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View Full Version : [D20 Star Wars] Idiot plot, or the next Empire Strikes Back?



Attilargh
2007-04-13, 10:22 AM
So, I'll be gamesmastering a game of Star Wars D20 next weekend, and that'll be my second time running a game, ever. Thus, I'd very much like to hear some opinions on the adventure I've devised. You know, would you play it, where I should expect the unexpected, what just doesn't work, ever, if it's too short, too vague, bad, horrible, illogical, et cetera.

The characters are 2nd level, with 25 point buy, in case it matters. Two of the three are Jedi (both flavours), and the third's class is as of yet unknown. The game will be set on a out-of-the-way planet I'll just call Ankh for now, during the events of the movie Attack of the Clones. It'll be pretty action-heavy.

Note: All names will most likely be subject to change. This will not be Discworld Wars, even if the players wouldn't notice the references anyway.


---

[Cue the Main Title, roll opening crawl.]

There is unrest on the planet Ankh: Separatist agitators, spreading anti-Republic propaganda have roused the mining world's population against the rulers of the planet.

Seeking to prevent a civil war, the patrician of Ankh has arranged negotiations with the pro-Separatist faction leaders. To ensure the neutrality and security of the meeting, he has besought the Jedi Council for assistance.

However, little does anyone know a plan to usurp the patrician is already unfolding, and the young Jedi sent to by the Council are the planet's only hope....

---



Ankh is a producer of the metal phrik, which makes it a good target for Dooku's Separatists. The Jedi Council doesn't realise this, however, so they decide that aiding in resolving the planetary situation is a good challenge for the padawans to face on their own. (Dummies! :smallamused: )

The Separatists' plan is simple, if not very economical: Their man inside, the Captain of the Guard will authorise a small number of "equipment deliveries": Cargo crates packed with B1 Battle Droids. At the same time, he and his cronies will make preparations to sabotage the communications and the accessways like turbolifts, to make sure no-one can reach the patrician in time. Once everything is done, the droids will be activated, communications cut and security doors and lifts rigged so that only the Separatist forces are able to maneuver effectively.

So the players hop in a ship and zip off to Ankh. They arrive at dawn and the weather is suitably ominous, hinting at heavy rain in the future. Despite the weather, they will see quite a lot of protesters outside the very large keep that functions as the patrician's palace. And rather ripe vegetables, too.

Once inside, the characters are introduced to the patrician, his aides, the captain of the guard and an ensign of the palace guard with a red shirt named Ulgo. They will also be given the map of the palace. They'll have a while to do whatever they please, before the Cap'n contacts them and tells them to make their way to the conference room conveniently located on the bottom floor.

After the characters have sat in the turbolift for a while, they hear a boom, the lift stops and everything goes black. All they can hear from the comlinks is static. The Separatist plan is in motion.

First, the characters have to get out. A couple of Repair or Computer Use checks will get them from the lift through the tube to the hallways, or they could simply use their lightsabers. Doesn't really matter. Soon afterwards, they'll quickly run into a couple of surprised battle droids for the first combat encounter of the game.

After that, they'll pretty much have free rein to do as they please. Possible stuff to do would include:
Releasing imprisoned palace guard
fixing the communications systems
tinkering with the access control computer to
limit the droids' manouverability
open a path to the upper levels
and/or secure a way to retreat through
or stealing an airspeeder to get to the upper levels.

These major tasks will be punctuated by:
Encounters of a violent kind with droids
crawling up ventilation shafts
negotiating broken staircases
bypassing defended positions
saving dying people
and such smaller jobs.

Eventually, the players will hopefully make their way up to the patrician's office. There they shall meet the Captain again, and kick his behind in a dramatic melee combat while the loyalists engage the droids in combat.

However, not all goes to plan and the characters' allies fail to keep the mechanical horde off their backs. The players will hopefully grab the wounded patrician (see, that's why he didn't do much during the battle) and make a run for it through a secret passage, the escape route prepared beforehand or the speeder they used to get up there. Again, doesn't really matter. They get away, and the proverbial credits roll.


