Link to most updated version of the campaign is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PdRtCrf7MHAgVQmc7F2RygZRhyYoPyVv710dmwarLts/edit?usp=sharing

I've had previous experience with EotE when playing with friends so I understand the dice and how characters are set up. I have yet to read through the entire book but I plan on running 1+ campaigns with friends. I don't have an overarching story planned as I am just coming up with the plot for the first few sessions.

As I don't know a whole lot about the system for encounters yet I cannot really get to work on the encounters (I will have the rule book in my possession soon).

The current story that I have:

I'm hoping that the encounter on this planet (likely Nar Shaddaa due to the seedy nature of the planet) can last for the entire first session, similar to the session from the beginner game. It feels like I need to present more encounters to the players to increase the length of time, as any of these five options I have presented could be the singular path the players take.

The players start at the palace of a hutt. This slug has contracted them, in one way or another, to go on an "errand". He provides as little information as possible about the "package" he needs. To ensure they do not loiter, he is sending one of his men with the group (will act only as a plot device, does not help in combat or anything else). From there the players decide where to go. They don't currently have the means to figure out where they need to go. They know who was supposed to deliver it beforehand, so they need to track this person down and any of their contacts to find out what happened. There is a group of men following them throughout the first session, which can be turned into an encounter whenever the players either a. realize someone is following or b. when i decide to have their stalkers reveal themselves.

Obviously the players need to figure out where they need to go. This will require them to talk with NPC's and get an idea of what happened to the previous "package deliverer". They can't find him at first but they can find some of his known associates due to discussions with locals. Those associates can point him towards his residence and his ship. Eventually they will find out:

His ship was parked on Nar Shaddaa still. Clues: 1. None of his associates claim he is off-planet or ever left recently. 2. An associate of his goes to check on the ship. 3. No reports were made of his type of ship leaving or arriving in months.

He was being followed. Clues: 1. His associates act overly suspicious due to how he acted when he last saw them. 2. You are also being followed, after being tasked to find him and the package. 3. You find his corpse in his ship.

He was heading to (planetname). Clues: 1. A recording you find hidden in his house plays when you plug it into his astromech on his ship. 2. You slice into his personal (encrypted) files on his datapad to find a message sent to his love that he wouldn't be away long for (planetname) is close by. 3. Interrogate one of your stalkers to find out that they are trying to cover up that he did leave the planet.

Some ideas I have come up with for encounters is

1. Attempting to buy a ship from a local shipyard. Obviously this can go multiple ways depending on how they want to do this. They count attempt to charm/coerce/deceive the person selling the ship.

2. Asking that the hutt provide a ship. Unlikely the hutt will do so unless they impress him in some way (likely by a show of force, similar to Boussh [Leia] in Return of the Jedi).

3. Board a shuttle. This wouldn't necessarily be the best idea and could lead to more encounters. The shuttle may not even be going where they need to be. There could be issues with their "passports" being counterfeit, they could be wanted by someone, there could be a whole host of entanglements that come up. It's possible the shuttle can get boarded by pirates, shot down once the players get to the planet, leaves before the players can make it back in time.

4. Steal a ship (from the hutt, from the shipyard, from the men following them, maybe even from a player's family/friends). Either way this can get pretty hairy for the players. If they are stealthy enough, they could get away with it without anyone catching on at first. If they are not, they could be in for quite a fight and potentially have a bounty placed upon them due to their actions. If they are caught by any friends or family there will be some heated discussions that could also turn into combat.

5. A firefight inside the dead man's ship as soon as you get inside. The perpetrators were already inside, looking for evidence to destroy and are hiding until the right moment. This could cause some minor damage to the inside of the ship but nothing serious enough to prevent it from flying.

Some extra encounters I am considering:

1. The ship they take might be broken so they need to go somewhere else

2. The players could need proper credentials upon arrival at their destination, which would require tracking down either the actual owners and getting them (legally or illegally) or just buying stolen/fake credentials from some seedy contacts.

3. An Obligation from one of the players could work itself into the story.

4. Maybe the players need to acquire something other than just a ship before taking off.

5. The players, if choosing to take the ship from the dead man, would need to get the tracker removed unless they intentionally wanted to lure out the men involved in this conspiracy. (Ship likely has a less obvious tracker installed as well, one they wouldn't be able to remove at first due to missing it).

So... Is there enough encounters in it to make it last a good 2+ hours? Do I need to add in some of the extra encounters? What do you think of the story?

