So, I was reading a thread over in the Age of Rebellion forum that was started by Maelora about her alternative storyline and I thought it might be neat to hear about what everyone is doing with their campaigns.

I'm about to run a campaign that has the group starting with 0 Obligation. I want to play through how the Obligation came about. So I created a ladder that has certain obligations attached, in the form of a young girl that the group encounters (Ellen), and the subsequent involvement with a Black Sun criminal cartel (The Ma'ha'resi Cartel) and the Empire (an Imperial Governor) as the characters search for a way off-planet.

By the time the characters get to one of the end results, they'll have accumulated their "starting" Obligation, and have a very strong sense of what that is and how to pay it back or make amends.

I've broken the campaign into a decision tree, with the PCs reactions broken into Light Side and Dark Side responses. My plan is to use them as a way to affect other peoples reactions with them - are they redeemable scoundrels or are they necessary evils?

Campaign Ladder

very interesting - i typically think in terms of decision trees, but am not typically organized enough to write them down (so i am often limited to only 2-3 "branches" out, which is all my mind can hold at one time). I think this is a very interesting way to create back story and obligations which make sense/build group cohesion.

you could almost draft up a decision tree like this and offer it during character creation as a 10-15 minute exercise, sort of like a "choose your own adventure," just to create obligations and strong group dynamics.

i think one of the dangers of using a decision tree like this is that the campaign might feel too much like a video game RPG - a bit "railroad-y," despite having multiple options each time... for example, is there ever a "third option" available to the characters, if they can devise some sort of plan? if you are using this as a rough template for the campaign, which is expected to change and modify as needed, this looks awesome. if you expect players to stick to these options exclusively, it may become frustrating to them. (i'm aware i may be stating the very obvious to you!)

anyway, i recently started a 'group storywriting' campaign, which is sort of half play by post and half creative writing exercise. if you want to read what we have so far, feel free. (site address on my profile). i love reading other people's play-by-posts, or listening to actual plays because they are such good sources to mine campaign ideas from.

cheers.

I started mine in the Corporate Sector with their obligations tied to it. They began in a Corporate Sector labor facility.

2P51

I've always liked the Corporate Sector, it's really easy to have a lot of different elements (corporate, merchant, freelance, rich, poor, working class) play into stories there!

Washer

I've generally tried to keep the decision tree with more of a "how the world sees their actions" take - that's what leads into the "popular opinion" light/dark side reaction with it. It doesn't shoe horn the PCs ability to make decision, but it gives me a clean way to feed back how the world sees what they're doing. These adventure threads are just that; broad strokes of the story that will get tailor made to exactly what the PCs do and how they navigate each tier and reaction of the story.

I generally have abandoned doing any more than just the most generic impressions of the plot and a few key "Scenes" I know I want to occur. My group has a tendency of out-thinking pre-designed scenarios and snafoo-ing hard coded adventures, so I like to "wing it" so to speak. It also allows me to have much more rewarding interaction with them as far as how their actions affect the universe as a whole.

We started running some of the premade campaigns with our group. But the decision tree type of adventure doesn't work for us. We usually choose a different option that what we are given. Then again, we are a group that played DnD, made it to a village trying to track the villain and our response to be given only 2 options. Player 1, they don't have a temple here, so I open a temple up and provide healing for the village. PLayer 2, I become a farmer. Player 3, I open a tavern and start brewing. Player 4, I take up blacksmithing. Who cares about the bad guy, we found a really nice village to live in.

In our game, our GM has our characters' motivations and goals and tries to tie them in to the game along with our obligations. And I have managed to get just about everyone in the game to follow my goal of amassing a fleet and being space pirates. The GM might award us xp, but I have awarded players with their own ships. So now we are trying to get money, loot and steal lots of ships, while helping out with another player's goal or obligation.

I have to admit, I've had groups like yours before, HiroKedyn, and I love them! I usually give them an "alright, you beat me" defeated pout and then pander to their whims for a session or two, letting them build up their Temple, Farm, Inn, and Blacksmith.

