Each character starts with three Aspects (a high concept, a trouble, and an additional one), the six approaches (Careful, Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Quick, and Sneaky) and one stunt. Most other Fate-based games have a lot more Aspects (up to ten) and use a long list of skills. Reducing the number of Aspects makes it much easier for new players to get into the game. I also guess that these two Aspects get much more use than the regular Aspect in a Fate Core game. Approaches are basically very broad skills. At first I was not too fond of the idea of replacing concrete skills with the more fuzzy approaches, I actually grow fond of them after a while. One of the goals of FAE obviously was to be more newbie-friendly. And it’s definitely easier to explain how to use the approaches instead of the regular Fate skills.

I haven’t run any FAE games yet, but I already have some ideas how it could be used by me in the future. Since it’s pretty rules-light and written in a way that even RPG newbies can understand its rules, FAE is perfect to introduce new players to the hobby. Characters can be created in mere minutes and have enough “meat on their bones” to be interesting. As soon as there’s a German translation, I will introduce the game to my RPG pub meeting crowd!

Fate has always a game that made me interested in tinkering with it. FAE makes this even easier. From what I’ve seen so far it should be easier and faster to add stuff to FAE instead of tinkering with the more massive Fate Core. BUT I haven’t delved too deep into Fate Core yet, so I might be mistaken.

FAE might also be perfectly suited for one-shots and con games. Without having to tweak the rules you should be able to run games in every setting imaginable. The approaches are genre-agnostic and stunts are player-defined, so they can easily made to fit the setting you have in mind. So you want to run a game set into the setting of your favorite TV show or computer game? No problem. Create the characters and you’re good to go. FAE might not be as easy as RISUS, but I am pretty sure it could be used in pretty much the same way.

I am definitely excited about what the community will do with the Fate Accelerated Edition rules in the future. Evil Hat will release a new edition of the Dresden Files RPG in the coming year, which could finally allow me to run games in this setting. The current Dresden Files game using the 3rd edition of the Fate rules always felt a too crunchy to me.

What are your thoughts of FAE? Are you looking forward to get it when it’s publically available? Or do you stick to regular Fate Core? Please share your thoughts below. Every comment is highly appreciated.

Related posts:

1. Strands of Fate
2. Kickstarter: Fate Core System
3. FATE review

Alas that’s not always the case. As I see it, you usually purchase adventures to make things easier for you. But in my experience a lot of adventure modules available for purchase are not that great. I don’t want to talk about any adventure in particular, mainly because there are some issues I have seen way too often. What follows is my list of things that adventure authors should try to avoid.

No proper GM summary
When things are ideal the adventure starts with a summary for the GM where you get an overview of what the adventure is about. Reading the summary should be sufficient to understand the plot. But I’ve seen more than enough adventures that either don’t have a summary at all or the summary is missing important information. In an ideal world the GM always reads the whole adventure thoroughly before running it. But we’re not living in an ideal world and sometimes you just didn’t have the time to properly prepare. Isn’t that one of the reasons why we bought the adventure module in the first place?

Bad organization
Even a missing GM summary isn’t that bad when the adventure is organized well and it’s easy to find the information you need. But I’ve read quite a few adventure modules that totally lacked organizations. Running the game involved flipping through the adventure all the time while I tried to find out the stats of an important NPC or where the next room is described in detail. There are two concepts that usually work very well. Either you try to place important stats, optional rules, designer notes etc. close to where they are needed, or you compile all information at the end of the book. Mixing the two concepts is fine, as long as there’s some internal consistency. It’s no fun wondering where to find the information you need right now.

No or bad research
This can be an issue especially with historic, modern or near future games. I remember a couple of adventures I ran, that had major design flaws. There was one Shadowrun adventure (I think it had been published in a magazine) that made absolutely no sense. The whole plot was centered around around a nuclear power plant which has gone into meltdown a couple of year ago. The adventure mixed action and horror and sounded pretty good, but alas the authors didn’t do their homework. Everything concerning the nuclear power plant was pretty much wrong and my players mainly consisted of physics students. Something similar happened in several badly researched Call of Cthulhu adventures were the authors made a lot of errors regarding historic events and geography. Fixing these things usually costs a lot of time and effort. In some cases things are so broken that the whole premise of the adventure doesn’t work anymore after you’ve fixed the inaccuracies. In a lot of games you can easily get away with some minor inconsistencies, but when things get too bad, the sense of disbelief goes totally out of the window. So, please, dear adventure authors, do your homework and put some effort into research!

Railroading to the extreme
Your mileage may vary, but I can live with some railroading. But what I don’t like is when railroading is turned to eleven. I remember adventures that basically consisted of a string of scenes and the player characters were forced to go from scene to scene in a predetermined path. In another adventure module a lot of detective work on the part of the player characters was necessary in order to get all the clues, but the adventure did everything it could to prevent them from searching for clues. After a while I got the impression that the author actually wanted to write a movie script. Extreme railroading is not only getting old pretty quickly, it also messes with the players’ sense of disbelief. You just can’t immerse yourself in the game world, when you feel like some invisible strings drag you along.

These are the four deadly sins of adventure design, but there are a couple of minor quibbles that crop up from time to time. Some adventures only allow you to play one of several pre-generated characters. This is not a big deal for one-shots, but if you want to run a longer campaign, it’s a no-go. I also encountered a couple of adventures that claim compatibility with a certain system, but then lists skills, stats, etc. which don’t exist in the system mentioned. This can usually be fixed pretty quickly, but it’s definitely annoying. There are more things that could go wrong with published adventures, but I think the things I mentioned today should suffice for now. There are of course a lot of great adventure modules out there that avoid a lot of these pitfalls.

What do you think about published adventures? What annoys you most? What do you like? Or do you usually write your own adventures? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Related posts:

1. New adventure for Dungeonslayers
2. Leagues of Adventure
3. Review: Fantasy Craft Adventure Companion

But there are a couple of computer roleplaying games that actually allow you to roleplay to a degree. Others are great examples of world-building which could be an inspiration to GMs who love to create their own settings. There are three of these games I want to write about today.

Fallout
One of my all-time favorite computer games is Fallout. I am actually talking about the 1997 Interplay game here. The original Fallout takes place in a post-apocalyptic Southern California. It’s the year 2161 and family of the hero has survived the apocalypse in a huge underground vault. After a vital piece of equipment breaks down, the hero is sent out to retrieve a replacement from another vault. Of course this is only the first step in an epic adventure. What set Fallout apart from other games of the time was that you really could play the game like you wanted. You could focus on fighting your way through any opposition, outsmart or sneak around your enemies. In my first playthrough I played a charismatic and intelligent character that solved almost any problem with talking instead of shooting. I had a blast. The writing was solid, it had great humor, and a gripping, pretty non-linear story. Your decisions actually mattered, unlike in other games where different dialog options always lead to the same outcome.
In my humble opinion the Fallout universe is also deep enough to be used as a basis for a tabletop campaign. The sequels Fallout 2, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are still great games, but the first Fallout is definitely the best title in the series.
Fallout was actually meant to employ the GURPS rules, but Steve Jackson Games was unhappy about the game’s mature content, so the developers had to come up with a completely original system.

Mass Effect
If you’re even remotely interested in computer and video games you must’ve heard about the Mass Effect series. The Mass Effect trilogy spawned several spin-off games for mobile devices, comics, book, an animated movie and there are even plans for a feature film. Mass Effect is a science fiction action RPG developed by Bioware which tells the story of Commander Shepard who is fighting against the mysterious Reapers who wipe out the major civilizations of the Milky Way in a regular cycle. When I first played Mass Effect I was surprised how deep the background setting was. The Mass Effect feels much larger than the game itself. In a way it reminded me of the Star Wars galaxy. Even after watching Episode 4 I felt that I have glanced into a much larger universe. I felt the same with Mass Effect 1.
The gameplay varied slightly during the series. Mass Effect 2 and 3 feel much more like first person shooters than the first game in the series. But like in the aforementioned Fallout, combat is not everything that matters in Mass Effect. The decisions you made actually mattered and sometimes things you’ve done in the first episode of the trilogy affected events in the last episode. The conclusion of the series was a letdown to many gamers, but overall Mass Effect is probably the computer game that had the biggest emotional effect on me. I have to admit that there’s one scene in Mass Effect 3 that brought tears into my eyes. This is something no other computer game has achieved so far.
Why do I recommend Mass Effect to tabletop RPG fans? Mostly because of the setting. Mass Effect is a incredibly deep (for a computer game) and well designed space opera that works great at the tabletop. I’ve successfully run a Mass Effect game in the past using Starblazer Adventures and there are many other conversions available on the internet.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Skyrim is the lastest game in the Elder Scrolls series. Like it’s predecessors it’s set in the continent of Tamriel, which has been ruled by the Empire for millenia. But things started to go downhill after the last member of the Septim bloodline sacrificed himself. The game is set into the northern-most province of the Empire called Skyrim. The game starts with your player character being sentenced to death but a sudden dragon attack gives you the chance to escape and eventually start a new life. After a short and pretty linear tutorial during which you can flee from the dragon attack, a whole world opens up for you to explore. Skyrim is a huge and beautiful sandbox for you to play in. There are countless dungeons, several large cities, small towns, lone farm houses, hundreds of quests, a crafting system, houses for you to buy and decorate… The options are almost endless. The main story of Skyrim is actually not that great, but that’s probably not why anyone plays an Elder Scrolls game. The Elder Scrolls series always provided a great sandbox experience. Other parts of the series probably offered you a deeper gameplay – in older titles you could even create custom spells and own businesses – but Skyrim is definitely the most accessible game of the series. By the way, Ken Rolston, who was lead designer for two games of the series, Oblivion and Morrowind, was a pen & paper RPG designer before he entered the video game industry. I think it’s no surprise that the rules system used in the earlier games of the series reminds me a lot of RuneQuest.

Honorable Mentions
If you are looking for other great games aside from the ones mentioned above, check out the other episodes of the Fallout, Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls series. If you don’t mind the dated graphics and gameplay you also should give the Ultima series a try. It’s one of the longest running computer game series and loved by many, even though the last two installments of the series were pretty bad. If you’re looking for a truly memorable story check out Planescape Torment. In my opinion it’s definitely the best AD&D-based computer RPG out there. Troika Games’ Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magicks Obscura is steampunk fantasy game that plays a lot like the original Fallout. It has some quirks and is still somewhat buggy, but both the story and the world are worth your time. It’s one of those settings I would to use at the tabletop one day. Last but not least, I have a treat for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series: Cyanide’s Game of Thrones is an underrated gem. The graphics are somewhat outdated and the animations and voice acting are not the best out there, but the plot is truly awesome.

What are your thoughts on computer roleplaying games? Do you like them or hate them? Have you ever used elements from video games in your pen & paper roleplaying games? Please share your thoughts below!

Related posts:

1. Videogames that should be turned into pen & paper RPGs
2. Crafting at the Tabletop
3. Converting videogames to the gaming table

In fact a lot of GMs also put a lot of pressure on themselves. Some GMs not only run the games, but they also write the adventures, or even create the whole game world. Heck, there are quite a few GMs who actually wrote their own house rules or even created whole systems from scratch. So it’s just natural that they feel pressure when they present their creations to the group.

Over the years I’ve noticed that running games has turned from something that was fun into something that I subconsciously tried to avoid. I love coming up with awesome game worlds, I’ve written several RPGs, I’ve written (or improvised) the vast majority of my games, and I am pretty sure that my players enjoyed themselves most of the time.  But while my players were usually very patient, understanding and helpful, I felt that I put more and more pressure onto myself. I always liked to try out new systems and new worlds, but over the years the campaigns I ran got shorter and shorter – mostly because I thought the games had “jumped the shark”. As you can imagine, the unexpected success I had with Warrior, Rogue & Mage back in 2010, didn’t really help. The pressure slowly became unbearable.

Looking back I now realize that I probably already suffered from depression back then. One common symptom is that you feel that nothing you do has any worth or that it is not good enough. This feeling has caused me to stop working on quite a few game design projects and it’s also a reason why it’s currently so hard for me to start running games again. Being a GM with depressions is probably a special case, but I am sure that a lot of you GMs out there feel that pressure from time to time, too – especially if you have very demanding players.

So what can we do to deal with these feelings? I think the first step is to openly talk about this issue. Roleplaying games are pretty social games and often your players are also your friends. So talk to them about it. Sometimes talking a break may help or asking someone else to run a game for a couple of sessions. Another way to reduce pressure is to switch to another system and/or setting you’re more comfortable with. Or just run a beer-and-pretzels game for a while, before you get back to more elaborate campaigns.

What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you feel a certain pressure, too, when you are running games? What are your methods to deal with that feeling? Please share your thoughts below!

Related posts:

1. GM Advice: How to handle “GM’s block”
2. To Savage or Not to Savage
3. Ask Th’ Readers: What’s Yer favorite Pirate RPG?

Recently I noticed a discussion on Google+ about whether gamers prefer PDFs or printed books. This subject crops up from time to time and I noticed that with the greater availability of tablet PCs more and more people start to pick electronic versions of roleplaying game books over the dead tree versions. So I thought I should share my thoughts on this subject with my dear readers.

I always have been an early adopter of new technologies and my collection of roleplaying game PDFs is much, much larger than my collection of printed books. PDFs are especially handy when it comes to preparing games. Looking up things is much easier because of full-text search and you can easily copy sections you want to reuse in your cheat sheets or player handouts. A lot of us do their prep work on the PC anyway.

I know from conversations I had with other gamers that a lot of groups have completely switched to PDFs and tablet PCs at the game table. If everyone in the group has a tablet PC or smartphone with a reasonably big screen, using PDFs instead of dead tree versions of books may make a lot of sense. From my D&D 3.5 days I still remember the hassle to carry around half a dozen of heavy hardbound books all the time. So using a tablet PCs and PDFs is the reasonable thing to do for most GMs.

But for some reason I still prefer using mostly dead tree books at the game table. One reason may be that I just like to leaf through real books. The physical sensation of leafing through a book and the smell of the paper are still almost magical to me. I guess nostalgia plays a major role here.

I own a lot of games I will probably never run and in these cases I am more than happy with the PDF version alone. But with the games I run, I prefer to have a dead tree copy of the rules in addition a PDF copy. For preparing the game and quickly looking up things I use the PDF (on my PC or tablet PC) and while running I rely on the paper version. For Stars Without Number I actually got a second copy of the printed book so I can give one copy to my players as well.

I guess that in the future I’ll probably rely more often on PDFs alone. In most cases PDFs are cheaper and if you own a reasonably fast tablet PC they have quite a few advantages over the dead tree version. What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you have the same feeling for dead tree books as I do, or have you fully embraced the digital age? Please share your thoughts below.

Related posts:

1. DIY: Binding your printed PDFs
2. Ask The Stargazer: “Would you be willing to provide some insight into your thoughts on layout for free RPG PDFs?”
3. PDFs: Who Needs ‘Em?

A couple of months ago an old friend of mine, Rouven Weinbach, got in touch with me. Unbeknownst to me, he was now working as freelancer for the German RPG publisher 13Mann, and has written a supplement for Traveller (compatible with Mongoose’s Traveller) called “Robots“. I have to admit that I am no expert on Traveller and me writing a review wouldn’t probably do the product justice, so we decided it would be a fun idea to do an interview with Rouven instead.

Stargazer: Thanks for taking your time to answer a couple of questions about Traveller, Robots, 13Mann and yourself. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Rouven: Gladly. I am a game designer and author and have been in touch with RPGs since the tender age of 12. That was the time when Ronald Reagan was still dreaming of SDI and the number of roleplaying products were still countable. Like most GMs I wrote my own adventures. Some of them bad, some of them worse but I never stopped doing it.

Being a game designer and author is not my real job though. I only do it during my spare time. My real job is with a big logistics company in Germany.

Stargazer: I don’t think I ever asked you, but what was actually the first roleplaying game you played?

Rouven: That’s easy. It was The Dark Eye. I guess it was and still is the first RPG many roleplayers in Germany will come in contact with. D&D and Traveller were the next ones though.

Stargazer: Back in the day, when we first met, you had just written a homebrew Perry Rhodan roleplaying game. Have you ever considered getting the license or working with the publisher to get it released?

Rouven: I had published my Perry Rhodan RPG online sometime in 1998 (I had to learn HTML for it). I did it as fan content and was kind of worried the publisher might sue me over copyright infringements. Then sometime in 2000 or 2001 I got an email from the German publisher starting with something along the line of “Your RPG is good, too good to be allowed to stay online like that.” And immediately I thought their lawyers were zeroing in on me and got very nervous, but as it turned out they wanted to license the RPG and publish it. A couple of weeks later I was officially in talks with Pabel-Moewig, the German publisher. For some reason I still don’t know why Pabel-Moewig cut all communications after some time and they published the other Perry Rhodan RPG which you know. In hindsight, I think it wasn’t that bad for me after all. I had some ambitious ideas but my RPG lacked game balance back then, esp. with all the different kinds of alien races the Perry Rhodan universe provides from the start. It was like allowing such character choices as great wyrms and halfings at the same time.

Stargazer: How did you become a freelancer for 13Mann Verlag? Was this something you wanted to do for a long time or was it a more spontaneous decision?

Rouven: 13Mann had the Traveller license and I only found that out in 2009. Being my third RPG ever and a fan of Traveller since the 80s, I was hooked. I thought I should waste no time and presented them a game idea for a Traveller strategic board game I had designed – this time knowing a thing or two about game balance.

Although the board game didn’t bear any fruits mostly due to the fact that it is a complex game (along the lines of Axis & Allies and Twilight Imperium if you happen to know them) I noticed they had Traveller Core Rules and Spinward Marches but nothing for Robots. I also checked Mongoose’s website and at that time it wasn’t even mentioned in the pipeline. So I decided to write Robots and the rest is history as they say…

Stargazer: As I already mentioned you have written a Traveller supplement by the name of Robots. What can you tell me about the book?

Rouven: It’s awesome! Best money you will have ever invested. Go buy it. Now!

Apart from that, I should note that I didn’t write it all by myself. Tobias Freund helped me with a lot of ideas and the cyborg & augmentation chapters.

As I mentioned, I liked Traveller since the 80s but the book that influenced me the most in that product line was clearly CT Book 8: Robots. I spent hours developing robots for all kinds of purposes with that book when I was younger. Had I known that twenty years later I was to write a book about it, I might have kept all those papers. Now I had to start over and one of the most difficult problems was aligning the rules with the Mongoose Traveller Core Rule Book. They had already several robots mentioned along with prices and everything. There were also prices for individual equipment which you might find in a robot. Now my challenge was to develop a ruleset that would fit all that. Robot attributes equipment and prices. Oh and on top of it the rules had to be playable of course. After that the rest was pretty easy. I added nanobots and cyborgs which have become a staple in sci-fi but not necessarily in the Third Imperium. And while I was at it, I thought of very large robots on legs and what would happen if a human controls it? So I added the cockpit option and you have mechas. There are plenty of ideas at least hinted at in that book (zombies controlled by nanobots for instance). For me it’s a one stop shop for everything robots, computers and cyborg related.

