STAR WARS - THE ONCOMING STORM

EPISODE 1 - FIRST SHADOWS

It is a time of upheaval in the galaxy. The Sith Empire, repelled by Republic

forces in the Battle of Alderaan, has withdrawn its forces from their lightning

sweep into the Core and settled along a new front line.

Now, intelligence forces on both sides attempt to pierce the veil of secrecy.

Both sides send operatives to uncover their enemy's forces and plans.

Now, a team of Republic operatives, newly arrived on Nar Shaddaa, are

preparing for the first action of the new war...

A Republic gunship roars through the skies of Nar Shaddaa. It is night - relatively speaking, on a world of smog where the sun never pierces the eternal twilight - but it is not dark anyway, as the bright and blazing neon lights of the casinos chases away any thought of darkness. Yet all the same, darkness seems to congeal in the shadows of the galaxy. This gunship - and the team aboard it - is on a mission. One with the fate of a great many lives at stake.

Earlier...

T9's holoprojector springs into life, glowing brightly as it projects the image of a Mon Calamari in the uniform of a Republic general before you.

"Greetings gentlemen, I'll keep this necessarily brief. I am General Var Suthra, head of Republic Special Operations. As you know, you're on your way to Nar Shaddaa. That place is a pit, but it's an important one. Nominally, Hutt Space is neutral territory: we can't touch the Imperials there and they can't touch us, not without invoking the wrath of the Cartels. But we also can't have military bases there, only civilian and commercial holdings. But when did the Imperials ever keep their promises?" a holographic map of the planet appears before you, before it rapidly zooms in down to a single building. It projects from the side of a larger arcology within the cityscape, four storeys with a landing pad at the front and a flat, open roof. "The Imperials have a listening post in this building. Ignore what their propaganda will tell you, we know they've got this sector's communications centre under that roof. Your job is simple - take it out. I've enclosed a tactical briefing with this message for you to peruse if you have time, but otherwise get ready. You'll be planetside in four hours. Var Suthra out."

Now...

You sit within the gunship in two rows of seats backing onto each other. Each of you goes through a different routine of mental preparation, but you know that combat is close at hand. You steel yourselves for it.

Welcome! No Duty has been triggered. Can I have an Average (2) Coordination check and a Simple (-) Vigilance check from each of you please, along with a short narration of how you ready yourselves for action within the shuttle?

Rion checked his gear and explosives carefully and methodically--he had never adapted well to the silent, sitting meditation favored by many Mirialans, and instead preferred to keep his hands busy to find a sense of equilibrium.

Vigilance: 2eA 0 successes, 2 advantage

​BTW, encumbrance rules won't allow me to carry all the explosives I bought, so my plan to is bring a set of 5 (encumbrance) for each mission. For this one I have: one detonite charge, one frag grenade, one concussion grenade and one ion grenade.

Marcelus adjusts his new armor for the last time and takes a deep breath. I can do this. Yeah, but I thought the same on Kothlis, didn't I? And that was awfully close, almost to close in fact. Naah, we should be alright, shouldn't we?

With his right hand he grips a handle to steady himself against the bumpy rideand addresses his squad. "Well lads, it's a nice night for a little ride, isn't it? It'll be a walk in the breeze. In a few hours we'll be back, relaxing and sipping tea, I'd say."

He turns away and stares outside, watching as the lights flash by.

Coordination: 2eA+2eD 1 success

Vigilance: 3eA 3 successes

Staring into the emptiness around him, Vohr Yondu tries to find the serenity he has felt when he rode into battle with his master- but still, he just finds sadness and pain where he used to find clarity. He stil has not recovered from his loss at all- and now, holding the grip above him, he can not return to the state of mind the codex expects from him.

Coordination: 3eA+2eD 1 success

Lost in thoughts of bitterness, he feels the presence of his fellow teammates arround him- people he hardly knows, who are less than strangers to him- he is still not quite sure if he needs them, if they are more than a distraction to him- but he can not solve every problem on his own, even if he wished so- his technical skills are as well developed as his social talents. Pathetic.

I am already commiting one force die to keep the control upgrade of sense activated.

Again, he has a bad feeling about the mission. It all sounds to good to be true. Storming a communications center and taking out the imperial propaganda with a small team without alerting the rest of the city? Hard to believe. So he watches out. Prepares to inform the others of imminent threats...

Vigilance: 3eA 2 successes, 2 advantage

I use the advantage to give the next one who rolls for vigilance a boost die. be even faster.

