(Another of one of the many older documents floating around my hard drive that I've written up over the years. Enjoy!)
Given the vast size of the Star Wars universe, supplying gaming adventures can be a difficult proposition. Add in the mix of the Rebellion/Empire conflict, billions of worlds, and suddenly the GM can be overwhelmed.
The best solutions are these assortments of adventure nuggets. These adventures in the rough contain enough information for a GM to run a satisfying adventure without restricting the player's movements. Each nugget is generic enough to occur almost anywhere in the Empire or New Republic, with any mix of characters. At the same time, the nugget is specific enough to allow for an adventure as full blown as the GM and players desire. Finally, each nugget contains variations so that any nugget can be used multiple times, enhancing its utility to the GM.
The Displaced Noble
Required Skills: Computer program, security, hide/sneak
Required Equipment: General weapons
The Setup: A noble (or more correctly a former noble) wants to hire the PCs to help him in his efforts to reinstate himself to his former position of authority. When the rebellion broke out, he found himself in a difficult position. He wholeheartedly supported his faction's agenda, but he also criticized come of its most egregious excesses in seeking to achieve its goals. A cabal was thus formed against him, and it conspired to have him removed from his position by spreading false rumors and generally impugning his honor. The cabal succeeded, and its leader was then given the noble's patent and placed in his position. The noble wishes to hire the PCs to break into an office belonging to his detractors and steal protected computer information which will clear his good name and help him regain his position.
Situation 1:
All is as stated - the office is minimally guarded and the information gained by the PCs will clear the noble's name and help reinstate him in his faction's government.
Situation 2:
All is as stated but the office is heavily guarded because a spy has informed the detractor that the noble has hired the PC's to enter the office. The PCs will meet with a great deal of resistance, but provided they overcome it, the information so names will clear the noble's name as in one.
Situation 3:
All is as stated, but the detractor has set a trap for the PCs. He will allow the PCs to enter the office with minimal resistance and steal the information. Local law enforcement however, will be tipped off on the break in and will attempt to arrest the PCs. If they succeed in capturing the PCs, the link to the noble may be discovered, further discrediting him. In addition, the information the PCs steal will be false, and once again, impugn the name of the noble.
Situation 4:
The noble is telling the truth, but the detractor's charges against him were legitimate. He wants the PCs to steal the information so he can destroy it and undermine his detractor's case against him.
Situation 5:
The charges against the noble are legitimate, but he detractor is equally shady in his own dealings. The information gained by the PCs will be used to blackmail his detractor as well to clear the noble's name. The office is heavily guarded, as the detractor is paranoid about just such a possibility.
Situation 6:
the noble is a con man engaging in industrial espionage. The supposed information to clear his name is actually protected trade data which the con man will sell to the highest bidder.
Getting the scoop. . . .
Required skills: Combat skills, vehicle skills, Hide, sneak, and other recon and survival
Required equipment: Access to a ground vehicle
The Setup: The PCs are approached by a reporter for a local sector wide news-net service. He is aware of fighting between the Empire and Rebellion/Republic in a remote area of the world the PCs are on. He would like to get the scoop on the other news agencies by being at the front lines in person so to get holos and interviews. The reporter wishes to hire the PCs to accompany him to that region of the planet and to guard him against any violence that may come his way.
Situation 1:
All is as stated. Fighting is going on, but no harm comes the PCs way. The reporter is able to get his holos, and even a few interviews without much difficulty.
Situation 2:
All is as is stated, but the fighting is very intense. The PCs have to fend off some enemy troops before the reporter can get either holos or interviews.
Situation 3:
All is as stated, but the battle is over. By the time the PCs arrive, one side has routed the other. The winners will be more than happy to allow holos and give interviews. The losing side will mostly have been captured, but may surface in the form of command raids while the PCs are present.
Situation 4:
As in three, but the winners (the Empire) is less than happy to see locals poking around in what should be a covert operation. The Empire attempts to capture and detain the nosy reporter and his escorts.
Situation 5:
The reporter is actually a spy for one of the two combatants. He is trying to take reconnaissance pictures so as to help the other side in the battle. If he is discovered, the opposing side will want to execute him and his escorts on charges of espionage.
