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Jas378
Ensign
Joined: 10 Jun 2012
Posts: 29
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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 Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 6:54 pm Post subject: New GM, New Campaign, New PC's |
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The title says it all. 
Summer is fast approaching, and I've been wanting to do a SW campaign for a while now. The last (and first) time I attempted one, was a complete disaster (looong story..). So here I am making another go of it.
A few things: my PC's are really (and I mean really new to RPG's), I'm in need of a starting point, and a long overall campaign that could possibly last us the summer. Yes, it's a lot. But I'm sure there are some of you who would have a ball coming up with ideas for this. I'll be racking my brain for ideas as well, of course..  |
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KageRyu
Commodore
Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1391
Location: Lost in the cracks
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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The Shadow of the Jedi
Timeline: Republic, Before the Fall
"Long have the Jedi been the guardians of the republic...keepers of the peace. The Jedi order's very name is almost synonymous with order, justice, and a deep respect of all life. To be a Jedi is considered a noble and selfless aspiration on countless thousands of worlds...
...but not on all. The Jedi were not always so. Deep in the Jedi archives are kept closely guarded secrets. Secrets of the Ancient Sith. Secrets of the power of the darkside. Secrets of the force. Secrets of Jedi's long past, the knowledge of whose actions would shake the public opinion of the Jedi to it's very core. Secrets and lies, guarded so long by so many as to be almost forgotten by all. Secrets even a Jedi might kill for.
Even now, in the galaxy, there are thse who would curse the very name of the Jedi. Would call them Liars, usurpers, and thieves. Even now there are those who remember the recent crimes of the Jedi all too well, and hunger for Justice... those who would have these long lost crimes and secrets brought to light. Those who know of countless world's that the Jedi have wronged, and have "removed" from official records to hide these crimes. Those who would brave any danger to learn just what secrets were hidden on these lost worlds, in the dark corners of the republic, in the secret files of the Jedi archives, and in the minds of the Jedi Council."
*Based on available official and EU information regarding such instances as the Mishandling of the Farghul sector by the Jedi, the damage done to Ubese by the Republic and the Jedi, the bad blood between the Jedi and Sith and other information presented in Tales of the Jedi and KOTOR.
Recommend at least one character be a Jedi Student. Other good archtypes can include Loyal Retainers, Armchair Historians, any type or Noble or Senatorial or Diplomat. Pirates, outlaws, and smugglers can certainly be easily drawn in with the lure of fortune and fame.
Adventures should start small, lots of intrigue and mystery. Good focuses initially are small lost and/or forbidden artifacts coming into the Jedi's possesion - tied to a secret, artifact not what it appears, others want it for obvious and not so obvious reasons. These initial ideas/encounters could lead to a series of clues and puzzles that lead the band ona quest across the galaxy, place to place, learning of ancient secrets and conspiracies, with each stop that has the promise of answers only bringing more mysteries (imagine a secret order among the Jedi such as the Knights Templar as a possible hook). The goal could be to either Exonerate the Jedi of these vicious lies and rumours, or to expose the influence of the Dark Side working from within the Jedi to destroy them. A great starting point is to involve a quest by a Jedi Student to learn about and construct his first Lightsaber, and thus a great reason to be seeking and be exposed to ancient knowledge and force relics of some fashion... so many possibilities, hope this is of some help.
Also in running a "quest" style exploration campaign, it's a great way to get the player more familiar with the campaign world and Star Wars as the plot and adventures develop. It's a great way for new players to explore the Star Wars setting for the first time, and a great way to rediscover it with them. I suggest heavy creative liberties as well to truly make the settings and storrie truly shine as yours.
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"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra |
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Grimace
Captain
Joined: 11 Oct 2004
Posts: 729
Location: Montana; Big Sky Country
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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Rebellion era? Or some other era?
Your best bet is to start out small. Start them dealing with a gang or some other two-bit group of "toughs". During the course of that scrap, you can introduce information that shows of something bigger (either an important "secret" shipment coming in for smugglers or fighter pilots, or a semi-important Imperial/Rebel informant is arriving on planet for the bounty hunters and fighter types, or a special team of Imperials are arriving on planet to install specific equipment to control the planetary government and all of the technology on the planet for the techs, diplomats, and jedi-wannabes in the group).