Stargazer: How is your book different from the old Traveller supplement by that name? And there’s a book by Mongoose called “Book 9: Robot”. Can you tell us about what sets your book apart?

Rouven: CT Book 8 was my inspiration and so you will find all the fluff is still there. I also made use of old terms where they made sense and got rid of parts that seemed no longer necessary after 20 years of computer development in the real world or when the rules no longer required it. For instance I got rid of the rule where a type of limb dictates your robots Dexterity and Strength. Mongoose Traveller has no rules for hitting limbs in combat and we also don’t create characters and assign characteristics to limbs. So why keep an unnecessary rule?

About the new Mongoose Robots book. I can tell you very little. 13Mann Robots was published before Mongoose Robots and I have never read Mongoose’s Book 9, but it seems they split cybernetics and robots. I was also told by some die-hard Traveller fans that they bought both books and they definitely know which book they prefer. They did it with a hidden tone of appreciation in their voices, so I assume it’s mine but there’s no way of telling for sure at the moment.

Stargazer: As far as I know “Robots” is the first 13Mann product released in English. Are there plans for more international products from the publisher?

Rouven: Yes, there are. In fact we will be publishing a Traveller Map of the Spinward Marches in May. We also have published our own adventures and think of providing them to the English speaking community. Maybe by the end of this year we will have something more to show. It is quite exciting but to be honest we are a small publisher making our first baby steps in the international market. We still need to find our way around, contact distributors whole sellers and many more. And above all we need feedback from the international community.

And if you happen to have adventures you would like to submit in English, feel free to do so. We are always looking for new Traveller adventures.

Stargazer: Can you please give us some details on the Traveller poster map that you plan to release in May?

Rouven: That’s a full-colored, two-sided, 96×68 cm (that is 38.5″ x 26.7″ for those of you who refuse to adopt international standards) large map in a coated re-usable envelope for protection. The first side shows a rather well known map with political borders, UWP but also some novelties such as all stars and star types, graphical representation of atmospheres and hydrography.

The second page shows something never seen in Traveller. At least to my knowledge: Trade codes for each world on the map. They are not in a table in a book where you have to cross reference all the time to check for lucrative nearby trading options but directly next to the world on the map. You will also find some information from GURPS Far Trader like WTN and BTN graphically represented on the map for each world, and to top it off, you will see a graphical representation of a Spinward Marches census. Median TL per world and per capita per subsector. Lots of information never seen before. Plus a few Easter eggs here and there of course.

I’ll give you some pictures worth more than thousand words.

Stargazer: I recently read that you stepped down as Traveller product manager at 13Mann in order to work on other projects. Can you already reveal on what you’re working on or is it still top secret?

Rouven: Yes, I stepped down as Traveller product manager to make way for Christian Hanisch, who flew to San Francisco once to buy his copy of Azanti High Lightning.. at least so the legend goes. However, I did it to become the new CEO of 13Mann. I think you are one of the first people I tell this to. There were some pending legal issues and I wanted to keep it low for a while. Now that they are solved, I am looking forward to making this little company a little better known and maybe – just maybe – deliver some excellent products to the international community as well.

Stargazer: Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, but which I forgot to ask you about?

Rouven:If this were a late night talk show, I would desperately try to hold my product in the camera one more time but here I stop short of that and only tell you our website is www.13mann.com but you can also order our Robots pdf at Drivethru and the map will be available at amazon.com and amazon.de in May.

Stargazer: Thanks again for the interview, Rouven!

Rouven: It’s been a pleasure!

Related posts:

1. First Look: Traveller Core Rulebook
2. Retro review: Traveller
3. There’s more to OGL than d20 (Part 2)

The last weeks and months have been quite hard for me. Even though I have been in therapy for the last months, my mental health issues flared up again earlier this year. I had to cancel a SWN campaign I wanted to run, because the fear I could mess up things again, turned into fully-blown anxiety attacks. Focussing on anything became exeedingly hard and I had to be signed off work for four weeks.

According to my therapist I suffer from a moderate depressive episode. In my case anxiety and sleep disorders are among the major symptoms. I am also pretty thin-skinned and prone to bouts of anger. I easily get frustrated, which doesn’t really help with creative endeavours like preparing for a roleplaying campaign or writing blog posts. In the last few months it has become pretty obvious that I suffer from some kind of mental health issue. But looking back, I realized that I have been suffering from depression for much, much longer.

Being able to call my mental health issues by name is actually helping a lot. Up until a while ago, I always had to give some pretty fuzzy explanations on what was wrong with me. Now that I know that it’s depression I suffer from, things are easier. I still have to cope with the symptoms from time to time, but it’s easier to talk about my problems. In addition to that the new medication my doctor prescribed seems to help.

Since I haven’t run any games in a while, writing about RPGs is becoming harder. I always drew a lot of inspirations from what I’ve experienced at the game table and at this moment I feel like a fake when I am writing about something I actually don’t do at the moment. There are also a couple of books on my shelf that need to be reviewed, but I haven’t managed to read them thouroughly – and my bad conscience isn’t helping.

I am pretty sure that things will slowly improve over time, but currently I am still struggling to cope with the daily chores. So please bear with me, if I don’t manage to post in a regular manner. I also hope you don’t mind if I use this blog to write about my depressions from time to time. Talking with other people about my problems has always helped me to cope and writing about it isn’t much different. I also got the impression that depression and other mental health issues are not uncommon in the RPG scene, so perhaps this topic is not completely off-topic at all.

Related posts:

1. The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry
2. Check out Signs & Portents #80
3. Life and times of a RPG industry freelancer

Almost two years ago I wrote my first post about a sci-fi setting I had in mind. I plan ahead for my campaign so I knew I wanted to run some sci-fi and began to put together some ideas about what to run. I posted a first draft here in the blog, talked with my players, the majority was excited about the prospect, listened to the comments the first time around, and have been tinkering with it ever since.

In the meantime I wrote about designing aliens (and some wonderful readers offered to help with the design, I never took you up on it because just what the aliens looked like had not really solidified in my mind, but if the offer is still good I’d love to work with any artist willing to help!) and wrote the end of the campaign for a ConCurrent game I ran, both at a Geeknic and online during the con (the links to part 1 and part 2).

So coming back full circle, here is the finished background to my sci-fi game. I already discussed it with my players, and they seem to be on board. Some elements remain undeveloped, but that is a purposeful decision because my players have agreed to develop specific elements of the campaign. I love that idea and look forward to their input.

So, without further ado, Wanderers of the Outlands! (I’ll be back after the background to discuss some specifics of the campaign…)

“At first there was a sense of pride, an opportunity to serve one’s stellar nation, to fight for our ideals. There were queues at recruitment centers and the citizenry lined the streets as troops marched to the spaceport, cheers of victory when the holos transmitted images of new warships leaving the spaceyards. We marched to liberate our brothers and sisters, to put an end to the tyranny of the hyper-corps. No one was ready for the rationing, for the blockades, for the funerals of the beloved with no body to put to the ground. No wonder they resented us that returned so much. We reminded them of all the others that did not come back!”

Piotir Amandazar, retired officer of the REC (Rukta Engineering Corps)

There were many small skirmishes during that time. Different scholars argue which actually marks the beginning of hostilities and more than one monument in so many planets honors their fallen as the heroes of the first ballet of the Galactic War. However the renowned historian Manalla Banjeera identifies the Battle of Leviarius as the conflict that initiated the war.

A convoy of transport ships belonging to the GeoHarvest Corporation was detained by ships of the Bishopric Authority of Leviarius under claims that the corporation was holding their citizens against their will. GeoHarvest ships were boarded and their cargo confiscated, despite the claims of existing agreements between Papal authorities and the corporation. A flight of GeoHarvest warships supported by two Eu-Pac capital ships blockaded the fifth system of the Leviarius system, seat of Bishopric authority, and demanded a total surrender. When planetary defenses were used against them the Eu-Pac capital ships began orbital bombardment and decimated the population of the planet.

An alliance of Papal State ships with support from three other small stellar nations and the Freeholds of Alpha Centaury soon arrived and engaged the GeoHarvest warships in Leviarius. The allied ships followed the retreating ships into the GeoHarvest home system of Jimdall and retaliated. The Rukta Workers Consortium offered them support and soon declared war against GeoHarvest and Eu-Pac. Other mega-corporations responded in kind and soon most of the governments of the human diaspora were embroiled in the conflict.

War spread quickly across all systems. Fighting was vicious and unforgiving. Corporate workers were forcibly drafted into military forces and different stellar nations recruited their forces in different ways, from drafts to conscription. While the Rukta Workers Consortium joined the conflict wholeheartedly, seeing it as a chance to finally destroy the corporate states, the EIN Triumvirate and the Freeholds of Alpha Centaury were more cautions, offering support but pulling back from major conflicts.

Spurred by the Rukta Workers Consortium many diverse and different stellar nations fought the corporate forces in bloody conflict, and lost. Corporate armadas proved to be devastating, deploying the latest most advanced weapons with terrible efficiency. Ground forces were less effective, mostly composed of conscripts who fled the battle at the first opportunity. Thus began the application of a scorched earth strategy by most corporate states.

Rukta advisors among the smaller and independent stellar nations goaded them on despite losses, and many began to believe their advisors were willing to sacrifice every last one of them to achieve their goal. Following the rout at New Ganymede a group composed of the most influential independent stellar nations called for a secret meeting in the Persephone’s Blight Nebula. There the participants agreed to form a Coalition to coordinate their actions and to establish new strategies to counteract the corporate onslaught.

The Coalition agreed to scale back Rukta involvement and to establish their own priorities and attack plans. The Coalition pulled back from direct conflict and instead focused on raids and guerilla tactics, cutting supply lines and stretching corporate forces thin. Corporate armies began to feel the strain of a long war as profits plummeted and the Coalition slowly began to win battles.

Despite their wins, the Coalition was also in a precarious position. Despite supply raids and captured ships they remained outgunned and their citizenry back home was experiencing terrible wants and needs. As the mega-corporations became entrenched in their systems the war seemed destined to fall into a stalemate.

The Rukta Workers Consortium, The EIN Triumvirate and the Freeholds of Alpha Centaury, whose involvement in the war had been mostly contained to their border systems after the Coalition push, recognized the opportunity and acted. The three formed the Union and pooled their military and financial might into a final campaign against mega corporation forces. Joining the Coalition, the Union spearheaded the attack ending in the abdication of the wartime corporate boards and the dismantling of the mega corporate stellar holdings.

The worlds of the Coalition celebrated their triumph, but their joy soon turned to sorrow. The Union not only disposed of corporate holdings but restructured stellar maps, forcibly annexing nearby systems, restructuring states into new entities and forced the members of the Coalition into the new Union sphere of cooperation. Where they resisted the Union used its new military might to crush resistance and establish its control over human space.

The aftermath of the Great Galactic War is a time of reconstruction. The winners are reaping the rewards of victory. Under the control of the Rukta Workers Consortium, EIN Triumvirate and the Freeholds of Alpha Centaury, the Union has created a sphere of cooperation and the long suffering Coalition members are their client states, forced into a common economic and political structure, whether they want to or not.

Soldiers returning home found a populace weary of war, hungry for any stability, unsympathetic to those who had sacrificed so much. Many found their worlds a burnt out husk, the survivors relocated, maybe destined to never see their loved ones again. There is finally peace, economies stabilize, and a new zeal for exploring the frontier catches the fancy of the masses. The long abandoned fringes of settled space, the planets barely terraformed, are now staging grounds for exploration beyond into unknown space, here in the Outlands of Union control the dregs of society congregate, people looking to leave behind the chaos and destruction of war, soldiers with no home, criminals with no scruples, and Coalitions members who feel the Union betrayed them.

********

Campaign Background & Planning

(I wrote the following for my players as part of the planning for the campaign. I think of it as a blueprint for developing the game together. I’ve created a private group in Facebook to work on this.)

Here are some notes on the concept and ideas behind the campaign. What I had conceived and where I thought it could go, and some questions I would like to discuss with all of you.

CONCEPTS & IDEAS

Mood & Feel – Seeks to emulate a feeling of the frontier, homage to the Firefly TV Series and Serenity movie.  The political situation of Union space is akin to post World War I in Earth.

Setting – The Outlands, a combination of the 19^th century US western frontier and the far-east post World War 1 in space. The technology of the Outlands is NOT the technology of the central Union systems; it’s not even the second best generic stuff of the client states and border areas. In the Outlands people make do with whatever is at hand, the remnants of the Galactic War, equipment repaired too often, or black market goods produced in illegal factories operating without Union patents.

There is NO FTL communication. There is a courier system based on the old TCGT system that has run uninterrupted for centuries, even during the war. They travel to the Outlands, only it is infrequent and time consuming. The small and fast transports of the old TCGT Courier System are commonly referred to as the “ponies”, since the original model for the ship was a light scout manufactured by the Polodian Shipyards designation P0N13s. Many couriers now use other ships, but the term is part of common slang by now.

Space travel is more akin to sea voyages in the era of exploration. Travel time between systems in the Outlands can take days or maybe weeks; travel to the central worlds in Union space is a multi-month voyage with various stops. In system travel (i.e. inside a solar system) is a matter of hours or days if one is travelling from near-star to far-star destinations.

Space battles occur in system, ships typically detect the approaching enemy from afar and prepare for the engagement, and fighters are typically heavily involved in battle.

FTL engines (still don’t have a name for them or the process) work optimally outside the gravity well of a solar system, navigating the gravity wells inside  system is not impossible but highly dangerous and most ships slow down, or exit hyperspace, or whatever the effect, outside the system and travel in with regular propulsion. What sort of propulsion is used for this can also be determined. Possible source of inspiration – Spacecraft Propulsion Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_propulsion#Planetary_and_atmospheric_propulsion

Equipment – I would like for characters to have access to a ship, travel and exploration, maybe business opportunities, would be facilitated with a ship. A ship would be a great plot hook and facilitate the game moving along.

Weapons, well I want it to feel sci-fi so I guess lasers are ok, but with some slug throwers still in use. Things to consider: Will weapon use inside a ship be an issue?

Are mechs and powers armors necessary? Can they be a background detail rather than available to players?

Psionics – Should they be included in the game? That is the question! Are they an option for player, background detail or plot device? Are they widespread and codified or mysterious and feared? (My players actually answered this question rather rapidly. They would like for psionic powers to be mysterious and dangerous. They exist but are not an option for players. This answer surprised me but I embraced it…)

Aliens – The story presupposes the existence of aliens and previous civilizations in the galaxy. The default assumes they are not too prevalent, with the exception of two that live among humans, but still in very small numbers (10% to 15% or population). The role these, or others alien races may play is still to be determined.

Only two playable alien races:

• Catlike being with a rich culture, warlike, honorable… Their once verdant home world was devastated by pollution and war; they took to the stars out of necessity. Too cliché? Possible names? Preferably something guttural as to NOT sound too catlike.
• Six legged carbon based, mammalian, creatures with a very different social structure when compared to humans, both male and female sex organs and capability for reproduction, but their emotional relationships are very different from humans.

NPC alien races:

• Light beings, singers, the choir, live in space
• Cerdiallian – Bipedal generally humanoid
• Kerdans – Bipedal, insect-like, viviparous
• Perhaps one more, aquatic for the visual element…

What about possible rule systems? (While my system of choice was Savage Worlds, or Stars Without Number some players expressed a reluctance to both and some suggested adapting the Star Wars Saga Edition rules, or even Pathfinder. I would rather not use a D20 system, even suggested FATE. I am leaning towards Savage Worlds right now, but the decision is not final!)

 ********

So dear reader that’s where my sci-fi campaign stands right now, I appreciate any feedback or comments. Also if you want to help illustrate the aliens in the story, contact me! Thanks for reading…

Related posts:

1. Sci-Fi Setting, looking for some feedback…
2. Ad Astra: The SpaceCorp Corporate State
3. What about the Midgard Campaign Setting? A review…

But just today I found a good way to jumpstart my creativity again. Stars Without Number has a pretty elaborate World generating system that allows the game master to quickly roll up detailed worlds. There are random tables for atmosphere, biosphere, tech level, population, tags, etc. Within a few minutes you can roll up a whole slew of worlds. Since I want to run SWN in the near future I decided rolling up a sector would be a good start. So I got my dice and started rolling.

To make things easier for me, I created a spreadsheet in Google Drive that allows me to enter the numbers I rolled and it automatically puts out the results. That way I didn’t have to write everything down myself. Instead I just rolled and watched as the worlds slowly took shape on the spreadsheet – and in my mind. Especially the tags generated by this system really help to jumpstart one’s ideas.

For one world I rolled up the tags Unbraked AI and Zombies. Immediately I had ideas about a world controlled by a mad AI that creates mindless cyborg zombies from any hapless human being it can get its hands on. This world could be the perfect setting for a horror-themed adventure. In another case I got Desert Planet and Alien Ruins, and my mind was filled with ideas of a lost alien civilization whose remains are scattered across a deadly desert. Within a couple of minutes I had a couple of great adventure ideas.

Of course rolling up the worlds is just the very first step. I still have to turn everything into a workable setting. Some worlds I created using the random generation method are pretty silly and don’t make much sense at all, so I’ll have to make some subtle – and not so subtle – adjustments in the coming days. But the important part is that using the random world generation in Stars Without Numbers helped me getting some creative work done. Now I have to make sure that my perfectionism and self-doubt don’t stop me dead in my tracks. Wish me luck!

Related posts:

1. Savage Worlds
2. Ten Games I Would Take To A Desert Island
3. Dungeonslayers: Playtest report

It’s been three years now… How time flies! And for the anniversary of our first large gathering as a group we planned a BIG bash. We are going back to the same place where the first one was held, Luis Muñoz Marín Park and we plan various special activities.

Members of the group have already announced there will be a D&D Next playtest game, a Vampire Storyteller is recruiting players for his game and I will run a very special game, more about this momentarily! Besides the RPGs there is always somebody that brings a board game or card game to play. At the last geeknic people played card games, miniatures games and board games as well. So there is something for everyone!

We’ll be at the park Saturday March 30^th 2013, from 9 AM to 4 PM. The gazebos (ancestral enemies to all role-players!) are first come first serve, so we plan to be there when the park opens and stay till they close. For geeknics we ask participants to bring their own food and drink, and a little extra to share. We have activities created for the geeknic both in Facebook and Google+ where participants can communicate and coordinate what they are bringing so everybody wins. If you live in Puerto Rico, will be visiting during the weekend, or know someone in the island who might be interested in this, please let them know about the 11^th Geeknic. We are more than willing to share what we know about RPGs and teach newbies just what RPGs are, so all gamers are welcome!

Since we know not EVERYBODY can make it there, we’ll also be doing a Google+ Hangout during the morning, probably beginning around 10:00 AM local time depending on our set up time, so if you’re interested in joining us virtually follow the activity page in Google+, we’ll have more information later in the week. Also that day also happens to be International Tabletop Day (we had actually set the date before they announced but it is a fortuitous coincidence) and we’ll be part of that wonderful initiative. The activity is even listed at their site.

