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BG
2011-03-06, 12:32 AM
This was a campaign/adventure setting I came up with set on a prison ship using the Saga system. I didn't stat out too many things (besides the ship itself), and while I have a vague timeline, nothing is definite, specifically because its intended to be played at a wide variety of levels. I'd appreciate any criticism or ideas that anyone has.

Intro: A brief history of the Karag-Rha

This is a campaign or adventure setting aboard a secret Imperial prison ship. Sure the Empire has well known prison planets, which are virtual fortresses, but people generally know about them. You wouldn't want to stoke the fires of rebellion by allowing political dissidents to be martyrs in prison, would you? Of course not, you just want them to disappear without a trace.

During the end of the Clone Wars, a Clone battle group found a small, independent Outer Rim world called Axo-Teho. It had Separatist leanings, but had mostly been forgotten due to its relative insignificance. What it did have, though, was a large reserve stock of battle droids, and a 20 km long space station that had taken the small planet decades to build. The Clone troops garrisoned the planet, and soon had it completely cut off from the galaxy as a whole. The space station was fitted with basic engines and a hyperdrive, and soon the new Galactic Empire was pouring prisoners into it. The Karag-Rha, as it was re-christened, was now there to contain the most volatile and dangerous convicts in the Galaxy. Rebel instigators, political dissidents, hardened criminals, war prisoners, and crime lords were all shoved together. The planet Axo-Teho was alone tasked with the resupply of the Karag-Rha, so that there would be no record of it in the Empire. It was also decided that command would be absolute, and for the purpose of secrecy there was one moff who would be in charge, with the Karag-Rha reporting to him and him alone. Command was given to Commander Sakka, a promising young officer. He took the battle droids, as well as a small complement of troopers (some clone, some not) to be guards, as well as thousands of worker droids that were meant to maintain and run the ship.

The ship would spend nearly all of its time jumping around in hyperspace, stopping only once a year to meet up with a resupply ship from Axo-Teho. It would then keep jumping. It tends to stay around Nebulas, so as to increase its chances of remaining undetected.

The problems began almost immediately. The ship was never really intended to be a ship at all, and the thousands of droids had to run maintenence around the clock to keep things running. Secondary and Tertiary systems would fail constantly in various decks of the ship. Commander Sakka, not wishing to appear to be failing at his duties, never mentioned any of these issues to his moff. Even with slave circuits, the thousands of droids weren't enough to run a ship this size. Still, the prison continued like this for years, despite even worse conditions for prisoners. The medical suite was small and primarily for the commander and his guards, so disease was rampant. Additionally, the Guards made no attempt to stop any inter-prisoner violence.

Then, the prison riot happened. A critical failure in the containment systems combined with years of imprisonment came to a boil. While the guards had managed to contain the prisoners through intimidation and shields, the simple fact that the guards were outnumbered 20 to 1 caught up with them. The violence spread, and through an executive decision, Sakka decided this wasn't able to be contained, so he ordered all remaining guards to fall back and create choke points and protect the critical systems. These choke points were eventually fortified more and more, until they were eventually sealed off from the rest of the ship, creating two distinct zones. A small one consisting of the bridge, hangar, the med suite, and engineering, as well as service corridors connecting them. That was where the commander, his troops, and the remainder of the droids resided. The vast of the majority of the ship, though not any of the core systems, now belonged to the prisoners and had no rule whatsoever.

This stalemate represents Stage 2. The droids and troops have literally sealed off the prisoners, constantly patrolling to ensure that no one breaches the perimeter. The prisoners, meanwhile, live in total anarchy that quickly devolves into gang warfare. Commander Sakka also starts to lose his grips on sanity, and after years of following him, some of the troopers are beginning to question why they're still here as well as some of them wanting to leave. Additionally, without proper replacement parts, more and more droids break down, causing the Karag-Rha to further degrade. Large parts of the ship will experience systems failures (some temporary, some permanent), especially in the unmaintained prisoners section. Parts of the hull begin to buckle. Prisoners die in droves, many who were killed in the riots, many who are killed in gang violence, many who succumb to the even worse sanitary conditions, and many of who perish because a pipe will burst and vent poison gas. The Karag-Rha goes from very unpleasant place to floating death trap. Sakka hordes much of the food that arrives, though will occasionally dump large parts of it down a hole into the prison population, just to see them fight over it.

