I'm pretty new to being a GM and I want to create a homebrew campaign. So, I want to start it off with a bang. I have a few ideas like either starting out on a slave transport ship and they have to take over the ship that will be their starting ship or escape a slave labor camp by stealing a ship that will be their starting ship or use them both. As you can tell I'm alittle scatterbrain right now. So any ideas or tips are welcome on how I should develop this intro.

Depends largely on the PCs Obligations, but the Obligation doesn't have to be something from the characters past. It could be something that's about to happen. Or it could be a way to increase their Obligation right out of the gate. Basic suggestion: work in their Obligation. From there, this is a pretty cookie-cutter start with plenty of room for customization:

The PCs are in a slave labor camp (Kessel, for example), one day, someone sidles up behind one of the PCs and whispers through the side of their mouth "Hey, X* sent me. You want out of here? I can arrange it. Don't speak, just nod. Okay, good. There will be a riot tomorrow at [insert meal here] . That's your chance. There is a ship on the landing pad, delivering more slaves. It'll be unguarded. Break into it, and that's your ticket outta here. Just watch out for [insert complication here] if you don't want to get [insert complication result here] . You got it? Good. You won't be seeing me, but I'll be seeing you."

From here, just plot out their area (you don't need a detailed map, just a general understanding of the area [which could entirely inside your head]) with an idea of obstacles and boons (i.e. armory**). Then figure out the difficulty for a few key things, but if it is something that they absolutely have to do, you need some way to insure that they can succeed (i.e. trying at the lock until they get it. Every round, as they continue fighting off the approaching guards, the PC has to make a Skulduggery check to try to unlock the door so that they can get inside). Then try to come up with a couple ways to work in Motivation, such as Cause: Emancipation. As the PCs are getting ready to leave in their newly-stolen ship, about a dozen slaves run towards their ship, calling for help, as they are pursued by several guards. If they stay, the turrets will be able to get several more shots off, but if they leave, these slaves will probably die, or at least spend much more time in the spice mines.

*The person really could be called X and they are just a mysterious benefactor.
**Be careful when granting PCs access to unrestricted loot. If they spy a T-7 ion disruptor, it will end up in their possession (at least for a little bit). A better way to grant them weapons might be for them to pull them off a guard (single-sided electrostaff [Melee, +2, crit 4, Stun damage], blaster pistol/stingbeam blaster pistol, etc.).

34 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

Depends largely on the PCs Obligations, but the Obligation doesn't have to be something from the characters past. It could be something that's about to happen. Or it could be a way to increase their Obligation right out of the gate. Basic suggestion: work in their Obligation. From there, this is a pretty cookie-cutter start with plenty of room for customization:

The PCs are in a slave labor camp (Kessel, for example), one day, someone sidles up behind one of the PCs and whispers through the side of their mouth "Hey, X* sent me. You want out of here? I can arrange it. Don't speak, just nod. Okay, good. There will be a riot tomorrow at [insert meal here] . That's your chance. There is a ship on the landing pad, delivering more slaves. It'll be unguarded. Break into it, and that's your ticket outta here. Just watch out for [insert complication here] if you don't want to get [insert complication result here] . You got it? Good. You won't be seeing me, but I'll be seeing you."

From here, just plot out their area (you don't need a detailed map, just a general understanding of the area [which could entirely inside your head]) with an idea of obstacles and boons (i.e. armory**). Then figure out the difficulty for a few key things, but if it is something that they absolutely have to do, you need some way to insure that they can succeed (i.e. trying at the lock until they get it. Every round, as they continue fighting off the approaching guards, the PC has to make a Skulduggery check to try to unlock the door so that they can get inside). Then try to come up with a couple ways to work in Motivation, such as Cause: Emancipation. As the PCs are getting ready to leave in their newly-stolen ship, about a dozen slaves run towards their ship, calling for help, as they are pursued by several guards. If they stay, the turrets will be able to get several more shots off, but if they leave, these slaves will probably die, or at least spend much more time in the spice mines.

*The person really could be called X and they are just a mysterious benefactor.
**Be careful when granting PCs access to unrestricted loot. If they spy a T-7 ion disruptor, it will end up in their possession (at least for a little bit). A better way to grant them weapons might be for them to pull them off a guard (single-sided electrostaff [Melee, +2, crit 4, Stun damage], blaster pistol/stingbeam blaster pistol, etc.).

