Instant Adventures

Design: Timothy S. O'Brien, Peter Schweighofer, George Strayton, Paul Sudlow, Eric S. Trautmann, Floyd Wesel • Product Concept: George Strayton • Development: Paul Sudlow • Editing and Additional Development: Eric S. Trautmann • Cover Design and Graphics: Brian Schomburg • Additional Graphics: Stephen Crane • Cover Art: LFL • Card Illustrations: Robert Duchlinski, Brian Schomburg, Christopher J. Trevas, Christina Wald • Interior Art: Mike Chen, Paul Daly, Ray Lederer, Christopher J. Trevas, Christina Wald, Loston Wallace

Publisher: Daniel Scott Palter • Associate Publisher/Treasurer: Denise Palter • Associate Publisher: Richard Hawran • Senior Editor: Greg Farshety • Editors: Peter Schweighofer, Bill Smith, George Strayton, Paul Sudlow, Eric S. Trautmann • Art Director: Stephen Crane • Graphic Artists: Tim Bobko, Tom O'Neill, Brian Schomburg • Sales Manager: Jeff Kent • Sales Assistant: Carl Klinger • Licensing Manager: Ron Seiden • Warehouse Manager: Ed Hill • Accounting: Karen Bayly, Mary Galant, Wendy Lord • Billing: Amy Giacobbe

Published by WEST END GAMES® RR 3 Box 2345 Honesdale PA 18431

©, TM & © 1997 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL). All Rights Reserved. Trademarks of LFL used by West End Games under authorization.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Argovia Strike
• Agent Nallok Is Missing
• Heavy Lifting
• Into the Heat of Battle
• Family Problems
• Meltdown
• New Recruits and Rebel Guns
• The Treasure of Celis Mott
• Operation: Shadowstrike

Introduction

What's In This Book?

Instant Adventures is (as the name implies) a collection of scenarios for use with the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, all linked by one common element: speed.

Each adventure contained in this book is designed to be read at a glance, allowing the gamemaster to run a Star Wars roleplaying session "on the fly" and with a minimum of preparation. These adventures also contain tips designed to help gamemasters incorporate the scenarios into existing campaigns or even string them out into full-fledged campaigns in their own right.

Each Instant Adventure features a "Quick-start Outline" (located on the first page of each scenario) that tells the gamemaster at a glance what order events occur in. This allows harried game-masters to flip rapidly through the book until they find the scenario that best suits the campaign.

In addition, each scenario in Instant Adventures contains diagrams and player handouts that gamemasters are encouraged to photocopy and use to enhance play; even if you don't want to use the accompanying scenarios, they are generic enough that you can incorporate characters, locations and technology into "homebrewed" games with ease.

Finally, Instant Adventures features 32 color reference cards. These cards contain the relevant game statistics and information about several items of technology, ships, vehicles and characters that appear in this book. Gamemasters are encouraged to use these cards not only as a player aid when running the scenarios in Instant Adventures, but also to augment ongoing campaigns. Most of these cards feature common enough enemies or character types that gamemasters should have no trouble using them in other Star Wars roleplaying sessions.

Using The Cards

The color reference cards included in Instant Adventures work best as a visual aid for gamemasters. Rather than describing an encounter with Imperial Storm Commandoes or a Hutt pirate vessel, gamemasters can now show the players exactly what the character or device looks like. By providing the players with a visual reference to items and characters in the scenario, gamemasters can more easily capture the Star Wars "feel" during play.

In addition, the reverse of each card contains an icon in the upper right corner, representing the card's type. Imperial icons naturally indicate characters or vessels allied with the Empire; Rebel icons indicate an Alliance affiliation. The Blazing Claw emblem indicates a pirate character or ship; independent operators (such as forgers, smugglers or other "fringe" characters) are represented by a Millennium Falcon icon. The Black Sun emblem indicates a character tied to Prince Xizor's shadowy criminal organization. Finally, droids and equipment are represented by a blaster-shaped icon.

Time Frame

The scenarios in Instant Adventures all fall in the "Classic" Star Wars era. More specifically, these adventures take place between the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The Emperor is still in power, his minions — Darth Vader in particular — still hunt for the Rebels responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, and the criminal organization Black Sun holds sway over the galactic underworld. The Rebellion is still struggling against the might of the Imperial military and has only recently begun to show success against Palpatine's oppressive regime.

These adventures could be modified for use in a New Republic-era campaign or even — with substantial modification — a Tales of the Jedi-era campaign, though this modification will require extra "legwork" by the gamemaster.

The Argovia Strike

Introduction

"The Argovia Strike" is designed for four to six Rebel characters. The characters must infiltrate and destroy an Imperial sensor net complex (so that a Rebel convoy carrying much-needed supplies can slip through an Imperial blockade).

"The Argovia Strike"

Quick-start Outline

• Episode One. The characters travel to Argovia, where the sensor net complex is located. They look for their contact, a man named Battz, who can get them inside. However, they must first rescue the man from a pair of loan-sharks and their thugs.
• Episode Two. The characters must overcome a number of obstacles to gain access to the sensor net complex, and the central computer core inside. Then they must plant their explosives and escape.
• Cards Used: 3, 4, 5 (the Imperial ID card), 15, 26.

Episode One

The Rebel Alliance has recently established several secret bases in the Outer Rim Territories and is in the process of delivering crucial supplies to them. The Empire—suspecting Rebel activity in the Endocray region — has blockaded the hyperlanes leading through the sector by erecting a series of sensor nets along the jump routes. The Rebel transports cannot get through without leading the Empire to the new Alliance installations.

The Alliance needs to disable the sensor nets so the supply convoy can slip through. The player characters' mission is to infiltrate the sensor net complex on Argovia and disable the coordination center for the sensor nets. This will buy the Alliance a few weeks to get supplies through the blockade.

Because of the blockade, the characters can't travel directly to Argovia in their own ship. Fortunately, a cargo skipper with Rebel sympathies (and more importantly, a permit to transport goods to a mining community in Endocray sector), has offered the characters transportation to Argovia. The skipper, a no-nonsense woman named Leona Makk, is present at the briefing. She will take the characters to Argovia, and bring them back once the mission is accomplished.

Upon arriving at Argovia, the characters must rendezvous with a man named Battz. Battz (a local forger and "occasional" Rebel agent) says he can forge ID passes that will get the team inside the local Imperial sensor net complex. Battz already knows the night the characters will be arriving aboard Makk's ship, and will meet them at Tanza's, a gambling parlor in Argovas City. He will be wearing a white Shang Lines flight jacket, so that the characters can identify him with ease.

The characters will be issued whatever equipment deemed suitable to the mission: blasters, electronic lock picks, nightsight goggles, and so on. (Heavy weapons and extra explosives are not available from the quartermaster, however.) The characters are also given a few specific items. First is a satchel of credits (6,000 in all). 4,500 credits are to pay Battz for his passes, with the rest to be used for expenses. The second item is a metallic case. Nestled in foam compartments inside are six thermal mines — small matte-black cases, each with a digital timer.

Thermal Mine

Model: Anti-structure mine
Type: Explosive
Scale: Speeder
Skill: Demolitions
Blast Radius: 0/2/4/6/10
Damage: 10D/8D/5D/2D

The Trip to Argovia

The trip to Argovia is uneventful — at least until the Voxen Tass drops out of hyperspace at the Endocray sector border to get clearance to pass the blockade boundaries, and comes face-to-face with an Imperial Interdictor Cruiser!

The cruiser orders the ship to identify itself and transmit its travel permits. Nervously activating the appropriate comm frequency, Makk complies. After a tense moment, the Imperials clear the ship and wish them a good journey to Argovia.

Imperial Interdictor Cruiser

Scale: Capital
Crew Skill: Astrogation 5D, capital ship gunnery 5D, capital ship piloting 5D, capital ship shields 4D
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 6
Hull: 5D
Shields: 3D
Weapons:
20 quad laser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 4D)
4 gravity well projectors (fire control 6D, blocks hyperspace travel)

Leona Makk

Leona Makk is a tough-as-nails cargo skipper for Shang Lines, a cargo transport firm which operates in the Outer Rim. She has long harbored pro-Rebel sympathies. For several years now, Makk has sent back to her Rebel contacts reports on activities in the Imperial shipyards she frequents in her runs for Shang Lines. (See card 3.)

Type: Cargo ship captain
DEXTERITY 2D+1
Blaster 3D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 3D+1, bureaucracy 4D, business: cargo shipping 5D+2, languages 3D+1, planetary systems 3D+2, value 4D
MECHANICAL 3D+2
Astrogation 4D+1, capital ship piloting: Bulk Hauler 5D, capital ship shields 4D, ground vehicle operation 4D, repulsorlift operation 4D+1, sensors 4D+2, space transports 5D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, command 6D+2, con 4D, forgery 4D, hide 5D, persuasion 4D+2
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 5D, lifting 4D+1, stamina 4D+2
TECHNICAL 2D+2
Capital ship repair 3D, first aid 3D+2
Character Points: 4
Move: 10
Equipment: Shang Lines coveralls, comlink headset, Merr-Sonn hold-out blaster (3D)

Voxen Tass, Shang Lines Bulk Hauler

Scale: Capital
Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D, capital ship shields 3D, space transports 3D+1
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 1
Atmosphere: 210; 600 kmh
Hull: 3D
Shields: 1D

(See card 15.)

Argovia is a humid world with gloomy, overcast skies and ever-present drizzle. Despite its less-than pleasant environment, Argovia is a world rich in ores, and several companies have bought the rights to mine here. In the last half-year, the Empire has established a sensor net processing complex near the spaceport built to service the ore companies. The population of Argovia is sparse; perhaps more people would live here, but the mining companies and Empire restrict immigration to company and Imperial employees.

Staging Tips

This adventure can be worked into just about any Rebel campaign set in the Classic Star Wars era. The blockaded Endocray sector is positioned for convenience between the Colonies and the Outer Rim Territories, but can be placed in any remote and sparsely-settled region of space.

If the characters are assigned to a secret Rebel base, you can add drama by making the blockaded sector their home sector. In this case, the convoy is carrying badly-needed supplies for their own base. Such a set-up tailored to your own campaign can give added urgency and immediacy to the mission.

The characters should be allowed to land on Argovia without incident, though the Interdictor that is approaching Makk's ship can be used for a few extremely tense minutes.

Gamemasters should encourage the players to roleplay out the scene, making appropriate con or persuasion rolls as needed. The captain of the Interdictor is a fairly typical Customs type; he knows he has the authority to board the ship and confiscate whatever he wishes, unless the characters are appropriately obsequious.

If the player characters are really botching their attempts to placate the Imperial captain, Makk will politely suggest a small "passage fee" (a bribe) — the remainder of the credits supplied by the Alliance.

Tangling with the Nightlife

Most of the buildings in town are prefabs offloaded from cargo ships and bolted together. A few are newer and actually built from the ground up. The whole place has the feel of a frontier town, and not just by the architecture — its inhabitants are equally rough and wild.

From the look of things, it must be payday for the miners, because the streets are filled with carousers of all sorts. Fights tumble out into the street from the insides of bars while the mining company police calmly stroll their beats.

Tanza's, a well-known landmark, is not difficult to locate. It is a three-story transparisteel building, filled with flashing lights, gaudy chrome statues, and throngs of people. Inside, the air is filled with the sounds of a gambling casino gone mad. Shrill whistles pierce the air, loud bells clang, and everywhere is the clatter of brass hitting wood and plastic as hundreds of miners shoot brass balls into the tacky sanchango gambling machines. (Sanchango is played by tossing a metal ball into the upright machine in the hopes of dislodging other balls inside; each ball is worth a credit.)

Battz is not in the casino, though on a Moderate streetwise roll the characters learn that he was just there and left moments ago, headed outside. If the characters look around outside, they have better luck. On a Moderate Perception roll, they glimpse a man wearing a white jacket in a nearby alley. The man in the alley is being accosted by several menacing thugs who are surrounding him, occasionally giving the small, oddly dressed figure rough shoves.

Makk puts down at the small spaceport and the characters disembark as soon as she gives the all-clear sign. She tells them that she will be on Argovia for 15 hours taking on a load of ore. They have that long to do their job and get back. She sternly warns them not to come near her and her ship if they are being chased by the authorities.

Argovas City, the community adjacent to the spaceport, is a grubby mining town. A kilometer or so beyond the town, huge cranes and gantries — lit by dozens of arc lights — rear up in the sky, and the shadowy bulk of large processing plants can be seen against the reddish tint of the dense nighttime clouds. Beyond the city, a large sensor dish points up into the sky, also illuminated by arc lamps; this is obviously the business end of the sensor net they have come to destroy.

In addition, a menacing cloud formation is looming on the horizon; the violent Argovia weather looks to turn nasty again ... and soon.

Argovia

Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Temperate
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: Moist
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Wetlands
Length of Day: 28 standard hours
Length of Year: 345 local days
Sapient Species: Human
Starport: Standard class
Population: 600,000
Planet Function: Mining
Government: Imperial prefect
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Mineral ores
Major Imports: Everything (Argovia is not a self-sufficient world)

The man in white is Battz. Battz has run up some formidable gambling debts lately, and has made the mistake of borrowing from loan-sharks to cover them. Unfortunately, his luck hasn't changed, and the loan-sharks have tired of asking for their money politely. As the characters watch, a burly man seizes Battz from behind, and another begins to pummel him. At that precise moment, the sky opens up with a thundering roar, and rain begins to pour down in wind-lashed torrents.

If the characters intercede, the loan-sharks and their thugs turn on them as well. There are six thugs and two loan-sharks. If the loan-sharks see blasters being drawn, they respond in kind. Otherwise, they stick to brawling and melee weapons. They break and run as soon people start dying or if the mining company police begin to take an interest in the altercation. If the fight gets too loud, the police may arrive in a few rounds to break it up.

The dirt of the alley quickly becomes a muddy deluge of water rushing past the combatants' legs. If the characters leave Battz to his own fate, the loan-sharks beat him senseless, and drop him in the mud (in which case he is at a -1D in all of his attribute and skill checks for the remainder of the adventure).

Thugs

DEXTERITY 1D
Brawling parry 4D, melee combat 4D
KNOWLEDGE 1D
MECHANICAL 1D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 4D
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 10
Equipment: Steel baton (STR+1D)

Loan-sharks

DEXTERITY 2D
Brawling parry 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Alien species 4D, bureaucracy: mining company 5D+1, cultures 5D+2, intimidation 5D+1, streetwise: Argovia 8D, value 5D+2
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 5D, con 6D+1
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Expensive clothing, metal cane (STR+1D), datapad, hold-out blaster (3D), comlink

Mining company police

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 5D+1, dodge 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Command 4D
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D), blast vest (+1 to Strength to resist damage), comlink

Battz is a somewhat scruffy-looking individual who forges this and that for people, no questions asked. He occasionally does work for the Alliance. He is good at his job, but he like to gamble a bit too much, and frequently gets in over his head. (See card 4.)

Battz

Type: Forger
DEXTERITY 2D
Brawling parry 3D, dodge 4D+1, running 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 3D+2, streetwise 4D, value 3D+2
MECHANICAL 3D
Communications 5D, repulsorlift operation 4D, sensors 6D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, con 3D+1, forgery 5D, gambling 3D+2, hide 5D, sneak 4D+1
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 4D
Computer programming/repair 6D+1, security 5D+2
Character Points: 9
Move: 10
Equipment: Datapad

CLASS Z ACCESS

Battz even provides the characters with the orange and gray coveralls the Imperial techs wear at the complex for an additional 300 credits each. Otherwise, the characters will have to do without or hunt through town and find a few off-duty techs they can "convince" to surrender their clothing.

If the characters ask about the fight in the alley, Battz tells them as little as possible (basically that he owed his attackers some money). A Moderate Perception roll reveals that this whole line of questioning is agitating him.

Battz won't accompany the characters inside the complex unless forced. He doesn't know the layout or anything about security measures.

Episode Three

The Imperials built their sensor complex on a stretch of terrain previously canvassed by the mining company. The topsoil has been removed, and only a featureless rocky plain remains. There is no cover in a hundred meter range around the entrance, except for one large rocky hill, which the complex is built into. Only the entrance pod of the complex is exposed; the complex was constructed in the foothills of the mountains that become more prominent a half-kilometer away.

Infiltrating the complex is not easy. The Imperials have gone to a lot of trouble to secure the grounds of the complex, and are ready for trouble. The characters will have to be very careful to avoid alerting the Imperials, because their job becomes next to impossible if they do so.

Battz takes the characters to his home, a prefab structure set back from the main thoroughfare. He has successfully obtained this week's security codes to the complex as promised. He produces a sample ID badge, some blank cards, a holocam, and some additional materials, and proceeds to forge the ID cards. (The IDs are represented by card 5.)

Each card identifies the characters as maintenance techs at the Complex. Whenever a guard in the complex asks to see some form of identification, each player must make an opposed roll against the guard's forgery, search or Perception (whichever is highest) to determine how well the fake ID fools him. (The characters would roll 5D — the same die code as Battz's forgery skill.)

Sidebar: If the Complex is Alerted

If the complex is alerted to the presence of intruders, the Security Center personnel immediately move to seal the complex. The blast doors at the entrance are mechanically sealed from the Security Center (they cannot be opened electronically at all — only explosives or a Very Difficult computer programming/repair roll made in the Security Center can open it again).

The guards alert the Imperial garrison in Argovas City to respond. In 2D turns, a Juggernaut ground assault vehicle with a crew complement of 50 stormtroopers arrives.

Juggernaut Heavy Assault Vehicle

Scale: Walker
Maneuverability: 0D
Move: 70; 200 kmh (slows to 8; 25 kmh when turning)
Cover: Full
Body Strength: 5D
Weapons:
3 heavy laser cannons (fire arc: 1 turret, 1 left, 1 right, fire control 2D, 50-500/1/2 km, damage 5D)
1 medium blaster cannon (fire control 1D, range 50-250/750/1.5 km, damage 4D)
2 concussion grenade launchers (fire control 1D, 50-100/250/500, damage 3D+1)

Note: The Juggernaut's laser turret can face the left, front and right fire arcs only. It may only move the turret one fire arc per turn.

In the meantime, the guards move to contain or kill the intruders. Most of the non-combatant staff hide in the 'freshers.

Finally, until a stand-down order is issued by the Imperial Prefect in Argovas City, no ship can depart or land at the spaceport. Fifty stormtroopers arrive at the spaceport to enforce the edict. Naturally, a ship can violate this edict and blast into space, but it risks pursuit by one of the Star Destroyers patrolling the sector.

The Sensor Complex

Fence. A powered fence four meters high surrounds the entrance at a distance of 50 meters. Signs posted every 20 meters warn possible intruders that lethal force will be used to protect the complex. The fence delivers a powerful shock to anyone touching it (5D speeder-scale damage). In addition, the disruption of the energy circuit sounds an alarm in the Security Center.

Powerful arc lamps surrounding the perimeter behind the fence bathe the area in a bright light at night.

The Gate. There is a single gate in the fence. The gate is magnetically secured (the control switch is in the Security Center — the guards cannot open the gate).

A guard box is situated in front of the gate, on the outside. Two stormtroopers are on duty here at all times. Shifts run on six-hour cycles. Six stormtroopers and the relief guards emerge from the complex to protect the gate during the changing of the guard.

When the characters approach the gate, the guards level their weapons and demand to see some identification. If the player characters' ID cards check out, one of the stormtroopers steps in front of a video camera and tells the Security Center to open the gate (he does not use the word "sir" in his message — see below). While doing so, he thumbs a small button under the console. If the button is not pushed, the guards inside know that something is wrong. There is no chance for people standing outside the guard box to see this button being pressed; the box was designed to block that view.

If the ID doesn't check out, he refuses to allow the characters entrance and moves to summon additional guards.

Note: The button helps ensure that someone posing as a stormtrooper cannot order those inside to open the gate. Chances are, the characters will not think to look for one. But there is an additional protection. If a stormtrooper is forced to order the gate opened, he does so, but uses the word "sir" in his message. This is a signal that he is under duress. Naturally, the stormtrooper will neglect to press the button if he can get away with it, and a character posing as a stormtrooper who uses "sir" will also be in trouble.

Sidebar: Imperial Sensor Net Complex

Complex Personnel

Techs

DEXTERITY 2D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
Communications 3D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 3D
Equipment: Comlink, datapad, improvised club (STR+1D+2)

Imperial Stormtroopers

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Stormtrooper armor (+2D physical, +1D energy, -1D to Dexterity and related skills), blaster pistol (4D)

(See card 26.)

Entrance. The only entrance to the complex is a circular gray bunker which extrudes from the rocky hillside. It is protected by a three-layer blast door. If the guards at the gate allow the characters in, the door cycles open as they approach.

If not, the characters will have to break in. Opening each layer requires a separate Moderate security roll. Failure on any door causes all opened doors to slide shut again. Unless an immediate Moderate computer programming/repair roll is made, a shrill alarm goes off, essentially ending any chances the characters have of fulfilling their mission. If the characters opt for a more violent method of getting in, the door has a body strength of 7D to resist damage.

Inside, the entrance foyer is quiet and lit only by a narrow band running down each wall. There is a motion detector mounted on the right side of the corridor which tracks people moving through the corridor. A Moderate Perception is required to spot the motion detector, and the difficulty to sneak past it is also Moderate. If it detects movement, it beeps the guards in Lobby A (this isn't a security alert, just a heads-up).

Lobby A. The hallway widens into a small lobby. In the center of the lobby is a large imposing desk. Behind the desk two stormtroopers stand guard, keeping an eye on the hallway in front of them. From their station, they can see all activity which takes place in the entrance and the hallway. These stormtroopers ask for ID, though their weapons remain in their holsters (unless there is an alert on). This ID check requires an Easy forgery check.

The desk, which is armored, gives the stormtroopers partial cover. It has a body strength of 5D. Beyond the lobby is another hallway ending in a sliding door. The door cycles open automatically as someone approaches.

Lobby B. The second lobby is much like the first, down to the two stormtroopers. There are doors to the right and left. There is a final ID check here, which requires a Moderate forgery roll.

Operations Center. The operations center is where the thousands of sensor buoys, ships, and probe droids trolling through the sector send their findings. In the vast databanks of the complex computer, the numbers are crunched, profiles generated, and findings presented on a giant three-dimensional holodisplay which orbits and oscillates in the center of the large room. A catwalk circles and intersects the room.

Beneath them, in two pits, dozens of techs pore over read-outs and reports, trying to locate the telltale signs of covert Rebel supply lines, and trying to plot their destination. There are roughly 30 techs in this room at all times. Three stormtroopers walk the catwalks and keep an eye on things.

The characters may decide to plant their charges here, either covertly, or after killing or chasing away everyone. This is a fairly good choice, though not the best (the power core room is the best location to blow). The room takes 45 points of damage before being sundered beyond repair. Planting the mines effectively takes a Moderate demolitions roll. A failed roll means the room takes half damage.

Security Center. The Security Center houses the men and machines charged with maintaining security for the complex. Several aisles of computer banks, monitors, and display grids keep tabs on the various security measures active throughout the complex. During the day, there are 12 stormtroopers on duty in the main security area, and 16 techs. At night, there are 6 stormtroopers and five techs. A smaller room at the back is a small ready room, where an extra six stormtroopers await emergencies.

Blowing up this room won't gain the characters much in terms of wrecking the sensor net, but it will throw the complex's security into chaos.

Power Core. The power core fuels the entire complex. A metallic catwalk runs around the girth of a great ceramic and ferrocrete sphere, which sits in a giant steel cradle. Numerous power couplers and cables run from the power core to the rest of the complex. The room is dim, but well-lit around the catwalk by dozens of consoles blazing with monitors and indicators which are mounted on the outer wall.

An Easy demolitions roll reveals that this is the best place to plant the mines. When the power core is breached, the resulting release of energy will likely take the top of the entire hill off.

Of course, cracking the core is not an easy job. The mines need to be placed in strategic spots around the core. A Difficult demolitions roll accomplishes the task. The sphere takes 30 points of damage before cracking, so hopefully the characters haven't used too many of their mines before now. Again, a failed roll means the room takes half damage.

If the characters have run out of explosives, a Very Difficult computer programming/repair roll will send the complex power core into an overload spiral; the characters will have five minutes to flee the installation before it explodes; the explosion has a blast radius of 300 meters and does 5D capital-scale damage to anyone nearby. Obviously, the characters will need to exit the complex in great haste.

'Freshers. The two 'freshers in the complex are much like institutional restrooms everywhere; a row of sinks facing a row of stalls. Between the two of them, there is room enough for the entire clerical staff to cower in if a battle begins in the outer corridors.

Offices. The office area is a maze of cubicles which wind and wander over the worn gray carpet. The complex support staff has its offices here; the techs, programmers, accountants, managers, and so on. Most of the staffers are civilians, and the few military techs are non-combatants. There are about 30 of people in here during the daylight hours, and five at night.