Situation 6:
All is stated, but both sides don't take too kindly to civilians poking around in the middle of a battle. The Empire starts shooting right off the bat, the Rebellion/Republic attempts to keep everyone out of harms way and where the boring bits of the battle are.
Situation 7:
The reporter is really a suicide trooper from one of the two sides. His equipment has been rigged with explosives - he wishes to go behind enemy lines and set off his explosives, killing as many of his enemies as possible - and perhaps the PCs as well.
Higher Education
Required Skills: Computer program, security, hide/sneak
Required Equipment: Weapons
The Setup: The PCs are approached by a professor at a local university. He informs them that a number of his colleagues were bold enough to support a student group engaged in protesting the actions of the Empire. These fellow professors felt that by bringing the actions of the Empire to light, the Empire might be forced to rethink it's policies, and act in a more appropriate manner. Hah. In return for their bravery, the professor's colleagues along with the students were arrested and shipped off to an asylum (although he claims that the place is used to house political prisoners). The Professor would like to hire the PCs to break into the asylum and free his fellow professors and the students before any further injustices can take place.
Situation 1:
All is as the professor stated. The other professors and students were arrested and interned on purely political reasons, and are cruelly being tortured and interrogated. Should the PCs free them from the asylum, they will gain the gratitude of the local resistance movement.
Situation 2:
As stated, but the PCs will find that the professors and students very difficult to locate. This is because they have already been executed for their crimes against the state, or have been shipped off to another local. The PCs can choose what to do from here.
Situation 3:
All is as the professor stated, but the students and professors were not arrested merely for protesting. Instead they were plotting to blow up the local starport as a show of displeasure. They were arrested and interned because they were viewed as a threat to the local population.
Situation 4:
The professor is lying. He is a member of a terrorist organization that is planning a raid on the Empire's asylum. He needs the PCs to enter the place first and stir up a commotion looking for the non-existent students and professors. Once the asylum is sufficiently in a uproar, he and his fellow terrorists will raid the place and seek to free as many political prisoners as possible. Whether the PCs survive or not is of no concern to him.
Situation 5:
The professor is a member of the local crime syndicate whose members have largely been caught due to a crackdown on crime by the Empire. He hopes that the PCs will be able to free his fellow crooks and restart operations on this world. He will fairly pay the PCs should they succeed in their mission.
Situation 6:
As in five, but the criminals when freed will not pay the PCs. They will offer the PCs position in their crime syndicate. If the PCs refuse the offer of demand payment, the crooks will try and kill them. If the players accept the offer, the crooks will genuinely accept them as their own.
Marines on the run
Required Skills: Starship skills, combat skills
Required equipment: access to a Starship
The Setup:The Players are covertly contacted by an ex-marine officer who is looking for passage off-world. He is willing to pay highly for a means to transport him and a small group of others as quietly as possible. He is very reluctant to give reasons as to why secrecy is needed. If pressed, he will admit that he and his men are deserters from the armed forces of The Empire/Republic. They do not agree with its ideals/policies/treatment of solders. He adds that if the PCs perform their jobs quickly and quietly, he may able to arrange equally appealing jobs on their destination world.
Situation 1:
All is as stated. The officer and his men are deserters from the Empire/Republic armed forces who are fed up with their jobs. He will pay well and will indeed get the PCs another equally lucrative transport job on the next world.
Situation 2:
The troops are indeed deserters, but they left their unit because they are war criminals guilty of terrible atrocities against civilians. They are paranoid and jumpy, taking even the slightest provocation to start a fight. They will pay, but soon ask for their money back, telling of some hard luck story. If not reimbursed, they will try and take control of the PC's starship.
Situation 3:
The marines are all cyborgs who are fleeing lynch mobs. The world they just left has a strong anti-cyborg prejudice, and the solders would have surely would have been killed. The rest of their story is true, as is their desire to help the PCs at the destination world.
Situation 4:
The troops are terrorists. They are fleeing this world because they have just failed in an attempt to destroy a local governmental building. Before the local law enforcers arrive, they want to leave the planet. They have no money and will promise to pay on arrival. If they suspect that the PCs don't trust them or are going to turn them in, they will try and seize the PCs ship.
Situation 5:
The Marines are actually pirates who are down on their luck and in need of a ship. They have money and will pay the PCs, but once in hyperspace, they will attempt to kill the PCs and take control of the ship.
