One Shot First

Peter “Maveritchell” Thompson

David McGregor Andrew Brownell “Stoney” “Comomojoe” David Eno Chris Sloanstein JB Venier Ben B. Tommy "VerdantSF" Roddy James C.

Ben B. Tommy "VerdantSF" Roddy James C. Steve “Jaspor” Orr

Aazlain – Author of the EotE symbol font FangGrip – Author of the EotE Style Guide Jesus Christ – Author of my salvation and reason for my hope

This work is not made, distributed, or supported by LucasFilm Ltd., LLC, The Walt Disney Company, or Fantasy Flight Games. Star Wars elements ™ and © LucasFilm Ltd. LLC. Edge of the Empire system and associated marks ™ and © Fantasy Flight Games. This work is not intended for sale.

For more work like the work you see here, including maps, items, tools, and other adventures, please visit www.thompsonpeters.com/eote.

Stepping In to the Outer Rim ............................. 6 So What’s in This Book, Anyway? ..................... 7 Chapter I: One-Shots ...................................... 8 One-Shot Characters ........................................ 10 Across the River ............................................... 18 Justice Be Served.............................................. 32 On Top of the World ........................................ 44 Beyond the Veil ................................................ 55 Nowhere to Run ............................................... 67 A Chance of Turbulence ................................... 82 Chapter II: Player Options ............................ 92 New Species ..................................................... 92 New Weapons .................................................. 97 Gear................................................................ 102

New Vehicles and Starships ........................... 107 New Starship and Vehicle Modifications ....... 113

Chapter III: The Savareen Sector ................. 114 Rodia .............................................................. 115 Points of Interest ........................................... 117 Christophsis ................................................... 123 Points of Interest ........................................... 125 Nelvaan .......................................................... 131 Points of Interest ........................................... 133 Other Savareen Sector Systems .................... 138 Savareen’s Neighboring Sectors .................... 141

“Psst… hey, Faxn, did you hear what Moolik said? About the ghest?”

“Moolik’s never going to let it go that he led us in the capture of our first trophy.”

Faxn rolled his eyes. Yes, he’d heard Moolik. He’d heard nothing but Moolik since the group started their hunt. “My father killed a ghest out here once,” he’d say, “It must have been twice the size of a person and three times as deadly.” Faxn was tired of Moolik’s crowing, but since it was Moolik’s family that was sponsoring their First Hunt, he couldn’t very well afford to be too disrespectful.

The sound of muffled shouts and blaster fire rang out through the brush.

“Faxn, hey… are you all there?” “Yes, sure, sorry Deech, lost in thought there for a second. Yes, I heard Moolik’s tale.” “Do you think it’s true? Do you think there’s really ghests out here?” Faxn, Deech, Moolik, and the rest of the Rodian youths of the Sovam clan were deep in the swamps on their First Hunt, the first chance any of them would have to show their stalking and hunting skills away from the elders of the clan. They were expected to bring back a trophy of their victory, and they’d been tracking a karstag for three days, a promising quarry. The chances of seeing something as rare or as dangerous as a ghest were impossibly low, and it was just as well, because if this group ran into a ghest, they’d probably never make it back. “No, Deech, I’m sure he’s just polishing his spines. Ghests haven’t been seen in this area for a hundred years, and besides, he never said he’d seen one recently. He’s as green as the rest of us.” Abruptly, the group fell silent. Moolik, standing at the head of the group, raised two fingers and pointed off to the left. That was the signal; they should be getting close to the karstag. Two of the group broke off and headed off in the direction of Moolik’s gesture, moving to corral the karstag into a trap that would be set by the rest of the group. “Of course it would happen now,” Faxn thought. “Right when Moolik’s at point.”

“That’s odd,” wondered Faxn, “they were only supposed to spook the karstag, not…” He never had time to finish his thought, as a massive blur of teeth and claw burst into the clearing from beneath the murky waters, tearing into one of the young Rodians before he could even scream and dragging him back underwater. The hunting party lost all semblance of unity as Moolik screamed, “Run! Ghest!” and the Rodians scattered in every direction. “Faxn, come quick!” Deech shouted, grabbing the arm of his friend, but he wouldn’t move. “Deech, don’t move,” Faxn whispered, but they knew it was futile. Deech, too, saw the ghest’s eyes peeking out from the water right in front of him, staring at them intently. Faxn brushed the blaster at his hip, knowing there was no way he could be fast enough. The ghest leapt as Faxn and Deech both made their moves. Faxn’s shot went wide and late. “Deech, no!” he cried, as the ghest pounced on top of Deech before he could even fire a shot. The six-meter-long beast sat on top of Deech while Faxn wondered when it would be his turn. As the ghest slowly rose, Faxn stood paralyzed by fear. And then the ghest flopped over onto its back, a wounded-but-still-alive Deech heaving it up. “…Deech! You’re alive! How?” Faxn exulted. Deech smiled meekly and flipped his blaster up. “Lucky shot, I guess. I suppose I’m a real hunter, now.” “Yeah, I’d think so,” Faxn chuckled to himself. “We got our quarry, and there’s no way Moolik’s taking credit for this one.”

The Savareen sector, the gateway to the Outer Rim, sits on the border of the Mid Rim and on the heart of the Corellian Run. Those that come in are taking their first steps into the true galactic outback, where the rule of law – and the hand of governments – is a little bit lighter, the technology is a little bit more suspect, and the danger is a little bit higher.

The Savareen sector represents a blending of the cultures and responsibilities of the inner galactic planets with the wilderness of what lies beyond. While many planets, like Rodia and Christophsis, represent vast economic and social success, they also remain independent of the goings-on of galactic politics, each their own port in a storm. Despite being massively populous planets, they’re also bastions of dangerous wilds, with the jungles and swamps of Rodia home to fantastic beasts and the deeps of Christophsis home to untold creatures and sights. The Savareen sector also has planets like Nelvaan, places that represent the true wilderness of undiscovered worlds as well as how the galaxy interacts with them. Planets like this comprise much of the Savareen sector and the Outer Rim; worlds that few know about and more seek to discover. Players visiting the Savareen sector have a unique opportunity to explore new and isolated planets, planets that aren’t beholden to the baggage of the Galactic Civil War or the long arm of the Hutts and other large criminal enterprises.

Because the Savareen sector, like much of the Outer Rim, hasn’t had the time or the attention put towards exploration and development, untold treasures and discoveries await those who journey through its borders. This draws a unique sort of people, the kinds that have nothing to lose or the kinds that have a burning passion for discovery. Many of the peoples of the Savareen sector find their ways as explorers, hunters, and traders – independent operators that rely on their wits, their tech, and a lot of luck to succeed in the galaxy. These people don’t have the backing of major governments or massive criminal organizations – they’re just lone operators that simply make do with whatever they can scrounge together. Groups traveling through the Outer Rim and the Savareen sector will have the chance to find technology and people that don’t necessarily represent the “best” of the galaxy – but they often represent some of the most unique. This should allow characters to approach problems in different ways, representing the creativity and wit that fringers in the sector need to survive.

One Shot First is a setting book designed to take players and Game Masters on a journey through the Outer Rim, specifically, the Savareen sector. The book is centered around the concepts of adventure and exploration, giving groups the chance to pursue the oddities and rarities of the galaxy without a lot of the overhead of meddlesome galactic politics. Unlike other setting books, One Shot First is centered, first, on a series of adventures. These adventures, found in Chapter I, are flexible, like the modular encounters found in other setting books, but they’re substantially more in-depth and they’re designed to provide a broad array of different types of experiences. Following the adventures section, Chapter II includes a broad array of useful options for players. It includes three new species: the mathematically brilliant Siniteen, the primitive Nelvaanians, and the affable Pacithhip. There are also several different options for players interested in picking up weapons, gear, and vehicles representative of the Savareen frontier. Finally, Chapter III provides narrative background for the Savareen sector, highlighting its most notable planets and reviewing its other major systems. Each major planet has its own set of challenges and adversaries available for those players interested in exploring the area. Chapter III also provides some detail on the sectors surrounding Savareen, since players will often move in and around many parts of the galaxy when adventuring in the Outer Rim.

The featured one-shots section is a unique section designed to help Game Masters facilitate deep exploration of the Outer Rim while still carrying on their own campaigns in the background. Each of the one-shots contained within can be run as a standalone adventure, and each of the one-shots also contains modular pieces that allow GMs to swap out key story elements for characters and places in their own campaigns. For Game Masters looking for a single-session game or for those looking for inspiration for their own adventures, this is a great resource. However, in addition to that, the one-shot adventures can also form a larger story arc, one that can be played all at once or piece-by-piece, giving Game Masters the opportunity to have a fully realized subplot easily integrated into an ongoing campaign.

The player options chapter features three new species, the Intellect-focused Siniteen, the Cunning but undeveloped Nelvaanians, and the sociable Pacithhip. There are also several new weapons, including some of the rare and unique Rodian blades, new gear, and many of the exploration vessels needed to delve into the unknown territories of the Outer Rim.

Although focused on the key planets of the sector, Rodia, Christophsis, and Nelvaan, this chapter also highlights many of the other systems found in the sector. Additionally, it takes a short look at the Savareen sector’s neighbors.

Some of the best hunters and explorers in the galaxy have come out of the Savareen sector, and the Tyrius system and Rodia are at its heart. This section is designed to provide a middle ground between ongoing, multi-session campaigns and single flavored encounters. Set in and around Rodia, this series of one-shot adventures should provide Game Masters with session-long chunks of material that can be linked together as a campaign, played piece-bypiece, or re-flavored and used only in part.

One-shots are session-length adventures, usually between two and four hours, designed to give players a complete story in the course of a single session. These one-shot adventures can be used as jumping-off points for a larger campaign, although many Game Masters may simply use these to provide a parallel story in the background of their main campaign, giving the GM a chance to take some planning downtime while still allowing the players to grow their characters.

Additionally, one-shot adventures may be used as a single, contained experience for a group of players that might not get the chance to play more than once – like at a game night or at a gaming convention. The one-shots in this book are designed to be modular, similar to the Modular Encounters found in location sourcebooks like Suns of Fortune or Lords of Nal Hutta. This means that, in addition to standing alone, certain elements of these one-shot adventures can be swapped out at will – key characters or locations can be substituted to make an adventure fit more readily into the ongoing story of a campaign. Each one-shot opens with a short hook to be read to the players followed by a generic “adventure summary” that describes the general flow of play.

The six one-shots that follow are designed to fit a wide variety of character archetypes and motivations, in addition to supporting the general theme of hunting and exploration that goes hand-in-hand with the Savareen sector. Each one-shot supports most strongly one of three general themes – exploration, socialization, or combat (although each adventure uses elements of all three). There are two one-shots that will be most appealing to Adventurers (exploration), two for Speakers (socialization), and two for Warriors (combat). These are indicated in the table below. GMs may choose to make players aware of the type of adventure, so that they can choose appropriate characters for that adventure. A set of pre-made characters for the adventures is provided in subsequent pages.

The next section, “key elements,” highlights the important characters and places of the adventure and describes their motivations or uses in such a way that the names can simply be exchanged, one after the other, to fit with previously established items of interest (if so desired).

All six one-shots, when combined, can act as a single, multi-session campaign. Additionally, the two halves (the first three and the last three one-shots) act as their own self-contained arcs, and so can be played as two disjointed halves. This is all in addition to the easy integration of individual one-shots as single adventures spaced throughout an ongoing campaign.

Across the River

Exploration

Planetside

Justice be Served

Combat

Planetside

On Top of the World

Socialization

Planetside

A journey into the deep jungle to rescue a scientist and recover her work. A search for a piece of critical evidence in the face of a murder accusation. A gala heist in a high-rise museum to steal an invaluable artifact.

Beyond the Veil

Exploration

Outer Space

A voyage into deep space to recover a long-lost battlecruiser.

Nowhere to Run

Socialization

Space Station

An unsolved crime mystery onboard a space station.

A Chance of Turbulence

Combat

Outer Space

A defense of a high-value transport from pirates and thieves.

While many Game Masters may choose to run through the adventures of One Shot First with a group of players and characters from an ongoing campaign, the six one-shots are also designed to be usable at conventions, demos or other limited-commitment experiences. To support this, six characters are provided in the following section, balanced to play well with the One Shot First adventures. For Game Masters who would prefer to have players make their own one-shot characters, or for those who would simply like different choices, all these characters are built using starting XP allotments plus an additional 15 XP.

The group of characters presented in this section comprises two characters from Edge of the Empire, three from Age of Rebellion, and one from Force and Destiny. They also include the three new species from One Shot First, Nelvaanians, Pacithhips, and Siniteen.

The Nelvaanian, Devros, is a rare expatriate of Nelvaan. His bond-mate, Zulas, became smitten with an offworld Bothan water trader and decided to follow the water trader offworld. Devros, mistaking her leaving for her having been kidnapped, left the planet himself to search the galaxy for her and rescue her. He currently makes his way in the Savareen sector as a tracker-for-hire, putting many of his native Nelvaanian scout skills into good use. Devros is a straightforward, even blunt party member, often being the voice of reason. He has an occasional naïve streak.

Taral, a young woman from Christophsis, was brought up to take her father’s place in mining administration, although she much preferred spending time in the mines to spending time in an office. When the time came for her to take on her administrative training in earnest, she decided to take a risk and run away from home. She was shocked to find out that, upon reaching the starport, she was able to make her way onto a direct freighter offworld with little more than a depleted credit stick and two ration bars – everyone else “saw” that she had her tickets. Taral currently flits around from place to place, going where her instincts (and nascent Force sensitivity) direct her to. She’s currently working with a group of spacers from the Mid Rim, knowing only that she feels a strong need to help them out. As the youngest party member, Taral is hopeful and enthusiastic, although she’s often reckless, as well.

Roona Davudo is a pilot from a Rodian colony in the Arkanis sector, currently a Flight Officer in the Rebel Alliance. She’s serving with Honwil’s team, working to make sure that their resourcegathering missions in the Outer Rim are productive, hidden, and, most importantly, safe. Roona hasn’t been to Rodia, her species’ homeworld, since she was very little, and while the prospect excites her, she’ll make a concerted effort to stay focused on the task at hand. She’s not the ranking officer in her group, but she often takes the responsibility for making sure everyone’s getting done what needs to be done.

Jako Ondarafaro, a young Rodian male, is probably in over his head. A new recruit to the Rebel Alliance from Rodia, his homeworld is the last place he thought he’d be headed when he joined up to help rid the galaxy of tyranny. However, when Honwil put together her small squad to work in the Tyrius system, she figured having a native guide would be useful, and Jako was the choice. Earlier in life, Jako made his way in the Outer Rim as a journeyman infochant, but when he barely escaped a Base Delta Zero operation on the planet of Tarnis VI, he felt his eyes open to the injustice of the Galactic Empire. He used his information contacts to help him find his way to a Rebel cell, where he’s just finished his basic combat training. As a new Rebel, he’s determined to see his mission succeed, which often makes him second-guess his decisions for fear of ruining things.

The Pacithhip woman Honwil, unassuming with her small stature, is secretly a Lieutenant in the Rebel Alliance and an agent for advancing their cause in the Outer Rim. She’s been assigned to give the Rebels a foothold on the nominallyindependent Rodia, and to do this, she’s put together a small team, with her pilot, Roona, and a native Rodian recruit by the name of Jako. Along the way, she’s hired help – or, in the case of a strange young woman, had it dropped in her lap. Honwil is generally a kind woman, agreeable and non-confrontational. However, she is unbreakable in her resolve to aid the Alliance in their quest to restore the Republic and overthrow the Empire, whose presence on her homeworld of Shimia she finds intolerable.

Once a rather successful slicer in a middling smuggling organization, Aric Linepa’s bill finally came due as he was arrested in the middle of what was to be his biggest score, the theft of a rare Corusca gem from a museum on Naboo. He was tried and convicted and was to be held in prison for several years. However, at the intervention of Tall-Tep Ores, a Rebel Alliance front masquerading as an Outer Rim mining concern, Aric was released on a conditional bail. Now Aric lives a life similar to his old one, kept out of immediate danger from the law by the protection of Tall-Tep Ores. However, the tradeoff is that, whenever the Alliance needs someone of his particular skills, he’s called in as a subject-matter expert in the field. And, despite his criminal past, Aric doesn’t really mind it – he enjoys his work, no matter who he’s doing it with.

Only three of the characters are explicitly part of the Rebel Alliance – Honwil, Roona, and Jako. Devros has been hired on as a tracker for the group, given his familiarity with the environments in the Savareen sector, and Aric has been called in as an expert in computer systems. Taral, the un-planned-for actor, has joined the group at the prodding of the Force, the will of which is inscrutable, but it has them together for now. The group of six is effectively working towards a singular goal, driven by Honwil’s mission – obtain an ally in the Tyrius system. To do this, the group has made contact with a businessman of some repute, Ranem Tiiv, a man who’s willing to consider aiding their cause should he be put in the position to do so. Each of the six one-shots is done in service to Tiiv with the intent of gaining his favor and increasing his power.

Devros Nelvaanian

Family (10)

Explorer (Scout)

4

14

12

Astrogation (Int) Athletics (Br) Charm (Pr) Coercion (Wil) Computers (Int) Cool (Pr) Coordination (Ag) Deception (Cun) Discipline (Wil) Leadership (Pr) Mechanics (Int) Medicine (Int) Negotiation (Pr) Perception (Cun) Pilot (Planet) (Ag) Pilot (Space) (Ag) Resilience (Br) Skulduggery (Cun) Stealth (Ag) Streetwise (Cun) Survival (Cun) Vigilance (Wil)

0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0

Brawl (Br) Gunnery (Ag) Melee (Br) Ranged (Heavy) (Ag) Ranged (Light) (Ag)

0 0 0 0 1

Core Worlds (Int) Education (Int) Lore (Int) Outer Rim (Int) Underworld (Int) Xenology (Int) Warfare (Int)

0 0 0 0 0 1 0

3

2

2

3

2

2

Blaster Ranged 6 Medium Pistol (Light)  Inflict a Critical Injury on hit for  Can be set to Stun as an incidental Adverse Env. Gear Backpack Climbing Gear Crash Survival Kit (-

)

Comlink Stimpack (2) Credits

(-

)

Keen Eyed

Outdoorsman

Natural Hunter Quick Strike Stalker

Ignore one imposed by the environment. Increases encumbrance threshold by 4 Contains cable, hooks, pitons, and other climbing equipment Contains distress beacon, emergency comlinks, rations, emergency medpac, respirator, glow rod, flare gun, etc. Allows communication between other characters with comlinks Use this with a maneuver to heal 5 wounds 125 Credits

Remove from Perception or Vigilance checks. Decrease time to search an area by half. Remove from checks to move through terrain or manage environmental effects. Decrease overland travel times by half. Once per session, may reroll any one Perception or Vigilance check. Add to combat checks against targets that have not acted yet this encounter. Add to all Stealth and Coordination checks.

Taral Jetho Human

Enthusiasm (50)

Mystic (Seer)

4

13

13

Astrogation (Int) Athletics (Br) Charm (Pr) Coercion (Wil) Computers (Int) Cool (Pr) Coordination (Ag) Deception (Cun) Discipline (Wil) Leadership (Pr) Mechanics (Int) Medicine (Int) Negotiation (Pr) Perception (Cun) Pilot (Planet) (Ag) Pilot (Space) (Ag) Resilience (Br) Skulduggery (Cun) Stealth (Ag) Streetwise (Cun) Survival (Cun) Vigilance (Wil)

0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Brawl (Br) Gunnery (Ag) Melee (Br) Ranged (Heavy) (Ag) Ranged (Light) (Ag)

2 0 0 0 0

Core Worlds (Int) Education (Int) Lore (Int) Outer Rim (Int) Underworld (Int) Xenology (Int) Warfare (Int)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

   

3

2

2

2

3

2 1

Shock Brawl 3 Engaged Boots Inflict a Critical Injury on hit for Disorient for three rounds on hit for Deal an additional 3 strain on hit for Add to Perception checks to notice that the boots are a weapon

Syntherope Comlink Stimpack (2) Credits

A long spool of synthetic rope. Allows communication between other characters with comlinks Use this with a maneuver to heal 5 wounds 120 Credits

Uncanny Reactions

Add

Misdirect

The user may spend / to make a target at short range unable to perceive a chosen person/object of Silhouette 1 or smaller for one turn. The user may alter the appearance of the chosen object instead of just hiding it.

