Lunch-hour in a galaxy far, far away...
So, the lunchtime gaming crew met for our first session with the Star Wars Saga Edition RPG. Last week we did character creation, and this week we actually got to play. It was a ton of fun, for this humble GM at least, and the players seemed to like it, too. Here’s the report; it's really long, in case the number of cuts didn't make that clear.
The opening crawl:
AFTER A CENTURY OF REBUILDING, the GALACTIC REPUBLIC finally has the resources to explore the systems of the defeated SITH EMPIRE. Five years ago, the first great Redemption Ships filled with explorers, scientists, diplomats, and warriors were cast forth in an attempt to finally bring hope to worlds that toiled for centuries in darkness. What they found has brought the galaxy back to the brink of war...
Worlds who welcomed them; worlds who attacked them wordlessly and savagely. Worlds conquered by criminals or petty nobles fleeing from a Republic that hunted or usurped them. Worlds buying protection from the armored warmasters of CLAN MANDALORE. Terrible worlds filled with naught but the dead victims of the Sith, and even worse worlds populated by those the Sith twisted and yet allowed to live. The ruins of a dead Empire, disinclined to be claimed by the Republic.
Even within the Core, division is rampant. Senators vie for power, as worlds push back against the rule of a Republic they see as weak. The JEDI ORDER itself debates withdrawing from the Republic, their battles with the Sith convincing many that connections to the greater Galaxy will lead them inexorably to the Dark Side.
And out in the reaches of space, legends grow about pirates and reavers bearing burning red lightsabers.
It is a Galaxy in need of heroes. May the Force be with you.
The characters:
Shaori (human noble, played by contentedmoo) is sister to the queen of a planet that was once a part of the Sith Empire, and has since been targeted by refugee crime lords fleeing from the Republic. A kidnapping attempt left Shaori’s niece and grandniece dead, and her daughter - now the heir - in the hands of parties unknown. She has gone to the Jedi for assistance, which led her to meet...
Cheb Molon (Ithorian Jedi, played by mrbigsteve). While Cheb is still only a Padawan, his Master felt he was ready to attempt his first mission alone. The Jedi Council agreed, especially as the Redemption had left the Order spread very thin as it was. However, they did think Cheb needed back-up, so they also sent...
Camray Goluf (Force-sensitive Twi’lek soldier, played by pkdan), whose piloting and fighting skills they thought would prove useful. While he was considered to be too old to be trained as a Jedi, his Force abilities are also looked on as a plus, and while he technically works for the Republic he finds himself matched with Jedi more often than not.
Mechanically, all three characters are first level, and each of them took a Destiny: Shaori took “Rescue my daughter,” Camray chose “Discover another Force-sensitive before they’re too old to be trained,” and Cheb went with “Discover the lost Ithorian herd-ship” (a neat bit of the setting that Steve added in himself, using the Destiny mechanic as a vector).
Today’s session:
The session began with the PCs riding a transport ship from Corsucant to Dantooine, where they’re set to pick up the ship the Jedi have set aside for their use (again, resources being spread so thin that there weren’t any ships on Corsucant for them to use). Naturally, halfway through the journey, they feel a large shock hit the ship, and alarms start blaring. Cheb and Camray (being trained in Mechanics and Pilot, respectively) understood that the alarms meant 1) they’d been yanked out of hyperspace, and 2) the hull had been breached. Shaori had her droid, R2-D12*, talk to the ship’s computer, and they discovered that there were two breaches: one at an external door, and the other in the cockpit. The latter breach seemed to have vented the cockpit’s atmosphere - and presumably the pilots - into space.
(* The non-standard number grew out of our realizations that this game required a wider selection of dice than our previous game had, but that it still had no love for the d12.)
Then the computer was shut down, and pirates attacked.
For the run-of-the-mill pirates, I just used the “Thug” stats from the rulebook. They were a potential danger to the 1st-level PCs, but not overwhelming. In fact, Camray won initiative and dropped one of the thugs with a single shot from his blaster. Shaori then intimidated the thug into breaking off his confrontation, which left him hesitating for a moment until Cheb used Force thrust to slam him back into the bulkhead. The thug had had enough, and ran for it… but Camray put a shot in his leg, leaving him unconscious but alive.
Combat in Saga is fast, from what we saw.
Examining the downed pirates, Shaori and Cheb noticed tattoos similar to those worn by soldiers of the Old Sith Empire. They weren’t convinced (at least in character) that the Sith were back, though. Yet.
They made their way to the external door that’d been breached. (“How for away is it from where we are?” “One horizontal-wipe segue.” “Cool.”) They found it guarded by two more pirates, who received audible notice that two of their compatriots weren’t answering their comlinks, and so they should be on alert. Sure enough, one of them made his Perception check to see the hiding heroes, and they attacked.