There is a single fire alarm by the entrance, and the manager's office toward the back of the room has a closed line to the Security Center. Aside from these two devices, there is no way for anyone in this room to communicate with anyone outside of it.

The Too-Clever-By-Far Option

Remember the huge sensor dish hulking over the complex? It is protected by an unpowered and unguarded fence. It requires an Easy demolitions roll and a single small explosive (such as the mines the characters are carrying) to bring the whole unwieldy mechanism crashing to the ground. Blowing up the dish takes care of the complex in a big and dramatic way. If the characters take this option, pat them on their backs for proving that the Imperials aren't so clever after all. The first few convoys get through the blockade with no trouble.

Unfortunately, this is a case of the characters being too clever for themselves — blowing up the dish doesn't shut down the complex for good. The facility will be operational in a few days when a new dish can be installed. The characters may have to come back and do the job again.

Spawning A Campaign

If the gamemaster simply wishes to get the characters off the planet, it shouldn't be much trouble, if they can get back to the spaceport and Makk's ship without being chased. If things go horribly wrong, Makk has a change of heart and flies her huge ship to wherever they are holed up to rescue them.

Character Rewards

Characters who successfully entered the complex (and got out alive) receive two Character Points. Characters that figured out the outer guard's verbal security code receive an additional Character Point. If the complex was destroyed, award the characters an additional two Character Points per episode.

Agent Nallok Is Missing

"Agent Nallok Is Missing" Quick Start Outline

• Episode One. The characters reach an abandoned salt mine and search it for Agent Nallok. They encounter a booby-trapped droid which, through a recorded message, reveals Polag's treachery.
• Episode Two. Two squads of stormtroopers — tipped off by Polag — enter the mine and try to capture the characters. The Rebels must blast their way out using their wits and whatever supplies they find in the old mine.
• Episode Three. Returning to the settlement, the characters burst into Polag's home to exact their revenge and try to find out what Polag has done with Agent Nallok. The Arcona might flee, bargain for his life, or hold Nallok hostage.
• Card Used: 26.

Introduction

"Agent Nallok Is Missing" is best suited for a group of four to six Rebel player characters. The group is assigned to find a fellow operative, Nallok, who disappeared on a backwater planet. Their only lead in finding her is a well-to-do Arcona named Bennbus Polag, who seems to run the planet's only settlement.

Agent Nallok was scouting a remote system, rounding up supplies to transport to Rebel bases. The characters were supposed to pick her and the materials up in their light freighter, but Nallok failed to show up at the prearranged rendezvous. Fearing something had gone wrong, the characters discreetly asked around as to Nallok's whereabouts. Although her mission wasn't paramount to Rebel operations in this area, Nallok was a valued agent, and the supplies she could gather would be well-used.

Eventually the characters met an Arcona named Bennbus Polag, a pompous entrepreneur and impromptu "mayor" of the planet's only settlement. He pointed the characters in the right direction. According to Polag, Nallok was exploring an abandoned salt mine complex several kilometers outside the settlement. The Arcona used to run the salt recovery operation back in his younger years, before he established himself as an upstanding member of the town. Nallok had inquired with Polag about equipment left there that might be salvaged. The Arcona heard she left the settlement several days ago, but had not returned.

For 100 credits, Polag rents the characters one beat-up landspeeder and a few glow rods with which to search the mine — the facility had been powered down long ago when the Arcona no longer had the resources to operate the mine profitably.

Bennbus Polag has dabbled in just about every kind of seedy business venture he could sink his claws into. In his younger days he wandered the streets, nabbing trinkets out of people's pockets and furthering his scams for investing other beings' wealth in his own well-being. If he was caught, he always managed to talk his way out of it. Sometimes, though, he relied on fellow townspeople to stand up for his so-called "good reputation." He always made sure he had several influential friends to cover for him.

Bennbus Polag

Type: Arconan entrepreneur
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster: hold-out blaster 5D, dodge 4D, pick pocket 5D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 4D+2, business 5D, streetwise 6D
MECHANICAL 3D
Repulsorlift operation 4D+1
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 5D, con 6D, forgery 4D+2, gambling 3D+2, persuasion 4D+1
STRENGTH 3D+2
Brawling 4D, digging 4D+2
TECHNICAL 2D+1
Computer programming/repair 4D, droid programming 3D+2, droid repair 4D, security 3D+1
Special Abilities:
Senses: Arcona have weak long-distance vision (add +10 to the difficulty level of all tasks involving vision at distances greater than 15 meters), but excellent close-range senses (add +1D to all Perception skills involving heat, smell or movement when within 15 meters).
Thick Hide: Arcona have tough, armored hides that add +1D to Strength when resisting physical damage.
Talons: Arcona have sharp talons which add +1D to climbing, Strength (when determining damage), or digging.
Salt Weakness: Polag is addicted to salt. If he does not consume 25 grams of salt every day, he suffers a -1D penalty to all actions.
Force Points: 1
Dark Side Points: 2
Character Points: 4
Move: 9
Equipment: Comlink, datapad, Imperial Arms Model 22T4 hold-out blaster (3D+1), salt pouch, 1,500 credits

When he made enough credits from his small-time schemes, Bennbus dabbled in several larger ventures: running some guns, operating a salt mine, brokering illegal items between smugglers and local townspeople, and some racketeering. These days he's turned "respectable," keeping his claws in every aspect of local government. He still has his eyes open for lucrative opportunities, and will sell just about anything (or sell out anyone) to make a quick credit.

Staging Tips

Rebel characters are best for this adventure, although Agent Nallok could be substituted by a smuggler's contact, an outlaw tech the characters need to repair their ship, or someone worth a great deal of money (a wealthy patron, ransomed relative, or ingenious starship engineer). The Arcona Bennbus Polag could be replaced by a villain from a gamemaster's own campaign — someone who initially seems helpful but later betrays the characters.

The backwater planet and its sole settlement could be located on any number of worlds. Moorja, a planet from "Black Curs Blues" in The Official Star Wars Adventure Journal #8, might serve as a good backdrop: its terrain is conducive to the mine encounter, and its settlement has a sizable Arconan population. Players wishing to visit more mainstream Star Wars locations might chose to set this adventure in Mos Eisley: the salt mines could easily be changed to some other kind of underground passages.

Finally, if the characters are fairly experienced, the gamemaster may decide to up the stakes in this adventure. Perhaps Nallok has found the location of a secret Imperial listening post in this sector (possibly even the base on Argovia; see "The Argovia Strike" on pages 4-11) or has captured a list of Imperial covert operatives in a nearby sector. She managed to hide the data before her capture, but may not be able to hold out if an Intel team or an Inquisitor is sent to interrogate her. The player characters must rescue Nallok and then recover the data, matching wits with an Imperial Intel team.

Typical Intel team (10 troops)

DEXTERITY 3D+1
Archaic guns 3D+2, blaster 5D+2, blaster artillery 5D, brawling parry 6D, dodge 6D, firearms 6D+1, grenade 5D, melee combat 5D, melee parry 5D, missile weapons 5D, thrown weapons 6D, vehicle blasters 5D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Alien species 5D, intimidation 5D+2, law enforcement 6D, streetwise 6D+2
MECHANICAL 2D
Astrogation 4D+2, beast riding 5D, communications 4D, repulsorlift operation 6D, space transports 5D, starfighter piloting 4D, swoop operation 5D, walker operation 5D
PERCEPTION 4D
Bargain 4D+2, command 5D, con 5D, forgery 4D+1, search 6D, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 3D+2
Brawling 5D, climbing/jumping 4D+2, lifting 4D+2, stamina 6D, swimming 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Computer programming/repair 5D, first aid 5D

Some skills have been advanced by specialized training and mnemiotic drugs.

Episode One

The landspeeder ride out to the mining site is uneventful. The trip takes the characters from the settlement into a range of low and rocky hills. The mining camp is nestled between several bluffs. The surface ruins include a few crumbling foundations, mounds of refuse, and a duracrete-reinforced entry ramp that curves into one of the hills.

Since the facility powered down long ago, Polag loaded enough glow rods into the vehicle so each character has one. They enter the mine through the spiral access shaft. From there they may branch off to explore any of the numerous tunnels leading deeper into the rock. Allow them to examine the various map locations detailed below:

1. Guard Bunker. This alcove to one side of the main entrance used to house a few guards. A lonely and dented metal table sits in the corner — several empty food ration containers litter its surface.

2. Cave-In. This corridor dead-ends in a wall of rock which collapsed from the ceiling long ago. Although digging through to the other side is next to impossible, the loose stones can be removed to form barricades.

3. Air Shaft. A deteriorating blower fan assembly sits crumpled beneath a 0.25 meter-wide shaft to the surface. The fan used to draw fresh air into the mines, but corroded and fell from its mounting brackets from years of neglect. Characters listening for sounds on the surface might hear something echoing down the air shaft — those making Difficult Perception rolls think they hear the sound of footsteps and the clattering of military gear.

4. Corroded Mining Equipment. An old tracked borer sits in this alcove, its fusion generator long extinguished. Although it won't start, it can be pushed on its treads. The borer is wide enough to fit into most mine tunnels, and could provide solid mobile cover while advancing slowly down a corridor.

5. Sealed Blast Door. A small blast door here seems to have been sealed many years ago. The control panel has rusted through, and none of the indicator lights are lit. Desperate characters might be able to manually open the blast door and find an alternate exit from the mines behind it, but the door is noisy and might alert anyone looking for the Rebels.

6. Discarded Supplies. A few metal crates have been tossed here. Two contain rotted rations, while the third has a few crumbling blocks of dried-out detonite, a brittle fuse, and a detonator box. The detonator box won't fire, and the fuse crumbles when its handled; however, the three blocks of detonite are still good. Each inflicts 1D damage if set off (a blaster shot might detonate it, or an electrical charge from some source, like a glow rod). The blocks are unstable, though, and might crumble if not handled gingerly.

After exploring most of the areas, the characters discover the battered remains of an R2 droid. The droid seems to be gutted from the inside out; virtually all of the droid's internal components have been stripped. Characters that make a Difficult droid repair roll notice some equipment in the droid's dome has recently been fixed and a small winking red light is barely visible within the droids innards.

Regardless of whether or not the characters notice this, the new equipment (a proximity sensor) is triggered by their presence, and a small datapad drops out of the droid's tiny storage chamber. If the characters read it, give them the handout below; alternately, the droid could project a recording from a concealed holoprojector allowing Polag himself to deliver his message of treachery.

Sidebar: Handout

Greetings, Rebels. I'm afraid you've been on a fool's errand. In a few moments you'll all be captured by Imperial stormtroopers who are desperately looking for some of Nallok's friends, particularly those who can provide them with important information — Rebel troop strengths, ambush plans, starship numbers, and hidden base locations.

Of course, I won't be around to get you out of this one — even for a price. Serving the Empire is a much more lucrative pursuit for me. Ah, yes, I'll be sitting around enjoying my share of the Empire's bounty on Rebel spies. Besides, I know you'll just have a blast down there...

— Bennbus Polag

Bennbus has also planted a timer and several cubes of detonite within the droid, set to go off one minute after the hologram ends. The odd, electronic ticking can be noticed by characters making Difficult Perception, search, or droid repair rolls.

If the bomb is not discovered and disarmed (a Difficult demolitions roll), it explodes. Pieces of old droid and rock rip through the air, inflicting 5D damage on anyone nearby. Then the characters hear heavy steps moving through the mine corridors near the entrance: their only way out!

Episode Two

Two squads of stormtroopers enter the mine to capture the characters. One squad (eight stormtroopers) is advancing down the mine corridor searching for them, while the other squad is taking up a defensive position at the mine entrance.

If the droid bomb explodes, the advance squad discovers the characters' location and moves in that direction. If the bomb is disarmed and does not go off, the advance squad might pass by the characters' location if they are hiding. Give the stormtroopers a chance to make a few search rolls against the characters' sneak rolls.

Imperial Stormtroopers

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: SoroSuub Stormtrooper One blaster rifle (5D), stormtrooper armor (+1D energy, +2D physical, -1D Dexterity and related skills)

See card 26 for more information on Imperial stormtroopers.

The squad near the entrance waits for the characters to emerge, even if it sounds like the advance squad is having a tough time — their orders are to capture the Rebels at all costs. Since this is the only stable entrance to the mines, the characters must face this second squad. Other escape routes might exist deeper within the mines, but these are unstable, labyrinthine and prone to cave-ins.

Enterprising characters might use the decoy droid's timer and the blocks of detonite (if defused), or they could find uses for the mining equipment left within the catacombs. They must be cautious, though; a large explosion might cause the corridor or the entrance to collapse.

Once the characters defeat the second Imperial stormtrooper squad, they emerge from the mine and return to the settlement.

Episode Three

The characters are probably very upset that Bennbus betrayed them (and agent Nallok) to the Empire. If they're not returning to the Arcona's home to see if he's imprisoned the Rebel agent there, they might be seeking to exact vengeance on Bennbus and capture him as a spy against the Alliance. If he is allowed to escape, he could cause more problems for the Rebellion and its operatives.

The characters are fairly certain Bennbus is enjoying his new-found bounty credits at his small townhouse at the settlement's center. They previously met the Arconan here and know a bit about the building's layout and security. The townhouse consists of three rooms: a foyer (with at least six mercenary guards), an entertaining room, and Bennbus' personal quarters.

The solid front door has a viewport for the guards to see who's calling. The characters can try and con their way past the mercenaries, or might find a way inside through one of the high windows which illuminate the entertaining room. If they managed to save the detonite from the booby-trapped droid, they could use it to blow a hole through one wall, alerting everyone to their presence.

If the characters enter the foyer, they must confront Bennbus' six bodyguards, all of whom are intent on keeping the characters from proceeding further until their boss has been notified of their arrival.

Bodyguard Mercenaries

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blast vest (+1 energy, +1D physical, torso only), Calban Model X heavy blaster pistol (5D+1)

Once the bodyguards are defeated, the characters burst into Bennbus' entertaining room, where they met with the Arcona on their initial visit. It's empty. They hear sounds coming from the Arcona's personal chambers. Gamemasters may chose one of three alternate climaxes:

• The Cowardly Arcona. When the characters reach Bennbus' quarters, they find him scrambling through one of the high, narrow windows. If they don't act quickly, he'll drop through the window and flee through the settlement streets. Although he'll hide, Bennbus could have a difficult time finding passage off the planet, especially with vengeful characters looking for him. Should the Rebels search his personal quarters, they find a trap door beneath an ornate carpet. The door opens on a deep shaft: Agent Nallok is chained at the bottom. A retractable ladder is set into the upper portions of the shaft, and can be manually lowered to release Nallok.

• Bribery. Bennbus is sitting casually behind his desk, smiling nervously and gesturing to several bags of credit chits. A carpet has been rolled aside, revealing an open trap door. Agent Nallok is busy climbing out of the prison pit on the now extended ladder set in the shaft wall. The Arcona pleads for his life, offering each character and Agent Nallok 1,000 credits to leave him be and escape the planet. The Rebels may take him up on his offer (Nallok doesn't trust him), or they may capture him as a spy against the Alliance.

• Hostage. When the characters enter Bennbus' quarters, the Arcona is holding Agent Nallok in front of him (her hands bound behind her back). He's also pointing a blaster pistol at her head. Bennbus insists the characters back off and let him go, and he won't hurt their Rebel contact. A careful shot might take out the Arcona if he's not expecting it. Agent Nallok could help by tripping up, or by trying to knock Bennbus off balance. The characters might come up with some ploy to distract the Arcona and free his hostage.

Spawning A Campaign

Agent Nallok can be used as a hook for further adventures. Perhaps the Rebels assign Nallok to the post of unit commander, in charge of directing Outer Rim SpecOps missions in a particular sector — missions she recruits the player characters for. Nallok and her new "agents" can become a new Outer Rim SpecOps team, engaging in dangerous missions against the Empire.

Conversely, if the player characters are not Rebels, she may resign from the Alliance and accompany the characters on future adventures; her stealth, intelligence and courage would make her a valuable asset to a smuggling operation or mercenary group.

Nallok was a slave dancer aboard a Hutt yacht after she had been abducted from her home planet, Ryloth, many years ago. Believing she was doomed to a life of servitude (at least until her Hutt captor tired of her and fed her to something slimy), she was constantly planning her escape, learning to pick locks, manipulate security computers and move stealthily through the yacht.

Agent Nallok

Type: Twi'lek Rebel spy
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 6D, brawling parry 4D+2, dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Alien species 5D, bureaucracy 5D+2, languages 5D, planetary systems 5D, streetwise 5D, survival 4D+2
MECHANICAL 3D
Astrogation 3D+2, ground vehicle operation 4D+1, repulsorlift operation 4D+1, space transports 5D, starfighter piloting 3D+2, starship gunnery 4D+1
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 5D, command 3D+2, con 4D, forgery 4D, investigation 5D, search 4D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 3D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Demolitions 4D, first aid 4D, security 4D
Special Abilities:
Head-tails: Twi'leks can use their head-tails to communicate in secret with each other, even if in a room full of others. The complex movement of the tails is, in a sense, a "secret" language that all Twi'leks are fluent in.
Force Points: 1
Character Points: 5
Move: 10
Equipment: Varies from mission to mission; typically equipped with a datapad, heavy blaster pistol (5D), syntherope, 500 credits

When she felt ready to make her escape, the yacht was suddenly attacked by a Rebel SpecOps team that was engaged in privateering activities. Grateful for her rescue, she offered her services as a scout to the Alliance and has had modest success as a procurement specialist in the Outer Rim Territories.

Character Rewards

Any characters who survived the adventure and rescued Agent Nallok receives one to three Character Points per episode.

Heavy Lifting

Introduction

"Heavy Lifting" is intended for four to six player characters who own or operate a stock-light freighter (or a ship of comparable size). The characters begin the adventure in a tavern called the Vapor Scream and, having just finished one job, are looking for another to pay for repair fees, docking fees, licensing fees and a hundred other little bills that starship owners deal with constantly.

Unfortunately for the characters, the Klatooinan that is looking to hire them—a rough customer named F'ej D'aw—has more troubles then a freighter in a mynock nest. D'aw's boss (a minor crime figure named Nawnam the Hutt) recently tried to assassinate a fellow Hutt crime lord named Ganis. Nawnam was originally employed by Ganis, and planned to take control of illicit trade in the region. Unfortunately, the assassination attempt was an abject failure.

Ganis (not exactly the forgiving type) has since placed a price on Nawnam's head, offering a substantial amount of money for the renegade Hutt's capture. (It is one thing to assassinate a Hutt; it is an entirely different—and dangerous—matter to fail at the attempt.) Now, Nawnam's only chance for survival is to hire the characters to get him off the planet before Ganis' hunters catch him.

Staging Tips

This adventure works best with freelance traders or freighter captains, although Alliance- or Imperial-allied characters could just easily be worked into this adventure; any percentage of the pay-off from the Hutt would cause even the most jaded of Rebel procurement officers to faint from delight. Imperial characters would also find the information about Ganis' organization extremely valuable.

The setting for this adventure is in the Outer Rim Territories, but "Heavy Lifting" could conceivably take place in virtually any locale with only the slightest alteration by adding stormtroopers, Corporate Sector Authority Espos or just planetary law-officials to any scene.

Sidebar: "Heavy Lifting" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One. The characters are contacted by F'ej D'aw and asked to help him and his boss off-planet as soon as possible. But during the bargaining process, a group of mercenaries attack the group.
• Episode Two. The characters meet Nawnam the Hutt, and try to steal a repulsor-truck to sneak the corpulent Hutt to a waiting ship.
• Episode Three. The characters are discovered by mercs and bounty hunters and chased throughout the busy streets all the way to the spaceport. Then, prior to making the jump into hyperspace, the characters must get through a small blockade of starfighters.
• Cards Used: 1, 8, 12, 16, 28.

Episode One

The player characters have landed at a small spaceport and are looking for work in the most obvious place: a local spacers' cantina. As the characters enter the cantina, read the following aloud:

The Vapor Scream is a dark, smoke-filled establishment that has a reputation for cheap, hydro-downed drinks and a clientele comprised of spacers and semi-legit stock freighter crews.

After collecting a few credits for the drinks, the waitress leaves for another table. As she walks away, a shabbily garbed alien navigates the crowded tables from the bar, heading straight for you.

The newcomer is F'ej D'aw (card 1), the last remaining henchman of Nawnam the Hutt, who is, at the moment, being aggressively sought by Ganis the Hutt, a rival crime lord. F'ej has been ordered by his boss to secure a ship for transport and has up to one million credits to secure this objective. Of course, Nawnam (and F'ej) will only pay as much as they need to; even as close to the Great Vacuum as he is, Nawnam is still a Hutt and won't willingly part with more cash than he must. F'ej should start the offer at about 10,000 credits, then start bargaining. F'ej will not want to disclose his identity nor that of his employer (at least, not in such a public place).

The Vapor Scream Cantina

There is one exception to this, however; any bounty hunters player characters who have been in the area for more than a few weeks may recognize F'ej D'aw from a bounty posting. If the bounty hunter makes an Easy streetwise roll, they remember F'ej from some postings on file with the IOCI. Any character who accesses private postings on file with IOCI can have a copy of the handout on page 21.

A successful bargaining attempt will raise the fee, but only superb roleplaying by the players should be awarded anything close to the full million credits. (Of course, if the characters realize who F'ej is, who he works for and how much trouble the pair are really in, then they have a chance of getting the big pay off.) If at all possible, F'ej will deal the characters one price and tell Nawnam a different, higher price, later pocketing the remaining funds. As the characters and F'ej come to an agreement, read the following aloud:

Suddenly the crowd between your table and the entrance clears away, revealing a heavily-armed Twi'lek accompanied by seven mercenaries. The Twi'lek has several vicious-looking scars and is missing one of his head-tails.

F'ej, true to the nature of his people, is extremely loyal to Nawnam the Hutt, even in these dangerous times.

F'ej D'aw

Type: Klatooinan henchman
DEXTERITY 2D+2
Blaster 3D+2, dodge 4D, grenade 4D+2, running 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Cultures: Hutts 4D, streetwise: Ganis the Hutt's organization 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 3D, swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 4D, hide 3D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 2D+1
Demolitions 5D+1, first aid: Hutt 5D+1, security 3D+1
Character Points: 6
Move: 11
Equipment: Blast vest (+1 physical), blaster pistol (4D), 500 credits

Any character who makes a Very Difficult streetwise roll recognizes F'ej; on a Difficult roll they remember hearing something about Ganis hunting down another Hutt and that the bounty for the renegade Hutt is now nearly 100,000 credits. Otherwise, they will not have heard of F'ej or his employer.

F'ej mutters an oath and runs for the back of the tavern, where a small doorway marked "storeroom" is located behind the bar.

"Now come on, F'ej," the Twi'lek calls as he and his cohorts draw wicked looking blasters. "Aren't you glad to see us? Ganis would like to have a word or two with you." A moment later, the Vapor Scream is filled with the whine of blaster fire as the newcomers begin firing away with reckless abandon.

The new arrival is Gennan Var (card 8), a hunter employed by Ganis the Hutt, who — by luck — saw F'ej as he entered the Vapor Scream. He waited for his team of Stalkers (a local merc outfit) to arrive. He has ordered his allies to take F'ej alive but that anyone else who gets in the way is to be eliminated if necessary. Unfortunately, the player characters are definitely "in the way."

Gennan Var

Type: Twi'lek bounty hunter
DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 5D, dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Streetwise: Hutt crime syndicates 5D, value 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
Astrogation 4D, repulsorlift operation 3D, space transports 3D, starship gunnery 4D, swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 5D, search 6D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Security 5D, space transports repair 6D
Force Points: 1
Dark Side Points: 3
Character Points: 6
Move: 10
Equipment: Cresh luck armor (+2D physical; +1D energy for torso (front and back) and legs (front), contains infrared motion sensor array (30 meter range, triggers internal alarm if object with mass over 10 kg is travelling in excess of 1 meter per second), stun cloak (3 charges, 5D stun damage in melee combat), SoroSuub GLX "Firelance" blaster rifle (5D), BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol (5D), medpac, comlink

Gennan Var's Stalkers

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 3D, swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Search 6D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 4D
TECHNICAL 2D

The best chance for escape is to follow F'ej, who dives through the back door amid a hail of blaster fire. If they follow F'ej, the characters will end up in an alley, where F'ej is waiting.

Read the following aloud:

As you rush out the back door — amid deadly blue and green darts of blaster fire — you find yourself in an alleyway lined with stacks of crates and recycle bins. The ground is covered with scraps of garbage and refuse and the foul odor of long-decaying food permeates the air.