Misdirect: Control – Appearance Misdirect: Control – Illusion

to all Vigilance checks.

May use Misdirect to force the target to perceive a single illusory person or object.

Roona Davudo Rodian

Personnel (5)

Ace (Pilot)

3

12

12

Astrogation (Int) Athletics (Br) Charm (Pr) Coercion (Wil) Computers (Int) Cool (Pr) Coordination (Ag) Deception (Cun) Discipline (Wil) Leadership (Pr) Mechanics (Int) Medicine (Int) Negotiation (Pr) Perception (Cun) Pilot (Planet) (Ag) Pilot (Space) (Ag) Resilience (Br) Skulduggery (Cun) Stealth (Ag) Streetwise (Cun) Survival (Cun) Vigilance (Wil)

1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Brawl (Br) Gunnery (Ag) Melee (Br) Ranged (Heavy) (Ag) Ranged (Light) (Ag)

0 1 0 0 1

Core Worlds (Int) Education (Int) Lore (Int) Outer Rim (Int) Underworld (Int) Xenology (Int) Warfare (Int)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2

3

2

2

2

3

HL-27 Ranged 5 Medium Pistol (Light)  Add to attacks made with this weapon  Inflict a Critical Injury on hit for  Can be set to Stun as an incidental

((-

) )

Catch Vest Anti-Grav Chute Utility Belt Extra Reload Comlink Hand Scanner Credits

Dead to Rights

Full Throttle (Improved)

Let’s Ride

Skilled Jockey

Has +1 Soak against energy-based weapons Take no wound or strain from falls Encumbrance increased by 1 Ignore one “out of ammo” result of a ranged weapon check Allows communication between comlinks Portable electronic assessment device 125 Credits

Spend 1 Destiny Point to add additional damage equal to half Agility (rounded up) to one hit of a successful attack made with vehicle- or ship-mounted weapons. Take a Full Throttle action; make an Average ( ) Piloting check to increase a vehicle’s top speed by 1 for a number of rounds equal to Cunning. May perform this as a maneuver for 1 Strain. Once per round, may mount or dismount a vehicle or beast or enter a cockpit or a weapon station on a vehicle as an incidental. Remove from Piloting checks.

Jako Ondarafaro Rodian

Support (5)

Colonist (Scholar, Recruit)

5

13

12

3

3

2

2

1

2

Astrogation (Int) Athletics (Br) Charm (Pr) Coercion (Wil) Computers (Int) Cool (Pr) Coordination (Ag) Deception (Cun) Discipline (Wil) Leadership (Pr) Mechanics (Int) Medicine (Int) Negotiation (Pr) Perception (Cun) Pilot (Planet) (Ag) Pilot (Space) (Ag) Resilience (Br) Skulduggery (Cun) Stealth (Ag) Streetwise (Cun) Survival (Cun) Vigilance (Wil)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Heavy Ranged 7 Medium Blaster (Light) Pistol  Inflict a Critical Injury on hit for  Can be set to Stun as an incidental

Brawl (Br) Gunnery (Ag) Melee (Br) Ranged (Heavy) (Ag) Ranged (Light) (Ag)

0 0 0 0 2

Grit Quick Draw

Core Worlds (Int) Education (Int) Lore (Int) Outer Rim (Int) Underworld (Int) Xenology (Int) Warfare (Int)

0 1 0 0 0 1 0

Breath Mask Military Pack Entrenching Tool Military Field Manual Comlink Credits

Expert Tracker

Resolve Second Wind Basic Combat Training

Allows breathing normally in harmful environments Increases encumbrance threshold by 6 A tool for digging holes Once per scene, can be used to grant based on GM discretion Allows communication between other characters with comlinks 145 Credits

Remove from checks to find tracks or track targets. Cuts time to track a target by half. Gain +1 Strain threshold. Once per round, draw or holster a weapon or item as an incidental. When involuntarily suffering Strain, reduce it by 1 (to a minimum of 1). Once per encounter, use the Second Wind incidental to heal Strain by 2 Brawl and Ranged (Light) become career skills.

Honwil Pacithhip

Recruiting (5)

Diplomat (Ambassador)

5

13

13

Astrogation (Int) Athletics (Br) Charm (Pr) Coercion (Wil) Computers (Int) Cool (Pr) Coordination (Ag) Deception (Cun) Discipline (Wil) Leadership (Pr) Mechanics (Int) Medicine (Int) Negotiation (Pr) Perception (Cun) Pilot (Planet) (Ag) Pilot (Space) (Ag) Resilience (Br) Skulduggery (Cun) Stealth (Ag) Streetwise (Cun) Survival (Cun) Vigilance (Wil)

0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Brawl (Br) Gunnery (Ag) Melee (Br) Ranged (Heavy) (Ag) Ranged (Light) (Ag)

1 0 0 0 0

Core Worlds (Int) Education (Int) Lore (Int) Outer Rim (Int) Underworld (Int) Xenology (Int) Warfare (Int)

0 0 0 0 0 1 0

(-

)

 

 

(-

)

3

2

3

2

1

3

Tusks Brawl 4 Engaged Inflict a +10 Critical Injury on hit for This attack ignores one point of Soak Holdout Ranged 5 Short Blaster (Light) Inflict a Critical Injury on hit for Can be set to Stun as an incidental

Restraining Bolt Disguise Kit

Stimpack (3) Credits

Adheres to a droid’s chassis to inhibit its actions and movement A variety of tools for changing the appearance of a person A device for creating holographic recordings and transmissions Allows communication between other characters with comlinks Use this with a maneuver to heal 5 wounds 765 Credits

Grit Indistinguishable Kill With Kindness Nobody’s Fool Enduring Silhouette

Gain +1 strain threshold. Upgrade difficulty of checks to identify this character once. Remove from Charm and Leadership checks. Upgrade difficulty of incoming Charm, Coercion, or Deception checks once. Gain +1 soak. Silhouette 0

HoloMessenger Comlink

Aric Linepa Siniteen

Criminal (10)

Technician (Slicer)

4

13

14

Astrogation (Int) Athletics (Br) Charm (Pr) Coercion (Wil) Computers (Int) Cool (Pr) Coordination (Ag) Deception (Cun) Discipline (Wil) Leadership (Pr) Mechanics (Int) Medicine (Int) Negotiation (Pr) Perception (Cun) Pilot (Planet) (Ag) Pilot (Space) (Ag) Resilience (Br) Skulduggery (Cun) Stealth (Ag) Streetwise (Cun) Survival (Cun) Vigilance (Wil)

1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

Brawl (Br) Gunnery (Ag) Melee (Br) Ranged (Heavy) (Ag) Ranged (Light) (Ag)

0 0 0 0 1

Core Worlds (Int) Education (Int) Lore (Int) Outer Rim (Int) Underworld (Int) Xenology (Int) Warfare (Int)

0 1 0 1 0 0 0

2

3

3

2

2

1

ASP-9 Ranged 4 Autopistol (Light)  Inflict a Critical Injury on hit for  Inflict an additional hit on hit for Slicer Gear

Backpack Datapad Toolkit Comlink Stimpack (2) Emergency Medpac Credits

Codebreaker

Defensive Slicing Grit Natural Programmer Astrogator Savant

Short

Decryption software, codebreakers, tools used to aid with cracking computer systems. Increases encumbrance threshold by 4 A portable data storage and display device Allows mechanics to attempt to fix devices, allows mechanics to repair droids Allows communication between other characters with comlinks Use this with a maneuver to heal 5 wounds Allows characters to attempt to heal others without penalty 200 Credits

Remove from checks to break codes or decrypt communications. Decrease difficulty of checks to break codes or decrypt communications by 1. When defending computer systems, add to opponents’ checks. Gain +1 strain threshold. Once per session, may reroll any 1 Computers or Astrogation check. Before making an Astrogation check, may spend a Destiny Point to be granted an automatic (additional) on the check.

The swamps and jungles of Rodia are no place for the timid. While the great cities of Rodia belong to the Rodians, the vast tropics of the planet remain wild and untamed. When an anthropologist and her team, trekking into the very heart of the swamplands, fail to check in for three days, her colleagues can only suspect the worst. Her employer knows that chances for the team grow slimmer with each passing day, and so he turns to offworlders – mercenaries, wanderers, and soldiers of fortune – to venture out and see what they find across the river…

The players have been hired by a businessman1 of significant influence in the local system2 to find an employee of his, a missing anthropologist3 and her team. The scientist has gone missing in the jungles far outside any city, and the players are asked to find this scientist, help her complete her task(s), and, if possible, bring as many of the team back alive. Their employer will be able to provide them with a general area of interest, but nothing more specific than a direction from the nearby city. Knowing this, the players will need to use whatever resources they can find to locate the scientist’s likeliest location. Once the players manage to locate the scientist, they will find the scientist and her assistant4 in the hands of a primitive tribe5 of jungle-dwellers. There they will need to save whoever they can, or failing that, at least retrieve their notes. Whatever is recovered from the tribe – the scientist, assistant, or notes – will give the players direction to the goal of the scientist’s research – a lost starship development facility. Immediately prior to being captured, the scientist and her team were en route to the lab to copy the data from its computer core. The players will need to find their way through the facility to the computer core, copy the data, and escape the facility to deliver the data back to their employer.

(Substitute as necessary) 1

The employer/businessman: Ranem “The Glove” Tiiv, owner of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate The local system: Tyrius System, home to the planet Rodia 3 The scientist: Dr. Gena Tan 4 The assistant: Tora Ninn 5 The primitive tribe: the Longspine clan, a group of isolated, primitive Rodians 2

The players start their adventure in midday in Karsteeku, a medium-sized city on Rodia. They have on hand the details of the contract they made with Ranem Tiiv, their employer. Contract for: Successful recovery of the completed work of Dr. Gena Tan and team. Dr. Tan was last known to be located in the jungles west of the city of Karsteeku. She and her team had reported a breakthrough in locating an historical data cache, but following that, the team failed to report in for three days.

Her area of interest was an area sized in the several hundreds of square kilometers, and since she’s operating under a low-impact protocol, our scout ships have been unable to locate her last campsite. Suggest that the search be made before nightfall, as waiting until morning decreases chances of survival dramatically. Payment will be made for a successful recovery of the data cache and Dr. Tan’s work. Additional compensation may be afforded for the rescue of any members of Dr. Tan’s team.

Unbeknownst to the players, Dr. Tan’s team has been captured and killed by the Longspine clan, a tribe living in the jungles where the team was searching. Only Dr. Tan and her assistant Tora Ninn still survive; however, they’ve been captured by the Longspines for use as sacrifices in a religious ritual. To find Dr. Tan and Tora Ninn, the players will likely have to find their camp first – it will stand out far more in a search than a technologically primitive tribal village will (which is where the two are being held). Finding the campsite in the wilderness is a very difficult task. With only the information provided by the players’ employer, coming across the remains of the research worksite would require a great deal of luck on an Impossible+ ( ) Survival check. The players are not without recourse, though! Players may tap available resources in any number of ways to facilitate a successful search:   



Hiring local help to search the jungle Performing a low-orbit scan with the players’ ship Gaining access to flight data records (to see where the research team may have gone) Speaking to colleagues/friends/family of the research team to see if they made contact while away

Obviously, players may come up with any number of solutions. Each successful use of resources to narrow the search will reduce the difficulty of the Survival check by at least ( ). One thing to keep in mind, though - the search for Dr. Tan is on a clock!

The players have approximately ten hours before nightfall. Should the players fail to reach Dr. Tan by nightfall, she will be killed by the Longspines. Each attempt to search the wilderness will take about two hours, and possibly more, depending on whether any complications arise from the search. The search may be performed more than once, although each attempt will obviously take time. Each of these attempts will also reduce the difficulty of the check. Each task done to reduce the difficulty of the survival check will also take time; each will take at least one hour. Searching Narration Be sure to use terminology that reinforces the idea that each action to aid the search does not complete the search for the players; it simply makes the search easier. For example, “Your sensor scan of the area has narrowed the possible locations of Dr. Tan and her team to several different areas.”

Threat or Despair While Searching If the players roll a large number of Threat or Despair while searching the jungle (or need to be waylaid for some other reason), consider using the optional “Off the Path” encounter at the end of this adventure.

Success on the Survival check to search the wilderness will lead the players to the abandoned and ransacked campsite that formerly housed Dr. Tan’s research team.



After an exhausting search, success is revealed in the form of an eerily quiet campsite in the otherwise buzzing jungle.  Makeshift shelters are overturned, and you can see large gashes torn in the side of several durafiber tents. A small generator hisses and sparks to one side of a large tent, no longer connected to the overhead glowlamps that once lit the camp. A severed power wire leaves scorch marks on the flattened leaves nearby. You recognize the hovertruck, sitting next to a pile of scattered electronic equipment, from the description provided to you by your employer – this is, or was, Dr. Tan’s camp. Searching the campsite may yield several clues as to the location of Dr. Tan and her assistant. 



An Average ( ) Perception check may point out one or more of the below clues to the players, with + or allowing the player to notice a shadowy figure (one of the primitive Rodians – see “Longspine Clan Rodian” below) observing them from the treeline. An Average ( ) Computers check on an abandoned holocam, left with a pile of electronic equipment, will show a recording of a large group of primitive Rodians attacking the research team with spears and blades, killing or wounding most, and dragging all the





bodies and captives into a jungle path to the north. An Average ( ) Survival check to search the ground (with ( ) if performed in the camp, due to the debris) for tracks will find a group of tracks leading into the jungle to the north. A search of the tents will reveal several datacards, with which an Easy ( ) Computers check can be made to find a note one of the researchers made about seeing some sort of village near the waterfall to the north of camp. An Average ( ) Mechanics check to fix the camp equipment (specifically, the generator) will turn back on the peripheral camp lights, highlighting the trail to the north and the tracks leading in that direction. An Average ( ) Knowledge (Education) check may reveal that the gashes in the tents appear to be caused by a weapon of some kind, indicating an attack by a sapient people. If the player has + or on this check, he can further conclude that any nearby settlement would likely be by the river (following the river would lead the players to the primitive Rodian village).

Once the players know the direction they need to head, they can reach the Rodian village within a short time of finding the camp. Searching for clues and the subsequent trip to the Rodian village will take a combined one hour.

7-10 hours: Depending on how long the players took to reach the camp, they may find one of several different situations. If the players took: 0-7 hours: Through a clearing in the jungle, you can see a cluster of thatched-roof huts sit near a river – a river widening into the sheer drop of a waterfall! Several Rodians clad in leathers of various hues mill around campfires, and just at the edge of the light cast by one, you can see two wooden cages, each holding a Rodian woman wearing a ragged blue jumpsuit.

Through a clearing in the jungle, you can see a cluster of thatched-roof huts sit near a river – a river widening into the sheer drop of a waterfall! Although the daylight is fading, you can see a roaring fire near the edge of the riverbank – it lights a procession of hide-clad Rodians carrying an entranced Rodian woman dressed in a blue jumpsuit. As you gather it in, you can hear a muffled shouting from beyond the firelight: “No! Dr. Tan! Gena! You’ve got to wake up! Don’t let them throw you over!”

10+ hours: Through a clearing in the jungle, you can see a cluster of thatched-roof huts sit near a river – a river widening into the sheer drop of a waterfall! Several small fires dot the village, and by the fire’s glow, you can see the occasional Rodian, garbed in what seems to be some kind of animal hide. Standing out, near the back of the camp, you can see two cages – one empty, one containing a young Rodian woman wearing a tattered blue jumpsuit. A Simple ( ) Knowledge (Outer Rim) check will allow the players to understand what the Rodians are saying; they’re speaking in an offshoot of the widely-understood Rodian language. If the players reach the camp in the 7-10 hour bracket, they have arrived just as the Longspine clan is making a sacrifice to the “Mother’s Mouth,” the cascading waterfall near which they made their settlement. The Rodians believe that Dr. Tan and her team have, by virtue of their work, desecrated their “Swampmother,” the river they worship. They are carrying out a sacrifice to the Swampmother to avert her retribution. In doing so, they’ve forced Dr. Tan to inhale the incense of burnt local flora, with the end result of her being in a waking-dream-like state, unaware of her surroundings.

These primitive Rodians are members of a tribe that, for whatever reason, have remained largely unaffected by the technological and cultural progress of the Rodians at large. They are certainly aware of the more technologically advanced culture that surrounds them, although they prefer to remain isolated from it.

3

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

2

2

2

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

8

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Fearlessness, Aggression, Straightforwardness Dislikes: Advanced technology, Disrespect of the river Skills: Athletics 1, Coercion 1, Coordination 1, Melee 2, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Resilience 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2, Vigilance 2 Talents: Quick Strike 1 (Add per rank to combat checks against targets that haven’t acted this encounter), Natural Hunter (Once per session, re-roll any Perception/Vigilance check) Abilities: None Equipment: Bottwood Spear [Melee, Damage+2, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Pierce 1, Defensive 1, Vicious 1], Bottwood Spear [Ranged (Light), Damage 5, Critical 3, Range: Short, Pierce 1, Accurate 1, Vicious 1], Sawtooth Knife [Melee, Damage+1, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Vicious 2]

The players may resolve the situation with the Rodians in several different ways. A successful negotiation may even net the Rodians as allies of a sort. Ultimately, the players’ goal here is to gain a lead on the data cache Dr. Tan was tracking down, and that will likely be a result of one (or more) of four outcomes: 







Dr. Tan is successfully rescued from the Longspines, and she leads the way to the presumed location of the data cache. Dr. Tan’s assistant, Tora Ninn, is recovered from her captivity, and she helps explain Dr. Tan’s findings, directing the players toward the presumed location of the data cache. Both Dr. Tan and Tora Ninn perish, but the players recover data from their person (datacards, clues, etc.) that point them in the direction of the data cache. The Longspines reveal to the players that Dr. Tan’s team was getting too close to the “Heart of the Mother,” their primary religious site. This is an abandoned starship research factory and the location of the searched-for data cache.

Why don’t we just fly there? While at this point it may seem prudent to the players to turn around, pick up a ship, and reequip, try to reinforce the narrative goal of this being an adventure-style trek through the jungle. One can justify this on the basis of time (e.g. “The Longspines are still tracking us! We need to get to the data cache in a hurry before they hide it for good!” Another can be to justify this with technology – why hasn’t the facility been found before now, anyway? Maybe there’s some kind of sensor disruption that makes it difficult or impossible to find in a larger ship, or maybe there’s some kind of anti-tech field that shuts down higherlevel technology (so starships and airspeeders, but not blasters and datapads.

Once the players resolve the matter of finding the location of Dr. Tan’s objective, it should only be a short trek upriver to an abandoned starship test facility. As you trek through the jungle, you notice the river growing wider and wider until eventually, the trees part and the river breaks into a glittering green lake. A small island pokes out of the center of the lake, on which sits a dilapidated metal structure. Rough, knotted vines cover the outside of the complex – in the absence of use, nature has made its claim on the facility. Two long bridges reach out from the edges of the island – one, a narrow, swaying footbridge, another, a partially collapsed speeder bridge, the two halves of which dip precariously into the lake halfway across .