P.S. I plan to make this story last a few sessions before the characters return to the Hutt on Nar Shaddaa and all that. I'd love to plan a larger story after that but as of now I want to keep it to a few sessions per "adventure".

If it's Nar Shaddaa, always remember several things:

1 - Hutts are competitive with each other. If they're signed on with one Hutt, three others might each want to interfere in their own seperate ways (one might want to get in on whatever action is going on, another might want to spoil things out of spite, and the last might well want to muscle in and take over the job).

2 - Not all the criminals in the galaxy, even in Hutt space, are working for the Hutts. Independent gangs are rife, and prone to be territorial (and violent) or eager to attempt extortion by intimidation. If the PCs leave such a gang encounter with the NPCs dead or badly injured, remember that a lot of gangs are big, or have alliances with other groups.

3 - Both the dead pilot's love and his astromech could be significant NPCs, depending on how you handle them.

Also, I assume that the package is either aboard the dead guy's ship or already taken by associates of the stalker party who are staking out his ship. If the former, the PCs might get curious about what's in it - opening it up could be a great story hook. If the latter, then you've got a significant extra sequence, likely involving a chase and/or a base infiltration/assault.

I was planning on involving other Hutts to some degree. My first thoughts were to have these men working for another Hutt that did not want to reveal he was the one taking the other Hutt's property away. Having it as another gang instead would be wonderful, then I could introduce the second Hutt as still wanting the package but offering different rewards/pressures than the original Hutt.

The plan was to have the men show up multiple times throughout the campaign as they are there to cover up that their actions were against a powerful Hutt that could result in a gang war.

I like the third idea a ton. I should totally flesh out the droid and the love as full NPC's. I just need to figure out how the love is important to the story.

The package is most likely on the ship in a smuggling compartment and I had already had a few ideas as to what might be in it (having my PC's created first will aid me in what I decide to put in the boxes).

Sounds like the bones of a pretty good story. However, I would strongly caution against the 'escort' character. Integrating an NPC into a party just starting out is a recipe for the party and the GM treating them as a crutch for information transmission. What should the party do? Ask the NPC. Where should the party go? Ask the NPC. What are the consequences of this action? Ask the NPC. ad infinitium.

Encourage the party to make their own decisions and nudge them using encounters. If they're tarrying, have someone notice that they're being observed. If they're being overly aggressive, have some random passers by cringe away from them. Interact with the party using the world around them, rather than channeling it through a single POV.

Good points. I had been trying to figure out if I could change that. I'll just add in a line from the Hutt at the beginning telling them that if they don't focus on this job and get it done fast, he will know.

A random encounter at some point could be with one of his spies that are keeping an eye on the group.

Having thought about it, I know exactly what I can do with the dead guy's love. That character will have betrayed him to the gang that came after him after viewing the contents of the crates. She also may have taken some of it as well, adding to the plot if the group investigates her. Finding her and getting the other crate will impress the group's employer.

She won't be a very smart or skilled NPC but she will be a bit conniving.

As far as the droid goes, I have an idea or two. I don't necessarily want my group to get their own personal astromech right away so I might have to make it have an accident. It'll cost too much to get repaired and require a more mechanically inclined PC if they choose to repair it themselves.

You could always have the Astromech carry a Thermal Detonator it doesn't know about. It could be triggered by someone at an inconvenient time. Similar to what Bane did with his droid in the Clone Wars...

That's a good idea. I'm not sure if I want it to permanently be gone or just disabled enough to not function until a later time. Depends on how I write the NPC and depends on how much the characters like it.

Regarding the guide/escort guy, just have him get killed the first time the PCs try to abuse his presence. Sniper shot, Kyber dart, etc.

Additionally you can have the Hutt put them on a deadline; x number of days tends to work.

I've read more of the rulebook to have a basic understanding of how encounters are setup (took queues from the campaign at the end of the book). The first part of the story shifted away from searching for a ship as it was a huge distraction from the mystery at hand. The group will get their ship later on towards the end of this short campaign. I'm working on the first act or session and when it's finished I'll post it here.

Okay so this post is WAY too big to put here, so I'm going to just upload the file to google docs.

*boop*

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PdRtCrf7MHAgVQmc7F2RygZRhyYoPyVv710dmwarLts/edit?usp=sharing

Let me know what you think. I'm especially needing help with the encounters as I'm not sure if I have enough or if I've used enemies that are too tough.

I've edited it a little, changed some details to fit better but it's pretty much the same as above. Feedback is welcome.

First session was a major success. Got 2/3 through it and that took 3 & 1/2 hours. Good stuff.