Then - after they've made a name for themselves in the town and defeated a side mission or two of their own choosing, I have the big villain come back through town with the army of savages he's amassed (since, after all, he's been able to lose those pesky heroes that were hounding him) and roflstomp the village into the stone age. After smashing and mashing the village, forcing the heroes to do a Retracting Advance maneuver, he sets up an evil academy on the ashes of the town to begin training the next generation of evil geniuses, and dares the heroes to get their plans together and topple him. Mwuahahahahahaha!

Washer

I've generally tried to keep the decision tree with more of a "how the world sees their actions" take - that's what leads into the "popular opinion" light/dark side reaction with it. It doesn't shoe horn the PCs ability to make decision, but it gives me a clean way to feed back how the world sees what they're doing. These adventure threads are just that; broad strokes of the story that will get tailor made to exactly what the PCs do and how they navigate each tier and reaction of the story.

perf. that's awesome - i need to get more organized because now i'm jealous. ...btw, what program/software did you use for that? it's puuurdy.

star wars lends itself well to the dual morality theme so well - dark side/light side moral decisions.

Player 1, they don't have a temple here, so I open a temple up and provide healing for the village. PLayer 2, I become a farmer. Player 3, I open a tavern and start brewing. Player 4, I take up blacksmithing. Who cares about the bad guy, we found a really nice village to live in.

so awesome, i want to play in that game! sounds like a sim/RPG... i've always been curious about the potentials of a DnD campaign played from the tavern's POV (pretty sure there are some video games/other media which take this approach - haven't heard much from anyone about successful RPGs like this though).

...btw, what program/software did you use for that? it's puuurdy.

Just plain old Excel! I just save it as a jpeg!

It looks pretty cool. My only point of contention is that your tree as it stands rewards the gray morality while pretty severely punishing the group if they do "Light Side" all the way up till the final choice then flip or if they do "Dark Side" all the way up to the final choice then flip. I'm curious as to why you made those two cases have such dire consequences versus the other permutations.

I'm playing a campaign where I've put the players into a colonial setting. The colonies are hidden from the empire, and after some time and travel they've joined the Rebellion (enlisting the PCs along with them), and now they are mostly going about doing missions to gain from. I admit, there's been better games in the past, but I'm getting better, and about every session I mix it up with new stuff that advances the game in fun directions (no spoilers!).

Then, in my second group (it's at school, and is much less organized), I just have the players go about on missions to serve their obligations. We move rather slowly due to large numbers and everyone wanting to toil about with menial tasks, which means I haven't moved by too fast.

Example:

Me: So, you guys have just beat the Imperials that were on your ship, and have taken off into hyperspace. It takes about twelve hours in your junk ship, so-

Player: I hold up one of the Imperials and ask everyone else what we do with him, all while stroking a knife against his throat.

Not only was this time consuming, it was useless and I think it's sort of split the group up a bit more (they had more similar situations, including one character rubbing it in that he played a key role in ruining another player's ship that they so desperately loved).

Liloki... I'm reading through your campaign posts and I've got to say it's super inspiring. As I've written campaign summaries myself, I understand that it's not always as smooth as it seems in writing. Even so, its very intriguing and thought provoking. Thanks for sharing.

2P51

I've always liked the Corporate Sector, it's really easy to have a lot of different elements (corporate, merchant, freelance, rich, poor, working class) play into stories there!

Washer

I've generally tried to keep the decision tree with more of a "how the world sees their actions" take - that's what leads into the "popular opinion" light/dark side reaction with it. It doesn't shoe horn the PCs ability to make decision, but it gives me a clean way to feed back how the world sees what they're doing. These adventure threads are just that; broad strokes of the story that will get tailor made to exactly what the PCs do and how they navigate each tier and reaction of the story.

I generally have abandoned doing any more than just the most generic impressions of the plot and a few key "Scenes" I know I want to occur. My group has a tendency of out-thinking pre-designed scenarios and snafoo-ing hard coded adventures, so I like to "wing it" so to speak. It also allows me to have much more rewarding interaction with them as far as how their actions affect the universe as a whole.

I haven't started an actual focus yet as I haven't given it much thought. For now I've kind of used Stars End and Lost Legacy as basic plot lines but not just replays of those books.