Situation 6:
The marines are espionage agents for the opposing government and fear discovery, and wish to leave quickly. They will pay, and at their destination give the PCs further opportunity to do further runs for the espionage agency (provided they seemed trustworthy. Seditious talk gets reported as appropriate).
The Mysterious Woman
Required skills: None
Required equipment: A healthy libido
The Setup: For the first time that the players can remember, that orbiting Imperial Star Destroyer is NOT out to get them - same goes for the squads of Stormtroopers scouring the streets. But they are after the beautiful woman one of them just met at the bar - the same beautiful woman sleeping serenely in his bed. They are wanted criminals - it would be so much easier to just walk away and leave well enough alone. However, there is something about her and this mystery surrounding her. What does the Empire want?
Situation 1:
The captain and the woman go way back - from a relationship gone bad. She dumped him, leaving him with a nasty mood and a long memory. So - when he discovers her, the captain will attempt to terminate the new relationship anyway he can.
Situation 2:
As above, but for even more fun, the captain and the PCs also have some history - encounters gone wrong. He may have not been hunting them today, but why pass up what fate offers you?. He'd sure love to get his hands on the whole party.
Situation 3
The woman is a Dark Jedi, running from the Emperor. Sure, she's evil, but that doesn't mean she wants to ally herself with the Empire. She might want to start up her own little empire, with the PCs as her most favorite subjects.
Situation 4
The beautiful woman is a famous entertainer allied with the rebels. She is terribly annoying and she must "please her fans" (often by bursting out in song in a crowded starport). She is spoiled and complains about the PCs accommodations ("Sonic showers? I've never in all my life bathed in less that the perfumed tears of the Egretian pleasure beast!"). And she has a drug problem.
Situation 5
The woman is valuable to the rebel alliance for a.) information on the Imperial war machine b.) her Jedi powers and knowledge - and the Empire wants her back.
The Newlywed Game
Required skills: Various body guarding abilities - blaster and the like
Required equipment: A starship is a detriment, considering half the fun is being jumped by bad guys. Better a luxury liner than a tramp freighter.
The Setup: The Players are contacted by a couple that is about to secretly wed. They do not give their names, but believe that the union does not please their parents. They will pay 3,000 credits to the PC's if they provide bodyguard service at the wedding and escort them to a safe planet beyond their parents' reach. The couple is desperately in love and unwilling to be separated. They are terrified of their families' reactions.
Situation 1:
The couple is overestimating their parent's reactions. No attempt will be made to kidnap or kill them by either family. However, the attention of certain officials might be drawn if the group makes it obvious that they are fearful or overly nervous when traveling.
Situation 2:
Agents in the employ of the man/woman's family will attempt to kidnap the other lover. Failing that, the agents are to kill the target.
Situation 3:
The agents after the man/woman are from a third party, totally separate from the angry parents. They're attempting to kidnap one of the lovers to ransom off to the parents (high bidder gets the prize - no questions asked).
Situation 4:
One of the lovers is not quite what they seem. They are the ones behind the agents after their lover. Having married, should one of the befall an 'accident', the other receives most or all of the deceased's holdings.
Situation 5:
Both families will simultaneously attempt to murder one of the couple and kidnap the other. This will require the GM to generate two groups of NPCs, who will be working at cross purposes and against the PCs as well.
Piracy 101
Required skills: general combat skills
Required equipment: Vac suits - but can be provided.
The Setup: A pirate approaches the PCs and asks to hire them as marines for a boarding action. She says that through her underworld contacts she has learned that an Imperial navy ship has been discovered abandoned in the far reaches of the system the ship holds, she believes, experimental navy equipment and technical information that could be worth serious credits. An imperial navy vessel is heading towards that location soon. She wants the PCs to join her on her ship and help find the vessel and steal it's valuable cargo before the Empire arrives.
Situation 1:
The pirates' information is totally incorrect. No ship of any sort will be found. If the pirate and the PCs linger too long searching of the supposed ship, a number of Imperial patrol cruisers will appear and question their intention in the system.
Situation 2:
As in situation one - but no patrol cruisers appear to harass the pirate and the PCs.
Situation 3:
As in situation one - but the patrol cruisers immediately open fire on the pirate vessel. Their intent is to capture the pirate, so their shots will be Ion based, or aimed to cripple, not destroy.
