If you want to intervene, then delay doing so a bit. Have them taken prisoner. Have them held on the ISD and have it report that they suspect they might be Force-users. Have the Inquisition request they be transported to Prison Location X where the Inquisitor will see them. The ISD has it's own mission, so they are sent on a Shuttle. Unknown to the Imperials, a Rebel spy aboard the ISD has sent word out that a party of "maybe Jedi" has been found, and the Rebels plan to intercept the shuttle before it can deliver the prisoners to the Inquisition...

All of the above is narrated at the beginning of your next session in the "opening crawl" and now play begins as the Rebels ambush the shuttle.

19 minutes ago, HappyDaze said:

If you want to intervene, then delay doing so a bit. Have them taken prisoner. Have them held on the ISD and have it report that they suspect they might be Force-users. Have the Inquisition request they be transported to Prison Location X where the Inquisitor will see them. The ISD has it's own mission, so they are sent on a Shuttle. Unknown to the Imperials, a Rebel spy aboard the ISD has sent word out that a party of "maybe Jedi" has been found, and the Rebels plan to intercept the shuttle before it can deliver the prisoners to the Inquisition...

All of the above is narrated at the beginning of your next session in the "opening crawl" and now play begins as the Rebels ambush the shuttle.

My only concern would be - is their main complaint having to do the prison break or railroading? If it's the former, that would be perfect. If it's the later... that might feel like there's been more events they can't influence. By going with a rogue Imperial or similar idea, they get put back in control immediately even if only to say "nah, l8ers".

3 minutes ago, Dunefarble said:

My only concern would be - is their main complaint having to do the prison break or railroading? If it's the former, that would be perfect. If it's the later... that might feel like there's been more events they can't influence. By going with a rogue Imperial or similar idea, they get put back in control immediately even if only to say "nah, l8ers".

Yeah, in this case it sounds more like the second instance...they want to be able to influence the decision of their characters and not be forced to do things they don't want to do if they can help it.

You could always try a different tack. The players are taken prisoner, with only cursory inspection of their gear. The Star Destroyer is commanded by an ISB agent, who offers them a choice. Do a mission for me (off Imperial books of course), or rot in jail as rebels. The mission can be distasteful, and probably enforced with remote explosives/timed lethal injectables/other loyalty ensuring methods.

20 hours ago, awayputurwpn said:

I don't have the context to understand fully as to the exact nature of the direction that your collective narrative took, but presumably it is reasonable for there to be a Star Destroyer. If that is the case, then the Empire obviously felt like there was something worth protecting on the planet. It could be that the Rebellion is after the same thing the PCs were after on that planet? Or maybe they have an agent hidden aboard that very Lambda class shuttle, a Defel who has been tracking the PCs' movements. If the players felt railroaded, they might not mind some deus ex machina. Just play it off like you wanted to have a big space battle scene.

- Mini rant following that might help for some perspective, because I have been in a situation like the one I'm describing below... -

As a GM and player, I dislike traps that in hindsight were obvious and should've been looked-for, but I (as a player) didn't think to check for them, whereas my character should have at least had an inkling. That is where things like Vigilance come in, or clarifying questions. Otherwise it can feel like a GM "Gotcha!"

As example, would you penalize players for not saying, "I make sure to put down the landing gear when I land" by ruling that the pilot PC forgot to put down the landing gear? There are some things that PCs should just automatically think of, like eating and drinking. "Gotcha! You haven't mentioned yourself drinking anything in 2 days; you are now dehydrated and require immediate medical attention." Unless the players have a reason to expect this sort of behavior from a GM, they might indeed feel railroaded without some sort of hints: "You start to feel thirsty, and can't remember the last time you had a drink of water."