I'm likely going to read Scoundrels because I like the Ocean's Eleven theme for a group of outer rim shady folks. Looking for that flavor with a dash of Fast n Furious and some Raiders of the Lost Ark feel to it. I'd like to have it all feed into their Obligations which are essentially bounties and owing favors.

I love hearing about people's campaigns. Reading this, it strikes me that there might be some value in a 'Magnificent Seven' type campaign for EoE - helping to rebuild a colony then protecting it from all sorts of external threats.

I've radically changed and Jury-Rigged a lot of the canon, to better fit the PCs as the stars of the show, killing off other people's adversaries and moving the canon heroes into mentor roles. But it actually hasn't affected the stories as much as I expected (this might change as AoR stuff is released).

Having let them make a name for themselves for the last year, I'm now starting the 'main' plot, which will involve a lot of player-driven choices. It's basically trying to bring the strongest elements of the Fringe together under one banner (probably Black Sun) and holding it against the Galactic Civil War. If all goes well, the players will be very influential to whichever side they help to win.

I love hearing about people's campaigns. Reading this, it strikes me that there might be some value in a 'Magnificent Seven' type campaign for EoE - helping to rebuild a colony then protecting it from all sorts of external threats.

I've radically changed and Jury-Rigged a lot of the canon, to better fit the PCs as the stars of the show, killing off other people's adversaries and moving the canon heroes into mentor roles. But it actually hasn't affected the stories as much as I expected (this might change as AoR stuff is released).

Having let them make a name for themselves for the last year, I'm now starting the 'main' plot, which will involve a lot of player-driven choices. It's basically trying to bring the strongest elements of the Fringe together under one banner (probably Black Sun) and holding it against the Galactic Civil War. If all goes well, the players will be very influential to whichever side they help to win.

Watch the episode of The Clone Wars dedicated to Akira Kurosawa, they do a very nice rendition of the Seven Samurai (the basis of the Magnificent Seven). Crashing the ship and having your party meet up with the beseiged village is a great way to start it off. Having them assume leadership and planet-build sounds like an interesting way of having a familiar place to defend and explore, with either new enemies showing up or new discoveries having the village "away-team" gear up for action.

Season 2, episode 17, "Bounty Hunters".

Embo rox......

I love the adjusted Canon idea! It really will make Star Wars feel like Star Wars for your players.

I'm running a campaign and in it my players serve a Hutt Kingpin (Bargos the Hutt) quite loyaly. Though they don't know it yet, the Hutt is gearing up to go to war with a rival (whom they have encountered before). The ensuing adventures will include recruiting muscle in the form of exiled Mandalorian Pirates (as the players are largely skill based... Not muscle-ey), disrupting and eroding the rival's network of smugglers through assassination and sabotage, and infiltration and destruction of the rival'a safe havens and shops.

It looks pretty cool. My only point of contention is that your tree as it stands rewards the gray morality while pretty severely punishing the group if they do "Light Side" all the way up till the final choice then flip or if they do "Dark Side" all the way up to the final choice then flip. I'm curious as to why you made those two cases have such dire consequences versus the other permutations.

It's not designed as "punishment" so to say. If you look at the outcomes required for the 2 outlying results, I've attempted to show that the PCs up to that point have created a name for themselves, one which they apparently (by those actions) radically alter in the people's view. In the case of LS,LS,DS, the people have come to rely on them as heroes of the common man, and then to allow the cartel to kill and abuse the innocents of the spaceport, popular opinion would turn on them quickly (the only thing people love more than heroes is watching them fall). In the case of the DS, DS, LS option, they've built a reputation as scoundrels, then, turning on their criminal allies, they break that and become "snitches" to the underworld, but at the same time they haven't really shown themselves to be good either, so everyone at this point wants to keep them at arms length, save LN, who wants revenge for them originally abandoning her to the cartel (who pretty much destroys her emotionally).

