Services and Expenses

A brief listing of common services and expenses is given in the table below. The cost figures are guidelines only; the cost of certain services and expenses may be higher in isolated or primitive areas.

Services and Expenses Table

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Gamemaster Notes

The Star Wars universe is full of interesting, useful, and exotic technology. Compared to present-day Earth, the technology available "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" is clearly superior. From the elegant lightsaber to the astromech droid, nothing is more useful in capturing your players' interest than a nifty piece of hardware.

There are three basic types of items that characters can come across: equipment, artifacts, and super technology. All items are important in that they affect how a character deals with his environment. Some items add extra dice to a character's skills or special abilities, some make it easier to perform certain actions, and others allow characters to perform tasks that they otherwise couldn't do.

Types of Items

Equipment

Equipment is any commonly available item that characters are likely to encounter on a regular basis. Common devices in the Star Wars universe are items such as blasters, macrobinoculars, medpacs, comlinks, and most of the items in this equipment section. These items can be found virtually everywhere in the galaxy, and are easily recognized.

Artifacts

Artifacts are devices that are uncommon, rare, or even unique. In some cases, they are items of ancient, primitive technology, or historical curiosities that are still in use by some people (example: Wookiee bowcasters, which only Wookiees use). Often these devices are ancient, possess seemingly "mystic" qualities, have some historical significance, or are very powerful.

A fine example is a Jedi lightsaber: it is an ancient and respected weapon, no longer in common use, and is normally not for sale at any price. Few people have ever seen a lightsaber up close.

Another artifact would be the Jedi Holocron from the Dark Empire comic book series: it is a unique, priceless artifact, and contains ancient and powerful knowledge.

Super Technology

Super technology items are unique and very powerful items which represent remarkable advances in technology and are far beyond the reach of all but powerful organizations like the Galactic Empire. They will be immensely expensive or not available at any price.

Good examples of super technology include the superlaser on the Death Star, the World Devastators in the Dark Empire comic book series, or the Imperial cloaking devices and Spaarti cloning cylinders used in the trilogy of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars novels.

Depending upon circumstances, the definition of each classification could become blurred. Most characters might consider a certain type of weapon an artifact, but if they visit a world where they are hand-forged and are found in common usage, the characters might find them affordable, readily accessible, or even receive them as gifts.

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Creating New Artifacts and Devices

Since the fantastic devices of the Star Wars universe were part of the essential charm of the movies, gamemasters will want to create new equipment, artifacts, and possibly super technology items. This chapter can serve as a guide for creating balanced, interesting, and exciting items for your games.

Introducing New Items

The Star Wars movies are full of gadgets that are mysterious and unique to us, but to the inhabitants of the Star Wars universe are very common items. Just as everybody on Earth knows what a hammer is and what it's for, in the Star Wars universe, everyone is somewhat familiar with a "hydrospanner."

The introduction of new equipment should be a relatively mundane affair—the characters purchase or find or are given the item and they are told how it operates or have to figure it out for themselves. Any character with a decent Mechanical or Technical attribute and experience with "modern" Star Wars technology should be able to figure out common equipment.

Artifacts are not familiar to most characters. Therefore, when such a device is introduced to the game, it is suggested that the device not be fully explained. Instead, the gamemaster should try to create a sense of mystery, allowing its powers and abilities to be discovered over time. The characters should be understandably curious and even awed by some artifacts.

The introduction of super technology is almost always the focus of a major, dramatic story. The superlaser technology of the Death Star was vitally important in Star Wars: A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. The Empire's cloaking device prototypes and Spaarti cloning cylinders were central plot elements in the Timothy Zahn novels, and the World Devastators were essential to the plot of the Dark Empire comic book series.

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Don't Make the Devices Too Advanced

Beginning gamemasters are often tempted to introduce too many devices that are too powerful and lack any appropriate play balances. The biggest question you have to ask yourself is: "Why didn't we see this in the movies?"

For example, you are tempted to create a new warship that is bigger, tougher, faster, and more deadly than any other battle cruiser. Then, your players all ask the same question: "If this ship is so tough, why didn't the Empire have a fleet of them in the movies (or the books or comics)?"

This is easily solved by making the ship a new prototype that wasn't widely available, or perhaps it has a few design flaws that make it vulnerable to certain types of attacks, and thus it is only used when absolutely necessary. Possibly, the ship was busy suppressing disorder on other worlds during the movies (it is a big galaxy, after all). Another option is to set your adventures after the movies, novels, and comics and simply explain that the ship was introduced after the events in those stories.

