Stormtrooper Campaign?

By isaax, in Game Masters

Posted at

I'm a bit late to the party, but I've been kicking around this idea for a while. While ISB (or some other intelligence branch) obviously gives you more flexibility, I think it's definitely possible to pull off a Stormtrooper campaign. A few things to keep in mind:

1. While the Empire's resources may be nearly infinite, the area they have to secure in the middle of a civil war is similarly near-infinite. The rank and file Stormtroopers have standard weapons, and if Imperial quartermasters are anything like their counterparts in real life, they'll see whatever supplies that come their way as their personal property to be bartered or exchanged for favors. With that (and constant cost overruns for superweapons cutting into operational costs for front line units) you could make a party as resource hungry as you see fit. You could even send them on covert ops to "tactically acquire" gear while they're on an R&R trip on a larger base, non-lethally of course.

2. While it has been mentioned above, and combat oriented careers are obviously the best fit, I wouldn't necessarily put a ban on the others. Modern infantry companies have soldiers, all whose primary job is infantry, who assume the roles of drivers, mechanics, UAV operators, armorers, radio techs, etc. as the mission requires. The training is obviously not as intensive as the specialists in each of those fields, but the roles are necessary for when the company is deployed away from support. With supply and support lines being LIGHTYEARS long, there's no reason the Empire wouldn't reflect that as well. I'd just let them choose a ground combat oriented tree at the start of the campaign and let them grow from there.

You think a Stormtrooper branching into politico wouldn't be helpful for resolving disputes, wheedling gear from a quartermaster, or gathering intel on rebel cells?

A performer? Strange choice, but hey, everyone has dreams for after this rebellion is over, in the meantime, it helps kill time and could even build goodwill with the locals.

Outlaw tech? What Stormtrooper squad wouldn't like someone to repair their gear without sending in 50 requisition forms, just to get them rejected. If they want to install some "aftermarket" parts? I won't tell if you don't.

Scholar? Bet you'll be glad someone speaks the local dialect and knows why the locals don't go near the nearby Sith ruins (hint: it's not because there's a rebel cell there).

You may laugh when your friend branches into Pilot, but you won't be laughing when your transport gets shot down and you have to "liberate" some local transport to evac the party.

With advanced enough branching, (and sufficient exploits, of course) I see no reason that they couldn't be selected as Storm Commandos/insert Spec Ops service here. But for me this would be a late/end of campaign development.

3. Not sure where the "erase all individuality" comes from, but even the Clones who were bred to be the same ended up with different personalities, facial hair, etc. No reason your party couldn't be the same. Alien races might be touchy, and would probably have to be liaisons of some sort attached to the troop. I personally wouldn't want that in this specific campaign, but to each their own.

4. As stated above, I'd stay away from the atrocities. You could build an entire campaign around rooting out pirates, minor warlords taking power on a small, out of the way planet after the Clone Wars, counter-insurgency operations against extremist Rebel cells (Saw Guerrera types, who care more about killing Imps than the civilian's they're there to "free"), heck, you might even be tasked to escort an Inquisitor to take down a sect of Force users feeding off of innocents!

If you make the focus on the PC's trying to maintain order and the status quo for those around them, they don't have to be the Bad Guys (tm). All politics aside, they're fighting for the brothers and sisters to their left and right, after all.