You quickly spot F'ej to one side of the doorway, behind a refuse bin. He gives you a fierce grin and brandishes a small spherical object in his hand. "Follow me," he says over the crashing percussion of blaster fire.

F'ej slides a toggle on the small device — a thermal detonator — and tosses it into the doorway and immediately starts running down the alley, gesturing for the player characters to follow.

The thermal detonator should override any thoughts the players may have about hanging around the tavern's back door. Note though, Gennan Var should not perish in this encounter. From this point on Gennan (and his Stalkers) will be after the characters with a vengeance.

Episode Two

Read the following aloud:

After a few harrowing minutes (largely spent scrambling down dangerous-looking alleys) F'ej D'aw leads you into a run-down warehouse.

As soon as he opens the door, he pauses, fiddling with a makeshift contraption that consists of wires, a few small pulleys and a fist-sized metal sphere. "I had this set up as a trap for anyone who we don't want to talk to," he grunts, deactivating the sphere — another thermal detonator. After you pass inside, he bends resets the trap.

"Okay, we're all set, let's go meet the boss," he says, taking up the lead once again.

Broken window panels in the ceiling allow pillars of light to bisect the darkness and, by the look of the building, may be the only thing holding up the ceiling.

"Is this the help I sent you to find, F'ej?" A deep voice asks, and as you move closer you see the large form of the Hutt, sitting in the shadows, a blaster pistol clutched in his chubby hands.

Nawnam the Hutt (card 28) is wounded; the corrupt gangster took a blaster hit from one of Ganis' guards during the assassination attempt and is now incapable of moving. Worse, he is not in a terribly good mood. Before talking to the players he quietly asks F'ej how much the players are charging for their "services," and if it is more than 250,000 credits, he becomes very angry and knocks the Klatooinan to the floor. If F'ej or the group tells Nawnam about Gennan Var (the one-tentacled Twi'lek), the Hutt grows very nervous, looking around fearfully, as if expecting armed attackers to leap from the shadows at any moment.

After asking if any of the characters have any medical skills or medpacs, Nawnam demands treatment for his wound. (Regardless of the result, it will take Nawnam a few hours to heal sufficiently; for the duration of the adventure the Hutt ganglord should be treated as Wounded and he cannot move under his own power.)

Nawnam the Hutt

Type: Hutt crime lieutenant
DEXTERITY 3D
Brawling parry 5D, dodge 4D, vehicle blasters 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Business 5D, intimidation 5D, streetwise 5D, streetwise: Ganis the Hutt's organization 7D
MECHANICAL 1D
Repulsorlift operation 6D, repulsorlift operation: speeder truck 8D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 6D, command 5D, persuasion 5D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D
Repulsorlift repair 4D, repulsorlift repair: speeder truck 7D
Special Abilities:
Force Resistant: Hutts have an innate defense against Force-based mind manipulation techniques; they roll double their Perception dice to resist such attacks.
Character Points: 8
Move: 3
Equipment: Imperial Munitions SC-4 blaster pistol (4D; the blaster's butt has been modified to accommodate Hutt fingers)

The characters, Nawnam, and F'ej must come up with a plan to get the Hutt to the spaceport and off-planet without being seen. To make matters worse, Nawnam lost his repulsor-sled in combat. If the players don't come up with the idea themselves, Nawnam imperiously orders them to go steal a repulsor-truck, one with a substantial cargo bay.

After spending an hour looking, you finally find a suitable repulsor-truck. It's large enough, can carry the weight of a wounded Hutt and the cargo bay is covered with a cloth covering. The only thing left to do is jump into it quick and hot-wire it before the owner comes back.

The vehicle that the characters find is perfect for their needs, and it will take only a Moderate security roll to get the vehicle started. (Its doors are unlocked.) Only two people fit in the cab, and the rest are forced to pile in the back. F'ej is resolute about sitting in the front, but does not care about driving the vehicle. Once on their way, read the following aloud:

As the repulsor-truck speeds along, F'ej, keeps playing with the audio-link, trying to find music he likes. Several annoying minutes of channel changing occurs before he finally settles for Huttese libretto. After finding music he enjoys, he begins opening access panels and storage compartments, looking for anything of value. After playing with several small compartments near the control board he turns his attention to the cloth cover hanging on the back of the cab wall. As he pushes it aside, the cab is filled with a deafening roar — the bellow of an extremely upset Wookiee.

The Wookiee is Burtiin, the owner of the repulsor-truck, who was asleep in the small compartment between the cab and cargo area. He doesn't know the "two imbeciles" that are driving his truck but he is determined to get answers.

Burtiin the Wookiee

Type: Wookiee Repulsor-Truck Operator
DEXTERITY 2D
Brawling parry 5D, dodge 4D, vehicle blasters 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Business 4D, streetwise 5D, value 5D
MECHANICAL 4D
Repulsorlift operation 6D, repulsorlift operation: speeder truck 8D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 3D, gambling 4D
STRENGTH 5D
Brawling 7D
TECHNICAL 3D
Repulsorlift repair 4D, repulsorlift repair: speeder truck 7D
Special Abilities:
Berserker Rage: If a Wookiee becomes enraged (the character must believe himself or those to whom he has pledged a life debt to be in immediate, deadly danger) the character receives a +2D bonus to Strength for purposes of causing damage while brawling (the character's brawling skill is not increased). The character also suffers a -2D penalty to all non-Strength attribute and skill checks. When trying to calm down from a berserker rage while enemies are still present, the Wookiee must make a Moderate Perception total. The Wookiee suffers a -1D penalty to Perception and rolls a minimum of 1D for the check (therefore, while most Wookiees are enraged, they will normally have to roll a 6 with their Wild Die to be able to calm down). Please note that this penalty applies to enemies. After all enemies have been eliminated, the character must only make an Easy Perception total (with no penalties) to calm down. Wookiee player characters must be careful when using Force Points while in a berserker rage. Since the rage is clearly based on anger and aggression, using Force Points will almost always lead to the character getting a Dark Side Point. The use of the Force Point must be wholly justified not to incur a Dark Side Point.
Climbing Claws: Wookiees have retractable climbing claws which are used for climbing only. They add +2D to their climbing skill while using the claws. Any Wookiee who uses claws in hand-to-hand combat is automatically considered dishonorable by other members of his species, possibly to be hunted down — regardless of the circumstances.
Force Points: 1
Dark Side Points: 2
Character Points: 4
Move: 10
Equipment: Trast A-A2 Speeder Truck

The characters may attempt to bargain, bribe or con the angry Wookiee, though the difficulty to do so is Very Difficult. If the characters apologize and explain to Burtiin exactly what they are doing and why, he agrees to rent them the truck "on credit," as long as he receives an equal cut of the money and if he can come along to make sure his vehicle isn't stolen or damaged. If a suitable financial arrangement can not be reached, Burtiin escapes at the first convenient opportunity (and will likely lead Gennan Var to the characters later on; Var agrees to give the Wookiee a cut of the reward).

During the negotiations, any character who makes a Moderate Perception check notices a rough-looking customer astride a swoop, apparently keeping them under surveillance. The swoop-rider occasionally speaks into a comlink, glancing around furtively and generally behaving suspiciously.

If the players point, move towards him, or otherwise indicate that they are aware of his presence, he will race out of blaster range with the swoop. This is one of Gennan Var's scouts, and he has reported the characters' whereabouts. If captured, he will only spit insults at the characters, and will not reveal his identity or the identity of his employers.

Gennan Var's Scout

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 3D, swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Search 6D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Dark Side Points: 2
Character Points: 2
Move: 10
Equipment: SoroSuub "Firelance" blaster rifle (5D), medpac, comlink, 250 credits, swoop

Episode Three

As the characters return to the warehouse to "collect" Nawnam, they should have a fairly good idea that they've been spotted and need to get moving. F'ej tells Nawnam what happened, and the Hutt becomes extremely agitated, yelling about the galaxy being "filled with idiots."

All the characters need do now is get the Hutt into the bed of the truck (a task that is easier said than done). There is no way that the characters can simply pick Nawnam up and put him into the truck. The only way to get the Hutt into the truck is to use the loading crane in the warehouse. With it, they could easily get him into a harness, then lift him with the crane and place him into the cargo bed. Unfortunately the characters need to find the power control-box, reestablish power and operate the crane ... all before Gennan Var and his thugs arrive, which could be at any moment.

Finding the control box requires a Difficult search roll; reestablishing power to the unit requires a Moderate Technical roll. If the characters cannot find the box, Burtiin suggests that they wire the repulsor- truck's engine to the crane to get the needed power. This is a Difficult repulsorlift repair check, but one Burtiin can handle fairly easily.

Operating the crane to get the Hutt into the cargo area of the truck takes at least three skill attempts and all of the characters (to buckle him in and help guide him over).

The first step is lifting the cargo up: this requires an Easy Mechanical roll. (If it is failed, the wounded Hutt is brought up too fast, aggravating his wounds and causing the bulky gangster to pass out). The second step (a Moderate Mechanical check) involves swinging the Hutt over the bed of the truck. Finally, the characters must lower the Hutt to the truck's bed. (This also requires a Mechanical check; any Difficult or better result indicates that Nawnam is set down unscathed. Failure indicates that Nawnam smashes to the bed of the truck, damaging the vehicle and incurring the Hutt's considerable wrath.) If the characters totally botch the movement attempt, the harness chokes Nawnam, causing 3D stun damage per round until he is set down. At this point read the following text aloud:

As the corpulent Hutt swings several meters above the floor of the warehouse, you can hear the lift's frame groaning under the weight of its load. Suddenly, an explosion rocks the building, causing panels and dust to fall from the ceiling. Nawnam cries in pain as a panel strikes him on the shoulder, dazing him.

"It's my thermal detonator trap," F'ej yells. "They're coming! Hurry!"

Gennan Var and his henchmen have arrived, though one of the hunters just tripped the trap F'ej set up. The explosion has stunned the mercenaries and gives the characters a few moments to get the Hutt loaded onto the repulsor-truck.

As the hunters begin the assault, F'ej runs over to the crane and slams the "drop line" button, spilling Nawnam into the cargo area. The characters need only jump into the back of the truck and drive off to escape. Burtiin will not allow anyone else to drive, but will need someone to give him directions; F'ej stays in back, protecting his master. Just as the truck is about to pull out of the warehouse, the characters see the following:

As the repulsor-truck hums to life, you can see Gennan Var emerge from the access hall with a long, tubular weapon.

"He's got a missile launcher," Nawnam screams in horror as Gennan Var raises the weapon, pointing it directly at the back of the truck. Apparently, the reward for Nawnam no longer specifically requires a live captive.

The repulsor-truck bucks as it roars out of the warehouse, a small bullet-shaped projectile closing in on the cargo compartment. At the last possible instant, the truck swerves sharply to the left, throwing all the passengers against the left side of the vehicle as the PLEX missile slams into a nearby wall, spraying fire, shrapnel and debris outwards in a stinging hail.

The characters need to race for the docking bay where their ship is berthed. Gennan Var and his mercs quickly regroup and take to their swoops to resume the chase (which should be filled with screaming pedestrians, screaming law-enforcement officials as well as a screaming Hutt). While initially there are only five mercenaries plus Gennan Var after the characters, if they take them out too easily, more arrive, screaming out of an alley way or cross-street.

After four of the mercs are defeated, the characters arrive at the docking bay.

Staging Tip

As the chase progresses, gamemasters should try and keep the action fast and frantic, giving the player characters little time to react. There should be obstacles to go over, above and around, making shooting a chancy proposition, especially with a squirming and twisting Hutt thrashing around in the back of the vehicle. If Burtiin is with the group during the chase scene he gets wounded by a mercenary and a character must take over driving.

Once at the docking bay, they'll need to load the Hutt, get clearance (though the characters will likely omit this step) and take-off. If they shut the docking bay door, they will have enough time to get the Hutt aboard the ship, which has its own loading system.

Once the ship is ready in flight, it will have to avoid a few sky-borne obstacles (other vessels, airspeeders and a flock of native birds) to get out of the atmosphere, a series of events that requires three Moderate space transports rolls. Once clear of the atmosphere, trouble shows up once again.

Ganis has stationed six Z-95 Headhunters (card 16) in orbit, with his yacht (card 12) holding a position insystem, waiting in ambush for the characters' vessel. As they enter the upper reaches of the planet's atmosphere, a Hutt's voice comes over the shipwide comm, telling the characters that if they want to live and triple the money that Nawnam was going to pay them, they should return to the planet. "If you would prefer to be transformed into small chunks of debris filtering back into the planet's atmosphere," the Hutt quips, "then, by all means, keep flying."

Ganis' modified yacht is his main base of operations, a well-defended and surprisingly unostentatious vessel that he uses to conduct business from. The ship has a complement of six Z-95 Headhunters.

The Nal Hutta Jewel

Craft: Ubrikkian Minstrel-class space yacht
Type: Interstellar pleasure craft, many variants
Scale: Capital
Length: 160 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Minstrel-class space yacht
Crew: 35; gunners: 2; skeleton: 10/+10
Crew Skill: Capital ship gunnery 4D, capital ship piloting 4D, capital ship shields 4D
Cargo Capacity: 90 metric tons
Consumables: 3 months
Cost: 1,450,000 (new)
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Hyperdrive Backup: x10
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4
Hull: 2D
Shields: 1D
Sensors: Passive: 15/0D, Scan: 25/1D, Search: 40/2D, Focus: 1/2D
Weapons:
2 Triple Blasters (fire-linked): Scale: Starfighter, Fire Arc: Front, Skill: starship gunnery, Fire Control: 1D, Space Range: 1-5/10/17, Atmosphere Range: 100-500/1/1.7 km, Damage: 3D
Tractor Beam Projector: Fire Arc: Front, Skill: capital ship gunnery, Fire Control: 4D, Space Range: 1-5/15/30, Damage: 5D

Z-95 Headhunter

Craft: Incom/Subpro Z-95 Headhunter
Type: Multi-purpose starfighter, many variants
Length: 11.8 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Z-95
Crew: 1
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 3D+2, starship gunnery 3D+2, starship shields 3D+1
Cargo Capacity: 85 kilograms
Consumables: 1 day
Cost: 45,000 (used, as equipped; no longer available new)
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 7
Atmosphere: 400; 1,150 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D
Sensors: Passive: 15/0D, Scan: 25/1D, Search: 40/2D, Focus: 1/2D
Weapons:
2 Triple Blasters (fire-linked): Fire Arc: Front, Skill: starship gunnery, Fire Control: 1D, Space Range: 1-5/10/17, Atmosphere Range: 100-500/1/1.7 km, Damage: 3D
Concussion Missiles: Fire Arc: Front, Skill: missile weapons: concussion missiles, Fire Control: 1D, Space Range: 1/3/7, Atmosphere Range: 50-100/300/700, Damage: 7D

Staging Tip

If the characters do decide to go for the money and side with Ganis, they will have to subdue F'ej and Nawnam before landing back on the planet. Once ground-side, Ganis and Gennan Var (if he's still alive) will greet the characters and give them the money they were promised. They will then load Nawnam and F'ej onto a vehicle.

This encounter doesn't have to go well for the characters (and perhaps it shouldn't). Maybe the case full of credits also contains a bomb. Perhaps Ganis decides to give Gennan Var a gift, (namely the characters who thwarted him). After all, Hutts don't like traitors and squealers. Who knows what may happen to the characters after the Hutt has what he needed ...

The characters should be able to fend off the six Headhunters long enough to make the jump into hyperspace (about four rounds). Nawnam's destination is Nar Shaddaa, where family and friends will be able to help him and pay his rescuers. The journey to the Smuggler's Moon is relatively calm (other than Nawnam's constant demands for food, medical attention and anything else he really can't have, that is). Upon arriving safely at Nar Shaddaa, Nawnam will grudgingly pay the characters the agreed price.

Spawning A Campaign

"Heavy Lifting" allows several chances to introduce long-term enemies — as well as long-term allies — into an ongoing Star Wars campaign. One possible ending (taking Ganis up on his offer and handing over Nawnam to the other Hutt) has already been discussed, but there are a few other hints or ideas to lengthen "Heavy Lifting" into a full-blown campaign. Perhaps Nawnam's people on the planet deny the Hutt access to his home, and the Hutt is forced to stay with the characters for a while. Alternately, they could come to work for Nawnam on a more regular basis, becoming his personal guard or transportation service. Or perhaps he pays them off with a cargo hold full of R'alla mineral water or Vannan Crystals which require some creative "fencing" in order to make a profit. Or perhaps he pays them in spice or other illegal commodity, and the characters have to dump it later as they are being boarded by an Imperial customs vehicle.

Maybe Nawnam wants to join the Alliance and become a spy for the Rebels in the Huttese underworld ... under Nawnam's command.

As far as Gennan Var and Ganis the Hutt are concerned, they can be used as recurring villains. Hutts, after all, never forget who has wronged them, and Ganis has a strong power base to strike from.

Character Rewards

If the characters managed to get Nawnam away unharmed, they each receive one to two Character Points per episode. In addition, they receive whatever money Nawnam and F'ej agreed to pay them.

Into the Heat of Battle

Introduction

"Into the Heat of Battle" is designed for four to six Rebel or smuggler characters who already own a light freighter. The adventure begins with the characters jammed into one of their ship's escape pods — shipjackers have taken over their vessel and captured them. When the pod is accidentally ejected, the characters must survive the wilds of a jungle planet, evade Imperial forces seeking escaped Rebels, and attack an Imperial base camp to get their ship back.

"Into the Heat of Battle" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One. After their freighter is shipjacked by a pirate gang, the characters are ejected in an escape pod in the midst of a space battle! They emerge from the pod in a dense jungle, only to be harassed by Imperial scout troopers seeking Rebel survivors from the engagement above.
• Episode Two. The characters discover a downed X-wing fighter, shot down in the battle. As they try to follow the pilot's trail, they run into some of the jungle's more savage denizens.
• Episode Three. The characters find the Rebel pilot in the hands of Imperial troops! They fight the scout troopers and Imperial reinforcements to free the pilot.
• Episode Four. After a long jungle trek, the characters and Rebel pilot come upon a small pirate encampment. Imperial forces are using this area as a base for their planet-side operations. Characters must help free Rebel prisoners collected here and have a chance to steal their ship back from the pirates.
• Cards Used: 5 (an Imperial ID card), 7, 10, 22, 30.

Sidebar: Staging Tips

Gamemasters can set this adventure on any jungle planet (or a planet with a large jungle region) from their own campaigns. The band of shipjackers could be any criminals or pirates from the gamemaster's game, or might be expanded upon and included in future adventures.

Players can use smuggler or Rebel characters — the adventure works well with either. Since Rebels appear later, and the characters have an opportunity to assist them, this might be a good opportunity for gamemasters to link smuggler groups with the Alliance.

Read aloud:

Your last hyperspace journey wasn't supposed to be too long. Still, you managed to doze off, some of you still at your posts. When you wake up, you're all crammed into a two-person escape pod, conveniently relieved of all your equipment.

Over the ship's intercom you hear a deep voice laughing. "It seems our guests are waking up," he says. "Fall asleep, did we? Luckily, all my mates hidden in your maintenance ducts had breath masks when we pumped your life support scrubbers with knock-out fumes. And how are we feeling this bright morning? All nice and relaxed, are we? Enjoy your stay — we won't be keeping you for long, but we'll be hanging onto your ship for some time. Have an enjoyable day..."

Episode One

All the characters are packed into one escape pod. They have no weapons, and the pirates have taken all of their equipment. Since the escape pod was only designed for two people, stuffing all the characters inside makes the situation ... uncomfortable. These cramped conditions could generate some humorous moments, as some characters scramble over others to see out the tiny porthole, examine the hatch controls, or check the pod for any useful equipment.

Bulkhead storage compartments hold two comlinks, two medpacs, two breath masks, some rations, and two hold-out blasters (3D). A small command console sports a red indicator light currently unlit: the rescue beacon. Should the characters activate the beacon (or if the pod is jettisoned), the light begins flashing. The characters find another small control panel near the hatch that leads back into the ship. It contains two activator panels, one which is supposed to open the hatch, and another which jettisons the lifepod. Anyone familiar with the starship can figure out what all the controls do. The hatch release control doesn't work — the pod door has been locked — possibly magnetically sealed — from the freighter's side.

After the player characters have thrashed about the pod for a few minutes, the freighter's engines whine and it emerges from hyperspace. The ship begins bucking, as if it is under attack. If the characters don't eject their escape pod, a turbolaser impact short-circuits the pod's controls, forcing it to jettison automatically. The red indicator light begins flashing as the pod's emergency beacon broadcasts its position. The characters might want to disable the beacon; disabling the beacon requires a Moderate Technical roll and could buy them more time should unwelcome guests come looking for them later.

Characters that are able to peer out the porthole see their freighter veer off toward a nearby planet — the same one their escape pod is headed for. Blaster bolts blaze all around their pod. It seems they emerged from hyperspace in the middle of a battle. An Imperial Star Destroyer looms nearby, turbolasers blazing away at a Nebulon-B frigate with Rebel Alliance markings. The Nebulon-B and its escort of X-wing and Y-wing starfighters are acquitting themselves fairly well, but the frigate is listing badly, and several starfighters are making a break for the planet's surface.

Before long the battle fades as the escape pod rips through the planet's atmosphere. The characters feel the hull tearing through branches, then plowing through soil. When the pod finally stops, the side hatch opens, allowing humid air to fill the cabin. The characters have landed in an immense jungle. They have no idea which planet this could be, or if there are any settlements here. They don't have long to ponder their situation — characters making Easy Perception rolls soon hear the whine of speeder bikes in the distance.

Before long four Imperial biker scouts converge on the pod's crash site. Characters still emerging from the pod quickly come under attack (unless they surrender). If the characters heard the scouts coming and hid in the dense jungle undergrowth, they have a chance to ambush the Imperial scout troopers (card 22) when they dismount to investigate the empty lifepod.

Imperial Scout Troopers

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 3D
Repulsorlift operation 3D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), hold-out blaster (3D+2), scout armor (+2 physical and energy), survival gear

Scout Speeder Bikes

Scale: Speeder
Maneuverability: 3D+2
Move: 175; 500 kmh
Body Strength: 2D
Weapons:
Laser cannon (fire control 2D, damage 3D)

This is a good chance for the characters to collect more equipment and capture some speeder bikes to better travel through the vast jungle. If they wait in ambush while the scouts dismount and investigate the pod, they have a good chance of capturing the speeder bikes unharmed. Should mounted scouts be shot, however, their speeder bikes are likely to crash into a nearby tree.

Captured speeder bikes can be used to the characters' advantage in future encounters. Although the bikes were built for one rider, they can accommodate two — increase the difficulties of all maneuvers by one level.

By listening to any scout trooper's built-in helmet comlink, the characters can determine that Imperial forces have established a temporary base on the planet to round up Rebel survivors from the confrontation in orbit. It seems they've enlisted the help of a small pirate band encamped just past the jungle's edge, where the rocky ground is dotted with scrub brush. By listening long enough, they can figure out in which direction the command camp lies. If the Empire has allied with the same pirates who shipjacked their freighter, they're sure to find their stolen vessel there as well.

Of course, Imperial ground command is going to begin wondering what happened to the scout patrol it sent to investigate the characters' lifepod. They'd better think about moving along before another patrol drops in unexpectedly.

Staging Tip

If the characters have failed to procure transportation — such as the speeder bikes — they have another option: the b'aerlak beasts that frequent the jungle (see card 10). In essence, these odd creatures are legless bovines that slither much like serpents. Fairly peaceful, each b'aerlak can carry at least three people and several kilos of equipment and can reach surprisingly high speeds.

B'aerlak Beasts

Type: Jungle herd beast
DEXTERITY 2D
Running 7D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 6D
STRENGTH 6D
Brawling 8D, jumping 7D
Special Abilities:
Slither: The b'aerlak can move very quickly, and is capable of reaching speeds up to 30 kph.
Tough Hide: +2D physical, +1D energy.
Orneriness: 2D

Episode Two

As the characters continue their jungle trek, they come across another crash site. A trail of broken branches and torn earth leads them to a downed X-wing starfighter. The fighter is covered in foliage — whether it was placed here as camouflage or was simply a result of the crash the characters aren't sure. The starfighter's canopy is open, and the emergency survival supplies have been removed from the cargo compartment. The astromech droid is non-functional: it looks like a hit in combat destroyed the poor droid.

Any character making a Moderate search roll finds a trail through the dense jungle undergrowth. It leads away from the fighter, and seems to have been hacked by a utility blade.

Characters following this trail soon run afoul of four trunk rippers, tree-climbing mammals which rend bark to feast on the hordes of bugs beneath. The rippers are usually peaceful creatures, but have been disturbed recently by numerous intrusions into their territory. Imperial scout trooper patrols scared them off their tree limbs, the X-wing pilot lumbered through here with his utility blade, and now the characters are crossing their turf, either on foot or on stolen speeder bikes. The four trunk rippers leap at the characters from tree trunks and branches, their foreclaws poised to shred them.

