The Hook: There's an uprising/revolt against a planet's government. The government has hired the PCs to help stamp it out.

The Meat: The PCs will need to spend time trying to both discover the identities of and to track down the leaders of the resistance. After this, the PCs will need to eliminate them.

To bring some additional conflict into the story, have the resistance members be sympathetic. Give them a chance to sway the PCs (and the players) over to their side.

The End: In the simplest case, the PCs will eliminate the leaders, in one way or another, and get paid. If they decided to join the resistance, this would be a great springboard into a wider campaign to overthrow the government.

So far, this is the one I've been having the most trouble with. More so than with any other career, contributions from others would be greatly appreciated; I'm having a difficult time coming up with ideas that aren't super generic.

Specialization: Bodyguard

The Hook: An up and coming starlet has hired the PCs to protect her on her latest tour. She'll be making appearances on several planets and a couple space stations. She wants the PCs to take care of guarding her, screening visitors, dealing with customs/port authority, and whatever else comes up. Her manager will also be flying with them.

The Meat: This adventure can mostly jump from scene to scene for awhile. Have a few abstracted checks of the PCs interviewing visitors, brawling with thugs, and negotiating with (and maybe bribing) officials. Start throwing some harder checks at them as the adventure goes on.

Everything should start pushing towards a kidnapping attempt. Start out small with sketchy guys trying to get through, then someone trying to sneak into her room, then a group trying to force their way in, and finally a space battle. If any of the attempts succeed, this could be resolved as either a chase, if the PCs catch it in the act, or a search, if the PCs only find out later.

If you feel like adding a twist, have the manager be behind the attempts. He could have some sort of ransom scam set up or perhaps some kind of insurance policy. For an extra sting, you can make it so that the reason he hired the PCs is because he wanted someone incompetent who would fail at guarding her.

The End: If the starlet is ever kidnapped, the PCs take a huge cut in their pay. Any attempts that make any progress (someone successfully sneaking into her room, for instance) should also affect the pay. A perfect job will earn a bonus and a great contact for future work.

Well, the category is Hired Gun, right? Seems to me like that should be relatively easy:

1. Some minor company/crime figure "lost" some gear and they want you to get it back. The gear could be stolen by a competitor, or by a disgruntled former employee, or maybe they sold something to someone and then decided that was a bad idea. Maybe they're actually paying you to steal gear from someone else, and they're lying to you about who is the rightful owner.

2. Some minor company/crime figure has a valuable cargo that they want transported safely. The gear could be weapons, or armor, or even a person locked inside of a box. Or maybe it's a whole ship of slaves, and you never get a chance to board the slave ship, since you're always on your ship. What happens if you get hit by pirates?

3. Somebody wants you to hunt down a group of pirates who have somehow manged to avoid getting a bounty put on their heads.

4. Someone wants your help to defend a town against a group of criminals who are trying to take over the local industry -- not spice mining and not on Ryloth, for sure.

5. You find out that Trandoshans have a huge shipment of slaves going to auction, and you're a Wookiee or a Klatoonian and you really want the slavers to die a horrible death. Oh, and you just happen to have someone who is willing to pay you money to take them out, in order to rescue their sister/brother/mother/father/whatever.

6. You get hired to take part in a minor war between two factions somewhere out on the far rim, very far from any Republic, Separatist, or other organized interstellar group who might be willing/able to intervene. Are you on the right side? Are you sure you're on the right side?

Seems to me that Hired Gun is actually one of the easiest careers to find scenarios for -- you're in a profession where you can get hired by just about anyone to do just about anything, presumably so long as it involves heavy weapons and/or killing, or the prevention thereof.

Seems to me that Hired Gun is actually one of the easiest careers to find scenarios for -- you're in a profession where you can get hired by just about anyone to do just about anything, presumably so long as it involves heavy weapons and/or killing, or the prevention thereof.

Agreed. It is totally easy to make some basic adventures for Hired Guns, but I'm trying to have something unique and interesting to each of the seeds. The problem with the Hired Gun (for me, anyway), is that it doesn't offer much creative fuel. The seeds all end up very samey, with it almost always coming down to, "Go here. Kill this."

Now, please, please, please, don't take this as an attack on you or what you've written or take it as me trying to push you out of the thread (please!), but I just want to take a moment to go through your six entries there just to illustrate my point. I would actually love if this sparks some (friendly!) discussion between us to possibly develop a seed or two.

1. This one is more of a thief adventure, unless the PCs are explicitly hired to go in guns blazing in order to make a point. I really like the idea, though. I might try to develop it into a full seed, if you don't mind.