This time is marked by occasional prisoner attacks on the droid-controlled area, to which Sakka responds by venting large parts of the ship into space. While some food gets through, it's not nearly enough. Various prisoners figure out how to grow mushrooms, and more importantly, how to make alcohol. Still, food is very scarce.

By Stage 3, the Karag-Rha is only barely holding on, though the stalemate is shifting to the side of the prisoners. The moff it's reporting to was on the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, so no one in Imperial command knows of its existence. Likewise, Axo-Teho has been rebelling, and shipments come at much slower intervals. It has lost at least 3/4 of its prison population. Additionally, several troopers died after an attempted mutiny against Sakka, who has gone completely mad. Half the droids are gone, and those that are left are in horrible disrepair. Sakka is prevented from venting any more sections of the ship by the simple fact that the Karag-Rha is losing so much structural integrity that venting could cause the ship to tear apart (not that he might not try, he is mad as a hatter by this point). The prisoners have found that they can actually make brief forays into the restricted sections, though there is still a small army of battle droids.

BG
2011-03-06, 12:35 AM
The Stats of the Karag-Rha

Stage 1

Karag-Rha colossal (space station) prison ship
2,600 HP DR 20, SR 40, Ref 17 (Armor +16), Fort 57, Speed 2, Threshold- 567
Str- 124 Dex- 12 Int- 18
Crew- 1 Captain, ~8,000 Droids (normal skill)
Guards- 3,500 Battle Droids, 100 Skilled Troopers
Prisoners- 70,000-80,000

Upgrades
Hyperdrive Class 10
Navicomputer
Jamming Array
Reinforced Bulkheads
SR 40
24- Medium Quad Point Defense Laser Cannons (+ 4 to hit 6d10x2)
2 Hangar Bays
1 Small Concealed Hangar Bay
10 Extended Range
Slave Circuits (advanced)
10 Passenger quarters

Skills
Pilot, initiative -5
Mechanics, Use Computer, Perception 5


Around the time of the Battle of Yavin- Stage 2

Karag-Rha- Archaic Colossal (space station) prison ship
2,300 HP DR 20, SR 40 (50% Chance of failing if exceeded), Ref 17 (Armor +16), Fort 57, Speed 2, Threshold- 283
Str- 124 Dex- 12 Int- 18
Crew- 1 Captain, ~7,000 droids (normal skill)
Guards- 2,500 Battle Droids, 75 Skilled Troopers
Prisoners- 45,000-60,000

Upgrades
Hyperdrive Class 10
Navicomputer
Jamming Array
Reinforced Bulkheads
SR 40
18- Medium Quad Point Defense Laser Cannons (+ 2 to hit 6d10x2) (cannot score critical hits)
2 Hangar Bays
1 Small Concealed Hangar Bay
10 Extended Range
Slave Circuits (advanced)
10 Passenger quarters

Skills
Pilot, Initiative -5
Mechanics, Use Computer, Perception 5


New Republic Era- Stage 3

Karag-Rha Archaic Junker Colossal (space station) prison ship
1,800 HP DR 20, SR 40 (50% chance of failure), Ref 14 (Armor +16), Fort 55, Speed 1, Threshold- 251
Str- 120 Dex- 6 Int- 16
Crew- 1 Captain, 3,000 Droids (degraded skill)
Guards- 1,500 Battle Droids, 25 Skilled Troopers
Prisoners- 20,000-30,000

Upgrades
Hyperdrive Class 10
Navicomputer
Jamming Array
Reinforced Bulkheads (degraded)
SR 40
11- Medium Quad Point Defense Laser Cannons (+ 1 to hit 6d10x2) (no critical hits)
2 Hangar Bays
1 Small Concealed Hangar Bay
10 Extended Range
Slave Circuits (advanced)
10 Passenger quarters

Skills
Pilot -5
Initiative -10
Mechanics, Use Computer, Perception 2

BG
2011-03-06, 12:38 AM
NPCs and Factions

I am intentionally not including levels and stats here. Mainly it's because I'm lazy, but it's also partially so that people can run a campaign here at any level. Also, everything below is only a suggestion of possible NPCs and their characteristics. If you want Cmdr. Sakka to be a bloodthirsty tyrant who selects one prisoner every day to torture and kill, that's also fine. Likewise, I refrain from listing how many prisoners are of each type, leaving that up to the GM. Also, note that Gangs' territories are often very very small, and might consist of nothing more than a hall of cells or less.

