord Governor, we know where the lizard king's treasure house is. For a small cut, and a ride off this rotten planet, we would be happy to show you . . . perhaps you'd like to assign several of your stormtroopers to help us carry the gold out, hmmm?"

Large Diversion: The PCs can lure eaters to attack the shuttle with griff meat. Could be a problem getting rid of the eaters, though.

Capture the Governor Without Bloodshed: "Uh, Governor? We've got a little confession to make. We're not really stranded Imperial census takers. In fact, we're Rebel soldiers. And if you don't surrender this ship right now, my friend here will be forced to shoot you." Note that Lieutenant Mistran won't surrender, even if so ordered by the Governor General. Knowing this, and real interested in avoiding getting shot, the Governor General will agree to try to trick Mistran into an ambush, but remember: Mistran is smart.

Kill Lots of Stormtroopers: Plinking away at the stormtroopers from a building is a pretty bad plan. There are a lot of them, and the ship's heavy blaster is murder. The PCs can provide quite effective cover fire for the lizard assault, but they had better be prepared for some serious damage, as the enemy will concentrate fire on the guys with the modern weapons.

Sneakiness: Improvised smoke bombs? Molotov Cocktails? How about propelling a cart loaded with burning oil into the stormtroopers' trenches? Or drawing the stormtroopers out of the ship with a fake attack, sneaking onboard the vessel, closing and disabling the airlock, killing the stormtroopers standing guard in the entrance, and jury-rigging the ship's com to emit a high-pitched whistle into the stormtroopers' helmets to blow their ears out?

There are plenty of options for thoughtful, sneaky players. Many of them involve working from within the Imperial vessel; it is described below.

Inside the Imperial Vessel Resurgence

The description of the vessel is keyed to Map 2 in the pullout.

The Resurgence is an Imperial shuttle, designed to carry light cargo or passengers quickly for short duration voyages (i.e., across well-known hyperspace routes).

Bulkheads: The vessel has two types of bulkheads (walls): permanent support bulkheads and light partitions. The permanent support bulkheads (shaded grey on the map), including the ship's hull, are thick, almost impossible to breach: they require five or more blaster shots to penetrate, 10 to make a man-sized hole. The light partitions merely separate areas in the ship and can be penetrated fairly easily: two blaster shots to burn through, four or five to make a man-sized hole, or they can be punched through with a difficult Strength roll.

Doors: The doors are of the same strength as the walls, i.e., bulkhead doors are heavy, partition doors are light. The airlock, a standard two-door model, is currently unlocked to permit easy access by the stormtroopers.

The bulkhead doors leading into the ship's command center, engine area, and heavy blaster well are locked and require an easy security roll to pass, unless a crewmember provides the code sequence. Lord Dixton's room (10) is similarly locked; this requires a moderate security roll (Dixton and Marska are the only ones who know the code).

1. Control Room: The captain can be found in this room.

Contains typical ship's controls. Hyperspace engines, anti-grav engines, shields currently non-operational. Exceptionally sneaky PCs could turn on the ship's thrusters from here, incinerating any stormtroopers to the rear of the vessel; with a successful piloting roll a PC could slew the ship around and crush or burn several more. This would burn out the thrusters and destroy the ship's landing gear in the process — but then its not the PCs' ship, is it?

This room also contains airlock override controls and ship's blaster override controls, allowing the captain to lock the doors and shut off power to the blasters.

2. Crew's Quarters: This room is usually empty.

The ship's weapons locker is here; it contains three blasters and ammunition, and six stun grenades.

3. Computer/Navigation Room: This room is usually empty.

It also contains the ship's communication system, through which the stormtroopers can be contacted.

4. Entranceway: Two stormtroopers are stationed here.

This room is bare, except for the control panel for the airlock. The door leading into the Computer/Navigation room is locked; persons wishing to go forward must buzz the captain or input the proper code word.

5. Executive Suite: This room is usually occupied by the Governor-General's retinue.

This room contains luxury couches, extensive entertainment equipment, and gourmet food processors. 5A contains a washroom.

6. Stormtroopers' Quarters. While repelling an external attack, the stormtroopers are assigned to other areas and this is empty.

This area is crowded with facilities for the 40 stormtroopers. Also here are the platoon's extra weapons and armor, which consist of six blaster pistols, 36 blaster packs, and six suits of armor. The doors into the heavy blaster well (7) and the engine room (11) are locked.

7. Heavy Blaster Well: Two stormtroopers are always stationed here.

One stormtrooper is stationed at the bottom of the ladder; a second operates the gun from within the pod.