So, whaddya think?

ravenkith
2007-04-13, 01:36 PM
Not bad. Good outline.

Won't survive contact with the players, however, unless you make it clear that the Republic has a vested interest in keeping the patrician in his seat, and it is very important that he remain in control of the phrik mines, as the phrik metal is a vital componant of the clone battle armor (or some such), and this is one of the few places in the universe where it can be found...

Make sure they know how important the planet is, as well as the man, or they may just head for the hills at the first sign of trouble....

In addition, destroying the turbo lift tubes will be necessary, or they'll just go up them, instead of the vent shafts.

Finally, have a character from the movies (Dooku?) make a cameo...to help them feel like they are a part of the larger star wars universe...

just one or two...overuse is like clubbing them over the head with it, and becomes annoying to the players.

The J Pizzel
2007-04-13, 02:06 PM
I second the Dooku cameo. I played in a SW campaign set just after order 66 was given and we saw Vader mopping up a few Jedi from our prison window (thankfully, we weren't Jedi). The DM did a great job of just throwing it in there for us to reference but not beating over the head with it. It's a great tool.

Darkxarth
2007-04-13, 02:26 PM
Well, I wouldn't call it the next Empire Strikes Back, but it's a good, solid plot. As long as your players understand the concept of 'playing along' with the DMs plans, you shouldn't have any problems.

I've never played a game set in a world with any well-known characters (such as Star Wars d20) but I imagine that a few select cameos would make the game that much more interesting and enjoyable. For instance, if you end up having to pull a Deus Ex out to save your PCs from a terrible end, you might consider using a known character. Not necessarily Obi-Wan or Mace Windu, but maybe Ki-Adi Mundi (the conehead guy) or Commander Cody (one of the Clone Commanders). The variety of cameos you include is limited only by your and your players' Star Wars knowledge, though it probably isn't a good idea to use them every session, or even every other session. You need to make your PCs feel like they are the ones making the difference, not the super-cool movie characters who already have their own stories.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-04-13, 02:31 PM
On the potential cameo: make sure he's out of range of anything that could conceivably kill him. Nothing ensures that a player will roll a crit for max damage than letting someone who can't possibly die within range of their weapons. See here (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=780).

Also, if this is during Attack of the Clones, Dooku was rather busy. Grievous is easily recognizable, btu I don't know if he was active yet. Also, he might stick around for the battle for the hell of it.

Overall, though, good plot, if similar to the opening of Episode I. And you may change the names to avoid references, but this

ensign of the palace guard with a red shirt named Ulgo
Needs to stay in.

Traaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaask!

Pocket lint
2007-04-13, 03:22 PM
I'd actually throw in one well-known Jedi as the intended representative from the council, to introduce the characters to the scenario. On the way, she'll get called away by an urgent message and leave the player Padawans to take care of business. It would give the characters a connection to the whole Jedi hierarchy, and is nice for a bit of followup once they're done... let the Jedi land, look the characters over and go "So, how did it go?

Turcano
2007-04-13, 03:42 PM
After doing a little bit of research, I would suggest setting the campaign in the Gromas (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gromas) system, as this is apparently one of the few places where phrik is found in established Star Wars sources.


Not necessarily Obi-Wan or Mace Windu, but maybe Ki-Adi Mundi (the conehead guy) or Commander Cody (the only important Clone Trooper).

That's not quite fair; there are a lot of prominent clone troopers, like Alpha, Bacara, Appo, and Gree (and those are only the ones I can think of off-hand). Moreover, clone commanders tend to be paired with specific Jedi generals (like Kenobi-Cody); so if you use Ki-Adi Mundi, there's a good chance of Bacara showing up as well.

Ikkitosen
2007-04-13, 04:09 PM
I think you need a few counter strategies. Some event to happen mid adventure to show that the separatists' plan is dynamic, not just "grab the patrician".

Darkxarth
2007-04-13, 04:09 PM
That's not quite fair; there are a lot of prominent clone troopers, like Alpha, Bacara, Appo, and Gree (and those are only the ones I can think of off-hand). Moreover, clone commanders tend to be paired with specific Jedi generals (like Kenobi-Cody); so if you use Ki-Adi Mundi, there's a good chance of Bacara showing up as well.