Imperials

Commander Sakka- He starts as a promising young officer at the end of the clone wars. He is every inch the Imperial, precise, cunning, and ruthless. Like most Imperials, though, he's also completely self-centered and narcissistic. He refuses to report any of the bad things happening on board, not even the huge prison riot that nearly crippled the ship. As the years go on, he gets progressively more insane. By Stage 2, he's already very nervous and jumpy. By Stage 3, having faced a mutiny, he is completely paranoid and delusional. Kept only in check by his bodyguards. He also stops with any kind of hygiene at Stage 2, so by the end of the Karag-Rha, he has a very long beard, hair, and fingernails (think Howard Hughes). If he ever believes that he's lost complete control of the ship (i.e. another large-scale prisoner attack) he will more than likely attempt to drive the ship into a star, or simply blow it up.

Sakka's Troops- These are elite storm troopers who were selected for their loyalty. Some are clone troops, some are not. There were only ever 100 of them, but they were there to oversee the droids and act as the elite guards of the ship. For years, they fulfilled their role, putting down any kind of uprising brutally. Unfortunately, the great prison riot caught them off guard, and several died. For the next several years, they maintained the stalemate, though at that point, they could see that Sakka was slipping. There was a small group that conspired to mutiny, and take the ship to a prison planet. They were eventually gunned down by droids, causing Sakka to become even more paranoid. The remainder of them serve as his personal guard, and they generally try to ensure he doesn't destroy the ship.


Prisoners as Groups
Species

Hutts- There would have been a few hutt crime lords included in the original passenger manifest. You can use hutts in a few ways. You can have them continuing to act as gang leaders, or possibly as heavies. You can also have a large number of them killed over the years, considering the turmoil of anarchy. Hutts will still be dangerous, of course, but once the riot occurs, their positions as gang bosses is much more malleable. Fortunately, Hutts are usually fairly capable of defending themselves when it comes to it. Likewise, they are usually adept at uniting several different kinds of species.

Sullustians or Transdoshans- This can actually refer to any species with Darkvision. In this case, the strength of the gang comes from the fact that they choose their territory, then they systematically put out all the lights. Whenever they want to expand, they put out more lights. You're more than welcome to go into their territory, but unfortunately, the best portable light sources are old-fashioned torches. They slowly take over more and more, and generally the people who go into their territory don't come out.

Gungans/Mon Cal/Quarrens- Another species oriented gang. This time, instead of dark, these groups have flooded large sections of the ship, bursting water pipes. They live in there, and you don't want to go in. Unfortunately, they can't really expand as quickly as species with dark vision, because there's only so much water. In general, the flooded areas are their base of operations, and they can still send gangs out get supplies. Even though Mon Cal and Quarrens normally hate each other, well, prison makes for strange bedfellows. They tend to have good medics and mechanics, because the water on the ship is generally filthy.

Wookiees/Transdoshans- While the Mon Cal and Quarrens managed to bury the hatchet and work together in this situation, Wookiees and Transdoshans did not. With almost no exceptions, gangs with wookiees do not have Transdoshans and vice versa. Any conflict between these gangs will be particularly vicious.

Former Imperials or Human-only gangs - Deeply xenophobic, these are basically your equivalent of prison skinheads. They don't trust aliens, and will brutally murder any of them that come into their territory. Some of them may be cunning, but just like real-life skinheads, most of them are dumber than a bag of hammers.

Ithorians- Ithorians don't usually form gangs, but are among the most sought-after aliens to have in a gang. This is because of their knowledge of life science and survival. Ithorians are the ones on the ship who figured out how to cultivate plants. Mushrooms in the dark, basic greens in the light, algae and seaweed in the parts of the ship that are flooded. You do not kill Ithorians, you capture them (unless you're the aforementioned dumb human supremacists).