These arboreal mammals spend their lives rending tree bark in search of tasty bugs. Their dual foreclaws tear the bark, and their toothed snout sucks the insects from their hiding places deep within the wood. A prehensile tail helps them maneuver in the tree branches, and long body spines protect them from more aggressive jungle predators. The rippers move well along trunks and branches, but are somewhat more slothful on the ground.

Trunk Ripper

Type: Jungle bug feeder
DEXTERITY 3D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 3D+2
Climbing/jumping 6D
Special Abilities:
Claws: Forepaw claws inflict STR+2 damage.
Body Spines: Provide +2 protection against physical attacks; anyone falling against spines takes STR damage.
Move: 8, 12 (climbing)
Size: 2 meters long

A Lambda-class shuttle hums overhead and lands in the clearing. Six Imperial Navy troopers emerge from the shuttle's landing ramp to relieve the scouts of their still-unconscious Rebel prisoner. If the characters don't form an attack plan now, they'll lose the pilot, and one possible way off this planet: the Imperial shuttle!

Imperial Navy Troopers

DEXTERITY 2D+1
Blaster 3D+1, blaster: blaster rifle 4D+2, brawling parry 3D+1, dodge 3D+1, grenade 3D+1, melee combat 3D+1, melee parry 3D+1
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 3D
Command 4D, search 4D
STRENGTH 2D+2
Brawling 4D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blast helmet (+1D physical, +1 energy), blaster pistol (4D), comlink

Imperial Scout Troopers

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 3D
Repulsorlift operation 3D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), hold-out blaster (3D+2), scout armor (+2 physical and energy), survival gear

(See card 22.)

Once the shuttle pilots realize the ground troops are in danger, they begin closing the vessel's landing ramp, lift off a few meters, and position their ship's weapons to provide whatever fire support they can without endangering their own troops. Quick characters might make a mad dash to climb up the entry ramp before it closes. If the characters manage to fight their way aboard the Lambda shuttle, they can blast their way to the flight deck.

Two pilots are desperately trying to lift off before any more characters can come aboard. Upon realizing intruders are in the flight deck hatch, the copilot draws his sidearm and takes a shot. The pilot, seeing his shuttle in danger of capture, is busy initiating the vessel's automatic destruct sequence! The characters must deal with both flight officers and disarm the self-destruct mechanism. They have five rounds before the shuttle blows: stopping the countdown requires a Very Difficult demolitions roll.

Imperial Flight Officers

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
Space transports 5D, starship gunnery 4D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D)

Lambda Shuttle

Scale: Starfighter
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 5
Atmosphere: 295; 850 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D+2
Weapons:
3 double blaster cannons (fire control 2D, damage 4D)
2 double laser cannons (fire-linked; fire control 3D+1, damage 4D)

If the characters successfully capture the shuttle, their escape is assured. They can rescue the Rebel pilot, fly the shuttle past the Imperial starships in orbit (with a little fast-talking over the comm channels), and jump to whatever destination they choose.

Episode Three

Before long the characters come upon the X-wing pilot. He's run into a patrol of two scout troopers, who have stunned him and are dragging him to their speeder bikes for transport. Characters on foot have little trouble sneaking up and ambushing the scouts. Those on speeder bikes themselves attract the scouts' attention from their vehicles' whining repulsorlift engines. The Imperials hastily load the Rebel pilot onto one bike and zoom off, alerting other nearby patrols to the characters' presence.

If the Imperial scouts get away with their captive, the characters can follow them to a clearing in the dense jungle. The scouts wait here a moment. The characters may also choose to use the shuttle to fly to the command camp, destroy the Imperial forces there and free their Rebel prisoners ...

Who Is This Guy, Anyway?

The Rebel pilot the characters manage to free is grateful for his rescue. His X-wing was hit in the battle above, and he managed to ditch it in the jungle. Although his leg was lightly injured, he headed off toward what looked like a camp atop a hill — the Imperial command camp. Two scout troopers picked him up, and ... well, that's where the characters figured into his story.

This pilot can be any of a number of gamemaster characters. He can point the characters in the right direction to reach the Imperial command camp, and might be able to help them defeat the troops there. Gamemasters could drop in a member of Rogue Squadron (as a brief cameo appearance), or might have this pilot be a recurring Rebel flyboy the characters have met in their previous escapades.

As a final alternative, the pilot may be Kala Kevv, a noted Rebel operative who also appears in "Operation: Shadowstrike." (See card 30.)

Episode Four

If the characters didn't leave the system in the captured Lambda shuttle (or failed to commandeer it altogether), their next best hope for escaping is the Imperial command camp the Rebel pilot believes is not far off. After hiking through the jungle for two hours, a large hill rises out of the foliage ahead. Read aloud:

Ahead a large hill looms out of the jungle. Its steep sides are covered with vines and bushes, but the top has been cleared. Several ramshackle buildings sit atop the hill: a few shacks and a large technical hangar constructed from durafab stretched over a tubular frame. You also notice several ships — a Lambda shuttle, two pirate vessels, and your own ship!

Unfortunately, the place is crawling with Imperial troops. Stormtroopers march in rigid patrol everywhere, some escorting Rebel prisoners from the shuttle to the technical hangar. Every few minutes a biker scout patrol zooms up the hill, makes a report to the officers milling about the technical hangar's entrance, then flies off again on a new assignment. Several surly pirates hang around the boarding ramp to your freighter: they don't seem to be Imperial prisoners, but they don't seem too happy about the Empire's presence, either.

The pirates — the same ones who shipjacked the characters' freighter — use this barren hill as a resupply base for their operations in this area. The shacks hold their quarters, while they use the technical hangar to store spare parts and loot. While the characters' main goal may be to recover their ship from the pirates, they might consider hitting the Imperials hard and rescuing their Rebel prisoners. No matter what approach they take, the pirates can draw off some of the Imperials: although they won't instigate anything, they'll take any opportunity to get the Empire off their turf.

Here are some strategies the characters can use to assault the Imperial command camp:

• Climb Right Up. Without other means to get to the top, the characters have to climb the steep hill slope before striking. The vines and bushes offer sturdy handholds, but also rustle a lot. While climbing/jumping rolls should be Easy, any attempt to sneak during the ascent is going to be Difficult. Characters might split up into two groups, one to climb and one to offer cover from another angle should the first team be discovered. Two pairs of stormtroopers patrol the perimeter — eight are busy unloading Rebel prisoners from the shuttle to the hangar, and four more are inside the hangar guarding 25 prisoners. Four Imperial officers have set up a temporary command post at the hangar entrance (well away from the prisoners sitting on crates in the back).

Imperial Officers

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 3D+2
Capital ship piloting 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Command 4D+1
STRENGTH 2D+1
Brawling 3D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), comlink

• Using Captured Speeder Bikes. Characters who managed to capture Imperial speeder bikes can speed right through the jungle and up the hill, adjusting the vehicle's repulsorlift altitude controls. Blasting through the command camp draws the stormtroopers' attention and gives the pirates (and maybe a few daring Rebel prisoners) a chance to fight back. Any characters who aren't on speeder bikes might climb up the hill to join the fray, or ascend before the bikes attack, then participate in a joint attack. If a few characters managed to capture some biker scout uniforms (preferably without blaster holes in them), they might be able to masquerade as a scout patrol, riding directly up to the officers near the prisoner hangar. This should require a few Difficult con rolls, though.

• Using the Captured Lambda Shuttle. If the characters were successful in commandeering the Imperial shuttle from the last episode, they might use it here. They could approach as if landing to provide relief troops — although the command camp officers aren't expecting reinforcements, and bark on the comm channels demanding what's going on. A few good con rolls should put everything in order. The officers have a means of checking if this is a real shuttle crew, though: they ask from whom in the Star Destroyer's landing bay they received the order to land at the camp. Unless the characters captured and interrogated the shuttle crew to get the answer, they won't know and their cover may be blown. At this point, they might resort to the other strategy using the shuttle — go in with guns blazing. The shuttle's weapons can wreak havoc on the camp, and the Lambda already docked there won't be able to lift off in time to counterattack.

Once the characters have captured the camp, they can free the Rebel prisoners and take back their shipjacked freighter. The pirates are all too happy to return it, especially since they routed the Imperial forces from their own resupply camp. The Rebels might seek passage on the characters' freighter (although it will get very crowded), or could escape in the camp's Lambda shuttle if it's captured.

Spawning A Campaign

"Into The Heat of Battle" introduces a pirate gang that could be used to spark a privateer campaign — the pirates, grateful to the Rebels for help in routing the Imperials — may agree to tackle only Imperial-allied shipping in the region, and agree to work directly for the player characters.

The pirates' leader is Nikal Kam (card 7), a human who's been a raider for most of fifty-odd years. The grizzled pirate is known for his jocular manner and his utter ruthlessness; he'd make a useful ally...and an implacable foe.

Nikal Kam

DEXTERITY 2D
Archaic guns 3D, blaster 6D+2, grenade 6D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Business 6D, value 6D
MECHANICAL 2D
Beast riding 6D, ground vehicle operation 5D, repulsorlift operation 5D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, command 4D, con 4D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Ground vehicle repair 4D, first aid 5D, demolitions 6D
Character Points: 2
Move: 10
Equipment: Heavy blaster pistol (5D), fragmentation grenade (5D)

Alternately, the Rebel Alliance assigns the player characters a mission with the captured Lambda shuttle: enter an Imperial-held system and retrieve some sensitive information from a COMPNOR data vault. The player characters must procure a usable clearance code, suitable forged IDs (see card 5), enter the facility, retrieve the data, and escape to deliver the information to the Alliance.

A final possibility involves the pirates; perhaps they are actually working for the Empire. The local sector Moff uses the pirates to further his own ends, collecting a percentage from any loot the pirates capture. In addition, the pirates often pose as Rebels, committing crimes that turn public opinion in the sector against the Alliance. The characters must hunt down and apprehend the pirate band, or Rebel activity in this sector will be severely hampered.

Character Rewards

The player characters should each receive two to four Character Points per episode for surviving the adventure. In addition, if they managed to capture the Lambda shuttle and rescue the downed X-wing pilot in the clearing, award them each an additional Character Point.

Family Problems

Introduction

"Family Problems" is intended for four to six player characters. It is recommended that characters own or operate a stock-light freighter (or a ship of comparable size). As the adventure begins, the characters are finishing up some basic repairs on their craft when a Gran named Vee Naaq approaches them. Naaq hopes to hire the group to assist him in a scheme to "steal" his lost love, a female Gran named Cera.

Gran society is based on a rigid career-quota system that determines a being's position and education from early childhood. That particular tenet of Gran social mechanics is Vee's main problem; he wants to be a poet, not a lighting and fluidics technician, the role that is assigned to him. It is this split from societal norms that has caused friction between Vee and Rae Vixe, Cera's father. Rae has declared that Vee is to be considered "off limits" and that "his daughter and that renegade will never marry." (Of course, Cera Vixe and Vee still love each other and have been seeing each other on the sly.)

"Family Problems" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One The characters are approached by Vee Naaq, a Gran poet, who needs help in rescuing his fiancee, Cera. The characters are also approached by the Cera's brother, Boe Vixe, and warned to leave the planet. Undaunted, they arrange to infiltrate an elite party in the hopes of rescuing her.
• Episode Two At the gala, the characters locate Cera, discovering that she wants to go, but that she can't get away at that moment. She says she will contact the characters and arrange a more opportune rendezvous. Boe Vixe interrupts conversation with some "friends." The characters flee the party with Boe hot on their heels.
• Episode Three Later, Cera's valet-droid informs them that Cera is ready to be rescued. Characters go to the estate, rescue Cera, then race for the ship for a quick getaway. Rae Vixe arrives at the starport, begging his daughter not to leave.
• Cards Used: 13, 14, 25, 31.

Episode One

Read the following aloud:

The last of the ship's systems repaired and checked, you begin to gather under the hull, comparing and double-checking each other's work when the chime from the docking bay door goes off.

"Er, I am sorry to disturb you, gentlebeings," a cultured voice crackles from the comlink. "My name is Vee Naaq, and I believe I need your assistance."

Opening the door reveals a Gran, modestly well-dressed and obviously nervous. "Ah," he says, the Gran equivalent of a smile jumbling his features, "I am glad to make your acquaintance. I have heard this is a capable craft with an intrepid crew."

Vee Naaq needs the characters to help him rescue his fiancee and get them off planet. The problem is that he has only 1,000 credits to his name. But he explains that if the characters were to help, he is positive that Cera could convince her wealthy father to give them a modest payment for their services. "Consider it a somewhat unorthodox dowry, my friends."

Staging Tip

This adventure works best with characters who have a stock-light freighter, but it is possible to use this adventure even if the characters do not have a ship. Alliance- or Imperial-allied characters could also work well in this adventure.

For example, the local Gran community is willing to assist the Alliance, but only if the schism between rival families is repaired. Conversely, Imperial characters may suspect Rebel activity among the local Gran community, and rather than eliminate or imprison a potentially useful work force, COMPNOR has decided to assist the Gran in order to cast the Rebel Alliance in a bad light (and cut off an avenue of support for the Rebellion).

The setting for this adventure is in the Outer Rim Territories, but could easily be fit in any locale with only the slightest alteration. One of the ideal locales would be the Gran homeworld of Kinyen, though any planet with a fairly substantial Gran presence will work.

Vee Naaq

DEXTERITY 2D
Dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Cultures 4D, languages 5D, streetwise 5D
MECHANICAL 2D+1
Repulsorlift operation 3D+1
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Bargain 4D, con 3D, hide 3D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D+1
TECHNICAL 2D

(For more information on Vee Naaq, see card 25.)

Vee knows where his fiance, Cera Vixe, will be later that evening: at a party for the local gentry. ("While I feel that they are a bunch of credit-laden snobs," Naaq snorts, "Cera's father always demands she attend these gatherings.") Naaq also suggests that the characters help "liberate" Cera from the party.

The characters, in order to get into the party, will have to arrange for invitations and get suitable attire. In addition, they will need to arrange for better transportation, such as a repulsor-limo or luxury groundcoach.

Vee will tell them that he will arrange for the invitations and vehicle, but that this is a formal affair and that they should buy a suitable set of clothing for such an event. The clothing should cost each character a few hundred credits each (though Vee can be convinced to part with some of his 1,000 credits on a Moderate bargain, command or con roll). Having settled the details, Naaq will withdraw (thanking the characters profusely the whole time), claiming that he has to go finalize the travel arrangements.

Shopping Spree

The characters can wander around the local shops; gamemasters should give the group ample time to purchase any reasonable supplies they may require. Eventually, they should try and purchase some new clothing for the party.

While the characters are being fitted for new outfits, they are approached by Boe Vixe (another Gran, and Cera's brother; see card 31). Boe is accompanied by six friends. He dislikes Vee considerably and has heard that Vee was looking around for "muscle." Boe was decidedly unhappy at the thought of an attempted kidnapping (particularly a kidnapping that placed his sister in Vee Naaq's hands).

Boe tracked Vee to the characters and, having caught up with them, offers each of them 2,500 credits if they leave the planet. If the characters go along with this, all they have to do is go to their ship, lift off and connect to a small shuttle where the money will be waiting ... or so Boe Vixe claims.

The characters can either refuse Boe's offer or accept the bribe. If the characters refuse, Boe and his friends (members of his shockball team) decide to "convince" the characters to reconsider. They immediately attack, though they eschew energy weapons. Benches, chairs, clothing racks and so forth are apparently considered "fair weapons," however.

Boe Vixe

DEXTERITY 4D
Dodge 5D, running 6D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Intimidation 4D, streetwise 3D, value 3D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 4D, persuasion 4D, search 3D, sneak 3D
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 6D, climbing/jumping 5D, lifting 5D, stamina 6D
TECHNICAL 2D

Boe's Teammates

DEXTERITY 3D
Brawling parry 4D+1, dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
MECHANICAL 3D
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Special Abilities:
Vision: Can see in infrared spectrum; +1D to search to detect sudden movement.
Move: 10
Character Points: 2

The fight will continue until either Boe is rendered unconscious or at least three of his teammates are overcome.

If the characters accept Boe's offer, they will soon discover he has no intention of paying the characters; the Gran athlete will arrange an ambush in the docking bay, accompanied by his teammates.

If the fight lasts more than fifteen minutes, the local militia will come and try to arrest the combatants.

Local Militia

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 5D+2, brawling parry 5D, dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (5D stun damage), two pairs of binders

Staging Tip

If a brawl starts, this scene can really be played up. Crowds, screaming kids, bargain hunters and all sorts of humans and aliens occupy the shopping-plex. Once the characters have purchased their clothing and encounter Boe Vixe, the brawl ensues.

Inside the shop, the clerks will be aghast that "ruffians would dare to start a fistfight" inside such a high-priced, high-profile establishment. During the fight, some clerks may swat at the characters, calling them names like "boor" or "brute" while inflicting no appreciable damage. The fight should be light-hearted and spirited, rather than a desperate battle to the death.

Perhaps one of the clerks has taken a liking to a player character and will assist in the fight by tossing that character a makeshift weapon during the fight. Conversely, if the characters were rude or discourteous to the shop's employees, they may trip or grab them and interfere in the fight, giving Boe and his friends something of an edge in the brawl.

If the characters are taken into custody, Vee Naaq will come and pay their fine and arrange for their release, but he will be fairly angry with the characters. "I had to spend my whole credit voucher to release you," he says. "Now you owe me." If the characters still refuse to cooperate, Vee will rescind the bond he paid to release the characters and send them back to the local lock-up.

When the player characters return to their vessel, Vee informs them that he has a slicer friend, a friend that has "arranged" invitations to the Vixe gala. All the characters need to do is meet with Kaccen (the slicer) so that he can work up their invitation data-cards with their aliases and pictures.

Vee will also tell them that he's located suitable transportation, a repulsor-limo. Naaq claims he borrowed it from a friend, but in actuality, he stole it.

Mobquet Corona Luxury Speeder

Scale: Speeder
Skill: Repulsorlift operation: luxury speeder
Cover: Full
Altitude Range: 5 meters
Maneuverability: 1D
Move: 80; 230 kmh
Body Strength: 3D

(See card 13.)

The honorable Rae Vixe requests the pleasure of your company at a feast in honor of the Harvest Season. Please join us this evening at planetary midnight at the Vixe Estate. (No casual dress, please.)

Staging Tip

The stolen repulsor-limo can be a catalyst for several misadventures. The local militia, alerted to its theft (and possibly already annoyed with the characters for the brawl in the clothes shop), stop the vehicle and try to arrest the characters. Alternately, the real owner of the vehicle — an angry Barabel — catches up to the limo while the characters are in it.

Gamemasters should use a complication like this during "lull" periods in the game, though the encounters should remain fairly light-hearted.

Episode Two

After the characters have arranged for invitations, clothing and transportation, the characters should prepare for the gala. They will not be able to get any weapon larger then a hold-out blaster or a small vibroblade past security without a Very Difficult hide check. (Any weapon larger than a blaster pistol will be recognized immediately and will be confiscated).

The guards at the gala are humorless and painfully strict (Very Difficult to bribe) and refuse to allow any deviation from their security protocols. The characters should have a quiet ride in the plush repulsor-limo to the party, and once there meet the security force. Security will eye them warily, maybe even calling their supervisor over to question the invitation, but will allow them access as long as the characters do generally behave themselves.

Once past the guards, the characters will have to mingle for at least an hour before finding Vee's fiancee, Cera Vixe. The party should be a roleplaying extravaganza with hundreds of people dancing, eating, playing "polite" games and socializing. There are deals and offers being made (legal and illegal) which the characters may be interested in, if they happen to overhear such a conversation.

Sidebar: Staging Tip

To add to the suspense of this scene, gamemasters may wish to modify the gala somewhat; unbeknownst to Vee, Cera's father decided that the gathering should be a costume party. Finding one woman in a crowd of thousands of costumed people could be an interesting experience for the characters.

Here are some encounters the characters may have prior to finding Cera:

• A slightly inebriated Rodian female approaches a player character of the opposite sex and asks him to dance, clearly trying to make her date for the evening jealous. The character must extricate himself from the tense situation before a fight breaks out.
• An angry-looking Rodian walks up to a different male character and punches him in the face. As the character looks up at the alien from the floor, the attacker tells the character, "Stay away from my bond-mate or you'll regret it," before stalking off. Obviously this is a case of mistaken identity, but one that can be played for laughs.

• A long-term rival of a character is at the celebration, and upon seeing the character, decides to "have a little fun" by telling security that the character is using a forged invitation.

Once the characters have mingled enough have them spot Cera Vixe. When the characters first see her, she is talking to another Gran. As the characters approach, she greets them excitedly and excuses herself from the Gran male, taking the arm of a character and walking away. As they depart she will thank the character for getting her away from the "fop".

When the characters tell Cera who sent them and their purpose in coming, she looks around nervously and escorts them to a small side room. She asks how Vee is doing before telling them that she wants to go with them but can't. ("At least, not for the moment," she adds, cryptically.)

Cera Vixe

DEXTERITY 3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 3D+2
Cultures 6D, lore: fashion 6D, value: clothing 6D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Bargain 6D, command 4D, persuasion 5D
STRENGTH 2D+1
TECHNICAL 2D

Cera tells the characters that later that evening would be a better time to "spring her"; the security shift will be changing and that should facilitate an escape attempt. In fact, she'll send her valet-droid to the characters at the appropriate time.

If the characters ask why she can't leave immediately, she simply states that she has other obligations (and also needs to collect a few belongings before her departure).

As the escape plans near completion, any character who makes a Moderate Perception check hears light footfalls approaching the door.

Read the following aloud:

The door suddenly opens and the bulky form of Boe Vixe — and a group of his friends — enter the room. When Boe sees you, it becomes apparent that he is still rather angry about your altercation this afternoon.

Boe and his companions all reach into their pockets, attempting to draw concealed weapons when Cera screams "Help, I'm being kidnapped!" at the top of her lungs.

She leaps past you, grabbing onto her brother, effectively stopping him from drawing his blaster. "Hurry Boe;" she screams, "shoot them before they leap out the window."

If the characters take Cera's cue, she will be able to block her brother (and his friends) long enough for them to leap out the window. Otherwise, the characters will have to battle their way past the enraged Gran and his friends, a building full of security guards, and quite probably, the local militia. Luckily they are only on the second story. Each character needs to make a Moderate Dexterity check to avoid 2D damage when they tumble into the shrubbery below.

Boe Vixe's Friends

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
MECHANICAL 3D
Swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Search 6D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 4D
TECHNICAL 3D
Character Points: 2
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster rifle (5D damage), medpac, comlink, 250 credits

As the last character leaps out the window (about seven rounds after Boe enters the room) Boe shoves his sister to the side, heavy blaster drawn. He'll chase them to the window, firing off shots at the fleeing characters. Any shots at Boe and his men will be Very Difficult due to Cera blocking the doorway.

The characters have just enough time to get to their repulsor-limo before Boe, his men and a team of five security guards give chase. Fortunately, the characters can escape the grounds before Boe and the guards can reach a vehicle.

Once the characters are away from the protective brother (and possibly the party's security) Vee signals them on the comlink, asking the group to meet him at their ship.

Zobberan hounds are large, vicious-looking beasts. These creatures, while not too bright, are extremely loyal and obedient once trained. (See card 14.)

Episode Three

Several hours later, a valet-droid enters the character's dock. Read the following aloud:

"Greetings," the valet-droid says. "My Mistress bids me to give you the following message: return to the Vixe estate, and go to the servants' gate. Enter the grounds and make your way to the main house. Mistress Cera will be waiting for you at the southwest corner of the house. The only thing you will have to worry about are the four zobberan hounds which patrol the grounds." The droid immediately departs after giving the message.

The servants' gate is in the rear of the estate, a solid, ten-meter-high wall, with a durasteel door. (Circumventing the locking mechanism requires a Difficult security check.) Alternately, the characters can scale the wall, which requires a Moderate climbing/jumping roll.

Three rounds after the characters gain admission to the grounds, four large shapes come running around the house, straight for them. They have two rounds before the hounds are close enough to attack. The hounds are merciless and deathly silent.

Zobberan Hounds

Type: Estate guard beasts
DEXTERITY 4D
Running 7D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 5D, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 6D, jumping 5D
Special Abilities:
Armored Hide: The hide of the Zobberan hound is thick, giving +2D versus physical attacks and +1D versus energy attacks.
Teeth: STR+2D damage.
Size: 3 meters long

The battle with the hounds should be short and, for the most part, silent. The hounds are extremely quiet; any noise from the fight will likely be from the character's weapons (or screams of pain if a hound gets in a good attack).