In the end, all the reactions are of those witnessing the actions, and people tend to react very negatively to those that appear mercurial in their actions. The first tier is really a personal choice for the PCs, determining LN's initial take on them (friend/nothing/enemy). The second tier is how they enter the publics mind - are they servants of order or chaos? The last tier is for the characters to cement their reputation in both the eyes of LN and the people - do they temper LN's anger (if applicable) or do they confirm her hatred?

The reason the two black boxes are so harsh is because by proving themselves inconsistent, people want to stay away from them - they can't rely on them - so they've isolated themselves in a very negative way.

So, for those of you who remember this post, we've just completed the first bracket in the game, so I thought I might present a write up and show you how the overall "idea" transforms into the actual story.

First, the Heroes:

Leera Tam, a Zeltron Archaeologist/Force Sensitive. I'm using the Zeltron racial stats put forward in Donovan Morningfire's "Unofficial Species Menagerie" - which I highly recommend finding a copy of because Donovan is my new hero ^.^ for bringing all my favorite races to EotE. Leera is the daughter of a Jedi who escaped the purge after the clone wars thanks to the fact that she was in deep recon with her Republic Commando group when Order 66 was declared. Being part of a Special Forces group, her clones and her had developed a tight night trust, and when word eventually reached them, they all went rogue. Over the intervening years, however, the constant pursuit of the Empire wore down the squad until eventually they caught up to Inara Tam. Entrusting her daughter to one of her clones, she distracted the Inquisitors and allowed them time to escape, with the promise that one day he would help young Leera reestablish the Jedi and the Republic that they supported. Leera, no older than a youngling at this point, had learned only basics of what it was to be a Force user and a Zeltron. She grew up looking for answers, how to use her power, what happened that led to the Jedi's purge, why was she so ... well ... Zeltron. Her fascination with the past led her on the quest to explore the local ruins, always looking for the one thing her mother told her would answer so many of her questions - a thing called a holocron.

Cade Agralar, a Clone Assassin. Cade was originally known as Commando KD1108, but as with most Commando clones adopted the Cade. He served with General Tam for most of clones wars, as she was one of the Council's greatest spymasters. His team performed deep cover and behind enemy lines actions and provided evac support for Tam when she needed it, so when they found out Order 66 had been declared, they knew something "smelled like bantha." The idea of General Tam being a traitor to the Republic was the biggest load of drek they ever heard, even if the rest of the Jedi turned. So it when the choice between the "Empire" and Tam was forced on them, the answer was simple. They stayed on the run for years, during which Cade saw the death of Inara and her husband, and all of his brothers. Two of them died before meeting up with other commandos who'd been able to reverse the aging flaw in their genetics and getting the cure, his other brother dying with Inara and her husband. For the last 12 years, it's been on him to raise and protect Leera, to him, it's the last order the Republic ever gave, given through the finest General the Republic ever had.

Zzoosk, a Gand Gadgeteer. Having finally earned his maturity name for the quality of his craftmanship, Zzoosk was optimistic at his chances of finding honor and fame in the universe as a bounty hunter and craftsman. Unfortunately, his obsession with ancient relics and the fabulous technology they promised quickly distracted him, and the numerous ruins around Myomar only served to distract him further. When the notorious Assassin, Cade Agrolar, showed up asking him to perform repairs on a venerable suit of Clone Commando armor, he couldn't resist the opportunity.

Next post: The first session!

A note: there are two house rules I've always had since the first session of Star Wars I ever ran:

1) If ANYONE hums, plays, has a cell phone whose ringtone is, or otherwise brings up "The Imperial March" Vader WILL appear. One of my players thought that she was smart and did so when we were playing a game set between Episodes 1 and 2. I smile sweetly and midway through the session (long after they forgot about it) they were in a spaceport looking to sell the bag of Adegan crystals that they had managed to score. While walking down the corridor, they overheard a Jedi and his Padawan arguing over the Padawan's broken lightsaber. "Anakin, I won't tell you again, this weapon is your *life*." Sighing, they looked at each other and handed Obi-wan the bag, saying "You know, Obi-wan, I think you're gonna need this a lot more than we are."