Case in point: as a "punishment" for the players not expressly stating "I check the sensors," not only did the Star Destroyer see them, but they had no chance to even do anything before it had a tractor beam on them. That smacks of railroading. Is there a good reason in-game that the PCs wouldn't be looking at their sensors while doing all sorts of other pre-flight check ups? Or that they wouldn't at least have a moment to respond before they were locked in? Even a general sense of foreboding/warning, like Han Solo approaching the Death Star?

Or was the situation the result of a skill check? If the players rolled a skill check, then yeah it should be totally fine and they should accept the consequences.

Well said. This was a perfect chance for Vigilance. And if the GM wants to make it difficult flip a Destiny Point to upgrade the difficulty and load up the dice pool with Setback (due to their being distracted with injuries, the Star Destroyer was trying to hide or whatever makes sense in the setup).

Deus Ex Machina:

The cold realization of dread falls over you as your ship is inexorably drawn to the open maw of the Star Destroyer's hanger bay.

Suddenly the world flashes with a green staccato as it seems like half of the Destroyers turbo blasters lash out in anger. Because they are!

"Oh my goodness!" the pilot blurts out, "Incoming torpedoes."

What's going on? Are we being targeted?

Before anyone can answer, the torpedoes streak in from outer orbit pummeling the Destroyer and you watch as explosions bloom along the surface of the Star Destroyer.

The shuttle is rocked gently by shock waves (shh) and the shuttle drifts slightly off course.

"The tractor lock is broken!" the pilot blurts out. "What do I do?"

Hope this helps.

On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 1:56 PM, awayputurwpn said:

As a GM and player, I dislike traps that in hindsight were obvious and should've been looked-for, but I (as a player) didn't think to check for them, whereas my character should have at least had an inkling. That is where things like Vigilance come in, or clarifying questions. Otherwise it can feel like a GM "Gotcha!"

This is what I think it comes down to. The players should have been given a heads up or at least a chance to know the Star Destroyer was in orbit. Then, if they just tried to fly right past it anyway and got caught, it's on them. But, having you say, hey there's a Star Destroyer and you (player) didn't tell me your PC checked for it, it's already too late you're prisoners. That's a bit much.

GM: You arrive at Alderaan. There is debris everywhere. The world is gone. Suddenly a tractor beam starts pulling you into the massive space station nearby. It's too late to react; it's too strong. You get pulled into the docking bay.

Player: Wait, what?! We had no chance to do anything?

versus

GM: You arrive at Alderaan. There is debris everywhere. The planet isn't where it is supposed to be...

Player1: It's been blown away!

GM: There's a large object, possibly a moon, nearby.

Player2: Fly towards it.

Player 1: Should we land on it?

GM: Well, since you flew straight towards the object after I said it was " possibly a moon", suddenly you realize it isn't, as it locks onto you with a tractor beam.

Player2: Crap we should have scanned it first.

I was a player in a campaign as a teenager where the referee took delight at taking anything the PLAYER said as literal for the CHARACTER. One time we found a well in a dungeon. I had a 50' rope. So, I said I take it out and toss it down the well. He responded by saying the rope was now at the bottom of the well, taking my words as literal, not interpreting what was actually meant. It PO'd me enough that I still remember the idiocy of it decades later. Don't do that to your players.

I would let them rest in their cells. Nothing wrong with that. Free ride in the bus, they can rest there and either free themselves or get rescued later.

Besides, having the star destroyer be a captured rebel one is actually a good idea to resolve the issue completely. Neither side would be able to tell from just looking at each other as both are using stolen ships. Perfect start into something else after some rest. Though escaping a tractor beam with a good piloting check is always an option.

If PLAYERS act paranoid and refuse to take risks with imaginary people they're not suspending belief, thus they're not playing the game. I've had players say "You keep doing this to us!" Doing what, challenging you? Step up!

If the PCs are heroes, then they need to be doing heroic things, if they're rebels they need to rebel, if they're punk smugglers then they need to smuggle stuff, but if the PLAYERS are being paranoid then you need to be playing Paranoia, not Star Wars: The Phantom Paranoia.