Dag checks and rechecks his gear. Doublechecks the charge on his rifle and pistol. He was hired to fill holes in this squad's ranks, but he didn't really know these guys well yet. He hoped that would not be a problem. He also wondered to himself about the Jedi. He seemed less serene than expected. He put those thoughts aside and began reviewing the mission details. He began "quizzing" the other members of the squad, making sure he and they recalled important details.

"Did anyone get the details of our extraction plan? Is there any support in case things get hairy? Do we have any intelligence regarding the numbers, type, and disposition of opposing forces?"

Coordination check: 3eA+2eD 2 successes, 3 threat

Vigilance check: 1eA+2eP 2 successes, 2 advantage

T9 beeps, and reactivates the hologram to remind you of the finer details of the briefing.

"This will be a tight mission. Our solution for extraction is that you'll have to retreat to the landing pad and call in the shuttle for extraction. However, you'll only have a limited amount of time before the shooting draws attention to the building, and no matter who it comes from we won't want that attention. As for support, our forces in this area are limited. Other than the ability of the shuttle to provide some fire support while you're in the open, you'll have to rely on yourselves. We have very little information on those indoors - all we've seen has been light troopers from the Imperial Army. However, there could be heavy troopers they're keeping hidden from us, or something worse. At this point we've got no idea. I'm sorry I can't be more help, but this is a stretched mission as it is."

Marcelus taps Dag on the shoulder. "Don't worry, man. Everything will work out just alright, you'll see. We'll go in, catch the Imps pants down, kill them and be out before they even know what hit them."

That was the moment he should say something inspiring- like Master Sconact did. The moment he should quote a wiser master, tell his comrades that the force was their ally- something alike. But his mind was empty. Every sentence he build in his head sounded tritely. Just plain wrong. It took much too long until he managed to say something. "This is not a battlefield. Not a clash of armies. Those people down there will be mainly technicians and radio operators. Nothing that can stop us. So lets get down and show them what the fist of the republic can do to their sorry asses." A moment long, he feared that with his words would come anger. Hate. Too much passion. But there was nothing. Not the reliefing nothing of concinnity, but just plain callousness.

Ashrym re-checks his medpac and his rifle, the essentials for his little microcosm, the essentials for the well-being of the squad. He chuckles at some of the banter and offers, "Oh, we'll show them. I have no doubt about that." With that said, however, he had some suspicions. He wasn't of the opinion that hiding such was in the best interest of his teammates, so he opened up to some of it, "The General must suspect there will be some substantial security or they'd have just sent in an operative to blow the place. So, keep your eyes and ears peeled. There's going to be a welcoming party soon after our entry."

Coordination check: 3eA+2eD 0 successes, 1 advantage

Vigilance Check: 2eP 1 success, 3 advantage

Coordination: 2eA+1eP+2eD 1 success, 1 advantage

Vigilance: 2eA 1 success, 1 advantage

After playing the holo-messages to the team, T9 cycles through them again a few times internally, making notes about specific important details and storing them in his data-log. With the important data loaded into his RAM, he then goes into Vigilant-mode, powering up all his sensors to the appropriate sensitivity for the mission.

Yes you can use that success. I allow it

The gunship's pilot activates the comm. <Thirty seconds. Opening doors. Hook in> You stand up from your seats, reaching up and attaching rappel hooks or mag-clamps to yourselves and ready for the go. The doors of the gunship slide open and reveal the skyline of Nar Shaddaa speeding by. The gunship slows until it begins to orbit around a single building, four storeys high with a landing pad in front, before it settles over the building. <We're in position, go go go!>

You leap from the craft, descending the gap in seconds suspended on lines from the craft towards the roof. You all land fairly safely, save for Dag who slams onto his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs, and Rast, who lands awkwardly, damaging his ankle. You are all down and secure as the gunship flies off, merging into traffic. You turn, and see a single doorway down on the otherwise-deserted roof. There's no sign your arrival was even noticed.

Dag takes 3 strain and Rast takes 1 wound. Initiative order is thus:

NPC

PC <--You are here

PC

PC

NPC

NPC

NPC

PC

NPC

PC

PC

NPC

PC

NPC

NPC

Now then, shall we begin?

"Kriff it..." Rast gasped as his ankle popped. "I should have been ready for that."

No enemies in sight? How long would it take Rast to go to the door and open it?

Marcelus whispers: "Everything alright? Ok, let's get moving. Defensive positions, I'd say."

Marcelus draws his vibrorapier.