Gang organization

Standard Gangs- Standard gangs are ones where people grouped together more for survival, to stake out a place for themselves and to make sure they get food or other supplies. This is how most gangs on the ship start, and there are a lot of small ones. They tend to be of mixed species, and usually have at least one leader who is smarter than the others. Standard gangs are generally only concerned with day-to-day survival, and don't have the energy or inclination to think beyond that. They work mostly like families, and usually have no more than 10 or so members.

Mid-level Gangs- Usually occur when several standard gangs collide, and either join, or fight then join. Mid-level gangs tend to have more combat-focused heavies, in addition to scavengers, farmers, and other members. They control larger territory, or get tribute from smaller gangs. They also usually find some kind of identifier, a uniform or something so that they will be recognized on sight. Mid-level is also the point where gangs tend to start using diplomacy with each other. Additionally, this is also where inner-gang politics tend to come into play more, as there might be several people jockeying for leadership.

Large Gangs- These are generally more like a confederation of Mid-Level Gangs. Large gangs occur when one or more gang leaders are able to convince mid-level gangs to work together. Being the leader of these gangs is not a position where you want to be, as you have to constantly juggle the wants and needs of the various sub-gang leaders. These large gangs are in a constant state of flux, and that flux usually ends with people dead. Large gangs will often control entire decks of the ship, or have territories that span several floors. Likewise they tend to control more important points, like the various chutes where food is occasionally dumped down.

Militarized Gangs- These are mid-to large gangs that have extra emphasis on combat. Their territories are usually very well guarded, and they're formidable when they venture forth again. They will all tend to be 2-3 levels higher than gangs of similar size, and all of them can fight. Their equipment also tends to be better, and they maintain it professionally. These gangs are usually made up of prisoners of war.

Political Gangs- Sometimes gangs are made up of the various dissidents. They're mostly like other gangs, but they more than any other are focused on eventually escaping. They tend to have more espionage-oriented members, and are also more elite than other gangs, about 2 levels higher than surrounding adversaries. They are the ones who have organized scouting trips into the restricted section, which results in retaliation from battle droids.

Feral- Feral prisoners are those who have gone completely nuts after years. They are dangerous, and any gang will tend to put them down. They frequently engage in cannibalism, and live like animals. There are many more of them in Stage 3 than Stage 2.

Gangless- Some prisoners opt to set out on their own. There are two kinds of gangless, those who are very good, and those who are dead. They have no territory, and they all have to figure out how to deal with the gangs in their area. Some have set up neutral ground where rival gang leaders can meet and drink mushroom wine.


Jedi

If the GM wants, there can have been Jedi among the prisoners (you can also have the Karag-Rha devoid of Jedi, GM's choice). If there are Jedi, here are some possibilities, though there are no lightsabers at all:
A. Light Side- The Jedi is either gangless or leads a small gang of like-minded people. They move through the ship trying to help those who they can, healing the sick, creating enclaves where prisoners can live without violence.
B. Dark Side- The Jedi has succumbed to the dark side in their years of imprisonment. Get ready for the mother of all gang leaders, evil and twisted. This is the kind of character who could effortlessly lead a large gang and rule a large part of the ship through fear alone. Heck, a powerful Dark Jedi might have taken control of the ship by this point.
C. Absolutely crazy- Going crazy happens to a lot of prisoners, but it's not good when you're a Jedi. This one is similar to the dark side, although instead of ruling a gang, the Jedi just claims a large section of the ship to be his and his alone. Don't go into his territory.
D. This is not actually a true Jedi option, but if you have a crazy old prisoner, he might try to pretend to be a Jedi to intimidate people

BG
2011-03-06, 12:40 AM
Prisoner Roles

The Guy with the Blaster- Good equipment is rare in the bowels of the Karag-Rha. Even rarer are blasters. All of these are standard battle droid blaster rifles that were stolen during the riot. The other challenge with blasters is the ammunition. Still, there are a few remaining blaster rifles in the prison population, and the men who hold them are rightly feared (though it also makes them a target). The guy with the blaster usually serves a relatively powerful gang leader, just to be afforded some security. He will generally refrain from using auto-fire. Guys with blasters are often bodyguards.