Gamemasters have to think about the long-term implications of their new technological advances. If the gamemaster wants to introduce a way of easily tracking ships in hyperspace, this fundamentally changes the nature of the Star Wars universe. The whole plot of The Empire Strikes Back was that if the Millennium Falcon could jump to hyperspace it could escape the Imperial fleet. If it becomes easy to track ships in hyperspace, then there is no escape—the Empire can simply follow the Falcon until it is captured.

Another pitfall of this stage is the potential to over-inflate the characters' abilities. If the device makes them invincible, then what's the point of playing? If they can waltz through encounters unscathed with minimal resistance, the game just isn't very exciting, and therefore isn't Star Wars.

So how can a gamemaster combat these problems? The following are some hints to help you.

To maintain that Star Wars "feel" in terms of equipment is relatively simple. Chances are, the statistics you create for your devices should be equal to or lower than the statistics given for existing equipment.

If you do decide to give a device higher statistics or radically new abilities, the device should have a corresponding "play balance"—something that makes it less desirable. There are a few easy play balances: • The new technology is very expensive. • The new technology is secret. Only by capturing plans will people be able to replicate it. This is even better if the new technology relies on experimental parts that aren't available, and thus anyone attempting to use the new technology will have to spend a long time tracking down new parts or trying to duplicate the experimental ones. • The new technology is bulky and unwieldy. • The new technology consumes a lot of energy (like planetary shields) and therefore is very difficult to move. • The new technology is unreliable. • The new technology is only "better" under very specific circumstances, but is average or even below average in most other respects.

For example, if you create a hyperdrive even faster than the Millennium Falcon's, a good balance is that there is the danger of a reactor core melt-down with each jump. The negative balances the positive and will make your players think very hard about using, or overusing, the artifact or device.

When it comes to the hyperspace tracking system, it could be very expensive, bulky, and consume a lot of power. It could be difficult to move and have a very limited range. Therefore, it would only be useful on a planet or a very large space station, and would be better for tracking incoming and outgoing ships at close range. This way, it's not possible to be sure where a ship is going, and the idea of being able to escape by jumping into hyperspace is still possible.

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Incremental "Leaps" in Technology

Another method of maintaining game balance is the use of incremental "leaps" in technology. These minor advances in technology are easy to believe.

For example, instead of a blaster that can get 50 shots out of a power pack, how about a more efficient blaster that gets 55? Or slightly more efficient hyperdrives? These seemingly minor benefits could really aid the characters in a tight spot. The new blaster could help the characters outlast an enemy in a firefight, and a more efficient drive means fewer refueling stops, more available cargo space, and more power for shields, weapons, or sensor equipment.

Even if the enhancement is by a single "pip" or a slight increase in efficiency, it could have far-reaching benefits that the players might not appreciate right away, but will wind up being thankful for later on.

Eric is the gamemaster, Bill and Dan are both brash pilots, confronted with some opposition.

Eric: "The bounty hunters appear to have the drop on you. They have you pinned down behind some shipping crates and are blasting away. Obviously, they don't want to take you alive. Now what?"

Dan: "I shoot back, using those new blaster pistols of ours, the BlasTech Eliminator-7's. They have that new, more efficient power pack, right? That's what the salesman said."

Bill: "Hey, yeah, that's right! Maybe we can blast these guys when they exhaust their weapons. We should have 5 extra shots that they don't. Eric, we keep shooting at them and try to get them to drain their guns. OK?"

Eric: "Sounds like a plan…"

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Remember Your Character's Abilities

If you are planning on creating a piece of equipment for a specific character, keep in mind that character's abilities. If you create a device that enhances Force skills for your young Jedi, who is relatively unskilled, keep in mind that he or she will probably not be this unskilled for long.

Keep the bonuses to the character fairly low, because as they advance in power due to normal adventuring, the device can lead to that character becoming virtually unstoppable. Trying to create opposition for an invincible character is terribly difficult. It is best to avoid this situation entirely rather than try to "fix" it later on.

You're not really being stingy with the benefits; no matter what bonus they receive for using this equipment, the characters will still be slightly better off than they were before they received the equipment.