Okay awesome thank you. So I need to have a character building day so I know more about my players obligation to better incorporate them into my story. Also when they have to escape, can I use the armory route so they get back their equipment that they lost from character creation or have them start from scratch? Thanks for the tips PT-47 thunderbolt

2 minutes ago, DishonestSquid said:

Okay awesome thank you. So I need to have a character building day so I know more about my players obligation to better incorporate them into my story.

Yes, absolutely essential.

2 minutes ago, DishonestSquid said:

Also when they have to escape, can I use the armory route so they get back their equipment that they lost from character creation or have them start from scratch?

There are a couple ways to handle this. One is to have them raid the lockers and recover their stuff, the other is a little bit more unusual. Since they are starting in a slave camp, it would makes sense for them to not have their stuff, so one way to handle it is to either have them spend their starting credits and then have them steal liberate those items, or don't have them spend credits and just find out what sort of stuff they want and then find ways to give it to them, either through liberating items on the planet or through finding stuff in the ship they... liberated . I.e. Joey the Xexto (Technician: Mechanic) wants to have a tool kit, so when they steal the ship, he finds one in the engineering section. This would be for fairly inexpensive items that one might purchase at character generation, but since they have accomplished something in escaping, don't be afraid to give them a bit of a windfall and a couple extra items (though I'd warn you about not giving them too much too soon). With this latter suggestion, I'd caution you about implementation, trying to make sure that the items granted make sense in context, and aren't just there because the PC needs them to be there (though having them find the stuff on the ship can give you a lot of convenient excuses).

Be prepared for any and all contingencies, including both spectacular success and dismal failure. Not to say you need to plan excessively for all eventualities- just know that player decisions and the resulting outcomes are not always as you may have anticipated. Have a plan B, for where the game goes if they don’t take the ship and escape.

Slaves, laborers, prisoners, etc.... One option is to have their ship pirated or attacked and they escape. I like the idea of having suspense between sessions, so at the end, they simply jettison in an escape pod to the planet below. End Session. They'll come in next time fresh and excited.

A "Sandbox" campaign lets the player do about anything. You may consider if you are prepared for a PC/PCs to Charm/Negotiate or join with the pirates/attackers. Start a pirate campaign that way.

Have done the escaped slave thing before. Difficult thing is: What's next? Okay, they get a ship and fly away. To where? To do what? It is tough to plan when the PC's can just hit a button and "ZIP!!!" Hyperspace away to nearly anywhere. I had that problem. I had a plan for planet 'A' and the players fly away somewhere else. I can't always pull the "broken hyperdrive" trope. That only works once.

An interesting Plan B could be that the ship is auto-piloted to a destination. Depending on if you have a techie, you can try to un-program the ship. If you have Presence or Cunning PC's, then they disguise as prison guards who "escaped" the uprising. They talk their way out of it.

Sounds like a good start! Good luck!!!

On drivethrurpg.com there is a Traveller module called Prison Planet, which has some great ideas. Most of the Traveller stuff is easily adapted...I never run these things "as is", but they are great idea mines.

On 11/26/2019 at 12:41 PM, DishonestSquid said:

Also when they have to escape, can I use the armory route so they get back their equipment that they lost from character creation or have them start from scratch?

I wouldn't worry too much about returning their lost equipment. If there is a particular item of sentimental value, then part of the session might be spent on that (eg: Guardians of the Galaxy, getting the tape player back from the guard). But otherwise, usually a blaster is a blaster, especially the ones a PC could afford out of chargen. So I would treat this as an opportunity to find or liberate items they really want or are essential to the situation.

“Out of the Abyss” for D&D5th is one of the best modules written for that game.

The opening story is a jail break from a Drow camp. There are some great ideals from that module if you have access to it.

3 hours ago, DurosSpacer said:

I can't always pull the "broken hyperdrive" trope. That only works once.

****! Feel I may burnt this one too early now, doing it with literally their first interaction with the ship. Lol.

Star Wars uses the "broken hyperdrive" all the time. Agree that you should try to avoid overusing it. But there also can be a lot of different ways to use the same basic idea — or to get around it:

1) the ship is unreliable (because it's either old or has been heavily modified and therefore more temperamental and prone to breakdown at inconvenient times)

2) the ship is damaged during the escape (adding difficulty to the pilot skill in making a rushed takeoff and possibly colliding with a crane or other maintenance equipment while flying out of the hanger)

2) the ship is pursued and damaged in battle (other systems besides the hyperdrive could be disabled or otherwise inoperable — something with the controls, engines or power generation, for instance — that make hyperspace travel impossible)

3) the ship is sabotaged (by a spy or other enemy)

4) or even if the ship can escape to hyperspace, maybe it's outfitted with a tracer