The information gives them a location to go, and maybe the name of people they need to find out more about the "something bigger". Perhaps it takes them to another planet to get something and then they have to come back to the starting planet (remember, Star Wars changes locales to keep people's interest level up). They have to contend with a couple of challenges to either get more information, or capture/free certain people, or gain/spread information, and then you culminate it all with a showdown with the Empire over whatever the "something bigger" is.
Whether they succeed or not, perhaps you could have them discover that this was just the beginning for the area of space they're in. So it's not just the planet they were on, but other systems as well. Maybe the Empire is going to be "pacifying" the neigboring systems and this planet was just the first step. Or perhaps the Rebels are building up forces here and it's just the start of their build-up, because there's a greater Imperial presence in a neighboring system that needs to be dealt with. Or maybe the special shipment is just part of a bigger network of shipments that are being done. Why are they being done? What's the final goal of these shipments?
All of that could then be used as a jump off point to further adventures and a full campaign that could last as long or as short as you want.
Hope this helps give you some ideas. |
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Jas378
Ensign
Joined: 10 Jun 2012
Posts: 29
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the ideas guys.
I'm going to stick with the Shadow of the Jedi, but using Grimace's opening. So, a secret shipment comes in for the local gang after they attacked a passing convoy coming from deep space. PC's catch wind and they get into said "scrap" (it'll be a bit more in depth than just a simple fight of course). The shipment turns out to be none other than a Jedi/Sith artifact and just as the PC's manage to access it.. a team of Jedi arrive and confiscate it. Something along the lines of Roswell, New Mexico, "An alien ship just crashed here and it's now property of the U.S government". More snooping and mystery uncovering ensues.. |
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KageRyu
Commodore
Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1391
Location: Lost in the cracks
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Jas378 wrote: | Thanks for the ideas guys.
I'm going to stick with the Shadow of the Jedi, but using Grimace's opening. So, a secret shipment comes in for the local gang after they attacked a passing convoy coming from deep space. PC's catch wind and they get into said "scrap" (it'll be a bit more in depth than just a simple fight of course). The shipment turns out to be none other than a Jedi/Sith artifact and just as the PC's manage to access it.. a team of Jedi arrive and confiscate it. Something along the lines of Roswell, New Mexico, "An alien ship just crashed here and it's now property of the U.S government". More snooping and mystery uncovering ensues.. |
Sounds like a pretty solid idea. Even if you allowed the players to keep the artifact, several adventures could be built around figuring out what it is and how to access it...as well as trying to figure out why everyone wants it so badly. Plus it's always fun to give the player a Rancor in nerfer's clothing and have them realize what hey have is not only not what they thought or expected, but potentially far more trouble than it's worth.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra |
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Jas378
Ensign
Joined: 10 Jun 2012
Posts: 29
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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| KageRyu wrote: | | Jas378 wrote: | Thanks for the ideas guys.
I'm going to stick with the Shadow of the Jedi, but using Grimace's opening. So, a secret shipment comes in for the local gang after they attacked a passing convoy coming from deep space. PC's catch wind and they get into said "scrap" (it'll be a bit more in depth than just a simple fight of course). The shipment turns out to be none other than a Jedi/Sith artifact and just as the PC's manage to access it.. a team of Jedi arrive and confiscate it. Something along the lines of Roswell, New Mexico, "An alien ship just crashed here and it's now property of the U.S government". More snooping and mystery uncovering ensues.. |
Sounds like a pretty solid idea. Even if you allowed the players to keep the artifact, several adventures could be built around figuring out what it is and how to access it...as well as trying to figure out why everyone wants it so badly. Plus it's always fun to give the player a Rancor in nerfer's clothing and have them realize what hey have is not only not what they thought or expected, but potentially far more trouble than it's worth. |
I was thinking something of a star map a la the end of Assassin's Creed? (If you've played it) |
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KageRyu
Commodore
Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1391
Location: Lost in the cracks
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Jas378 wrote: | | I was thinking something of a star map a la the end of Assassin's Creed? (If you've played it) |
Nope, can't say I have - never played too many premade adventures though, in any game system.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra |
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Jas378
Ensign
Joined: 10 Jun 2012
Posts: 29
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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Alrighty.. Well let's just say Protagonist gains possession of mystical item, which then serves as a map to other mystical items (to put it simply). And it's a video game, if that's what you were talking about with "premade adventures". 
