Greetings, Gamer Nation!

I've convinced my D&D 3.5 game to start a FFG Star Wars game and the campaign I've pitched is the Pirates of Drinax campaign for the Traveller RPG. Now I need some help for you deciding where to place it in the Star Wars galaxy.

If you're not familiar, the Pirates of Drinax is an epic pirates and privateers campaign that Mongoose has been publishing episode by episode for a couple of years. Just recently they published episode 9 of 10. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend you do because A) it is amazing and B) it is free. As in beer. Go get it here: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/ebooks/traveller/adventures-and-campaigns/campaign-2-the-pirates-of-drinax.html

The summary I pitched to my players:

With the rumored destruction of the second death star, the Empire has weakened and many Outer Rim systems are now left to their own devices. You play a band of adventures who are entrusted by the King of Drinax with a letter of marque, permitting you to prey on 'illegal' trade within the borders of the vanished kingdom. The King hopes that this piracy will give him the leverage he needs to restore Drinax to its former glory so he doesn't want cutthroats and murders, he's wants thieves.

Once the characters have their letter and their ship, it's up to the players for what to do next. Will you stay loyal to the King and help restore Drinax? Will you ally with one of the Noble Houses? Will you turn rogue and create your own kingdom? Will you be heroes or monsters, pirates or privateers? Will you make your fortune amid the pitiless stars, or will the cold depths of the Outer Rim be your grave?

So what I need your help with is finding a Star Wars location that shares some of the following characteristics:

• The homeworld is an independent world that was once rich and/or powerful and was reduced to an ashy waste (orbital bombardment by the Empire or Separatists)
• Two nearby powerful political entities that are unfriendly - part of the awesomeness of the campaign is that PCs playing off the two and deciding which side to ally with

My initial thought is that the two powerful entities could be an Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic, just after the Return of the Jedi. For one thing this fits what i need but it also leverages mine and my player's excitement about Episode VII. Also I could start to leverage some of the canon stuff coming out this fall like Star Wars Uprisings. If I go this route I'd prefer a more politically moderate Imperial Remnant so there's a possibility the PCs would want to interact with them rather than just see them as Space Orcs who are there for face blasting.

I'm not a slave to canon and could happily make it all up, however I'd love to leverage some existing content. Does anyone have any suggestions for some planets that might make a good home base for this campaign?

Thanks!

-Lauguz

You know what I would do if I were you? Wait until E7 is closer and we get an idea what the universe is like. While you said you're not a slave to canon, if the new movie drops and you go "Hey! That's a cool setting!", you don't want to junk your currently running campaign for the new universe. Now if you wait and decide the old New Republic setting is more your speed, you're not out anything other than a bit of time.

The books and comics will start coming out here any time now, so the setting should start to solidify real soon.

I was thinking about running an adaptation of the Pirates of Drinax in the Tion Cluster during the Galactic Civil War. King Oleb would be the king of one of the minor planets, hoping to lay claim to the entire cluster.

The Empire and the Rebellion would be the major factions, with the Tion Hegemony (a puppet state allied with the Empire), the Hutts, and possibly the Black Sun competing for influence. I was considering borrowing the Faction Turn from Stars Without Number to show what other factions are doing while the players are zipping around, doing their thing.

The Tion Cluster has a history that goes back to pre-Republic times, so it’s great for tales of decayed glory.

Tion cluster is a brilliant suggestion. Thanks!