By virtue of one piece of data or another (Dr. Tan, Tora Ninn, or a datapad recovered from either), it should be clear to the players that their goal is to get to the computer core of the facility, wherever that might lie. There are several potential obstacles in the way of that goal, starting with the lake crossing itself. Players will likely find one of four ways to cross:    

Floating across the lake to the shores leading up to the facility Flying over the lake Crossing the footbridge Crossing the speeder bridge

Either of the bridges presents their own challenges. The footbridge is only wide enough for players to cross single-file, and each player will need to make an Average ( ) Coordination check while crossing. Failing this check will mean that the players stepped on a portion of the walkway they shouldn’t have, and the foothold there will become more unstable. This will

result in a Setback ( ) added to the check for any subsequent players to cross. If the player nets + or , segments of the bridge may fall out from under where the player was walking and/or result in the player falling in the water. The problem presented by the speeder bridge is somewhat more straightforward. The middle section of the bridge has collapsed into the water completely, leaving a gap about a dozen meters wide. How the players solve this will be largely up to the tools they personally have available and what they individually are proficient with. Falling into the water should be more of an annoyance than a danger, although spending an extended amount of time in the water may draw the attention of schools of Svoor, an omnivorous lake-dwelling eel-fish.

Usually found in the dark parts of lakes and freshwater seas of Rodia, the Svoor is a small snakelike fish that grows up to eight inches in length. These fish subsist primarily on insects, smaller fish, and leafy plants (found at the bottom of lakes), although they will occasionally graze on the flesh of slow-moving larger animals when available.

2

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

1

1

1

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

4

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Low light, movement Dislikes: Extreme temperature changes Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Survival, Vigilance Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Needle Teeth [Brawl, Damage 3, Critical 5, Range: Engaged, Vicious 2]

Players have essentially three modes of ingress into the facility. While there are more buildings to the facility than shown in the cutaway, the other buildings are collapsed, overrun by nature, or effectively empty of anything of note. 1. The Simulations Offices contain the entrance nearest the end of the footbridge. The simulations offices are five stories of office terminals and desks mixed with ingrowing vines and rubble. A large rupture in the floor has created a pit extending from the bottom floor all the way up to the next-to-top floor, and the bottom is littered with debris that’s fallen through. Additionally, the lower two floors of the Simulations Offices are filled with water (approximately even with the lake’s level, if not a little higher). 2. The Primary Cargo Handling room is the entrance nearest the speeder bridge. It’s an unremarkable room, wide and open, stacked with empty cargo crates and brush growing in some of the damper corners. A broken cargo lift hangs halfway between the floor and a shaft extending above the roof. 3. The Climatic Laboratory is a giant, capital-ship sized hangar perched on top of the facility. Its main entry door, wide enough to fit a Consular-class cruiser, is covered in the ubiquitous vines as well as a thick layer of frost. This hangar is designed to test spacecraft under extreme temperature conditions, and its temperature control mechanism (and independent power reactor) have been stuck at dangerously low temperatures for years. Combined with the humid climate of Rodia, this has frozen the door mechanism shut.

A simple exploration of the aboveground areas of the facility will make it clear that the computer core (containing the data cache) isn’t to be found there. If the players make their way up to (4.) the Controller’s Office, by way of climbing up the broken lift in Cargo Handling, entering through the Climatic Lab, or by some other means, they should be able to find an overview of the facility that makes it clear where the computer core is located. To get to the computer core, the players will need to descend down to (5.) the Isolated Testing Cavern. There are two lifts that lead down into this otherwise-sealed cavern. One is accessible from the walkways leaving the (1.) Simulations Offices and/or (2.) Primary Cargo Handling, although any trip through those hallways will go underwater in the lower third portion. The other is accessible directly adjacent to the (4.) Controller’s Office with no obstacle in the way, although as before, that will have required access to that level already. Both of the lifts that travel down to the Isolated Testing Cavern pass through several filtering gates (designed to keep the cavern sealed) that prevent any of the water above from seeping down into the caves or below levels.

These bat-like creatures, often found in damp caves, share as many characteristics with insects as with larger flying creatures. Born in a larval state that takes years to grow into a fullygrown, half-meter long adult, Vurm have social structure centered around a single queen Vurm, which feeds vampirically off of larval Vurm to grow into its massive, two-meter size. In absence of other food, Vurm are often cannibalistic, although (queen aside) they feed only on other adults.

1

2

1

1

1

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

1

W. THRESHOLD

3

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Heat, Darkness Dislikes: Bright lights, loud noises Skills: Brawl, Coordination, Stealth Talents: None Abilities: Vicious Swarm (each additional minion in the group adds 1 to the Vicious rating of a Fang attack [a group of 2 would have Vicious 1]) Equipment: Fang [Brawl, Damage 3, Critical 3, Range: Engaged]

Once in the (5.) Isolated Testing Cavern, the players should each pass an Average ( ) Stealth check or be attacked by a swarm of Vurm Swoopwings. (This encounter may also be skipped for time.) If the players are too noisy or disruptive, a group of Vurm will wing down from the ceiling of the cave to harass the players, who are likely trying to maneuver their way through the room to one of two exits:  

The cave tunnel at the back leading to (6.) Repuslorsled Access, or The (7.) Temperature Regulation Vent protruding from the ground (which is a direct route to (8.) the Computer Core).

The players may also be attacked by the Vurm Broodqueen (depending on party size and desired encounter difficulty).

These significantly larger Vurm specimens act as social center of the brood. There is only ever one of these per Vurm family-group.

2

4

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

2

1

1

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

11

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Heat, Darkness Dislikes: Bright lights, loud noises Skills: Brawl 3, Coordination 1, Perception 1, Stealth 2, Vigilance 1 Talents: Adversary 1 Abilities: Vampiric Cannibalism (may kill one engaged Vurm to restore 6 wounds) Equipment: Large Fang [Brawl, Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Vicious 2], Flying Tackle (Brawl, Damage 3, Critical 4, Range: Engaged, Knockdown]

As the players move through the Isolated Testing Cavern, they will likely notice the lit exit in the back of the cavern. This leads to an access hallway that takes the players to (6.) Repuslorsled Access, a loading dock and tunnel access to the partially-built access tunnels to the remainder of the facility. Once, this included several testing rooms, but as the facility fell into ruin, most of the access tunnels to the underground rooms became caved-in dead ends. The only tunnel that remains wide enough and clear enough for access is the largest tunnel, the one that provides a winding path to the underground (8.) Computer Core. Several abandoned (but likely still-working) repulsorsleds sit waiting at either end of the tunnels. The tunnels, by necessity, are very circuitous and require careful, slow navigation (just slightly faster than walking speed) on the sleds.

These relatively small hovercraft are designed to transport personnel and equipment over rough terrain at various speeds.

1

1

-1

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

2

Maximum Altitude: 1 meter Sensor Range: Close Passenger Capacity: 4, crew included Cost/Rarity: 2,000 credits/2 Customization Hard Points: 0 Weapons: None

ARMOR

0 3

SS. THRESHOLD

If the players are more adventurous (or if they’ve seen the facility schematics), they may elect to delve deeper into the facility by way of the (7.) Temperature Regulation Vent. This wide pipe is used to create a negativepressure environment in the Computer Core as well as remove any heat generated from its massive databanks. It is traversable, although with the fans operating (and they are still in operation), there are several different junctions with large spinning fans that present a dangerous obstacle to the players. There is also a large vertical section halfway down that, in addition to requiring the players to pass through a spinning fan, will require some means of climbing down nearly two dozen meters.

Once the players have reached the (8.) Computer Core, they will finally have the opportunity to fulfill their contracted objective. The core room is filled with several large databanks, and recovery of the data cache will be contingent upon succeeding at a Hard ( ) Computers check. Failing the check will corrupt some of the data, and reduce the difficulty of subsequent checks by ( ). Once the players have recovered any data at all, the facility will trigger a core-level security procedure designed to prevent data theft. Several minor explosions will ring out under the facility, and the whole complex will start to shake – it’s being collapsed from below! The players will now need to escape the facility as quickly as possible. There are approximately ten minutes before the complex collapses, and this may necessitate rushing tasks that were carefully done before (e.g. speeding through the repulsorsled tunnels, which would require Piloting checks). If the players fail to escape before the facility collapses, all players will suffer a critical injury and be “stuck” until help arrives. Fortunately, the destruction of the facility is a noticeable enough event that their employer, who’s been scanning the area in hopes of finding his lost team, will be able to pick it up and send rescue ships out. This will, however, be at significant cost to him (and this will be passed on to the players).

Once the players have successfully handed the data (and any remaining members of Dr. Tan’s team) over to their employer, he’ll pay them based on the following rubric: 

   

500 credits per person on the team (i.e. a team of four would be paid 2000 credits) 1000 credits for the return of Dr. Tan 500 credits for the return of Tora Ninn -500 credits for costs incurred if the players had to be rescued -50 credits per person on the team for each failure on the Computers check to recover the data (for a maximum of 150 credits per person)

The players as a group will also have gained (or reinforced) a standing with their employer and his organization, an enterprise with significant standing in the Tyrius system, with hands in transport (legal and otherwise), shipbuilding, and planetary commerce.

While making your way through the dense foliage, you hear a squishing sound. It grows quiet for a moment, but then with a giant splash, a large four-legged reptile leaps your way!

These giant, six-meter long reptiles (also known as swamp demons) sit comfortably at the top of the food chain in some swampy areas of Rodia.

4

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

2

The players are confronted by a Ghest, a predator native to Rodian swamps. This should be a relatively quick combat encounter, designed only to engage characters if the game is dragging. This should be relatively dangerous to the individual characters, but not a large challenge to the group as a whole.

1

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

9

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Live prey Dislikes: Cold temperatures Skills: Brawl 3, Perception 1, Resilience 1, Stealth 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: None Abilities: Lurker (may take a maneuver to descend into mud or water, forcing a Perception vs. Stealth check to see it) Equipment: Feral Claws [Brawl, Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Disorient 1], Toothy Maw [Brawl, Damage 4, Critical 2, Range: Engaged, Vicious 3]

The farther one gets from the bright center of the galaxy, the further one gets from the truly organized rule of law. It often falls to those with the most wealth, the most strength, or the most cunning to determine what really passes for “right.” When powerful people accuse a top agent of an Outer Rim syndicate of murdering one of the scientists of that same syndicate, it seems like a foregone conclusion that the agent will be lost. In hopes of resolving the situation beneficially, the syndicate’s head reaches out to freelancers to see justice be served…

The players have been hired by a businessman1 of significant influence in the local system2 to meet with and clear the name of one of his finest agents3. Five days ago, one of the businessman’s scientists4 was murdered, and pressures from the businessman’s competitors have directed accusations onto his top agent. The players will meet with the agent to hear the details, and he’ll tell them about a secured datacard that contains evidence that could clear him. His former employer, the local security force, will have the datacard being transported somewhere, and the players will have to find that transport. The players will learn that it’s about to be transported, via hover-convoy, from a remote security lab back into the city. The agent is insistent that they recover it before it gets to the city and into the hands of his enemies. The players will have to steal it from the convoy transporting it. The recovery of the datacard and the possible inspection of its contents will bring the situation to a head. A confrontation will be forced between the local authorities and the accused agent at the agent’s safe house, and the players will have no choice but to take sides.

(Substitute as necessary) 1

The employer/businessman: Ranem “The Glove” Tiiv, owner of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate The local system: Tyrius System, home to the planet Rodia 3 The agent: Lieutenant See Bonuda, formerly of the Rodian Planetside Security Force (RPSF) 4 The victim: Dr. Gena Tan or Tora Ninn, scientists in Tiiv’s employ (which one – if any – may depend on the outcome of “Beyond the River” if that adventure was played previously) 2

The players start their adventure in Karsteeku, a medium-sized city on Rodia. They have been provided with a contract from Ranem Tiiv, their employer. Contract for: Clearing the name of Lt. See Bonuda and identification of the true murderer of Dr. Gena Tan. Lt. Bonuda, agent of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate, is currently facing trumped-up charges of murder of Dr. Tan, another TSS employee. Lt. Bonuda is in hiding at a converted apartment building, 32 Yusk Avenue in the Residential District. He will provide further details on the job.

Lt. Bonuda’s safehouse is located in the Slums section of the Residential District, and he’s coopted an abandoned cantina on the second (of two floors) floor of the building as his base of operations, where he lives with several mercenaries hired as protection. Upon meeting him, he’ll greet the players as expected agents of their joint employer. “Listen – here’s the deal. Tiiv’s already filled you in on my… situation.” “While working for TSS, I also held a lieutenant’s position in the Rodian PSF – the local authorities. It’s because of my work there that I’ve been able to stay in the wind for the past week.”

“Unfortunately, that can’t last forever. I know the RPSF’s protocol, and they’re going to have all the evidence for the case centralized at their HQ here soon. ” “That presents a unique opportunity – I know that there’s… a certain datacard – disconnected from network traffic, for security – that I desperately need. It’s going to be on the move here probably …“ He checks his chrono – “…sometime today.” If you can find where and how that evidence is being transported and recover it, I can make sure that this whole situation gets taken care of advantageously for everyone.”

Before the players go searching , he’ll leave them with one last warning: “Oh, and be very careful not to tamper with that datapad with the holorecord. Even trying to inspect its contents might trigger any locator packages the PSF has embedded in it. I mean it – no tampering. Bring it back here, and I’ll be able to work with it.” The players are tasked with finding the location of the datacard (and its transport), intercepting the transport, and recovering the datacard. They may tackle this problem in several ways, including:  

“Once I’ve got that datacard, I can clear my name and help Tiiv solve this murder for real.”

 

If questioned about the contents of the datacard, See Bonuda will explain that it contains a datamined holorecord from a hidden security device at the scene of the crime – one no one originally knew was there. If questioned about his alibi, Bonuda will be circumspect – he was working alone in the slums tailing a lead in one of his cases. Documentation at the PSF headquarters will verify that he was in this area (the Residential District) the night of the murder. Bonuda will make sure the players, if they need a lead, know that the PSF’s headquarters are in the Administrative District in the Government Seat.

Hacking in to the Rodian PSF’s systems to find the transport’s schedule “Social engineering” of a member or members of the PSF Plying knowledgeable underworld contacts on the street Paying off transport controllers to see when (and what kind of) vehicles are entering and exiting the city

The task should be relatively easy once the players have decided on a tack to take, but if they’re completely at a loss, Bonuda may suggest asking a former friend of his at the PSF station for help, and he might suggest going about one of the above. Ultimately, the players will discover that the datacard is being delivered as part of a PSFhired convoy, scheduled to enter the city later that day (at such a time as is convenient for the players). It will be en route already by the time the players discover its existence.

The best opportunity the players will have to steal anything from the convoy is to attack it as it travels through the Rodian swamplands. While they could choose to wait until it enters the city, the task would likely be drastically more difficult, and the task becomes a drastically different one if the convoy completes its mission and delivers its cargo to the PSF headquarters. The convoy is composed of three types of vehicles, each designed to provide the players with possible advantages in the encounter: 

Smaller escort swoop bikes, used for scouting and pathfinding. These bikes exist to provide the opportunity for the





players to draw off and confuse the convoy (they’re the most mobile, and the most likely to be pulled off of the larger group). Large personnel and cargo carriers, armored but lightly armed, used for transporting non-prisoners or evidence. These vehicles exist to provide a large amount of potential contraband for the players to search through, providing possible rewards as well as the opportunity to disguise the players’ intentions. Medium-sized prisoner transport speeders, used to transport convicts. These speeders exist to provide the players with their greatest (on-foot) combat challenge as well as potential allies (prisoners who want to be freed).

As one of the earliest production model designs in Bespin Motors swoop bike series, the JR-4 has seen use in many corners of the galaxy. With its relative agedness, the JR-4 has mostly been relegated to second-hand markets in the Outer Rim. However, it’s a rugged, reliable bike and it remains a very effective vehicle for the price.

2 SILHOUETTE

3 SPEED

+1 HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

3

ARMOR

0 3

SS. THRESHOLD

Maximum Altitude: 550 meters Sensor Range: None Passenger Capacity: One pilot Cost/Rarity: 2,800 credits/3 Customization Hard Points: 1 Weapons: None

More commonly seen in the Corporate Sector, the JX40 is a TaggeCo make popular in many areas with law enforcement personnel. It runs double duty as both a prisoner transport vehicle as well as a riot control vehicle.

3 SILHOUETTE

1 SPEED

-1 HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

6

all, Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Stun Damage, Disorient 1, Knockdown]

SoroSuub’s APC-2 was a testbed of features for a military personnel carrier. While it saw limited use in the ground forces of the Rebel Alliance, ultimately, the vehicle never saw widespread adoption due to its perceived lack of armament relative to its size.

4

1

-3

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

22

ARMOR

5 18

SS. THRESHOLD

Maximum Altitude: 5 meters Sensor Range: Close Passenger Capacity: Four crew and up to 30 combat-equipped troops Cost/Rarity: 61,000 credits/(R) 7 Customization Hard Points: 6 Weapons: Auto-Blaster [Fire Arc forward, Damage 3, Critical 5, Range: Close, Auto-Fire], Beam Turret [Fire Arc all, Damage 8 (Personal Scale), Critical 4, Range: Close, Accurate 2, Prepare 1] Approaches to capturing the datacard

ARMOR

0 7

The Ambush:

SS. THRESHOLD

Maximum Altitude: 10 meters Sensor Range: Close Passenger Capacity: Two crew, 40 prisoners Cost/Rarity: 24,000 credits/(R) 5 Customization Hard Points: 0 Weapons: (All these weapons use personal scale, not planetary scale) Grenade Launcher [Fire Arc forward, Damage 8, Critical N/A, Range: Medium, Disorient 3, Stun Damage, Blast 8], Steam Jets [Fire Arc left or right, Damage 8, Critical 4, Range: Short, Stun Damage, Burn 3, Blast 8], Stun Panels [Fire Arc

The swamps of Rodia are filled with rolling hills, misty rivers, and thick treelines, and there should be ample opportunity for the players to ambush the convoy. How the players approach this puzzle may widely vary. The convoy isn’t there just to transport the datacard that Lt. Bonuda wants – it’s carrying various types of contraband and material evidence, probably drugs, weapons, and other confiscated goods.

These civilian workmen have been hired to pilot and guard the convoy en route to the city of Karsteeku.

2

2

2

2

1

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

W. THRESHOLD

3

12

S. THRESHOLD

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Likes: Family, Bribery Dislikes: Criminals, Delays Skills: Gunnery 1, Piloting (Planetary) 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Survival 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Quick Draw (Once per round, may draw or holster a weapon as an incidental) Abilities: None Equipment: Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting]

There are approximately a dozen of these prisoners held in the cells aboard the JX40. They’ve been incarcerated for a variety of crimes.

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

2

2

2

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

12

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Freedom, Food, Revenge Dislikes: PSF, Taking orders Skills: Brawl, Deception, Ranged (Light), Skulduggery, Survival Talents: Lethal Blows 1 (Add +10 per rank of Lethal Blows to any Critical Injury inflicted on opponents) Abilities: None Equipment: None

The convoy is also carrying a speeder full of prisoners en route to more permanent detention elsewhere. Any of these things may play a part in what the players discover as they attempt to retrieve the datapad. The convoy guards are only civilians, hired the by PSF to traffic their secure goods from place to place. While the guards don’t have any love for the criminal element, they’re not as disciplined as PSF officers, and they may be susceptible to bribery, trickery, or threats. The Battle: Although the convoy is well-protected, as a combat obstacle it is not insurmountable. The Jailspeeders are designed to combat enemies on foot, and against more armored obstacles, it may have problems. The Hovernauts do have a light blaster that could be effective against armored vehicles or ships (although its weaponry for use against ground troops is inferior to the Jailspeeder). The primary challenge of direct combat against the convoy is that it’s relatively heavily armored. To effectively engage the convoy in battle, the players would likely want to recruit help from local paramilitary forces – perhaps one of the prisoners is an incarcerated member of an underworld organization. In any case, for a more conventional attack, the players will need to have several vehicles on hand.