Once the hounds have been dealt with and the characters make their way to the southwest corner of the estate, read the following aloud:

As you approach the house's southwest corner, you hear a whisper from above. You can see Cera's head peeking from the third floor window. "Hello," she says, waving. "I'm going to drop my bags to you. Make sure you catch them ... they contain breakables!"

Roughly three seconds later, the first bag tumbles from the window, followed by another. And another. And another ...

Cera has a dozen bags in all. Due to the speed at which she is dropping them out of the window, the characters need to make twelve Easy Dexterity checks within three rounds to catch all of the bags. A failed roll indicates that something in the bag breaks. (The resulting noise may attract security as well; gamemasters should make the characters sweat over this a bit.) Cera is absolutely adamant about taking all of the bags, even the ones that the characters didn't catch.

Once all the bags are out, Cera slides down a rope to the characters. She expects the characters to carry her bags as she begins to make her way to the servants' gate. Cera will, at most, carry one bag ... the smallest one. If the characters don't carry the bags Cera grins and says that they'll have to go tell Vee to get better, more competent rescuers. ("Somebody will want the 10,000 credits I'm willing to pay," she quips.)

As the characters load the baggage into the repulsorlimo, she will sit on the hood, waiting impatiently and complaining about the character's incompetence. Then, just as everybody begins to pile in, several lights appear down the road. Cera informs the group that the lights are from her brother's repulsorlift. ("I don't think he will be happy to see you again," she adds.)

To evade pursuit, the characters must make four Moderate repulsorlift operations rolls to avoid hitting another vehicle, a construction droid, a stray pet and a traffic control astromech. If they make all of these skill checks, they manage to make it to the dock before Boe. Otherwise, Boe screeches to a halt in front of the characters' vehicle, and leaps out, blaster firing. The characters can attempt to subdue Boe or simply evade him. Once they are in the ship, however, Cera's father steps out of Boe's vehicle and approaches the ship. Read the following:

As the ship hums to life, another Gran steps out of Boe's groundcoach. He walks forward, hands raised in the air, stopping a few meters from the ship. "Cera," he cries, "Can you hear me? It's your father."

To your rather great surprise, Cera triggers the door release and runs down the ramp to her father. You watch as leaps into her father's arms. Looking at Vee, you see him standing in the ship's hatchway, leaning on the support.

It looks like your departure may be delayed.

Rae Vixe

DEXTERITY 2D+1
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 5D, business: import-export 8D, cultures 4D, intimidation 4D, languages 5D, value 7D, willpower 6D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 8D, command 5D, investigation 6D, persuasion 4D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Special Abilities:
Vision: Can see in infrared spectrum; +1D to search to detect sudden movement.
Character Points: 8
Move: 10
Equipment: 15,000 credits

The player characters have a few options at this point. They can decide enough is enough and kick Vee off the ship, leaving this family squabble behind for good. Or, they can attempt to persuade Cera to come aboard; this requires a Difficult persuasion check and should be roleplayed out. As a final option, the characters could attempt to convince Rae Vixe that Vee Naaq is worthy of his daughter.

Alternate Ending

While "Family Problems" is a light-hearted adventure, it can spin out into future scenarios fairly easily.

Perhaps Cera doesn't return to her father and leaves with Vee and the characters, dragging them into more adventures. Perhaps Cera and Vee become a permanent complication for the characters, bringing them nothing but headaches.

Spawning A Campaign

No matter what happens, the characters have made an enemy of Boe Vixe, Cera's brother. In fact, Cera's father — a corporate mogul — may decide to unleash complicated "vengeance" schemes against the characters.

Perhaps the money Cera took from her father to pay the character's belongs to a crime family (Hutt, Corellian or maybe even Black Sun). The criminal organization kidnaps Cera's family, and her only hope at rescuing her family is the player characters.

As a final, more-traditional ending, the player characters may convince Rae Vixe that Vee is a decent being and that having a poet in the family could be good for Vixe's business dealings (Vee could probably write a good corporate advertising jingle, for example). If the characters manage to salvage the marriage without angering Vixe, Cera rewards them with the promised 10,000 credits.

Character Rewards

Each character should receive two Character Points for completing the adventure. If the characters manage to patch up the differences between Rae Vixe and Vee Naaq, they receive an additional three Character Points.

Meltdown

Introduction

"Meltdown" is an adventure for two to six Rebel characters. At least one character should have expertise in security and computer slicing.

The Rebel Alliance desperately needs replacement coolant hydro-valves for its base on the superheated planet Obas. If the valves don't reach the base in time, invaluable weaponry, data, and medical supplies will melt into slag, and the base's personnel will burn to cinders. The characters must infiltrate a small Imperial supply depot in the Expansion Region, steal a case of hydro-valves, return to Obas, and install the valves before meltdown.

Unfortunately, while the characters acquire the valves, an Imperial scouting force locates the Rebel outpost and sets its ship down in one of the base's docking bays. As the characters scramble to replace the hydro-valves before the entire base erupts in a fiery conflagration, they run into a squad of Imperial assault troopers, who have no idea of the danger ...

Episode One

Read aloud or paraphrase the following:

As your ship drops out of hyperspace on the edge of the Obas system, your message indicator suddenly lights up. Apparently, someone—most likely the Rebels on Obas's second planet—keyed the communication specifically to your vessel's unique transponder code.

Give the players the hand-out below.

WARNING: Facilities on Obas have lost environmental control capabilities. All personnel have been sequestered in the control center. Several systems have shut down completely, including sensors, internal comm, and docking bay main access-way. NEW ORDERS: Procure 30 SoroSuub KL-45 coolant hydro-valves. Best local source is Imperial supply depot in Rainos Cluster. Base personnel will attempt to reroute control lines to open main docking bay door. Estimates give less than nine hours before complete melt-down. Good luck, and may the Force be with us all.

As the players discuss the message, have the pilot and/or sensor operator make a sensors roll (in passive mode). On a Moderate or higher roll, read the following aloud:

A sudden spike in one of your sensor displays catches your attention. As you adjust the sensor reception grid, you confirm another vessel in-system.

A character who generates a second sensors roll of Moderate or higher matches the vessel configuration to that of an Imperial scouting vessel. The characters may destroy the ship immediately, or watch as it slowly circles each of the system's seven planets, beginning with the outermost and working inward.

"Meltdown" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One. The characters receive orders to acquire coolant hydro-valves from a nearby Imperial supply depot.
• Episode Two. The characters must enter the depot and obtain the parts.
• Episode Three. On their way back to the Rebel base, the characters encounter a lone heavy assault starfighter in orbit.
• Episode Four. Once inside the base, the characters must prevent themselves from getting trapped.
• Episode Five. As the characters attempt to install the hydro-valves, a squad of Imperial assault troopers attacks.
• Cards Used: 17, 19, 24.

Sidebar: Staging Tip

In this adventure the players characters must have a ship of some kind, preferably one that does not give them away as Rebels. If this adventure is used as part of an ongoing campaign, have the characters temporarily reassigned to the Alliance base on Obas. Otherwise, they are permanently stationed on Obas and are just now returning from a delivery mission to the Outer Rim during which time they had no contact with the outpost.

The ship is actually part of an Imperial scouting force searching planets in the Expansion Region for signs of Rebel outposts. This encounter serves to foreshadow the future Imperial presence at Obas.

Nothing else of importance occurs in Obas system after the arrival of the probe. The characters should now proceed to the Imperial supply depot (see card 24), a hyperspace jump of only two standard hours.

Episode Two

The characters have two options for approaching the supply depot:

• The Bluff. The characters may attempt to con the Imperials, posing as traders hired to transport cargo to another base.
• The Assault. If the characters attack the base, the four TIE fighters assigned to protect the depot immediately engage them. In the meantime, the Imperials send out a distress call. Within the hour, a patrol of cruisers arrives.

As the characters' ship approaches the space station, read the following aloud:

When you get within visual range of the deep-space Imperial depot station, your ship's comm chirps twice. With the quick flick of a switch, you turn to the proper channel to hear a voice heavy with a Core-World accent. "Approaching vessel, what is your business in the area?"

If the characters attempt the con tactic, proceed to "The Con." If, instead, they either refuse to answer or make a hostile move, skip to "The Battle."

The Con

If the characters portray traders picking up cargo, they can con the Imperial depot administrator on a Moderate roll. All other ruses require a Difficult roll or higher. If the con attempt fails, skip to "The Battle."

The characters receive landing clearance on flight deck 11C in the center cylinder of the space station. Upon landing, a work foreman asks to see their transport manifest. On a Moderate forgery roll a character may create such a document on a blank datapad. In addition to listing the hydro-valves, the characters may wish to procure several vacuum suits (if no one thinks of that idea, have each player make a Knowledge roll; on a Very Difficult total, the character receives a sudden inspiration to request enough suits for the entire group). If the forgery fails, the foreman casually walks over to a nearby wall and sets off the alarm.

Because of the depot's remote location and relatively unimportant supplies (spare parts and food stores, for the most part), only 12 security troops (nicknamed "DepotSec" somewhat derogatorily; only mediocre troops are sent to a duty station like this) have been stationed here. (The DepotSec troops are featured on card 17.) At the moment, six of those are off duty, so only a single squad of troopers shows up to investigate the alarm (it takes 30 seconds for them to reach flight deck 11C).

DepotSec Troops

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D+2, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D, sneak 3D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Imperial Munitions Type D heavy blaster pistol (5D), blast helmet (+1D physical, +1 energy, head only)

If the characters manage to fool the foreman with their fictitious documents, he assembles the cargo indicated by the manifest (hopefully including a case of hydro-valves) and has a cargolifter load the transport crates into the characters' ship. During this process, however, a patrol of two DepotSec troops arrives on their usual inspection tour. One takes particular interest in the characters, hefting his blaster rifle up higher against his chest as he marches toward them. As long as the characters make no suspicious moves, the trooper leaves them alone — but gamemasters should build up the tension of the scene by having him examine the cargo, the ship, and the characters themselves. If the characters take any action that the DepotSec might consider aggressive, he automatically opens fire on them, his partner joining in on the second round of combat. Meanwhile, the foreman sets off the alarm, calling four more troopers, who arrive within one round.

After the characters return to their ship and are ready to leave the station, the flight deck's huge magna-seal doors begin to shut (one from above, one from below). The pilot of the characters' ship must make a Difficult space transports roll to slip through the quickly narrowing gap without sustaining damage. Failing the attempt results in 7D capital-scale damage to the ship; gamemasters may wish to encourage the player characters to spend Character and Force Points at this stage.

The characters may now return to Obas, which takes the same amount of time as the initial hyperspace trip (two hours).

The Battle

If the characters decide to maintain comm silence, the administrator repeats his query. If again there is no response, he contacts his superior, who immediately orders the four TIE fighters stationed at the depot to attack in an effort to disable. Two of the TIEs have been outfitted with light ion cannons for that specific purpose.

The pair of unmodified fighters launches first, engaging the characters for one round before the second pair (with the ion cannons) leaves the flight deck. The TIEs with blaster cannons fire constantly, but purposely miss every time (don't tell the players that, though — just make rolls like you normally would).

If the characters defeat the TIEs, they may attempt to land on one of the flight decks. Unfortunately, once the Imperials monitoring the dogfight witness the failure of the TIE fighters to disable or destroy the rogue vessel, they begin to shut the flight decks' thick doors. The pilot of the characters' ship must make a Difficult space transports roll to slip through the quickly narrowing gap without sustaining damage. Failing the attempt results in 5D capital-scale damage to the ship. Once inside the supply depot, the characters must contend with the 12 DepotSec troops, who have already been summoned to the flight deck. The rest of the personnel working on the deck clear out, retreating to the interior of the station.

If the characters win the firefight, they may access the foreman's computer terminal and search for the location of the spare hydro-valves within the storage areas of the depot. On an Easy computer programming/repair roll, a character discovers several cases of valves three levels down from the characters' current position. A cluster of three turbolifts along the innermost wall of the flight deck can carry characters to any of the 20 supply levels (10 above the docking bay areas and 10 below). Unfortunately, Imperial personnel have locked out the turbolifts from all persons without the proper security code (which requires one minute's worth of work and a Moderate security or Difficult computer programming/repair roll to slice).

In the meantime, the commander of the depot — currently in the administrative decks — has requested assistance from the nearest Imperial vessel. Unfortunately, the distress call will take more than two hours to reach the nearest area that the Imperial Navy is currently patrolling. If the characters tap into the station's computer system, however, the commander's log reports that twenty Imperial cruisers are due to arrive within 30 minutes (the commander is following the official tactics for defense against infiltrators) — an effort to scare the characters into leaving as soon as possible.

Procuring the hydro-valves takes approximately 20 minutes (including travel and loading time). Unfortunately, the bay doors remain sealed. A character must make a Difficult security roll to open them. Once the Imperials realize that the atmosphere doors have been released, they immediately issue a second "close" command. The characters must now attempt the same maneuver to escape the station as they did to enter (the pilot must make a Difficult space transports roll or the ship suffers 7D capital-scale damage as it bangs against the closing doors).

The characters may now return to Obas, which takes the same amount of time as the initial hyperspace trip (two hours).

Episode Three

As the characters enter the Obas system, they immediately confront a lone heavy assault starfighter (card 19). The fighter attacks upon sighting the characters' ship, no questions asked.

Characters with a law enforcement, scholar: starships, or similar Knowledge skill may attempt to determine the background, armament, strengths, and weaknesses of this craft. Consult the following chart for skill roll results (a character receives all listed information up to the difficulty value he generated):

After the StarHammer line of fighters was rejected by the Imperial government, Subpro sold its first and only production run to anyone willing to pay for them, including security forces, mercenaries, and crime lords. This particular starfighter was commandeered by the Empire from a local system militia after a modified probe droid relayed data on anomalies within this system (the probe from Episode One).

Once the characters end the confrontation, proceed to Episode Four.

Subpro TL-118 "StarHammer" Short-range Attack Ship

Scale: Starfighter
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 3D+1, starship gunnery 4D+2
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 105; 300 kmh
Hull: 5D
Shields: 2D
Weapons:
2 heavy laser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 7D)
2 light laser cannons (fire control 3D, damage 4D)
2 twin laser cannons (fire-linked, fire control 1D, damage 5D)
Concussion missile launcher (fire control 1D, damage 8D)
Air-to-surface bombs (damage 9D)

Episode Four

The Rebel base on Obas has lost all its communications, so the characters have no way of contacting anyone within it. On a Moderate sensors roll, the characters can confirm the presence of living beings within the structure, although they cannot glean any other details about the identities of those individuals.

As the characters' ship approaches the base, read the following aloud:

Descending into Obas's lower troposphere, you make visual contact with the entrance to the base. The massive doors that normally keep out the extreme temperatures appear to have been opened, leaving a wide gap in the side of the cliff that leads into the main docking bay.

An alert character who generates a Moderate Perception roll notices carbon scoring along the edges of the docking bay entrance, which should hint at the presence of unexpected visitors. Anyone who inspects the docking bay area and makes a Difficult search roll discovers a civilian transport vessel not normally used by the Alliance. The ship actually belongs to the Imperial troopers who are now searching the complex. The vessel itself was appropriated by the Imperials from a nearby impound lot.

Obas

Type: Volcanic wasteland
Temperature: Searing
Atmosphere: Type II (breath mask suggested)
Hydrosphere: Arid
Gravity: Heavy
Terrain: Mountains, volcanoes, rocky plains
Length of Day: 42 standard hours
Length of Year: 401 local days
Sapient Species: None
Starport: Limited service
Population: 62
Planet Function: Rebel base
Government: None
Tech Level: Stone (Space at Rebel base)
Major Exports: None
Major Imports: High technology, agricultural products, medical supplies
System: Obas
Star: Oba

Throughout the remainder of the adventure, characters must make Strength rolls to avoid sustaining damage from exposure to the high levels of heat and radiation. Each round a character must generate an Easy total or take 3D damage. Characters who wear vacuum suits, however, are immune from the effects of the conditions.

At the moment, most systems — lighting, communications, and hatchway controls, most notably — are not functioning as a result of the intense heat. Characters must therefore guess at the correct path to the base's control center. A Moderate or higher Knowledge roll allows characters to reach the area within five rounds, an Easy roll allows them to reach it within seven rounds, and a Very Easy roll allows them to reach it within 10 rounds (suffering the appropriate heat damage as specified above).

At one point during their travel they enter a long corridor. When the characters reach the halfway point, the hatches at each end suddenly begin to close. If the characters don't escape, they will eventually be boiled alive as the heat becomes too intense even for vacuum suits. The characters have two options:

• Run and dive. A Moderate running roll allows characters to reach the end of the corridor before the hatch completely closes, and a Difficult dodge roll allows them to slip under the thick hatch before it shuts. Failing the dodge roll results in 5D damage (and the character remains on the inside the corridor).

• Jury-rig the controls. A Moderate security, or a Difficult computer programming/repair, or a Very Difficult Technical roll allows a character to jury-rig another power source (e.g., a blaster or a droid) to open one door for ten seconds. The power source is completely expended in the attempt (whether successful or not).

Eventually the characters reach the systems control area to which the base's personnel have rerouted the remainder of the power. Unfortunately, the personnel can't risk opening the door and letting in the heat and radiation. Instead, when they see the characters coming down the hallway, they route some power to the base's intercom. A squarish metal grid (an intercom) near the doorway into the control area begins beeping as the characters approach.

One of the complex's technicians tells the characters to proceed farther down the corridor to the maintenance area. Within that chamber lie the power conduits requiring the new hydro-valves. If the characters can install them, he can restore at least minimal power to the environmental controls, and eventually, to all systems.

When the characters proceed to the maintenance area, go to Episode Five.

Episode Five

The maintenance area is essentially a large dome-shaped chamber containing power generators, environmental control systems, trash recycling equipment, and other devices necessary for the proper functioning of a Rebel base. To enter the area, the characters must force the hatch upward — it has no power or power access points that would allow it to be jury-rigged (as in the previous episode) — which requires a Difficult Strength roll (characters may wish to combine their actions on this attempt).

Once the characters open the door, read the following aloud:

Thick jets of gases spray out of the maintenance area as you open the hatchway, momentarily engulfing you in a cloud of potentially dangerous chemicals.

As the gases subside, you catch a glimpse of the chamber's dimensions and contents. The room is shaped into a giant dome, with computer banks covering every square centimeter of the walls and ceiling.

As the characters enter the chamber, have the last person make a Perception roll. If he generates an Easy or higher total, he thinks he sees movement from farther down the corridor in the opposite direction from where the group came.

To find the location of the power conduit that needs the new hydro-valves, a character must make a Very Difficult Technical roll. After each failed attempt, the search becomes easier by one level.

To install all of the hydro-valves requires three Difficult Technical rolls. Once put into place, the hydro-valves route coolant through all systems, allowing the technicians in the control area to begin powering up the downed systems.

As soon as the characters locate the conduit, however, the group of six Imperial soldiers who have been searching the complex show up and immediately open fire on the Rebel scum.

In addition, a section of the ceiling starts to crack as a result of the intense heat battering it from the outside (this chamber abuts the natural rock within which the base has been constructed). Each round, the section pulls away farther, threatening to crash down and kill everyone. On the sixth round of combat, it finally gives way, causing 10D damage to all caught beneath it (anyone still in the chamber). Characters making Very Difficult dodge rolls may avoid the falling durasteel.

Imperial Army Assault Trooper

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 3D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D
Move: 10
Equipment: IR-58 blaster pistol (4D+2), helmet comlink, shock suit and helmet (+1D physical, +1 energy), extreme heat survival gear

Alternate Endings

The adventure can be resolved in several ways:

• The characters restore power to the base and then send a forged report back to the Imperials indicating that the base is abandoned. Shortly afterward, they can program the transport to jump into a random regions of space and send distress calls to confuse the Imperials while the Rebels evacuate.
• The characters restore full power to the base, but in the meantime learn from the Imperial troopers that a fleet is on its way to investigate. Using the starfighters housed in the docking bay area (12 X-wings, 24 Y-wings, and 15 Z-95 Headhunters), the characters must defend against a picket patrol of two Carrack-class light cruisers.
• After the base's technicians reset all of the downed systems, random circuits begin to malfunction. The characters must determine the cause of these shutdowns. Eventually they learn that Imperial saboteurs — who must have arrived with the assault troopers — are running loose through the complex.
• The character fail to correctly install the hydro-valves, and must then help the base's personnel escape before the whole complex crashes down around them.

Spawning a Campaign

Depending on how well the characters dealt with the Imperial presence, the Obas base can become a strategic Rebel outpost in the war against the Empire. Since it falls within the Expansion Region, approximately halfway between the Core Worlds and the Outer Rim Territories, the base acts as the perfect stopover point for Rebel spies bringing information to Alliance High Command. Player characters may become involved in adventures surrounding this data traffic or other similar missions concerning covert Rebel activities.

If the characters failed to convince the Empire that Obas was abandoned, another Imperial force will likely arrive in the near future. The base must be evacuated as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the Imperials will show up at the most inopportune moment to impede the Rebels' escape.

Character Rewards

Award each player character two to three Character Points per episode for surviving the adventure. In addition, if the characters managed to save the base from destruction award an additional Character Point.

New Recruits and Rebel Guns

Introduction

"New Recruits and Rebel Guns" is designed for three to six beginning characters — particularly those seeking to join the Rebel Alliance. The characters haven't met yet, but they all have some desire to join up with the Rebellion. Through a mutual friend on a star freighter, they arrange for passage to a planet where Rebel supporters can help outfit them and send them off to a training base for their assignments. They must smuggle themselves through an Imperial blockade, then meet a contact in a crowded bar called the Maze. The characters are soon caught up in a desperate plan to get vital supplies to the Rebellion — and the Empire isn't far behind.

"New Recruits and Rebel Guns" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One. A Rebel contact stows the characters aboard a freighter bound for an Imperially blockaded planet, where they are to meet other Rebels for initial assignment. They are stowed aboard the freighter in the cargo hold, and must either evade or shoot stormtroopers searching the hold once they land at the starport. Then they must find their Rebel contacts at the Maze, a local spacers' bar.
• Episode Two. The characters meet their Rebel contacts, who give them an assignment before heading to one of the larger Rebel training centers: pick up a cargo of weapons and bring them to a transport ship hidden in the forest outside the starport. Unforeseen events cause a confrontation and chase with Imperial forces.
• Episode Three. Obstacles facing the characters as they race through the forest include TIE fighter patrols overhead, teams of Imperial biker scouts, and an AT-ST on patrol.
• Episode Four. The characters must pilot the transport and the X-wing fighter escort themselves. They must evade TIE fighter attacks and an Imperial Star Destroyer before jumping to light speed.
• Cards Used: 22, 26.

The characters, intent on joining the Rebel Alliance, discover a contact who can arrange contact with some Rebel partisans on a planet in the Mid-Rim. The Empire unexpectedly stepped in and blockaded the system, imposing strict travel and shipping restrictions. The characters are going to be smuggled in.

Although the characters don't yet know each other, they have a common contact, an engineer on a bulk freighter. Their friend has an elaborate scheme to sneak them through the Imperial blockade — the characters are each hidden in large metal crates. The crates have markings indicating they're filled with freeze-dried vegetables. Inside they are supplied with food and air, padded, and outfitted for the characters' comfort during the short hyperspace jump. The crates should mask their presence in cursory sensor scans. Once they have passed customs inspection in the starport, their friend instructs them to find another contact at the Maze who will put them in touch with the Rebel partisans.

Characters begin with all their starting equipment, as long as it can fit into the crate with them. Those who begin with larger items (starships) will have opportunities to get their own in the course of the adventure.

Staging Tips

This adventure can be set in almost any starport on a planet hosting a forest. The local spacers' bar called the "Maze" is based on Lorana's Labyrinth from the "Smuggler's Log" in the Star Wars Adventure Journal, issue one. Gamemasters can expand the cell of Rebel partisans here, mapping out their warrens beneath the starport and using them as contacts in future adventures. Gamemasters should also feel free to change the ship type of the Eucliptan Morae to something that would be better-suited for their campaign.

Their contact warns each of the characters to stay in their crates until he opens them. The lids are latched from the outside, so they'll need to bang pretty hard to open them. Their contact also has one more warning: should Imperial troops enter the cargo hold, be ready for action ...

Episode One

The characters are comfortably settled into the shipping crates for the four-hour hyperspace journey, and are loaded into a bulk-freighter's cargo hold. Most of the trip passes slowly. Once the ship lands at the starport, the characters hear the cargo bay door open, followed by the sound of boots marching across the deck. Read aloud:

"What's in these crates?" a stormtrooper asks.

"Just frozen produce from Angratha," replies your crewman friend.

"Open the crate ..."