Situation 4:
The navel vessel is indeed located here. However the Empire have already reached the spot before the pirate and the PCs get there. The pirate will suggest that they attack the Imperial ships. If the pirate and the PCs succeed, the cargo is worth *BIG MONEY*! (Actual amount based on individual campaign)
Situation 5:
As in situation four, but the Empire has not yet arrived at that location. If the PCs hurry, they should be able to obtain the experimental equipment and computer files worth *BIG MONEY* to the right buyer. (Actual amount based on individual campaign)
Seven Magnificent Fringers
(with special thanks to Akira Kurosawa, Yul Brynner, and Howard Chaykin)
Required Skills: General combat, tactics and planning skills a bonus
Required Equipment: General weapons
The Setup: While on an outer rim world, the players are approached by a group of three natives. They represent a small farming community that is terrorized by a roving gang of thugs. These thugs visit the village every six months to pillage all the food and replenish their stores - leaving just enough for the community to get by on. These thugs stopped by briefly just recently and should be returning shortly. The villages have decided that enough is enough and want to hire gunmen to deal with these outlaws. The farmers are poor, and cannot pay a great deal, but desperately need help.
Situation 1:
The Setting is straightforward. The Players arrive a few days ahead of the band of thugs, and have time to prepare the village for defense. Could included fortifying the village itself, or training the farmers how to fight. Battle Royal with the villains caps the game off.
Situation 2:
As in one - the farmers are willing to fight, and the village is fortified - all is fine. However, when the thugs show up, the gang is larger than the villagers mentioned - much larger. The Players have to put some overtime in on this one.
Situation 3:
The villagers are as afraid of the players as they are of the villains. They hide their women in the nearby hills, and hide what little valuables remain to them. They support the players to a point, but if intimidated by the boss thug, the villagers fold like a house of cards and offer up the players. (*Important Note- the villagers are not evil or out to get the players, they are just scared and way out of their league*)
Situation 4:
When the players arrive, the local shaman/mystic insists that they don't need help from outsiders. He says that the gods will protect them, if they only ask. Of course the villagers, who set about practical defense, ignore the crazy old man. When the bad guys do show up, and battle erupts however, the crazy old wizard DOES ask the gods, summoning a fifty foot monster that shoots lasers out of it's eyes that now threatens to kill all parties involved AND destroy the village.
Situation 5:
The thugs have intimidated the farmers into tricking the players out to their village, under the pretense of helping them. Meanwhile, the band of thugs loot and pillage elsewhere (a nearby town where the players were staying, the player's ship, etc.)
The Scientist
Required skills: Starship related skills
Required equipment: Access to a Starship
The Setup: The PCs are approached by a scientist who asks if they would be willing to transport her and her assistant to a nearby system. She will pay high passages for herself and the assistant, in addition to the going rate of one ton of cargo. The scientist expresses that there is some urgency to her request - she says that she is going to be behind schedule for a technological conference on the destination world. Because of the sensitive nature of her work, she requires a discrete mode of transport - that's where the PCs come in.
Situation 1:
All is as stated. The scientist and the assistant are going to a conference, and the cargo is advanced research equipment.
Situation 2:
All is as stated, but the cargo is merely advanced droid calibration technology and scanners. The real cargo is her assistant, an advanced biological droid.
Situation 3:
As in two, but the droid is stolen technology from the Empire. The scientist designed the droid as an explorer, but he Empire planned to use it as an assassin. Rather than allow the designs to be perverted into some evil Imperial agenda, she stole the droid and is planning to escape to an outer rim world. The Empire is hunting her and the stolen droid.
Situation 4:
As in two, but the scientist designed the droid to be an assassin. Unfortunately certain Imperial officers planned to use the droid to assassinate other Imperials and further their schemes, instead of professional ones as the scientist originally designed. She is taking the droid to the conference to eliminate her professional rivals, many of who are scientists and researchers known on a galactic level.
Situation 5:
The scientist and her assistant are members of the Brothers of Varian- a gang of terrorists intent on avenging the destruction of their homeworld at the hands of the Empire. The cargo is a very small, very elaborate thermonuclear device. The pair intends to infiltrate the conference and detonate the device, killing the scientists there. Many of the scientists in attendance are known to supply advanced weapons and military devices to the Empire.