21 minutes ago, Alekzanter said:

If PLAYERS act paranoid and refuse to take risks with imaginary people they're not suspending belief, thus they're not playing the game. I've had players say "You keep doing this to us!" Doing what, challenging you? Step up!

If the PCs are heroes, then they need to be doing heroic things, if they're rebels they need to rebel, if they're punk smugglers then they need to smuggle stuff, but if the PLAYERS are being paranoid then you need to be playing Paranoia, not Star Wars: The Phantom Paranoia.

There's a fine line to walk there, though.

If the players go the Big **** Hero route, and the GM throws everything plus the kitchen sink at them, in a manner that instills paranoia in them, then it almost becomes natural for the players to overthink everything they're doing. I've been on the player side of that. Group hatching an "It's crazy, but it just might work" plan, but based on previous escapades, going over with one another every possibility for a "gotcha" (both in and out of character) because we'd grown to always expect a "gotcha." (Too careful/paranoid? Inaction brings the enemy on you. Gotcha! Dive in heroically? Look at all of the odds stacked against you. Gotcha!)

In my own games, I've found that FaD-style campaigns tend to promote the paranoia somewhat more than EotE games. My AoR games have had somewhat less of the paranoia, which is odd considering that the players are often playing undercover Rebels and have good reasons to be paranoid.

7 minutes ago, HappyDaze said:

In my own games, I've found that FaD-style campaigns tend to promote the paranoia somewhat more than EotE games. My AoR games have had somewhat less of the paranoia, which is odd considering that the players are often playing undercover Rebels and have good reasons to be paranoid.

Strength in numbers, it helps to have an base and a fleet to retreat, especially as all players are aware that the alliance to restore the republic is not getting wiped out for the next 35 years or so, and most time it even looks like they would be winning … until Hosnian Prime gets blown up at least. ;-)
Meanwhile the great jedi purge is quite successful in wiping out jedi and other force sensitives across the galaxy. So the expectations are rather different.

14 minutes ago, SEApocalypse said:

Strength in numbers, it helps to have an base and a fleet to retreat, especially as all players are aware that the alliance to restore the republic is not getting wiped out for the next 35 years or so, and most time it even looks like they would be winning … until Hosnian Prime gets blown up at least. ;-)
Meanwhile the great jedi purge is quite successful in wiping out jedi and other force sensitives across the galaxy. So the expectations are rather different.

No, that's not it at all. My AoR game started in the aftermath of Endor...which saw the decapitation of both the Imperial and Rebel forces. The Imperials are trying to get back to some semblance of order, and the Rebels are scattered and leaderless. The galaxy is now in chaos, and the canon is nowhere to be found.

TFA is trash that I would never think to inflict upon my players.

Even your canon has strength in numbers for the rebel players, while the force users are far and few between, with the far more dangerous adversaries on top. The rebels and imps have whole plants which support them. The force users are witches to burn or admire everywhere. ;-)

Though, it could be something totally different, as you said, its not the case for your group, so maybe they just feel more hunted or like persons of interests for the empire or you just send meaner threats against them when they play force users. Plenty of other options too.

Is there a decent face character on board? Allow him/her to persuade (charm/deceive) their way out of tractor beam, if PCs can came up with even half decent explanation about situtation and makes the roll opposed so appropriate discipline check (ships commander if you want them to get caught, tractorbeam/comm operator if you want to give them easier time). Just remember not every memorable encounter is eventually hard. My PCs loved it when they managed to espace imperial customs inspection with deceive. "When you interrupted our hyperspace travelling and pulled us out of hyperspace our controls jammed and we cannot stop because of. Please don't shoot us, we are not running away, we are trying to stop so you can inspect us."

Kinda still off topic, but "It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you."

As others have said, pacing matters. Fun prevails over GM prerogative, and here it looks like your Act III had already come to its natural conclusion.