2. This is a smuggler adventure.

3. This is literally a bounty mission. Someone is paying you to find someone.

4. Not bad, but there's nothing unique here. And what is there to do besides fight?

5. Rescue missions are actually something I hadn't considered yet. Lots of potential here.

6. This is almost identical to my second seed in this thread, which is exactly the problem I've been running into myself.

I'd like to stress again that I'm not trying to attack you and I hope that I don't put you on the defensive.

Agreed. It is totally easy to make some basic adventures for Hired Guns, but I'm trying to have something unique and interesting to each of the seeds. The problem with the Hired Gun (for me, anyway), is that it doesn't offer much creative fuel. The seeds all end up very samey, with it almost always coming down to, "Go here. Kill this."

Ahh, okay. Fair enough. I will agree that Hired Guns do tend to up on "Go here, kill this" type of missions.

Now, please, please, please, don't take this as an attack on you or what you've written or take it as me trying to push you out of the thread (please!), but I just want to take a moment to go through your six entries there just to illustrate my point. I would actually love if this sparks some (friendly!) discussion between us to possibly develop a seed or two.

I appreciate your concern, and I'm glad that you are stressing the desire to have an actual friendly discussion on the topic.

1. This one is more of a thief adventure, unless the PCs are explicitly hired to go in guns blazing in order to make a point. I really like the idea, though. I might try to develop it into a full seed, if you don't mind.

Please feel free. I always enjoy reading your write ups, so maybe you can take an idea I threw out there and make it into something really special!

2. This is a smuggler adventure.

At one level, yes. But they're going to need backup, and well-armed backup. So, maybe they've already got the Smuggler talent and all they need is your firepower.

3. This is literally a bounty mission. Someone is paying you to find someone.

At one level, yes. But again, they might need some additional firepower. Moreover, since they somehow avoided getting a real bounty put on their heads, maybe this isn't something that the Bounty Hunter Guild would be interested in undertaking. Or, maybe you're not getting paid with money, maybe one of your obligations fired off and Jabba or Teemo has ordered you to take them down and you're not going to get paid a single credit.

5. Rescue missions are actually something I hadn't considered yet. Lots of potential here.

Feel free to take this idea and run with it. ;-)

6. This is almost identical to my second seed in this thread, which is exactly the problem I've been running into myself.

I'm not sure I had seen your second seed on this thread, or if I had, it didn't consciously register for me.

Anyway, I think there are lots of good possibilities for Hired Guns. If I can help flesh out a few concepts, then I am more than happy with that outcome.

At one level, yes. But again, they might need some additional firepower. Moreover, since they somehow avoided getting a real bounty put on their heads, maybe this isn't something that the Bounty Hunter Guild would be interested in undertaking. Or, maybe you're not getting paid with money, maybe one of your obligations fired off and Jabba or Teemo has ordered you to take them down and you're not going to get paid a single credit.

That's an interesting way of looking at it. I think especially if the focus is put more on the act of actually killing the pirates and less on the hunt (basically, if you know where to go), it could work well as a Hired Gun seed.

I'm not sure I had seen your second seed on this thread, or if I had, it didn't consciously register for me.

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting that you stole it, just highlighting that there are not that many options.

Our discussion has sparked a couple ideas, so I'm going to spend a bit of time thinking about them and see if I can form something solid.

Here's something with a few dimensions for a hired gun to deal with...

The Hook: The hired gun is approached in a cantina or tapcaf by a grizzled-looking man and an eleven year old boy. The man looks like he hasn't slept in some time and is under great stress. He offers 5000 credits, claiming is all that he has, for the hired gun to escort his son to his uncle who lives on planet [GM choice]. The man claims that his son saw a crime committed by a local crime lord and that he is in great danger if he stays.

The Meat: Before they even get to their ship the heroes are accosted by bounty hunters. Their ship is pursued throughout space. Once they arrive on planet [GM's choice] they are set upon by Imperial forces as they search for the boy's uncle. However, the heroes are never surprised by these events as the boy manages to consistently warn them before danger strikes. He possesses an uncanny ability to see things he shouldn't as he travels with the heroes.

The End: Eventually the hired gun will come to the revelation that this boy is Force sensitive and that the Empire is behind the bounty hunters and troopers sent to capture him. It's up to the heroes to get him to safety. That could be his uncle or if the GM wants to throw a curve have the uncle eliminated by the Empire and the hired gun must figure out where to take the boy.

Here's something along the lines of "The Magnificent Seven"...

Hook: A small community on Khomr (Sons of Fortune pg. 84) sends three representatives to whatever planet the heroes are on. These simple farmers desperately need help. They don't have much money and are prepared to offer everything they have for help.