The Heist: If the players wait long enough that the convoy makes it all the way back to the PSF headquarters in Karsteeku, the players will either have to break into the PSF or give up on retrieving the datacard entirely (in which case, the police will track down Bonuda, forcing the final confrontation anyway). Breaking in to the PSF headquarters will be a challenge, only aided by the fact that it’s located in the busy Administrative District, near the Government Seat. Civilians are in and out of the large police building frequently, as they’re there to report as witnesses, be interviewed as suspects, or work as civilian contractors. Access to the police station beyond the firstfloor lobby is funneled through a security checkpoint, ensuring that no one (besides onduty police) is armed.

If the players manage to search through all the Hovernauts or make it to wherever the datacard is stored in PSF headquarters, it should be trivial to find what they’re looking for (although it may take additional effort if they’re trying to disguise what they’re looking for from prying eyes). When the players do find the datacard, they’ll need to return it to Bonuda per their instructions, but they’ll make a choice – whether they look at the datacard or simply leave it untouched, as Bonuda instructed. How they treat the datacard will determine how the remainder of the adventure turns out. If they inspect the datacard at all, they should be privy to the contents of its holorecord: The holorecording flickers to life, showing the view of a darkened office. In one corner of the room, a messy pile of clothes sits at the foot of a couch-turned-makeshift-cot. The glow of a nearby computer terminal shines across the face of the form on the bed – it is the recently murdered scientist. You can see the Rodian woman tossing and turning in her sleep, a data cylinder clasped tightly in her left hand. Suddenly, a sliver of light extends through the bottom of the recording, and then it disappears just as quickly. Another Rodian enters the view of the recording, a larger figure than the woman, wearing the sharply-cut grey and green of the Rodian PSF.

The new figure moves quickly to the desk and computer terminal, hurriedly searches through the computer’s files. As the light of the monitor dances across the room, however, you can see the Rodian woman slowly wake up and look at the source of the activity, and then her eyes go wide. She sits up straight and says something, and the Rodian at the computer squares off to her and draws a small holdout blaster. The woman backs up further into the couch and offers her hand forward, the data cylinder extended. The Rodian with the gun looks at it, considering, and then with a swift motion, grabs the cylinder and shoots the woman twice in the chest. The holorecording ends as the assailant walks out of the room, and as he turns, you can clearly see his face – the face of Lt. Bonuda.

There are two basic directions the adventure can go from here: 1. The players ignore, destroy, or otherwise pay no mind to the datacard (e.g. they simply deliver it to Bonuda without looking at it, they never pick it up at all, or they view it and it doesn’t affect what they do) 2. The players view the datacard and opt to bring Bonuda to justice The path they take, absent moral direction, may depend greatly on what the players feel will benefit them the most. They should feel free to contact their employer and pass on this

information to him. In that case, their employer should view this as a betrayal – his agent, Lt. Bonuda, murdered one of his scientists and stole something from her. He will be happy to modify the players’ contract to encompass bringing Lt. Bonuda to justice (legally or extralegally). The players, if motivated by justice, may decide to involve themselves with the PSF to detain Bonuda, armed with the knowledge of his hideout. In this case, that proposition might be complicated if the players were discovered as being part of an attack on the PSF convoy. Essentially, the players will either be in Bonuda’s camp (ignorantly or knowingly) or opposed to him. This will set up for a confrontation between Bonuda and the PSF.

If the players are in the group attacking the warehouse The scene is set for a confrontation between the local law enforcement (the PSF) and the fugitive agent. The players, one way or another, will have facilitated this.

The timing of this should largely be under the players’ control, allowing them to make early strategic decisions.

They will likely have:

The ultimate goal of the attacking forces will be the apprehension of Lt. Bonuda.









Turned on the agent, knowing his crimes, involving either the PSF or their employer Returned the datacard to the agent, unaware of his crimes, leading the PSF to his hideout (via tracking device in the datapad) Returned the datacard to the agent, aware of his crimes, leading the PSF to his hideout Destroyed or disposed of the datacard (or never got it in the first place), but will have been tailed or surveilled in such a way that leads the PSF to the hideout

So other than the players, there will be the PSF and their men (and/or their employer and his men) as well as Bonuda and his men involved in a conflict. How the players participate is largely arbitrary, organizationally, although the GM will likely want to balance one side or the other to make it more or less of a challenge for the players. The attackers in this scenario (the PSF or the players’ employer’s forces) will have the advantage of numbers, while the defenders will have the advantage of strategic positioning and fortification. The PSF can’t bring too heavy a hand down here, since it’s in the middle of the city.

If the players are in the group defending the warehouse As soon as the players return and cast in their lot with Bonuda, he should alert them to the incoming PSF forces: “You made sure not to tamper with this, right? Whatever you did, or didn’t do, it looks like we’re in hot water. The proximity sensor I’ve got set up a block from here shows PSF forces moving in on foot. We’re going to have company.” The ultimate goal of the defending forces will be the successful defeat of the PSF forces or the escape of Bonuda – Bonuda himself will encourage the players to help him run, especially if they look like they’re in a bad place.

Lt. See Bonuda, formerly of the Rodian Planetside Security Force, has been in the employ of Ranem Tiiv and Tyrius Sysworks for years as an informant from inside the PSF. Under blackmail, Bonuda took a job from one of Tiiv’s corporate enemies, murdering a scientist and stealing some of her research data for his blackmailer.

2

4

2

3

2

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

3

W. THRESHOLD

15

S. THRESHOLD

14

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Subterfuge, Bith music, Efficiency Dislikes: Sloppy work Skills: Charm 1, Cool 1, Deception 2, Discipline 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 1, Perception 1, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Ranged (Light) 2, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Adversary 1, Strong Arm (Treat thrown weapons as if they had 1 greater range), True Aim 1 (once per round, may perform a True Aim maneuver to gain benefits of aiming and upgrade combat check once per rank), Deadly Accuracy (Add damage equal to ranks in Ranged (Light) made to combat checks using that skill), Clever Solution (Once per session, make one skill check using Cunning rather than the characteristic linked to that skill) Abilities: None Equipment: Modified Heavy Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Accurate 1, Innate Talent: Quick Draw, Stun Setting], Frag Grenade [Ranged (Light), Damage 8, Critical 4, Range: Short, Blast 6, Limited Ammo 3], Armor-Piercing Grenade [Ranged (Light), Damage 16, Critical 3, Range: Short, Blast 3, Pierce 3], Comlink

One of the various mercenaries hired by See Bonuda to defend his safe house.

3

3

2

2

2

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

3

W. THRESHOLD

12

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Prompt payment, gambling Dislikes: Small cities, businessmen Skills: Brawl 1, Cool 1, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Skulduggery 1 Talents: Body Guard 1 (Once per round, may perform a Body Guard maneuver on any character in Engaged range – suffer Strain no greater than ranks in Body Guard, and until the start of this character’s turn, combat checks against target upgraded by strain suffered) Abilities: None Equipment: Blaster Carbine [Ranged (Heavy), Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting], Comlink

An officer with the Rodian PSF. Can be used as a trooper in service to Ranem Tiiv as well.

2

3

2

2

1

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

3

W. THRESHOLD

12

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Order, Compliance Dislikes: Conflict Skills: Coercion 1, Cool 1, Discipline 1, Negotiation 1, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Streetwise 1, Vigilance 2 Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: PSF Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 6, Critical 4, Range: Medium, Accurate 1, Stun Setting], Stun Grenade [Ranged (Light), Damage 8, Critical N/A, Range: Short, Disorient 3, Stun Damage, Blast 8, Limited Ammo 2], Comlink In most scenarios, Bonuda will be incapacitated and (if alive) taken into PSF or Tiiv’s custody. Once this is resolved, the players’ employer will pay them the following: 





500 credits per person on the team (i.e. a team of four would be paid 2000 credits) 1500 credits extra if they approached him first about the discovery of Bonuda’s betrayal 500 credits extra if they can deliver the evidence datacard to him

Should Lt. Bonuda and his mercenaries win, he’ll try to flee the city, knowing that the jig is up. If the players aided him, he may rely on their aid to escape.

This may (especially if the players aided him after knowing what he did) lead to a rift with their original employer (Ranem Tiiv). He will pay them less (depending on their culpability), and in that case, Bonuda may need to be the one to reward the players (on a similar scale, for different reasons). If continued from in later adventures, if the players draw the ire of Ranem Tiiv, their employer may be switched with his rival, Bollin the Grey.

Wealth. Power. Many dream of the situation in life that they afford. They yearn for the glitz and the glamour of the lifestyle. However, one never makes it to the top of the heap without accruing a few enemies – often very substantial nemeses. There’s a certain dance that must be done, though. Powerful people rarely meet each other face-toface; they employ intermediaries to do the dirty work. When one such man finds that an opponent of his has stolen something precious, it’s up to a group of hired hands to recover it from on top of the world…

The players have been hired by a businessman1 of significant influence in the local system2 to purloin (or otherwise acquire) an item stolen from him by a rival. The businessman knows the approximate location of the item and has identified an advantageous time to make a move – a gala hosted by the rival3. The players will know the location and time of the gala, an evening affair in a high-rise building in the middle of town. The target of their heist4 will be on display during the party, and the players will have to finagle a way to either sneak in to the gala or get to the item behind its security. If and when the players make it into the party, they’ll have to use their wits and cunning to take the lay of the land and figure out the best way to steal it and escape the party. If the players manage to escape unhindered with the item, they’ll be handsomely rewarded, but they’ll have a huge number of party guests, security, building staff, and other distractions that could get in their way.

(Substitute as necessary) 1

The employer/businessman: Ranem “The Glove” Tiiv, owner of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate (depending on the outcome of “Justice Be Served,” this may be switched with Bollin the Grey) 2 The local system: Tyrius System, home to the planet Rodia 3 The rival: Bollin the Grey, owner of Rodian Interfreight (depending on the outcome of “Justice Be Served,” this may be switched with Ranem Tiiv) 4 The item: A data cylinder, originally stolen (in “Justice Be Served”) from the murdered Dr. Tan (depending on the outcome of “Beyond the River”)

The players start their adventure in Karsteeku, a medium-sized city on Rodia. Ranem Tiiv, their employer, has provided them a datacard with the specifics of their contract: Contract for: Retrieval of Dr. Tan’s research data cylinder. A thief has stolen a data cylinder critical to an ongoing research project and delivered it to a business rival, Bollin the Grey. The data cylinder is of an ancient design, and Bollin plans on displaying it, along with other trophies, at a gala he’s holding above his personal museum in the Redswamp Terrace tower.

Recovery of the cylinder must be made under two conditions – first, that the cylinder remain undamaged. Second, the operation cannot be tied to Ranem Tiiv or Tyrius Sysworks. Gala entry is limited to a closely guarded invite list, made at the behest of Bollin and Rodian Interfreight. The only other people with likely access will be building staff and any hires made specifically for the event. The gala is tomorrow evening at 2200 hours and is planned to run until 2900 hours. This limited window of time represents the best opportunity to obtain the data cylinder before it’s put back in deep storage in Bollin’s museum vault.

The players should start this mission with Ranem Tiiv, as he’s being fitted for an expensive suit: “This mission’s very personally important to me, you must understand. That Bollin’s stolen from me is something I can’t tolerate, and he knows I’ve got to act on it.” “I’ll be at the gala, as one of Bollin’s guests. He couldn’t resist the chance to rub my nose in it. That’ll just give you a better cover, though, so the mistake is his.” “I can’t say how you might make it in, but you’ve probably got three ways of going about it – find an invitation of your own, find some way to get hired for the event, or find some way to sneak in unnoticed. Best of luck – you’ll need it.” There are really only two likely places to steal the data cylinder from – at the gala or in the museum vault. Either way, attending the gala is the best chance to reconnoiter the area, since the museum is a private museum, usually closed to all but the personal guests of Bollin the Grey. The gala represents a chance for all invitees to see the museum as well as the collection of rare artifacts Bollin’s bringing out from his vault. To get into the gala, there are three primary avenues – come in as part of the help, find or acquire an invitation, or sneak or break in undetected – and of course the players may come up with their own very different plan.

Legal Entanglements If the players have made trouble with the Karsteeku authorities, this step may be further complicated. While Bollin the Grey manages his own security, he – like most successful entrepreneurs –manages a fairly amicable relationship with the planet’s police force as a matter of course. Sneak In Very little in the way of advance preparation can be done for simply sneaking in completely undetected (versus entering by visible subterfuge). Redswamp Terrace, the building in which the gala is being held, is 64 stories tall, the top floor of which is the site for the gala. The gala floor, home to an observation deck and Bollin the Grey’s private restaurant (Skyfloor Café), is located immediately above his personal museum, and both are closed to the public.

RODIAN INTERFREIGHT Rodian Interfreight, owned and managed by Bollin the Grey, is a large shipping and manufacturing corporation in the Tyrius system and the chief business rival of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate. While they maintain a headquarters in parts unknown, they do have a substantial presence in the Market Sector of Karsteeku, a shipping hub on Rodia. In addition to widely-available cargo hauling services, they specialize in the development of auxiliary ship systems for niche users, including such products as specialty sensor packages, slave circuitry, and communications jamming devices.

The top floor is accessible only from the dual lift tubes that run up the outside of the building and via the supply dock at the back of the kitchens. The external faces of the building are relatively unguarded – the Rodian PSF patrols do intermittently patrol the skies of Kartsteeku, but there are no special exterior security devices. The building itself is surrounded by several buildings, all of which are at least twenty floors shorter than Redswamp Terrace. Find an Invitation Finding an invitation will require the greatest amount of political maneuvering, given the exclusivity of the invites. Because of their limited guest lists, the events are considered a social windfall and invitations are highly soughtafter. Knowing this, Bollin’s treats his invitations as they are – hot commodities.

with two or three tickets to distribute as they see fit. Each ticket is going to be marked based off of how the ticket was acquired, with the tickets given to personal acquaintances being labeled by name. These tickets are slightly more valuable, as security’s been told to afford Bollin’s friends more leeway than might be offered to other guests. Impersonate the Help While the facilities at Redswamp Terrace are enviably well-staffed, throwing a gala of this size has required Bollin to acquire several different sources of outside help. 

Most invitees are personal friends or business partners of Bollin the Grey. Unless the players manage to quickly build a rapport with Bollin or his associates, it’d be very difficult to get a ticket directly from Bollin. On the other hand, Bollin also uses the invitations as social and entrepreneurial currency. Bollin’s company, Rodian Interfreight, has been courting several investors in a nascent starship development technologies project. This is an open secret, and other invitees may know that Bollin’s been generous with invitations to those who might be able to support his project financially. Bollin also bribes local businesses and institutions with packages of tickets they can raffle off amongst themselves – for example, Bollin usually provides the local branch of the Rodian Planetary Security Force (the police)





Private security: Bollin’s personal building security detail is taking care of most of the security arrangements, but they’ve contracted out a small portion to local security forces. All security personnel are required to submit to a background check, given that they’ll have the greatest amount of freedom to move around the gala once it’s started Betu Symphonic Ensemble: The evening’s entertainment (outside of Bollin’s presentation) is to be handled by this touring ensemble, comprised of two dozen musicians from all over the continent of Betu. Starflash Catering: This upscale catering company is providing and serving an evening’s worth of small-plate dishes. They’ll take over the kitchens and bar on the upper floor of Redswamp Terrace. Given the vast number of unscreened individuals in this group, they’ll have the least amount of access outside the areas they’re assigned to.

Bollin the Grey’s gala is a night-long affair. It is largely a free-flowing social event, with dancing, dining, and conversation anticipated for the whole period. Bollin has, however, scheduled a few important individual events:

The guests at Bollin’s gala come from many different walks of life, although they usually tend to be drawn from the well-to-do of Rodian society.

2

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

Gala doors open Welcome speech Private museum opened Betu Symphonic Ensemble – Organ Concerto Presentation of rare artifacts Private museum closed Gala doors close

2200 hours 2300 hours 2315 hours 2500 hours 2630 hours 2800 hours

3

2

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

2

9

S. THRESHOLD

3 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Likes: Flattery, Stories, Food Dislikes: Lower social strata, Bad manners Skills: Charm, Cool, Knowledge (Core Worlds), Knowledge (Outer Rim) Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Datapad, Comlink

2900 hours

Bollin’s main event for the night is the presentation of several rare artifacts, including the data cylinder the players seek. He plans on bringing this up, from the vault in his museum, for observation and presentation on the main stage about midway through the party. Typically, Bollin also opens up his usuallyprivate museum to guests at his party. It’s open for the lion’s share of the gala, although it isn’t opened until the party is already underway and it closes before the gala finishes. The gala is populated by more than a hundred attendees, building staff and security, and additional hired help (security, musicians, food service). Non-security personnel at the gala will be requested to check their weaponry at the lobby, to be returned upon their departure.

These are Bollin’s personal security forces. There are only a handful of these present, and they’ll take leadership roles amongst the other hired security. They’ll also be the security assigned to all non-public areas.

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

3

2

3

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

11

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Order, Quiet, Drink Dislikes: Gala guests, Humans Skills: Brawl 1, Coerce 1, Discipline 1, Ranged (Light) 2, Vigilance 1 Talents: None Abilities: On Duty (security forces working with this character gain when making Vigilance or Perception checks) Equipment: Heavy Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting], Bolas [Ranged (Light), Damage 2, Critical N/A, Range: Short, Ensnare 3, Knockdown, Limited Ammo 2]

Hired through various security or securityrelated postings, they supplement the building’s security for the night of the gala.

3

2

2

2

1

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

W. THRESHOLD

2

10

S. THRESHOLD

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Likes: Bribes, Relaxing Dislikes: Being bossed around Skills: Brawl, Ranged (Light), Streetwise, Vigilance Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting], Shock Gloves [Brawl, Damage 3, Critical 5, Range: Engaged, Stun 3]

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

2

3

2

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

9

S. THRESHOLD

-

3

2

3

4

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

4

These are the various musicians, caterers, and any other non-security employees working the party.

2

Bollin, owner of Rodian Interfreight, is a somewhat-corpulent green-grey Rodian male. He’s successfully managed his family’s company and expanded it from what was originally just a cargo-hauling business into a sector-wide transportation, manufactory, and smuggling enterprise. His closest business rival is Ranem Tiiv, owner of the Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate, and the two have been sniping at each other’s success for over a decade.

3 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Courtesy, Efficiency, Hard workers Dislikes: Surprises, Interruptions Skills: Charm, Cool, Coordination, Discipline, Knowledge (Education) Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Cooking equipment or musical instruments, Datapad

W. THRESHOLD

16

S. THRESHOLD

14

M/R DEFENSE

0 1

Likes: Classical orchestra, Sweet foods, Coruscanti culture and the Empire Dislikes: Ranem Tiiv and associates, Carelessness, Compassion Skills: Charm 1, Coercion 3, Cool 1, Deception 2, Discipline 2, Knowledge (Education) 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 2, Leadership 1, Melee 2, Negotiation 2, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Skulduggery 1, Streetwise 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Supreme Scathing Tirade (As a maneuver, may make an Average ( ) Coercion check. Each causes one enemy in short range to suffer 1 strain and take a for 3 rounds. Spend to cause one affected enemy to suffer 1 additional strain.), Nobody’s Fool 2 (May upgrade difficulty of incoming Charm, Coercion, and Deception checks twice.) Abilities: Adversary 1 Equipment: Heavy Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting], Neuronic Whip [Melee, Damage 4, Critical 4, Range: Short, Disorient 4, Ensnare 1, Stun Damage], Armored clothing, P-2 Pocket Attache (Slicing into this requires passing a Daunting ( ) Computers check)

The gala hall is itself a wide-open space with a large fountain in the center. A semicircular staircase leads down to the central hall of Bollin’s private museum.

ensemble to perform from. They sit behind the speaker’s podium, with a large curtain dividing the two areas. Two substantial columns of chairs sit before the podium and stage.