What about that special game I mentioned earlier in the post? I didn’t run a game at the last geeknic, neither did I at the very first one, but I am doing it this time around. And a very special game it is! At the previous geeknic someone brought a D&D Rule Cyclopedia and I almost ran a game with it, but I wanted to play certain games so I didn’t. Still the seed was planted and I could not put the idea away.

I also have had the urge to run a very special one-shot game for the longest time in my long running (25 years already!) home-brew  A story set in the past of the campaign, during a very important period of its history, a time my players have heard off but never played in. When conceived I wanted to run this adventure with my regular players who know the campaign best, with an older edition of D&D just like when the campaign started.

Alas, finding the time to run this game with our very busy (and often limited) gaming schedule proved hard. So after seeing the interest in the D&D Rule Cyclopedia at out latest gathering, I figured the perfect place to run this adventure was the geeknic! So I created the characters for the game, posted a little introduction in the PRRP webpage, Facebook and Google+ along with some classic art by Larry Elmore, Tony DiTerlizzi and other artists associated with the history of D&D as to set the stage. The response has been fantastic. I have space for 7 players and 4 people have already confirmed they are playing. All my notes are ready, all I have left is deciding whether I should run the game with no maps or miniature, or whether I should go all out and use minis, tiles and maps. Both options are open, I’ll let you know what I finally decide…

If you want to read the introduction to the setting, the adventure, brief character intros and the actual character sheets you can download a PDF for the Escape of Fortress Forgadin adventure. I appreciate any feedback or comments on the characters. It’s been the LONGEST time since I’ve played D&D BECMI, 1993 to be exact, so if you spot any mistakes or things I missed, let me know!

Thanks for reading, hope to see some of you at the Geeknic XI.

Related posts:

1. Come one, come all, to the greatest geeknic on earth!
2. Geeknic II: The Revenge!
3. You learn who your true friends are in times of hardship…

Through the process of writing these posts I’ve revisited, edited and remixed my notes on that campaign and have reacquainted myself with my plans for the game. In a way it’s reignited my desire to revisit the game. Perhaps it will happen…

I had originally planned to do eight sessions but as I revisited my notes I realized there was one more bit of information I wanted to share with our readers. The characters! My players back then made some very interesting characters and I wrote some introductions for each of them.

When the game began our group had just changed the location of our game, some players had move to the USA and amazingly I had only 4 players as the campaign began. That quickly changed and the group eventually grew to 5 early one and eventually to 6 by the end of the campaign, about 8 or 9 months later.

On this post I’m going to share the character concept the players gave me and the introduction I wrote after my discussion with the players following character creation. The following stories are not simply my creation they were crafted with player input, so I am very thankful we could tell these stories together. A BIG thanks my player then, Luis Manuel Alvarado, Luis Lao, José Bellavista and Karlo Yeager. Two of them are not currently playing with us regularly, but I always hold hope these good friends will sit at my table once more.

Each section will begin with the character concept as presented by the player, in italics, and the introduction I wrote for each of them. So here we go!

Zayne Otomo (Luis Alvarado)

Corellian, rebel without a clue, hangs with the wrong side of the law. Swoop bike racer. Moves around in the underworld but is a poser

Zayne Otomo met Reedoree while participating in high risk, off track, swoop racing in Riflor. The geologically unstable twilight planet attracts swoop gangs and thrill seekers who run courses on the highly dangerous geothermal springs or in the abandoned cities of the Advozse. The spindly, funky, talkative Rodian seemed to know the local swoop gang leaders and unlike other Rodians Zayne has met, Reedoree is friendly and agreeable. He dropped several hints that he was returning from the Core Worlds after important business.

While in Riflor, Reedoree kept talking about the clandestine and highly lucrative swoop racing in Eriadu, a hub of hyperspace routes and capital of the Seswenna Sector. There swoop gangs raced across the vast urban sprawls, often through regular speeder traffic. Zayne joined Reedoree when he traveled to Eriadu to race. Reedoree made several wagers on Zayne winning and when he succeeded the Rodian was more than happy to share the spoils.

What Reedoree seemed not to know, or anticipate, was that local underworld figures had fixed the outcome of the races and Zayne’s unexpected winning had cost them greatly. Fearing for Zayne’s safety, and his own life, Reedoree convinced the young Corellian to accompany him in his next scheme. Assuring him they were going to the Outer Rim, to a distant and pristine world were Zayne would be able to ride his speeder bike in places no civilized being had ever visited.

Somehow Reedoree burrowed a heavy bulk freighter and its crew. Instead of filling the massive cargo holds, he had Captain Braco, an acquaintance he had hired to command the small crew, take the ship, empty as it was, into the Inner Rim. There to Zayne’s surprise the ship rendezvoused with its “cargo”, a small WR-542 Shooting Star transport and its four passengers. This ship and its crew apparently had something to do with Reedoree’s business in the Core Worlds. With the transport hidden in one of the main cargo holds, the secretive passengers remained in their cramped cabin most of the trip to the Outer Rim.

Zayne did briefly meet the transport’s pilot and talked to another passenger, a human with graying brown hair, past his prime, by the name of Aldon, and learned their passenger is a prince of Alderaan traveling incognito. Aldon, who claims to be a Senatorial Aide, realizing Zayne is a Corellian insisted his charge is only trying to protect his people.

From bits of conversation with Reedoree, Zayne manages confirm that, indeed, the mysterious passengers have to do with the Rodian’s business in the Core Worlds. He has arranged for the young prince to meet with a Jedi in an attempt to arrange some sort of bargain. Knowing fully well the Jedi may turn the prince down, he has arranged for others to also offer their services. Reedoree, in an attempt to maximize his profits from the trip has various other passengers, some young men and a woman who he seemed to promise tutoring under a Jedi, and a Bothan hunter to whom he never stops telling of the unprecedented hunting he will enjoy at the end of the journey.

The ship finally arrives at its destination a lush green moon in orbit around a bright red gas giant. Zayne is on the bridge as one of the crewmembers announces their location, “Yavin IV Captain Braco. We are being hailed.” Over the bridge’s comm. system everyone can hear “This is Jedi Master Tegel Dal Kenobi of the Leoco Actum, requesting permission to dock”.

Jassez “Jazz” Thrax (Karlo Yeager)

She is backwater bar singer, when she is in a gig her contract is a front to “move product”.

Jazz was singing in Phelar, a major city in Eriadu out in the Outer Rim when she ran into Reedoree. She had met the Rodian in her line of work. Singing in dives and small backwater bars she mingled with the seedier side of the galactic society, and it suited her. This arrangement allowed her to smuggle goods from one location to another as part of her traveling. In more than one occasion Reedoree had served as contact or go between. Unlike other Rodians he was talkative, friendly, spindly, and often tried to conceal his musk with perfumes and oils. He always spoke of his grand schemes, that big break that would make him insanely rich!

He was also observant, and could tell that Jazz’s incredible luck and nearly miraculous escapes were something else. Her gift he called it, and he insisted she could do so much more, if only she could find the right teacher, if she could train as a Jedi. More than once she had dismissed him as a silly dreamer, destined to be a small time con artist for the rest of his life.

This time however he seemed to be on to something. His swagger, his self-confidence, was his tell. He had big plans and he was no good at being discrete. He walked into the bar she was singing and bought a round for everyone. When Jazz joined him at his table he was flush with confidence, speaking wildly about winning a large bet on illegal swoop races and some mysterious business in the Core Worlds.

Jazz took advantage of the distraction Reedoree was providing and made her drop, passing on to her client the precious gems she had smuggled into Eriadu. When Reedoree left she had believed he had actually found his big break, only to realize things had taken a turn for the worse when local thugs came looking for the Rodian.

Reedoree had some sort of hot shot swoop pilot with him who had won some races that had been fixed by the local crime lords. And they seemed convinced Jazz knew where to find him. They grabbed her crew, most of whom she did not trust anyway and suspected of stealing from her, but Jazz managed to escape. She did know where Reedoree was and warmed him, he in turn provided for her transportation off planet.

Reedoree had leased a heavy bulk freighter and its crew. Instead of filling the massive cargo holds, he had Captain Braco, an acquaintance he had hired to command the small crew, take the ship, empty as it was, into the Inner Rim. There to Jazz’s surprise the ship rendezvoused with its “cargo”, a small WR-542 Shooting Star transport and its four passengers. This ship and its crew apparently had something to do with Reedoree’s business in the Core Worlds. With the transport hidden in one of the main cargo holds, the secretive passengers remained in their cramped cabin most of the trip to the Outer Rim.

Over a bottle shared with Reedoree, Jazz confirms that the mysterious passengers have to do with the Rodian’s business in the Core Worlds. He has arranged for a young Alderaanian prince to meet with a Jedi in an attempt to arrange a defense treaty. Knowing fully well the Jedi may turn the prince down; he has arranged for Hutt arms dealers to also offer their services. Reedoree, in an attempt to maximize his profits from the trip has various other passengers, the hot shot swoop pilot, a Bothan hunter and some young men he has assured the Jedi will take as his apprentices. He is unsure if they really have what it takes to become a Jedi, but he insists Jazz has what it takes and that it is her who should become the Jedi’s apprentice.

Jazz is in the cabin she is sharing with the Jedi aspirants when the ship drops out of hyperspace. As she leaves her cabin and makes her way to a viewport she can see their destination, a lush green moon in orbit around a bright red gas giant and the approaching Jedi Starfighter, bearing the marks of the Leoco Actum, as it docks.

Koth Frey’Lya (Luis Lao)

Big game hunter, did not grow up with the Bothan’s, raised in Tatooine, Anchor Head, father was a spice and poison smuggler. Father missing in action in a smuggler run, being the elder he followed on his footsteps. Believes his father risked too much and began smuggling animals.  Now likes to hunt the big game.

The humans in Eriadu did not treat him well. His clients had the good measure of at least being civil when he delivered the animals to their menagerie. Phelar, like the rest of the planet was heavily polluted, and the controlled environment of the large enclosed dome where the birds were released must have cost the owners a fortune. Growing up  on Anchorhead, in the desert world of Tatooine, he knew what want was, the hardships of growing up on that environment, and the opulence of the menagerie’s housing only reassured he had done the right thing by charging the owners such exorbitant prices.

Koth reequipped and paid off the transport that had brought him and his cargo. Eriadu was filthy and the humans there did not hide their disdain, he could not wait to leave. That is why Koth was so surprised to run into Reedoree and find him in such good humor. He knew the spindly, funky, talkative Rodian from Anchorhead where the Rodian had spent some years in his youth working for the Hutts.

Koth and Reedoree had become friends in their youth. Both almost opposites of what was expected of them. Where Rodians were renowned bounty hunters, aggressive, with a short fuse, Reedoree was anything but. Clumsy and meek, he quickly learned that what he could not achieve through force he could manage through guile and his quick wit. Reedoree went on to become a small time confidence man, but always involved in some harebrained scheme. Koth, raised away from traditional Bothan culture, became a big game hunter and scout.

Over drinks Reedoree shared with Koth his latest get rich quick scheme. He arranged a meeting between a Core World noble and a Jedi, very secretive, and was getting paid handsomely for his troubles. Of course Reedoree had other angles, extra passengers he sold on the idea that the Jedi would take then as pupils and some third party he was sure would help the noble should the Jedi turn him down. Reedoree laughed at his good fortune for he had also won some bets on illegal swoop races by bringing a new acquaintance, a human, to race to Eriadu.

A little dizzy from the tale, Koth was still intrigued by Reedoree’s offer to provide transport off planet in a couple of days. He claimed to have rented a heavy freighter to use as cover for the secret meeting. Still unsure if the plan would come together Koth accepted Reedoree’s invitation.

Late at night a knock on the door! Koth took all precautions only to find Reedoree excited and talking too fast. He had somehow found himself in trouble with the local crime lords, something to do with his acquaintance the swoop pilot winning fixed races. Reedoree urged Koth to leave with him immediately and while he agreed, the Bothan knew Reedoree was not exclusively concerned for his safety, but also wanted someone to protect him. Under the cover of night Koth, Reedoree and some of the Rodians associates, a human male and female, left the planet and met with the heavy freighter.

Under the command of Captain Braco, some human Reedoree hired to command the small crew, the heavy freighter set course for the Inner Rim. There the ship rendezvoused with a small WR-542 Shooting Star transport and its four passengers. With the transport hidden in one of the main cargo holds, the secretive passengers remained in their cramped cabin most of the trip to the Outer Rim.

On the way Reedoree assures Koth that in the destination they are going to he will hunt creatures unseen and unheard off in the civilized systems of the Republic. Koth also learns that the passengers are a delegation from Alderaan and that the third party Reedoree seems ready to bring in to the negotiations should the Jedi turn them down are Hutt arms dealers.  Despite his reservations Koth waits to see how things will play out.

The ship finally arrives at its destination a lush green moon in orbit around a bright red gas giant. Koth is on the bridge as one of the crewmembers announces their location, “Yavin IV Captain Braco. We are being hailed.” Over the bridge’s comm. system everyone can hear “This is Jedi Master Tegel Dal Kenobi of the Leoco Actum, requesting permission to dock”.

Kay Braco (José Bellavista)

Son of a displaced royal, a baron, who fell on hard times; sold all his holdings, with the monies that came to him he purchased the Void Manta. Retired from a local militia, where he attained the rank of Captain, due to his performance and his family, his siblings are scattered across the galaxy. He is estranged from his father who was disgraced by stealing from the military.

The Void Manta sat in the docking bay in dire need of repair and Captain Kay Braco found himself unable to reach his ship.  Eriadu authorities had locked him out of the docking bay when his cred stick did not hold enough credits to pay their fines.  He knew smuggling the Petitioners from Velmor to the Outer Rim would be risky, but never expected the trouble they ran to on the way. In Corellian Space, helping a crippled ship and under attack from droid fighters, the Void Manta would never have survived if it was not for the other ship, the Icar, arriving and taking over rescue operations. That freed the Manta and together with Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn they dispatched the Droid Fighters and managed to jump to hyperspace before reinforcements could arrive.

Still the Void Manta was heavily damaged in combat. Upon arriving in Eriadu Captain Braco informed his passengers this was as far as he could take them and parted ways with the Jedi escort. Pauing the crew for the latest run, Kay deposited credits for the ship’s repair with the Phelar Spaceport Administration. But to his surprise overzealous and corrupt Eriadu officials fined him for transporting unregistered passengers and added series of related fees and tariffs. As days passed and he was unable to pay the fees or bribe the right official, many members of his crew found work with other departing ships and Kay Braco grew impatient, concerned he might have to take extreme measures to recover his ship. That is why running into Reedoree had been so fortuitous.

Kai knew the spindly, funky, talkative Rodian. A con man he had met while running cargo around the galaxy, always with some harebrained scheme to get rich quick. This time Kai almost believed it. Reedoree told Kai how he had served as a middle man, arranging a secret meeting between a Core World noble and a Jedi. He had leased a heavy freighter to pick up the noble and transport him covertly to the meeting out in the Outer Rim. What Reedoree needed was a Captain for the freighter and its crew.

For a cut of the profits, enough to at least get his ship off Eriadu, Kai agreed to captain the ship. While the Rodian stayed behind to enjoy his winnings from betting on some swoop races, Kai traveled to the ship in orbit to get it ready. The Bantha’s Haul was an old, huge, heavy freighter. Little more than holds with engines and some cabins, Kai went about getting the small crew and the ship ready.

Reedoree had some side deals on this trip, a pair of young men who seemed to be under the impression that they would be apprenticed to a Jedi came onboard the next day. Ahead of schedule Reedoree arrived with a small shuttle and unexpected passengers. A Bothan, a human singer and the hot shot swoop pilot who had won Reedoree a small fortune. Apparently Reedoree had a run in with local underworld figures that had fixed the outcome of the races. The Bantha’s Haul had to leave in a hurry.

In the Inner Rim the ship rendezvoused with its “cargo”, a small WR-542 Shooting Star transport and its four passengers. With the transport hidden in one of the main cargo holds, the secretive passengers, a prince from Alderaan and his etourage,  remained in their cramped cabin most of the trip to the Outer Rim. On the way Reedoree confided on Kai that he did not expect the Jedi to accept the noble’s offer and had arranged for a third party to offer their help, Hutt arms dealers…

The ship finally arrives at its destination a lush green moon in orbit around a bright red gas giant. One of the crewmembers announces their location, “Yavin IV Captain Braco. We are being hailed.” Over the bridge’s comm. system everyone can hear “This is Jedi Master Tegel Dal Kenobi of the Leoco Actum, requesting permission to dock”.

*******

And there in Yavin IV began the adventure with the following scroll:

Episode I

THE GATHERING STORM

The Republic crumbles… The long peace mediated a thousand years ago by the Jedi cannot hold.  The selfish autonomy of systems has rendered the Senate a token authority, at best, powerless to stop the factions within the Galactic Republic from an escalating armament race against threats real and imagined.

Citizens seek hope but are met with only indifference from their leaders, interested more in protecting their own assets. Commerce and travel have become dangerous as renegades, pirates and malefactors prey the hyperspace routes, rumors abound of mysterious ships coursing through hyperspace and massing beyond the Outer Rim.

The once fabled Jedi are divided along internal lines, no longer focused. Their numbers have dwindled as few youths see any honor in this ancient tradition. The Council has not met in a generation, all that remains are the Jedi Orders haphazardly clutching to their protectorates.

Among the turmoil a young ambitious diplomat sets out in a mission to secure the means that will keep his planet safe…

This was just the beginning of the adventures in the midst of a gathering storm. Plans fell apart, the feared Sith returned and the players would dash across the galaxy trying to decipher to prevent the upcoming war!

 Very heartfelt thanks to the readers who’ve stuck with the series over the last nine weeks. Who knows I may yet play this campaign again, or even write about it some more in the future…

Let me know if you’d like me to read more about the game, or any particular topic you’d like to see a longer series of posts like this. Have a great weekend!

And one final time, Star Wars and all associated characters and images are copyright of Lucasfilm and I use them here only as a fan creating an RPG campaign.

Related posts:

1. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 7 of 8)
2. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 6 of 8)
3. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 4 of 8)

While the first 7 posts were mostly fluff and (I hope) usable for any Star Wars game, regardless of the system, this one is specifically about the Star Wars Sage Edition RPG. Published in 2007, we quickly embraced the system and got to playing. As I often do before a campaign I submitted a survey to the player about campaign expectations, this gave way to the Infinities timeline and background you’ve read in previous posts. It also gave way to the following house rules.

Back in 2007 I did share some of these rules in the EN World forums and got some excellent feedback form members. The rules evolved, I took some of their advice, ignored other bits, and came up with the following rules…

(Various caveats: I wrote the rules back in 2007, only the core rules had come out. I had some idea of how I wanted the system to work, specifically cutting back on some of the Jedi’s power. Whether I succeeded is debatable. In the end I believe I added needless complexity and there were some easier fixes, but hindsight is 20/20! One last thing, the force talents were adapted from those posted online. I cannot find the original source for all of them; some are adapted from the Imperial Knight Prestige Class (found here), the others I cannot identify. I don’t think I wrote them from scratch, but I am not sure.)

