Hello fellow Game Masters.

My year-long campaign is getting to the finale. The PCs are chasing the Bad Guy to the alien world, where he had found technology that almost helped him destroy the Galaxy (a force-based virus spread via hyperspace - hey it's Star Wars science ).

Before they confront the villain I'd like to have them a series of encounters, hopefully in a limited sandbox environment with the planet.

The planet is a ghost world, the race that inhabited it long gone (except for one survivor who actually guides the villain's actions). There are left some mechanical constructs, some slavemind-bound combat slaves etc.

The party (power level around 480xp) consists of a pilot, a stealth/survival expert, a slicer droid (who is crucial for the adventure) and a face (charm, deception etc).

I'd like to hear from you some ideas of cool adventures - one I came up with is that the droid, who is absoluttely non-combat PC, will be able to assemble combat upgrades around him, allowing him to rain death and destruction for a limited time.

1) That virus was actually an attempt to resurrect the former inhabitants of that world, you didn't actually say what the virus did nor why they released the virus in the first place so this is reaching quite a bit!

2)The force guiding the villain did so because it wants a suitable host body and if the droid isn't careful it might end up housing the entity!

3)Was any of the PCs infected by that virus?

Maybe the reason they're chasing the villain is because they're being called home ?

4)What else is that world hiding?

After all if they can construct a force based virus that spreads through hyperspace wouldn't that require a vaccine spread the same way?

Wouldn't anyone aware of the original incident assume your PCs are trying to infect hyperspace again and try to stop them you know like the Empire who undoubtedly would want to secure that kind of forgotten tech...

5) What are the symptoms of the virus again?

How many infected have turned into an army like those creatures on Taris the Rakghouls or whatever they're called?

Of course thats due to Sith Alchemy so is there a link?

Are they on a Ghost World of the Sith?

You could have them be attacked by ghosts of former adversaries and maybe play up their obligations by having those closest to them turn up and they're forced to fight them... could get rather nasty actually depending on how far you'd like to go....

Now I'm feeling kind of sorry for your PCs... this could get Dawn of the Living Dead provided they survive the night !

The virus mutates and through the power of the Force, becomes sentient. When it infects others, they risk becoming part of a hive mind. The now sentient, force sensitive virus, is in risk of falling to the dark side and taking their hosts with them! Players will have to connect with the virus through the Force or through the hosts and convince it to let the hosts go. Bonus points if the players convince the hive mind virus to turn away from the dark side!

Are you leaving your finale open-ended so that if you all wanted, you could pick up again later? Then it's time for an Evil Twin!

I find when doing Massive Epic Sagas that finding some way to tie it into the characters on a personal level somehow is more important than saving the galaxy. Sure you can save the day too, but if the nemesis has a long history of betrayal and antagonism and screwing with the PCs, then the ending will have much more emotional weight.

So, lets find the emotional hooks. Tell us about your players more. Tell us about your bad guy. Give us some details of the story thusfar.

Guys, your ideas are all great - I really love them! But most of the points you mentioned I've already covered - the antidote, emotional hooks etc All I'm asking is ideas for epic challenges - something that will help individual characters really shine at least once during the adventure.

For the droid I have the transformer-moment (there is some truly ancient tech involved)

For the stealth guy I came up with the idea of sneaking through enemy territory to switch off a shield protecting the main ruin complex.

So far I have nothng for the pilot (although the films provide some ideas here - shooting a small target etc etc) and the biggest problem I have with the face, here I'm considering Mass Effect 1 moment of convincing the bad guy to see the wrongness of his ways.

Again - I'm asking for fun challenges, maybe on a grand scale for such characters. Of course, if you're interested I can post the synopsis of my campaign (after it finishes) in another thread

A new ship for the pilot to get funny ideas about?

of course he'll need to use it in the climatic battle and maybe even have to sacrifice it (ie get dragged off by the other PCs as its sent off to act as a missile carrying the important antidote whilst he/she is kicking and screaming that they never get to keep anything cool... ) to accomplish their mission..

Still how does the pilot fancy getting a capital ship operational under their control ala Star Trek 3 the search for the guy we left behind last time round?

I'm thinking Old Republic warship something Imperial looking but awesome enough that they'd be up for the chance to fly that !

How about a chase scene through the mechanical constructs in your original description, in inclement weather, while 2 pirate fleets battle overhead? Wreckage spews down from space as your heroes chase Mr. Bad until his swoop crashes, leaving him alone on a twisted, rusty metal platform. The wind howls and the rain comes in horizontally. Lightning flashes and wreckage continues to stream in from orbit.

Maybe once the stealth guy has disabled the shield, the pilot can do a bombing run on the building in the process giant war machines start to emerge from the planet's surface the droid character then has to try and control the machines while the pilot flies in and out of the machines and the flak cannons from the base to deliver the payload.

If successful the group push through the wreckage to the bunker the villain is hiding in to confront them before they finish their final transformation or unleash the final doomsday device. Maybe the alien guy is the mastermind behind it all and once the villain is dead, this is revealed or it escapes or it possesses one of the characters.