The Meat: The farmers are being oppressed by the Lazerlord pirate gang (WEG, various books) led by the swashbuckling Drek Drednar (WEG, on Wookeepedia). The pirates come on their Corellian Corvette, the Sable III , and pillage the pacifist farmers. Their corvette is usually accompanied by three uglies, making for a formidable challenge in the skies.

When on the ground Drek leads a motley crew of human and alien pirates, none of which are over equipped beyond their blaster pistols and vibroblades. In town the Lazerlords are merciless, killing anyone who opposes them. Their cruelty knows no bounds and they take all the villager's crops leaving them with almost nothing to eat.

The heroes can't hope to defeat the Lazerlords in straight combat, there are too many pirates in town (numerous minion groups). They will have to use strategy to set up traps, encourage the people to help repel the pirates, and to herd the pirates into kill zones where they can be dealt with without endangering the villagers.

Once things start to look bad for the pirates Drek Drednar will petition the Hired Gun with an offer to join him. Drek claims to be a member of a larger organization that can make the Hired Gun's Obligation disappear while filling his pockets with bountiful credits. He's very charismatic in his offer and will be open to negotiation for the Hired Gun's cut of the booty should he switch sides. Perhaps the Hired Gun will take Drek's offer or perhaps the Hired Gun will remain loyal to the villagers.

The End: The ending assumes the heroes don't take Drek's offer to join the pirates. With Drek Drednar defeated the villagers can finally live without fear. They proceed to offer everything of value that they have to the characters. If they do the right thing and turn it down they should be awarded +5 XP. Note that the heroes may gain Obligation for taking on the Lazerlords as they are part of the larger Invid Pirate Alliance (Wookeepedia).

The Hook: Players are contacted about a job to protect a salesmen who works for a private interest off world. He is willing to pay well for escort across of a series of planet side stops to peddle his wares.

The Meat: The salesmen is an undercover op working for the Rebellion. To avoid the possibility of Rebel agents being identified by Imperials, he has chosen to use independents to serve as guards. He plans to visit a set number of systems to discuss Rebel Agendas under the guise of Sales meetings.

A number of encounters could entail a few ideas:

1. Story should start with a few light encounters with nosy customs officials, to set up the lie of planetary salesmen. A few tangles with some local color.

2. By the second planet, the players should start to notice things are a miss; mysterious late night private holo calls, close calls with local authorities investigating Rebel activity in the area. By the third planet it should start to become clear that the Imperials are on to them; previously visited locations being blown up by Imperials. News reports entailing the escape of Rebels fleeing the area.

The End: Wether the players confront the "Salemens" about his clear connection with the Rebellion is up to you and your players. Negative opinions toward the Rebels may push the Salesmen to run for fear of a double cross by the players, the Imperials would pay a handsome "finder fee" to the whereabouts of said Rebel. This angle could lead to more work from the Imperials. On the other hand, if the players find the idea of being on the run and aiding the Rebels could clearly set them up for some future work. If the players can hold their tongue and just go along with the scam and walk away from the job could earn them some respect among the independent factions. Either outcome should net the players some new contacts and some credits. As the GM, this should drop the potential of some new enemies/allies and hopefully a hook or two for your next game.

Hope this idea finds a home. Most groups of players will have a good mix of classes. This story should have an opening for most all classes. The HiredGun should be the focus for getting the job and carrying to thru. Thanks for your time.

The Hook: The PCs are hired to rescue a colleague of the employer. This person was captured by a Hutt and imprisoned for smuggling inside his territory. The Hutt is going to have him fight in his arena. (I just realized this sounds exactly like the end of Trouble Brewing, so using Thakba the Hutt would probably be a good fit).

The Meat: I'm going to be a bit lazy and go much more vague than I usually do. The players are likely to bring a lot of ideas for how to deal with this one, so planning out the specifics might be tough. Personally, I would give the PCs the option of joining the arena in some way. Perhaps Thakba has prizes to entice fighters that aren't forced to be there. The PCs might also try to sabotage the opponents of their target in order to buy time. Finally, if they ran Trouble Brewing, they may attempt to leverage their good relationship with Thakba in some manner. Regardless of their plans, I would expect them to either try to deliver something to the target or sneak/blast their way into the prison at some point.

As a note, I would suggest paying attention to how much time the PCs spend during the rescue. The target will have regularly scheduled fights in the arena (perhaps more than one each day) and these may lead to the target's death.

The End: Getting the target out alive secures the PCs' payment. If the target dies, regardless of the circumstances, the PCs get nothing. Unless the PCs are able to execute this rescue perfectly (or with Thakba's blessing), they are likely to have made an enemy of a minor Hutt kingpin. Be sure to use this to create future trouble for the PCs.

Specialization: Marauder preferred, but any hired gun who is good at melee or brawl.