These are the house rules as I presented to my players back them. So let’s take a trip down memory lane to 2007!

House Rules and Campaign Guide

These modifications come from player feedback, my own assessment of the rules and a desire to adapt them to better represent the tone of the campaign. Since this will be our first campaign using the Saga System, some of these house rules MIGHT see some minor revisions as we play and see them in action. However I will not modify the rules in the middle of a session, and not on whim, or without consideration. I ask you give the rules a chance and after several sessions we may discuss them and revisit them. That way we may tweak them to our liking for future games.

We will all meet for an initial planning and character generation session before the campaign begins. This way, with all players present, character concepts may be discussed and we may attempt to create a balanced group that works well together.

Character Creation

Ability Scores: We will be using a slightly modified version of the basic method for generating Ability Scores presented on page 17 of the Saga Edition rulebook. As per the standard rules roll 4d6, disregard the lowest die and total the three highest dice. However, instead of six times, players will repeat this process seven times, generating seven scores. Players may then eliminate one score of their choice, and add the remaining scores. Should this total be lower than 72, the player may begin this process anew and reroll abilities. If the total is 72 or higher the player must keep the results and assign the six remaining scores to his or her attributes.

Choosing a Species: You may select any of the species from the core rulebook, including those on pages 284 and 285 with the following exceptions: no Ewoks as they have not been discovered yet, no Gungans as few travel beyond Naboo and even less people know of their existence. Finally, no Yuuzhan Vong as they simply do not exist. The Devaronians described in a Saga Edition Web Enhancement, reproduced in the appendix, are available as a playable species as well.

The official SWRPG Saga Conversion document includes the information for the following species: Geonosian, Jawa, Kaminoan, Noghri and Tusken Rider. The Noghri are not available as they have not yet been contacted. The other species are available but before playing a Jawas or Tusken Riders be sure to discuss it with the GM to make sure they will fit the campaign.

Droid Characters: Playing a Droid is an alternative for the campaign, but Droid characters use Option 1: Playing a Custom Droid presented on page 186 of the core rulebook. You cannot play a standard droid model in the campaign.

Heroic Classes: Of the Heroic Classes presented in Chapter 3 of the core rulebook, the Noble, Scout and Soldier remain unchanged.

The Scoundrel class gains access to the OUTLAW TECH talent tree presented in the Saga Edition Web Enhancement 1.

The Jedi Class becomes a Prestige Class, following the rules on page 206.

Hit Points: When rolling for hit points as a result of gaining a level, players may reroll the die if the result is less than half the possible result up to level 5. After level 6 players must keep the number rolled in the die.

Jedi Prestige Class

Requirements

To qualify to become a Jedi, a character must fulfill the following criteria.

Minimum Heroic Level: 2^nd

Trained Skills: Use the Force

Feats: Force Sensitivity

Special: To become a Jedi an apprentice must find a willing Jedi tutor. The Order to which the teacher belongs to determines the Talent Trees available to the character.

The 1^st level class features for the Jedi Prestige Class are: the Defense Bonuses as they appear on page 39, gaining a Talent, a Lightsaber and Weapon Proficiency (lighsabers) as a bonus feat.

All the major and well known Jedi Orders use and train their apprentices in the art of lightsaber combat. If your character belongs to one of the most obscure Orders, or is tutored under a master who does not teach him or her how to use a lightsaber, your character does not receive a lightsaber and the corresponding Weapon Proficiency feat at first level. Instead the character receives Force Training as a bonus feat.

Jedi Talents: Which talent are available to the character is determined by the Order under which the Jedi studies. Regardless, all Jedi can select talents from the Alter, Control and Sense talent trees in pages 100-101.

Jedi following the traditions of the militaristic Leoco Actum Order may select their talents from the Jedi Guardian, Jedi Sentinel, Lightsaber Combat and the Jedi Defender (the renamed Jensaarai Defender tree from page 107) talent trees.

Those that study the contemplative path of the Sar’Akar Sodality have the Jedi Consular, Jedi Guardian, Jedi Sentinel and Lightsaber Combat talent trees available.

The outlawed Force Petitioners, sometimes called Zealot of the Force, may select their talents from the following talent trees, Jedi Consular, Jedi Sentinel, Lightsaber Combat and the Force Noesis described below.

Force Noesis

Through meditation and long, arduous study of the whispering Force you have discovered secrets that allow you to serve its will. You can defend holy sites, protect and heal the faithful and hunt those who oppose the will of the Force.

Extend Protection: You may use the Block and Deflect talents to negate attacks against an adjacent ally without spending a Force Point. You must have the appropriate talent (Block or Deflect) in order to use this ability.

Prerequisites: Harm’s Way, Base Attack Bonus +5.

Hold Ground: Opponents treat all squares that you threaten as difficult terrain for all purposes related to movement.

Prerequisites: Lightsaber Defense.

Healer’s Vision: You can reroll Treat Injury checks, but the result of the reroll must be accepted even if it is worse.

Hunter of Heretics: You can use your Use the Force check modifier instead of your Survival modifier when making Survival checks to track an individual. You are considered trained in Survival for the purposes of using this talent. If you are entitled to a Survival check reroll, you may reroll your Use the Force check instead (subject to the same circumstances and limitations).

Improved Hold Ground: The DC for tumbling through a square that you threaten is increased by 10.

Prerequisite: Hold Ground, Base Attack Bonus +9.

Return to Life: You have two turns, instead of one, to make a Treat Injury check to revive a creature that has just died.

Prerequisite: Medical Sense.

Jedi belonging to one of the other Minor Orders can select talents from the Lightsaber Combat and pick one of the following talent trees: Jedi Consular, Jedi Guardian, Jedi Sentinel, to have available as talent tree from which to learn new talents.

Build a Lightsaber: The 7^th level class feature, Build a Lightsaber, no longer applies. Anyone meeting the criteria outlined on page 40 under Building a Lightsaber may attempt to do so.

Skills: Remember that as per the regular multiclassing rules the character does gain any new trained skills when taking their first level in the Jedi class. Unlike other prestige classes presented in the book, your list of class skills expands to include the skills of the Jedi Class on page 38 as corrected by the errata.

Credits: Likewise adding a level of Jedi gives your character no additional credits.

Leveling Up: As Jedi continue to gain levels in this class they must remain in regular contact with their master to continue learning, studying and mastering the ways of the Force. This may mean some time away from adventuring while being tutored, and the need to visit their teacher in person before gaining any new Talent or Force Power until reaching 5^th level in this class.

During their training Jedi apprentices may have more than one teacher and may over time abandon one Order and join another. While some Orders condemn this practice and may ostracize or even oppose former members, once a character reaches 5^th level in the Jedi class he or she may learn talents from any Order he or she was tutored in. If the character seeks to learn talents from unavailable trees, he or she may look for an appropriate master from other Orders, but must remain aware of the role-playing consequences of this action.

The Jedi Heroic Class becomes an 18 level Prestige Class that follows all other rules as presented in the core rulebook for level advancement and acquiring Talents and Bonus Feats.

Multiclass Heroes: All rules for multiclassing presented in pages 54-55 remain in effect. Adding a second or third class is desirable, even beneficial in some cases, however there are in game role-playing considerations that must be met before adding any class beyond your first.

The Jedi Prestige Class already has prerequisites and role-playing criteria that must be met. Adding any of the other heroic classes, or prestige classes, requires you as a player to rationalize how and why the character is developing this new set of skills, from providing a background suitable for this, to finding appropriate teachers that may teach the character what he needs to know.

Discuss any plan with the GM; there may be additional role-playing requisites before adding another class or prestige class. Do so before leveling up so all details can be worked out in advance.

Feats: There are two new feats available to characters, and one important feat that are modified from the version that appears in the Saga Edition rulebook.

Force Sensitivity

This feat now has the added prerequisite that it must be selected at 1^st character level.Having the Force Sensitivity feat means the character is naturally attuned to the Force, whether he or she knows it or not; or even chooses not to develop the potential. Characters that select this feat will be more susceptible to Dark Side transgressions and their actions examined with greater scrutiny during the game. See The Dark Side on pages 93-94 of the core rulebook for more information.

Latent Force Sensitivity

You discover your Force-sensitivity much later in life that it is typical. Trough meditation, feasting, a great distress or sacrifice you can now call upon the Force and draw on its power.

Prerequisites: Cannot be a Droid, the character permanently reduces their Force Point total per level by 2.

Benefits: This feat work exactly like the Force Sensitive feat on page 85, with the exception that since it can be taken at any level, the character must make a permanent sacrifice to awaken his or her powers and must reduce their Force Point total by 2.

The TECH SPECIALIST feat from the Saga Edition Web Enhancement 1 is also available.

The Force: While the vision of the Star Wars Galaxy we will be playing in may seem darker than the traditional Star Wars game, the Jedi still strive for the greater good and champion the Light Side of the Force, fractured as they may be. If anything in these darker times there exists the chance for good and kindness to shine even brighter.

While I do not expect all character to be saints, or paragons of virtue, those that select to be Force Sensitive and follow the ways of the Force, through a Jedi Order or any other tradition, will still be expected to be righteous and avoid the temptations of the Dark Side. These characters will be carefully observed and any Dark Side Transgressions will result in an increase of their Dark Side Score.

Any characters that falls to the Dark Side, i.e. his or her Dark Side Score equals their Wisdom score, will become a GM character and is no longer under the control of the player.

Destiny: The Destiny mechanic will be available in the game. Characters are free to select a destiny, or not, as they please. Destinies must be discussed with the GM and may be player selected or secret destinies determined by the GM, player’s choice.

While players may select destinies from the beginning of the campaign I would encourage you at least wait until the character planning and generation session so you may get an idea of the characters in the campaign. If no destiny is selected initially the GM will discuss with each player whether to choose a destiny and what destiny that may be after the 4^th or 6^th session of the campaign.

Equipment, Droids and Vehicles: Characters begin play with maximum credits for their heroic class: 4,800 credits for Nobles and 3,000 credits for Scoundrels, Scouts and Soldiers.

During character creation equipment, droids or vehicles may be purchased at their base cost regardless of its restriction rating. No need to pay for licensing fees or black market prices. It will be assumed that all documentation was obtained and fees were paid for items rated as licensed or restricted. Items whose availability is rated military or illegal will be assumed to have been procured through the black market. Be aware that carrying items rated military or illegal will call attention to you and may cause trouble with the authorities.

I know some of you may be considering developing character concepts that may involve owning a ship or vehicle way beyond the means of a first level character. Rather than setting some rules for this, if this is your case, let’s discuss it on the planning and character generation session.

Once the campaign begins all rules regarding restricted items in pages 118-119 will be in effect.

Prestige Classes: As the campaign attempts to portray the struggle of the Light Side of the force against the ever encroaching Dark Side, some prestige classes are not appropriate in this time of the dying light. Neither Sith Apprentice nor Sith Lord are available as Prestige Classes for characters.

All other prestige classes presented in the book are available as long as the considerations mentioned under Multiclass Heroes earlier in this document are observed.

Character Death: Should your character die in the course of the campaign, you may create a new character and it will be integrated into the adventure as soon as logic and ongoing plotlines permit. The new character will be the same level as your previous character, but will have the exact amount of experience needed to attain that level.

Bonus XP Opportunity: There is a one-time bonus experience point opportunity for new 1^st level characters. Creating a unique background tied to the Star Wars universe for your character, telling me or writing up a character history and/or finding an image or miniature to represent your character can all give you bonus XP before we begin the campaign and have you on your way to 2^nd level that much quicker.

Here is a breakdown of the amount of XP you can accumulate with each option:

• Character History:
  • Character history, told to the GM – 100 XP
  • Character history, written* – 200 XP
  • Extra 200 XP at the GM’s secretion if it is tied to the history and background of the campaign
• Character Image:
  • Showing an image that represents your character – 100 XP
  • Providing the GM with an image (print or digital) that represents your character – 200 XP
• Character miniature:
  • Finding an existing miniature for your character 50 XP
  • Unique or modified miniature that represents your character 200 XP

So those are the rules… I know that after reading the subsequent books and the experience of actually playing the game there are many things I would change, but think of this a snapshot of history. What do you think?

And again, Star Wars, all associated characters and images are copyright of Lucasfilm and I use them here only as a fan creating an RPG campaign.

Related posts:

1. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 3 of 8)
2. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 7 of 8)
3. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 2 of 8)

Ok on to the fiddly bits…

The magazine is 99 pages long, full color, with a good balance of ads and content and a catalog of the items for sale at the PFSRD Shop in the back. Right off the bat I must say this did not feel like a shopper, the ads were there but they did not overwhelm me. They had certain columns, like previews, news, notes, and upcoming releases; with a print magazine such content can quickly become dated, but taking advantage of the digital format it’s all hyperlinked and really useful. And there is so much goodness here, from the small columns and asides, like GM Advantage with links to articles and tools, a Resources column, and Random Treasure, little boxes with items all around the magazine.

The content is solid, almost all open content! They had interviews, but they were NOT the main focus of the magazine. The focus was actual content, fluff and crunch I can immediately use in my game. Monsters, items, races, locations, adventures, optimization advice and an open content shared setting to be developed each issue.  There is an artic theme running through many, but not all, articles, which is very nice. The theme ties together parts of the magazine but does not make it so that people NOT running artic or cold themed setting are left hanging.

The largest chunk of the magazine is really Pathfinder content, but with publishers also hosting the Sword and Wizardry SRD and the Mutants & Masterminds SRD, I hope there is space for content for both these games and other OGL games in the magazine.

There are other details, like a full reproduction of the cover art with artist info, and even a recipe! Yes you read that right, a food recipe for Spinach Lasagna Rolls. The art, layout and everything about the magazine is top notch. If they can continue producing such a wonderful magazine month after month they have a regular client here.

An excellent product all around, if you like Pathfinder, Open Gaming content games and want to support PFSRD.com and their related sites, check it out!

Related posts:

1. Review: Open Game Table
2. What about SORD? A (short) review…
3. Review: Wushu Open

If you want to learn more about Achtung! Cthulhu and what you can get if you want to back the campaign, check out the press release after the break or the Achtung! Cthulhu Kickstarter page!

Achtung! Cthulhu – Assault on the Mountains of Madness Confirmed

British tabletop gaming publisher Modiphius prepares to scale H.P. Lovecraft’s Mountains of Madness for its successfully funded Achtung! Cthulhu Kickstarter Project

Following the successful fundraising for the Achtung! Cthulhu Investigator’s & Keeper’s Guides in just 26 hours, and the smashing of a string of Stretch Goals, Modiphius Entertainment has announced a huge new campaign for the terrifying world of Achtung! Cthulhu.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/modiphius/achtung-cthulhu-the-ww2-keepers-and-investigators

“This is going to be the ultimate Achtung! Cthulhu wartime campaign, with something for everyone whether it’s fighting Nazis and ancient horrors in ice locked ruins, or racing for time to decipher otherworldly mysteries. You’ll have your frozen hands full getting to grips with the enormity of the adventure ahead, and trust me it is going to be our biggest release yet, which you can unlock along with a ton of accessories over the coming weeks”. Chris Birch, Modiphius Entertainment.

“Join us for this dangerous expedition, some of you will not return, but I know every one of you will give your lives before letting the Third Reich raise the Swastika over this accursed ultimate abyss.” Captain Brandon Carter, Assault on the Mountains of Madness

In Achtung! Cthulhu: Assault on the Mountains of Madness, following a trail of strange events, and clues to an ill-fate earlier expedition, the Allies will discover an Antarctic infested with Nazis. They must launch themselves into the frozen continent where they’ll be faced with the power of the elements, unbelievable ancient mysteries and a stunning climax that could change the face of the world forever. Designed for gamers who like in depth mystery, investigation and cataclysmic events, the campaign can easily be tailored for both dark, classic Call of Cthulhu play as well as the pulpier Savage Worlds experience, and is compatible with both systems. The campaign will come with extensive cartography by Michal E. Cross whose sterling map work has made such a success of the Achtung! Cthulhu line. Achtung! Cthulhu : Assault on the Mountains of Madness is being illustrated by special guest artist Korungn from Japan. Korungn has already created a library of stunning and evocative movie style concept art for the setting, which will be revealed week by week.

Modiphius plans to create a stunning full colour 248 page hardback if the goals are met. Assault on the Mountains of Madness builds on the legacy of HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness and promises to reveal more of the continent (than the hapless investigators are likely to want), along with a treasure trove of cool accessories to bring the world to life.

“It is absolutely necessary, for the peace and safety of mankind, that some of earth’s dark, dead corners and unplumbed depths be left alone; lest sleeping abnormalities wake to resurgent life, and blasphemously surviving nightmares squirm and splash out of their black lairs to newer and wider conquests.” ― H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness.

Modiphius’ Kickstarter was launched to raise funds for The Keeper’s and Investigator’s Guides to the Secret War – a huge kit bag stuffed full of wartime adventure for the popular Call of Cthulhu and Savage Worlds roleplaying game systems. The books feature Allied & Nazi forces, setting details for the Western and Home Fronts, new rules for World War Two combat, period equipment, secret Nazi plots and mythical organizations, wonder weapons, campaign and plot ideas, occupations, skills, backgrounds plus a whole shoggoth’s worth of Cthulhu villainy, enough for any Keeper to have his investigators dead, insane, or running for their lives in no time! As the Kickstarter campaign meets its stretch goals, you will discover the further danger, terror and insanity awaiting you on the shores of Europe, across the steppes of Mother Russia and the sands of North Africa, down the backstreets and highways of America, and deep in the jungles of Asia. The Investigator’s Guide to the Secret War features a stunning cover by the legendary Spanish artist Pinturero, whilst the Keeper’s Guide cover and all interior illustrations are by Dim Martin, already well known for his dark evocative graphic novel style illustrations in Achtung! Cthulhu releases.

The project has so far unlocked gorgeous full cover hardbacks for both Investigator and Keeper’s Guides, the Shadows of Atlantis campaig, the Eastern Front Guide to the Secret War, the North African Guide and the Assault on the Mountains of Madness campaign. Modiphius have recently revealed they are working on a line of 28mm miniatures with British based Clockwork Goblin miniatures that will be unveiled later in March. The rapid speed at which the Stretch Goals have been unlocked has meant backers of the special PDF Master Bonus level and above (£35+) will be walking away with tons of free Stretch Goals in PDF and this seems set to continue for the next four weeks!

The Achtung! Cthulhu Kickstarter can be found here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/modiphius/achtung-cthulhu-the-ww2-keepers-and-investigators Various assets can be found here to download such as banners and the book covers http://www.modiphius.com/kickstarter-supporters.html

Modiphius is working with print partner Angus Abranson and his company Chronicle City to distribute the Achtung! Cthulhu books in to retail. You can reach Chronicle City at angus@chroniclecity.com

About Modiphius

MODIPHIUS / www.modiphius.com is a British digital media publisher partnering with creative talent to develop unique creative properties. We develop games, novels, merchandising, and more. We aim to inspire those who read, play, or encounter our work with tales of heroism, adventure, and courage.