8. Secretaries' Quarters: Lyn and Perspik are here during the night.

There are some computer tapes here which would be quite helpful to the Alliance, but nothing the PCs can use at the moment. The secretaries do not carry weapons.

9. Marska's Room: This room is almost always empty (Marska spends the night with Dixton).

A luxurious cabin containing stuff appropriate to a high-class mistress, i.e., sultry clothing, oodles of cosmetics, etc. Hidden in the false bottom of a suitcase is a vibroblade; hidden in the false heel of a shoe is a mini-blaster (damage 1D+1).

10. Dixton's Room: Dixton and Marska are here during the night; this room is empty during the day.

The door to this room is always locked; a codeword or a moderate security roll (or lots of blaster shots) is necessary to enter.

Another luxurious cabin, this one contains, in addition to Dixton's very expensive personal possessions, several very important computer tapes outlining the Empire's long- and short-range plans for Fakir sector. In the event that the PCs' attack appears to be succeeding, either Dixton or Marska will attempt to destroy the tapes (though Marska may be carrying one).

11. The Engineering Room: Hal, the first mate, is here attempting to repair the ship's engines.

Lots of high-tech equipment, engines to crawl on, tiny access panels to hide behind. From here, the PCs could cut power to the ship's blasters, communications, and/or airlock (easy difficulty roll for each), or if they are so inclined, cause the ship to self-destruct (moderate difficulty roll).

The Cavalry to the Rescue

As you may remember, the Long Shot took off for help shortly before the Imperial vessel arrived on Masterhome. As soon as it cleared the system, it made contact with Home base and explained the situation. Home immediately scrambled two X-wings from Red squad which rendezvoused with the Long Shot, and the ships immediately proceeded back to Masterhome. These vessels arrive on the planet shortly after the battle.

Unless you need them to show up earlier, that is.

If the PCs manage to get themselves captured or in real serious trouble, then the ships arrive just in time to save their bacon. The Imperial vessel surrenders, and the Red squad has some caustic remarks about rookies biting off more than they can chew (derision from NPCs whom they respect is a good way to inform the PCs that they have performed less than satisfactorily).

Epilogue

Eventually, the Imperial ship is captured and the PCs are reunited with the Long Shot. The prisoners are herded into the castle's dungeons, the Imperial ship is hidden until Roughneck repair crews can get there to fix it, and the Godking throws everybody a big party to celebrate their shining victory.

For their share in the glory, the PCs are proclaimed "Heroes of the Realm," and knighted "Assistant Demi-gods." Everybody pledges eternal friendship, and the Rebels take their leave of Masterhome.

Paperwork

All surviving PCs should be awarded between three and six skill points, depending on how well each did during the adventure. Let them distribute the points among their skill codes as they see fit, according to the guidelines in the rulebook.

Players who lost characters may, if you want, generate a lizard man who wishes to join the Alliance. Otherwise, a more typical replacement character will be waiting for Green squad once they return to Home base.

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Long Shot — Modified Lantillian Deluxe Short Hauler (Passenger Liner)

Background

This vessel started originally as a pleasure yacht for an Imperial Admiral. Reekeene's Roughnecks "liberated" the Long Shot from the Colonial spaceport. With substantial changes to the engines and interior layout, of course new weapons and computers, this vessel has already the Roughnecks well for several years. It carries a two-person crew, a co-pilot, and has room for eight passengers.

To improve the vessel's performance, the Roughnecks have done away with most of the amenities. The galley (kitchenette), pantry and lavatory (head) had been kept; most other spaces have been converted to crew quarters, supply and weapon storage (which doubles as a second supply room). The engines have been substantially changed, as have been the shields, and non-essential passenger furniture and fixtures removed. A large cargo pod was added, which is used as a supply drop for emergency cargo resupply. The cabin also serves as a ready room for the combat drop.

The Long Shot's two stabilizers are designed to provide control in planetary atmospheres; in space, the stabilizer's repulsorlift field provides counter-thrust in tandem with the attitude thrusters along each side of the vessel, augmented by two repulsor generators.