Pointing to Rast, he says in a hushed tone: "And you, fine man, should better have a look at that doorway. Time to show the Imps some good steel!"

To our GM: Are our actions and movements already round based or still purely narrative?

To my fellow players: In which order should our characters act?

I think it would make sense for Marcelus to go early in the initiative order to buff some of his squadmates with Improved Inspiring Rhetoric --> Boost Dice for (hopefully) everyone!

To our GM: If we are already in round-based play, can I spend my action for Inspiring Rhetoric (narration would follow)?

Dag mutters some choice expletives under his breath as he gets to his feet and readies his rifle, bringing the stock to his shoulder, practicing proper trigger discipline, and pointing the barrel slightly down to the ground. He drops to one knee, waiting for the others, keeping his attention on the main entrance to/from the roof. He's not in charge of this op, so he waits for orders.

To players: I think Ashrym, as a general rule, should act later in a round. He can certainly snipe at enemies if the situation calls for it, but it also sets him up to be able to maneuver and potentially stimpack people (with his upgraded talents) or the like if someone gets smacked hard. Otherwise, speaking generally, I'd think having ranged characters act first, before melee characters engage enemies (since that ups the difficulty of shooting in).

Rast can utilize Quick Strike, so he should probably go early. He'll wait for someone else (maybe Marcelus?) to open the door and go in ready.

I would say that getting to the door and going downstairs is one maneuver. And yes you are in structured time at this point. The Inspired Rhetoric action is an - inspired - idea!

Ok, then I'll go first. I already drew my weapon (1 maneuver), so 1'll take 2 Strain for a second maneuver to open the door and go inside. My action will be Inspired Rhetoric.

"Darkness engulfes the galaxy. But there is hope, too. Fragile flames flickering in the shadows. Today we will light another flame. And unlike the others, this fire will grow - bigger and bigger. It will grow into a blazing storm! A storm that will dispel all darkness. And this storm starts here and now. Forward my merry men! Onwards, to glory and fame!"

Inspiring Rhetoric - average leadership check: 3eP+2eD 2 successes, 1 Triumph

I'll use the two successes to boost Rast and Dag: They both may recover 1 strain and gain 1 Boost Die on every action in the next 3 rounds.

What can I do with the triumph? Boost everyone in the team? But that's probably too strong. Would be nice, though. Maybe someone is so inspired that he can upgrade his next check(s)? I would give that upgrade to whomever goes after Rast (as Rast gets already a Boost Die). Any thoughts, ColonelCommissar? Or any other ideas? I'm open for suggestions.

With these words Marcelus dashes forward, opens the door and enters the building.

I'll take the next turn...maneuver below, will wait on the action until Rast can see someone.

Rast follows Marcelus through the door, eyes open for any trouble.

Marcelus plunges down the stairs into a dark, ratty duracrete stairway inside the building, emerging on the fourth floor landing. On his right, emerging from the hall, is a group of Imperial troopers dressed in heavy, black armour.

"Intruders!" the lead one yells.

There are three troopers in one Minion group on the stairs. The next combat attack gets upgraded once thanks to that Triumph. However, I'm also upgrading the difficulty of the next combat check once with a Destiny point.

The troopers were fast, but Rast was faster. Before the lead trooper had finished yelling, Rast had already loosed two knives at him.

1 maneuver to move, 2 incidentals to draw 2 throwing knives, 1 maneuver (suffering 2 strain) to True Aim (1 Boost & 1 Upgrade), and an action to throw (increasing the difficulty to hit twice, spending a Destiny Point):
Attacking the bad guys, two knives: 4eP+3eB+1eC+1eD 4 successes

Lame!! Was hoping for some Advantage. Damage 9, Pierce 2.

A knife slams into the windpipe of the leading trooper, causing him to collapse to the ground with a clatter of heavy armour, while the other glances off the gorget of the trooper behind him. The damage is done however - from below you hear the sounds of tramping feet and the call of voices.

Thanks for that. Next check is also upgraded in difficulty.

T9-M4 rolls behind Rast and Marcelus, his treads a bit slower than their brisk pace. Once he enters the room his sensors detect the Imperial troopers. "Threat detected!" He thinks to himself, "Must protect organics // Mission must succeed."

Locking down on his stabilizers, T9 readies his Pulse-Wave blaster and fires.

Maneuver to enter the room, take strain to aim, action to fire.

Pew pew: 3eA+1eC+1eD+1eB 3 successes, 2 advantage

5 damage plus 3 successes is 8 wounds. Advantage to upgrade the difficulty on the enemy's next check?