Related posts:

1. Kickstarter: Achtung! Cthulhu
2. Review: ACHTUNG! Cthulhu – Three Kings
3. Kickstarter: Fate Core System

These messages began simply as a distraction, a way to get all the ideas about the Star Wars game out of my head and give the players an idea of the campaign. I sent the first few while waiting in line at the bank. The response was immediate and I realized these messages could serve another purpose. Through them I could send teasers about the happenings in the galaxy and possible plotlines. Likewise the players took an active role and began interacting with the storyline, one quickly integrating e-mail for longer responses.

Here I have collected and edited all postings sent via text message or e-mail and ordered them into a semi-logical sequence.  They give a glimpse at what had been happening in the Galaxy before the game started, hinted at things to come, and even introduce some characters they met during the game. A very special thanks to Sammy, Piwie and José, they are not currently playing with us regularly, I hope to have them at my games again in the future.

So without further ado, this week’s installment:

Teaser 1

HoloNet NEWS FLASH!

HoloNet News reports the alleged disappearance of another two freighters in a major hyperspace route. RepSec Director Wilhuff Tarkin blames Hutt supported pirates.

STAR WARS is coming

“The Gathering Storm, failed to see we did.” Yoda

Roberto the GM

Teaser 2

Salvage Vessel Icar report

(From a my player Sammy, via text message)

Captain Tulevik reporting – After a cursory search the salvage vessel Icar reports to headquarters that it has not been able to find any salvage at the designated coordinates.

(Reply to the player, via text message)

Captain Tulevik – Further instructions forthcoming from Republic Security Command. Do not engage regional authority vessels.

Roberto the GM

Teaser 3

Independent freighter Void Manta communication…

(From another player, José, via text message)

Message from Void Manta – This is Capt. Braco of the independent freighter Void Manta do you require assistance.

(Reply to said player, via text message)

RepSec

To: Captain Braco / From: RepSec Command

Void Manta, do not, repeat do not assist the Icar. Regional authority vessels are on their way. Republic peace keeping forces cannot guarantee your safety.

Roberto the GM

Teaser 4

The Icar’s run

(From Sammy, the first player to reply, via e-mail)

Hearing RepSec’s message, Captain Tulevik searched for and set his navigational computer to the next set of coordinates. Flashing the ancient code with his search light letting the Void Manta know that no assistance was required as of yet.

Making the jump to hyperspace he disabled his identification transponder and ejected the cylinder that would carry the false signal into realspace; that, he hoped, would give him some time to examine the coordinates he had paid to obtain. His contacts were shady but when was a profitable mission otherwise engaged?

He knew that his rouse would not work for long and that for his own safety and that of his vessel he would soon have to report his coordinates again but for now salvage and his next payment was all he was after, safety was his price for luxury.

********

As the streaks of hyperspace coalesced into the starry fields of real space the hum of the hyperdrive died away and all was silent. A cursory scan of the area revealed no wreckage, no salvage.

Suddenly a screeching and static filled the ship, and all the controls went dark. Captain Tulevik and his crew tried to make the ship respond, but to no avail, just as a shadow crossed the viewport casting a long ominous shadow over the crew…

Roberto the GM

Teaser 5

HoloNet NEWS FLASH!

Ships carrying Force Petitioner Missionaries stowaways were detained and turned back to the Outer Rim by ships of the Leoco Actum Jedi Order under the command of Commodore Thrawn. Master Mace Windu leader of the Leoco Actum commended his commander and dismissed regional authorities’ accusations simply saying, “This is our duty to fight the darkness, the Senate is the place to discuss such matters!”

STAR WARS is coming!

Roberto the GM

Teaser 6

(From a third player, Piwie, via e-mail)

Ecrof Swiftwind Holocron Gatekeeper

“The force teaches many things, one is that the universe is the Force and the Force is universe, it includes all life in it. When one changes it modifies the other as with any living thing.” Quote from the teachings of The Book of Light

That’s why the politics of the universe have the tendency to change both the universe and the Force… Ecrof Swiftwind Holocron Gatekeeper

Teaser 7

Star Wars Campaign: HoloNet NEWS FLASH!

HoloNet NEWS FLASH!

Riots broke out in Morishim in the Outer Rim after local populace refused to accept the result of negotiations with the Corporate Alliance. Jedi of the Sar’Akar Sodality, responsible for the negotiations, refused the request of local leaders to quell the uprising citing their tenets.

“Against those they are sworn to protect, the Sar’Akar must not act” Yoda alleged leader of Sar’Akar.

STAR WARS IS COMING!

Roberto the GM

Teaser 8

HoloNet NEWS FLASH!

Trade Federation Ships have entered the Corellian Sector as the result of a mutual defense agreement. Various senators have protested the action; Senator Thain Organa of Alderaan said it violates the Paltari Accord banning capital ships from Core Worlds regional fleets

Teaser 9

The Acturis’ Predicament

<Transmission> Acturis power down and prepare to be boarded. You are not authorized to be in this system. This is the Trade Federation ship Majestrox part of the Corellian Defense Detachment. <End of transmission>

(An undetermined amount of time later…)

This is the transport Acturis to any one receiving this message. We have lost our hyperdrive and our communications systems are down. We need help, we have passengers…

********

(From Jose via text message)

This is Captain Braco of the Void Manta, we will assist do not fire.

********

Captain Braco this is the Acturis we can barely read you. We have no weapons, we are unarmed. Beware the Void Manta is not alone out there. (Sudden loud, garbled static over the com)

********

(From José via text message)

Acturis we are broadcasting this via the HoloNet, ANYONE can read us, this is a request from our passenger, Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn…

********

“Captain Braco the Acturis is badly damaged” says the crewmember working the sensors, “fighters approaching… No life signatures. No pilots? What do we do Captain?”

********

(From Jose via text message)

Captain Braco replies, “Ion guns emps fire at will, the Manta’s ETA is 2 minutes hold on!”

********

“Captain Braco we are connection to the Acturis. Their life support is failing.” The Void Manta shakes under fire, “Two droid fighters hit us sir!”

The Acturis’ passengers begin to make their way to the Manta, but it will take time to transport them all.

“Captain the fighters are doubling back, our Jedi guest asks permission to deploy his personal fighter.”

********

(From Jose via text message)

Captain Braco smiles, “The customer is always right, launch!”

Teaser 10

The Acturis’ Predicament 2

The Jedi star fighter roars as it blasts off the Void Manta’s cargo hold. “Qui-Gon Jinn is off Captain, another wing of droid fighters coming! We are still coupled with the Acturis and there are still passengers and crew onboard. We cannot take evasive action against those fighters…”

********

(From Jose via text message)

In a clear calm voice Captain Braco replies: “Gunner fire at will, communications find the droid broadcast frequency and jam it, but if you can slice in it… Have fun!”

********

“Captain, communication reports that the droid control ship is using a variable frequency broadcast, no hope of slicing it. If we do a full spectrum jam we will be blind as well…”

What will YOU do?

STAR WARS is here!

Roberto the GM

Teaser 11

The Icar’s First Mate wakes up disoriented…

(Sent to Sammy via text message)

The Icar’s First Mate wakes up disoriented. He looks around to get his bearings, I’m in the corridor to the small bridge. Only emergency lights are on, how odd, he thinks. The Ship seems powered down, life support as well. He notices a strange smell lingering in the stale air. His body is stiff as and he does not remember what occurred.

The Icar’s First Mate forces the doors to the cockpit. No signs of a fight. The ship systems respond and he brings life support online…

What will you do?

STAR WARS is here!

Teaser 12

HoloNet NEWS FLASH!

Hutt convoy attacked…

Force Petitioners raided a Hutt Slave convoy in the Outer Rim in defiance of regional accords with the Hutts.

********

The young Rodian ate hurriedly unaccustomed to such bounty. He flinched when the man in the gray robes patted his back. “At ease boy, you are no longer a slave.” Smiling down the Force Petitioner gave him some water. “You have been freed by the glory and the will of the Force!”

STAR WARS is here!

Roberto the GM

Teaser 13

The Icar’s Gambit (a continuation of the Acturis’ Predicament)

The Icar’s First Mate wakes up disoriented…

(From Sammy via e-mail)

Wondering why he ever took up with the smuggler. New to the crew and hired for his expertise in languages, and insight with races of all kinds, he struggles to lift himself of the hard deck.

Taking a deep breath he forces air out through all four throats to clear his mind and body. Too late he thinks about the repercussions of the blast on the humans as he vents forcefully. He brings his wide Ithorian body to his feet and wonders about better days amongst the forest gardens of his family’s home.

Grumbling about the size of the human cockpit he climbs in and checks the equipment that suddenly seems to have blazed back to life. He scans the navigational computer for a system with a culture or society that will help repair and harbor the captain’s ship and sets the computer for auto-navigation and hyperdrive enactment. Hoping that the captain has kept his charts up to date he flips the switch and waits for the ship to jump remembering to log his current coordinates as to be able to tell the captain about his last position.

(From Roberto)

As the stars disappear and the sudden jolt of the hyperdrive subsides, the Ithorian first mate confirms his suspicions; he is the only crewmember on the ship. As he walks through the ship it seems as if the crew had simply vanished in the middle of their regular duties.

His last memories are confirmed by the ship’s log, a jump in an attempt to salvage some ship. The Ithorian goes over the sensor readings, the ship went dead soon after leaving hyperspace. Still there is some background, just before the ship went dead, noise he believes is really some type of communication. Working on it, filtering it for hours, he listens intently but cannot recognize it as any language he has even encountered.

Lost in thought, only the ships warning as it comes of hyperspace breaks his concentration; he swivels the small seat as to better see the control and is suddenly caught in an unexpected crossfire…

Two ships coupled, one obviously rescuing the other from the looks of the damaged vessel, one lone fighter protecting them from droid fighters on the attack. The chatter over the com is incessant and the First Mate can barely sift through it.

The Icar trembles as various hit graze its hull and two droid fighters buzz by followed by a very distinct fighter. The com explodes again, “Pilot of unknown ship, this is Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn, we are under attack, the Void Manta is in a rescue mission we need your help.”

What will you do?

STAR WARS is here…

Roberto the GM

Teaser 14

The Icar’s Gambit (a continuation of the Acturis’ Predicament) part 2

(From Sammy via e-mail)

Caught unawares by the sudden drop from Hyperspace, but not surprised by the ongoing battle the First Mate, BriarRose, moves practiced but clumsy hands over controls designed for humans, taking evasive maneuvers he strives to stay away from combat.

In a practiced tone of calm command he remembers to enunciate his basic knowing that he is probably talking to humans, he flicks the com center controls. Now finally his tour with the ambassador and his long months of training finally come to bare.

“Void Mata… instruct the damaged ship you are aiding to evacuate with pods if able to and set to my coordinates… I will retrieve survivors. This is a salvage ship our armament and weapons are minimal.”

Next Week: The final post in the series! Let’s talk rules…

As a reminder, Star Wars, all associated characters and images are copyright of Lucasfilm and I use them here only as a fan creating an RPG campaign.

Related posts:

1. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 4 of 8)
2. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 3 of 8)
3. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 1 of 8)

When the release came out I was REALLY disappointed… I wanted to participate of the fun and get the magazine, but alas there was no electronic version when it came out. That, to me, was a head scratcher; in this day and age to ONLY go with print at launch was a miss. I understand the nostalgia, which was confirmed upon reading the editorial, but that was not communicated effectively beforehand.

In their defense they cleared up questions really quickly, communicated effectively and assured us there would be a digital copy soon. And there was, but no having the digital copy right there and there took the wind off my sails a little bit. Despite the excitement in the RPG community I was a little disappointed by everything I saw about the magazine. It looked TOO MUCH like Dragon magazine; I feared it might not be a tribute and become merely an aping of glories past.

The table of content did NOT help… I saw a lot of articles that really did not interest me, some of the retrospectives and columns seemed better suited for a blog post than a magazine article. The digital age has really changed how I deal with content and when I pay for content I want more concrete gaming material I can use. The more anecdotal, promotional or simply informative content seem best served by another medium, such as a blog. And I feared that the table of content pointed to that being the case.

Still, when the magazine was released in digital form, and for a very reasonable price, $4.99 (when compared to $8.95 for print), I took the risk. I was NOT disappointed. The magazine is 64 pages of nostalgia and good content. True it looks like Dragon Magazine from the start. From layout to font, this was a trip down memory lane. You’ll notice I said good but not great. This is not meant disparagingly. This is a solid magazine, but there is room to improvement.

There was still a MANY of retrospection and reminiscing columns. All well and good, but I would not enjoy this every quarter. You won’t be surprised when I say that my favorite part was The Kobold’s Warren, the section of the magazine where a little bit of Kobold Quarterly lives on. However I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the Cosmology of role-playing games article. It captured the feel of the old Dragon, and was actually a lot of fun. Another standout for me was Leomund’s Secure Shelter, part retrospective, part content, all over the place, but so much fun!

The article on DMing for Toddlers was great, and brings home the point we are now a generation of adults teaching the younger generation about gaming. The art was generally top notch, the cartoons great, a while I felt there were a LOT of adds in those 64 pages, I understand the need to finance the product, perhaps a couple of extra pages, or some electronic content to compliment the print/electronic product would be good.

I applaud the desire to support many games and hope to see this trend continue in Gygax Magazine. While I understand the desire to get a niche market, the OSR crowd, there are so many games that are thematically closed to what Gary Gygax did that I hope to see diversity continue.

(And here is the rant…)

I understand the appeal of OSR, the nostalgia, but… I played those games. They were fun, and I enjoyed them at the time, but like with many things from my youth, they are better under the veil of memory. I loved Robotech as a kid. I went back and watched it, did not love it so much. So on and so forth with MANY of the cherished things of my youth. They are better served by being remembered not relived.

Many OSR games are like this to me. There are newer designs, with modern mechanics, that better fit my gaming style. I go back and read some (not all) OSR games and say, “Why would I like to play this?” There are modern games that are simple, without the warts I did not notice as a teen.

There are exceptions, I love Stars Without Number, because it does wonderfully creative things with the old school rule set, and adds so much in the way in handles sandbox games. It builds upon the past and pushed to the future. I get the nostalgia if you never played these games. I did back them, there is a reason I no longer play them!

Forgive me if it sounds harsh, this is just MY take on it. Ironic for a guy who is planning a one shot using the BECMI rules in the Rule Cyclopedia. To me OSR is good for an occasional game; I just don’t see myself running a long term campaign with such rules. YMMV!

Thus I would love to see the content of future Gygax Magazine continue the mix in the first issue and avoid being just an OSR vehicle.

(End of rant…)

Oh and I love the histories and reminiscing, but I would keep it to a minimum, if it goes out of control the magazine could become repetitive. There is space for exploring the history of the game, but I buy magazine like this for the gaming content, be it crunch or fluff.

I found myself enjoying Gygax Magazine so much more than I expect it. I’ve read almost all of it by now, something I don’t typically do with ANY magazine, so I can heartily recommend it. So go and get it, whether in digital or print, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

Related posts:

1. Gary Gygax, I never knew thee
2. My first thoughts on Goodman’s “Level Up” magazine
3. New Tunnels & Troll magazine

Instead of just taking another break from GMing, I decided to run something else. Diaspora is one of my favorite Fate versions, but it’s still a system I am not 100% familiar with. I’ve read a lot of Fate-related material but I am far from being an experienced Fate GM. My players haven’t played Fate at all, so switching to another game system, made a lot of sense to me. After putting some thought into it, I decided to give Stars Without Number a try. The rules are pretty easy and feel very similar to older editions of D&D. It’s a gameplay we’re all familiar with and that makes GMing for me much, much easier.

I also think using Stars Without Number’s included setting is easier to run than a Mass Effect campaign. I don’t have to worry about getting things “right”, there’s no canon I have to deal with. The setting in Stars Without Number is a big sandbox for me and my players to play in. I can easily plug in elements we find interesting without breaking anything.

I know that a lot of fears and doubts I am having right now are unfounded. But there’s currently not much I can do about it, aside from continuing my therapy and make things easier for me. Wish me luck! From what I’ve gathered so far, mental health issues are quite common in our hobby. There are also a lot of game designers and bloggers dealing with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. It seems to be the curse of the creative ones.

Have you dealt with mental health problems before? Did your mental health affect your hobby as well, and what did you do to make things easier for you? As always, every comment is highly appreciated.

Related posts:

1. Greetings, Salutations, and Resolutions!
2. Internet killed the Table Top Star
3. Fated to play FATE

This is the last installment of the fiction pieces I wrote for the campaign, this time focusing on Thrawn. In my experience he’s become the Drizzt of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, people either love him or hate him. While I loved Heir to the Empire when it came out, starved for new Star Wars content back in 1991, I now realize that for all the great things in the series, Thrawn as a character has been done to death. So why did I use him? Well one of the players was a BIG fan and I thought he would be a good vehicle to introduce information about a particular Jedi Order. I remember back then someone commented the story was a little “hard-ish” sci-fi for their taste. I don’t see it, perhaps it’s not what they thought of when they thought of Star Wars, but most of my players enjoyed it. So here is my take on the character, hope you like it.

“Open a secure channel to Coruscant. Inform the Director the Gen’Dai is active…

Agent Daala, Republic Intelligence

Lying in Wait

“Ship approaching Commodore,” said one of the officers manning the sensors station. Mitth’raw’nuruodo opened his crimson eyes. They seemed to glow in the gloomy cockpit. Almost all lights were turned down and most of the crewmembers around his command chair were eerily illuminated by the glow of their station screens and controls. The Commodore allowed his eyes to get used to the lighting conditions while wordlessly recited an ancient Nikto oath.

Looking out through the bridge viewport he could not see the ship with the naked eye. Checking the chrono in his command station display he knew it was not the decoy arriving early. A quick glance at the display screens around the viewport confirmed the sensor reading did not come from the fighter stationed outside the hydrogen cloud feeding data to his flagship through a comm laser, but from the Kerberos’ own sensors, limited as they were inside the cloud.

Only a starfighter could have come from the aft and gotten so close undetected, crossing the hydrogen cloud left behind by the long dead star in this ancient binary system where the Kerberos hid. The sensors crew attempted anxiously to identify the ship, failing to even get a transponder code reading. Navigating the hydrogen cloud would have been just as hard for the pilot, requiring unusual skill, luck, or something more. “Commodore Thrawn,” said the same officer who had moments ago interrupted his meditation, addressing him by his shorter, easier to pronounce name, nervousness creeping into his voice. “It’s a starfighter sir, the pilot is not responding. Should we power up and take defensive actions?”

“We will do no such thing. Stand down” replied Thrawn in a calm, commanding, baritone voice. “The ship will continue to run essential systems only. Maintain your monitoring of sensor readings from the system. Alert the fighter bay crew we are about to have a ship dock and inform Lieutenant Deyalla she should send a detachment to meet me in the hangar to welcome Lord Windu onboard.”

********

Commodore Thrawn smoothed out the wrinkles in his uniform as the turbolift took him down to the hangar bay across the almost 200 meter long corvette. For a moment he had considered changing into his dress uniform to welcome Mace Windu onboard, but this was an unannounced visit to a ship involved in a military action, his commanding officer would have to be accommodating. Besides he knew Mace would not like to be kept waiting.