Randomly choose one character's crate to be inspected. Before he opens it, the freighter crewman gently knocks on the lid three times before pulling the top off and swinging it into one of the stormtroopers. The character and his companions should be prepared to pop out of their crates and blast the five stormtroopers (card 26) left standing, and the other who has stumbled to the deck.

Imperial Stormtroopers

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: SoroSuub Stormtrooper One blaster rifle (5D), stormtrooper armor (+1D energy, +2D physical, -1D to Dexterity and related skills)

The character whose crate was opened has no problems attacking. Others must first bash the crate tops off: this is a Moderate Strength or brawling task. Any stormtroopers not engaged in combat are especially wary of thumping cargo crates. If the skirmish is going well and the freighter crewman hasn't been shot or captured, he tries his best to free the other characters. He opens one crate every round until all the characters are out.

Once the stormtroopers have been dispatched, the characters have little time for hasty introductions. The crewman urges them to head to a spacers' bar called the Maze, where he tells them they can find some Rebel contacts at the end of the labyrinth.

The Maze isn't too far from where the characters' freighter docked. The front is not a large facade, but inside it seems to stretch deeper into the backs of other buildings. Some walls are mirrored to give the illusion that the dive is larger. The place is packed with spacers, aliens, and locals retreating from the starport streets for a drink. A band plays from a small, alcoved stage. The most interesting feature of the club is the bar, which stretches around the irregular edges of the room, sometimes even extending out into the center. There are no tables, just raised, bar-like sections with stools in the middle of the room. The entire club is one giant maze. The crowd of patrons only makes navigating the labyrinth much more challenging.

The Rebel contact is at the back of the Maze, where the bar narrows to an area where there are two booths set in the wall: the only booths in the entire dive. Characters must pass through the throng of customers first, which might stir up an encounter or two:

• One of the characters runs into a short, canine creature who immediately spills his drink. The Squib yammers at the characters continuously until the beverage is replaced.

• A bug-eyed creature turns from his drink as the characters pass, and asks one of them if he's seen them somewhere before.

• A cloaked figure watches the characters pass, them mumbles something into what looks like a comlink. The Kubaz is actually an innocent newsnet reporter, and his device is a recording rod. Suspicious characters might hassle him if they believe he's an Imperial spy.

• A woman dressed in dangerous-looking bounty hunter armor coolly surveys the characters as they pass her corner of the bar. She's just looking to make sure they're not anybody she should be hunting, though she's a good way to get the characters looking over their shoulders for danger.

When they get to the back part of the bar, the characters find two booths. One is occupied by four starport technicians on break. Sitting in the other are two beings, a large, green and warty alien with bulging muscles, big yellow eyeballs and no hair, and a smaller alien with a furry face and blue nose. Both are dressed in spacer attire. The short, blue-nosed guy also has several scars cutting through his furry face.

Grugosh — the large green alien — looks at the characters, rises from his seat and mumbles something in a guttural language. The small blue-nosed guy rises also and offers to translate. "Grugosh says he doesn't like your face," he tells one character. "I don't like it, either. You better watch yourself ... with a face like a ronpid's underbelly, you probably get into a lot of fights." The little guy, Vundar, and his larger coconspirator Grugosh, continue slinging insults until someone throws a punch: if the characters hesitate to get upset, Grugosh swings at one to instigate the brawl.

Grugosh

DEXTERITY 3D
Brawling parry 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 5D
Brawling 7D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 11

Vundar

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 5D+2, grenade 6D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Languages 4D, streetwise 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 4D
Con 6D, hide 5D+2, search 5D, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Merr-Sonn Munitions DD6 blaster pistol (4D+1), 2 smoke grenades

As the brawl reaches its height, or the moment someone draws a blaster, Vundar drops a grenade which explodes with a soft "bamf!" and a fuming cloud of smoke. As the cloud thickens, the characters feel themselves pulled (or in some cases, thrown) toward the aliens' booth. Rather than hitting the table or the back wall, they roll down a steep flight of steps. Grugosh and Vundar are in truth Rebel sympathizers who guard a secret door at the end of the Maze. Most patrons use it as a back door to escape any Imperials poking around the bar (a more frequent occurrence with the blockade in effect). The stairway leads deep into maintenance tunnels beneath the starport where other Alliance partisans meet.

Episode Two

When the smoke clears, the characters find themselves in a cellar beneath the Maze surrounded by several Rebel partisans. They explain Grugosh and Vundar are part of their organization, which helps put potential Rebels in touch with Alliance personnel. The two aliens guard the Maze's "back door" and collect information useful to the underground Rebel movement here.

The partisans are glad the characters made it through the blockade. They offer aid to any wounded characters, and provide blaster pistols (4D) to any who aren't armed. The Rebel partisans lead the characters through several underground passageways to an abandoned service area they are using as a temporary operations center.

An aging woman greets the characters: she is Alorex Breesa, a well-to-do businesswoman who runs the partisan network which supports Rebel activity in this sector. She invites the characters to sit around a large table made of several shipping crates: a plastic sector map is unfurled on the table, along with several datapad maps of the starport and its environs. Breesa explains how the characters are going to help the partisans and make contact with the Rebel Alliance. Read aloud:

"For several months we have been stockpiling supplies to send to this sector's main Rebel command base; however, since the Empire has blockaded this planet, we have not found any pilot, smuggler or otherwise, willing to transport these goods to the Rebels. We pooled our resources and purchased our own ship and escort fighter, but none of us were qualified to pilot them. Now the transport is almost filled, and we are receiving weekly pleas from the Rebel base to deliver the much-needed supplies. Since you are en route to the Rebel base, we ask you to fly the transport ship and its fighter escort. An R2 unit waiting with the freighter has been programmed with the base's astrogation coordinates.

"The transport is hidden in a grove of tall salassa trees several kilometers into the forest east of the starport." Breesa hands a datapad to one character: it displays a map readout of the starport and the surrounding area. "This datapad map will guide you there. On your way, we ask that you stop and pick up the last shipment of supplies from one of our contacts arriving this afternoon at docking bay 73. The bulk freighter's first officer is expecting you: she'll provide you with the cargo and a skiff to transport it to our hidden ship. It is imperative that the Rebels receive these supplies, or their efforts in this sector will be crushed by the Empire."

Breesa offers whatever aid she can in resupplying the characters. The Rebel partisans can spare a few blaster pistols and two medpacs. If asked, Breesa does not know the location of the Rebel base: she assures the characters that the R2 droid waiting for them at their hidden transport has the proper astrogation coordinates.

Vundar and Grugosh arrive at the underground command center and escort the characters out through the starport maintenance catacombs. They emerge in a side street close to docking bay 73. Vundar wishes the characters luck with a toothy grin and a slap on the back. Read aloud:

As you near the docking bay, you hear blaster fire from within. Peering around the corner of the bay's cargo entrance, you see a bulk freighter docked within. Its boarding hatch gapes open; a cargo skiff piled high with plastic crates is humming nearby. A squad of Imperial stormtroopers has its back to you — the troopers are busy shooting at somebody behind the crates who's returning their blaster fire. After another barrage from the stormtroopers, the woman behind the crates falls off the skiff, dead.

The woman is the freighter's first officer and the characters' contact. Only three stormtroopers remain of the original squad; the others are slumped nearby, blaster holes smoking in their armor. The three cautiously approach the loaded skiff and the freighter's open hatch. This is the characters' chance. The stormtroopers are more concerned with attacks from the skiff and hatch than from behind ... If this tactical opportunity isn't enough to spur the characters into action, a second squad of eight stormtroopers (card 26) comes upon the docking bay's cargo entrance and assumes the characters were part of the firefight inside.

Imperial Stormtroopers

DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 3D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: SoroSuub Stormtrooper One blaster rifle (5D), stormtrooper armor (+1D energy, +2D physical, -1D Dexterity and related skills)

While some of the characters hold off the stormtroopers, others should run for the skiff. It hasn't been damaged by the blaster fire, although some of the crates have blackened marks on them. Characters checking the crates find most of them filled with Imperial-issue blaster rifles; one crate has an E-Web repeating blaster, complete with tripod mount and power generator. The only way out of the docking bay is through the cargo entrance ... and through the other stormtroopers. The skiff's speed and the additional armament should help make escaping easier.

Ubrikkian SuperHaul Model II Cargo Skiff

Scale: Speeder
Move: 70; 200 kmh
Body Strength: 2D

Once the characters have blasted out of Docking Bay 73, they zoom through the starport streets and soon reach the forest which borders the city along its eastern edge. If the characters had an easy time escaping the docking bay, they might encounter another stormtrooper squad on their way out of the starport. They move quickly, since Imperial authorities have been alerted to their presence and are mustering their forces for pursuit and interception.

Episode Three

Several minutes after the characters enter the forest, they hear the whine of ion engines above as a pair of TIE fighters flies overhead. While the Imperial pilots don't initially spot the characters, the TIE patrols help drive them farther and faster toward their hidden freighter.

Ahead the characters come upon two Imperial biker scouts on a routine starport perimeter patrol. If the skiff is traveling at a cautious speed — veering around trees and moving away from the TIE fighter patrols — the characters might notice the scout troopers on an Easy Perception roll. They could choose to steer a wide course around the scouts, or might stop, conceal the skiff, and sneak up to ambush them. If the pilot is flying the skiff at breakneck speed, the characters might notice the scout troopers on a Difficult Perception roll.

Imperial Scout Troopers

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 3D
Repulsorlift operation 3D+2
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D), hold-out blaster (3D+2), scout armor (+2 physical and energy), survival gear

Should the scout troopers notice the characters, they mount their speeder bikes (see card 22) and give chase, using their bikes' comlinks to alert other patrols. If the characters dispatch these two scouts easily, another patrol might show up and join the fray.

Biker Scout Patrol

Scale: Speeder
Skill: Repulsorlift operation 3D+2
Maneuverability: 3D+2
Move: 175; 500 kmh
Body Strength: 2D
Weapons:
Laser cannon (fire control 2D, damage 3D)

Characters might want to use their cargo to their benefit. Although it will take them several rounds to set up the E-Web heavy repeating blaster and its power generator, it might provide a tactical advantage. With the gun tripod set up on the crates, it's a good mobile gun — but if the skiff is moving and maneuvering quickly, it isn't a stable firing platform. Increase the difficulty by one level to hit targets from the skiff-mounted repeating blaster.

BlasTech E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster

Scale: Character
Skill: Blaster
Range: 3-75/200/500
Damage: 8D

Once the characters have evaded or dispatched the scout troopers, they must overcome one more obstacle before reaching their hidden transport. Those making a Moderate Perception roll hear mechanical stomping in the forest ahead. A lone AT-ST on patrol has picked the skiff up on its scanners and is maneuvering itself ahead of them. As soon as the skiff is in view, the AT-ST pilots open up with the walker's blaster weapons. If they can't get a good shot of the skiff, they try blasting ahead of it, hoping to fell branches and trees onto the Rebels. If the characters evade this AT-ST (or destroy it), a second one responds to the first's comm report.

AT-ST Walker

Scale: Walker
Crew Skill: Missile weapons 4D, vehicle blasters 4D+2, walker operation 5D
Maneuverability: 1D
Move: 30; 90 kmh
Body Strength: 3D
Weapons:
Twin blaster cannons (fire control 1D, damage 4D)
Twin light blaster cannons (fire control 1D, damage 2D)
Concussion grenade launcher (fire control 1D, damage 3D)

If the characters only evade the AT-STs instead of disabling or destroying them, the walkers eventually chase them to the hidden salassa tree grove and open fire on the two vessels docked there. Depending on how quickly the characters act when they arrive at the grove, the AT-STs might not arrive until the ships are lifting off.

Episode Four

When the characters reach the salassa grove, they discover an old Sienar light freighter and a beat-up X-wing fighter docked beneath the trees' heavy boughs. An R2 unit rolls down the transport's ramp to greet them. R2-QU is somewhat suspicious of the characters, but grows less so if Imperial forces are not far behind. The freighter is dubbed the Eucliptan Morae, and it is nearly packed with foodstuffs, medical supplies, computers and other material for the sector's Rebel base. The skiff is easily loaded up the freighter's cargo hatch.

R2-QU informs the characters that he will ride with the X-wing pilot. If none of the characters are qualified to fly the starfighter, R2-QU regretfully leaves it behind and accompanies them aboard the Eucliptan Morae. He gives the pilots of each vessel the astrogation coordinates for the Rebel base: while the freighter makes a run to jump to hyperspace, the X-wing can help draw off any Imperial forces which pursue.

The Eucliptan Morae is a refitted Republic Sienar Systems BR-23 Courier, which once served the Old Republic fleets and militias as a personnel transport and courier. Like many of its brothers, it left military service years ago and was overhauled with civilian-grade starship systems. Sienar made bundles of credits dropping the refitted freighters into the general market: they were cheap, relatively durable, and easy to repair. Although they're not as conveniently modifiable as their Corellian YT-1300 cousins, their owners added some of their own touches, better shield and weapon systems among them. Now they're popular with courier services and small-time shipping agents, though a good number find their way into smugglers' hands.

Eucliptan Morae

Craft: Republic Sienar Systems BR-23 Courier
Type: Modified light freighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 20.7 meters
Skill: Space transports: BR-23 Courier
Crew: 1
Passengers: 5
Cargo Capacity: 75 metric tons
Consumables: 2 weeks
Cost: 35,000 (used)
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Hyperdrive Backup: Yes
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 5
Atmosphere: 295; 850 kmh
Hull: 3D+2
Shields: 1D+2
Sensors: Passive: 10/0D, Scan: 25/1D, Search: 40/2D, Focus: 2/3D
Weapons:
2 Laser Cannons: Fire Arc: Turret, Skill: starship gunnery, Fire Control: 1D, Space Range: 1-3/12/25, Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km, Damage: 4D

Breesa and her Rebel sympathizers bought the Eucliptan Morae from a starport scrap dealer some time ago. They diligently worked to repair and upgrade it with whatever parts were donated to their cause. They intended to use it as a secret means to escape the system should their rebellious activities ever be discovered by the Empire — but with no pilots willing to transport their cargo, the Rebel partisans decided to use it as a secret storehouse for supplies, hoping someday a prospective Rebel pilot would pass through their network and fly it out for them.

Incom T-65B X-wing

Scale: Starfighter
Maneuverability: 3D
Space: 8
Atmosphere: 365; 1,050 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D
Weapons:
4 laser cannons (fire-linked, fire control 3D, damage 6D)
2 proton torpedo launchers (fire control 2D, damage 9D)

Note: This X-wing fighter only has two proton torpedoes, all the Rebel partisans could find.

Once the characters lift off, their presence is noted throughout the starport. While the Star Destroyer hovering in orbit is alerted, four TIE fighters are diverted off their usual patrols to intercept the characters' starships. The Imperial pilots are expecting trouble from the X-wing fighter: they might be taken by surprise if the Eucliptan Morae's laser turrets open fire!

Imperial TIE/ln Fighters

Scale: Starfighter
Crew Skill: Starship piloting 4D+1, starship gunnery 4D
Maneuverability: 2D
Space: 10
Atmosphere: 415; 1,200 kmh
Hull: 2D
Weapons:
2 laser cannons (fire-linked, fire control 2D, damage 5D)

The characters have to hold off the TIE fighters long enough to escape to a suitable point where they can jump to hyperspace. The Star Destroyer isn't close enough to make a difference — but the characters don't have to know that! A second patrol of four TIE fighters can always intercept them should they destroy the first patrol too quickly. The Star Destroyer maneuvers into position to hit them with its tractor beams. Luckily R2-QU's astrogation coordinates are accurate, and the X-wing and the Eucliptan Morae jump to lightspeed in the nick of time.

Spawning a Campaign

If the player characters successfully join the Rebellion and escape the planet, the adventure segues neatly into a Rebel SpecOps campaign. Perhaps the characters are assigned the task of making risky runs through the sector blockade to run weapons and medical supplies to Rebel units that desperately need the materials.

As an alternative, perhaps the characters don't make it off the planet. The process of evading capture and setting up a planetary Rebel network can in itself make for several interesting scenarios.

Character Rewards

Award each character one to three Character Points per episode for surviving the adventure.

The Treasure of Celis Mott

Introduction

This adventure is designed for four to six characters (one of which owns a small spaceship). The characters are laying over at a small starport when an old friend drops dead at their feet, whispering a clue about a fabulous treasure with his dying breath. Unfortunately, the pirates who shot him are hot on his trail, and want that clue!

Episode One

The player characters are laying over at a Rim port, just off the Nanth'ri Trade Route, getting the ship serviced and looking for their next job. One of the player characters, someone with a lot of background, sees an old friend heading toward him.

Read aloud:

As you leave the docking bay to head to the local cantina, you notice a figure staggering out of the shadows toward you. As the figure draws closer, you see that it's Marka Durn, an old pal who's been plying his trade near the Nanth'ri Trade Route. He's looked a lot better, though — he's stumbling along, hunched over. He's breathing hard and looks like he's in pain.

"I didn't think I'd make it," he croaks, collapsing at your feet. As you bend over him, he grips your shirt and fights to speak. As you try and help him, you can't help but notice the gaping blaster wound in his chest.

"Mott's treasure," he gasps. "Bay 15 ... engine's lee ... beware sea shell ..." Durn's eyes glaze over.

Unfortunately, Durn is dead and nothing can be done to resuscitate him; his wounds were far too severe.

Several new figures approach from the shadows. A tall scarred man in a poncho and slouch hat glares at you with a cybernetic eye. He turns to one of his companions and hisses "He's dead, you fool." The other, a muscular Wookiee, snarls something back at the scarred man. Ignoring his furry companion, the cyborg-human turns back towards you. "What did he tell you? Tell us and we'll let you walk away." The pirate eyes you coldly as his companions draw their blasters.

Staging Tips

This adventure could be run with free traders, privateers, smugglers, Rebel operatives (or, in fact, most any other type of character) since it relies on the characters wanting to make money. Even ascetic Jedi will recognize the good use to which they can put the fortune of Celis Mott. They should have a freighter, scout ship, or other small starship. Starfighters and capital ships are not appropriate.

The adventure could start at almost any starport or shadowport off the main trade routes in the Outer Rim. This adventure works well with characters who are chronically broke, about to be in need of a lot of money, or in trouble with a loan shark or Alliance superiors.

There are several covert Perception checks to be made in the course of the adventure. The gamemaster should have the character's Perception, search, sneak noted down for making rolls the characters shouldn't know about, like noticing something they aren't specifically looking for.

Sidebar: "The Treasure of Celis Mott" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One: An old acquaintance, Marka Durn, drops dead at the characters' feet, whispering a vital clue about the lost treasure of Celis Mott and a strange warning with his dying breath. The player characters must then fight off the pirates who shot Durn.
• Episode Two: The player characters follow up the clue at Durn's starship, deal with a difficult droid, recover the clue, and elude more pirates.
• Episode Three: Xishel, a Falleen pirate lord, approaches the player characters with a deal to split the treasure. After the group refuses, they are chased by pirate ships as they leave the planet.
• Episode Four: The player characters locate the hidden treasure of Celis Mott in an uncharted asteroid field. Unfortunately, Xishel's ships arrive. A chase through the asteroid field ensues.
• Cards Used: 11, 20, 27, 29, 32.

Exactly what the player characters do now is up to them. They can try to bluff the pirates with wrong information or go straight into a fire fight. Regardless of how cooperative the player characters are, the pirates will attack them. A fight is inevitable. There are two pirates for every character (plus the Wookiee).

Pirates

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 8D+1, melee combat 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: BlasTech DL-22 blaster pistol (4D+1), SoroSuub LaserHone vibrorapiers (STR+1D)

Pirate Wookiee

DEXTERITY 2D
Bowcaster 5D+1, dodge 5D+2, melee combat 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: Heavy bowcaster (5D), blaze-cutlass (STR+2D)

The pirates will fight until half their number are caught or killed; any captured pirates will steadfastly refuse to cooperate and will flee at the first opportunity. The player character that Durn approached remembers the following about him:

• Durn was a top-notch navigator and all around good spacer.
• He liked to automate his systems, and had a droid, R2-C9, an astromech droid whose programming was never wiped. Durn thought it gave the droid "personality."
• The last information about Durn that the character heard was that he had joined up with a corporate scout service that did hyperspace route surveying near the Nanth'ri Trade Route.

Any characters that make a Moderate streetwise roll realize that "Mott" probably refers to the infamous pirate king Celis Mott, who united the Nanth'ri pirates until captured by a Rebel task force. He vanished after that, and the Rebels never commented on it. He, like many pirate captains, is rumored to have hidden away a vast treasure.

Characters who make a Moderate Technical roll also know that an engine's "lee" is a dead spot in the ship's vibration, where the combined noise cancels itself out, usually toward the rear of the craft.

Sidebar: Staging Tip

Gamemasters can replace Durn with any other recurring character that has been used in an ongoing campaign. By using a gamemaster character that a gaming group is familiar with, the players have more of a motive to hunt out the treasure — and the killers.

Episode Two

The only clue at the player character's disposal is the mysterious message he whispered with his last breath — something about Bay 15.

Read aloud:

Bay 15 is off a sidestreet in an older part of town. The bay is quiet, except for the slow pumping and hissing of fuel cells feeding Durn's ship, the Deephopper, a beat-up Ghtroc freighter. It's obviously under repairs — the engine appears to be half disassembled and mechanical parts are strewn about the bay.

As the characters approach the Deephopper, a tinny voice crackles over the external comm: "Hey! Who's there?"

This is R2-C9 (see card 27), an astromech droid that has been fitted with a voice box. CeeNine is under instructions not to let strangers in, or to identify himself, but can be brought around to let Durn's old friend in after some reminding. (CeeNine didn't have the voice box until recently, so Durn's friend won't remember it.) After being convinced that the group is friendly to its master (which requires a Moderate persuasion total or some extremely good roleplaying), CeeNine opens the hatch and allows the characters into the ship.

If the player characters search the ship, CeeNine rolls over to a point at the back of the hold, and spins on top of the lee. He knows perfectly well about the smuggling compartment, but is under strict orders not to reveal it to anyone. He won't try to keep the group from finding it, though.

Sidebar: What CeeNine Does and Doesn't Know

• He is very worried about his master, who was nervous about something.
• Durn was on his way to see an old friend about something important.
• CeeNine doesn't know about the treasure or who was after Durn.
• CeeNine knows (but won't reveal) Durn's small smuggling compartment at the ship's lee, under the deck.
• He can take the characters directly to the ship's engine lee, in the main hold. (Gamemasters can make the characters work a bit for this; a Moderate or better persuasion total is required to gain CeeNine's cooperation.) The cargo hold is empty except for echoes.

A Moderate search total reveals that the lee deck plating is slightly uneven, not quite flush with the floor. A Difficult search of the hold convinces the searchers that there's no latch, release, remote control, or other way to open the compartment.

If the characters are stumped, a Moderate Perception check is needed to make them think that CeeNine may know how to open the compartment. CeeNine still won't admit that it's there, but he will open it with a comm signal.

The panel slides aside with a snap and hydraulic release, revealing a meter wide circular compartment containing a small data disc. The disc can be used in any datapad, and accessed with a Moderate computer programming/repair roll. It has two files: a set of hyperspace coordinates (see below), and another apparently random set of numbers.

A navicomputer is necessary to determine what the coordinates lead to; the Deephopper's navicomputer is nearby. A Moderate astrogation roll, using the navicomputer, is required to locate where the hyperspace coordinates lead to. A Heroic +10 astrogation roll is necessary without the navicomputer.

Minutes tick by. Then, the information flashes across the screen, showing the jump to lead — to the middle of nowhere. The jump will lead to deep space, out in intersystem space. There shouldn't be anything out there, except maybe rocks. The jump should last about three hours, since it's such an out of the way place to go.

Any characters that make a Moderate communications roll realize that the numbers on the second file are an encryption routine for a comm frequency.

The players can download the hyperspace calculation into CeeNine, or transmit it to their own ship. Datapads lack the necessary memory to successfully transfer the calculations, however.

The Deephopper can't be flown — it blew an ion flux stabilizer and must be fixed before it goes anywhere. This will take days. (The ship can't even take off on repulsor drives without the engine being reassembled.) The characters' best bet is to take their own vessel.

As the group exits Bay 15 and leaves the area, they're shadowed by a group of pirates. These pirates aren't very good at shadowing, and the characters notice them on an Easy Perception check. There is one pirate for each player character.

If the characters run, the pirates chase them. If the characters decide to fight, the pirates fire a few shots, then back off and disappear into the crowd.