2) I usually begin my sessions "In Media Res." I write a script for each of the attending players and I set the actions just a little outside of where the last session left off (in the case of combat, a couple of rounds later - this lets me judge the combat as too easy or too hard, or taking too long or too short and make an narrative adjustment to ensure fun and progression).

Session 1: The Big Bad Wolf

The session started off in the local Cantina (complete with the Cantina music playing from the soundtrack). Cade and Leera had arrived to speak to Zzoosk, who they'd called because Cade's armor was on the fritz from age, and the new Imperial Governor was looking to tighten control of the planet. This was a problem, because up until this point the cartels had run Myomar, and that made it very easy to hide. Sooner or later now, they would need to get off world, and that more than the occasion contract to keep food on the table, they needed a ship. That need working gear and a lot of credits. When they arrived, they noticed a rather nefarious Defel in that was watching them named Freel. Freel was a known Black Sun killer, the kind that was too loud to be an Assassin but was too professional to be a thug - a real wetworks specialist.

The group met up without Freel having spotted them, thanks to some rather impressive teamwork from the Gand distracting him as the others snuck inside to a secluded booth. The Gand fawned over him to the point of being given the ultimatum to leave or die, and "slunk" back to the booth where the others waited.

The conversation quickly came to why it was the Defel was looking for them - the immediate assumption was that is was because of their teen jedi. With the fact that the new Imperial Governor was looking to tighten the control on the planet, it seemed like the defel was going to be a problem. Taking the "back door" (read, sneaking to the bathroom and going out the window) Cade and Leera escaped the cantina while Zzoosk kept an eye on Freel. Zzoosk, however, being a curious (and not that bright) Gand, decided to wander back over and see what Freel wanted. After some intense role-playing, Zzoosk discovered that Freel had a job to find a girl, the daughter of a Cartel crimelord. As he only had a scent trail to work off of, and there was a big planet to cover, he was looking to hire on some help to complete the bounty. He'd heard that Cade was about as capable as they come, and so he wanted to offer him a job - 2500 credits for helping him. As Cade wasn't part of the Bounty Hunting Guild, there's be no breach of contract for hiring him under a "lackey clause" that would enable Freel to be full beneficiary of the bounty and set his own spit.

After meeting back up with Cade, they discussed the options, and the reality that the credits were too good to be refused sunk in fast. The possibility of it being a trap wasn't unlikely, but they needed materials for the repairs, and the extra would be a great start towards a ship - which even after would still be a long way off. They decided to set up a meet at a neutral location (Zzoosk's shop) and see what Freel's reaction to Leera would be. If it was a trap, they would have at least a chance of seeing it coming, and if Freel made a move on Leera they might get the drop on home territory.

Leera, in the middle of Zeltron puberty (she's 16) and still learning of her own "charms" decided to see if she could tip the scales in favor of the group. Putting her pheromones in overdrive, and sealing the environment seals on Zzoosks shop (normally rated for the Gands natural nitrogen environment) she began pumping her emotion controlling pheromones into the room. WIth Cade in his sealed commando armor, and the Gand already in his suit (he had no lungs), Freel would be the only one affected. I allowed her to spend a Lightside Point to turn the normal advantage from her pheromones into a Yellow die due to the sheer volume of her pheromones. I warned her though that because she was pushing her body so far that the threats she gathered on the roll to befriend Freel would also act as the number of days she would be unable to use her pheromones (as her body would need to recover from the over-exertion). I also warned her that she'd never used her pheromones like this before, and not ever having contact with another Zeltron, she wouldn't know what to expect (or even if it would do anything at all) so on the roll one of the difficulty dice would be upgrade to a Challenge die.

When Freel entered, the pheromones did thier job, as she smiled sweetly and attempted a flirtatious welcome. Her roll netted a Triumph, three Threats, two successes and a Despair - Freel was smitten (little did she know exactly how smitten). Cade made a quick check to see what his reaction was to Leera on the grounds of his contract, and found no evidence that Freel thought Leera was the mark. The negotiations began.