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"Disposable" Technology

Finally, a terrific way to alleviate both the problem of maintaining a Star Wars feel and keeping the game balanced in terms of equipment is to make the item in question fairly temporary. A thermal detonator or grenade can only be used once and then it is gone.

Why not use the same principle for really powerful equipment so its usage will be strongly curtailed? If you create a new hyperdrive that moves twice as fast as the Millennium Falcon's, but burns out the control circuitry and self-destructs when it is used more than once, that answers the question of "Why isn't it in widespread use?"

The answer is pretty simple: it's impractical. It can bail the characters out of a jam once. After that, you won't have to worry about the characters overusing the device.

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Restricting Access

Using and giving out equipment, both new and old, requires careful consideration. If not properly rationed out, equipment can seriously unbalance an adventure.

One problem is that novice players want everything in existence. Your players may request to be equipped with anything from a thermal detonator to a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. As a new gamemaster, you may feel the need to give the players everything they want to keep them happy. Don't give in to this temptation. Here's why:

Eric: "Ok gang! You see four black-cloaked bounty hunters leveling their blaster rifles at you and yelling at you to surrender. What do you do?"

Bill: "I guess I'll use that surface-to-orbit comlink and call in a turbolaser strike from the star cruiser."

Eric: (Rolling dice.) "FOOM! Got 'em."

Dan: (Stifling yawn.) "This is boring…"

The problem with giving the characters too much equipment is that it leaves them without any challenges. If the outcome is never in doubt, there is no suspense, and consequently very little entertainment value.

Don't Skimp on the Villain's Equipment

Give your characters a real fight! If they have a case of thermal detonators, give the bad guys some kind of defense against explosives. If the characters have a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser at their disposal, give their enemies a Star Destroyer.

Nothing will catch your players' attention more than a really tough villain. In terms of equipment, if the characters are well-equipped, their enemies should be better equipped. This isn't so much robbing the players of victory as it is making them earn victory.

As long as the story itself is served, and the characters are forced to rely on their wits and skills rather than their equipment, then your game is more likely to be a success.

Eric: "You see four bounty hunters, all wearing heavy black cloaks and hoods. They are leveling their blaster rifles at you and yelling at you to surrender. What do you do?"

Bill: (To Dan.) "Um… well, how about that last thermal detonator?"

Dan: "Sure. (Rolls dice.) I activate the thermal detonator, count to three and heave it!"

Eric: (Rolling dice) "Good shot! It lands right in between the group of them and explodes as you dive for cover. Now what?"

Dan: "Well, I'll walk up to the bodies…"

Eric: "Not so fast. The bounty hunters look pretty annoyed. The are brushing off the burning remains of those black cloaks, revealing the plasma-hardened blast armor that covers them from head to toe. The armor itself is glowing faintly as it radiates the thermal detonator's blast heat. A couple of the bounty hunters are chuckling evilly and taking steady aim again with their rifles. Now what?"

Dan: "We could try to shoot our way out …"

Bill: "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

As illustrated, the characters are being forced to rely on their brains rather than their hardware. Now there is challenge in the game and the story can proceed.

Make the Characters Really Work for Their Equipment

If the characters require (or desire) a particularly powerful piece of technology, don't just let them pop into the Star Wars equivalent of the local convenience store and purchase, steal, or otherwise obtain it. Make it difficult for them.

The quest to obtain what they want, instead of having it handed to them, can lead to all sorts of interesting encounters.

Of course, as gamemaster, you have to make sure that restricting equipment is logical. You can't arbitrarily refuse the characters a blaster if everyone else can get one easily. But if the equipment would logically be difficult to get, then you have every right to make the characters struggle to get what they want.

For example, if the characters in your game happen to be allied with the Rebel Alliance or New Republic, they may believe that if they requisition the equipment from their quartermaster they will automatically receive the hardware they want. Right?

Wrong. If the characters' requests are too much for you to maintain game balance, don't let them have the equipment!

Fortunately, the Empire and Republic restrict the most interesting equipment, like weapons, so there is a logical reason to restrict the characters' access to weapons. In fact, many adventures could be written about characters having to go steal or secretly purchase restricted equipment.

Why give the characters thermal detonators when you can have the Alliance send the characters to steal a bunch of thermal detonators from an Imperial ammo dump on a distant world?

Also, situations in a specific adventure may allow the gamemaster to restrict equipment. If the characters' ship crash lands on a frontier world, it's entirely believable that some equipment will have been destroyed and the characters will probably have to do without until they reach "civilization" again.