Pirates

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, dodge 5D+1, melee combat 4D, running 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: BlasTech DL-22 blaster pistol (4D+1), SoroSuub LaserHone vibrorapiers (STR+1D)

Episode Three

When the player characters return to their ship, they are greeted by a heavily armed group of pirates, led by Xishel (pronounced "she-zhel"; see card 29), one of the strongest of the remaining Nanth'ri pirates. His 10 bodyguards, four at his side and six strategically placed around the docking bay, are heavily armed with BlasTech StarSlasher blaster carbines (Easy Perception roll to notice that they're carbines, Difficult Knowledge roll to know that the StarSlasher is a very formidable, hard-hitting weapon), and encased in advanced armor.

Xishel is a Falleen (Moderate alien species roll to recognize his species: Difficult to know that Falleen are a very charismatic species, Very Difficult to know that a Falleen in command of a group of aliens is probably an outcast or renegade from his people). He wants Mott's treasure to leverage control of the fractious Nanth'ri raiders.

Read aloud:

As you enter the cool shade of your own docking bay, you immediately see a number of shadowy figures lurking inside. Between you and the ship, a tall figure waits in the gloom.

As the lights come up, the tall figure is illuminated, revealing a tall, reptilian humanoid with dark green skin, a domed head (bald except for a topknot of hair), and long manicured nails. He is flanked by two armored guards on each side, armed with carbines. Six more guards, in the same uniform, are scattered throughout the bay. The alien smiles toothily, and his skin changes color to a light orange.

The player characters should "sweat" this one out a moment, though the guards will not move in a threatening manner. Read the following aloud:

"Ah. You must be Durn's friends. Pity about Durn. He ran afoul of one of my competitors earlier today, I understand.

"I am Xishel, a mercenary captain employed to recover certain precious items stolen from King Haxim of Falleen. You may be able to assist me. Durn was working for me, and was waylaid before he could deliver his final report. Do you have it?"

If the player characters deny they have the "report," Xishel offers them a 10,000 credit finders fee (in cash, naturally) to locate it. If they claim to know where it is, he offers 15,000 credits, cash. If they admit they have the disc, he offers 20,000 credits, cash, right now. If they attack, the guards return fire in earnest. Otherwise the guards just keep watch unless ordered to attack by Xishel, the Falleen is willing to negotiate. Roleplay it out, or make opposed bargain rolls.

If the characters sell the disc, Xishel hands over cash — forged Imperial credits, in 1,000 credit coins. While they look quite real to the naked eye, any bank or corporate transaction computer will note them as fakes. The bad credits can be detected with a Very Difficult forgery or Heroic Perception roll.

Sidebar: Scenario Hook

The forged coins will probably lead to another adventure later on, since forging credits is an Imperial criminal violation. Even if they could convince a magistrate that they didn't know the credits were forgeries, the characters could still be in trouble, since passing forged credits is also a criminal act.

If the characters turn Xishel down, he retreats gracefully, saying that his offer is good at any time and they need only contact him to pursue the offer. Xishel also warns the characters that he has "competitors," and has gone out of his way to make the claim believable — the pirates that attacked the characters (and killed Durn) are his henchmen. He realizes the characters are unlikely to sell to the murderer of their friend and will go to great lengths to convince the characters his claims are genuine.

Whether the group accepts Xishel's offer or refuses to sell, the docking bay is attacked by pirates — more henchmen of the Falleen pirate lord — shortly after he leaves. They give the characters enough time to board their ship, but do not follow; their orders are to herd the characters into their ship and force them to take off. The scarred human that the characters have already faced enters the area and demands the data from the Deephopper. As he does this, four of his eight companions set up a pair of E-Web heavy repeating blasters, while the other four take pot shots at the ship. Setting up the repeaters will take two rounds. The idea is to flush the ship into space, not get anybody (especially the pirates) killed.

Xishel is a self-exiled Falleen who has chosen to pursue his fortune in space piracy — a skill he developed evading the Imperial blockade of his home system. Xishel is charming and calculating (though he is not above violence when necessary), rising quickly among the loosely collected Nanth'ri pirate lords. Recently, he hired a survey scout, Durn, to follow up a lead on one of Celis Mott's treasure troves. Durn located a signal from an old beckon call, and returned to collect his fee. He overheard a conversation, realized what the beckon call indicated, and decided to squeeze Xishel for more money, with his data disc as protection. Xishel had him shot anyway — as he'd always intended to.

Xishel

DEXTERITY 3D+1
Blaster 6D, brawling parry 5D, dodge 6D, melee combat 5D+2, melee parry 5D
KNOWLEDGE 3D+1
Alien species 4D+2, cultures 5D, intimidation 6D, languages 5D+1, law enforcement 6D+1, planetary systems 4D+2, value 5D+1
MECHANICAL 3D+1
Astrogation 4D+2, space transports 5D, starfighter piloting 4D+2, starship shields 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Bargain 6D, command 7D, con 7D, investigation 6D, persuasion 7D+1, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 5D, stamina 5D+1
TECHNICAL 3D
First aid 4D, security 5D+1
Special Abilities:
Attraction Pheromones: +1D bonus to persuasion skill, with an additional +1D for each hour of continuous preparation and meditation to enhance the effects — the bonus may total no more than +3D for any single skill attempt, and the attempt must be made within one hour of completing meditation.
Amphibious: +1D to swimming.
Character Points: 15
Move: 9
Equipment: Merr-Sonn Model 44 blaster pistol (4D+1), ornate customized vibrosword (STR+1D+2)

Characters who make a Moderate Knowledge or streetwise roll realize that the small arms aren't likely to hurt the ship, but the heavy repeaters probably can!

Note: The heavy repeating blaster and the character's ship are at different scales (see pages 95-96 of Star Wars, Revised and Expanded for an extended explanation). The characters are at character scale and the ship is at starfighter scale. This means that the ship adds +6D to resist the character-scale heavy repeating blaster and that same +6D to their blasters Strength roll to damage the attacking pirates. (This means that the heavy repeater has a fairly slim chance of damaging the ship, but still has a chance, unlike the pirates' hand weapons.)

Pirates

DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D+2, dodge 5D+1, melee combat 4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
MECHANICAL 2D
PERCEPTION 2D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Equipment: BlasTech DL-22 blaster pistol (4D+1), SoroSuub LaserHone vibrorapiers (STR+1D), E-Web heavy repeating blaster (8D)

The player characters will likely lift off and head for space. (If the characters stick around for too long, the one-eyed human pirate will begin lobbing thermal detonators at them, threatening the ship more directly than the heavy repeaters can.)

CeeNine has a copy of the navigational data, and the characters' ship can jump to lightspeed almost as soon as they clear orbit. (The droid was unwilling to reveal this prior to now, simply because he didn't really trust the characters; after seeing them battle it out with pirates, the eccentric droid has decided that the characters are in fact "the good guys.")

On the way to the jump point, the ship is attacked by two of Xishel's weaker pirate ships: "Ugly" starfighters. These unusual ships are crudely modified hybrids of Y-wings and TIE fighters, and are generally favored by pirates and criminals.

The Ugly pilots have been ordered to attack in order to further Xishel's plans — what the characters don't know is that Xishel has attached a homing beacon to their ship, and he doesn't want them to have time to think or search their ship, or think that he's involved in piracy (hence the starfighter attack).

Pirate Y-TIE Uglies

Scale: Starfighter
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 105; 300 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D+2
Weapons:
2 laser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 5D)

See card 11.

Jumping to hyperspace with the pre-calculated hyperspace coordinates can be done in 12 rounds (about one minute) at an astrogation difficulty of 10, or it can be done in one round (a hasty jump) at a difficulty of 20. If the characters have to calculate the jump while in combat, it takes two minutes and the difficulty is 15, or one round at difficulty 30 ... combat is exactly not conducive to concentrating.

Episode Four

The journey into deep space only takes about three hours. Read aloud:

The starlines of hyperspace fade away into stars as the ship automatically drops back into realspace. Usually, the first thing you see after dropping out of hyperspace is the planet you're heading for, or the local star. This time is different — you see nothing in front of you, except stars. You're out in the middle of nowhere, in deep space.

On an Easy sensors search, the characters detect an asteroid field off to port (left), about 35 units away. If they roll in the Moderate range, they can tell it looks fairly thick, but navigable. (It's a lot less dangerous than the infamous Hoth Belt.)

Moving to the asteroid field is an Easy space transports at a cautious rate. The asteroid field is Moderate terrain for piloting purposes. The rules for starship movement are on pages 123-125 of the main Star Wars, Revised and Expanded rules.

As they enter the field, they detect a low power beckon call on the frequency specified on Durn's disc on an Easy communications roll. Homing in on the one-tone repeating signal requires a Moderate sensors roll. The signal is coming from a large but otherwise nondescript asteroid. Landing requires a Difficult space transports roll, since the asteroid's rotation is extremely eccentric. The best place to land is a flat stretch of rock at the center of a crater field, not far from where the signal is coming from.

The signal is coming from a small crater roughly 500 meters away from the ship. To get to it the characters will have to suit up in vacuum suits or space suits. If they don't have a space suit noted among their equipment, anyone who makes an Easy survival roll remembers that any spaceship's emergency locker has an emergency space suit.

The crater field is Moderate terrain, mainly because the asteroid has very little gravity and walking requires the use of boot-magnets. Fortunately there's enough nickel-iron on this rock to keep the characters from floating home — probably. Call for a couple of movement checks as they cross the crater field. Movement failures result in stumbling onto all fours. (Particularly bad movement failures leave the character floating away from the asteroid unless they remembered to tether themselves to each other.)

Once the characters have gotten to the crater, read the following aloud:

You shine your glow rods at the crater. It isn't very wide, only about two meters, but it is rather deep — about five meters. At the bottom of the short pit, you can see a dull gray trunk or a chest secured by some torn up camo-netting.

Getting down into the pit takes an Easy climbing/ jumping roll - a little easier than it would be in standard gravity. It's simple to get the chest out of the pit and dragging it across the crater field is only a little harder than walking unencumbered. The terrain stays Moderate, but edge the difficulty numbers up to the high end a bit.

As the characters come within 30 meters of their ship, a pair of Y-TIE Uglies whisk by overhead. If there's anyone on the ship who's been doing sensor checks, they have a small chance of detecting the ships earlier; a Very Difficult sensors (25 or more) roll is needed, since the pirate ships have a lot of asteroids to hide in. (The pirates are suffering from the same sensor blindness — they didn't detect the ship with their sensors, they homed in on the tracking device they attached to it.) The arrival of hostile ships will probably encourage the player characters to return to the ship more vigorously. The Uglies have stumbled across the ship and are a little surprised, so they regroup with Xishel's ship instead of opening fire.

The player characters might blast off as soon as they can and go out to fight the pirates who have been tormenting them all this time (though the pirates get +1D to any starship gunnery rolls since they can lock in on the homing device). The player characters might blast off and make a run for hyperspace. The pirates intercept them before they make the jump and a nasty little brawl starts up.

Alternately, the characters might try to hide among the asteroids. This won't work, since the pirates can easily tell where the ship is from the tracking device. Even if the player characters think to look for one, they can't remove it from their ship: it's on the outer hull.

The pirates are interested in capturing the ship, not destroying it yet. They want Mott's treasure. There are only two Uglies and Xishel's personal light corvette. Unless the ship moves immediately, directly, and quickly to the jump point, they meet the pirates while still in the fringes of the asteroid field. Jumping into hyperspace takes the same amount of time and is as difficult it was earlier.

Pirate Y-TIE Uglies

Scale: Starfighter
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 105; 300 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D+2
Weapons:
2 laser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 5D)

See card 11.

Modified Imperial Light Corvette

Scale: Starfighter
Crew Skill: Starship gunnery 4D+2, space transports 4D, starship shields 4D+1
Maneuverability: 2D
Space: 8
Atmosphere: 365; 1,050 kmh
Hull: 5D+1
Shields: 3D
Weapons:
6 double turbolaser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 4D)

See card 20.

The characters' best chance is to avoid the corvette and head into the asteroid field, hopefully outflying the fairly sluggish Y-TIEs. The base difficulty for piloting rolls in the field is Moderate; every other round, the difficulty increases by one level until it reaches Very Difficult. (Either the Y-TIEs will end up smashing into asteroids, or will break off, giving the characters time to escape.) As the ship enters hyperspace, Xishel sends them a comm signal that simply says: "Congratulations on a hand well-played. There will, however, come a time when you'll wish you hadn't played this game with me."

The Treasure Revealed!

When the player characters open Mott's chest, they find four one-kilo bars of gold, two bars of platinum, several corusca gems, a bag of 100 credit Imperial coins, and some data plaques with astrogation chart files stored on them.

A Moderate value roll is needed to accurately estimate the worth of the booty. It's worth about 12,000-17,000 credits per person, depending on how well the characters can fence it (and how well they did in the adventure). The actual sale price will probably be a bit lower than that, but let them try to sell it and haggle over the prices themselves. This isn't quite the fabulous treasure the rumors talk about — the data discs are dated about 10 years ago, an era in which Mott was still a rising pirate captain. This chest was probably a forgotten emergency stash. Maybe there's more of Mott's treasure out there ...

Spawning a Campaign

The search for a trustworthy fence to unload the treasure could send the characters virtually anywhere. Perhaps a rendezvous with the fence aboard the Vohai Unirail (see Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim) is arranged. Unfortunately, the fence has talked a little too openly about his business dealings: local militia troops are spaced throughout the Unirail, waiting to arrest anyone involved with an illegal currency exchange.

Sidebar: Alternate Endings

As an alternate, the player characters could have a final showdown with Xishel; the corvette manages to herd them into an area fairly heavy with asteroids and a face-off with an angry Falleen pirate lord follows.

Perhaps Xishel summons the remaining Nanth'ri pirates to aid in the player characters' capture though when the other rogues figure out where the treasure is, a massive race for the loot begins. In the confusion the characters can either perish or profit.

Alternately, Xishel himself could arrive, and a running battle along the outside of the Vohai Unirail (a platform suspended high above the surface of a planet) occurs, culminating in a final showdown with the Falleen pirate boss.

A final — and more alarming alternative — involves the criminal organization Black Sun. Black Sun has been covertly sponsoring Xishel's activities, collecting a percentage of the loot the pirate lord takes in (in exchange for maintenance and other services provided by one of the organization's numerous legitimate fronts). When word reaches Black Sun about the loss of the treasure of Celis Mott, they dispatch a bounty hunter to reclaim the loot and "chastise" the player characters. The characters themselves may not be aware of Black Sun, but will soon find themselves the target of Zarfeen, a Rodian who is occasionally used on Black Sun's lesser foes.

Zarfeen (card 32) is a competent and dangerous bounty hunter from Rodia. She was recruited as an operative of Black Sun shortly after the Battle of Yavin, and has been modestly successful. (Generally she is under the direction of Vigo Clezo, a fellow Rodian and it is rumored that the pair have been romantically entangled in the past.) Zarfeen is easily recognized by the decorative jewelry she wears, particularly her shiny and somewhat gaudy earrings. (For more information on Black Sun and Vigo Clezo, see Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook, pages 31-50.)

Zarfeen

Type: Rodian Black Sun agent
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 6D, dodge 6D, melee combat 8D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Business: bounty hunting 7D, intimidation 6D, streetwise 6D, value 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 5D, space transports 6D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 6D, command 4D, con 6D, gambling 4D, persuasion 5D, sneak 7D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 2D
Character Points: 4
Move: 10
Equipment: Imperial Munitions's StarAnvil heavy blaster rifle (5D+2), BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol (5D), medpac, vibroblade (STR+2D), blast vest (+1D physical)

Character Rewards

In addition to the treasure, the players should receive one or two Character Points per episode (depending on how they roleplayed and how successful they were).

Operation: Shadowstrike

Introduction

"Operation: Shadowstrike" is designed for a team of four to six Rebel SpecForce troops (Infiltrators, ideally). The SpecForce squad is called in for a dangerous rescue mission in enemy-controlled territory.

This mission is not designed for inexperienced characters. Gamemasters are encouraged to penalize characters that do not act cautiously. Experienced characters with combat-oriented skills (blaster, dodge, search, sneak) of at least 6D are recommended.

Episode One

The characters are assembled in the command center of the Rebel base they are currently assigned to. The base commander is delivering a briefing to the characters, explaining to them the nature of the classified mission they are about to undertake, a mission codenamed "Operation: Shadowstrike."

Read the following aloud:

The base commander briskly greets you, his normally informal demeanor replaced by rigid determination.

"Operation: Shadowstrike" Quick-start Outline

• Episode One. Rebel commandoes must paraglide through a treacherous canyon. Once through the canyon, they must establish a staging area for a rescue operation to recover a downed Y-wing pilot.
• Episode Two. The Rebels must stage an ambush for a squad of Imperial Storm Commandoes that are also seeking the Y-wing pilot.
• Episode Three. The characters must retrieve the pilot and make their way to an extraction point. Unfortunately, the characters have been spotted by aerial surveillance and must fend off more Storm Commandoes and an Imperial Flying Fortress assault vehicle.
• Cards Used: 6, 9, 18, 21, 23, 30.

"Welcome to the briefing," he says without preamble. "A serious situation has developed in the Outer Rim Territories.

"Yesterday, an Alliance surveillance craft was shot down by an Imperial vessel over an unexplored world, NCW-781. The pilot of the craft is a top Rebel operative who, for the purposes of this operation, we've codenamed 'Prodigal-One'. This agent has uncovered some extremely sensitive data: the identities of double agents in the employ of the Empire that are assigned to Rebel posts in three key Outer Rim sectors. This information is stored on a data plaque and must be retrieved. This data plaque is codenamed 'Prodigal-Two.'

"Shortly after we received Prodigal-One's distress call, we dispatched a probe droid to NCW-781. As a result of the probe fly-by, we have identified three items of concern for this mission: the location of the crashed Y-wing, the presence of at least one unit of Imperial Storm Commandoes, and the location of the Imperial's staging area ... fifteen kilometers from the Y-wing crash site. In addition, an Interdictor cruiser has been dispatched to NCW-781 and will arrive in a little over 30 hours. A Strike-class cruiser — apparently the home base of the troops on the surface — has since been called away for another mission.

"Prodigal-One has likely abandoned the crash site, and has holed up in the nearby canyons. Your mission is to locate Prodigal-One and recover him and the data plaque. After recovering the targets, proceed to the extraction site we've selected. You must achieve your objectives prior to the Interdictor arriving in-system."

The commander pauses for a moment before looking each of you in the eyes, one at a time. "I won't lie to you," he says, his voice filled with steel. "This mission is dangerous, but it is also vital. If you miss your window of opportunity, we won't be able to mount a rescue operation for several days; you'll be on your own, in hostile territory and limited equipment.

The commander gives each of you a brisk nod and turns toward the door. "Examine the probe droid's readings and the mission specifics," he orders, "and prepare to ship out in one hour. Dismissed."

Staging Tips

This adventure works best with Rebel SpecForce Infiltrators, though a SpecOps team — a more traditional form of Star Wars roleplaying group — could be substituted if necessary.

"Operation: Shadowstrike" does not reward brute force, however. Characters that run around, spraying blaster fire at everything that moves are on a collision course with disaster. Gamemasters should warn the players prior to play: "Poor planning will lead to dead characters."

The Imperial Storm Commandoes featured in "Operation: Shadowstrike" are not identical to the units depicted in Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim. Rather, they are a veteran unit (nicknamed the "NightWhispers") that has seen extensive combat and are deadly serious when it comes to their mission. As a consequence, they have higher skill codes and more specialized equipment (particularly surveillance aircraft and a Floating Fortress) to support them during battle.

The player characters can examine the pair of handouts below and on page 62 and begin preparation for the mission. The quartermaster will issue the team any reasonable equipment: light weapons, general equipment and medical supplies. In addition, one heavy weapon (an E-Web heavy repeating blaster, a PLEX missile launcher or other such weapon) will be allotted to the squad, though the characters should be cautioned against choosing something extremely heavy to carry, particularly if the number of troops engaged in the mission is small. Three thermal detonators are also given to the squad, and each trooper is armed with three fragmentation grenades and one smoke grenade. The team leader will also be issued a powerful comlink that produces a burst transmission that will signal the orbiting support craft to proceed to the extraction point. A backup signal device is issued to one other SpecForce trooper.

Finally, each member of the squad is given an "Automap," a commercially-available position tracker that is linked to the characters' orbiting escape vessel. (See card 9.)

The Automap is roughly the size of a large datapad, dominated by a backlit display. The device allows the user to keep track of movement on the ground, as well as allowing the user to flag certain areas as trouble spots or hazards. The screen is hinged, so it can fold up at an angle to allow easier readability, and the readout's brightness is adjustable, so it can be read without attracting unwanted attention at night. The upper left corner of the screen features a navigational bearing indicator that shows the direction and speed the user is travelling.

Automap

Model: SoroSuub "Tracker" GPS Module
Type: Global positioning system
Scale: Character
Cost: 2,000 credits
Skill: Computer programming/repair
Availability: 2

Game Notes: It is virtually impossible for a character using an Automap to get lost. As long as the device is linked to an orbiting source of data (such as a ship's sensors or a weather satellite) the device relays accurate data regarding the user's location, local weather conditions, other moving objects and navigational hazards. The link requires a Moderate computer programming/repair roll once per hour to maintain. Failure indicates that the link has been terminated and the device will extrapolate the character's position with marginal accuracy. (Unlinked automaps produce faulty position data on anything less than a Difficult computer programming/repair roll.)

Sidebar: Mission Briefing:

• The "Shadowstrike" team is assigned to transit vessel Bravado. Bravado will initiate a high-atmospheric pass near NCW-781 in roughly 10 hours. As Bravado enters the upper atmosphere, the mission team will exit the vehicle and paraglide to Approach Route Alpha, ending their run at Target "Bantha." This run has been selected to provide cover during approach from any air defenses the Empire has in place at NCW-781. Though the Strike cruiser that deposited troops on the planet has departed, it has likely left a contingent of starfighters as support vessels. By travelling through the canyon, the mission team has the best chance of arriving near Prodigal-One's last known position without compromising the operation's window of opportunity.

• After negotiating Approach Route Alpha, the mission team will recover any airdropped equipment and proceed to Target "Dewback," the probable crash-site of Prodigal-One. The mission team should search for indications of Prodigal-One and his data-package, Prodigal-Two. Evade or eliminate any Imperial resistance.

• Upon locating Prodigal-One and Prodigal-Two, the mission team will rendezvous with Bravado at Target "Tallon" for extraction. The extraction signal must be given within 20 hours of mission team's insertion.

• Alternate extraction point is delineated as Target "Yavin." If Target Tallon is compromised, the mission team must reach Target Yavin for extraction.

Mission Parameters

• Limited Engagement. This mission is a rescue operation, not a search-and-destroy. Contact with enemy forces should be kept to a minimum. Bravado can provide limited fire support, but has orders to disengage if ground-based resistance is too severe.

Good luck, and may the Force be with you.

Welcome to NCW-781

The characters board Bravado, a modified light freighter designed to act as a "drop ship" of sorts. After stowing their gear, the characters take their seats on the passenger deck as the ship rockets into hyperspace.

Bravado

Scale: Starfighter
Crew Skill: Space transports 5D, starship gunnery 5D, starship shields 4D
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 480; 800 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 2D
Weapons:
2 quad laser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 5D)
Concussion missile launcher (fire control 1D, damage 8D)

Roughly 10 hours later, Bravado emerges from hyperspace and begins to make its run towards NCW-781. Read the following aloud:

"Get ready to hop out, team," the Bravado's skipper calls over the comm system. "We're about to enter the atmosphere."

Making your way to the "drop-lock" (a modified hatch in what would have been a freighter cargo bay), you strap on your paragliders and prepare to jump.

Rebel combat paragliders are used almost exclusively by SpecForce troops. These unusual conveyances have been substantially modified from their civilian form in a number of ways. Reflec body panels absorb many low-powered sensors, giving off only a slight return (in effect, making the paraglider appear to be substantially smaller than it is). Often, careless sensor operators mistake combat paragliders for birds or other avian creatures. In general, attempts to detect a combat paraglider are one difficulty level higher when making a sensors check.

Combat Paragliders

Model: Modified Nen-Carvon R-19 Paraglider
Type: Combat paraglider
Scale: Character
Length: 4.5 meters
Skill: Repulsorlift operation
Crew: 1
Altitude Range: Ground level—5,000 meters
Cost: Not available for sale
Availability: 2, X
Maneuverability: 3D
Move: 90; 260 kmh
Body Strength: 2D

In addition, combat paragliders have a number of small mounting brackets for equipment storage, even of modestly heavy items. The repulsorlift package has also been augmented to help lift heavier items and improve the vehicle's handling. In general, the paraglider can carry up to 80 kilograms of equipment in addition to a pilot.

One other feature of the combat paraglider is the addition of a pull-down "heads-up" display. This display drops down in front of the pilot's face, giving him easy access to the unit's night vision, terrain following and directional modules.