With Freel obviously taken with Leera, they found out that Freel had prepared a data slide that held the chemical composition of the mark's scent. Once loaded into Cade's armor, he could match scent patterns to it in order to identify her. The last known location of the mark was heading into the jungles outside Myomar City - a daunting track for anyone. He needed someone to head out into the jungles while he searched the city to ensure she didn't double back. He was willing to pay 2500 for her capture alive, less for damage, and 500 dead. Cade (with Leera's help) managed to get half the money upfront (infatuated math worked against Freel on this one) so, 1250 credits richer, the bounty was accepted.

With the credits burning holes in their pockets, they set about repairing Cade's armor. No one even gave a second thought to the holonet alert that a Lord of Myomar, and husband to the Imperial's Governor's sister, and his mansion ransacked. They got the goods to repair Cade's armor and supplies for their trek into the jungle.

When Zzoosk got a call from Freel later asking where he could leave a gift for Leera, questions began to be raised. Zzoosk suggested that Freel leave it at the shop, as Cade and Leera would be by, and when a durasteel chest covered in fine silk was found on his doorstep, the group got nervous. When they realized the chest was coded to DNA, all eyes fell on Leera. Once open, they found rare silk gowns and a tiara made of starship grade durasteel, encrusted with stygian diamonds. All the gowns were of the highest grade craftsmanship, and made from rare textiles from across the universe. It didn't take long to identify the tiara as a gift to the Governor's sister in in celebration of her brother's assignment as Sector Governor. The tiara was made from the same lot of durasteel as the Sector's flagship Star Destroyer, the Relentless, and each Stygian crystal represented a unique ship assigned to the Sector Fleet. Crafted by the same hands that made the ISD Relentless, the gems were forever bound to the durasteel, just as the ships were bound to the Sector.

The chest represented priceless wealth - their way out, but there wasn't a fence in the Sector that could fence it. Worse yet, the Imperial Governor, in grief for his borther in law and fearful for his sister, had reacted with the typical Imperial reaction. Stormtroopers were everywhere, the Governor fearful of appearing unable to control the criminal element, a crackdown was sure to ensue. Moreover, with the Tiara being a symbol of the Governor's might, there was no way he would let it out of his grasp.

See, what the group didn't realize is that Despair result made Freel essentially a emotional slave to Leera. For those of you who read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels, think Confessor's power. Freel would literally do anything to show his love for Leera. This is why Zeltron don't use their pheromones to that level. Leera "googled" all she could about the reaction that Freel had to her, and soon found that on Zeltros, on the rare occasion when that happened, the Zeltron responsible was forever bound to the well-being of the afflicted. The player got hit with a new Obligation, essentially being responsible for Freel as her ward now.

Before Session 2 began, we had a new player join us:

Bral, a trandoshan Big Game Hunter/Body Guard. Bral has been operating as a low-level thug for the cartel because it allows him the chance to gain Jagannath Points for the Scorekeeper. He was hired by Freel to guard Leera, as Freel wanted nothing to hurt her, and was concerned with Imperial clampdown. Bral doesn't quite understand why the defel wants this zeltran to be protected, but he's paying good money for it, and since there must be something nasty after her, he figures the Jagannath will be worth it. Bral got his name from what he is; a Big Red Angry Lizard.

Session 2: Hail to the Chief

The characters, now very aware they needed to get out of town, went about gathering the remaining supplies after stashing the chest inside the Gand's shower under the bathing bench (which, actually isn't that bad of an idea, after all, the shower is sealed and acclimatized to his native environment, so no one will accidentally go in there).

Unfortunately, one of my players forgot to turn his cell off, and the dreaded imperial march was set as his ringtone. After a call from his wife, I happily cut away to a news story about an Imperial official who had landed with quite a bit of hoopla in the capital. The infamous envoy of the Emperor was, himself, being kept secret, but the amount of security and level of nervousness that their arrival has caused the Imperial Governor and his staff to heighten security and polish everything, causing many to wonder and comment on who this official could be.

Cade, fearing the worst, made some inquiries through his connections and found out that whoever the Imperial dignitary was, they were high up enough to warrant their own personalized squad of Stormtroopers to accompany them. Knowing there are only a couple of people with that kind of pull, namely, the Emperor, Vader, and the Grand Moffs, Cade shivered and hotfooted the group out of the city, convinced that Vader had learned of Leera's existence and was hunting down the last (as he believes it) child of the Jedi.

