Hey all! I'm a GM who loves to tell interesting stories with my players and create epic scenes that are exciting and action packed as the pulp movies that inspired this game.

Right now I am having my players on the trail of a long lost temple built by the Jedi into a canyon of some forgotten planet. Naturally the Empire, or at least a rogue faction of them are after the secrets this temple is said to hold.

My wish is to recreate a scene similar to the tank fight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I know exactly how the encounter should be set and what I need for it etc. The problem isn't the encounter itself more the reasons for the encounter. I need a logical reason why my PC's can't just board their ship, travel to this temple which is in a canyon through the desert, and not just land just outside the temple.

Any thoughts to how I could do this?

One idea I have is that the planet is inside a nebula and that causes ion storms, so ships that are airborne over this abandoned patch of planet with nothing to draw the ion strikes away would cause the ship to get struck by an ion pulse, but not sure if that's good storytelling or even convenient.

Plus it would be nice to have other reasons to fall back on if I need to do a similar circumstance again.

To add to the question, how do you guys encourage your PC's to take lodgings in the town, or city rather than just 'use the ship' which would be the default option for most groups. I don't mind them occasionally using the ship but I feel that characters may want more comfortable beds now and then, and it gives me an opportunity to introduce hooks and other plot elements away from the comfort of their home that can raise anchor at any moment and/or blast any threat away with their quad laser cannons.

I feel many groups exploit the ship as an armored hotel with a hyperdrive most of the time and want reasons to draw them away from this method of thinking.

EDIT: Additional question from post #5:

Okay, taking it a step further, what about people who abuse the game system within the ship. Most of the time I have people 'hanging out' in the gun turret just incase something bad happens...even when it is just a routine trip, to me that doesn't feel very Star Wars to me.

You don't have someone constantly manning the guns waiting for the poodo to hit the fan, you wait for the alert and then go sprinting for the ladder to the gun turrets.

Steal the ship.

Set up an ambush if they return to the ship.

Anti-air defenses.

And, of course, up the difficulty and relish in them getting a despair.

I get this a lot from my players, and I usually resort to terrain. There's no reason they should be able to land wherever they want, there has to be enough clear space, otherwise they risk damage to their ship. If they don't take the hint, I just make the piloting roll fairly severe and happily apply hull damage, strain, or even criticals depending on what they are attempting.

As for getting them out of the ship and into a hotel, you can introduce other issues in a lead-up session, e.g.: maybe during space combat the enemies get a critical, or a Triumph, and their food processor or refresher gets fried and causes terrible smells throughout the ship. If they don't go along with the narrative, have them roll Resilience to avoid Strain...or even Wounds, depending how severe you want to be.

Have the ship infested with vermin. The effort to remove them takes more than a day, so they will have to find lodgings until they can complete the job, or have specialized exterminators do it for them.

Perhaps something breaks aboard. Now the ship is full of engine fumes that cling to every surface and need cleaning. Perhaps on the airless world the ship has a broken atmospheric seal that would take an entire day to find.

Maybe the host/boss/questgiver has given them free lodgings at a space hotel and it would be impolite/debt-adding if they refused. Perhaps the quest requires them to be spending the night in the space hotel to protect/spy upon persons who are lodging there.

Maybe debters are after them with law enforcement behind them. They recognize the ship, but decide to squat and wait for the occupants when they return. The players see them first and have to get lodging until the debters go away. Or perhaps their ship has been impounded for whatever reasons (coincidentally or not), and the players have to find lodging until they can get their ship back.

Maybe they're forced to land in a swamp. Flip a destiny point to sink the spaceship.

Okay, taking it a step further, what about people who abuse the game system within the ship. Most of the time I have people 'hanging out' in the gun turret just incase something bad happens...even when it is just a routine trip, to me that doesn't feel very Star Wars to me.

You don't have someone constantly manning the guns waiting for the poodo to hit the fan, you wait for the alert and then go sprinting for the ladder to the gun turrets.

You could have them make a Discipline or Resilience check to avoid falling asleep from boredom, or to avoid taking Strain for the monotony. However, it might be worth taking a step back and asking why they feel the need to do that. Perhaps the way space combat is run, they feel that extra maneuver to get to the turret is extremely important, an opportunity wasted unless they are always ready. Are you making them scramble when conflict is imminent, and they lose rounds getting into position? If so, just giving them more lead time might wean them off that behaviour.

