So this year I decided it was time to sit the chair once more.
It was time for recoveringgeek to run a tabletop Star Wars Campaign.
Our table had used Star Wars Saga Edition before, and it worked well enough, but the d20 Feat bloat/combat nonsense kept getting in the way of my storytelling. Then a couple years later, I ran a couple sessions using d6 Star Wars by West End Games. d6 for me is like putting on an old pair of gloves that fit perfectly but are worn through in places. It wasn't the right time for me to run a Campaign, and d6 is missing an extra layer of crunch that my table prefers.
So this time we settled on Savage! Worlds. While there isn't any official support of course, there are several fan-written iterations, many of which take inspiration from the d6 materials. More importantly, I started this Campaign right as the SWTOR creative well was really drying up for many of us, and we'd all just endured our impressions and opinions of The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
So the timing was perfect, as crafting my own story was the balm I needed to refresh my love of Star Wars, rather than waiting for another Creator to do the heavy lifting for me.
Now I'm asking you, the Community, to participate too, in your own small way, by posting your reply here.Here is a brief run down of the characters and setting, and what follows is my request;
- Setting: Dantooine
- Location: An Imperial mining operation nestled against a small civilian-run outpost, surrounded by farmlands
- Timeline: 10BBY, during the "Dark Times"
Characters;- Quinton "Quint" Munister - Human male, former Head of Security for a Senator who was "disappeared" when Emperor Palpatine seized control of the Galactic Republic. Quint escaped the security sweep, and has been in hiding ever since. A grizzled, washed-up mechanic with a penchant for slug throwers over blasters.
- Blake Blackthorn - Female Zeltron, runs the civilian outpost on behalf of her Father, and the Blackthorn Cartel, a minor crime organization with a mix of legitimate and black market ventures.
- B1S-MK1 (Bismark) - Kaminoan Clone stormtrooper whose Inhibitor Chip malfunctioned during Order 66, and he witnessed his fellow troopers murder their Jedi compatriots during the waning days of the Clone Wars. Has continued to perform as a substandard Stormtrooper ever since, getting demoted down the ranks, and transferred further and further out in forsaken postings, before ending up on mining patrol on Dantooine.
- Serado - Human male, former Jedi padawan who was separated from his Master during Order 66, and escaped murder at the hands of Darth Vader. Has lived in hiding ever since, eventually finding work as a Cracian Thumper wrangler at a mining outpost on Dantooine. Believes the teachings of the Jedi are a failure, and there must be a third way. (A Gray Jedi)
Near this mining outpost are the ruins of the Jedi Temple. The same Jedi Temple that was razed by orbital bombardment by Darth Malak in the Knights of the Old Republic game. Now in terms of timeline, that event was thousands of years ago, however I hand-waved that and simply referred to it as an Event over a thousand years ago so there can be some semblance of technology still functioning in the temple as dictated by the explanation of [PLOT].
Now by this point the characters are all allied by circumstance and shared hatred of the Empire. They have recently discovered some old maintenance tunnels running out to the temple from some old mining tunnels near their settlement. They haven't ventured to the temple yet, as the Empire has declared the entire area a no-go zone, and patrols the surface area with Imperial Scout Troopers on speeder bikes and Imperial Probe droids.
They want to go explore the temple however, for many reasons, not the least of which is an old timer who referenced the possibility that entire areas of the temple may have survived the orbital bombardment, including libraries, training centres, and even hangar bays.
That's my hook, as the Players want to get a ship and get off Dantooine, taking their new Clone friend with them. It's complicated, and for the most part they are all dirt poor, except for Blake, but her resources - and responsibilities - are tied to the outpost.
So my goal was for them to find a ship in one of the hangars that survived the bombardment, and they would repair it and get it operational so they can use it to escape the Empire. Then I thought, wait a minute, this is my Campaign, and if I want to be self-serving and self-congratulatory, why can't I?
So now the ship is going to the Jaded Dream.
It makes me smile just typing that.
The whole
over a thousand years ago bit is to make it easier to hand wave a Gozanti Cruiser still being able to fly
(with some repairs) after all that time. Gozanti Cruisers are Old Republic-era vessels, but still in service during the Prequels
(You briefly see one in The Phantom Menace.).
Here's my request for the Community;
Some of you have had characters on both sides of the Treaty Line interact with Captain Jaade at one time or another. Another, smaller group of you have found yourselves on board the Jaded Dream from time to time, even if only briefly. Finally, an intimate group of characters have flown with Jaade regularly, by choice or consequence.
If you had a character who ever interacted with Jaade, or flew on the Jaded Dream, what did they leave behind that a group of desperate, motley, ne'er-do-wells would eventually find? What little piece of our collective stories from the past seven years do you want to survive a thousand years later?
Here are some examples and shout-outs, but this list is not exhaustive, so even if I didn't tag you, please post your suggestions if you have them.
@blingdenston - Pehn Qardaak has haunted the corridors of the Jaded Dream many times. That said, Rancem Rath might have left behind armour components, weapons, or even a Bounty Hunter license without an expiry date...
@Niarra - Kettur, the Twi'lek super spy probably had several projects on the go during his time on the 'Dream, never mind any Old Republic intelligence files on various points of interest.
@Iaera - Iaera the Player is off pursuing other interests these days, but on the off chance she ever reads this, I believe she would relish the chance to lock wits with my Gray Jedi player, and convince him of his folly. I had strongly considered a half-completed Datacron labelled the Teachings of Farworlder or something more clever. I would love to know what Iaera would say to an exiled Gray Jedi wannabe. Never mind one or two dusty Jedi artifacts...
@Cordae - I don't know what the Crown Prince may have ever left behind, but I am sorely tempted to have the characters find the coordinates to Erini in the Jaded Dream's aged navicomputer. I wonder what Erini would be doing in the time of the Galactic Empire?
@Orell - I don't know that Shaantil ever spent more than a moment or two on my ship, but certainly Kyri was part of a mission or two. A headstrong healer might have a clue or two waiting to be found.
@Hawking - Leave any breadcrumbs?
@livia - This Chiss may not have agreed with Jaade's temper very often, but she never resented him for it. She walked his landing ramp more than once I seem to recall.
@Lolermelon - I am genuinely afraid to even ask. Be gentle.
@Aylaa - I'm pretty sure Darth Necare set foot on the Jaded Dream once or twice during their brief Vysint smuggling contract. What would a Sith Lord leave lying around in a case of contraband alcohol?
@Colton - Testing, testing, this thing on? What nugget of SmuggCo's history would be found rattling around in one of the 'Dream's storage lockers?
Items, weapons, holo recordings, data files, contraband, hyperspace coordinates, unsolved mysteries, unfinished storylines... what do you want our Legacy to be a thousand years later?