There are a number of ways to get around the problem of denying the characters equipment and still keep the players happy. The Alliance is in a state of war, so supplies are severely limited. If the characters are asking for major weaponry, they should be made aware that ordnance is needed elsewhere for another unit or military mission. Or that the quartermaster hasn't received his shipment this month. Or that the Alliance ran out.

In the time of the New Republic, the new government has not yet established shipping routes and connections, and has gone so far as to offer cargo runs to smugglers to get the shipping of materials flowing again. The Empire has seriously curtailed shipping, both by confiscating vessels and blowing them right out of space.

There are shortages and rationing everywhere, so this is an easy way for you as gamemaster to overcome outrageous requests for equipment. If the players still want the equipment, then you can have the Alliance or New Republic assign the player characters the task of locating a source for the equipment as a subplot or even a major portion of your game.

If, on the other hand, your players are not allied with the Republic or Rebel Alliance, and are instead smugglers or bounty hunters, specialized equipment will probably be much more difficult to come by. Heavy weapons, personal firearms, explosives, and such are all heavily regulated and licensed by everyone from the Republic and the Empire to individual planetary governments.

If your players have planned some kind of mischief with heavy ordnance, they may wind up hunted fugitives (if they aren't already). Of course, your players will probably want the stuff anyway… so how can they get it?

There is always an outlet for equipment and other merchandise. The manufacturers, often large industrial juggernauts like Sienar Fleet Systems or BlasTech, all have distribution and retail centers in major spaceports and cities to sell their standard legal equipment.

For example, the characters may seek starship engine components at a Sienar outlet, though they would have difficulty buying a blaster there.

Independent merchants can be found everywhere, hawking everything from comlinks to starship engines, but they sometimes charge impressive mark-ups from the list prices.

If your players are looking for something really illegal, there's always the black market (also known in galactic slang as "the Invisible Market.") Powerful gangsters and petty thieves alike all need an outlet for their goods and services, and more often than not, they cannot just set up shop and start retailing.

Instead, a rather extensive network of fences, corrupt government officials, and rumors exists. The marketeers use this network to sell whatever is available to whoever is willing to pay the Invisible Market's astronomically inflated prices.

If your players have their hearts (or other appropriate internal organs…) set on finding a "hyperwave emissions enhancement filter" and the only way currently available to obtain the device is to enter into a smuggling contract with Ploovo Two-For-One, then you've got a fantastic subplot for your current game or even a starting point for an entire campaign. And all motivated by a solitary piece of equipment…

Eric: (As an alien merchant) "As you can see, noble sentients. Goods and services, have I! What seek you here, eh?"

Bill: "Well, we need some specialized navigation software for our navicomputer. You were, uh… recommended to us."

Eric: (Suspiciously) "Recommended? By who?"

Dan: "Uh… look, we'd rather not go into that. I'm sick of being shot at. Do you have the software or not?"

Eric: "Ah, but of course… and you have the 5,000 credits it will cost, am I correct?"

Dan and Bill: (In unison) "FIVE THOUSAND?! Our whole computer system didn't cost that much!"

Eric: "As you wish, gentle-beings. Plot your next hyperspace jump on an abacus. Good day…"

Bill: "Uh, wait a minute, can't we deal here?"

Eric: "A favor you could do for me? Give you your software, I will, after you deliver package for me."

Dan: "I guess so… what's the cargo?"

Eric: "Trivial cargo of spice from Kessel. Nothing really important."

Bill: "I have a really bad feeling about this…"

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Limit the Number of Devices That the Characters Can Have

It's common sense: the characters can only carry so much. Don't give them such an abundance of equipment that it would take a fleet of Corellian bulk cruisers and a legion of Wookiees to move around.

There's no way a Human can carry around a case of grenades and still draw and fire his blaster accurately. If you give the characters a case of thermal detonators, give some major die code penalties to the character carrying them.

Another method of limiting the devices is to not give them everything they ask for. If your players ask for a case of thermal detonators, tell them that there's only two or three available. That way, they will be pleased to have some new "toys" but they will also have to be extremely judicious in their use. You will be satisfying the players' hunger for new equipment while maintaining game balance.

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The Creation Process

Now that some of the basic concerns with device creation and use have been discussed, the following four-step process can be used to create new equipment, artifacts, and items of super technology.

Step One: What Does the Device Do and How Does It Work?