One factor might the sensor ranges in the game, which are extremely limiting. By RAW, you really won't know if somebody is on top of you until they start shooting. I prefer to house rule it: allow extra range with less detail, or the same detail at higher difficulty, maybe modified by Silhouette and other factors. Giant ships will show up on any sensor even at extreme range, but they won't necessarily be identifiable, other than "there's something big out there". Consider allowing smaller ships to register as unknown "blips" out to a certain range.

Just some thoughts...

Weather. Just throw a sandstorm or something and say that trying to fly in this weather would damage their ship and get them lost. Maybe some overzealous customs officer demands that the PCs land their ship for thorough examinations after their scanners detected something aboard (more fun if the PCs DO actually have something aboard)

Upgrade the check now and again. If you get a despair or enough threat, module Y on the gun turret burns out and the weapon becomes useless or jammed in the current position (if a turret, which then you upgrade pilot difficulty to try getting the turret aimed in the right direction).

If they're flying an old ship you can spring this on them anytime for the ship to break down in some way, and now the players are forced to rely on outside help to get parts. Someone might not want to sell it to them at reasonable prices... and if the players have to rob the parts supplier, there's some more obligation because supplier calls upon other clients for bounties (or steal parts from the ship to make up for the 'difference').

There's a military protocol, Stand To, in which the position is put on alert and everyone gets to stations in anticipation of the possibility of attack. It sounds like the PCs are just following this protocol whenever they thing combat to be possible or likely (a perfectly reasonable and valid tactic).

That said, if someone is literally living in the gun turret instead of manning it when action is likely, resilience and vigilance checks are the order of the day. There's a reason gunnery positions aren't usually manned 24/7. They're utilitarian, sparse and cramped out of necessity. During normal transit, unless the PC is a droid, it would be beyond odd for a player to be sitting in a gunnery position in anticipation of an attack. Heck, even the pilot and co-pilot's chairs are normally vacant on anything other than a military capital ship that operates on a watch schedule.

If you had their strain threshold reduced by two for staying uncomfortably at battle stations, it would be more expedient to spend these two strain for an extra manoeuvre in the first combat round.

Okay, taking it a step further, what about people who abuse the game system within the ship. Most of the time I have people 'hanging out' in the gun turret just incase something bad happens...even when it is just a routine trip, to me that doesn't feel very Star Wars to me.

You don't have someone constantly manning the guns waiting for the poodo to hit the fan, you wait for the alert and then go sprinting for the ladder to the gun turrets.

Unless there is a good in game reason for them to do this you just say 'no, you dont do that'.

Mind you, this is in the case where they are abusing the system. If they were a gunnery droid before becoming an adventurer, then I wouldnt have a problem with it. If they are playing a poliico who doesnt even carry a blaster then I would tell them the Wheaton Rule applies and they arent in the turret. If they still push the issue, I would flat out tell them that they will never be in the turret when trouble starts.

The flip side of this is that the GM also doesnt get to cripple the ship before the players have a chance to respond. If every time the ship gets attacked it is crippled before the players can even get to the guns, then it is the GM who has a problem, not the player.

• Terrain or circumstances work for this just fine. You can't always have the ship at hand.
• Some lost temple. Maybe the only open area to land is a couple km away.
• Want to hover the ship. Maybe all the action takes place in the temple thus leaving whoever is in the ship missing such action.
• Still hovering. You'll make a great target for the enemy.
• Some planets have designated areas where you must park your ship. Obvious examples are urban areas.
• Maybe the ship did incur some damage that needs to be repaired before escaping.
• And so on.

I don't like the idea of punishing players and their characters for their actions as there are many ways to show them alternatives. A ship damaged in the course of adventure? Fine. But I won't do that to railroad them. Or call for checks just to teach them a lesson.

It can be tough to justify why planetary speeders are useful while the starship is impaired, at least on lawless (uninhabited) worlds.

For landing the ship, environmental factors are usually the standard issue.

Too hot/too cold? Beyond the designated landing zones, both elemental extremes would damage the ship over time. On more rural planets; the landscape simply mightn't find too many suitable spots to land, limiting the number of avenues unless they want to face the full wrath of the environment. Lava, brittle ice, brutal elements; that kind of deal that doesn't make landing impossible, but really understandable narratively if they want to keep it simple

Likewise, landing away from a key port on a more habitable planet may expose the ships to opportunist and other scum that might have made a home on planet; sure a player can be kept on watch, but that doesn't mean that the player can't be surprised and taken hostage. Also it would keep them out of the action meaning no exp e.c.t. No one likes the lazy pilot that never leaves the ship. Often even the most shady port has a reputation to maintain, thus would aquidtily protect the ship unless their backers took a particular disliking to its crew.