That said : you want deus ex machina? ISD jumps fron planet. Convince the players to disembark or be boarded peacefully. A memorably looking inquisitor-type or Navy admiral (you choose the side) oversees the examination of Jedi booty, then asks, "Is this all of it?" When the affirmative comes out, he/she says, "Then you may go. Do not speak of this." And the party's free to leave. With their stuff. Instant intrigue.

Once again, thank you everyone for all of the input and points of view...I really value the info I get from everyone on here! I think I found some good "next steps" that will return player agency, keep the suspense high, and give them multiple options to move forward...

I decided against retconning the tractor beam issue, I will explain my reasoning to them as to why I rolled it secretly, but since it has already happened I will move forward with the story. Once they are pulled inside the hangar bay I will give them the chance to hide or prepare for battle as a boarding party comes on board to arrest them. If a fight ensues, I will allow that to play through...however this is where the Deus Ex Machina comes in...I will bring in the Rebel ships and have them immediately open fire on the ISD and launch their fighters, thus causing chaos to ensue.

Now the group must decide to flee, help the rebellion, or press on and try to defeat the Imps from inside the ISD...or whatever other crazy idea they have! I know that leaves me with multiple options for stories, but I figured I would sandbox & improvise this one a bit more and let them decide where they want to go instead of forcing them into prison. That could still happen if they get overwhelmed, but at least now they have a choice in the matter and a chance to recover from player fatigue.

I would avoid Deus Ex Machina or making the situation easier. If the players are already fatigued and irritated, these types of solutions tend to feel forced and unsatisfying. Explaining your reasoning is a good idea, but then you could give them the option of simply narrating their escape with no dice rolls. This keeps them engaged in the action while giving them the opportunity to escape using their imaginations instead of slogging through it. Then you can start the session with them recuperating at home base.

Or, they may decide to step up and actually role-play their escape. You can then encourage them to use their Triumphs/Destiny Pool to bring in the elements that would seem like Deus Ex Machina otherwise, like bringing in the Rebel Fleet, having the tractor beam fail, having the ISD captain be sympathetic or apathetic, having a rebel sympathizer on board, having the search party be completely, incompetently unfamiliar with jedi trappings, or any other idea brought up in this forum. The difference is that you are suggesting these ideas to the players, but they are taking the actions.

Ender07,

I like where you're thinking and I think you've got a good plan in place.

This was also a fun topic to follow and read. Thanks everyone!

as I read this, my first thought is (be happy your group isn't like this) what would it take to STEAL the Star Destroyer. My girlfriend, who also runs games, pointed out that player ingenuity comes out when they're forced to think for themselves.

Any of your PCs good at deception/charm/coercion/misdirect/influence?

1 minute ago, ASCI Blue said:

as I read this, my first thought is (be happy your group isn't like this) what would it take to STEAL the Star Destroyer. My girlfriend, who also runs games, pointed out that player ingenuity comes out when they're forced to think for themselves.

Any of your PCs good at deception/charm/coercion/misdirect/influence?

Oh believe me, that would be on their minds. However I did remind them that there are upwards of 45,000-50,000 people on board an ISD at any given time and about 10,000 of those are stormtroopers...I am slightly worried that if they choose to try and take it over that one of the PC's who has high charm & discipline will use Force Influence and try and have the Captain voluntarily give the ship to them. We shall see what happens though...

1 minute ago, Ender07 said:

Oh believe me, that would be on their minds. However I did remind them that there are upwards of 45,000-50,000 people on board an ISD at any given time and about 10,000 of those are stormtroopers...I am slightly worried that if they choose to try and take it over that one of the PC's who has high charm & discipline will use Force Influence and try and have the Captain voluntarily give the ship to them. We shall see what happens though...

Well, Influence lasts a matter of minutes, and I doubt the Stormtroopers you mentioned would see that as a legal order.

While that may be true, that may not stop them from trying if they go that route! lol

Hah! Post the results if they do, it sounds like it's gonna be interesting