I am running a campaign with Force and Destiny characters in the Rebellion. They were on a Old Republic station in low orbit above Bespin. They discovered a Kyber crystal in a generator powering the engine on the station but due to threat they cannot determine what it is powering. The commanding officer told one of our Jedi characters, Derit, to not remove that crystal. After valiantly vanquishing their foes and being heroic, Dariet grabbed the crystal and the station started to fall almost resulting in the death of the commander. So, what would be the proper military punishment for his actions? I'm thinking at least cut pay and probably brig time.

http://www.youngcons.com/20-military-punishments-that-are-horrifying-but-absolutely-genius/

Aside from those amusing stories. I would simply have the commander take the crystal. He can have it back after he learns to follow orders.

You came up with what to me is a hard question to answer as it the situation isn't exactly cut and dry, heroic, but almost killed a team member. During peace time I would say a lengthy stay in the brig would be the way to go, but that's because the heroism wouldn't be there. During a fight, well that would be different, what would reasons be that the character pulled the crystal? Could questioning during during a tribunal/court martial justify the removal? There are a lot of questions about why the main protagonist in the Rouge 1 trailer would be brought into the rebellion if she kept breaking laws, well my view of her is that she broke those laws after she joined, and Monmotha and the powers that be decide that she is just right for a Suicide Squad/Dirty Dozen type thing to redeem herself, and this type of scenario would be perfect for a campaign hook for your PCs. For his/her punishment have her become the goto person for impossible missions, and his friends are going to be punished for allowing him to do what he wasn't supposed to. The possibilities would be endless. Now if he doesn't like said character, then by all means, lock him up and roll another character.

Firstly I think they're going to reveal Jyn is a member of Saw's rebel outfit and given their extremist tendencies that might be the reason she's up on charges and not just for disobeying orders!

In regards to the poster's opening remark did the commander reveal why they shouldn't touch the crystal?

Yes the Commander can put them up on charges especially as they need a darn good reason to remove that crystal in the first place something they haven't explained above!

However the worst thing the Rebel group can do is expel the force & destiny characters essentially blacklisting them with any other cell they have contact with, imprisoning them merely takes up too much of their resources when they're a major threat should the Empire find out about them we are talking about a group that threatened an otherwise peaceful planet full of scholars forcing a single Jedi to step out and be glassed by an orbiting star destroyer so your players really should know better!

Yes that's now Legends but its still relevant!

Disobeying orders is typically dealt with harshly, more so if in times of conflict, and more so again if doing so results in destruction of property, harm, or death. The military runs on discipline... the purpose of drill is to remove fear (where drill means, in this case, an automatic compliant response to a verbal order like "Charge!"). Add in dereliction of duty, imperiling civilians, imperilling other servicemembers, etc. It could be pretty bad... dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of rank, pay, & privileges, even incarceration.

Personally, I'd play it out in-game with a military inquest or tribunal. He and his friends can testify on his behalf, offering up examples on all the good things he did as mitigating circumstances. The prosecution will focus on all of the laws he broke and danger & damage he inflicted. Assign Boost & Setback dice for good role-playing, then have each side roll to convince the judge(s). Make yourself a little chart ahead of time for possible outcomes, watch A Few Good Men as a primer & have fun.

Problem might be, much of the Rebellion ISN'T a real military, even if some of its high-ranking people do have military experience, while the Empire is a militaristic state. Thus, dragging "bad apples" out in front of the Rebellion's leaders, for a "military tribunal" might be attempted, but I feel many people wouldn't feel like it amounted to something, as if the Empire did it, and the Rebels won't likely punish you, too harshly; they can't afford to, either because you might know stuff, and tell the Empire, in a fit of emotion (once a turncoat, always a turncoat?), and/or because they can't afford to lose people, or look bad, to whom they have. Lastly, they probably won't kill you, either, as then they'd look like the Empire, even if justified.

Of course, I'm not trying to say that the Rebellion is nothing but chaos, or that it can't attempt to police itself, but it often seems a lot more informal than a real government, such as the Galactic Empire, and when they often take up all kinds, to fight their war, they can't be too harsh when they get what they paid for. As they are not a proper military, I suspect they won't get a proper military punishment. Honestly, as I think about it, I am finding it hard to decide. If they lose access to resources, then the Rebellion is mostly hurting itself, by compromising its people, who don't HAVE to do this (they CHOOSE to fight), and they aren't too likely to "get sent on a suicide mission", or some such. My guess, a stiff reprimand, maybe some jail time, and assignment to less critical duties, so they have time to realize what they did is wrong, and nothing says Derit wasn't immediately apologetic, but some time to dwell on how significant an impact one single event, one moment of greed, and lapse in judgment, can have, before going back out, and trying to redeem himself, in his own eyes. If he isn't so put off by what he did, then hopefully someone else, PC, or NPC, will try to have a positive impact on him.

