My group are going to be hired by one Hutt to steal something from another. The package will be aboard a gravity train or something en-route to a Hutt palace. I want to make use of the cool timing mechanics that are used in the Corellian Shuffle. My players loved that.

I'll have specific windows where they can access the train in between bridges and tunnels while it races across the city world of Nar Shaddaa.

I think perhaps I'll give only a matter of 2 or 3 rounds for the players to get in position and get on the train. Then they have to decide how and when they will get to the package on the train and get it off and get away. Naturally, nothing will go as planned.

Have you run anything like this before? What are your thoughts?

I'm not actually certain gravity trains are a thing in Star Wars, but it stands to reason they'd remain useful in dense urban areas where flight might be more precarious.

I think you would see trains on a city world. With all of those levels , hundreds of them I would think , it would almost be a necessity to have high-speed transport inside of all the structures.

I did a session once and basically reenacted the episode of clone wars with Asajj Ventress and bountyhunters on the train , the PCs had a great time.

Ha I see we have similar taste in banners for our Edge of the Empire OP sites! ^__^

I don't know how the game would've been , but it's concept art was fantastic .

Yep, trains are definitely used, though they're typically of the maglev variety, using magnets to hover over the rails at high speed. Ord mantel (the junkyard world) uses them to ferry scrap around the planet, and several "clone wars" episodes involved mag trains on coruscant.. It's logical to assume they'd be part of the infrastructure of a highly developed planet,

though they're typically of the maglev variety,

Nitpicking note, they're probably repulser rather than maglev.

And the episode when Ahsoka lost her lightsabre, that one had a train near the end

And the episode when Ahsoka lost her lightsabre, that one had a train near the end

Oh ya! Good points, all ^___^

I'm super excited to run this. Have you run a timed mission before, or a mission with very precise and fleeting windows of opportunity?

How do you handle it?

I have. I used a timer. I also explained ahead of time to them there would be limited time for planning and decision making once they got rolling. I'd call out 30 sec warnings and they knew it was go time. There was a lot of combat so it wasn't too tough, but just like in combat they would lose track of each other, or wish someone was able to do something else.

though they're typically of the maglev variety,

Nitpicking note, they're probably repulser rather than maglev.

....Not necesarily correct note, depending on the circumstances of the setup.

Key difference, which may make a difference for the adventurers. Repulsorlift vehicles don't require rails, are required to carry their own power source, and also are able to attain a fairly high altitude. Maglev vehicles (which most rail vehicles in the stories are, and they do specifically mention magnetic rails) require rails, are able to get their power via the electrified rails (more room for cargo), and are bound to the track. This is important because with a maglev train, if the group decides that they're going to try and mess with the rails and/or power source, it's actually possible to do this. With a repulsor train, that is not the case. Note, most maglev trains do have emergency backup repulsors for the rare event of a derailment, but as afore mentioned, repulsors require an onboard power source, so the emergency repulsors aren't going to be for anything other than that.

End point and fact, be sure to identify the mechanism of the vehicle in your adventure, in case it matters for your group. I know that the trains on kessel were specifically magnetic in nature.

If it's helpful, I've drawn up a mag-lev train on my blog.

http://talesfromtheedgeoftheempire.blogspot.com/2014/01/mag-lev-train.html

-Nate

If it's helpful, I've drawn up a mag-lev train on my blog.

http://talesfromtheedgeoftheempire.blogspot.com/2014/01/mag-lev-train.html

-Nate

Gosh that will come in handy! Thanks Nate!

I know, this is not officially canon anymore, but in Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Academy, there was a mission in Coronet which took place on a mag train, where the enemy cultists placed a bomb on it.

Also, if you need ideas of how to steal stuff from a train in a sci-fi setting, try watching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series) , if you didn't already.

The second episode involves a train heist.

If you want to watch an episode with a TON of great ideas for your adventure check out the Season 4 episode of Clone Wars called "Bounty" featuring Assaj Ventress and Boba Fett trying to protect a "package" they are transporting by train that needs to deliver to an evil warlord. Great stuff.

Yancy

Use the timed encounter in AoR GM kit, episode two. I used the same twice and it works great for stressing the party over the right actions under time frame.

Set up ambushes along the track, nothing too obvious or challenging, but just enough to keep your PCs on their toes. Then, set up some big obstacle, like a roadblock, then throw some big Nemesis at them. Works for my games