Hi All!

I'm sure this has been done. But I would like to get some feedback, tips, constructive criticism, you name it for my plans. Might break this into Segments so I do not unload everything I have planned into one long drawn out post.

I am going to start an Age of Rebellion campaign as a GM. (First Time GM-ing a Home-brew)

My campaign is going to be based, loosely, off Star Wars Dark Forces/ other Lucas-Art games/ & current Canon Comics as well.

The PCs in this adventure is going to be a Rogue One type gang. Medic/Spy/Soldier/Hired Gun turned Rebel/

The Campaign will take place 2 days after the Battle Of Yavin in which the Rebels have abandoned that base and are now seeking a new Rebel base to centralize their forces. Currently, Rebel Cells are Scattered across the Mid & Outer rim portions of the galaxy & are frantically trying reconnect & Centralize a new base of operations. The Main Antagonist behind the scenes will be in the background & while the PCs are completing objectives thinking that everything is going hunky-dory, They are in-fact, completing red herrings. This will revolve around the secret Dark Trooper Project as well as the Antagonists beloved Tie Defender Project.

1 ^st Segment...

I'm planning on starting this adventure with our PC's aboard the Mako-Ta Space Station waiting for orders.

This is when we usually " talk downtime ." Basically, me just asking what their characters would be doing, ie. Calibrating/Running diagnostics on various things, cleaning weapons, working out, Eating, Interacting with their environment. Making them perform rolls if need be & handing out Pending Boosts for their future rolls depending if the skill check calls for it.

Not sure if there should be an Encounter here. Like maybe another Sec Ops group that are bitter but playful rivals of my PCs trying to start a fight? ¯\_( ツ )_/¯

Suddenly they are rushed into the command room where they meet their Commanding Officer. In this meeting, they are told there is possible Imperial spy among them & are instructed to go to the planet Rori ( Moon of Naboo ) & find out any information regarding the sudden loss of communications to one of their key secret bases in the Mid-rim. (Reconnaissance Mission much like Dark Forces "Massacre at Tak Base" ) There they will find clues to the Dark trooper project.

They aboard their light transport with several additional soldiers for assistance & off they go.

Now. I know this will be a little rail-road(y) But I think this would be cool if it is done right. A mini-game Encounter if you will.

As they approach the planet and their landing destination. I would love to do an Encounter here where unbeknownst to them, SOMETHING starts attacking their transport. Two small to be a ship since they cannot see using the ships Scanners are being Jammed. As the ship is taking Critical Damage the crew is doing everything in their power to make sure they reach their destination alive.

This is where I can use some help. I want to make a mini-game kinda like the beginner box/Long Arm of the Hutt, after stealing the Krayt Fang where you must quickly do things in the ship.

Cool checks obviously to make sure no one lose their heads while being attacked. Maybe the ship systems go offline so they can’t open the door for a successful drop so they must perform several mechanic checks to get the system back up and running. Setbacks & boost are applied. A fire erupts in the cockpit & needs to be put out or they lose the pilots. Again, setbacks & boosts applied Eventually I want them to pass out due to strain. Wake up & find themselves a little off course. Scavenging the ship for any useful parts Tending to any wounded (If there is any), Foraging for rations to start their trek through the jungle. Making Survival checks and such to get to the remains of the base.

Again, any help fleshing this Module out would be indeed appreciated. Luckily enough only one of my buddies have played Dark Forces so the others won’t know of DARK TROOPERS or anything like that but I want them to go through a series of unsolved mysteries while completing side missions until they get to the big baddy.

Nice- I tired to run something like this, but we didn't get much further than the Tak Base investigation and a subsequent archive raid.

The bones of your encounter sound pretty good- however, having the narrative progress of an encounter dependent on players voluntarily spending all their strain sounds like a tough order. (But I don't know your players- maybe they tend to play things close to the edge? In my own experience, making personal strain a major consequence has been exceedingly difficult, and I've mostly used it as a means of adding narrative teeth to an encounter.) You make it pretty clear that you'd like to cause the players to be stuck someplace away from their objective with a lot of questions about what caused them to be in this situation, so here's what I might suggest:

-Make landing on the planet the goal of the first encounter and focus more on the chase aspect. This should lend that encounter a frantic single-mindedness, and hopefully the players won't feel quite as badly about landing a damaged ship away from their initial target.

-Your pilot would probably like some obstacles to fly through. Take a look at the "Junkyard Juke" encounter in Beyond the Rim if you need some inspiration; pick 3 to 5 good ones and re-skin them to fit. (This will also help to add some more damage to the ship over time.) The gunner(s?) would probably be happy for an opportunity to shoot at the opposition, if not score some kills. If you've got a computer specialist or observer, you can keep them busy with navigation or overwatch, because everyone likes getting boost dice. If they want to try and get a look at what's shooting the ship, that's an option, too. Then they'll at least get some kind of useful information leading into the investigation.

-Dark troopers are pretty maneuverable, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to go for components hits. That way, you get to dictate how the ship takes damage. (If you're lucky, the mechanic will try taking parts from other systems to repair the damaged ones.)