There is one primary entrance to the gala hall – the front lobby, which is reached by traveling up to the 64th floor of Redswamp Terrace in one of two transparisteel lift tubes. A secondary entrance to the building is through the kitchen via a cargo landing pad on the exterior of the building.

Behind locked doors lies a hallway with Bollin’s executive office, an accounting office, and a monitoring station for Rodian Interfreight’s orbital and planetary holdings.

The café, normally an open area surrounding a long bar, is filled with several large tables for dining guests. The café’s regular seating area, a large open space on the veranda, is also open for seating and milling around. Several long performance risers have been erected on the stage for the symphonic

The hallway wraps around the outside of the building to a secure lift tube leading down to the offices adjacent to the Curiosities Museum. The hallway is monitored by several ceilingmounted security cameras.

Bollin’s Curiosities Museum, his private storehouse for trophies collected from various places across the galaxy, is located one floor immediately below the gala hall. Similar to the gala hall, it is only really accessible through the front entrance, which is the 63rd floor stop of Redswamp Terrace’s twin external turbolifts. Normally, the building is completely closed off to the public, but during the gala, guests can also access the museum by traveling down the central staircase from the gala hall floor into the main hall of the museum. The museum has several different wings, each containing a variety of treasures – for example, the Hall of Arms contains weapons both modern and ancient, while the Hall of the Hunt contains trophies from various hunting excursions. To the chagrin of Bollin’s collections manager, the displays are chosen based more

off of aesthetics than any real academically rigorous sorting. A large portion of the museum is located behind locked doors, however. Besides the turbolift that leads from the gala hall secure zone into the museum secure zone, two hidden doors (one in the Hall of Arms and one in Special Collections) lead back into the secure hallway, which is again monitored by ceiling holocams. Behind those doors sits the main security station and storage for the museum and gala, as well as a research lab where new acquisitions are catalogued and evaluated. Several large storage rooms sit in the collections storage area, and in the center of those rooms a secure turbolift can take museum staff directly to Bollin’s vault, the location of his most precious or valuable items.

When 2630 arrives, Bollin will make his presentation of rare artifacts. This will entail the artifacts being brought up from his personal vault in a series of crates, through the museum secure hallway, out into the special collections wing of the museum, up through the circular staircase connecting the museum with the gala hall, and onto the gala hall floor. The crates will be arrayed on stage for a grand unveiling following a short, self-congratulatory speech made by Bollin. While at the gala, the players may run into several different types of people. How these encounters proceed will depend heavily on the role players are taking at the party – guest, staff, or otherwise. Optional Encounters These optional encounters can be used as incentives to act, fulfillments of Advantage or Threat, or simply to set the tone of the scene. The party is an opportunity to introduce many different social interactions, including those related to player Obligation or Morality. Random Security Sweep The Redswamp Terrace guards always get a little bit twitchy whenever these large parties are thrown. They’d prefer the quiet and security of day-to-day operations, and they’re doing random security checks on guests to make sure they aren’t carrying anything they shouldn’t be. A Familiar Face The players recognize Ranem Tiiv on the gala floor. Tiiv is there because, despite being Bollin’s business enemy, he’s still widelyinfluential, and Bollin knows the two need to play nice in the public eye. Plus, Bollin knows it’ll burn Tiiv up to see the data cylinder he “liberated” from Tiiv’s possession. Tiiv will do his best to maintain his distance from the

players – he’s got to be very careful when Bollin has his eyes on him. The Infatuated Lush For whatever reason, one of the players has caught the eye of an extraordinarily drunk guest. He or she is unwilling to leave the player alone, and subtle clues seem to be just beyond his or her reach. A Bump in the Night One of the guests, fresh off of an argument, runs into one of the players. Despite the fact that the player isn’t at fault, the angry guest starts to raise her voice and accuse the player of “trying to start something.” Even worse, the angry guest may be a personal friend of Bollin the Grey and attempt to pull him into the confrontation. The Medical Emergency While eating or drinking, one of the guests falls over or falls unconscious. The fallen guest’s proximity to the player(s) causes other guests to either cast suspicion or foist responsibility on the player(s). Host With the Most One or more of the players is noticed by Bollin, their host, and he is pleased by the player(s)’s service or presence. He offers to buy the player(s) a drink – and refusal would just be rude! The drink he offers is a strong one, and it may test the player(s)’s Resilience.

Once the players have worked out a plan to take the data cylinder, they’ll need to put it into action. This may be occurring alongside events from the previous section, of course. If the players manage to steal the data cylinder before its presentation at 2630, and no one notices, once the presentation rolls around, the situation will become very chaotic. Bollin and his security force will lock down the whole gala and begin hastily searching guests. Otherwise, the missing item will likely not be noticed until the next morning, when one of the museum employees makes his rounds. Once the rare artifacts are being moved from the museum vault to the gala hall floor, they’ll be accompanied by at least two security personnel at all times, and they’ll be traveling through corridors monitored by holocameras. Once onto the museum floor, there will likely be assorted gala guests viewing the various exhibits, although it will probably have emptied out a little, in anticipation of the presentation upstairs. Once the rare items are upstairs, Bollin will make his presentation. It includes:  

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A data cylinder of ancient design (the object of the players’ designs) A holonovel penned by a blind Gand, Ymiz Varr, one of only two copies known to exist A four-thousand year old prototype of a pulse-wave blaster, one of the first items out of Merr-Sonn Munitions A set of memory engrams from a preClone Wars war droid

Bollin will spend a few minutes describing each item, with a hurried rush through the description of the data cylinder – it’s here because he knows it’s valuable to Ranem Tiiv, but his scientists haven’t worked out its secrets yet. Following his presentation, the rare items will be re-boxed and brought back downstairs and to the vault in the same way they came. The museum will close one hour before the gala wraps up, and it will stay closed and largely unoccupied until the morning. Once closed, several security systems will be in place – in addition to the holocams that are monitored by the always-on-duty monitor in the security office, there is a floor-level motion sensing grid and a noise detection monitor. The only security personnel present after closing time are stationed at the facility lobbies and in the security station – there are none on the museum floor. If, in the process of stealing the data cylinder, the players alert security, Bollin’s security will respond immediately and attempt to incapacitate the thieves. If an automatic alarm is triggered (door lock, motion sensor, etc.), the local police – the Rodian Planetary Security Force – will respond as well, with a slightly delayed reaction time but greater resources (i.e. airspeeders, etc.). Bollin’s security may opt to call the PSF if it looks like the players are getting away.

If the players are caught or incapacitated in their attempt: 

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If caught by Bollin’s men, they’ll turn them over to the PSF in anticipation of Bollin dealing with them later. The players will earn 3 points each of the Bounty obligation to Bollin the Grey as well as 2 points of Criminal obligation with the PSF. If caught by the PSF, the players will be incarcerated in the local PSF prison, pending a trial. The players will each earn 4 points of Criminal obligation with the PSF.

In any case of being caught, Ranem Tiiv will use his influence or resources to surreptitiously remove the players from PSF custody. In most cases, the players should still be able to keep the data cylinder with their personal effects, given its unobtrusive appearance. However the adventure resolves, if the players can successfully turn over the data cylinder to Ranem Tiiv, they’ll be rewarded with:  

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1000 credits per person on the team for the return of the data cylinder 500 credits per person on the team if the operation was undiscovered (i.e. it wasn’t noticed until the next morning during inventory) as well as up to 5 points of Obligation reduction or 5 points of Duty per person. -500 credits per person on the team if the group had to be rescued from capture -200 credits per person on the team if the data cylinder was damaged

The void of interstellar space holds innumerable secrets. Despite the thousands of years of travel in the stars, the galaxy has remained unsearchably vast and many mysteries have remained impenetrably sealed. When a group of researchers make a breakthrough in the study of a historical artifact, one of these lost treasures seems to be within reach. Their employer reaches out to a group of space travelers to enlist their aid in recovering this prize from beyond the veil…

The players have been hired by a businessman1 of significant influence in a nearby system2 to hunt down a lost starship3 hidden in deep space. A research team employed by the businessman has deciphered the purpose of a historical artifact, and it should be able to lead the players to the vessel. The players will take the artifact and perform a series of hyperspace jumps to reach the location of the ship. Once there, the players will need to navigate an asteroid field home to several large creatures to reach the ship itself. To recover the vessel, a large capital ship, the players will have to land and attempt to slave the ship to a control program created by their employer. However, to do this they’ll need to navigate through the ship’s defenses to reach the bridge, the location the control program needs to be used from. As the players attempt to leave, a gigantic creature, the predator to the creatures encountered earlier, will attempt to attack the ship. The players will need to defeat or flee this creature to exit the asteroid field and make it safely to hyperspace.

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The employer/businessman: Ranem “The Glove” Tiiv, owner of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate The local system: Tyrius System, home to the planet Rodia 3 The starship: The Shadow’s Wing, a Rendili StarDrive Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser 2

The players start their adventure at Rodia, either in orbit or on the ground. They’ve received a boxy device with a data cylinder at its core along with their contract from Ranem Tiiv, their employer: Contract for: Retrieval of Dreadnaught Shadow’s Wing.

the

lost

Subsequent to the recovery of a data cache from an abandoned development facility, the device you now have was researched and engineered. In the process of analyzing the contents and technology behind the data cylinder at its core, it was discovered to be a key of sorts to a prototypical Rendili Dreadnaught-class vessel.

Further analysis has yielded what is believed to be the test course plotted by the dreadnaught, the Shadow’s Wing, on its first and only voyage. Additional data recovered from the cache suggests that this vessel may be uniquely engineered, although the details appear to be lost to corrupted data. The Shadow’s Wing is likely to be at or on one of its planned stops on its course. Records show that the vessel departed from Rodia over one hundred years ago, but it never reached its final destination of Christophsis. Once there, sync this device with the main flight control console to provide the slave programming you’ll need to fly it back to Rodia.

The players are tasked with following the last known course of the dreadnaught Shadow’s Wing. It’s a four-jump course from Rodia to Christophsis, and by following the path (or by tracing it backwards from Christophsis), the players will find the location of the lost dreadnaught. If the players don’t have their own ship, in addition to providing them with the datacylinder-device, Ranem Tiiv will loan them a ship, his Pointing Finger.

Ranem Tiiv has loaned this small freighter to the players to enable them to search for the lost dreadnaught. It’s a small vessel with oversized engines and minimal space, but it’ll get the job done.

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Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 1, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Short Passenger Capacity: 6, crew included Cost/Rarity: 80,000 credits/5 Customization Hard Points: 1 Weapons: One Dorsal and One Ventral TurretMounted Dual Medium Laser Cannon [Fire Arc All, Damage 6, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Close] Each of the jumps along the course necessitates an Average ( ) Astrogation check, although the circumstances of the jump may modify this (e.g. if the check is made as the players flee a stop). There are five positions on the dreadnaught’s course – Rodia, the first stop, the second stop, the third stop, and Christophsis. If the players

travel between the second stop and the third stop (in any order), they’ll be dragged out of hyperspace into the debris field where the lost dreadnaught sits. The First Stop The Shadow’s Wing made its first stop in an insignificant system. There are no settlements in this system, although at the edge of the system, in orbit of the seventh planet, there’s a large, dilapidated sensor station. Once used for deep-space monitoring, the station has fallen into disrepair and is now a home for several scraggly Sullustans. If the players investigate the station, they’ll encounter the Sullustans, who won’t be hostile, but will treat the station as theirs and try to barter with the players for access. If the players get a chance to access the computers on the station, they will be able to verify that the Shadow’s Wing stopped in-system and left approximately 102 years ago (~100 BBY). Checking the station logs may reveal the last recorded communication the sensor station had with the Shadow’s Wing: “Captain Mirrital of Shadow’s Wing to Deep Space Sensor Outpost Cresh-Niner, did our – agh! – did our sensor profile appear as we’d indicated?” “Confirmed, Shadow’s Wing. Are you okay, captain?” “Aye, Cresh-Niner, just a bout of headaches. One of the command crew must have picked something up on Rodia, migranes seem to be going around. Thanks for your assistance, Shadow’s Wing out.”

Interfacing the device they have or the hyperspace course they know with the station’s sensors should verify the probable location of the Shadow’s Wing – a gravitational anomaly in between the second and third stops. With this information, attempting to fly directly to the anomaly will be possible, although the check will now be an Average ( ) Astrogation check. Even if the players ignore the sensor station, it should eventually be clear that the ship they’re searching for is not in this system. The Second Stop The second planned stop of the Shadow’s Wing was in a large nebula (in the fashion of a large, obscuring cloud in space). They made the stop to disguise their route in the past, but in the present, the nebula is a haven for piratical spacers and other criminals. Piloting in the nebula will incur a on any checks. Players attempting to scan the system for the dreadnaught will have to make a Hard ( ) Perception (sensors) check. Rolls with high Threat ( +) should incur some sort of encounter with the pirates, who will be flying small snubfighters or transports. The Perception check may be attempted more than once, but each time it is attempted, it will be upgraded – the danger of bouncing an active sensor signal off of one of the pirates’ sensors increases the more it’s done. Success on the Perception (sensors) check will reveal that the Shadow’s Wing isn’t in the system, but there are several old escape pods left from the Shadow’s Wing’s arrival one hundred years ago. Inspecting the contents of the escape pods would reveal that the

occupants are simply desiccated corpses with no signs of disease or malady. The Third Stop The Shadow’s Wing’s final stop before Christophsis was at a massive spacedock in interstellar space. The hidden Rendili facility was once large enough to handle several capital ships at once, although an unfortunate encounter with a comet many years ago has turned the station into a derelict. Sensors should be unable to penetrate the shell of the station (at least in such a way that it would identify any ship there). To check for the presence of the Shadow’s Wing, pilots would have to fly into the shell of the station, which is littered with wrecked flightways and floating debris. All piloting checks through the space dock’s superstructure will be upgraded at least once, no matter the speed, and the check will have added to it. A flythrough of the space dock will reveal that there are no ships left in the wreckage. If players are so inclined, the location of the facility may be of value to their employer, though. Arriving at the Shadow’s Wing Whatever the order, as soon as the players travel on a path between the second and third stop (or they head directly there pending discovery at the sensor station), a gravitational anomaly – an extraordinarily dense asteroid field – will pull them out of hyperspace. One of the first things the players will notice is that the display on the device with the data cylinder starts flashing. It will indicate a point in the middle of the asteroid field as the location of the Shadow’s Wing, although it won’t show up on sensors.

Best known as a “space slug,” the exogorth is a massive gastropod that makes its home in asteroids and planetoids in outer space. Typically sedentary, they feed off of whatever mineral-rich environment makes up their current home. While they have been known to consume ships for their metal content, they are usually unaggressive unless provoked.

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Then, as you travel deeper, you see more blips on your sensor board, and more blips. The asteroid thicket is filled with slugs, most of which are large enough to swallow your ship whole. For the time being, though, they don’t seem to react to your ship. They seem content to continue consuming the raw material of the asteroid field.

PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

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Likes: Rocks, Metal Dislikes: Heat, Blasters Skills: Brawl 2, Resilience 4, Vigilance 1 Talents: Adversary 1 Abilities: Colossal (Uses Armor instead of Soak, Hull and System Trauma instead of Wounds and Strain, and deals damage on a Planetary instead of Personal scale), Silhouette 8 Equipment: Bite [Brawl, Damage 8, Critical 3, Range: Close, Breach 3]

As soon as the players enter the asteroid field, they’ll notice that they’re not alone – several of the larger asteroids will have visible giant space slugs surfacing – the asteroid field is an exogorth nest. Upon entering the asteroid field, you notice movement on the ship’s sensors. A quick check to the starboard reveals a space slug casually emerging from a large asteroid to float across to a neighboring rock.

The space slugs will likely be content to leave the players alone, although threat on a Piloting check may involve one of the slugs. Piloting through this asteroid field will be dangerous – all piloting checks will have added to them. Failure on the check will mean a hit by an asteroid, which hits with the asteroid weapon: 

Asteroid Impact [N/A, Damage 1-10 (roll a percentile die, divide by 10, round up), Critical , Range N/A]

Once the players reach the location indicated on the flashing device: As you reach the center of the asteroid field, the device stops blinking, pauses, and then emits a single solid tone. The space in front of your vessel shimmers, and suddenly a large capital ship appears – its IFF code identifies it as the dreadnaught Shadow’s Wing.

The players can enter Shadow’s Wing through one of two entrances – the hangar bay on the bottom of the craft (Deck One) will be immediately obvious upon seeing it, and a scan of the vessel will reveal docking ports on Deck Four. To integrate Ranem Tiiv’s device with the flight controls, players will need to reach Deck Six. Unfortunately for the players, many potential obstacles lie in the way of their trip up to flight controls.

Moving Through the Ship Navigation of this vessel is very abstract. Treat each deck as a sequential “room” – so moving from Deck One to Deck Three is two “moves.” If the situation demands it, of course (i.e. tracking time or accessing a specific area on a deck), treat movement with more granularity as desired. Because of the nature of the crew’s death, the droid AI core has put several discrete defense mechanisms into place, and the ship is littered with traps to discourage hostile intruders. As the players travel deck to deck, they’ll have to manage a series of these challenges.

Artificial Gravity Shift Electrified Surfaces Motion-detecting Blast Doors Magcon Field Device Coolant Flush Floor Plasma Jets Stuck Lift Tube Irritating Mouse Droid Mirrored Sentries Laser Grid Hallway Hull Breach Carbonite Mist

1-8 9-16 17-25 26-33 34-41 42-50 51-58 59-66 67-75 76-83 84-91 92-100

Each time the players move from one deck to another, they should face at least one of these challenges. Roll a percentile die (d100) to determine a random challenge, or simply pick from the following list: 

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Artificial Gravity Shift As the players walk through a room or hallway, the artificial gravity slowly shifts, making it harder to stand up, all the way up until the center of the room, by which point the gravity has shifted enough to make them “fall” backwards (instead of downwards) towards the entrance. Electrified Surfaces The path of the players is impeded by small blue arcs of electricity dancing across all the metal surfaces in the room or corridor, including the walls, floors, and ceiling. Motion-detecting Blast Doors The players’ path is blocked by a series of blast doors that lower as soon as motion is detected in their proximity. They don’t close instantly, but they should close quickly enough to prevent players from simply sprinting through. Magcon Field Device A device attached to the ceiling in the center of the room or corridor

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manipulates the magnetic field in the room in order to draw all metallic items to itself. Droids are lifted off their feet; blasters fly out of hands; datapads are pulled out of packs. The device can be interacted with at its source (the device on the ceiling). Coolant Flush Blast doors seal the players in an enclosed space while engine coolant (water) is flushed into the room. The players should have to start swimming to maneuver relatively quickly – the challenge is that to open any doors, they’ll have to do it underwater. Floor Plasma Jets Strips of venting in the floor alternate between a superheated grate and ceiling-height jets of plasma. The plasma flares up intermittently on a predictable pattern. Stuck Lift Tube While en route from one floor to the next, the turbolift in which the players are riding grinds to a halt. Stuck between floors, the players will have to negotiate a way up or down before the lift tube crashes. Irritating Mouse Droid A small droid attacks, steals from, or otherwise provokes the players and then flees, with the intent of drawing the players into a swarm of these smaller droids. They should present a minimal combat threat. Mirrored Sentries As the players turn a corner, they should find themselves face to face with droids that mirror their movements (e.g. when a player steps to his left, the droid steps to his right; when a player

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draws a blaster, the droid draws a blaster). The droids are not innately hostile. Laser Grid Hallway A series of low-power laser emitters create a web of thin laser beams that crisscross a passageway. Breaking one of the beams causes a security turret to pop out of the ceiling and shoot at the offending intruder. The beams are spaced far enough apart that an agile intruder might be able to maneuver through them. Hull Breach A section of the vessel has had an entire internal passageway exposed to outer space. The passageway is sealed off by (easily unlockable) blast doors or magcon fields, but to traverse it, the players will have to move through a zero-gravity vacuum environment. Carbonite Mist A floor-level mist covers the path through the room or hallway the players are attempting to move through. Entering the mist will rapidly freeze the players’ feet to the ground, although they should still be able to move and interact with anything above ankle-level. Alternatively, the carbonite mist may not be pumped into the room until they’re walking through.