The Hook: This idea is from Game of Thrones. A certain wealthy "trader" has finally had his shady dealings backfire and may be facing a death sentence. This wealthy person contacts the Hired Gun PC with an urgent request to represent him in a trial by combat on an outer rim world.

The Meat: The PC group is contacted by a known smuggler (possibly someone previously met in another adventure). He requests their help on a planet far out in the outer rim and promises great wealth if they succeed. When they travel to this planet, they find out their contact has been arrested and placed on trial for his illegal dealings. The evidence is stacked against their client, and unfortunately the penalty for his crimes is death.

The client has found one possible out. The inhabitants of this planet have a tradition of requesting trial by combat to "let the gods decide guilt or innocence." The smuggler himself knows he is no fighter and has no chance in a melee combat against the "people's champion" who happens to be the biggest and baddest dude around. The client tells the PC hired gun that this is his only hope and promises great riches if the PC should win the melee and clear him.

While thinking over his proposition, the PCs could learn of others who plot to ensure the smuggler is executed and that his champion loses. There could be attempts to poison, cripple, or kidnap the PC fighter to prevent him from fighting in the melee or ensuring he loses. There could also be ways that the PCs could learn about weaknesses in the seemingly indestructible opponent, or the fighter's friends could seek ways to sabotage the enemy.

PCs could find out about a plot of one of the smuggler's enemies working with the government to see him executed. They could try to find a way to implicate this enemy of the accused crimes instead. Or the PCs could decide this smuggler deserves to die and bail on him at the last moment, trying to find a way to take his riches any way.

The End: The adventure will most likely end with a melee fight, which has the PC character vs. the NPC brute. Along the way, the one-on-one could erupt into a full on firefight between the PC party and the NPCs minions, if either side attempts to interfere. While the Hired Gun is fighting, the other PCs could try to plan a jailbreak, helping the smuggler escape. If they succeed in saving the smuggler either way, they could either receive the promised riches or be double-crossed and left to run from the planet's authorities themselves.

Specialization: Enforcer, though any would work.

The Hook: A local crime lord has had one of his smugglers fail to bring in their cargo. The PCs are hired to accost the smuggler and his crew and get the cargo, and "make a point" with the smuggler. Think Han's dumping his spice cargo for Jabba, or from Firefly when they return the medicine they were supposed to steal for Niska.

The Meat: To differentiate from a Bounty mission, the PCs should be given the location where the smuggler is expected after their next run. The PCs could intercept them coming into the system (if you'd like to add a little space combat), or confront them at the docking bay.

The content of the mission will depend a lot on the style of the player group. Stealthier PCs can board the ship, take the goods, and do some sabotage. PCs that prefer to avoid violence can engage in some serious Coercion, which should also involve either taking or damaging something belonging to the smuggler so they "get the message". More combat-oriented PCs can break a few bones and generally leave the smuggler/crew licking their wounds; however, death should be avoided, as the crime lord wants them to fear him and still work for him.

Complications could involve the cargo no longer being aboard the smuggler's ship. Perhaps instead of selling the cargo for their own gain, the smuggler gave it back for more moral reasons. Maybe the PCs are sympathetic to the smuggler and decide to instead get back at the crime lord. Or the smuggler could have taken the goods to a rival crime lord, and expecting an ambush they brought backup with them.

The End: Full payment and/or Obligation reduction for the return of the goods and roughing-up the smuggler. Slight reduction for returning the value in credits or for the smugglers death or escape. If the PCs side with the smuggler, this could lead to more adventures against their employer.

The Hook: Body guard for a local sleemo. His life was recently threatened.

The Meat: Bribed to intentionally fail at guarding the client from his enemies.

The End: guard client successfully, fail, betray client, capture/kill client’s assassin.

The Hook: Intimidate client’s business rival to sell his legitimate business.

The Meat: rival’s business is a boon to the local community, customers would have to go through client instead. Client charges insane prices for essentials.

The End: do the job, quit the job, get the client to lower his prices.

The Hook: Basically the ANYYON, The Guardians of An'yettu mission on page 85 of Dangerous Covenants except pulling in more information from the EU, the party's combat prowess and bloodshed reawaken the Rodians' old obsession with violence and death. The party are then asked to spearhead the takeover of the planet by the clan leader. Hoping to take power from Navik the Red of the Chattza clan.

The Meat: A long campaign taking over country after country, managing resources and eventually assaulting the capitol which is receiving reinforcements from the Empire and Black Sun.

The End: The party can choose to take power for themselves since they were the biggest factor in taking over and rule their own planet or they can be considered honored war heroes to the planet and can call on aid from them whenever they want and always guarantee a safe refuge from their enemies.