Long Shot RPG Statistics

Craft: Long Shot
Type: Modified Lantillian Deluxe Short Hauler
Length: 27 meters
Crew: 3
Current Craft: One modified/one pod (holds 3)
Consumables: 4 months
Passengers: 8
Cargo Capacity: 85 metric tons
Nav Computer: Yes
Hyperdrive Backup: Yes
Sublight Speed: 3D
Maneuverability: 1D
Hull: 3D
Weapons:
Two Laser Cannons (fire separately)
Fire Control: 2D
Combined Damage: 5D
Shields:
Rating: 1D

Long Shot Star Warriors Statistics

Ship Type: Long Shot
Pilot's Guns: —
Gunner's Wpns: LC/LC
Body: 18/8
Speed Max: 8

Turn No's		Roll	3
1	1/1	Jink	5
2	1/1	Bank	1
3	2/1	Overturn	8
4	2/2	Overspeed	8
5	3/2	Accelerate	4
6	3/3	Over Accel.	6
7	4/3	Decelerate	7
8	5/3	Overdecel.	14
9	(7)/(5)

Damage Ctrl: 5
Pinpoint Fire: 6
Snap Fire: 6
Targeting: 6
Angle Shields: 2
No. of Shields: 4
No. of Aux Pow.: 1
R2 Unit?: Yes

Long Shot Deck Descriptions

Bridge: The operational center of the ship, the bridge contains the pilot and co-pilot stations, communications equipment and navigational charts. Laid out in a Nemorian cockpit style with twin engine and helm room, the bridge contains crystal and digitizer readouts for every major system.

Wardroom: With its two lateral blast doors, the wardroom is essentially a large air-lock designed to protect the rest of the ship from hostile boarding and hazardous external entry. The crew's space also functions as an armory and is used for briefings and tactical planning.

Computer and Life Support: The equipment in this room — atmospheric scrubbers, oxygen re-generators, and communications equipment — provides environmental control in planetary atmospheres. In space, the environmental systems augment the bridge station to provide heating, air and pressure.

Common Room: This is the Long Shot's recreation center. When not at sea, the room is temporarily host to a central dining table, lounge and entertainment center. Chairs, card table, holo-projector, exercise bikes, writing desks, and books. The Long Shot normally shuttles directly above the room, where engaged, a ladder descends from the airlock. The wardroom is accessible directly from the bridge, allowing direct access during standby manoeuvring. A service access hatchway at the aft end of the pod opens on a tubular cargo hold.

Machine Shop: A surprisingly compact electrical and mechanical area, this room is used primarily for ship systems maintenance. An open-topped enclosure, the machine shop has a half-bulkhead separating it from the corridor, with a standard gravity lock door. The shop is located in a pressurized compartment, port and aft.

Brig: This is ostensibly a secure supply room, but in reality it is a medium-security brig, complete with reinforced walls.

Engineering: Short (holds 3) — In-process engine fix room; the remaining small open area is packed with equipment. The drives are most apt to be in need of servicing during flight during hyperspace emergencies.

Medical Bay: This room houses Emdee-five, a bacta tank, a medical scanner, weapons supplies, and a small bacta field-kit.

Blender: The circuit generators serve also as backup life support power generators in case of regular malfunction.

Captain's Cabin: Contains bunks, a desk, a private access to bridge communication channels, and is protected by a secure bulkhead door. It also has a hidden panel access to the observation lounge beneath the cockpit. Fairly spartan in appearance.

Co-Pilot's Cabin: Some systems accommodations are built lower/smaller than the captain's. Some is newsworthy of a mention of the captain's... (some humor).

The Head: Showers, toilet, sink, laundry, etc.

Passenger Quarters: These are standard ship's berths sleeping two to a bunk. The PCs may decorate the rooms as they wish. A spare supply locker is in a alcove. The PCs may use this to store personal effects or other secondary clothing/hygiene items.

Corridors: The ship's corridors are 1.5m long by .9m wide. The escape pod and infirmary are accessed from the corridor.

NPC Backgrounds

R5-V8 (Astronavigation Droid)
R5-V8 is an R5 Astromech Droid assigned to the Long Shot as Astronavigation Computer. It is directly interfaced with the ship's primary astrogation systems.
Attributes: DEX: 1D; KNO: 1D; MEC: 2D; PER: 1D; STR: 1D; TEC: 2D
Important Skills: Astrogation: 4D; Piloting: 4D+1

Captain Ixsthmus
Long Shot Captain
Template Type: Ithorian; male.
Background: Ixsthmus is a refugee from Ithor. He has fled to the Roughnecks after having his ecology vessel destroyed by an Imperial customs frigate. An experienced pilot and navigator, Ixsthmus has little patience for sloppiness and fools.
Attributes: DEX: 2D; KNO: 4D; MEC: 3D+2; PER: 3D; STR: 2D; TEC: 3D
Important Skills: Astrogation: 5D; Starship Piloting: 5D; Starship Shields: 4D; Command: 5D

Siene Symm
Co-Pilot and First Mate
Template Type: Sullustan; male.
Background: Siene is an experienced starship pilot, quiet and efficient. He rarely volunteers information and tends to be rather formal in bearing. However, he has a dry, subtle sense of humor. He is extremely loyal to Captain Ixsthmus.
Attributes: DEX: 3D; KNO: 2D; MEC: 4D; PER: 2D; STR: 2D; TEC: 3D
Important Skills: Astrogation: 4D; Starship Piloting: 6D; Starship Gunnery: 4D; Starship Shields: 4D