Camray won initiative again, but wasn’t able to drop his target this time; however, he did enough damage that both pirates decided he was the guy to hit. One of them cut viciously into his leg with a vibroaxe. (I rolled a 20 on 2d10, which is crazy. However, it’s worth noting that 22 points of damage isn’t enough to drop a first level soldier in SWSE, but it was enough to knock him down a step on the condition track, giving him a -1 penalty to pretty much everything.) As the second thug’s blaster fire went wide, Shaori spoke some inspiring words (i.e. using her Bolster Ally ability to eliminate Camray’s -1 penalty) while clearing the way for Cheb. Cheb used Force thrust to push the axe-wielding pirate away from Camray, who promptly shot said pirate in the face. (It was determined that the guy gave the Wilhelm scream as he died.) Shaori shot the second pirate, badly wounding him (as he shouted directly to her, “You’re lucky the master wants you alive!”), before Cheb stepped in and neatly bisected the guy with his lightsaber. Then Shaori and Cheb patched Camray up a bit, using a medpac and vital transfer, respectively.
The heroes rushed into the boarding corridor that connected the pirate ship to theirs. Since the door to their ship had been blasted apart (“Sliced apart, actually”), they decided to try to get into the pirate ship. One of the dead pirate’s comlinks crackled to life, demanding a report. Shaori’s attempt to bluff the person on the other end failed, and a cold voice came over the link, “You will not survive.” Soon three sets of footfalls could be heard, running down the corridor.
The heroes took up defensive positions. Shaori stood by R2 in the boarding corridor, as the droid tried (but failed) to open the lock on the door. Camray took a position at the corridor’s end, so he’d gain some cover from the doorway. And Cheb strode out into the main hallway like a Jedi, and turned to face the oncoming trio of pirates. Here’s how I described it to him:
Two of them look like they're cut from the same mold as the pirates you've been fighting. But the one in the middle is nearly six feet tall, dressed in black and red pants and boots, but no shirt. His skin is bone white, except for over a dozen red marks running vertically down his chest. His eyes are pitch black with no pupils, and as he looks at you, he grins with teeth that have been filed sharp, ignites the paired lightsabers he's holding, and says:
“Tell me your name, Jedi. I will carve it into your lightsaber when I take it as a trophy.”
I then looked up at the clock and said, “Oh, wow, it’s 1:00 already. See you next week.” :)
All in all, a pretty action-packed, fun, and exciting 45 minutes of gaming.
(I told you the game played fast.)
The opening crawl:
AFTER A CENTURY OF REBUILDING, the GALACTIC REPUBLIC finally has the resources to explore the systems of the defeated SITH EMPIRE. Five years ago, the first great Redemption Ships filled with explorers, scientists, diplomats, and warriors were cast forth in an attempt to finally bring hope to worlds that toiled for centuries in darkness. What they found has brought the galaxy back to the brink of war...
Worlds who welcomed them; worlds who attacked them wordlessly and savagely. Worlds conquered by criminals or petty nobles fleeing from a Republic that hunted or usurped them. Worlds buying protection from the armored warmasters of CLAN MANDALORE. Terrible worlds filled with naught but the dead victims of the Sith, and even worse worlds populated by those the Sith twisted and yet allowed to live. The ruins of a dead Empire, disinclined to be claimed by the Republic.
Even within the Core, division is rampant. Senators vie for power, as worlds push back against the rule of a Republic they see as weak. The JEDI ORDER itself debates withdrawing from the Republic, their battles with the Sith convincing many that connections to the greater Galaxy will lead them inexorably to the Dark Side.
And out in the reaches of space, legends grow about pirates and reavers bearing burning red lightsabers.
It is a Galaxy in need of heroes. May the Force be with you.
The characters:
Shaori (human noble, played by contentedmoo) is sister to the queen of a planet that was once a part of the Sith Empire, and has since been targeted by refugee crime lords fleeing from the Republic. A kidnapping attempt left Shaori’s niece and grandniece dead, and her daughter - now the heir - in the hands of parties unknown. She has gone to the Jedi for assistance, which led her to meet...
Cheb Molon (Ithorian Jedi, played by mrbigsteve). While Cheb is still only a Padawan, his Master felt he was ready to attempt his first mission alone. The Jedi Council agreed, especially as the Redemption had left the Order spread very thin as it was. However, they did think Cheb needed back-up, so they also sent...
Camray Goluf (Force-sensitive Twi’lek soldier, played by pkdan), whose piloting and fighting skills they thought would prove useful. While he was considered to be too old to be trained as a Jedi, his Force abilities are also looked on as a plus, and while he technically works for the Republic he finds himself matched with Jedi more often than not.