I usually write my own as well, albeit with touches of a bunch of everyone else's ideas mixed in.. |
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KageRyu
Commodore
Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1391
Location: Lost in the cracks
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:32 am Post subject: |
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| Jas378 wrote: | Alrighty.. Well let's just say Protagonist gains possession of mystical item, which then serves as a map to other mystical items (to put it simply). And it's a video game, if that's what you were talking about with "premade adventures".
I usually write my own as well, albeit with touches of a bunch of everyone else's ideas mixed in.. |
Oh, ok, nope thought it was a prewritten tabletop adventure. I Don't do much video gaming at all (limited finances and having old PCs dedicated to other tasks beyond their abilities limits my opportunities). Familiar concept though (item leading to other items) and can work really well too.
I, too, love to pick and choose the elements I like and dislike and customize my worlds. Writing the first adventure or two sometimes is difficult, as I need to feel out the characters, learn how the players will react, and get them motivated, but after that I can usually base so much on events from those first few adventures and my campaigns kind of develop their own life.
I am honored you liked my Jedi Idea. I enjoy Jedi and Force using campaigns a great deal, and really like delving into unwritten, unexplored, or vague areas of Jedi history, lore, and storries. The down side is it leaves me with content that can be pure speculation and conjecture, or with no supporting official information, but the rewards are the freedom of creation and fleshing out my own little piece of the Star Wars Universe. Often I will try to go through existing RPG material and other Star Wars sources and look for interesting snippits of information on Force powers, items, customs, Jedi history, sith artifacts, or fluff storries that have not been explored or fleshed out and use those as a hook (much of the concept of the Shadows of the Jedi idea comes from the description of how the Jedi handled overwhelming crime in the Farghul sector (from Han Solo and the Corporate Sector - which I was aware of from a previous campaign that featured a Farghul character that hated all Jedi and I wanted to explore in greater detail at some point) as well as information about how the Ubese blame the Republic and the Jedi for the cataclism that nearly Destroyed their world (Shadows of the Empire). There is much in Tales of the Jedi too that indicates the Jedi would sooner destroy or conceal anything even remotely related to the Sith for fear of it's use, and some sources indicate the Jedi may have been the instigators - so lots of oportunities to create a great mystery and conspiracy campaign with plenty of Action and adventure.
I previously used the Ubese connection in a campaign set in the Fall of the Republic Timeline as well. I created a Ubese Terrorist cell, wrote up several major NPC for it, including the head, who was a madman with an extreme hatred for Jedi (a Jedi Killer). Wrote up detailed accounts of their plans, and their operations, and set into motion an extended background subplot where these Ubese were planning a strike on the Jedi Council on Coruscant itself. Never did get to finish it. Some of the information may be handy for your campaign, and if you'd like I can get some of it to you (some will need to be reworked to fit obviously).
The current game I just started is also set just before the fall of the Republic, and I was planning a Force Mystery campaign. I got very lucky though, as one of the players was not only Eager to play a Jedi Apprentice, but immediately asked about skills for Jedi Lore and JEdi History (and I was happy to let him pencil them in as I can use these to lead him into trouble ). So far only finished part of the first adventure, where the PC's Master was contacted by an old Friend, archaeologist, and historian who was conducting research on Balmorra. Knowing that Balmorra was important to the Jedi before the Sith war thousands of years ago, and was sieged and taken by the Sith who set up their own temples their, and knowing that during the war, strange and powerful force-driven technology and artifacts were employed by both sides, this historian hopes to learn more about the origins of the Jedi. I am planning on using the campaign to explore and flesh out some ideas on what the people who eventually became Jedi were like before the Order of the Jedi, as well as some esoteric ideas I have about the force ( for example, Does the force have a will of it's own, or a seperate will for Light and Dark that mortal, fleshly beings just can not comprehend... is it more than just an energy field binding all life together...is it eternal...etc...). Some of it I still haven't decided on yet, but it will be fun to explore it. I also wanted to borrow a few concepts from another popular Sci-Fi series, and have agents and allies of either the Sith, or users of the dark side - who of course may not want these mysteries unlocked, may want any artifacts for their own, may have other plans and purposes even beyond Palpatine's grand ambitions (basing some of it off the Shadows from Babylon 5 - I always liked the way they were done, and some of the ideas used would make for great Dark Side Villains).