Bral's arrival didn't exactly go over well with anyone, Leera included (you know, I'm going to need a little *me* time once in a while!), but as no one was exactly in a place to make the trandoshan leave, and Cade was keenly aware of the Imperial presence around him, Bral was welcomed aboard - if only on a temporary basis.

They group headed out into the jungle, bringing along the supplies they needed, and ready for the long jungle trek. They were quite skilled at tracking, and more than adept at stealth, so when they came upon evidence that they were being stalked, a game of cat and mouse began. The two groups weaved back and forth who was following who, but suddenly, the tracks ended, leading the characters into a clearing. Bracing for an ambush they moved forward.

Bral caught the first sight of their attackers, Clone War era B-1 battledroids, wearing bone armor chest pieces and sporting war paint and feathers secured to their heads. The droids opened fire, delivering a staggering amount of concentrated blaster fire at the group. They were split into two 5 droid Minion teams, each firing at the major threats (Cade and Bral). The heroes tried to hold their ground and trade shot for shot, but the withering hail of gunfire made Cade dive for cover behind a large tree (he was took one hit that left him with 7 wounds, but his own poor rolling had him at 11 strain of a 13 threshold). Taking a moment to catch his breath (a medicine roll to try and remove strain) the battle droids though that he was defeated, and their routine programming told them to demand surrender. "Drop your weapons and surrender." What came next was simply inspired, as the player of Zzoosk innocently misspoke, "Drop your weapons and we surrender!"

While it was an innocent enough slip of the tongue, these are battle droids, so I had him roll a Deception check, to which he managed to get a Triumph and successes. "Wait, that's not how it works, the side that surrenders drops it weapons" the first droid said, to which the other droid (who had already dropped his weapon in order to assure the Heroes surrender) replied "So we're surrendering to them?" To which, the gand replied, "Very well, Zzoosk accepts your surrender, take us to your leader!" Incompetent droids, let me tell you. So anyway, the Heroes (only able to carry three of the blaster rifles the droids were using due to encumbrance issues), follow the droids back to a secluded village in the middle of the jungle. The PCs had assumed that since they were after a little girl, she must be playing "cowboys and indians" with droids, but the truth the was ever so more frightening.

As the PC's entered the droid village, they saw native huts, an entire village, all occupied by droids sporting the same look as the battle droids had. Just like in a bad holo, they wore colored paint and feathers, astromech droids, heavy labor droids, even gonk power droids and assassin droids were all tirelessly working around the village - making this or that - stone jewelry, prepping oil baths, building a new hut - the combination of native and artifical was disturbing. "King Wantehotee's hut is this way," the lead captive called.

They found a huge wooden hut, 20 feet high and grand in its footprint, with to Magnaguard combat droids outside standing guard (also arrayed in warpaint and tribal clothing). They crossed their staves and barred passage as the conversation covering the surrender of the B-1's was discussed and the Magnaguards remotely updated Wantehotee with the information. Finally, the Heroes were admitted passage into the hut of the KIng only to find ...

An Assassin droid!

Apparently, 1T-0T was an experimental assassin droid from ancient Republic built initially by the Gree enclave, who were appalled at what they had done and (after finding they couldn't actually stop it) stranded it on Myomar many millenniums ago. Over the course of the intervening years, it created a small village for itself, and, when expeditions to the local ruins would fail and survivors become scarce, it began adopting their servant droids into it's village. Over the millenniums thousands of crashes, battles, failed expeditions, and run-away service bots resulted in the "tribe" growing and forming it's own society. Now, the tribe exists as an oddity, secret (save for the Heroes now) to the "carbon-based life forms" of the galaxy and obeying it's own laws. King Wantehotee gave the group a single chance to leave the village peacefully - if they can "resurrect" their greatest witch-doctor, Tujuanbeo, and they promised to tell none of their existence, King Wantehotee would enter into a trust with these life-forms, as they have proven to be unlike any other fleshlings he has encountered before.

IF they could resurrect the witch-doctor ....