This is the first logical step in developing a particular piece of hardware. When the characters come across a new piece of equipment or an artifact, they are going to want to know exactly what the device is and how it works.

Equipment If the device is a piece of equipment it is probably pretty mundane to the characters. While the players may find the idea of a restraining bolt for droids interesting, their characters have known it every day of their lives.

In creating new equipment, you must first know what specific function the item performs. Most pieces of equipment will be a futuristic version of an existing Earth device or will be practical extensions of the unique technology of the Star Wars universe.

If you want to create new items of technology, look through an Earth equivalent catalog and extrapolate the technology. For example, if you want to run a game with an espionage theme, some kinds of equipment you may want to create for your characters could be listening devices, computer probes, remote detection gear, and stealth-enhancing equipment.

If the piece of equipment is similar to a real-world piece of equipment, it is normally enough to tell the players what it does. If you tell your players that they have a jet pack, they will just assume they can strap it on and fly. Of course, since the technology is Star Wars, it will be more advanced, smaller, and more easily used than Earth technology.

When using equipment that doesn't translate to Earth terms, consider similar fields and think of novel ways of addressing the same problems. For example, droids are a combination of self-aware computer, industrial machine, and servant or worker. For suggestions on coming up with new types of droids, think of a type of job a specific droid could be built to accomplish.

For attachments, see what types of parts are available in that field (for example, medical droids have laser scalpels, anesthesia and medicine dispensers, and all sorts of neat tools).

If the piece of equipment is something that doesn't have a real-world analogy, it may take a little more explanation.

Fusion Welder: The gamemaster, Eric, wants to give the player characters a torch for the adventure. Since this is a very common type of device in the real world and the Star Wars universe, he thinks of it as an advanced propane torch.

However, instead of ignited pressurized gas, the new device will create a fusion reaction internally, focusing the energy out of the nozzle. It requires a small bit of blaster gas and uses small power cells only a couple of centimeters across.

Artifacts Artifacts should provide abilities that the characters don't normally have access to or do a common task in a unique way. They can have any type of function, ranging from those similar to tools (such as causing damage like a weapon, or adding a few dice to a certain skill, such as macrobinoculars adding to search).

They can also provide capabilities and powers that no technological equivalent can—perhaps an artifact gives the characters the ability to read minds, or gives the character instant mental access to the equivalent of a galactic encyclopedia.

An artifact doesn't need to be explained. If technologically based, it might run on power cells. However, if the device is truly alien, it might run on mental power or emanations in the Force. In fact, no one may know "how" it works—it just does.

The Codex: Eric wants to create a device for a young Jedi named Pann. Eric decides that this artifact will play an important role in his next adventure. Eric determines that the device is totally alien in origin, a mysterious and powerful artifact from a lost species.

Since Pann the Jedi must be drawn to the device for storytelling purposes, it stands to reason that it is somehow linked to the Force. Eric brainstorms a bit and decides that the device is extremely powerful, and has a variety of functions in the hands of a Jedi.

While he won't determine all of the Codex's abilities right now, he'll settle on the basic functions a Jedi will be able to determine immediately: • The device locates disturbances in the Force, leading (or possibly luring) the characters to trouble spots. • The device can increase Force Skill die codes substantially, making a Jedi even more powerful.

The unit can be activated with a Very Easy control roll on the part of the user. As previously stated, the device has numerous other functions, but to make sure Pann doesn't become too powerful right away, Eric decides that it will take much study for Pann to learn what other abilities the unit has.

Super Technology Super technology is simply a really interesting or advanced technological development. The superlaser and World Devastators show how powerful weapons can be; the Spaarti cloning cylinders allow the controller to make countless clones.

Super technology should provide a completely new ability or be a very, very powerful version of an existing item. Remember that super technology is not intended to fall into the hands of the characters. More often than not, super technology is more of a plot device than something that will actually be used. The threat of the Death Star was more than enough to make it effective.

Nanogene Droids: The gamemaster wants to give the villain of his adventure a powerful and unique weapon. He decides on nanogene droids—highly experimental microscopic machines that affect the cells of living organisms.

When the droids are injected into a being, they can somehow rewrite the genetic code of the being, causing it to change to whatever pattern was programmed into the nanogene droids. With this device the villain plans on converting the population of a planet into an army of zombie-like mutated warriors. This certainly has the horrific punch of other super technology weapons.

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Source: REUP:359