Finally, each paraglider has a low-powered transponder, making it possible for each pilot to know the location of other similarly equipped gliders (this is particularly useful for night operations). Read the following aloud:

"We're at primary drop point," the pilot calls. "Jump on my mark: three ... two ... one ... jump!"

As you step off the jump platform, you feel a dizzying sense of vertigo. This type of drop is disorienting enough; jumping at night while the Bravado is passing through a cloud bank is even worse.

A moment later you plunge through the bottom layer of clouds and can just make out the mouth of the canyon that makes up Approach Route One ... and it is a long way down.

The paragliders have been released roughly one kilometer above their maximum altitude for the repulsorlifts to work. The pilots must glide in unpowered (an Easy Dexterity check) until they reach an altitude of 5,000 meters; a Moderate repulsorlift operations roll is required to activate the thrust package and maintain control of the paraglider. If the roll is failed, the paraglider flips and "stalls" and the pilot has only three rounds to regain control or crash. Recovery of a stalled paraglider requires a Difficult repulsorlift operation roll. Any crashed commandoes are essentially stranded, and any specialized equipment they are carrying is lost.

After the commandoes are flying in formation, read the following aloud:

You see the mouth of Approach Route One through the night-vision filter on your heads up display. The probe droid's signals didn't really prepare you for how narrow the canyon really is.

A moment later, you plunge into the darkened canyon and begin your run, the rock walls flanking you little more than a silvery-gray blur.

Approach Route One

The characters must make four very difficult maneuvers to successfully navigate the canyon.

• A hard bank to the right is required to navigate a treacherous turn in the canyon. This requires a Difficult repulsorlift operations roll.
• Characters must pass under a fallen column of rock, requiring a Very Difficult repulsorlift operations roll.
• The lead paraglider's repulsors kick up a spray of gravel that temporarily knocks out the trailing gliders' night vision. The characters must each make a Difficult search or Perception check to stay on course. The night-vision recovers after one round.
• Another sharp right turn requires a Very Difficult repulsorlift operations roll.

Staging Tip

As an alternative to having characters that fail a repulsorlift operations check crash into a canyon wall, gamemasters may simply wish to make the mission more difficult.

Perhaps the Imperials honeycombed the area near the canyon with sensor emplacements; a failed roll means that the pilot must pull up out of the canyon for one round to regain control. Once out of the canyon, he registers on the Imperial sensors, alerting the Storm Commandoes to the team's presence. When they arrive at Target Bantha, six NightWhispers are waiting for them.

After completing these maneuvers, the characters land at Target Bantha and may collect any airdropped equipment that they have been issued.

Episode Two

The characters take a navigational fix on their automaps and proceed to Target Dewback: the crashed Y-wing. However, enemy troop movements were spotted when the probe droid made its flyby, so caution is required when moving out.

The characters will encounter a squad of "NightWhisper" Storm Commandoes; there is one Imperial for each Rebel. The site of the encounter is left largely to the gamemasters' discretion, as the player characters will likely choose a route of their own towards Target Dewback.

Read the following aloud:

As you move cautiously forward, the cloud cover parts briefly, bathing the area in moonlight. In the treeline up ahead you catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure moving stealthily through the woods: an Imperial Storm Commando.

A moment later, the clouds again obscure the moon and the area is once again cloaked in darkness.

If the player characters make directly for the crash site, they will be moving right towards a NightWhisper patrol. Each round, the characters must make an opposed sneak roll versus the Imperial's search. Any character that rolls a "1" on the Wild Die makes some sort of noise (a snapping twig, a sneeze or dislodging a loose rock, for example) that alerts the Storm Commandoes to the team's presence.

If each team member rolls 5 or more above the Imperial's search roll, they can ambush the Imperials or simply let them pass by. If a fight breaks out, the characters must neutralize the Imperials within five rounds; otherwise, the Storm Commandoes will raise an alert and call more troops to the area.

Resolve any combat as described in the Star Wars rules.

Imperial Storm Commandos

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 8D, brawling parry 5D+2, dodge 6D, grenade 7D, melee combat 6D, melee parry 6D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Survival 6D
MECHANICAL 2D
Beast riding 5D, hover vehicle operation 5D+1, repulsorlift operation 5D
PERCEPTION 3D+2
Hide 6D+2, search 7D, sneak 7D
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 7D
TECHNICAL 3D
Armor repair 5D, blaster repair 5D, first aid 4D, security 3D+2
Move: 10
Equipment: Blaster carbine (5D+2), blaster pistol (4D damage), Storm Commando armor (+1D vs. physical and energy, night-sight package in helmet, reflec mesh: +1D to sneak versus sensors), standard utility belt, survival kit

(See card 18 for more information on the Imperial Storm Commandos.)

Episode Three

Read the following aloud:

You've made pretty good time; you still have roughly eight hours before you have to rendezvous with Bravado and you can make out the burned hulk of a Y-wing a few meters ahead.

If the characters search the Y-wing, they discover (Moderate search or Perception) that a small blaster power-cell has been jury rigged to the wrecked navigational console. Any character that makes a Moderate computer programming/repair roll realizes that the power cell is keeping some kind of data active in the ship's nav system. This data can easily be downloaded into the automap, a set of coordinates corresponding to a cluster of caves in the mountains to the northeast. (These coordinates are encrypted, though it is an Alliance code; a Moderate computer programming/repair roll will break the code.) It takes roughly three hours to reach the coordinates that the hidden nav data indicates.

As the characters make their way into the foothills, read the following aloud:

Staging Tips

At this point, the characters' limited time is almost out; they should be encouraged to head immediately to Target Tallon. The gamemaster can heighten the tension by occasionally sending a flight of TIE bombers (card 6) overhead; characters must make an Easy sneak roll to avoid being spotted by the TIEs.

Conversely, another squad of Storm Commandoes or COMPFORCE assault troops (card 21) spot the characters and the rendezvous with Bravado becomes a race.

COMPFORCE Assault Troopers

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 5D, dodge 6D
KNOWLEDGE 3D+2
Survival 5D
MECHANICAL 2D+2
PERCEPTION 3D
Search 5D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D
TECHNICAL 2D

As a final complication, if the characters have managed to breeze through the scenario too easily, the Bravado's skipper breaks comm-silence and signals that the Imperial Star Destroyer Rampage just appeared insystem. "I can hang around here another 20 minutes ... maybe," he says. The race to the extraction point is on.

You hear a gasp from a nearby cave, followed by a pain-filled voice: "Over here." Inside the mouth of a cave is a Sullustan in a Rebel flight uniform. He has a hold-out blaster pointed in your direction — not exactly at you, but ready to fire if the need arises.

This is Prodigal-One, and he is extremely relieved to see Alliance personnel. ("I've been ducking Storm Commandoes for hours," he says.) He also says that he has the data plaque but will not relinquish it, if asked.

Target Tallon is roughly an hour away, though it may take longer because of Prodigal-One's limp.

As the characters near Target Tallon, read the following aloud:

As you enter the extraction area and trigger the burst transmission that will bring Bravado in, you hear an ominous rumbling sound from the south. A moment later, the Bravado's pilot signals you.

"You've got a problem, team," he says, his voice betraying his nervousness. "There's something pretty substantial moving your way. Do you want to abort and proceed to Target Yavin or are we going for it? It's your call."

Any character using macrobinoculars and who makes a Moderate search roll sees a large vehicle approaching from the south, accompanied by a large number of ground troops. As the vehicle moves closer, the character who spots it recognizes it: an Imperial Floating Fortress (see card 23).

Floating Fortress

Scale: Walker
Crew Skill: Repulsorlift operation 4D+2, vehicle blasters 5D
Maneuverability: 0D
Move: 70; 200 kmh
Body Strength: 5D
Weapons:
2 heavy blaster cannons (fire arc: turret, fire control 2D, damage 5D)

The vehicle is accompanied by ten Storm Commandoes (card 18) and ten COMPFORCE assault troopers (card 21).

The characters can move off to the alternate extraction point, which is a few minutes hard run away. If they do so, they will only have to fight off the Storm Commandoes before the Bravado arrives and opens up with its turbolasers.

If the characters elect to remain at Target Tallon, they will have to hold off the enemy for ten combat rounds before the Bravado arrives. If the characters (with Prodigal-One in tow) do not board Bravado within five combat rounds of its arrival, it will withdraw to Target Yavin. The characters will have to make three Difficult running checks to make it to Target Yavin. Otherwise, they are cut off and must fight their way to Target Yavin. Bravado will remain at the secondary extraction point for 20 combat rounds before the pilot aborts the mission, stranding the team (which will probably be captured or killed).

Spawning A Campaign

"Operation: Shadowstrike" can lead to a number of commando-themed scenarios. For example, after encountering the NightWhispers, the Alliance feels that this particular unit poses a significant threat to covert operations. The characters are assigned to track down and hamper NightWhisper operations wherever possible.

Perhaps Prodigal-One (a Sullustan named Kala Kevv; see card 30), grateful to the player characters for the rescue, has them assigned to intelligence duties in the Outer Rim Territories, providing combat support to covert intelligence missions.

Another possibility involves Prodigal-Two; after retrieving this information, the characters must hunt down and capture the double agents that threaten the Rebel Alliance.

Character Rewards

Characters that survived the operation receive one to three Character Points per episode. Award an additional three Character Points if Prodigal-One was rescued. Award an additional three Character Points if both Prodigal-One and Prodigal-Two were recovered.

Adventure Cards

Gennan Var

Type: Twi'lek bounty hunter
DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 5D, dodge 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Streetwise: Hutt crime syndicates 5D, value 5D
MECHANICAL 3D
Astrogation 4D, repulsorlift operation 3D, space transports 3D, starship gunnery 4D, swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, con 3D+1, forgery 5D, gambling 3D+2, hide 5D, sneak 4D+1
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 4D
Computer programming/repair 6D+1, security 5D+2
Move: 10
Character Points: 4
Equipment: Datapad

Battz

Type: Forger
DEXTERITY 2D
Brawling parry 3D, dodge 4D+1, running 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 3D+2, streetwise 4D, value 3D+2
MECHANICAL 3D
Communications 5D, repulsorlift operation 4D, sensors 6D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, con 3D+1, forgery 5D, gambling 3D+2, hide 5D, sneak 4D+1
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 4D
Computer programming/repair 6D+1, security 5D+2
Character Points: 9
Move: 10
Equipment: Datapad

Nikal Kam

Type: Pirate captain
DEXTERITY 2D
Archaic guns 3D, blaster 6D+2, grenade 6D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 4D
Business 6D, value 6D
MECHANICAL 2D
Beast riding 6D, ground vehicle operation 5D, repulsorlift operation 5D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, command 4D, con 4D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 5D, lifting 4D+1, stamina 4D+2
TECHNICAL 2D
Ground vehicle repair 4D, first aid 3D, demolitions 6D
Move: 10
Character Points: 2
Equipment: Heavy blaster pistol (5D), fragmentation grenade (5D)

Leona Makk

Type: Cargo ship captain
DEXTERITY 2D+1
Blaster 3D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 3D+1, bureaucracy 4D, business: cargo shipping 5D+2, cultures: Hutts 4D, streetwise: Gans the Hutt's organization 5D
MECHANICAL 3D+2
Repulsorlift operation 3D, swoop operation 4D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 4D, hide 3D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D+1
Brawling 4D
TECHNICAL 2D+2
Capital ship repair 3D, first aid 3D+2

TIE Bomber

Craft: Sienar Fleet Systems TIE Bomber
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 7.8 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: TIE
Crew Skill: Missile weapons 4D+1, starfighter piloting 4D, starship gunnery 5D
Cargo Capacity: 15 metric tons (bomb bay)
Consumables: 2 days
Cost: 150,000 (new), 75,000 (used)
Space: 6
Atmosphere: 295; 850 kmh
Hull: 4D+1
Weapons:
2 Laser Cannons (fire-linked): Fire Control: 2D, Damage: 3D
Concussion Missiles (16 carried): Skill: missile weapons: concussion missiles, Fire Control: 3D+2, Damage: 9D

Rebel Alliance Combat Sandspeeder

Craft: Rebel Alliance Combat Sandspeeder
Type: Modified airspeeder
Scale: Speeder
Length: 5.5 meters
Skill: Repulsorlift operation: airspeeder
Crew: 1, gunners: 1 (can coordinate)
Crew Skill: Varies widely
Cargo Capacity: 10 kilograms
Cover: Full
Altitude Range: Ground level-250 meters
Cost: 50,000 (used only; black market only)
Maneuverability: 3D
Move: 350; 1,000 kmh
Body Strength: 3D
Weapons:
Double Laser Cannon (fire-linked): Skill: vehicle blasters, Fire Control: 2D, Range: 50-300/800/1.5 km, Damage: 4D+2

Z-95 Headhunter

Craft: Incom/Subpro Z-95 Headhunter
Length: 11.8 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Z-95
Crew: 1
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 3D+2, starship gunnery 3D+2, starship shields 3D+1
Consumables: 1 day
Cost: 45,000 (used, as equipped; no longer available new)
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 7
Atmosphere: 400; 1,150 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D
Weapons:
2 Triple Blasters (fire-linked): Fire Control: 1D, Damage: 3D
Concussion Missiles: Skill: missile weapons: concussion missiles, Fire Control: 1D, Damage: 7D

Voxen Tass

Craft: Modified Brayl-class bulk freighter
Type: Bulk cargo hauler
Scale: Capital
Length: 100 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Brayl-class freighter
Crew: 8 (1 pilot, 7 subsidiary crew)
Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D, capital ship piloting 3D+1, capital ship shields 3D
Cargo Capacity: 75,000 metric tons
Consumables: 3 months
Cost: 1,000,000 credits (new), 420,000 (used)
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x3
Hyperdrive Backup: x12
Nav Computer: Yes
Space: 1
Atmosphere: 210; 600 kmh
Hull: 3D
Shields: 1D

Zobberan hounds are large, vicious-looking beasts that are not too bright but are extremely loyal and obedient once trained.

Zobberan Hounds

Type: Estate guard beasts
DEXTERITY 4D
Running 7D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 5D, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 6D, jumping 5D
Special Abilities:
Armored Hide: The hide of the Zobberan hound is thick, giving +2D versus physical attacks and +1D versus energy attacks.
Teeth: STR+2D damage.
Size: 3 meters long

Mobquet Corona

Craft: Mobquet Corona
Type: Luxury speeder
Scale: Speeder
Length: 10 meters
Skill: Repulsorlift operation: luxury speeder
Crew: 1
Passengers: 6
Cargo Capacity: 225 kilograms
Cover: Full
Altitude Range: Ground level-5 meters
Maneuverability: 1D
Move: 80; 230 kmh
Body Strength: 3D

The Nal Hutta Jewel

Craft: Ubrikkian Minstrel-class space yacht
Scale: Capital
Length: 160 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Minstrel-class space yacht
Crew: 35, gunners: 2; skeleton: 10/+10
Crew Skill: Capital ship gunnery 4D, capital ship piloting 4D, capital ship shields 4D
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x1
Hyperdrive Backup: x10
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4
Hull: 2D
Shields: 1D
Weapons:
2 Triple Blasters (fire-linked): Fire Control: 1D, Damage: 3D
Tractor Beam Projector: Fire Control: 4D, Damage: 5D

Pirate Y-TIE "Ugly"

Craft: Pirate Y-TIE hybrid fighter
Type: Illegal custom fighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 16.5 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Y-TIE "Ugly"
Crew: 1, gunner: 1, 1 astromech droid (can coordinate)
Crew Skill: Varies widely
Consumables: 3 days
Cost: 52,000 (used only)
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 105; 300 kmh
Hull: 4D
Shields: 1D+2
Sensors: Focus: 2/3D
Weapons:
Two Laser Cannons: Fire Control: 2D, Space Range: 1-3/12/25, Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km, Damage: 5D

B'aerlak Beasts

Type: Jungle herd beast
DEXTERITY 2D
Running 7D
PERCEPTION 2D
Search 6D
STRENGTH 6D
Brawling 8D, jumping 7D
Special Abilities:
Slither: The b'aerlak can move very quickly, and is capable of reaching speeds up to 30 kph.
Tough Hide: +2D physical, +1D energy.
Orneriness: 2D

Automap

Model: SoroSuub "Tracker" GPS Module
Type: Global positioning system
Scale: Character
Cost: 2,000 credits
Skill: Computer programming/repair
Availability: 2

Game Notes: It is virtually impossible for a character using an Automap to get lost. As long as the device is linked to an orbiting source of data (such as a ship's sensors or a weather satellite) the device relays accurate data regarding the user's location, local weather conditions, other moving objects and navigational hazards. The link requires a Moderate computer programming/repair roll once per hour to maintain.

Vehicle Reference Cards

Boss-class Space Station

Craft: Boss-class space station
Type: Space station
Scale: Capital
Length: 900 meters tall
Crew: 300 (50 DepotSec troops), skeleton: 40/+10
Passengers: 100
Cargo Capacity: 1,000,000 metric tons
Consumables: 2 years
Hull: 3D
Shields: 4D

Ubrikkian HAVr A9 Floating Fortress

Craft: Ubrikkian HAVr A9 Floating Fortress
Type: Assault vehicle
Scale: Walker
Length: 17.4 meters
Skill: Repulsorlift operation: Floating Fortress
Crew: 2, gunners: 2
Passengers: 10 (troops)
Cargo Capacity: None
Consumables: 1 day
Hull: 3D

Modified Imperial Light Corvette

Craft: Modified Imperial light corvette
Type: Pirate vessel
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 180 meters
Skill: Space transports: light corvette
Crew: 52, gunners: 6, skeleton: 18/+10
Crew Skill: Starship gunnery 4D+2, space transports 4D, starship shields 4D+1

Subpro TL-118 "StarHammer" Heavy Assault Starfighter

Scale: Starfighter
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 3D+1, starship gunnery 4D+2
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 105; 300 kmh
Hull: 5D
Shields: 2D
Weapons:
2 heavy laser cannons (fire control 2D, damage 7D)
2 light laser cannons (fire control 3D, damage 4D)
2 twin laser cannons (fire-linked, fire control 1D, damage 5D)
Concussion missile launcher (fire control 1D, damage 8D)
Air-to-surface bombs (damage 9D)

Character Reference Cards

Zarfeen

Type: Rodian Black Sun agent
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 6D, dodge 6D, melee combat 8D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Business: bounty hunting 7D, intimidation 6D, streetwise 6D, value 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 5D, space transports 6D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 6D, command 4D, con 6D, gambling 4D, persuasion 5D, sneak 7D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 6D, climbing/jumping 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Character Points: 4
Equipment: Imperial Munitions's StarAnvil heavy blaster rifle (5D+2), BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol (5D), medpac, vibro-blade (STR+2D), blast vest (+1D physical)

Nawnam the Hutt

Type: Hutt crime lieutenant
DEXTERITY 3D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Business 5D, intimidation 5D, streetwise 5D, streetwise: Ganis the Hutt's organization 7D
MECHANICAL 1D
Astrogation 5D, space transports 3D, starfighter piloting 3D
PERCEPTION 3D
Bargain 6D, command 5D, persuasion 5D
STRENGTH 2D
TECHNICAL 1D
Special Abilities:
Force Resistant: Hutts have an innate defense against Force-based mind manipulation techniques; they roll double their Perception dice to resist such attacks.
Character Points: 8
Move: 3
Equipment: Imperial Munitions SC-4 blaster pistol (4D; the blaster's butt has been modified to accommodate Hutt fingers)

Boe Vixe

Type: Gran athlete
DEXTERITY 4D
Dodge 5D, running 6D
KNOWLEDGE 2D
Intimidation 4D, streetwise 3D, value 3D
MECHANICAL 2D
Repulsorlift operation 4D
PERCEPTION 2D
Bargain 4D, hide 4D, persuasion 4D, search 4D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 6D, climbing/jumping 5D, lifting 5D, stamina 6D
TECHNICAL 2D
Special Abilities:
Vision: Gran's unique combination of eyestalks gives them a larger spectrum of vision than other species. They can see well into the infrared range (no penalties in darkness), and gain a +1D to notice sudden movements.
Character Points: 6
Move: 10
Equipment: Fine clothing, hold-out blaster (3D damage), luminary-blockers, 5,000 credits

R2-C9

Type: Industrial Automaton R2 astromech droid
DEXTERITY 1D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 1D
Cultures 4D, languages 5D, streetwise 5D
MECHANICAL 2D
Astrogation 5D, space transports 3D, starfighter repair 4D
PERCEPTION 1D
STRENGTH 1D
Brawling 3D
TECHNICAL 2D
Computer programming/repair 4D, starfighter repair 4D
Equipped With:
Heavy grasper arm (lifting 2D)
Retractable line grasper arm
R-series voice box adaptor
Three wheeled legs (one retractable)
Arc welder (5D)
Move: 5
Size: 1 meter tall

Kala Kevv

Type: Sullustan Rebel pilot
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 4D, dodge 5D, melee parry 5D
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Alien species 4D+2, cultures 5D, intimidation 6D, languages 5D+1, law enforcement 6D+1, planetary systems 4D+2, value 5D+1
MECHANICAL 3D+1
Astrogation 4D+2, space transports 5D, starfighter piloting 4D+2, starship shields 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Bargain 6D, command 7D, con 7D, investigation 6D, persuasion 7D+1, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 5D, stamina 5D+1
TECHNICAL 3D
First aid 4D, security 5D+1
Special Abilities:
Enhanced Senses: +2D to Perception or search in low light.
Location Sense: Cannot get lost if familiar with area; +1D to astrogation if familiar with area.
Character Points: 6
Move: 10
Equipment: Flight suit, hold-out blaster (3D damage), survival gear

Standard Stormtrooper

Type: Imperial Stormtrooper
DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Cultures 4D, languages 5D, streetwise 5D
MECHANICAL 2D+1
Repulsorlift operation 3D+1
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Bargain 4D, con 3D, hide 3D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D+1
TECHNICAL 2D
Move: 10
Character Points: Varies, typically 0-5
Equipment: Stormtrooper armor (+2D physical, +1D energy, -1D to Dexterity and related skills), blaster pistol (4D)

Xishel

Type: Falleen pirate lord
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 6D, brawling parry 5D, dodge 6D, melee combat 5D+2, melee parry 5D
KNOWLEDGE 3D+1
Alien species 4D+2, cultures 5D, intimidation 6D, languages 5D+1, law enforcement 6D+1, planetary systems 4D+2, value 5D+1
MECHANICAL 3D+1
Astrogation 4D+2, space transports 5D, starfighter piloting 4D+2, starship shields 4D
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Bargain 6D, command 7D, con 7D, investigation 6D, persuasion 7D+1, sneak 6D
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 5D, stamina 5D+1
TECHNICAL 3D
First aid 4D, security 5D+1
Special Abilities:
Attraction Pheromones: +1D to persuasion, +1D per hour of preparation (max +3D).
Amphibious: +1D to swimming.
Character Points: 15
Move: 9
Equipment: Merr-Sonn Model 44 blaster pistol (4D+1), ornate customized vibrosword (STR+1D+2)

Vee Naaq

Type: Gran poet
DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 4D, brawling parry 4D, dodge 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Cultures 4D, languages 5D, streetwise 5D
MECHANICAL 2D+1
Repulsorlift operation 3D+1
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Bargain 4D, con 3D, hide 3D, sneak 5D
STRENGTH 3D+1
TECHNICAL 2D
Special Abilities:
Vision: Gran's unique combination of eyestalks gives them a larger spectrum of vision than other species. They can see well into the infrared range (no penalties in darkness), and gain a +1D to notice sudden movements.
Move: 10
Character Points: Varies, typically 0-5
Equipment: Datapad (which contains literally thousands of half-completed poems), 1,000 credits (stored in a local credit voucher)

Back Cover

Star Wars: Instant Adventures

by Timothy S. O'Brien, Peter Schweighofer, George R. Strayton, Paul Sudlow, Eric S. Trautmann and Floyd Wesel

Instant Adventures is a collection of scenarios that can easily be integrated into an ongoing Star Wars roleplaying campaign and can be run on a moment's notice! Launch a daring sneak attack on an Imperial sensor complex to bring down a system-wide blockade, smuggle a wounded Hutt crimelord off-planet, rescue a missing Rebel spy, match wits with cunning pirates, or play a deadly game of hide-and-seek with the dreaded Storm Commandoes on an unexplored world...

Each Instant Adventure features a "Quick-start" outline that allows gamemasters to run the scenario quickly and easily, as well as scores of player handouts and maps designed to enhance game play. In addition, Instant Adventures contains 32 color Adventure Cards that illustrate many of the ships, vehicles, creatures, aliens and characters that appear in the scenarios.

Whether you are battling pirates in the cold reaches of the Outer Rim Territories, or engaging Imperial forces on an occupied world, launching a Star Wars roleplaying campaign has never been easier!

A STAR WARS SUPPLEMENT for use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game