Emdee-five (Medical Droid)
Emdee-five is the Long Shot's medical Droid, a somewhat cantankerous and opinionated personality. It frequently scolds the PCs for not taking better care of themselves and fusses over minor injuries.
Attributes: DEX: 1D; KNO: 2D; MEC: 1D; PER: 2D; STR: 1D; TEC: 4D
Important Skills: Medicine: 6D; First Aid: 5D

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Appendix: Gamemaster Screen Reference Charts

The following charts are reproduced from the Gamemaster Screen included with the Campaign Pack.

Spacecraft Performance Data Chart

Astrogation Gazetteer

Number is length of a standard duration journey in days. *Corellian system.

Astrogation Chart

Astrogation Mishap Table

See Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game page 59 for details.

Starship System Damage Table

Results:

Ion Drives: Ship cannot move in normal space; no speed or maneuver rolls may be made.

Nav Computer: When a ship enters hyperspace, the astrogation difficulty number for a standard duration journey is 30, not 15.

Hyperdrives: The ship may not enter hyperspace until the drives are repaired.

Weapon System: One weapon system (of gamemaster's choice) is no longer working and cannot be fired.

Shields: The shields are no longer working; no shield rolls may be made.

Lateral Thrusters: The ship loses a great deal of maneuverability; evasion rolls may still be made, but the maneuverability code drops to zero (the pilot rolls just his skill dice when he evades).

Weapon Chart

Archaic Weapons

Grenades

* Damage at point-blank range (see SW:RPG page 47). ** Characters with the control skill add skill code damage. Anything less than 3 meters away is point-blank range for ranged weapons.

Melee Weapons

Combat Sequence

1. Declare Actions. Characters declare all actions for this combat round (movement, skill or attribute use, haste, or full dodge). PC or NPC with lowest DEX declares first, then others in ascending order.
2. Declare Reaction Skills. Characters declare combat dodges. PC or NPC with lowest DEX declares first, then others in ascending order.
3. Roll Reaction Skills. All characters who declared the use of reaction skills (full or combat options) roll skill dice. Gamemaster determines to-hit difficulty numbers for this combat round.
4. Roll Actions. All characters who declared actions roll skill dice. Actions are resolved in descending order of the number of haste actions taken. Actions with the same degree of haste are resolved simultaneously, with all non-movement actions occurring first, then all movement.
5. Calculate Damage. Roll damage, strength dice of hit targets.

Damage Summary

DR = damage roll; SR = target's strength roll

*stun = all die codes (except strength) are decreased by one for the rest of this round and for the following round.

*ionized = all die codes (except hull) are decreased by one for the rest of this round and for the following round.

Armor Chart

The armor code is added to the wearer's strength code for damage purposes (only), and subtracted from wearer's dexterity attribute and skill codes for all purposes.

Healing Table

Natural Healing

Wounded:

Incapacitated:

Skill and Attribute Code Modifiers

* Per number of actions after the first.

** Additional each time used.

None of these modifications affect strength rolls made for damage purposes.

Starship Combat Sequence

1. Declare Actions. Characters declare all actions for this combat round. Full evasion option, and attempts to increase or decrease range, must be declared now. Lowest DEX declares first, then others in ascending order.
2. Declare Reaction Skills. All pilots declare combat evasions. Lowest DEX declares first, then others in ascending order.
3. Roll Reaction Skills. All pilots who declared use of reaction skills (full or combat evasions) roll skill dice. Shield attempts roll now, as well. GM determines to-hit difficulty numbers for this combat round.
4. Roll Actions. All characters who declared actions roll skill dice. Actions are resolved in descending order of the number of haste actions taken. Actions with the same degree of haste are resolved simultaneously, with all non-movement actions occurring first, then all movement.
5. Calculate Damage. Roll damage, hull, and shield dice of hit targets.

Difficulty Number Chart

Force Difficulty Chart

Proximity — User and Target are:

Relationship — User and Target are:

*Farseeing only; other powers may not be used at these distances.

Falling and Collisions Table

Procedure: Find the distance fallen or the velocity of collision at the top of the table. Read down to the bottom of the table to determine the damage code. Roll as many dice as indicated. Also roll the character's strength dice. Refer to the Damage Summary to determine the amount of damage suffered.

Optional Fire Modifiers Chart

Optional Grenade Modifiers Chart

Optional Grenade Damage Modifiers

Optional Movement Chart