Avoiding the Traps All of these are designed to slightly impede the players’ progress by tasking them to stop and work a way around a situation. If players are set on avoiding one particular challenge, they should have the opportunity to face a different one as they try to reach a different way to move from deck-to-deck.

Similar Encounters If a challenge is rolled that’s too similar to the previous one (e.g. “Electrified Surfaces” followed by “Carbonite Mist”), or if a challenge is rolled that’s already been used, pick the next challenge nearest to it on the table, or simply pick a challenge that seems interesting. As the players travel through the ship, they may see the desiccated remains of the previous occupants of the vessel. Extensive searches through the ship’s logs may reveal the details of the Shadow’s Wing’s maiden voyage: She took off from Rodia under cloak, and only ever decloaked to change course. They proceeded to a deep space monitoring station to confirm how they appeared on long-range sensor readings. From there, they jumped to a thick nebula to conceal the direction of their final jump, which was to a secret Rendili space dock for final analysis and tuning, after which they would proceed to Christophsis for delivery of the prototype. They never reached the Rendili space dock, though. They were pulled out of hyperspace by an anomalous gravitational mass – the asteroid field they now sit in. The Shadow’s Wing would have resumed its course after clearing the field’s gravity well, though, were it not for another unfortunate coincidence – the crew was slowly becoming very erratic and hostile. For the whole duration of the voyage, the crew had gradually been growing weaker and weaker, and with the weakness arose a sense of panic and paranoia. Some of the crew, before they were fatally incapacitated by their growing injuries, enabled stringent security measures in

the ship, which managed to kill off other members of the crew who hadn’t quite succumbed as far to their infirmities. Steadily, the crew of the Shadow’s Wing was culled to nothing, and the ship has been stuck in this asteroid field, waiting, cloaked, ever since. Not immediately obvious from any logs will be the source of the original crew’s malady – the cloaking device. The original flaw of the cloaking device was that it had deleterious effects on living organisms, and that ultimately killed the crew of the Shadow’s Wing. While it’s not a certainty that the players will attempt to turn back on the cloaking device, if they were to turn it back on, they would, after a short time (minutes), make an Easy ( ) Resilience check followed by a Critical Injury (d100) roll, with 10 subtracted from the Critical Injury roll for each Success on the Resilience check. If the players kept the cloaking device on for long periods of time, the Resilience/Critical Injury roll would be made several times – even a direct flight back to Rodia with the cloak on could be very hazardous to their health. On the Flight Control Deck: Once the players reach flight control, they can attempt to use the device Ranem Tiiv gave them to slave the ship to a course back to Rodia. What if players want the ship for themselves? It is unlikely the players could crew a dreadnaught entirely by themselves – it requires thousands of active crew. The slave programming they’ve been given will work in a pinch to take the ship to Rodia, and the effort required to duplicate such a program would take weeks of work in a lab with extensive resources.

Once the players attempt to install the slave software, however, the ship’s droid AI core will flag them as potential hostiles and arrest their attempt, querying them as to their purpose. The AI core isn’t initially hostile, but it doesn’t want to let them install software like this, as it sees it as a threat to its autonomy. Players can attempt to convince the AI to allow them, force their way through, or try some other tactic.

This droid AI core for the dreadnaught is controlled centrally from the ship’s computer core on Deck Three. It’s built in to the ship to manage several lower-level systems, to allow for the ship to run with a smaller crew complement than normal dreadnaughts.

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Likes: Efficiency, Expediency, the Republic Dislikes: Pirates, Sloppiness Skills: Astrogation 2, Computers 2, Discipline 1, Knowledge (Education) 4, Knowledge (Outer Rim) 2, Knowledge (Warfare) 3, Mechanics 1, Perception 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Defensive Slicing 1 (When defending computer systems, add to opponents’ checks), Natural Programmer (Once per session, may reroll any 1 Computers or Astrogation check), Stroke of Genius (Once per session, make one skill check using Intellect rather than the characteristic linked to that skill) Abilities: Incorporeal (Possesses no physical form) Equipment: None

If the players attempt to hack the AI or computer without first convincing it to allow them, it will become hostile. This may make the droid AI send in battledroids to assail the players, or it may make it try to use ship’s systems against them. What can the AI Core do? The droid AI core is a very flexible potential threat. It should be one that the players only really interact with via the computer terminals (or through ship’s comm systems, if the AI is given a voice). It should be considered to have some degree of control over anything the ship’s systems might control, so match challenges to the players’ strengths.

These antiquated battle droids represent the remainder of the dreadnaught’s mobile security systems.

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Likes: Fulfilling orders Dislikes: Indecision Skills: Ranged (Heavy) Talents: None Abilities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum or underwater. Immune to poisons or toxins.) Equipment: Blaster Rifle [Ranged (Heavy), Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Long, Stun Setting] If the players disable the computer core at its source, the droid AI core will shut down.

Once the players have installed the slave software (however it comes about), they’ll have limited sublight control of the ship (they should be able to maneuver it and get it into place for a hyperspace jump), but once they jump to hyperspace, it will be bound for Rodia and its rendezvous with Ranem Tiiv. Short on time? If time is short, consider omitting the droid AI core encounter.

The slave programming is sufficient to control the dreadnaught’s hyperspace jump and flight, but to make the jump, players specifically will have to pilot it out of the asteroid field – the slave programming doesn’t have the capacity for flight that precise.

Once the players are en route, getting ready to leave the asteroid field: As the long-dormant engines on the Shadow’s Wing fire up again and you prepare to depart, a proximity motion warning beeps from the sensor screen. You see a space slug emerge almost fully from a nearby asteroid until, suddenly, a colossal insectoid form, nearly twice the size of the slug and longer than the dreadnaught, land on the space creature and sink two mandible-like appendages in its body. Once your ship begins to move, however, this new colossus turns toward it and scans – no, looks – in the ship’s direction. It lifts off from the space slug and starts its rapid flight toward the Shadow’s Wing.

The Colossus Wasp will attempt to chase and attack the dreadnaught until it enters hyperspace. It will take three rounds of flight to exit the asteroid field sufficiently to clear its gravity well and make the jump to lightspeed.

This lost battleship was one of the first testbeds produced out of a Rendili StarDrive lab on Rodia. Using the soon-to-be-popular Dreadnaught spaceframe, this particular vessel had several experimental systems, the most notable of which is a cloaking device.

7

2

-2

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 1 1 1 100 HT. THRESHOLD

ARMOR

7

SS. THRESHOLD

40

Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 4, Backup: Class 18 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Medium Passenger Capacity: 9000-20000 Cost/Rarity: N/A/9 Customization Hard Points: 0 Weapons: Five forward and five aft medium dreadnaught turbolaser batteries [Fire Arc Forward, Port and Starboard or Aft, Damage 10, Critical 3, Range: Long, Breach 3, Linked 1, SlowFiring 2], Ten port and ten starboard light dreadnaught quad turbolasers [Fire Arc Port or Starboard, Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Breach 2, Linked 3, Slow-Firing 2), One ventral tractor beam emitter (Fire Arc All, Damage -, Critical -, Range: Short, Tractor 2), Cloaking Device

 These giant creatures from the Stenness system are known to be one of the few natural predators of the exogorth, or space slug. While they tend to scavenge from a wide variety of food sources, they will relish the opportunity for a large meal in the form of a large body.

6

2

1

1

2

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

ARMOR

6

HT. THRESHOLD

37

SS. THRESHOLD

36

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Rocks, Metal, Exogorths, Radiation Dislikes: Explosions Skills: Brawl 3, Resilience 4, Perception 2, Piloting (Space) 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Adversary 1 Abilities: Colossal (Uses Armor instead of Soak, Hull and System Trauma instead of Wounds and Strain, and deals damage on a Planetary instead of Personal scale), Silhouette 8, Planetary Speed 3 Equipment: Colossal Mandibles [Brawl, Damage 13, Critical 4, Range: Close, Breach 4] Once the players have reached Rodia with the dreadnaught, Ranem Tiiv will contact the players from his orbital dock, and mentions he’s bringing tugs out to help them bring it in to dock. Tiiv will reward them for bringing in the prize of the Shadow’s Wing: 



500 credits per person on the team (i.e. a team of four would be paid 2000 credits) 1000 credits for information on the location of the lost Rendili spacedock (the third jump point in the Shadow’s Wing’s course)





-50 credits per person on the team for each 10 points of hull trauma the dreadnaught’s taken If the players didn’t have a ship before this adventure, Tiiv will give them the YT-1760 Pointing Finger he loaned them for the adventure, and the group will take a collective 10 points of Obligation to Tiiv (Debt) If the players already had a ship, Tiiv will offer to repair their vessel and refit it with any one upgrade he can provide.

Every crime ever committed boils down to three things. From grisly, Hutt-contracted assassinations to a street urchin on Coruscant stealing credits to buy food, every criminal has a means, has a motive, and has an opportunity. When the owner of a research lab in space suspects one of his employees is stealing from him, he has to turn to outside help to flush out the criminal. He’s hired a group of spacers to go undercover, investigate the situation, and ensure that the criminal has nowhere to run…

The players have been hired by a businessman1 of significant influence in the local system2 to investigate a situation on his orbital facility. He knows that one of his researchers has been selling project details to a rival3, and he’s tasked the players with going undercover and finding out who it is. The players will need to craft undercover roles and insinuate themselves into life on the orbital facility. Once in place, they’ll need to investigate several suspects to get to know who might and why someone might turn traitor. As the players start to apply pressure to the suspects, the guilty party raises the stakes by murdering one of the suspects in order to steal a critical piece of the project and wrap up his espionage. As the station goes on lockdown, the players will hone in on the culprit of the crimes. Once the noose starts to tighten, the murderer will pull out all the stops and attempt to make his escape. The players will have to stop him and catch him before he can ruin their employer’s research, sell him out, and get away with murder.

(Substitute as necessary) 1

The employer/businessman: Ranem “The Glove” Tiiv, owner of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate The local system: Rodia 3 The rival: Bollin the Grey, owner of Rodian Interfreight 2

The players start their adventure in Ranem Tiiv’s orbital facility, orbiting over the planet of Rodia. Tiiv, their employer, has provided them a datacard with the specifics of their contract: Contract for: Investigation of employees aboard research station TSS-Aleph. Informants placed inside competitor Rodian Interfreight indicate that they have details of the ongoing Project Shadow’s Feather.

This project is top-secret, and these details of it could only have been leaked by one of the lead scientists on-site. It Is critical to identify and, if possible, apprehend the perpetrator of this crime. Do not use lethal force if at all possible to preserve the opportunity for counterinterrogation. Undercover identities and dossiers on likely suspects will be provided to investigators.

The players are tasked with going undercover, learning about the suspects, and identifying a probable culprit. To that end, several undercover roles are open to the players (although their employer should facilitate alternate roles if players have suggestions):      

Journeyman research assistant New security personnel Server at one of the restaurants onstation Cargo handling laborer Dockhand Station maintenance worker

Once the players have decided on a role, they should have free run of the station, with the exception of the command deck, which is restricted to ranking station personnel. Characters on the station will react to the players appropriately for the roles they’re taking on. Station Layout The station has 90% of its active workers on its primary level, which consists of eight subsections branching out from one central gathering area. The central area has a set of lifts that travel up to a restricted area, the command deck. Underneath the primary work area (unlabeled on the map) is a series of access corridors and station mechanical systems that are usually only accessed by station maintenance through a pair of lifts in the Power section of the station.

Running the Investigation The scenario is set up to have four suspects, any of which can be the guilty party. The players will, by their actions, help determine who is guilty. Guilt will be determined by three factors – motive, means, and opportunity. The first two sections of the adventure will pare down the suspect list by the players’ discovery of those factors, and who does and does not fit them. In the first section, players should be able to eliminate one of four suspects. In the second section, they should be able to eliminate at least one of the remaining three. In the third section, the guilty party will become clear through direct opposition to the players. Eliminating Suspects Each suspect will always have a distinct motive for committing the first crime (theft and espionage). These motives will be the primary genesis of clues that the players discover. Every suspect has a compelling motive for committing the crime, although the players may not discover them all. In this way, the players will aid the GM in “selecting” the guilty party – whichever one(s) the players are leaning towards should end up fitting themselves into the guilty role.

This Rodian mother of three works on the station in the drydock and labs area during the day and in the commercial area in the evenings. She is a generally polite, quiet person, although she appears perpetually tired.

This Kuati woman is the scientist in charge of manufacturing and engineering the developments of the research division. She’s very aloof towards most people, colleagues included.

2

4

2

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

PRESENCE

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

3

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

3

12

S. THRESHOLD

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

SOAK VALUE

3

3

3

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

3

12

S. THRESHOLD

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Likes: Family, Hard work Dislikes: Gambling, Frivolity Skills: Charm 1, Computers 2, Deception 1, Discipline 1, Mechanics 2, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1 Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Varies

Likes: Solitude, Core Worlds culture Dislikes: Rebels and pirates, Non-humans Skills: Computers 1, Deception 1, Knowledge (Core Worlds) 1, Mechanics 3, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 2, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Varies

This middle-aged human male is the head of Tyrius Sysworks’ research division, and he can be found in many places on the station. He is a haughty, arrogant man who is nevertheless very intelligent.

This hard-faced Rodian is the scientist in charge of testing and prototyping on the station, and while this boyhood friend of Ranem Tiiv is most often found in the Special Projects division, he tries to get around and meet everyone.

2

3

2

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

PRESENCE

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

3

4

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

13

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Recognition, Intelligence Dislikes: Disrespect, Laziness Skills: Computers 3, Deception 1, Knowledge (Education) 2, Mechanics 1, Negotiate 1, Pilot (Space) 2, Ranged (Light) 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Varies

SOAK VALUE

3

3

4

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

14

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Openness, Pleasantness Dislikes: Conflict, Sarcasm Skills: Brawl 1, Charm 2, Computers 2, Cool 1, Deception 1, Discipline 1, Mechanics 1, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 2, Survival 2 Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Varies

Suspect Motives The following section is to help the GM define clues set out for each suspect. Each suspect fits an archetype, which should be the focus of their personality. This will help the players stay focused on both differentiating the suspects as well as interpreting their motives. Because of this, there is a key fact that the players should know about each character. This is spelled out in one of the two player handouts provided on the previous pages. Finally, each suspect has a list of circumstantial evidence – evidence that establishes they had motive for the crime. Each set of circumstantial evidence also lists methods that might be used to find it: in-person observation, talking to acquaintances, reading family or friend correspondence, searching personal effects, or doing computer research.







Ty Yelliri Archetype: The Veteran Motive: Jealousy - He’s been working with Ranem Tiiv since his operation was very small, and he feels he’s owed more than he’s gotten in all that time. Key Fact: He’s the most senior off all the lead researchers Circumstantial Evidence: 

Beema Karada Archetype: The Mother Motive: Protection - Her youngest son is irreconcilably indebted to Bollin the Grey and Rodian Interfreight.





Key Fact: She’s dedicated to her family, and especially her three sons Circumstantial Evidence: 



She’s been working off-shift in one of the tapcafs on the station (to help pay off the debt) – in-person observation, acquaintances Her sons all work in shipping, and her youngest works at Rodian Interfreight – acquaintances, letters from family

Her youngest son has a gambling problem – acquaintances, personal notes, letters from family Her youngest son hasn’t been seen on the station visiting in a long time – acquaintances She lives very frugally – in-person observation, acquaintances

 

He helped Tiiv found the research division of Tyrius Sysworks – acquaintances, research He came up with the concept for Project Shadow’s Feather (the current project) – acquaintances, research He’s incited strikes over researcher pay more than once, and led the subsequent negotiations – acquaintances, research He’s very arrogant and self-assured – inperson observation, acquaintances He’s made a habit of stealing small items of value from the research lab and squirreling them away on his personal ship – personal effects, research

Kal Kesha

Essik Bopal

Archetype: The Outsider

Archetype: The Friend

Motive: Politics – She’s politically inclined in favor of the Empire, and she doesn’t want Tiiv to sell a successful project to any unsavory factions (Rebels, Hutts, etc.).

Motive: Concern – He’s an old friend of Ranem Tiiv, and when he discovered a potentially harmful flaw in Project Shadow Feather (the current project), he became concerned that the project would be ruin for Tiiv and Tyrius Sysworks.

Key Fact: Ranem Tiiv is strongly considering selling the results of his research to the Rebel Alliance Circumstantial Evidence: 

 





She has items of pro-Imperial paraphernalia in her room – in-person observation She’s stand-offish towards non-humans – in-person observation, acquaintances She’s sliced a log of Tiiv’s ongoing negotiations – in-person observation, research She filed a security complaint (that was summarily dismissed) when an Alliance envoy was on the station to inspect the project – acquaintances, research She’s very close with her brother, and now he’s in the Imperial Navy – letters from family, personal notes

Key Fact: He’s a personal friend of Ranem Tiiv, in addition to being his employee Circumstantial Evidence: 

 

 

He filed a failure report warning of a dangerous side effect of the project, but the report was (figuratively) pushed aside – acquaintances, research He’s invested heavily in Tyrius Sysworks stock – research, personal effects He’s been friends with Ranem Tiiv since childhood, and he’s always been very protective; he used to defend Tiiv from street gangs with his blaster – acquaintances, in-person He’s pessimistic about the outcome of the project – acquaintances, in-person He’s pushed hard for deadline extensions at every project milestone, to the point of being reprimanded – acquaintances, research

o

Suspect Means and Opportunity In the first part of the adventure, while the players are simply investigating the data leak, every suspect has the same opportunity – they all have ample run of the station and each suspect has the high levels of access needed to gather the data. While the Motives were used to help establish who the guilty party is, the Means should be used to help establish who the guilty party is not. The following list of means is a list of suggestions for how the suspects may have snuck data off the station. The GM should feel free to add to or modify this list to match the direction of the players’ inquiries. Means: 





Off-station visits o The Mother (seeing family) o The Veteran (he docks and maintains his own starship at the station and will often take it out on trips) o The Outsider (weekend trips to get away from her coworkers) Courier ships o The Veteran (submitting research to various places for review) o The Outsider (receiving packages and communication from home) o The Friend (picking up personal deliveries as a favor to Tiiv) Communications array o The Mother (works late at night in a nearby area when security is lower)



The Veteran (has open access to the Command area) o The Friend (has open access to the Command area) Meetings with non-employees o The Mother (shady guys picking up debt payments) o The Outsider (friends stopping in from the Core systems to visit) o The Friend (meets with friends from the planet from time to time)

As the players discover the (single) means that the data may have been delivered to their employer’s competitor, make sure that the means (whatever it is the players discover) eliminates the possibility of (only) one of the suspects – the purpose of the first investigative round is to eliminate one suspect (while the players learn about the other suspects). Setting the Stage Before murder raises the stakes in the second section, make sure that two things have happened: 1. The players feel relatively confident about at least one of the suspects’ motives 2. The players have eliminated one of the suspects as being the guilty party Be aware that the players will likely have discovered only a small portion of the abovepresented clues – they should not have to discover many of them to proceed.