Feel free to borrow, adapt, and use any of the above for your adventure and campaign as well. Feel free to pick my brain further if desired... lots of ideas for force heavy campaigns and force using campaigns.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra |
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Jas378
Ensign
Joined: 10 Jun 2012
Posts: 29
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:35 am Post subject: |
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I'd be glad to be able to use some of your plans. I'd probably incorporate it in as a background plot until later (i.e, PC's hear of terrorist attacks and threats on the Holonet).
All the ideas are pretty shweet, and the biggest problem for me at the moment is when I'm going to use which of them.  |
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KageRyu
Commodore
Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1391
Location: Lost in the cracks
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 9:30 am Post subject: |
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| Jas378 wrote: | I'd be glad to be able to use some of your plans. I'd probably incorporate it in as a background plot until later (i.e, PC's hear of terrorist attacks and threats on the Holonet).
All the ideas are pretty shweet, and the biggest problem for me at the moment is when I'm going to use which of them. |
I run into that too. I often have more plans and plots than I can use - and so run multiple plot threads in tandem - complimenting or as backdrops to one another. It's a little harder, requires a little more record keeping, but keeps the campaign alive and interesting, as often even when one thread has been resolved there are 2 to 3 new ones. As a result, my games have become less episodic and more cliff-hanger serialistic. I'm going to try to draft up so notes and guidelines for this style of play when I get a chance, I feel it's definately worth the effort invested.
Heck, sometimes I even change directions with a plot thread from initial inception and it ends up becoming a rumor, background narative, or misdirection.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14030
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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it would be helpful to know what era you plan to start them in, as well as will they be using established templates to start off, or building characters from scratch..
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Jas378
Ensign
Joined: 10 Jun 2012
Posts: 29
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | it would be helpful to know what era you plan to start them in, as well as will they be using established templates to start off, or building characters from scratch.. |
I'm thinking the Old Republic. From then, transition the PC's into the Clone Wars and onward to the days of the Empire. Maybe a generation or two of characters as well. In terms of what my characters will be... no clue. The thing I like about Kage's Shadow of the Jedi campaign, is that you don't necessarily need a Jedi to play through it. It can be a band of mercs who just happen to stumble on something that they could make a large profit on. |
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MattMartin23
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 25 Jun 2012
Posts: 102
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Jas378 wrote: | | garhkal wrote: | | it would be helpful to know what era you plan to start them in, as well as will they be using established templates to start off, or building characters from scratch.. |
I'm thinking the Old Republic. From then, transition the PC's into the Clone Wars and onward to the days of the Empire. Maybe a generation or two of characters as well. In terms of what my characters will be... no clue. The thing I like about Kage's Shadow of the Jedi campaign, is that you don't necessarily need a Jedi to play through it. It can be a band of mercs who just happen to stumble on something that they could make a large profit on. |
Very true. Might I suggest that the items of the crew be of special interest to at least 3 other groups. They should somehow get away with at lease one powerful/item damaging to reputation of Jedi Order. One group of Jedis seek out the items to utilize the items to serve the Republic, another group of Jedi commissioned by the Council seeks out the items to hide some unsavory truths about the Jedi, the 3rd group would be Dark Jedi or Sith and their underlings seeking out the object for their own malicious purposes. PCs don't know which faction they should trust, if any.
I would recommend using criminal organization like the Hutts or Black Sun as foils. These organizations could offer the PCs protection if they do weapons/spice/slave running for them. This would create a dynamic campaign in that there are multiple factions at work, 3 trying to get the objects from you, maybe only 1 with noble intent. The underworld offers protection but as a price. There is the potential for a double cross.
Best,
Matt |
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