He combed back his matted, gleaming black hair with his hands. Switching from full to only nominal life support so suddenly had made the Kerberos humid and stifling; it would become colder and drier the longer they waited. His blue skin contrasted with his green and brown uniform, with its many pocketed vest and prominent shoulder pads, utilitarian and simple, only the rank insignias differentiating his from that of any other officer in the Leoco Actum Fleet.

His eyes traced the turbolift progress in the display console. The Kerberos was the flagship of the Leoco Actum Jedi Order Fleet, a Duro Shipwright Shipyards manufactured Marauder-class corvette modified to his specifications. A top of the line hyperdrive, sensor array and better shielding had been added, the hangar bay expanded to hold the modified fighters, and the ship was rigged so a Gravity Well Projector could be attached to the hull.

As the turbolift arrived at the hangar bay its doors opened. There waiting for him was Lieutenant Deyalla with an honor guard. The Zabrak had changed into her dress uniform and tied back her hair into a long braid, her horns prominent and crown like. “Well done Lieutenant, let us welcome our guest.”

Flanked by the honor guard with Lieutenant Deyalla a few steps behind him Commodore Thrawn marched across the hangar. The crew had already docked Windu’s arrowhead shaped modified Delta 7, the Unrelenting. The one man fighter was painted all black and Jedi Lord Mace Windu stood by as the crew removed his black domed astromech droid. “Make sure you run a diagnostic on the droid the hydrogen cloud seems to have affected his sensors,” said the Jedi with the ease of one accustomed to command.

A few steps from him Thrawn stopped. With a slight bow he said, “Welcome onboard Lord Windu, you honor us with your visit.” Mace Windu, leader of the Leoco Actum Jedi Order turned around, the hood of his dark brown cloak pulled back. His shirt, vest, trousers, belt and boots all the Order’s traditional black. He held his black leather gloves in one hand, the silver and gold hilt of the lightsaber hooked to his belt drew the eye to it, breaking the unity of the solemn uniform.

Lord Windu signaled the Commodore to come closer and warmly greeted him, placing both hands firmly upon his shoulders. “Good to see you old friend. Forgive me for arriving unannounced, but I had to come and see why you had taken my flagship, unescorted, and unannounced, into action.” Letting go of Thrawn, both men commenced to walk down the hangar. “I could say the same my Lord, you have traveled unescorted out to the Mid-Rim, so close to Hutt Space.” Mace stopped and looked at Thrawn, his smile vanishing momentarily, “That is why you are here? Mitth’raw’nuruodo,” he said trying to pronounce his full name, and failing miserably, just as a parent does when scolding a child, “we faced them and destroyed most of their ships. These Hutt pirates are no longer our concern!”

Thrawn examined Windu as he spoke. He looks tired, he thought. The lines around his eyes and mouth emphasized it. They were absent when they had met years before while Thrawn still served the Chiss Ascendancy Expeditionary Fleet; when Mace had saved his life. He no longer shaved his head. Instead he had grown out his hair, but kept it cropped short. It seemed to Thrawn his hairline was receding a little. He had grown a goatee, and around his chin the hair had turned gray and white, giving him a somber and dignified look.

Thrawn turned away from his superior officer and continued at a leisurely pace. “This small fleet of Hutt Privateers will re-supply, gather new ships and return to the protectorates of the Leoco Actum unless we eliminate their leader. I dared not deploy the Fleet for this, but I believed it was within my discretion as Commodore to deploy the Kerberos for this action.” He stopped and paused for a moment, never turning to look at Lord Windu, “I could recall the fighters and order a return to the nearest protectorate if you so order.”

Windu sighed, “We are already here. I trust you have a brilliant strategy planned out. I would not be here otherwise.” Thrawn’s comlink burst into a cacophony of voices as several different stations tried to report all at once. “Silence,” ordered the Commodore calmly, “Sensors stations, report.” “The transport ship just came out of hyperspace Sir.” Thrawn allowed himself a brief smile, “The game is afoot Lord Windu. If you will accompany me to the bridge I shall demonstrate my plan.”

********

Lord Windu and Commodore Thrawn strode into the bridge, Lieutenant Deyalla and the honor guard standing to the back. The room was better lit and the Commodore was satisfied that his crew had followed the plan to the letter, activating the life support systems and powering up other vital systems. With Lord Windu standing by his side, Thrawn sat on his command chair, casually scanning his station displays, “Report…”

“The transport ship has assumed its orbit around the sixth planet Sir.” The viewport suddenly no longer showed the space outside the Kerberos but instead a grainy image of an old YG-4210 light freighter in orbit around a reddish planet. The quality of the image would not improve, fed to the Kerberos through the comm laser by the fighter outside the hydrogen cloud. “Continue scanning, our targets will arrive shortly,” turning to his guest Commodore Thrawn calmly explained himself. “The freighter is carrying a precious cargo of Cortosis”, seeing his Commanding Officer’s reaction, the Commodore suppressed a smile. “Yes the lightsaber resistant material, costly and rare. The freighter is escorted by a lone Leoco Actum Warrior. I made sure that despite the precious cargo being unprotected; these facts were made known to the right people in the underworld.”

Mace Windu seemed concerned for a moment, but any doubts quickly disappeared from his countenance. Thrawn was unsure if the Jedi Lord managed this through his mastery of the Force or confidence in his Fleet’s commander. Battle station alarms in the bridge brought the Commodore back to reality. Turning to the viewport Thrawn scanned the scene as the bridge crew began to report. Various ships entered real space outside the sixth planet’s gravity well. The sensors crew confirmed what he was seeing in the displays: three escorts and a frigate. All four in such a dilapidated shape they gave the appearance of needing constant repair to keep their heavily modified hulls from falling apart.

“Impossible to determine the model of the ships Sir, they’ve masked their transponder codes, but they match the description of the pirates.” Leaning back on his chair the Commodore ordered, “Monitor their communications and report what you find. Power up all remaining systems and prepare the Kerberos for battle. Have the fighter relaying sensor readings to us do so as well. Inform all other pilots to stand by.”

Lord Windu examined the scene with great interest, without turning to him; the Commodore continued to explain. “The hydrogen cloud we are in right now makes us harder to detect, although any moderately capable being manning sensors in the frigate should be able to determine something is amiss now that we have activated all systems. But you also knew this. You used the cloud to your benefit as you approached us.”

In that lull the sensor’s officer interrupted the conversation “Sir, the ships have detected the fighter relaying sensor readings to us and the frigate has deployed fighters to intercept.” “Have our decoy disengage and retreat,” Thrawn replied. “He is to draw the fighters as far away from the frigate as possible. What about the communications?” The sensor’s officer actually walked from his station to the Commodore’s chair. “The escorts and fighters are communicating in Huttese Sir, but as you predicted, the frigate is broadcasting all communications in Nikto” This seemed to break Mace’s concentration and he turned to Thrawn with a mystified look.

With great satisfaction Thrawn answered the unspoken question, “Go back and examine all the raids, all the attacks in your protectorates. They all targeted Leoco Actum’s holdings or places where the Order’s Jedi congregate. All attacks were frontal and few were ambushes or raids. In fact those ships involved in ambushes and deceptions were often left unsupported when we retaliated.” Sensor’s flashed as the enemy fighters passed a pre-established distance. “Fighters engage, concentrate on the escorts.” The eleven Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighters lying in wait in the hydrogen cloud suddenly activated their hyperdrives, vanishing into hyperspace only to reenter realspace seconds later, pulled out by the planet’s gravity well in a dangerous micro-jump.

Without delay the fighters engaged the escorts. The pirate’s frigate opened fire on the transport in orbit trying to disable its engines, ignoring the surprise attack. Lord Windu objected to the use of the micro-jump but the Commodore waived his protest and continued. “I learned from my sources that the leader of the Hutt Privateers was a Nikto. Studying his attacks I was convinced that what my sources informed me was correct. He fancies himself a follower of the ancient Nikto Morgukai cult. Their hatred for the Jedi was well known and they often employed Cortosis in their armors and weapons. I studied their oaths and teachings, and knew he would not ignore this opportunity to strike at the Jedi and procure the ship’s cargo.”

As Lord Windu smiled Commodore Thrawn knew the Jedi at last understood his plan. “The Morgukai had a strict code of honor and I knew the leader of these pirates would not ambush the ship. And his false honor would lead him to take the bait despite the obvious risks. And here we are…” With the sensor readings from the ship outside the cloud no longer available the Commodore straightened in his chair, “All stations ready to jump to lightspeed. We will engage the frigate as soon as we exit hyperspace following the micro-jump. Once the frigate is destroyed the escorts will likely disengage and run. The fighters are to give pursuit, the privateer fighters are likely to give them support, have them clean up no one of them leaves the system.”

Mace turned to Thrawn and asked, a little perplexed, “You knew he would not ambush you that he would be bound by his pride and honor to spring your trap, yet you lie here in wait for him?” Commodore Mitth’raw’nuruodo looked at him with his scarlet eyes, a little amused by the notion, blue features totally calm before the engagement, “I my Lord have no such compunctions!”

Next week: I’ll share with you a trick I used to hype up my players back then for the game, text message (or MSM messages). It developed into an ongoing exchange with my players as we built up momentum for the game. But that’s for next week…

And remember, Star Wars, all associated characters and images are copyright of Lucasfilm (except the cropped picture from Room 1408 which I believe  belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) and I use them here only as a fan creating an RPG campaign.

Related posts:

1. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 7 of 8)
2. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 2 of 8)
3. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 3 of 8)

There’s a common misconception in our hobby that the GM is solely responsible for whether a game is fun or not. Sure, a bad GM may ruin a game, but more often than not this could have been avoided with the help of the players. Roleplaying games are a group activity and everyone at the gaming table shares the responsibility of making the game fun. So what can you do as a player to make the GM’s job easier?

Don’t be a dick!
This should be a given, but alas it’s not. All of you probably have heard horror stories about that guy, and a lot of us have actually played with him (or her). Just try to be nice to everyone and treat everyone in a way you want to be treated by others, and everything will be fine. Actually I could stop here, since “don’t be a dick” sums it up pretty well, but I guess, we should go into a bit more detail. By the way, this rule also applies to your character. In most RPGs the player characters are supposed to work as a team. Since when is a back-stabbing, mysterious, loner-type character a team player? You make the GMs job and the other players’ life much easier when you play a team player. That doesn’t mean you can play goody two-shoes only, but at least make sure you work with the rest of the party, even though its to further your own agenda.

Don’t argue with the GM during the game
Especially in most old-school games the gamemaster, dungeon master, referee, or whatever you call him (or her) has the last word when it comes to rules interpretations. His word is law. But that doesn’t mean that discussions about rules or the GM’s ruling crop up every now and then. The correct way is to accept the GMs decision during the game and – if there’s still need for discussion – bring it up after the game.

Help to maintain the atmosphere of the game
Often a GM tries hard to set a certain atmosphere for a game, but it just doesn’t work. The main reason is often that the players don’t support him. This is especially an issue in horror games. If you are an investigator in Call of Cthulhu searching a weird mansion for clues, avoid making jokes all the time, but try to imagine you were actually there, having the nagging feeling that something is terribly wrong. If one or two players work with the GM to set the mood, the rest of the players might actually join in. This will improve the game for everyone.

It’s not all about you
It can’t be said often enough: there’s no I in team. And there’s no I in party either! A lot of players feel the game is all about them. It’s not. The other players and the GM are as important. We all love to be in the spotlight from time to time, but try to avoid shoving your fellow players to the side. I’ve experienced games where the GM and one player basically were engaged in a 2-hour long dialogue while the rest of the players started building towers out of their dice or played around on their smartphone. Especially if some of the players is extremely active and extroverted, the GM might not notice that the other players are bored, because this person demands all his attention. In my opinion it’s the active players’ job to help the other players to get into the spotlight, too.

Play by the rules
I am not talking about the game’s rules, but the rules of the group. If the group is used to serious games, where talking out-of-character is frowned upon and where eating snacks at the game table is considered a mortal sin, try to not to force your less serious, tongue-in-cheek play style on the others. The same is true if you join a group that prefers a more light-hearted approach to the game. Forcing your play style on the group seldom works. Feel free to convince the other players to change their approach to gaming outside of the game, though. But doing so during the game is just a bad idea.

Be on time and don’t leave early!
Usually gaming groups decide on when to play and for how long a long time in advance. Especially with older gamers scheduling becomes a real hassle. Don’t put insult to injury by coming late to the game or leave early because of another appointment. If something suddenly comes up, make sure you inform the GM and the other players in time. That’s actually what I would consider common courtesy, but this issue still comes up in a lot of gaming groups. I can understand that the priorities change over time and some people take gaming activities more serious than others, but that doesn’t mean you should act like a dick.

Bring some snacks, drinks, etc.
In a lot of cases the GM is the one who puts the most time, effort, and money into the hobby. Often the games get played at his or her place, he or she buys the snacks, the game books that are used (including the adventures), provides handouts for the players, buys appropriate background music, etc. – I guess you catch my drift. You can make the GM’s (or the host’s – if he or she’s different from the GM) life much easier by bringing some snacks, drinks etc. that you freely share with the others. It doesn’t need to be every time and you don’t have to bring a lot, but it’s a simple way to show that you care about the game.

There are of course many more ways for a player to help to improve a game. What did I forget? What do you wish would happen at your game table more often (or less often)? Please share your thoughts below. Think about what YOU can do to be a better player!

Related posts:

1. Trust issues
2. Ask the Readers: What do you eat at the gaming table?
3. Don’t Be A Dick

Now everybody goes: “Hello Roberto!”

Game Mastering is a special burden, a badge of honor to some, a constant headache for others. Despite exceptions like Fiasco most role-playing games require a Game Master. Whether you are a GM that plans ahead every detail of the session, or a fly by the seat of your pants improv GM, you are an integral part of the game experience.

When I talk to players seeking games I often hear, “We have a group, but no GM.” Or, “No one wants to GM.” I have no study or hard data, but from simple anecdote I get the feeling most people would rather be a player than a GM. And that’s understandable. When you are a player you get to be one of the protagonists of the adventure. The perception is that being the GM is all about the metaphorical heavy lifting.

And it is! Don’t get me wrong, in most systems the brunt of prep, expectations of mastering the rules, and the responsibility of coordinating things so that everyone is having fun in the game falls squarely on the GM. It is important to know that you are not solely responsible for it, it takes all members of the group for things to go smoothly, likewise it’s important to know that as GM this is not solely your story, this is the groups endeavor, and you need to take into account everybody’s expectations.

The secret is communication, open and candid, but respectful and mindful of the feeling of others. If you do that, your game will improve. But even when this happens I keep talking to fellow GMs who are unhappy or frustrated by their role. Why?

It’s no secret I prefer being a GM. I’ve written about it before. It was what I first did when I played an RPG and I became enamored by the magic of telling a story with my friends. I’ve done it for most of my gaming experience, and if I must choose between being a GM or a payer, the first option always wins!

If you become a GM ask yourself an honest question, “Is this something I want to do?” If the answer is no, well don’t. If the answer is “I’d rather not, but the group has no GM.” Well you can do this for a while, talk to your group, rotate GMs, and make some sort of arrangement so that the brunt doesn’t fall on just you. If the answer is HELL YEAH! Well then you are set.

Even if you love being a GM, there are going to be bad days, complications and frustrations. There are times when you’ll say, “I don’t want to do this! I quit…” I wholeheartedly understand. Don’t give up. That’s what this support group is here for.

(I’ve been at this for a while and I’ll tackle some of the most common complains I hear. I hope other GMs can chime in with their advice and if you have any specific question, worry, or complain, feel free to leave a comment.)

“I feel frustrated!” This is a very common comment I hear from fellow GMs. And it runs the gamut from the adventure didn’t go as I plan, the players wrecked my adventure, to I’m convinced my players hated the adventures.

My best advice, relax, it’s a game! If you worry yourself about it too much the game will never be good enough for you. Being a GM is part storyteller, part control freak, and we often construct the idea of how a session will run in our minds, and believe me, no plan survives the players. Not unless you railroad them to death.

There are a hundred things that can go wrong in a game, and some will definitely will. It’s easy to replay that moment over and over in your mind, and forget about all the other things that went right. So my best advice is, don’t take it too seriously. After the game do something that separates you from the game, don’t dwell. Take a bath and go to bed, watch a TV show NOT related to your game, read, have a soothing tea. Whatever helps you relax! With a little perspective it will not seem as bad.

This may seem like a little contradictory, but, always be critical of your GMing. If you can detach from the game, once you’ve given yourself some space, consider what you could improve. We can all be better, so look for what you think could improve and take steps to do so. Talking to your player helps, be upfront about it and ask for feedback. If you know that just after the game you’ll be raw to criticism, do so later, and use social media or an e-mail.

But do this incrementally. If you try to solve every problem at once you’ll be overwhelmed. For example you feel as if you don’t do enough voices for your NPCs and believe this would improve your game, don’t try to do this for every NPC next session. Perhaps identify an important NPCs, a recurring character, a hireling, and try it with him or her. The old adage of baby steps applies here.

If you feel like you plan too much, maybe you do. It depends on group expectations and styles. And this is one of those things that get easier with experience. BUT my advice is, plan for a game like you plan for grocery shopping. What do I mean by that? Unless you are really obsessive compulsive (and that is not meant as value judgment) I doubt most people plan a visit to the grocery store with so much detail that you know the number of steps from entering the store to the exiting it once you are done, or make a detailed map of how you will navigate the store.

You need a list of what you plan to buy, equivalent to an adventure outline, a budget, which would be a plan for the opponents the players will encounter, resources you need for the adventure, specifics items for the system, all this depending on the game, and the desire to go shopping. And by shopping I mean running an adventure.

When you get to the supermarket myriad things can happen. You may find that something you needed is not in stock, there may be a special you just can’t pass up, or a strange mist may descend upon the store and you need to fight unknown creatures to survive. Ok, maybe not that last one. But the thing is you have to think on your feet, but about the minutiae, not the big details, those are on your list.

The list may be more detailed or less detailed depending on your GM style, and the changes you make along the way should be based on player feedback, how the game runs and all those little bits that pop-up and you cannot possible plan for.

(I hope the supermarket comparison makes sense…)

Another bit of contradictory advice. Be forthcoming with your players if there is a bit of the rules you just don’t understand. Don’t be afraid to ask for their input. But by the same token don’t become the deer in the headlights! Roll with the punches. Part of being a successful GM is bluffing, making it seem like you planned for the unexpected. That may just be your biggest tool…

My last bit of advice, listen to your players, they will let you know what they expect by what they say to you, and to each other, don’t be afraid to go with it. The game just might be better for it.

I admit I’ve felt frustrated with a game one time or another, and will again, but I typically deal with it successfully following this advice. What works for you? Hope my advice on dealing with these situations is useful. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. #GMwisdom, musings of a Game Master!
2. Teaching new games to an old group …
3. Being a better Game Master: Credit where credit is due!