Mechanically, all three characters are first level, and each of them took a Destiny: Shaori took “Rescue my daughter,” Camray chose “Discover another Force-sensitive before they’re too old to be trained,” and Cheb went with “Discover the lost Ithorian herd-ship” (a neat bit of the setting that Steve added in himself, using the Destiny mechanic as a vector).
Today’s session:
The session began with the PCs riding a transport ship from Corsucant to Dantooine, where they’re set to pick up the ship the Jedi have set aside for their use (again, resources being spread so thin that there weren’t any ships on Corsucant for them to use). Naturally, halfway through the journey, they feel a large shock hit the ship, and alarms start blaring. Cheb and Camray (being trained in Mechanics and Pilot, respectively) understood that the alarms meant 1) they’d been yanked out of hyperspace, and 2) the hull had been breached. Shaori had her droid, R2-D12*, talk to the ship’s computer, and they discovered that there were two breaches: one at an external door, and the other in the cockpit. The latter breach seemed to have vented the cockpit’s atmosphere - and presumably the pilots - into space.
(* The non-standard number grew out of our realizations that this game required a wider selection of dice than our previous game had, but that it still had no love for the d12.)
Then the computer was shut down, and pirates attacked.
For the run-of-the-mill pirates, I just used the “Thug” stats from the rulebook. They were a potential danger to the 1st-level PCs, but not overwhelming. In fact, Camray won initiative and dropped one of the thugs with a single shot from his blaster. Shaori then intimidated the thug into breaking off his confrontation, which left him hesitating for a moment until Cheb used Force thrust to slam him back into the bulkhead. The thug had had enough, and ran for it… but Camray put a shot in his leg, leaving him unconscious but alive.
Combat in Saga is fast, from what we saw.
Examining the downed pirates, Shaori and Cheb noticed tattoos similar to those worn by soldiers of the Old Sith Empire. They weren’t convinced (at least in character) that the Sith were back, though. Yet.
They made their way to the external door that’d been breached. (“How for away is it from where we are?” “One horizontal-wipe segue.” “Cool.”) They found it guarded by two more pirates, who received audible notice that two of their compatriots weren’t answering their comlinks, and so they should be on alert. Sure enough, one of them made his Perception check to see the hiding heroes, and they attacked.
Camray won initiative again, but wasn’t able to drop his target this time; however, he did enough damage that both pirates decided he was the guy to hit. One of them cut viciously into his leg with a vibroaxe. (I rolled a 20 on 2d10, which is crazy. However, it’s worth noting that 22 points of damage isn’t enough to drop a first level soldier in SWSE, but it was enough to knock him down a step on the condition track, giving him a -1 penalty to pretty much everything.) As the second thug’s blaster fire went wide, Shaori spoke some inspiring words (i.e. using her Bolster Ally ability to eliminate Camray’s -1 penalty) while clearing the way for Cheb. Cheb used Force thrust to push the axe-wielding pirate away from Camray, who promptly shot said pirate in the face. (It was determined that the guy gave the Wilhelm scream as he died.) Shaori shot the second pirate, badly wounding him (as he shouted directly to her, “You’re lucky the master wants you alive!”), before Cheb stepped in and neatly bisected the guy with his lightsaber. Then Shaori and Cheb patched Camray up a bit, using a medpac and vital transfer, respectively.
The heroes rushed into the boarding corridor that connected the pirate ship to theirs. Since the door to their ship had been blasted apart (“Sliced apart, actually”), they decided to try to get into the pirate ship. One of the dead pirate’s comlinks crackled to life, demanding a report. Shaori’s attempt to bluff the person on the other end failed, and a cold voice came over the link, “You will not survive.” Soon three sets of footfalls could be heard, running down the corridor.
The heroes took up defensive positions. Shaori stood by R2 in the boarding corridor, as the droid tried (but failed) to open the lock on the door. Camray took a position at the corridor’s end, so he’d gain some cover from the doorway. And Cheb strode out into the main hallway like a Jedi, and turned to face the oncoming trio of pirates. Here’s how I described it to him:
Two of them look like they're cut from the same mold as the pirates you've been fighting. But the one in the middle is nearly six feet tall, dressed in black and red pants and boots, but no shirt. His skin is bone white, except for over a dozen red marks running vertically down his chest. His eyes are pitch black with no pupils, and as he looks at you, he grins with teeth that have been filed sharp, ignites the paired lightsabers he's holding, and says:
“Tell me your name, Jedi. I will carve it into your lightsaber when I take it as a trophy.”
I then looked up at the clock and said, “Oh, wow, it’s 1:00 already. See you next week.” :)
All in all, a pretty action-packed, fun, and exciting 45 minutes of gaming.
(I told you the game played fast.)