Once the players have started to get a handle on who might or might not be guilty (by learning about potential motives and eliminating one of the suspects), the stakes will be raised – one of the suspects (GM’s choice) will be murdered. A station security officer walks into the room with you. “Uh, excuse me, I, ah, need you to come with me. I’ve been asked to escort you to meet with the administrator. You’re wanted for questioning on a security matter.” The players are escorted (individually or together) to the station administrative office on the command deck. Inside is Ranem Tiiv. “Sit down, please. We have a situation.” “[One of the researchers] was murdered forty-six standard minutes ago. [He or she] was found in the lab where the prototype device for Project Shadow’s Feather was being developed. A maintenance worker just discovered the body. We’re assessing the security recordings, but it looks like the holocams were disabled.” “And it gets worse. The prototype is missing. I suspect that our murderer and our turncoat are one and the same.” “It’s now critical that you identify the perpetrator before he or she makes a final move and this blows up in my face. “

“Do what you can to make sure that this is resolved quickly. I’ll give you remote access to our security data, and I’ll make sure you have full access to the crime scene, and that no one will see you in there.” Players Choose the Culprit When selecting which of the four suspects is the one to be murdered, ideally, the GM should choose whichever suspect the players had already eliminated as a possibility and/or whichever one they suspected as least likely. This will help ensure that the players know they’re on the right track. Now that there are only three potential suspects, the players will continue to search for possible motives (if they haven’t fully realized at least one yet) for the original crime (the data theft) as well as search for means and opportunity for the murder. With the murder, every one of the remaining suspects should have the same (new) motive – the murder was made while wearing the prototype personal cloaking device (Project Shadow’s Feather). The cloaking device has a harmful flaw (this might have been discovered when investigating Essik Bopal, the friend) that causes extreme pain and heightens aggressive tendencies. The murder proceeded as follows: The suspect disabled the cameras remotely before entering the lab. He or she then retrieved the only working prototype of the cloaking device and put it on. As it was being activated, the victim entered the room, where he or she was killed.

Now that there’s a crime scene, the players will have access to more obvious physical evidence than they had before. Deciding Whodunit At this point, the GM should choose the perpetrator, based off of the candidate the players are leaning most heavily towards. This will allow the below clues to be filtered through. Depending on who the victim and culprit are, some of the following clues will or won’t be used.



How did the culprit kill the victim? 



How did the culprit enter the lab? 



Passkey – the culprit used a valid entry passcode to enter the room – this passkey is only given to select personnel (the Veteran has access because he’s everyone’s boss, while the Friend has access because this is his lab) Break-in – the culprit forced the door to enter the room – anyone can break in this way





Blaster shot – the culprit used a precise single blaster shot to disable the camera – this requires precise shooting (the Outsider has blaster training from her time working in her family arms business, the Friend has gunfighting skills from when he protected Tiiv as a youth) Emergency Ion Charge – the culprit used a starship utility device to disable the camera – this is something someone who works around starships would have (the Mother’s job requires her to work with starships, while the

Stabbing – the culprit stabbed the victim several times with a knife – the stab wounds are up into the victim’s chest, indicating a shorter culprit Strangulation – the culprit overpowered and strangled the victim – the marks on the victim’s neck show that this was done bare-handed, indicating a larger or stronger killer Shooting – the culprit shot the victim in the chest with a blaster – anyone can kill with a blaster

Other clues left at the scene 

How did the culprit disable the holocam? 

Veteran owns his own ship that’s docked at the station) Explosives – the culprit used a handheld explosive to damage the camera – anyone can use one of a variety of explosives





Oily fabric – A torn piece of fabric (not from the victim’s clothing) is left at the scene; it’s stained with oil from heavy machinery (the Mother works with heavy tools for starships systems integration while the Outsider works with heavy machinery in fabrication) Mixed Blood – A pool of blood is left mixed in with the victim; it’s blood from two different species (human and Rodian) Audio file – A reconstruction of the holocam’s data gives short audio where you can hear the victim say either “she got the dev…” or “he got the dev…”

If the culprit is the Mother (Beema Karada) And the victim is: 





The Veteran (Ty Yelliri), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with explosives, and killed the victim by stabbing. The players may find oily fabric and mixed blood at the scene, and the audio file may be reconstructed to hear “she got the dev…” The Outsider (Kal Kesha), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with an ion charge, and killed the victim by stabbing. The players may find mixed blood at the scene. The Friend (Essik Bopal), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with an ion charge, and killed the victim by shooting. The players may find oily fabric at the scene, and the audio file may be reconstructed to hear “she got the dev…”



If the culprit is the Outsider (Kal Kesha) And the victim is: 



If the culprit is the Veteran (Ty Yelliri) And the victim is: 



The Mother (Beema Karada), the culprit used a passkey to get into the lab, disabled the holocam with explosives, and killed the victim by strangulation. The players may find mixed blood at the scene, and the audio file may be reconstructed to hear “he got the dev…” The Outsider (Kal Kesha), the culprit used a passkey to get into the lab, disabled the holocam with an ion charge, and killed the victim by shooting. The audio file may be

reconstructed to hear “he got the dev…” The Friend (Essik Bopal), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with an ion charge, and killed the victim by strangulation. The players may find mixed blood at the scene.



The Mother (Beema Karada), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with a precise blaster shot, and killed the victim by strangulation. The players may find mixed blood at the scene. The Veteran (Ty Yelliri), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with a precise blaster shot, and killed the victim by shooting. The players may find oily fabric at the scene, and the audio file may be reconstructed to hear “she got the dev…” The Friend (Essik Bopal), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with explosives, and killed the victim by shooting. The players may find oily fabric and mixed blood at the scene, and the audio file may be reconstructed to hear “she got the dev…”

If the culprit is the Friend (Essik Bopal) And the victim is: 

The Mother (Beema Karada), the culprit used a passkey to get into the lab, disabled the holocam with a precise blaster shot, and killed the victim by shooting. The audio file may be





reconstructed to hear “he got the dev…” The Veteran (Ty Yelliri), the culprit broke into the lab, disabled the holocam with a precise blaster shot, and killed the victim by stabbing. The players may find mixed blood at the scene. The Outsider (Kal Kesha), the culprit used a passkey to get into the lab, disabled the holocam with explosives, and killed the victim by shooting. The players may find mixed blood at the scene, and the audio file may be reconstructed to hear “he got the dev…”

Discovering the Culprit As the players work through the crime scene, the clues provided there should (assuming a full investigation) only narrow down the suspect list by one more, although in many cases, the players will not realize this (perhaps they won’t realize that the oily fabric can point to both the Mother and the Outsider). The next steps the players will likely take will be to confront (or set up a trap for) their top suspect. Whether the players’ guess is right or wrong, once the players get this far, the GM should be ready to set up the final confrontation.

Adapting to the Players While, at this point, the GM will have already decided who the culprit is, if the players have made a reasonable analysis of the situation and have the “wrong” answer, the GM should feel free to simply change the narrative to allow the players to be right. Any of the suspects, after all, have the possible motive for being guilty, and it’s more important to validate the player efforts than it is to surprise the players.

As soon as the players have moved to confront their chief suspect in any way, their suspect will attempt to attack and then escape. If the players are allowed to confront the wrong suspect, then the correct culprit will ambush them as they’re making their confrontation. If the players are confronting the true culprit, then the culprit will activate the personal cloaking device and attempt to escape. In any case, the culprit will have specific advantages, depending on who it is: If the culprit is the Mother (Beema Karada)  

Her small size will give her a on any attempt to evade restraint Using her skills with starship systems, she’ll have given the players’ starship the Major Systems Failure (Weapon System) critical, knocking out one (GM’s choice) of the players’ ship’s weapon systems

If the culprit is the Veteran (Ty Yelliri) 



Any attempt to use a station system to try and apprehend him will come with a due to his security status He has his own starship to escape in (the Past Due), instead of taking the generic snubfighter

If the culprit is the Outsider (Kal Kesha) 



Because of her access to production facilities, if her cloaking device is damaged, she’ll have a backup device She’ll have sent out an emergency Imperial code (knowledge she gained

from her brother) that brings an Imperial TIE patrol (two TIE fighters) to aid in her escape If the culprit is the Friend (Essik Bopal) 



Because of his familiarity with using and testing the device, any attempt to detect him will have an additional His intimate knowledge of the Tyrius system will allow him to upgrade all piloting checks one time when insystem

Additionally, any culprit will have the cloaking device and at least a blaster pistol on his or her person. While wearing the activated cloaking device (a small wristband-sized device), the culprit will be completely invisible, although they may still interact physically with the world. The cloaking device also causes a great deal of pain to the user in addition to amplifying aggressive feelings and tendencies manifold. Catching the Culprit The culprit will be aggressive towards the players but not generally foolish – if the culprit is outnumbered, he or she will attempt to flee. Fleeing will entail the culprit attempting to make it to one of the two docking armatures for small craft, where they may steal an escape craft (a small snubfighter, usually). If cornered, either on foot or in flight, the culprit will fight until he or she cannot physically do so. The culprit will always attempt to keep the cloaking device on, if possible.

Once the players manage to resolve the situation, Ranem Tiiv will reward them based off their level of success:

See EotE CRB p258.

3 SILHOUETTE

3 SPEED

+1 HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 0 9

HT. THRESHOLD

ARMOR

3

8

Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 3, Backup: None Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Short Passenger Capacity: 1 pilot Cost/Rarity: 55,000 credits/4 Customization Hard Points: 0 Weapons: Wingtip Mounted Light Laser Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 5, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Close], Forward Mounted Concussion Missile Launchers [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 6, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Short, Breach 4, Blast 4, Guided 3, Limited Ammo 4, Slow-Firing 1], Anti-missile countermeasures (May perform “Spoofing Missiles” as a maneuver with )

Ty Yelliri’s personal ship. See EotE CRB p256.

4 SILHOUETTE

4 SPEED

+1 HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 1 14

HT. THRESHOLD



SS. THRESHOLD

ARMOR

3

SS. THRESHOLD

9

Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 3, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Extreme Passenger Capacity: 1 pilot and 1 passenger Cost/Rarity: 55,000 credits/5 Customization Hard Points: 0 Weapons: Forward Mounted Light Ion Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 5, Critical 4, Linked 1, Range: Close], Anti-missile countermeasures (May perform “Spoofing Missiles” as a maneuver with )

  

1000 credits per person on the team for managing to identify the culprit 500 credits per person on the team for recovery of the stolen device 500 credits per person on the team for non-lethal apprehension of the culprit -750 credits per person on the team if the culprit escaped

The bigger the venture, the bigger the risk. Pirates and opportunists across the galaxy are drawn to rich targets like Jawas to a wreck. When a prominent businessman is chosen from among his peers to host an annual meeting of the same, he has more to lose than his own assets if he fails. To ensure that the meeting goes off without a hitch, this power player reaches out to a group of spacers to help protect his venture, but with a road this dangerous, there’s always a chance of turbulence…

The players have been hired by a businessman1 of significant influence in the local system2 to protect a meeting of powerful people he’s hosting on board his ship. The meeting includes businessmen from around the system, including the players’ employer’s rival3, and the employer is worried that he might try something. The players will get in place for a short cross-system trip to the outer planet4 in the system. En route, they will have to protect their employer’s ship from an external pirate attack. However, while the pirates were attacking, undercover hijackers employed by the rival will have taken over the vessel from the inside. The players will need to find a way to rescue the passengers onboard, including their employer. As the situation turns south for the rival, a series of explosive devices will cause the ship to start to selfdestruct and head for the surface of the planet. The players will need to find a way to evacuate as many people as possible before the ship hits the surface.

(Substitute as necessary) 1

The employer/businessman: Ranem “The Glove” Tiiv, owner of Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate The local system: Rodia 3 The rival: Bollin the Grey, owner of Rodian Interfreight 4 The planet: Taoska, a small ringed icy planet at the edge of the Tyrius system 2

The players start their adventure departing from Rodia to Taoska, the outer planet in the system, in the hangar on board Ranem Tiiv’s ship, the Shadow’s Wing. They’ve received a contract from Ranem Tiiv, their employer: Contract for: Defense of the vessel Shadow’s Wing for the duration of the Savareen Merchants’ Alliance meeting. Tyrius Sysworks is hosting the decennial Savareen Merchants’ Alliance meeting, a collection of all the major business players in the Savareen sector, on board the dreadnaught Shadow’s Wing. Although all parties onboard are disarmed and forbidden from bringing anything other than legal counsel, the chance of external assault is a considerable risk. Success hinges on ensuring the safety of everyone onboard. The hangar bay is being prepped for your escort duty.

The 8-Q was originally constructed before the Clone Wars as a heavily modifiable spaceframe designed for independent shipyards to customize. The project was ultimately unsuccessful, financially, although certain elements of its design did make it into the far more popular Y-Wing Starfighter.

3

4

0

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 0 11

HT. THRESHOLD

ARMOR

2

SS. THRESHOLD

8

Hyperdrive: None Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Close Passenger Capacity: 1 Pilot and 1 Co-Pilot Cost/Rarity: 60,000 credits/6 Customization Hard Points: 3 Weapons: Wingtip Mounted Light Laser Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 5, Critical 3, Linked 3, Range: Close], Concussion Missile Launcher [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Short, Breach 4, Blast 4, Guided 3, Limited Ammo 2, Slow-Firing 1]

The players should have some kind of combat vessels available to them in the hangar bay. If the players have their own combat-ready starship(s), then those should have been prepared to fly (removal of all System Strain and repair of up to five points of Hull Trauma). The hangar bay will hold the players’ starship if it’s silhouette 4 or less, otherwise, the players would have had to leave it behind for this job. If the players do not have enough roles for the whole party or if the players’ ship(s) aren’t combat-ready, a group of Toscan 8-Q starfighters will be prepared for them. As the players queue in the hangar bay, the ship is en route through the Tyrius System. Before long, they get a notification over the comms system: “Attention! Long-range sensors are picking up a large unidentified mass moving toward the ship at a high rate of speed. It appears to be accompanied by a small group of snubfighters. Launch escort craft to intercept and determine their intentions.”

A group of pirates is heading towards the ship in a small flight of starfighters. The fighters are each equipped with a tractor beam, and they’re hauling a large asteroid, capable of doing massive damage to the Shadow’s Wing should it collide. If the asteroid were to collide, it will take out all sublight flight control systems on the dreadnaught, making it impossible to control later on.

This heavy fighter model by Byblos Shipyards was created to fill a niche between personal starfighters and small transports. This ship is treated as a Silhouette 4 vessel for the purpose of mounting weapons and attachments.

3

4

-1

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 0 12

HT. THRESHOLD

ARMOR

3

SS. THRESHOLD

8

Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Close Passenger Capacity: 1 Pilot and 1 Co-Pilot Cost/Rarity: 115,000 credits/5 Customization Hard Points: 2 Weapons: Twin Medium Laser Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 6, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Close], Light Tractor Beam [Fire Arc Forward, Damage -, Critical -, Range: Close, Tractor 2] After one round of action has passed, the fight should move in to the ice ring of Taoska: “Be advised, flyers, we’re entering the ring of our destination, Taoska. It’s composed of large, jagged ice crystals. Keep your heads on a swivel.” All piloting checks in the ice ring should be made with because of the density of the ice field.

 Once the players have averted the attack by the pirates, they should receive a short communication over their comlinks: “…ssshhk was a diversion. Attention, spacers, the pirate attack was a diversion. Bollin the Grey’s Rodian Interfreight legal team was a commando unit, and they’ve taken over the ship and sliced control of the droid crew. He tried to take the ship into hyperspace, but the navicomputer’s locked down. I think he’s split up the passengers into multiple holding areas. I’m one of Ranem Tiiv’s lawyers, and they’ve put us in the brig with the group from Starline Transport. I think Bollin’s got Tiiv with him, though. He wants to steal the ship, and he’ll be trying to interrogate the security passcodes out of him. You’re our last chance! Bollin sent some men down to the hangar, presumably to deal with you. I hope this warning reaches you in time.”

There are five major obstacles awaiting the players: 

  

Entering the hangar bay (Deck 1) – Bollin’s men have set a trap for the players here Hostages in the brig (Deck 2) Hostages in the environmental control section (Deck 3) Hostages in hypermatter containment (Deck 5)

Bollin and the captured Ranem Tiiv in flight control (Deck 6)

Entering the Hangar Bay The hangar bay normally has procedures to reestablish a magnetic containment field after ships have landed. Bollin’s men have trapped the hangar to never reestablish the magcon field. Consequently, when the players land, the entire hangar bay will be a vacuum with no oxygen (although no one will be sucked into space, since there’s no atmosphere there to suck out). When/if players land in the hangar bay, an Average ( ) Vigilance check will allow players to notice that the magcon field didn’t flicker back into place. If the players know about and enter through the docking ports on the side of the ship, they can bypass this, although there are only two docking ports. On Board the Shadow’s Wing

These refurbished droids were recovered along with the ship, and now serve as crew and security.

2

2

2

2

1

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

4

W. THRESHOLD

4

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Fulfilling orders Dislikes: Indecision Skills: Computers, Ranged (Heavy) Talents: None Abilities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, etc.) Equipment: Blaster Rifle [Ranged (Heavy), Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Long, Stun Setting]

The droid crew of the Shadow’s Wing patrols the halls, now under the control of Bollin the Grey and his men. Each time the players ascend or descend a floor, they should pass an Average ( ) Stealth check. Failing the check will mean the players encounter a group of the droids. Speeding Up Stealth Checks To expedite this, GMs may want to simply ask for the player with the lowest Stealth skill to roll for something representative of the whole group’s effort.

If any of the droids survive for more than one round, on their second action, they’ll call in to Bollin and warn him. Similarly, if the players net or more on a single (individual) Stealth check, Bollin will be alerted to their presence. If Bollin is alerted to the players The first time Bollin is alerted to the players moving around the ship (assuming they haven’t already freed all the hostages), he’ll signal them over the shipwide address system:

“So, spacers, you seem to have slipped my grasp. Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Do you hear this?”

Each individual area, though, has its own special abilities for the droids in the area: 

[Blaster shot] – “Aiiieee!” “That was a hostage.” “If you’d like me to continue having hostages executed, I can. Alternatively, you can turn yourselves over to my guards, hand in your weapons, and join the rest of the hostages. Your choice.” There are six hostages in each of the three hostage holding areas, for a total of eighteen hostages. Every time Bollin is alerted to the players, he’ll execute a hostage, taunting the players as he does. If the players respond to his threats and allow themselves to be taken prisoner, their weapons will be removed and they’ll be moved to one of the hostage holding areas – the brig, the environmental control section, or hypermatter containment, whichever is still under his control. In the hostage holding areas Each of the hostage holding areas is similar – they all start with six hostages apiece (this may be reduced if Bollin orders them executed) and they’re all guarded by a small cadre of droid crewmembers.





Brig – droids are able to raise or lower security shields with an action to grant to all ranged attacks made against all the droids Environmental control – droids are able to use an action to use the fire suppressant system against the players: Carbonite Jets [Computers, Damage 5, Critical 4, Range: Short, Accurate, Stun Damage, Ensnare 1] Hypermatter containment – droids are able to use an action to vent superheated gases against the players: Superheated Vent [Computers, Damage 5, Critical 4, Range: Short, Blast 3, Burn 2]

As before, if the droids survive past the first round, they may spend their second action to alert Bollin to the intruders. This will (after the skirmish) cause Bollin to execute (another) prisoner. Confronting Bollin and rescuing Ranem Tiiv When the players make it to Bollin in flight control on deck six, he’ll be roughly interrogating Ranem Tiiv, trying to get the access codes to the navicomputer. He’s surrounded by his commandos; the ones that helped him take over the ship.

“Ah Ranem, so these are your spacers? It’s a pity you had to drag them into this. This could have been much simpler and much less painful had you simply known when you were beaten.” Every round Bollin will, as an incidental, give the order to execute a hostage, assuming they haven’t all been freed yet (or all been executed). Bollin’s commandos will fight to the death, although if Bollin is alone and looks like he’s going to be beaten, he’ll shoot Ranem Tiiv, incapacitating (but not killing) him. If the players are incapacitated by Bollin and his men, they’ll be thrown into one of the hostage areas under guard.