The thing is, if there's evidence (or if the commanding officer wants to bring charges to assert) that the character is a danger to his entire unit, then arguably having him there is worse than not having him at all. And they might look worse to their people if they fail to punish someone who puts the lives of their fellow soldiers at risk negligently and in contravention of orders. Would you want to be in the same unit as someone who almost got his comrades crushed in a gravity well over a shiny stone? Failure to discipline doesn't just result in a breakdown of military order, it is also terrible for morale.

As for the concern about how much they know, there's plenty the Rebellion can do about that. They can incarcerate you until whatever intelligence info your character has is no longer current and thus no longer actionable. Or, after making appropriate adjustments to their plans, they might set you loose hoping that you'll go to the Empire and unwittingly deliver disinformation that may provoke the Imperials into a disastrous action. Alternately, they stick you behind a desk where you can push papers around for the Rebellion and someone can keep an eye on you while they give the sensitive missions to someone more reliable.

I would vote for the court martial. If the player characters can demonstrate that this is not part of a pattern of insubordination, then the Rebel leadership can deliver a slap on the wrist for disobeying orders while making it clear that they are not turning a blind eye towards reckless behavior.

Serious question: Do you really want a proper punishment that might derail an AoR campaign, or a cinematic one that keeps the campaign moving along?

Serious question: Do you really want a proper punishment that might derail an AoR campaign, or a cinematic one that keeps the campaign moving along?

I would go for a Court Martial, but almost any result should keep the character well within the campaign. If his defense succeeds, he is issued a stern warning, maybe takes a small Duty reduction if he has some Threat. If he fails, he might be considered a loose cannon and transferred to Igor's Irregulars, a group of misfit underdogs that take the kinds of jobs High Command doesn't want to think about.

Serious question: Do you really want a proper punishment that might derail an AoR campaign, or a cinematic one that keeps the campaign moving along?

With the group dynamic we are very open to the free form campaign style. We have had more than one campaign derailed that ended better than it began.

OK then. You want something realistic, here we go.

The Alliance can't afford to cut the guy loose since he 'knows stuff', it can't waste resources with imprisoning people, and it won't go for the death penalty. The most likely solution is to give the guy a 'working exile' by sidelining him to some low-key assignment on the rump-end of the galaxy where the character is unlikely to ever have contact with further sensitive information. After a time, the secrets he knows will have aged to become unimportant, and then the Alliance can separate him amicably.

Best case scenario I think Dariet would be assigned to a dirty dozen type unit. Either that or kept in the brig for a few months then dishonorably discharged.

Worst case he's either executed or spends a few decades in the brig.

If the results had been less catastrophic the Alliance might have let him slide but he committed an act of mutiny that resulted in the death of his CO and no military or para-military group with remotely competent leadership would fail to hammer him for that.

If you're using the Morality system, I hope he acquired a large of amount conflict points for his actions. If not, that's fine. Either way, his actions had nearly fatal and catastrophic consequences. I'm surprised the Commander didn't attempt to shoot him on the spot (that would have made for some fantastic roleplaying). The punishment should fit the era your campaign is in. In ANH the Rebellion was a various collection of cells that had little to no centralized leadership. In ESB, the Rebellion is pretty much a military organization at this point. In RotJ, you probably have the makings of a fledgling, but not yet official, government as more and more systems have joined.

ANH: Probably kicked out, messages sent to other cells to warn them of this character. Perhaps even calling the Imperials on him.
ESB: Court-martial for sure. Execution at the extreme. Suicide missions would be preferable since any damage done to the Empire benefits them and turns a portion of the Empire's attention to that character.

RotJ: Court-martial for sure. the character becomes a public pariah, especially if the Commander or others on the station are politically connected.

In short, it really depends on the direction you want to take things. Any of the scenarios above could lead to interesting and fun moments. Any other scenario you think of could also lead to fun moments. Talk with the player who controls the PC mentioned and ask where they see things going, what they think should happen, etc.

http://www.youngcons.com/20-military-punishments-that-are-horrifying-but-absolutely-genius/

Aside from those amusing stories. I would simply have the commander take the crystal. He can have it back after he learns to follow orders.

But Bruce Willis isnt dead. . . is he?

It can depend on the nature of the character himself, as well as where he fits in the chain of command.

If he's an actual soldier, the punishment will likely be by the book and potentially severe. If he's a more irregular ally, which a Jedi would probably count as, it might get reduced or be of a different nature. A flogging, a year of latrine duty, etc... For the exact situation you describe, I could see flogging, brig time, and cut pay. He's obviously too valuable of a soldier to get rid of, and most of the Rebellion probably doesn't execute their soldiers for incompetence, but behavior like that can't be tolerated. A court martial would be a given regardless, could be an interesting roleplay opportunity too. Can you sweet talk yourselves into a more lenient sentence.

If the character was just an independent contract of sorts who just happens to be tagging along with the Rebellion, then there wouldn't be much you could do other than cease employing them.

I thoroughly enjoy that movie.

I'm not sure the main command of the Rebel Alliance would support corporal punishment, but I'm sure there are a few components of that Alliance that do.