My apologies, I have neither read any Star Wars books nor played KotOR, so my Star Wars knowledge is limited to the six movies and Star Wars: Battlefront II.

EDIT: Changed my response to reflect that Cody isn't the only important Clone Commander.

Matthew
2007-04-13, 06:55 PM
Sounds okay, though you may want to consider how events outside of the building might interact with what goes on inside. The assassination seems to be kind of odd. Why would the Captain stick around after the Droids are released? Surely he would want to distance himself from events and become a reoccuring villain? Are there going to be any Republican Storm Trooper types around?

Attilargh
2007-04-14, 08:45 AM
Wow, thanks a bunch for the responses. :smile:


Won't survive contact with the players, however, unless you make it clear that the Republic has a vested interest in keeping the patrician in his seat, and it is very important that he remain in control of the phrik mines, as the phrik metal is a vital componant of the clone battle armor (or some such), and this is one of the few places in the universe where it can be found...
Actually, I think phrik is a bit too costly to use for the clones' equipment, and the armour didn't seem particularly lightsaber-resistant in the movies.

Basically, I'm just hoping they'll be good Jedi and go along with the plot, if only to save some innocents. If they get too out of line, I'll pull the cards "Protectors of the Republic", "What Would Yoda Do?" and - if necessary, even "Dark Side Points" - from my sleeve.


Grievous is easily recognizable, btu I don't know if he was active yet. Also, he might stick around for the battle for the hell of it.
He was, kinda. He was present on Geonosis during the battle, but killed all who saw him.


It would give the characters a connection to the whole Jedi hierarchy, and is nice for a bit of followup once they're done... let the Jedi land, look the characters over and go "So, how did it go?
Their briefing will be given by their masters in a diner on Coruscant. Now that I think of it, I probably could use Dex's Diner (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dex%27s_Diner).

I was contemplating of killing one or two of the masters off in the Battle of Geonosis to get rid of some of the potential for the annoying "I say we call our 7+ level masters to resolve the situation instead of doing it by ourselves" solution.

That enough tie-ins to the universe?


I think you need a few counter strategies. Some event to happen mid adventure to show that the separatists' plan is dynamic, not just "grab the patrician".
Good point. Any suggestions?


Sounds okay, though you may want to consider how events outside of the building might interact with what goes on inside. The assassination seems to be kind of odd. Why would the Captain stick around after the Droids are released? Surely he would want to distance himself from events and become a reoccuring villain? Are there going to be any Republican Storm Trooper types around?
It's not an assassination, but a coup. They will indeed be breaking the variant of the Evil Overlord Rule #3. ("My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.") After all, who knows if they might need the rightful ruler of the planet some day. Furthermore, he will only be a lackey (hopefully a recurring one, like Calo Nord was), as the main villain is one of Dooku's dark acolytes - a dark Jedi. I have yet to figure out how to introduce him, though.

The plan is to isolate the keep from any outside forces that might take offense at usurpers. Once they have mopped up the palace, the New Government will officially contact the Confederacy of Independant Systems and ask for assistance in pacifying the world. If all goes well (for example, if no Jedi interfere), the planet should be in Separatist hands before the Republic notices anything is wrong.

Matthew
2007-04-14, 09:38 AM
So, the plan is not to kill the Patrician? Just to capture him? Why was he wounded, then?

I think it's important to think about the wider context in which a coup might take place. Does the Patrician have no supporters in the military? Will nobody take an active role outside of the building once they realise the threat?

Dervag
2007-04-14, 07:15 PM
Finally, have a character from the movies (Dooku?) make a cameo...to help them feel like they are a part of the larger star wars universe...A cameo need not be a physical appearance. For instance, you could let the players find a recording of Count Dooku's instructions to the Captain of the Guard.


So, the plan is not to kill the Patrician? Just to capture him? Why was he wounded, then?Because the best laid plans of mice and Sith underlings often go astray? Because somebody decided that the best way to capture the Patrician was to hit him over the head with a rock and knock him out?