Bruiser- Congrats. You found a pipe or a sharpened piece of shrapnel. Now you can hit things with it. Just listen to what smarter people say and try not to hurt yourself. Bruisers are almost universally the heavies that make up gang battle groups.

Sneak- Sneaks tend to have a wider range on the ship than most, moving more freely through various territories. There are several subtypes
Scavenger- Scavengers are there to look for stuff. Equipment, food, anything they can carry. This stuff is either for personal consumption, for the gang at large if the sneak is part of a gang, or for barter if they're gangless.
Spy- Spies observe other gangs, maybe even infiltrate them. If they're part of a gang, they'll generally be used for intelligence. If gangless, they're usually an information broker.

Farmers- Congratulations! You get to tend to mushrooms, and occasionally take what you have and make it into booze. Also, you're going to be targeted a lot by rival gangs and have you crops stolen! Have fun!

Bosses- Bosses exist at all levels. They tend to be those with the ability to lead and to see further ahead than the next meal. They probably still want to be able to fight somewhat if it comes down to it, though.

Medics- Medics are like Ithorians. You really want one in your gang. With the rampant starvation, disease and gang fighting, prisoners get pretty banged up. Now, medics usually don't have any med-packs, but they can still whip up a quick tourniquet and some can even attempt surgery. You're going to have to be in pretty bad shape to want their surgery, though.

Mechanics- Mechanics are people who have some skill with repair or sabotage. These are the people who have rigged rudimentary sewage systems or water purifiers. They are also usually the ones who are testing the droid defenses.


Class Roles

A brief overview on how you might have to tweak character classes for adventures on the Karag-Rha (this really only counts for NPCs or adventures where the player characters are prisoners).

Jedi- This is up to the GM. I would personally not allow Jedi, but that's just me. If you do have any, discourage the lightsaber talent tree, as lightsabers won't be available. Other than that, other Jedi builds would work fine.

Noble- Only affected talent tree is Lineage. Retool Wealth talent to give bartered items or useful tools instead of credits. Also, lose the Connections talent, as it would be generally useless on the ship.

Scoundrel- The slicer talent tree isn't terribly useful, but otherwise a good class. Unless you happen to have one of the few blasters, you'll have to be a melee scoundrel.

Scout- You don't have to change any scout talents at all. Best class for scroungers and sneaks.

Soldier- The armor talent tree can be useful, but armor is going to be rare. Likewise, anything that involves using blasters should be avoided.

Ace Pilot- Pilots just isn't going to come up that much.

Bounty Hunter- Could be a useful profession in the employ of a gang, doesn't need any change.

Crime Lord- Nothing needs changing here.

Elite trooper- Same with soldier, ignore the blaster focused talents

Force Adept/Force Disciple- Makes more sense for any force sensitives on board.

Jedi Knight/Jedi Master- Not having a lightsaber does hurt.

Gunslinger- Good if you have a blaster.

Officer- A nice change of pace for gang leaders.

Sith Apprentice/Sith Lord- This would make more sense for NPCs

BG
2011-03-06, 12:41 AM
Skills on the Karag-Rha


Acrobatics- This is pretty useful, especially as the ship enters Stage 2 and Stage 3. At those points, the GM can have the ship give a shudder, the only problem is that the shudder feels like a damn earthquake. DC 15 at stage 2 and 20 at stage 3 to stay standing during a shudder.

Climb/Jump- Given that there are exactly zero working lifts in the Karag-Rha, climbing is actually quite important. Various climbing species like Wookiees or Sullustians often take their territory in these vertical shafts. Also, there's a lot of collapsed tunnels, and sometimes characters won't be able to walk.

Deception and Persuasion remain straightforward.

Endurance- There is not a lot of food or potable water on the ship, so being able to go without is really helpful. Additionally, if the GM chooses, the characters may need to occasionally make checks against disease.

Gather Information- In this case, the GM has to forgo the use of credits as a means of using Gather Information. In those situations, players must use some kind of barter. Booze, food, tools, and ammo packs are valuable, though blasters are the most desired items.

Initiative- Nothing special about it, still useful.