Alternatively a buyer/seller/trader might have a more perniment base that they absolutely do not want exposing to the empire/business rivals. Thus would demand that you use the correct channels for getting in contact, either hiring or arriving on your own speeder to a particular destination, only to be blindfolded and taken to another. Another alternative is that the players are flying into what is effectively a war zone (not necessarily between the empire and rebel cells, but in wild lands and any Arial objects would be seen as a possible threat, a speeder could slip under the radar. A lot of lawless people will have taken the possibility

Same with any sensitive raids; a ship landing mere meters from a base is a red flag, an orange flag for a couple of KM away, and probably ignored if 10km or further. We see it on Endor when the rebels land some way away from the shield generator. Of course this could be bypassed with a epic roll/deception check, just usually bases don't take kindly to uninvited guests so make them work for that front door entry.

As for living on their ship? Make it so the planetary contact requires them very close to hand during a particular transaction or a more long term job where time is a issue. Going back to the ship might add a couple of hours of time to a days journey compared to booking into the hotel. Also remind your players that they are not murder hobo's and, country to common belief, social flaws such as gambling and spending money in a swanky hotel shouldn't be frowned upon. If a character has done something they have considered enjoyable and relaxing I would probably add a boost dice to all checks for a period afterwards to represent how the time of relaxation has made all that hard work pay off. My character went on a very nice meal once with a good buddy on the jewel of yavin quest-line, that allowed them to talk a bit about their backgrounds as they took their mind off task for a hour to recharge their batteries. Use this hobby time as the time to run into new characters that may or may not have something to offer and spending a little time to mingle can allow a ship bound smuggler to get his finger on the heartbeat of the city. Breathe some life into parties of common archtypes.

For the ship questions: Simply tell them they cannot land with a ship in that canyon because it is too narrow. Also flying a starship in the not the most discret way of traveling on a planet.

For the armored hotel problem: If your players want to sleep in their starship, dont see it as a problem as long as you remind them they still need to land sometimes to resupply.Plus I dont know for you but my game hooks happen in cities, not in the wild, so my players almost end up in civilised area in their downtime.

As for the player always staying behind: Do nothng with that player for most of the session. After a couple of session spending 1 hour doing nothing while the group is having fun in the adventure you planned, maybe the players will lower their guards and stop doing it.

You could also discuss with your players, outside of the game, about what you dont like about their way of playing. If they insist of playing like that and you dont like it, then stop the game.

If they are following some map to a location, why not just have the landmarks not visible from the air?

Something like needing to follow dozens of secluded statues of a specific Jedi Master. The planet in question is covered in statues, so if your not on the ground looking at them there's no way to tell the statue of Master Bingting from Master Ononononono.

Okay, taking it a step further, what about people who abuse the game system within the ship. Most of the time I have people 'hanging out' in the gun turret just incase something bad happens...even when it is just a routine trip, to me that doesn't feel very Star Wars to me.

You don't have someone constantly manning the guns waiting for the poodo to hit the fan, you wait for the alert and then go sprinting for the ladder to the gun turrets.

This one sounds like a case of players who are worried about "you got ambushed, you're out of position, the bad guys get N rounds of free shots while you're scrambling into place" scenarios or who have actually endured them, perhaps routinely. If so, it can be solved by making it clear that this sort of thing won't ever happen - it's a house rule that if the ship is attacked, they ALWAYS get to battlestations in time to deal with it and the opposition never gets any edge on them as a result. And you then stick to that, no matter what the "rant rant realism" crowd might say.

Okay, taking it a step further, what about people who abuse the game system within the ship. Most of the time I have people 'hanging out' in the gun turret just incase something bad happens...even when it is just a routine trip, to me that doesn't feel very Star Wars to me.

You don't have someone constantly manning the guns waiting for the poodo to hit the fan, you wait for the alert and then go sprinting for the ladder to the gun turrets.

This one sounds like a case of players who are worried about "you got ambushed, you're out of position, the bad guys get N rounds of free shots while you're scrambling into place" scenarios or who have actually endured them, perhaps routinely. If so, it can be solved by making it clear that this sort of thing won't ever happen - it's a house rule that if the ship is attacked, they ALWAYS get to battlestations in time to deal with it and the opposition never gets any edge on them as a result. And you then stick to that, no matter what the "rant rant realism" crowd might say.