This is the second piece of fiction I wrote for the campaign, and part of the introduction to the campaign I handed out to the players some weeks before the game. I should point out that I had conducted a survey to know what elements of the Star Wars universe they were interested in and from there I created the alternate history and other elements of the game I’m sharing with you in theses posts. My intention with this piece, much more so than the previous one, was to introduce players and plotlines that could become part of gameplay eventually. In this specific instance it did not, based on what the players decided to do. The secrets hinted at in this little story would have been very important for the second part of the campaign. Alas, we never got around to it… Not yet at least!

“The Sar’Akar are under my protection. Abbaji Forces will defend Ossus at all costs. Tell your masters that a Kaleesh repays his debts of honor!”

Warlord Qymaen jai Sheelal, alias General Grievous, during the siege of Ossus

The Old Guard

Republic Security Director Wilhuff Tarkin tapped his long, bony fingers rhythmically on the desk. It was enormous and opulent, carved from a single piece of dark, rich wood; it occupied a good portion of the well-furnished office, facing the door directly across from the entrance. The large, black leather chair seemed to swallow his tall, gaunt, frame, one elbow on the armrest of the chair while the hand absentmindedly stroked his clean shaven chin. His head slightly tilted to one side, the receding brown but graying hair methodically combed back, eyes half closed. Behind him, visible through the panoramic window, the canyons of glass and steel, and the incessant traffic of the Republic’s capital, Coruscant, all bathed in the yellowish red hue of dusk.

He slid his hand over the desk’s surface and tapped the button hidden in the transparent microcircuit overlay. The grandiose military march seemed to waft away as the Director opened his eyes. The office lights slowly lit up, strategically placed spotlights illuminated shelves filled with mementos and display cases, flags and tapestries. His office was filled with decorations, recognitions and awards of a life dedicated to service. First to the Eriadu military, then to the Republic Security organization, commonly called RepSec.

He smiled to himself, a humorless, predatory smile. He was the master of a fleet unfit for any duty other than routine patrol and tariff enforcement. A peace keeping force stretched thin across the Republic, most of it deployed in good will missions or disaster relief. However he was proud of the Coruscant Security Forces, his Kesselian Dragoons. Named after the most decorated and famous military unit to surge outward into the galaxy as the humans of Coruscant and other Core Worlds systems braved the great unknown and civilized the galaxy.

What remained of this once proud unit and its traditions? A military force five hundred thousand strong and their support staff, forbidden by Republic edict to leave the Coruscant System and existing only to protect the planet and the Senate.

He had inspected his troops earlier that day, a parade before the full Senate and other visiting dignitaries. The Kesselian Dragoons had marched down the Avenue of the Core Founders and up the stairs to the Great Door to salute the senators, ambassadors and staff lining the balconies and windows over the Atrium of the Senate. Director Tarkin had proudly overseen this from his round repulsorpod floating above his men.

They marched in perfect unison, flawless lines, decked in their blue durasteel ceremonial armor and long robes carrying blaster pikes, the feathered crests in their helmets dancing in the wind. Behind them heavy repulsorcraft and hover tanks glided forward used rarely for active duty and brought out mostly for parade. Above them a unit on hover steeds hummed by. These highly stylized hover bikes were created to resemble long extinct quadrupeds used by the people of Coruscant in ancient times.

The passing hover steeds, even the hovertanks, seemed to shake under the roar of two Escort Frigates quickly swooping by the Senate. An impressive display of might and discipline sure to impress all who saw it, even strike some fear in them. Tarkin had smiled approvingly and nodded to his officers who saluted him. And them the cheering had begun.

He looked up and saw the senators pouring out into the balconies, their staff wildly cheering and flying their colors in celebration of the spectacle. He sneered momentarily at the mass of aliens and humans, powerless buffoons ready to celebrate pomp and circumstance as power slipped thought their fingers and came to rest in autonomous sectors, political block and allegiances across the galaxy. At least the Chancellor was human, but there he was surrounded by a mass of aliens, many of which had barely understood space travel until the Galactic Republic had found them and given it to them along with all the rights and benefits of membership into the once illustrious Republic.

It had been them who had brought it low, with their barbarous ways and thousand babbling tongues. This was not the way of old, when humans from the Core Worlds had conquered and colonized the systems around their planets and forged a glorious Republic. All that remained was a shadow, a sad mockery of the once glorious Galactic Republic.

Director Tarkin pushed such thoughts away and rubbed his throbbing temples. The empty cheers of the day vanished; he was in his office, alone. A tap in the microcircuit controls on his desk activated the holoprojector hidden inside and a bluish image of a matronly woman of regal bearing coalesced atop his desk. In the slowly turning hologram Tarkin could see the details of her summer dress, common that season in her home planet of Phelarion. A wind seemed to catch her by surprise as the image was recorded and she held on to her wide brimmed hat while laughing. The Director stopped the hologram there just as she smiled.

The hologram was too small to show details but Wilhuff remembered that day, that very moment, well enough. He reached out as if to touch the hologram, but his finger only disrupted the projection and momentarily distorted the image of his wife Lady Tarkin. The image did not show her wrinkles, or her sickly, pale, sagging body under her corset and the long, billowing dress.

Pulling his hand back he sighed. He had married the much older woman while still a young officer in the Eriadu military. His dreams of glory in the battlefield, of leading men into the fray had vanished after his frail physique had betrayed him and he had fallen ill in Sullustan during the Rimma Blockade campaign. He had contracted Dust Fever from an Outer Rim refugee and had spent the better part of the campaign recovering.

After his return to active duty his superiors considered him unfit for combat, and instead decided to assign him to administrative and diplomatic duties within the Eriadu military. In these assignments he excelled: as a military attaché, strategist and brilliant administrator. But the opportunities for growth in the Eriadu military, and by extension in the Seswenna Sector government, were limited by his lack of wealth and political contacts.

His marriage to Lady Tarkin had been one of convenience. She, the recently widowed daughter of the Motti family, needed his guile and the support of the Eriadu military to retain control of her family’s megonite moss mines. He in turn needed her family’s political contacts and her wealth. They helped each other, and while there were no true feelings between the two, they grew fond of each other, often discussing the sad estate and grim future of the galaxy during long walks across her estate.

That was the reason he remembered the day the holo had been recorded particularly well. That very same day he had received a message from his attaché in Seswenna Sector Central Government informing him that Ferrindel Oumeross had been elected Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Oumerros had come to power with grand reform plans, seeking to return the Republic to its former glory. The hologram captured Lady Tarkin’s happiness as he told her the new Supreme Chancellor had appointed him the new Republic Security Director.

She had remained in Phelarion as Tarkin traveled to Coruscant. The euphoria and elation of Supreme Chancellor’s Oumeross rule was short lived. His unapologetic belief in the inherent superiority of humans above other species was his downfall. Oumeross’ reforms were blocked and derided by an alliance of alien Sectors and political blocks within the Republic. A vote of no confidence soon removed him from office.

In his short time as Republic Security Director, Tarkin, shrewdly and cunningly, had achieved enough political connections in Coruscant, and learned enough secrets, as to assure continuance as RepSec Director after Oumeross’ fall and under other Supreme Chancellors.

He allowed the hologram of his wife to play on. She was still in Phelarion but her age no longer allowed her to supervise the mines. Tarkin had assigned someone to oversee the operation. They spoke sometimes, but she was weak and infirm, and her mind wandered, nothing like the new woman in his life, a promising new recruit into the organization he felt was his greatest achievement as Director of RepSec.

The Director inserted a code cylinder taken from his uniform’s breast pocket into one of the slots hidden in the inner rim of his desk and the hologram quickly changed. Before him he could see the Senate’s entire documentation and report on budgetary appropriations for his office. As part of the charter for the creation of the Republic Security office after the demilitarization of the Republic he, as Director, had full discretion over the assignment and distribution of the budget. Since even before taking his post he had devised a plan to deviate some of the budget through seemingly innocuous and untraceable expenses to fund a covert intelligence organization.

Built slowly and surreptitiously, originally composed of recruits of unquestionable loyalty, it had grown into a self-funded, secret intelligence operation answerable only to him. The secrets they had gathered had assured his position and allowed him to start various other necessary, indeed vital projects unhindered by Republic bureaucracy and intervention.

They were his eyes and ears, gathering information and data the Senate seemed oblivious to. He could see it all coming undone, each sector and block vying for more power, an escalating suspicion and distrust among neighboring systems, exemplified by the Corellia-Alderaan impasse which only seemed to worsen.

Only the latest in a long list of growing conflicts. While Tarkin was not naïve as the people that blamed the slow decline of the Republic in the Jedi and the peace they had arranged, he had no love for the meddlesome mystics.

The Leoco Actum had recently caused trouble with their renewed attempts of taking into their fold young children from the Core Worlds. Despite all decrees and condemnations in the Senate, they refused to cede control of the systems and sectors they had annexed to their protectorates during their crusade against the Force Petitioners, whom they had unilaterally banished into the Outer Rim.

Yet as much as he distrusted them, he needed their support, for without the aid of the Leoco Actum fleet his ships could not face the continued raids into Republic space by Hutt backed pirates, and certainly had no hopes of resolving the Corellia-Alderaan situation. Director Tarkin stood up and looked out his window. From here he could see the Senate dome and in the distance the Jedi Temple with its spires reaching out into the sky. Built for the Jedi Council the temple remained empty; no lights upon its towers, unused for a generation. In contrast the Senate was abuzz with activity its windows and external lights bright in the early night. Yet to Tarkin both seemed as ineffectual, as empty, only that in one of them those endlessly prancing about had yet to realize their insignificance.

His holoprojector flickered and a hologram of his aide, standing outside the office, appeared. “Director Tarkin, the delegation from Naboo is here to see you sir”. The Twi’lek’s lekku twitched as he spoke. Disgusted by the fleshy tentacles Tarkin turned his eyes from the image and back to the Coruscant skyline. The Twi’lek was a political appointee, not selected for his merits but imposed upon the Director by overzealous Senators who worried there was not enough diversity among his staff. Diversity, his countenance grim, he simply replied, “I will be with them shortly.” His aide simply assented with a small bow and his hologram disappeared.

The Director switched off the holoprojector on his desk, and made sure the office was secure. He walked to one of the shelves holding a case of medals, and by pressing a hidden button a communications panel came into view. He took out a code cylinder and inserted it into the panel’s control. A secure communications link was established and moments later the face of the being who had given him this code cylinder appeared on the screen. Before the other could speak Tarkin spoke, “I have given much thought to you offer. I will stand with you; I am ready to rebuild the galaxy”.

Closing remarks: If you are a fan of the old Star Wars comic by Marvel comics you might have seen some elements of from those comics in the story. I cannot deny those were a big influence on me growing up. Looking back I realize there were lots of duds among those stories, but there were some gems as well!

Next week: Another piece of fiction, this one about an Expanded Universe character that is either adored or reviled. Who do you think he or she is?

And remember, Star Wars, all associated characters and images are copyright of Lucasfilm and I use them here only as a fan creating an RPG campaign.

Related posts:

1. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 3 of 8)
2. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 2 of 8)
3. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 1 of 8)

Ever since I read the BareBones Fantasy rules (which Michael reviewed here, and posted about here), I’ve been itching to use the rules for a sci-fi game. It’s no surprise, the creators of the game DwD Studios are longtime supporters of my favorite old school sci-fi game Star Frontiers, about which I have posted here. They are in fact working on the FrontierSpace game, and some of the work done for that game apparently was carried over to BareBones Fantasy.

So I got about trying to modify the rules for a sci-fi game. This is NOT an attempt at a super detailed science fiction game, but more of a general rule set for the genre. It will require some simplification and assumption of genre tropes. I tried to keep the spirit of the BareBones Fantasy rules and REALLY tried to keep it simple. I don’t know if I’m going in the right direction, so that’s why I’m writing this post. I would love to get some feedback on the rules so far, criticism, see what you think work or doesn’t work.

Mind you this is a work in progress. Not all areas are complete, and I intend to revisit, but I encourage you to pick it apart and leave your feedback in the comments. Page references are to the BareBones Fantasy rule-book  and notes in italics are design decisions I am unsure about. Thanks to Michael, aka Stargazer, for his input as I was conceptualizing this! OK let’s get to what you are here for…

CHARACTER CREATION

Remains the same as in pages 5 to 7, except for the changes regarding new skills and changing coins or gold pieces to credits. I’ll probably keep the Moral Code rules, if slightly tweaked.

RACES

Adapt existing races or create new ones, I haven’t gotten around to this yet… The first ones I plan to convert are the Star Frontiers races since this little hack will more than likely allow me to run a Google+ Hangout Star Frontiers game!

SKILLS

This is the part of the rules I have altered the most. I have simply renames some skills, shifted around what some could do, and created brand new ones. I think this is the core of the system and the one I want to double check. What do you think of the more extensive use for different abilities for different applications of the skills? Are the new abilities too complex?

Agent

This skill represents training in the art and abilities of an investigator, spy or someone navigating the shadier underworld of galactic society.

Score: half DEX +10 per agent level. See Deception, Gather Information and Research for alternate uses.

• Deception - lie convincingly, forge documents, disguise, impersonate, etc. All social interactions (lie, impersonate, etc.) have a Score of half WIL +10 per agent level. Forging documents and disguises have a score of LOG +10 per agent level.
• Gather Information – the ability to collect information and date in social situations, be thy official channels or through shadier acquaintances. Use WIL +10 per agent level
• Research – basic research and investigation of public electronic records, even hard copy documentation when available. Use LOG +10 per agent level.
• Security Systems - identify or disarm traps, pick mechanical and electronic locks and disable electronic security systems, perform small mechanical repairs, etc. Requires tools.
• Sleight of Hand - pick pockets, palm objects, etc.
• Stealth - remain unseen and unheard. Gain +5 per agent level to hit and damage if attacking from stealth.

Commander (alternate title Diplomat, what do you think?)

Experience and training in the role of leader, both in and out of combat.

Score: half WIL +10 per commander level

• Battle Commander - before initiative is rolled make a skill check, if successful choose one below to be in effect until turn ends. Doesn’t count as an action.
  • Assault - find weaknesses in enemy defenses such as a missing scale exposing soft flesh, unarmored area on an opponent, troop deployments that lack shields, fragile bricks in a castle wall, etc.
  • Inspire - grant +5 to hit and damage per commander level to adjacent allies.
  • Tactics - you and your allies gain +1 initiative die.
  • Diplomat - receive +5 per commander level to check for any of the following: knowledge of cultural etiquette, social nuances, influence others with social grace and tact, foster goodwill, encourage negotiating in good faith, interact with aristocracy, persuading others, etc. (Should this be here?)
  • Guardian - if an adjacent ally is hit, choose to intercept the blow taking the damage. No skill check required.
  • Leader - attract followers for a specific mission. At commander level 3 attract 1D/2 followers, at commander level 4 attract 1D, at commander level 5 attract 2D, and at commander level 6 attract entire armies.
  • Master Tactician - on your turn choose one effect, it lasts until the turn ends, this counts as an action.
    • Courageous Word - allies gain +20 to a LOG or WIL resistance check against psionics, fear, etc.
    • Rallying Cry - you and allies that choose to, gain +10 to hit and damage if they give up -20 to all resistance checks.
    • Tactical Strike – When you outnumber a foe 2:1 in melee; you or your ally makes two attacks against foe and chooses which to keep, counts as a single action. In addition to taking damage the foe is knocked prone.

Pilot

This skill determines the level of training on the piloting of vehicles of all sizes and the control, and repair, of all related systems.

Score: half LOG +10 per pilot level.

• Astrogation - plot ship navigation inside a solar system as well as safe hyperspace routes.
• Hotshot– You can substitute your DEX for LOG when for piloting rolls when using size 1 and Size 2 vehicles as per the vehicle combat rules.
• Naval training - each scientist level choose a specialization path and gain +10 to skill checks involving that path; these paths are piloting/helm, communications, weapon systems, tactician, ship systems, or other paths allowed by the GM.  This bonus can be chosen more than once for the same specialization.
• Piloting - from land and sea vehicles, to atmospheric vehicles, space fighters, space ships and capital ships
• Ship tactician – for every even level you can reduce one advantage required for winning the chase, as per the vehicle combat rules. So at level 6 you only need 2 advantages to win a chase. You can also substitute your pilot level for the commander level in the vehicle combat rules.

Psionic

This skill represents the innate ability to use psionic abilities and training on the use of these abilities.

Score: half WIL +10 per psionic level.

• Psionic Abilities – allows you to perform any of the following: emphatically sense beings emotional state and project simple images into the mind of willing subjects nearby; move small objects weighting no more than a few pounds; understand the language of willing sentient beings via telepathy; other simple/minor psionic tasks the GM allows. No skill check required.
• Psionic Disciplines – know a number of disciplines equal to psionic level. If psionic is your primary skill learn two disciplines each level instead.
• Psionic Senses – detect psionics and the use of psionics abilities nearby. Resisted by WIL.

Scientist

This skill represents a general knowledge on various scientific fields and disciplines  and specific knowledge in some areas, including medical training.

Score: half LOG +10 per scientist level.

• Applied Sciences - engineering, medicine, exo-medicine
• Formal Sciences – mathematics, logic, statistics, computer sciences
• Social Sciences - anthropology, archaeology, criminology, law, political sciences, psychology
• Life Sciences - biology, zoology, botany, exo-biology
• Physical Sciences - physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth sciences
• Renowned Scholar - each scientist level choose a specialization path and gain +10 to skill checks involving that path; can be any of the sciences, such as biology, physics, medicine, or a field such as researcher, historian, administration, or other paths allowed by the GM.  This bonus can be chosen more than once for the same specialization.
• Historian - recall some obscure fact about famous places, people, or things. Identify archaeological remains, trace the ancestry of individuals, understand symbolism, etc.
• Know the Truth - once per game session, ask GM a single yes/no question about the setting, story, or its people. GM must answer honestly.
• Medic - if you treat a wounded character after combat add 1BP per scientist level once per day. If you provide long-term care to a resting character (no activity possible) add 1BP per scientist level per day to what the character naturally heals. You can provide long term care to one character per scientist level. Add 1 additional BP each time select medicine as your specialization for the renowned scientist ability.

Scout

This skill represents training or experience as an outdoors-man, survivor or colonist.

Score: half LOG +10 per scout level

• Animal Handling - befriend, calm, agitate, or train naturally occurring animals. Includes riding animals and handling beasts of burden.
• Planetary Navigation - know which way is north, determine location on a known map, decipher maps, create maps, etc.
• Survival - craft objects from nature, find shelter, build fires, gather food, identify drinkable water, identify and disarm natural traps and hazards, etc.
• Tracking - detect tracks, learn information from them, trail a target, ignore penalties associated with terrain, etc.

Soldier

This skill represents training or experience as a mercenary, infantry, space marine, etc.

Score: Note this skill has two scores as follows; melee equals half STR, +10 per warrior level (including unarmed combat). Ranged equals half DEX, +10 per warrior level (includes thrown weapons).