Knowledge-
Bureaucracy- Used for knowing the current political landscape among gangs, who's in charge, who to talk to
Galactic Lore- overall useful for knowing things about other species
Life sciences- this is how you have any food at all, very important
Physical Science- The chemistry aspect can be used to make booze, 2nd most important
Social Sciences- Not that useful
Tactics- Favored by the more organized gangs.
Technology- important for any mechanic

Mechanics- Mechanics is important for any characters who want to establish territory, or more importantly, escape. The main problem that you have is lack of tools, so generally you'll be taking a -5 on your rolls, unless you can acquire a full repair set. These are rare as hell. The best bet to get one is to jump a maintenance droid, but that means being in the restricted area.

Perception- Pretty much the same.

Pilot- Pilots are really dicked over here. Most of their skills can't be utilized at all. However, they are completely necessary if you want to escape. Your options are to pilot the Karag-Rha itself (if you can get there, that is) but it has a -20 penalty to fly. The other option is to jump the supply ship, usually a medium transport. The final option is an emergency Theta shuttle in a hidden bay that is for Sakka. Just watch out for the point defense guns.

Ride- Unless you want to try saddling a wookiee, pretty useless.

Stealth- Very useful, but not really any different.

Survival- Survival is another extremely useful skill. In addition to its other uses, in the Karag-Rha, you can use survival to get a small amount of food. It takes an hour and a DC 15 check, but you can find enough food for one medium creature. If you search again in the same area within a day, the DC goes up by 5 each time.

Swim- Only for the parts of the ship that are flooded, but unless you can breathe water, you don't want to go there. There are flooded parts that aren't inhabited, and some of them can be shortcuts...but I wouldn't recommend it.

Treat injury- Treat injury is like mechanics in that you don't have the proper equipment. You take a -5 for not using a med kit, provided you can find items to act as bandages or splints. You can also have a makeshift surgery bed, using homemade scalpels, which allows surgery, but has a -10 on the check. Make sure you sterilize things. You can also use various fungi as a means to treat disease, again at a -5 penalty.

Use computer- Again, a prisoner with this skill won't find much use for it. There are very few working terminals that have been cut off from the main ship, and even they are subject to occasional power outages. However, this is another skill that is important if you actually want to get off this god-forsaken place.

BG
2011-03-06, 12:42 AM
Possible Plot Hooks


These are a few ways you can incorporate the Karag-Rha into a pre-existing campaign or how to run a campaign set entirely on the Karag-Rha.

1. A party of prisoners
In this scenario, the players would all be prisoners, most likely all in the same gang. You probably don't want to have too much of the game take place in Stage 1, as during that time the guards are still in control. The ideal time to start this would be around the time of the great prison riot. The players get to observe anarchy descending upon the ship as gangs take over. It can also start later on, into stage 3, as the player represent some of the few survivors left. Either way, a game of prisoners would focus on survival and dealing with rival games, but probably ultimately on escape. A possible example of a game timeline would be to start at just the end of Stage 1, allowing the players to become actors in the great riot, then having them band together to escape.

2. An outside party
This would represent an adventuring group that manages to find out about the Karag-Rha. There are a couple of possibilities, that exist at all stages of the ship. They can either find this ship when it's still somewhat in control and free the prisoners, or they can find it later and see the descent that it's gone through.
a. They randomly intercept a coded transmission about this top-secret Imperial Prison Ship
b. They are contacted by an individual or organization to find an important person who has gone missing
c. They find Axo-Teho, and through helping that planet find out about its secret deliveries to the Karag-Rha
Unlike the party of prisoners, this kind of adventure could happen at any stage, each one representing its own challenges. In the early stages, there are a lot more battle droids, and they're in relatively good condition. By Stage 2 and 3, dealing with the droids is easy, but then the outside party would have to venture into the bowels of the ship.


Misc. Notes

The main thing to remember when playing characters at Stage 2 and 3 is age. They have been in this ship for anywhere from 17 (Battle of Yavin) to 30 years (into the New Republic era). They will be old, and they will have been experiencing hell on earth....errr...in space. Noble idealists have probably either put away their principles or died a long time ago. Of the survivors, you can bet that they've all killed (maybe not some of the Ithorian farmers).


That's all I have written up so far. Again, I appreciate any additions, subtractions, any feedback at all really.