"We are approaching the planet, coming out of hyper space... Sithspawn! Sensors have picked up multiple small fighter scrambling toward our position! I'll try 'n' hail them 'n' see what they want, best get on the turrets incase, we hav' a few minutes."

Basically, unless it is actually a well planned ambush (in an asteroid field, the kind of environment where the PC's would be wise to keep a eye out) then usually they have some warning that craft are coming. In hyperspace, no one should be expecting any danger. Which makes that time when an interdictor pulls the craft out of space that much more significant.

Yeah, in all my experiences of GMing this game, I've never given an enemy a free shot at a ship without the chance for them to retaliate, so I have no idea where this living in the gun turret mentality has come from.

Space Port Regulations: I suppose you're not allowed to have your engines running all the time in a car park, or stay overnight in your camper.

or stay overnight in your camper.

Unless you're at a Space-mart. They allow camping overnight in their spaceship lot.

I've used terrain such as deep forest in the past to get players away from their ship. Alternatively, to solve multiple problems in one go, have a planet that prohibits ships form entering the atmosphere without a special liscence and everyone else (including the PCs of course) must dock at the station and take a shuttle down to the surface. If their mission is multi-day they will need to find accomodation on-planet and if they move around they will need local transport.

Probably already said, haven't read all of the above posts, but just in case:

To make the removal of the ship less GM fiat and more seemingly part of the story, have the bad guys disable the ship. It could be shot down or damaged enough to force a landing as they head towards the desert valley due to an attack by enemy starfighters or air defenses. Thus it appears coincidental that they weren't allowed to just fly to the temple. Their ship could also be grounded at the local starport after bad guys sabotaged it. Ship too protected by PCs to be sabotaged? The bad guys bribed or ordered the local authorities to issue a 24 hour grounding of the ship. No local starport on the target planet? Have this happen at their last port of call before getting to the forgotten planet. Their ship is grounded for a week waiting on the parts or clearance so they must pay for a ride from a local freighter to keep up with the bad guys. Upon arrival at the temple planet, the freighter's captain says he isn't setting down anywhere near the temple.

Riding in the gun pit would of course lead to a large amount of strain as the battle starts, and/or setback for the entire encounter due to poor rest.

Why don't my players park their starships right next to the base/temple/wilderness that they are entering?

Because once, long, long ago, in an entirely different Star Wars campaign, the bad guys showed up with their own ship and blasted the PC's landed, powered down, completely vulnerable ship to dust... speeder, trove of blaster rifles, medical droid, and mechanic character who stayed behind the guard the ship included. (that guy wanted to make a new character, but nobody remembers that part for some reason).

I do still have the issue of them staying in their ship while in dock from time to time. The best advice I can give you on this is to make "town" awesome and rewarding. PC have a Presence higher than 1? Have them get hit on by an attractive member of the opposite sex, just looking for a hook up with a 'spacer'. Do not let that embroil them into gangland warfare, let it be what it will be and drop it. Let them get a really good meal at a local restaurant, then give them +1 Brawn for the next 24 hours. Let them catch the pickpocket before they lose their credits. Challenge each other to eat spicy food. Drinking contests that don't end with drugged unconsciousness. One of my PCs still brings up the time he bought the crew some local drinks only to tell them later they were effectively made from the insectoid resident's "secretions". Have bounty hunters show up blasting and when the PCs defeat them, have the town locals treat them as heroes because the bounty hunters have been strongarming the town. Have their client meet them at a brothel. However, resist the urge to turn every pretty face into some agent of evil, that's what makes D&D parties instant wary of any beautiful woman. Effectively, give them a reason to leave the ship.

I'm more of a carrot guy than a stick, but you could also impose setbacks on people who do nothing but stay on the ship, like mechanic characters who spend ALL their time doing repairs or modifications. Say the ship is getting to them or something. Send 4 unscrupulous Port Authority agents in a row, all asking for 100 credits to not run the tags too carefully during their shift. If the character doesn't answer the door when they knock, have them loudly claim that if nobody answers then this ship is going 1st on the customs inspection report, especially since now they're mad that their friend got paid but they aren't.

Specifically to the situation you have posed. Perhaps the empire knows the general location of the temple but not specifically where it is. They have a sensor grid set up to monitor any incoming ships and in order to not lead the empire directly to the temple the crew needs to land outside of the grid and move in on foot.