Hi there,

I am planning a short campaign set in the decade between Ep1 and Ep2 and it should only last for 5 sessions. The group will be the survivors of crashlanding on an island which is used as a penal conlony. The island will be on Ord Mantell and protected by mostly automated defense systems plus only a few wardens. For the factions within the colony I was thinking about a tribe of native Savrips and the typical prison gang led by a strong leader.

What should I keep in mind for the structure of the prison island?

How should I build up the plot that the PC can make into freedom at the end of the 5th session?

General advices to improve the scenario?

Thanks in advance!

You might find the Traveller adventure "Prison Planet" useful, it's got a lot of faction-related encounter stuff if you need it, and it's easy to adapt. You can find it on drivethrurpg.com as a PDF

I was going to suggest something similar to what the "Prison Planet" adventure seems to do: Since this is Star Wars , it might be cool to think bigger, with your penal colony as an entire world rather than as a single island on Ord Mantell. If you really like the island idea, create a water world with a few terrestrial landforms that the rival prison gangs control. Or maybe one major landform that has various factions vying for it. Your PCs have to contend with the factions, but escaping the prison colony itself becomes much more space opera-esque if they have to figure out a way to get past planet-wide security measures.

3 hours ago, SavageBob said:

I was going to suggest something similar to what the "Prison Planet" adventure seems to do: Since this is Star Wars , it might be cool to think bigger, with your penal colony as an entire world rather than as a single island on Ord Mantell. If you really like the island idea, create a water world with a few terrestrial landforms that the rival prison gangs control. Or maybe one major landform that has various factions vying for it. Your PCs have to contend with the factions, but escaping the prison colony itself becomes much more space opera-esque if they have to figure out a way to get past planet-wide security measures.

Did someone say "make it a whole prison planet?" If you choose to go that route, here's something that might be useful--

If you choose to go that route, here's something that might be useful--

http://myswrpg.com/labyrinth/

Remember the movie Alien 3? (I barely do).

Don't do that.

Depending on how remote the island is, there may be very little by way of fences or escape prevention. ("See that wide expanse of ocean? There isn't land for as far as 500 miles and only if you pick the right direction . . . " I know it's a cliche right now, but if it worked for the Russians . . . ).

IF this is the case, than security will be set up to protect the jailers from the prisoners.

The prisoners should have basic and primitive housing, and the guards will spend most of their time, distributing food & medical treatment and checking to make sure the prisoners don't get their hands on advanced tech.

Oddly enough if the Savrips are an existing primitive culture on the island, then the prisoners may have need to arm themselves with rudimentary and crude weapons (with the full knowledge and permission of the guards).

This also depends largely on where the island is, how big it is, and how close the next big landmass is.

8 minutes ago, Nytwyng said:

Did someone say "make it a whole prison planet?" If you choose to go that route, here's something that might be useful--

If you choose to go that route, here's something that might be useful--

http://myswrpg.com/labyrinth/

Not sure I get the eye roll. This is Star Wars , after all.

Not meant as an eye roll. It looked like the wink on my phone screen in portrait. Apologies. L

5 hours ago, whafrog said:

You might find the Traveller adventure "Prison Planet" useful, it's got a lot of faction-related encounter stuff if you need it, and it's easy to adapt. You can find it on drivethrurpg.com as a PDF

5 hours ago, SavageBob said:

I was going to suggest something similar to what the "Prison Planet" adventure seems to do: Since this is Star Wars , it might be cool to think bigger, with your penal colony as an entire world rather than as a single island on Ord Mantell. If you really like the island idea, create a water world with a few terrestrial landforms that the rival prison gangs control. Or maybe one major landform that has various factions vying for it. Your PCs have to contend with the factions, but escaping the prison colony itself becomes much more space opera-esque if they have to figure out a way to get past planet-wide security measures.

1 hour ago, Nytwyng said:

Did someone say "make it a whole prison planet?" If you choose to go that route, here's something that might be useful--

If you choose to go that route, here's something that might be useful--

http://myswrpg.com/labyrinth/

I was also thinking about the idea of using Belsavis from SWTOR, but for a starting sceneario I want keep it clear for PCs, because at the start of campaign I dont want overwhelm them with too many options and most of the time they have to walk from one location to an another one. The last reason it only lasts for 5 sessions...

After this campaign I will start a 10 sessions long campaign which plays a few years later. The players can decide if they want keep/change the character or create a new one. Then the group will start the classic space opera campaign in the time before or during the Clone Wars.

1 hour ago, Mark Caliber said:

Remember the movie Alien 3? (I barely do).

Don't do that.

Depending on how remote the island is, there may be very little by way of fences or escape prevention. ("See that wide expanse of ocean? There isn't land for as far as 500 miles and only if you pick the right direction . . . " I know it's a cliche right now, but if it worked for the Russians . . . ).

IF this is the case, than security will be set up to protect the jailers from the prisoners.

The prisoners should have basic and primitive housing, and the guards will spend most of their time, distributing food & medical treatment and checking to make sure the prisoners don't get their hands on advanced tech.

Oddly enough if the Savrips are an existing primitive culture on the island, then the prisoners may have need to arm themselves with rudimentary and crude weapons (with the full knowledge and permission of the guards).

This also depends largely on where the island is, how big it is, and how close the next big landmass is.

The island will have a size between Big Island (Hawaii) and Ireland. There will be a lot of wildnis, the native tribe of Savrips which lived there long before it turned into a prison and some mining operation in which the prisoners have to work. More like a small Austrialia! The defense grid around the island is more for keeping other people to set a foot on the island.

Prison Planet is the move. There is a Kessel mini-module from the Saga book Scum and Villainy. Also there is a wonderful fan-made module called Escape from Smugglers Hold that is one of my personal favorites.