-The cockpit fire and other complications are great set-pieces. Don't be afraid to upgrade players' checks as the encounter progresses- red dice can and should appear when things get dangerous. If a fire breaks out or the ship needs to make an emergency landing because someone rolled a despair, they'll hopefully feel less badly about it. (And/or won't notice that you'd planned all this from the beginning.)

-A hard landing is a great time for a Resilience or fear check. Anyone who has "Brace" will feel really cool.

-Some kind of time limit on the salvage/jungle encounter would be helpful, just to keep things moving. Maybe they're supposed to report in at a certain time, after which they will be presumed captured or dead and left behind. If you want to keep that aspect of immediacy going, it helps if the players don't have time to take much more than a short rest. This also limits their options going forward, but only in a way that enhances the narrative.

Hope that was at least close to what you were looking for. Good luck!

Edited October 18, 2019 by Superunknown

1 hour ago, Superunknown said:

-Make landing on the planet the goal of the first encounter and focus more on the chase aspect. This should lend that encounter a frantic single-mindedness, and hopefully the players won't feel quite as badly about landing a damaged ship away from their initial target.

-Your pilot would probably like some obstacles to fly through. Take a look at the "Junkyard Juke" encounter in Beyond the Rim if you need some inspiration; pick 3 to 5 good ones and re-skin them to fit. (This will also help to add some more damage to the ship over time.) The gunner(s?) would probably be happy for an opportunity to shoot at the opposition, if not score some kills. If you've got a computer specialist or observer, you can keep them busy with navigation or overwatch, because everyone likes getting boost dice. If they want to try and get a look at what's shooting the ship, that's an option, too. Then they'll at least get some kind of useful information leading into the investigation.

-Dark troopers are pretty maneuverable, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to go for components hits. That way, you get to dictate how the ship takes damage. (If you're lucky, the mechanic will try taking parts from other systems to repair the damaged ones.)

-The cockpit fire and other complications are great set-pieces. Don't be afraid to upgrade players' checks as the encounter progresses- red dice can and should appear when things get dangerous. If a fire breaks out or the ship needs to make an emergency landing because someone rolled a despair, they'll hopefully feel less badly about it. (And/or won't notice that you'd planned all this from the beginning.)

-A hard landing is a great time for a Resilience or fear check. Anyone who has "Brace" will feel really cool.

-Some kind of time limit on the salvage/jungle encounter would be helpful, just to keep things moving. Maybe they're supposed to report in at a certain time, after which they will be presumed captured or dead and left behind. If you want to keep that aspect of immediacy going, it helps if the players don't have time to take much more than a short rest. This also limits their options going forward, but only in a way that enhances the narrative.

Oh Man! Thanks Superunknown,

This Will help a lot. I've read Long Arm of the Hutt & Life Debts but never got around to Beyond the Rim. I'll check that out for sure.

So far what this is what I planned. Our group does not have a pilot so I'm using NPCs to fly them around. These are rough notes I came up with during the week. Now I know to expect the unexpected when it comes with Dice rolling & what the PC's ultimately decide to do. But that's the fun of being a GM.

--Read aloud –-

"Suddenly without warning! The Ship Violently Jostles left & right from Impact Shots as the sounds of repeating laser fire can be heard from all sides. Eerie mechanical chatter can be heard piercing through the ship as if it was spoken through the crafts PA system. Everyone who was not safely fastened are launched from their seats & careens to the shuttle walls. The lights of the ship flickers from a bright warm Halogen to an unsettling RED and the collision alarm blares. YOUR SHIP & CREW ARE BEING ATTACKED!!!"

GM Notes--

Anyone who is safely fasten to their position Needs to make an Average Coordination check w/ Set Back

Anyone who is not safely fasten to their positions needs to make a Hard Coordination check w/ Set Back

Anyone who wants to make a Perception check to see what is attacking them needs to make an Average Perception check w/ Set Back

Anyone who wants to take shots if they are able to see these unknown attackers make Gunnery Checks

Anyone who was Wounded Can be treated by a PC or NPC. They must make an Average/Hard Medicine check/ Survival w/ Set back

Anyone who wants to start repairing ship strain or hull damage make

--Read aloud –-

"A FIRE has erupted in the cockpit due to severe system strain the pilots scream in terror. THEY NEED HELP!!!"

-- GM Notes --

Cool Checks – to keep cool (Grants BOOSTS if successful)

Skullduggery Checks – To remove or break their Safety harnesses ( {Optional}Difficulty Hard/Average/Easy if they have a tool w/ Set Back )

Coordination Checks – To remove the personnel away from the fire, once they are free form their harness

Medical Checks or Survival Check – to assist any burns or wounds from the fire (Once Personnel are away from the fire/ depending on wounds either Average/Hard Difficulty w/ Set Back )

Perception Checks – To see if there is a fire extinguisher within the ship & hopefully it is accessible

Mechanical Checks – To reroute Emergency power to the built-in Foam suppression system to clear the fire

--Read Aloud--

"MAYDAY MAYDAY! We're coming in too fast!!!"

Pilot Checks - to land/crash or "another happy landing"

Brace - For impact

--End Scene--