• Melee weapons – batons, swords, clubs, daggers, etc.
• Ranged weapons - aimed projectile weapons such as pistols, rifles, bows, slings, etc.
• Thrown weapons – grenades, hurled knives, spears, etc.
• Unarmed combat - use your body as a weapon.

Tech

Special training in technology related fields beyond the common everyday use of technology of a space age society.

Score: half LOG +10 per tech level.

• Electronics - a practical knowledge of electronics including the systems for high-tech weaponry and armor systems. A tech may try to disable electronics with a tech roll if he or she has access to the device. At level 2 the Tech can attempt to jam one specific personal technological item as the Dispel psionic discipline one per day, and one additional time per day for each additional level. Dispel can be used against robots at level 5 and Size 1 vehicles at level 6.
• Experimental Tech - the tech can prepare technological devices, they may be defined as nano-boosters, cybernetic devices or memory tapes or however you wish to describe it using the Alchemy, Enchantment and Runecraft abilities from the enchanter skill. For example Nano-boosters could like potions, cybernetic devices or memory tapes like magic items, runes can be specific cybernetic abilities, discuss the possibilities with your GM according to the setting. The psionic disciplines that can be emulated with the equivalent of Runecraft are: Aid, Cleanse, Entangle, Heal, Offensive Strike, Protection and Transport. Some Magic Items listed in the book have been modified to become high tech items and may be created by a Tech. See the equipment list.
• Hacking – you have the skill to use computers beyond the basic usage. You can hack into systems, retrieve encrypted data and play havoc in the net.
• Robots and Mechanics - you can modify and repair robots and mechanical devices of all sorts.

Pending work on skills:

1. How to handle languages?
2. Should I used titles for skill levels? What names to use?

SPELLS

Spells are renames Psionic Disciplines.  These disciplines are nto affected by lead, but the system may have psionic dampers or fields. All references to spellcaster is replaced with psionic, but otherwise discipline work  identically as the spells with the following exceptions:

Cleanse - rename as Bio-metric Repair, remove the last sentence regarding permanent cleansing of evil, magic or undead.

Commune – (From Decahedron Magazine #1) no communication with thee dead is possible.

Control Weather - eliminate

Repel - this discipline affects any enemies, not specific creatures, and represents a telekinetic push. Enemies cannot be destroyed, instead they are incapacitated if they fail a WIL resistance roll.

Summon - eliminate

Transform - eliminate

Transport - there is no teleportation, at level 5 the character gains a burst of speed that allows him or her to move anywhere in combat or its periphery.

I obviously need more psionic disciplines for characters with higher level psionic skill.

EQUIPMENT

I need to work on sci-fi equipment, including power armor… Also there is the need to rework some magic items as high tech equipment. For example

NEW RULES – Vehicle Combat

Rough draft! Consider yourself forewarned!

Vehicles are categorized in a three step scale:

Size 0 - characters

Size 1 (Vehicles) - ground transport, sea vessels, small atmospheric vehicles, mechs

Size 2 (Starships) - large atmospheric vehicles, space fighters, scout ships, escorts

Size 3 (Capital Ships) – the largest ships in a space armada

Differences between one size category are multiplied or divided up or down by 10 for numeric values or results. Two category differences are multiplied or divided by 100. Vehicles more than two categories different cannot effect each other.

Perhaps include some penalties on bonuses bases on size; perhaps make a little table…

Vehicles are defined by the following statistics:

• Movement (fixed by vehicle type)
• Initiative (A number that can be modified by a commanding officer)
• Body Points (fixed by vehicle type)
• DR (fixed by vehicle type)
• Maneuvering (+ or – % to Piloting, used for resistance checks)
• Weapons Rating (damage dice, using piloting, to damage other ships, generic, not specific per weapon)
• Minimum Crew (fixed)
• Repairs are done using pilot skill, ship systems

Naval positions in a bridge (depending on the ship) to interact with the pilot skill – Pilot/Helm (includes maneuvering and resistance checks), Communications, Weapon Systems (attack and damaged), Engineering (repairs), Captain (bonus to initiative).

Chases - Initiate a chase from combat is a contested maneuvering roll. One is the pursuer the other the target and chases are a series of contested actions.  Each side that wins a contested check gains an advantage. Critical success grants two advantages, critical failures eliminate an advantage. Whoever gets five advantages first succeeds. The pursuer catches its prey, the target escapes.

OK this is what I got so far. I’ll revisit this in a future post, hopefully integrating your feedback. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. First Look: Barebones Fantasy Role-playing Game
2. Ask The Readers: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition anyone?
3. Ad Astra: The Psitech League

Especially the Fiasco episode was a highlight of the show. Fiasco is – in a nutshell – a GM-less storytelling RPG in which you play ordinary people “with powerful ambition and poor impulse control”. As you imagine this is a recipe for disaster. And when things go wrong in Fiasco they go very wrong. It was a pleasure watching Alison Haislip, Bonnie Burton, John Rogers and Wil Wheaton play this game. If you haven’t watched the Fiasco episodes (Setup, Part 1, Part 2) yet, you really should do so.

So it’s no surprise that I was having some high hopes for the Dragon Age episode (Part 1, Part 2). As I’ve stated before, I love Dragon Age. I enjoyed the computer games tremendously and I like Green Ronin’s AGE system a lot. Green Ronin’s Dragon Age RPG has a great old-school feel to it and is a perfect game for people new to the hobby. In a way I was even more excited about the Dragon Age episode than the Fiasco one. Alas the episode left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

For some reason Wil Wheaton and his players (Chris Hardwick, Kevin Sussman, Sam Witwer) decided to channel their inner 13-year olds and turn that episode into something that reminded me of the (in)famous Dead Alewives’ comedy sketch or Dead Gentlemen’s “The Gamers”. Don’t get me wrong I love “The Gamers” and I even find “Big Bang Theory” hilariously funny, but I expected TableTop to at least try to portray classic tabletop gaming in a different light. I confess, some of my own Dungeonslayers sessions during our regular RPG pub meetings are probably close to what we saw in the TableTop episode but it’s not what I would use to teach non-gamers about roleplaying games.

The main problem was that the players didn’t take their characters and the game serious at all. Do you really think a mage called Fonzor inspired by the famous Happy Days character fits a game of Dragon Age? Is it really necessary to make silly jokes all the time? Why can’t anyone stay in character for more than one sentence? Is this “Haha, he’s still a virgin” joke still funny in this day and age? Long story short, what we have watched in this episode is not how I want my hobby to be represented to a wider audience. I guess that’s the established way of showing tabletop RPGs to the public (and it’s what a lot of Con games look like). But that doesn’t mean I have to like it and I definitely expected more from TableTop.

Of course the episode is not all bad. They do a great job showing off some of the more unique aspects of the AGE system and it actually made me pickup the Dragon Age Set 2, because I was reminded that I always wanted to run this game for my friends. It’s also great that they picked Dragon Age and not the more obvious choice: Dungeons & Dragons. As I said before, Dragon Age is a great game and the more attention it gets the better. And even though I am a bit disappointed I am hoping that TableTop will get renewed for another season and that they’ll show more tabletop RPGs. Hopefully these episodes will be more like the Fiasco one then.

What are your thoughts on that matter? Do you agree with me or do you think I am taking all this way too serious? What’s your take on gamer stereotypes? Please share your comments below.

Related posts:

1. Dragon Age Design Diary #1
2. You shouldn’t miss RPG Circus episode 11!
3. RPG Circus Episode 6

Night’s Black Agents is a 232-pages full-cover hardcover. As with all recent releases by Pelgrane Press the production quality is top notch. The three-columned layout is surprisingly clear and the interior artwork fits the theme of the game perfectly. I’m not too fond of the cover, but that’s only a minor quibble. Overall the quality of the artwork is great. The binding feels pretty solid to me, although I haven’t put it to the test yet. Usually I treat my books very gently.

As I’ve already mentioned the game uses Robin D. Laws’ Gumshoe system, which is the perfect choice for any game where investigations play a major role. In most games finding the clues needed to unravel a mystery can be a very frustrating thing. The players fail a single important roll and the whole game comes to a sudden stop. In Gumshoe you don’t need to roll to find clues – if you have the right investigative skill, you get the clue and you can move on. In Gumshoe the interesting question is not whether you find the clues but how do you interpret them. For more information on how the system works check out my interview with Robin D. Laws.

Since the focus of most Gumshoe games is on investigation and not what we would call “action”, rules for combat and similar activites are very lightweight. Since Night’s Black Agents is spy thriller game, Kenneth Hite has expanded the system’s combat and chase rules extensively. If you always wondered how to run a cinematic chase scene in a Gumshoe game, Kenneth Hite now has an answer for you. The extensive combat options and optional rules add a lot to the game and help to set it more firmly into the spy thriller genre without making thing to complex. Even with these additions Night’s Black Agents still feels like a lightweight game rules-wise.

Another interesting aspect of Night’s Black Agents are the four modes of play: Burn (psychological damage is more intense, agents inevitably burn away their humanity over time), Dust (a more lo-fi espionage world, combat is way more lethal), Mirror (hidden agendas and shifting allegiances, Trust is a rare commodity), and Stakes (the stakes are higher than in the other game modes, think of the worlds of James Bond or Jack Ryan). With a few small changes to the rules, you can easily change the overall feel of the game. Brilliant.

Another cool addition to the Gumshoe system are the Trust and Betrayal rules. In the world of spies trust is extremely important and betrayal usually comes swiftly and without warning. At the beginning of the game you can distribute 5 Trust points among your fellow player characters. This points can later be used to help out these characters during play. The more you trust someone the more you can assist them. When you decide you want to betray another character, you turn the Trust points into Betrayal and start spending. One point of Betrayal can be used to harm or hamper the other character by cancelling the use of an investigative ability or by subtracting 3 from his or her General ability die. Betrayal can also be spend after the other character’s role.

Now let’s talk vampires. In Night’s Black Agents the vampires are not your regular sharp-toothed bloodsuckers. The game provides rules for the GM to customize the vampires to his or her heart’s content. Your vampires can be of the regular kind, aliens, mutants. The GM determines how many vampires are around, if there’s a cure, how they operate. Everything can be tweaked and changed easily, even the vampires’ abilities, powers and weaknesses. Even though the player characters’ opponents are called vampires, the game easily allows you to create all kind of monsters. This could easily lead to option paralysis but luckily Mr. Hite has provided us with a list of example vampires from the Line Dracula vampires to silicon-based aliens existing outside of Euclidean geometry. The book also contains the stats for various other monsters, like Ghouls, Lamiae, Renfields, and zombies.

A huge part of the book consists of GM advice and background. It gives advice on how to create conspiracies, gives details on various European cities including adventure seeds, provides the GM with tips and tricks on how to run the game and create interesting stories. A lot of games provide a lot of background information but leave the GM alone when it comes to questions like “how do I run a campaign with this?”. This is definitely not the case in this game. Kenneth Hite provides a default campaign story you can use. He even describes alternate versions like a James Bond–influenced campaign or like something out of Charles Stross’ Laundry Files novels.

Last but not least Night Black’s Agent contains a full introductory scenario, extensive information on the sources Kenneth used during development, a lot of helpful sheets and tables in the appendix, and a very extensive index.

Overall I am definitely not disappointed by Night’s Black Agents. It’s very well written, basically allows you to run or play in every spy thriller subgenre with vampires or not, and it adds a lot to the Gumshoe system without feeling too complicated. If you are interested in spy games you should definitely check this game out, I doubt you’ll find anything better anytime soon. And even if you don’t like vampires, you can easily leave out that aspect of the game and struggle with more human antagonists.

This review is based on reading through the hardcover and PDF versions of the game provided by Pelgrane Press’ Simon Rogers. Thanks again, Simon. Currently you can get a print+PDF bundle directly from the Pelgrane Press shop for $44.95 plus shipping. Alternatively you can pick up the PDF through RPGNow for $24.95.

What are your thoughts on Night’s Black Agents? Have you already played it, or do you plan to do so in the near future. Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Related posts:

1. Agents of Oblivion is now available!
2. Review: The Book of Unremitting Horror
3. Review: Eternal Lies Suite

“No, he was not my father, we were actually not related. Reymus was a Prince from Alderaan, I’m from Corellia and Antilles is a pretty common surname there…  I did meet him briefly before the Battle of Yavin, before the Tantive IV was captured over Tatooine.  He told us how he was there at the beginning… No he did not join the crew of the Tantive IV until the Clone Wars had begun, but he was there before, when it really began, piloting a small 4 person transport on its way to a secret meeting in the Outer Rim.”

Wedge Antilles, Commander of the Rogue Squadron, talking about Reymus Antilles

Unexpected Guests

“You must understand my lord the importance of your help… We beseech you, without your aid we may not be able to defend Metalorn and face the Hutt’s incursions,” pleaded the man in a whimpering voice. He is groveling, how he hates when they grovel. The human emissary from the Techno Union continued to speak while frozen in a florid and uncomfortable half bow, looking at the floor, his voice shrill, seemingly on the brink of tears. The Count of Velmor took a deep breath and allowed the Force to wash away his impatience. There is no passion, there is serenity, he silently repeated to himself, before replying. “Tell your Skakoan masters my previous decision stands, I will not involve my people in your petty fights.”

The emissary straightened up, a look of disappointment and surprise replacing the expression of worry in his face but moments ago. Speechless he simply smoothed out his deep blue robes, his aides sprang to action, but the large Trandoshan bodyguard did not seem to take the refusal well. He growled under his breath and their older host, trained in the ways of the Jedi orders, sensed his anger. The Count straightened his back and the black cape draped over his shoulders shifted ever so slightly, showing the curved lightsaber on his belt.

The Techno Union emissary gave his bodyguard a stern look, and the Trandoshan backed down. The older man smiled, he knows who holds the leash, and knows enough not to bite the hand of his master. The emissary stepped closer his hands stretched out, “Master Sifo-Dyas I beg of you!” This caused an immediate reaction, in short quick steps their host closed the distance between him and the emissary, standing very close, his fingers intertwined as he held his hands before his chest. He spoke calmly with stern authority, “You will not use that name, that is no longer who I am and you have no right to speak it. You will address me by my full and rightful title, Dooku Count of Velmor.”

********

The Techno Union mission gone, Dooku rested for a moment. The terrace where he sat was high on his palatial estate and overlooked the grounds, the lush woods covering the mountain peak where the castle rested. In the distance he could see the ocean change from a clear blue to yellow and a deep red as Velm, the planet’s sun, descended to the horizon. The ancient stone walls of the castle had seen many setting suns, and soon the moons would shine down upon its towers and parapets.

He could feel the servant approach before she entered the terrace. She is afraid; someone of something has scared her, the Force allowed him to detect this even before she spoke, her voice breaking. “Count your presence is… needed.” Dooku turned and stood up, towering over the anxious woman, “What is it Maineda?” She looked up into his brown eyes but her emotions swelled up, her eyes watered and she looked away. Count Dooku gently placed one hand upon her shoulder and soothed her, “Maineda there is nothing to fear, let us go together.” As he said the words he gently used the Force to calm her.

As they descended the great stairs that wound their way around the inner courtyard Dooku’s mind wandered away from whatever had affected Maineda so and again his thoughts drifted to his ancestral home. As they walked past the arches that ran down one side, the entire length of the stairs, and saw the rose bushes in the inner garden he remembered how much his mother had loved those flowers. Seeing the insectoid Velmoc groundskeeper tending to them brought a smile to his face, but it was short lived.

He also remembered the estate of decay the palace had been upon his return. His mother dead and buried in the very same gardens, grown wild and unkempt. His subjects hungry and afraid, how his family had squandered their riches, giving it all to their fable allies, their knight protectors, the Jedi, while he was gone to learn the ways of the Force, his parents had done everything they could to help his Order. After he left the Sar’Akar Sodality and joined the Leoco Actum he had been away from his familial holdings too long.

Following his foolish endeavor with Jorus C’baoth he simply stopped, he could not shoulder the burdens of the galaxy alone, and returned home. He rescued and repaired the estate, brought stability and security to his subjects. He ruled benevolently and eventually neighboring systems called upon him for help and defense. His protectorate grew to encompass the Aargonar, Garos and Velm systems. He was determined to have the peace that prevailed on his protectorate continue, and what the Techno Union requested would end this, bringing him in direct conflict with the Hutts.

His musings were interrupted as they reached the palace basements. Maineda opened the old, heavy wooden door and led him to a storage room. There huddled was a mass of people, clad in dark clothes and robes, some of the older women veiled. Dooku could feel their anxiety, their fear; he exhaled and rubbed his temples, Force Petitioners… “Heretics Count, the lot of them,” said Maineda. Her countenance had changed, hardened. Scanning the group the elder Jedi’s eyes lingered for a moment on a red headed boy, his unruly mop of hair standing out against the drabness.

“Not one of them with the gift”, she added looking at Dooku. “We can thank the Living Force for that,” he replied, No Force users; this certainly makes things easier. “But if they arrive,” he added, “that will certainly make things more difficult.” “What shall we do with these religious zealots Count?” Taken aback by her forthrightness Dooku stared at her for a moment. “These men and women have twisted my words and misinterpreted a message I tried to convey long ago.” How could we be so blind and not see that our attempts at enlightening the masses would become this… “While I cannot support them, they still are not animals.”

Somber the Count walked across the room, his hands folded behind him under his cape as he examined the Petitioners with seemingly clinical detachment. “Get them some food, they seem hungry. Then gather them up, the palace guard will hand them over to the authorities.” Satisfied Maineda nodded in acquiescence and left the room. The red headed boy began to sob silently.

********

Night had fallen on the palatial estate, Velmor’s seven moons were out and Dooku strolled through the rose gardens. In the holographic communicator he held in his hand the Count could see the cyan flickering image of his apprentice. Tall, dressed in dark clothes, his hair cropped short and his goatee impeccable. “The Force Petitioners will be taken to the spaceport and directly to the ship. Take particular care of the red headed boy, he is Maineda’s son. Make sure this Captain Braco can take them to the Outer Rim undisturbed. They will be safe there.” And we will be safe from any Leoco Actum interference he thought. The image of his apprentice bowed “So it will be done my master,” and with that he ended communication with Qui-Gon Jinn.

Count Dooku sighed and allowed himself to relax for a moment, his muscles were knotted.

It had been a long day. A light breeze blew across the garden and he inhaled deeply the flowers’ aroma awakened by the zephyr. They will be safe, and so would his people, he thought. That is what matters.

Closing remarks: Some of you may find it weird that despite having vilified the prequels in the very first post I went ahead and used some characters from those very same movies. The truth is that there were some bits and characters I did like from the movies, and I wanted to paint them on a different light, play with player’s preconceptions in a way. And I know according to cannon Sifo-Dyas is NOT Dooku, but what the heck if I’m making things up, why not that?

Next week: Another piece of fiction, this one about Tarkin! See you then…

And remember, Star Wars, all associated characters and images (well except the Liam Neeson one I think that one belongs to Warner Brothers!), are copyright of Lucasfilm and I use them here only as a fan creating an RPG campaign.

Related posts:

1. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 3 of 8)
2. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 5 of 8)
3. Star Wars Infinities – The Gathering Storm (Part 6 of 8)