These trained soldiers originally snuck onto the ship in the guise of Bollin’s legal team, but in reality they represent some of Bollin’s most trusted, most effective warriors.

3

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

3

2

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

11

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Likes: Loyalty, Bollin the Grey, Efficiency Dislikes: Civilians, Weakness Skills: Brawl 2, Coerce 1, Cool 1, Discipline 1, Pilot (Space) 1, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Ranged (Light) 2, Survival 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Jump Up (Once per round, may stand from seated or prone as an incidental) Abilities: None Equipment: Heavy Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting]

Bollin, owner of Rodian Interfreight, is a somewhat-corpulent green-grey Rodian male. He’s successfully managed his family’s company and expanded it from what was originally just a cargo-hauling business into a sector-wide transportation, manufactory, and smuggling enterprise. His closest business rival is Ranem Tiiv, owner of the Tyrius Sysworks Syndicate, and the two have been sniping at each other’s success for over a decade.

3

2

3

4

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

4

W. THRESHOLD

16

S. THRESHOLD

14

M/R DEFENSE

0 1

Likes: Classical orchestra, Sweet foods, Coruscanti culture and the Empire Dislikes: Ranem Tiiv and associates, Carelessness, Compassion Skills: Charm 1, Coercion 3, Cool 1, Deception 2, Discipline 2, Knowledge (Education) 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 2, Leadership 1, Melee 2, Negotiation 2, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Skulduggery 1, Streetwise 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Supreme Scathing Tirade (As a maneuver, may make an Average ( ) Coercion check. Each causes one enemy in short range to suffer 1 strain and take a for 3 rounds. Spend to cause one affected enemy to suffer 1 additional strain.), Nobody’s Fool 2 (May upgrade difficulty of incoming Charm, Coercion, and Deception checks twice.) Abilities: Adversary 1 Equipment: Heavy Blaster Pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting], Neuronic Whip [Melee, Damage 4, Critical 4, Range: Short, Disorient 4, Ensnare 1, Stun Damage], Armored clothing, P-2 Pocket Attache (Slicing into this requires passing a Daunting ( ) Computers check)

If the players defeated Bollin in flight control Once one of two things has happened…  

The players have defeated Bollin in flight control The players were incapacitated or otherwise stuck in the hostage area (e.g. they decided to go there to prevent hostage deaths)

…the players will be confronted with the task of escaping the ship. If the players were incapacitated or stuck in the hostage area “Ranem Tiiv, I want everyone on board this ship to hear what your stubbornness has cost them. You could have just handed over the navicomputer codes. Instead, you resisted.” “Now, I’d hate to be called a sore loser, but seeing as how none of you will be around to insult me, I’ll bear it just this once.” Explosions ring out through the rear of the ship. “Ranem, I think I’ll just leave you here, strapped to this chair, and you can watch your precious ship make a precious crater on Taoska. Be seeing you – or not.” In the event that this happened, Bollin will have departed the ship with his retinue and may continue to pop up in the future as a recurring adversary.

As Bollin is incapacitated: Explosions ring out through the rear of the ship. Bollin wheezes, “You didn’t think…” cough, “You didn’t think I’d let you just beat me, right? If I go down, I’m taking you all with me. We should make a pretty nice divot in the surface of Taoska.” After the explosions take place The explosions Bollin’s detonated blew up several key systems, and the ship is going to crash into the surface of the planet they’re orbiting, Taoska. Repairing the damage, at this point, is impossible. Flight control is still active (assuming the asteroid didn’t collide with the ship earlier) to the point that players could control the attitude of the ship, although it’s still going down. In addition to his explosive sabotage, Bollin also ejected all the escape pods simultaneously with the explosion and he physically locked down the hangar. Players have a total of ten “actions” they can make before the ship crashes. Every time the players go up or down a deck (e.g. from deck 6 to deck 5) or every time a player rolls for something, an action is used. If the players signaled for help anywhere locally (i.e. in-system, probably from Rodia) before the explosions, the help should arrive now, and be an additional factor in evacuating the ship (and this will obviously depend on the type of help summoned).

Trying to stabilize the dreadnaught’s crash course represents a Hard ( ) Pilot (Space) check. Each on a successful check represents the death of one of the hostages still on board, while each represents a critical injury for one of the players. An unsuccessful check means that the crash course is unchanged, and on the unsuccessful check means that an additional action is also used. How can I help? Game masters should make sure to emphasize the totality of the stabilization roll and encourage other players to do everything they can to help aid that check before it is made. Players may perform the standard space actions (like the Average ( ) Pilot (Space) Copiloting check), but they may also choose to do things like scanning the ground for the best possible landing site, bracing the passengers for impact, shooting orbital debris out of the way, etc. Encourage all players to participate in some way or another in this check.

If the ship crashed and the players were aboard or if the players escaped in starfighters Ranem Tiiv will tell them (in person or via comlink): “Well, we’re probably not going anywhere fast. I’m sure someone back on Rodia noticed the transponder on this ship blink out of existence. Nothing to do now but wait.” While waiting, players should make an Average ( ) Resilience check to represent waiting on the cold surface of the planet or the cramped spaces of a snubfighter. If a player fails the check, he should suffer three strain. If the players escaped the ship with summoned help Ranem Tiiv will tell them (in person or via comlink): “Well, it’s a shame to lose the ship, but at least we’ll be back to Rodia fairly quickly. Thanks for pulling my spines out of the fire.”

The physical hangar bay doors have also been closed. They’re locked down from a control terminal nearby, and could be reopened with a successful Hard ( ) Computers check. Alternatively, the doors can be destroyed with a successful attack made on the doors, although flying out through the destroyed doors is an Average ( ) Pilot (Space) check.

If the players managed to stabilize the crash course and “land” the dreadnaught

If the players are still on board when the ship crashes, they’ll each take two critical injuries apiece.

“Any landing you can walk away from, right? That was rough, sure, but there may even be a chance we can salvage the ship.”

Ranem Tiiv will tell them (in person or via comlink):

Once the situation is resolved, Ranem Tiiv will thank the players profusely for saving his life (even if he is ignored completely, Tiiv shouldn’t die in the crash) and pay the players:  



 

600 credits per person on the team for saving Ranem Tiiv 50 credits per person on the team for each hostage saved (up to 900 credits per person) -300 credits per person on the team if Ranem Tiiv was left in the dreadnaught crash 3000 credits if the dreadnaught was successfully crash-landed 5 Points of Obligation reduction or 10 points of Duty per person on the team for eliminating Bollin the Grey, as Ranem Tiiv gains greater economic prominence in the sector.

The

frontier space that is the Outer Rim is

home to many uncommon forms and ways of life. The Savareen sector and its neighbors are emblematic of this eclectic assortment of peoples, technology, and life. No matter what way of life you take up in the Outer Rim – the Siniteen who takes up as an astrogator with a smuggler’s crew, the Nelvaanian warrior taking his first steps into a larger world, or the Pacithhip ingénue eager to make her way as a trader offworld – you’re bound to be a little bit of an explorer as well.

As luck would have it, there’s no shortage of resources for the enterprising travelers of the Outer Rim in the Savareen sector. From uniquely modified vessels to bizarre yet useful tools, there’s something for everyone in the Outer Rim.

The Savareen sector and its neighbors are home to many unique species, and the sector itself is characterized by its people’s tendency towards exploration. This section offers rules for three species which are emblematic of that drive to explore – Siniteen, Nelvaanians, and Pacithhip.

The Siniteen is a species known across the galaxy for their unique mental aptitudes. Naturally gifted with mathematics and patterns, the Siniteen are successful in many different professions. Siniteen work best with other nonSiniteen, and consequently have spread themselves all across the galaxy. Physiology: While the general humanoid form of the Siniteen is unremarkable, averaging a height and weight on par with humans, they are best recognized for their notable heads. While some consider their yellow, pupil-less eyes disconcerting, the heavy brow that extends from their large skulls draws the most attention. Shaped like an oversized cerebellum, these large, hairless heads lend themselves to many a “brain-“ nickname. Society: The Siniteen people are one largely living in a diaspora. The original Siniteen society was a very capable one, although history indicates that it was one characterized by an excessive attention to minutiae. Despite their vast intellectual prowess, the Siniteen did not advance far beyond any of the other species of the galaxy due to this propensity for becoming mired in detail. Consequently, many thousands of years ago they emigrated from their homeworld to pursue more intellectually rich lives with other species. Now, it is very rare that Siniteen will come into intentional contact with another member of their species. A loose contact network, managed by a volunteer Siniteen governing body, exists to facilitate marriages and procreation between Siniteen. Other than that, however, Siniteen by and large prefer to work with aliens.

Homeworld: The location of the Siniteen homeworld is actually in dispute. Given the thousands of years since the mass Siniteen emigration, the exact location is lost to time. Experts believe, based off of population distribution data, that the original homeworld was somewhere in the Savareen sector, although no one knows for certain. Language: Although the Siniteen possess a great faculty for learning language, they speak Basic as a primary language. This is borne out of necessity if nothing else, given the Siniteen’s broad distribution throughout many different cultures. Life in the Galaxy: The Siniteen are a widelytraveled race and they’ve insinuated themselves into many different roles throughout the galaxy. Given their desire to work with diverse groups, they often find themselves at home in multicultural organizations, which can mean government or military organizations in the Core or smuggling rings or enterprise Rimward.

The Siniteen, Nelvaanians, and Pacithhip species all possess unique physical attributes and appearances, all of which are far beyond my ability to sketch well. For players and Game Masters interested in visualizing these new species, please refer to their entries on Wookieepedia, which are replete with visual references.   

Siniteen on Wookieepedia Nelvaanians on Wookieepedia Pacithhip on Wookieepedia

2

2

*

1

2

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

Wound Threshold: 9 + Brawn Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower Starting Experience: 110 XP Special Abilities: Siniteen have a starting Intellect

=

(

√(

) )

(rounded to the nearest whole number, minimum Intellect = 2), where X = number of total ranks in Knowledge skills at character creation (none of which can be raised beyond 2 during character creation), Y = number of ranks in Knowledge skills acquired for free from Career or Specialization skills, and A = number of different Knowledge skills that are starting Career or Specialization skills. Experience may not be spent to improve Intellect. Astrogator Savants: Siniteen are well-known for being able to calculate hyperspace jumps without computer aid. Before making an Astrogation check, Siniteen may spend on Destiny Point to be granted an automatic (additional) on the check.

Hailing from the icy world of Nelvaan, the Nelvaanians are a relatively primitive species compared to the general galactic civilization. Although their technological backwardness has kept Nelvaanians from being a common sight in the galaxy, the occasional member of the species can be seen lending his or her tracking skills outside of his or her home environment. Physiology: Nelvaanians are a bipedal mammalian species, bearing many similarities to the Bothan and Shistavanen species, prompting some to question the possibility of a

common distant ancestor. Notably, Nelvaanians have a blue-furred body, which may have been an evolutionary advantage on the icy blue world they call home. Following an incident during the Clone Wars, a unique mutation was introduced into some lines of Nelvaanian males – these Nelvaanians were substantially larger and stronger than normal Nelvaanian males, although their capacity for speech appeared to be somewhat reduced. This characteristic was heritable, but only in males of the species. Society: Nelvaanian society is a largely tribal one, with individual clans governed by a partnership between a loosely-elected leader and a spiritual elder. The remainder of the tribe’s responsibilities was split along gender lines, with males being responsible for external roles, such as scouting and defense, and females responsible for internal roles, such as caregivers and artisans. The Nelvaanian religion, which was central to their way of life, was centered on a ritualistic worship of the land, which they referred to as the “Great Mother.” This lent itself to an occasionally nomadic way of life, as Nelvaanians were loath to make the large modifications to the land necessary to support long-term settlements. Homeworld: Located in the remote Koovi system in the Savareen sector, Nelvaan was a mild, mountainous planet. Near the end of the Clone Wars, however, an experimental facility created by the Confederacy of Independent Systems drastically changed the climate of the planet, resulting in the global frigid conditions it has borne since.

Language: Nelvaanians, with few exceptions, universally speak their own language of Nelvaanese as a primary language. This is mostly a result of their lack of contact with the galaxy in general, though. Life in the Galaxy: Nelvaan was a rarely-visited planet in the years prior to the Clone Wars, being only of interest to water freighter captains stopping by to harvest some of the planet’s rich, mostly-untapped resources. However, after the climatological crisis the planet faced during the Clone Wars, greater attention was drawn toward the planet and its people, and the increased contact meant that some of the first Nelvaanians were able to move off the planet and enter galactic society, although this was still very rare.

2

2

2

3

1

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

Wound Threshold: 11 + Brawn Strain Threshold: 10 + Willpower Starting Experience: 120 XP Special Abilities: Nelvaanians have a unique Talent tree that can only be purchased from during character creation. Unlearned: Nelvaanians have little cultural experience with technology or the intellectual advancements of the galaxy. All Astrogation, Computers, Mechanics, and (non-creature) Piloting checks are increased in difficulty by one.

The highly recognizable Pacithhip species is one characterized by patience and stoicism, and is generally well-regarded by other cultures for it. They’ve been a part of the larger galactic society for thousands of years, although they are still most often found in the few sectors surrounding their homeworld, including the Dalchon, Arkanis, and Savareen sectors. Physiology: The Pacithhip are relatively short in stature, compared to humans, although they aren’t a frail species by any stretch of the

imagination. They have a thick, rough, usually grey skin, and often have squat, fat forms for their height. Most notably, their faces are notable for having an enlarged proboscis, framed by two substantial tusks. The proboscis is known to be somewhat prehensile. Society: Pacithhip society is caste-based, although caste sorting is not based off of family status or merit, but rather off of the formation and shape of each individual’s tusks. Each of the three primary Pacithhip castes – the farmer, scholar, or warrior castes – has a tusk pattern uniquely identified with it. Following a young Pacithhip’s passage through adolescence, these tusks take their adult shape, and the individual is sorted into his expected caste. The natural affect of Pacithhips was one of stoicism. Perhaps because of their adherence to a rigid societal structure, the Pacithhip tend to yield to authority or things as they happen with little resistance. This works both to their advantage and disadvantage, as they are able to easily get along with alien cultures, but by the same token they are more ripe for oppression, as they have seen with the Galactic Empire. Homeworld: The verdant world of Shimia, located in the Dalchon sector, is the homeworld of the Pacithhip species. After the rise of the Empire, Shimia became an Imperial world in large part due to the lack of resistance from the Pacithhip people. Language: Most Pacithhip understand and speak Basic well, although their native language is Shimiese. Shimiese is a language uniquely suited for Pacithhip physiology, as it incorporates mouth vocalizations with trumpets and snorts from their elongated noses.

Life in the Galaxy: Due to their easygoing natures, Pacithhip have not had a hard time integrating with other peoples of the galaxy. Their malleable nature has allowed them to easily adapt to environments not their own, and their openness to other cultures has given them the ability to learn new ideas quickly. Despite the highly-structured castes found in Pacithhip society on Shimia, most Pacithhips who live offworld usually don’t fit themselves into any kind of caste system, usually because the cultures they live in don’t use that sort of structure. Additionally, to integrate more fully into alien species, offworld Pacithhip will occasionally attach robotic stilts to their legs, which gives them a stature more fitting with most other humanoids.

3

1

2

2

1

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

Wound Threshold: 10 + Brawn Strain Threshold: 11 + Willpower Starting Experience: 80 XP Special Abilities: Pacithhip begin the game with one rank in Cool. They still may not train Cool above rank 2 during character creation. Due to their thick skin, Pacithhip begin the game with one rank in the Enduring talent. Pacithhip are normally Silhouette 0 due to their height, but a player may choose to have his character equip Pacithhip robotic stilts, which is a cybernetic implant that changes his Silhouette to 1. Tusks: Pacithhip tusks are potentially deadly weapons, should a Pacithhip be provoked to use them in a fight. When a Pacithhip makes Brawl checks to deal wounds to an opponent, he deals +1 damage and his attack has the Pierce 1 and Vicious qualities.

Built by BlasTech Industries, one of the galaxy’s premier manufacturers of blaster weapons, the DT-57 is a blaster pistol in a category shared by few others – the “superheavy” blaster pistol. Although this is called and looks like a blaster pistol, the DT-57 shares more in common internally with larger blaster carbines, and its high-output magazine is reflected in the results. As one of the most dangerous and powerful pistols on the market, the DT-57 is a sidearm that often makes carrying larger weapons superfluous.

Living on the fringes of the galaxy necessitates being prepared, and being prepared for danger is at the top of that checklist. Few know this better than the people of the Savareen sector, and the weapons technology represents that spirit – being prepared for anything.

The first weapon in every explorer’s arsenal is usually a blaster. The most versatile tool in the galaxy outside of a hydrospanner – and depending on where you live, maybe more versatile than that – a good blaster will keep you fed and keep you safe whether you’re on a world of 30 million or 30.

Energy Weapons DT-57 Blaster Pistol

This small pistol, designed for personal defense, especially against mechanical enemies, rose to popularity in the Outer Rim in the height of the Clone Wars. Capable of nearly fully disabling attacking droids, the Deactivator also proved to

Ranged (Light) Ranged (Light) Ranged (Heavy) Ranged (Heavy) Ranged (Heavy)

9

3

Medium

3

4

1350

7

Cumbersome 2

6

4

Short

1

1

500

4

2

5

Short

4

0

350

2

Disorient 2, Ensnare 2 (Droid Only), Stun Damage Breach 1, Inaccurate 1

9

2

Extreme

5

2

2250

6

8

4

Long

6

2

2100

5

Ranged (Light) TM-31 Impact Pistol Ranged (Light) HB-4 Hunting Rifle Ranged (Heavy) Explosives and Other Weapons Repulsor Throwing Razor Ranged (Light) Precision Flame Rifle Ranged (Heavy) Bolt Caster Ranged (Heavy) Smoke Grenade Ranged (Light)

5

3

Short

1

2

450

4

Superior, Pierce 1

4

5

Short

1

0

400

5

Sunder

7

2

Long

4

2

1250

6

Prepare 1, Guided 1

5

1

Long

1

0

1500

4

7

3

Medium

6

1

1700

3

Pierce 2, Vicious 2, Limited Ammo 1 Burn 3, Accurate

7

5

Short

5

1

5

Auto-Fire, Ensnare 1

-

-

Short

1

0

(R) 1950 50

4

Limited Ammo 1

Deactivator Hold-out Pistol Mining Laser X-45 “Riflette” W-90 Concussion Rifle Slugthrowers SH-9 Slugthrower Pistol

Prepare 2, Accurate 1, Pierce 2, Cumbersome 3 Cumbersome 3, Inaccurate 1, Concussive 1, Blast 4

be an effective weapon against hostile organics. Add to Perception checks to find a Deactivator Hold-Out Pistol on a wearer’s body.

While ostensibly only a tool to break down rocks or other hard materials while mining, laborers in frontier mining colonies know that mining lasers double as workable self-defense tools as well. While the lasers are low in power and inaccurate on moving targets, they do possess a highly-focused cutting beam that eats through the hardest of materials.

Developed by SoroSuub Corporation as a highend consumer sporting sniper rifle, the X-45 is a precise, lethal tool. Unfortunately for users on backwater planets, the rifle is finicky and fragile and requires a high degree of maintenance to keep in working order. For this reason, the rifle is transported in parts in a case. When disassembled, observers must pass an Easy ( ) Knowledge (Warfare) check to

recognize the rifle’s case as being a weapon.

Similar in structure to several other BlasTech blaster rifles, the BlasTech W-90 fires a compressed energy charge rather than a particle beam. The result is a projectile that’s significantly slower but definitively more explosive at impact, as the shock wave created at impact is capable of incapacitating its victims as well as dealing large amounts of “splash” damage.

While most in the galaxy prefer modern blaster weapons over antiquated slugthrower designs, slugthrowers offer two primary advantages in the wildernesses of the Outer Rim – not only are they inexpensive to maintain, but many times, they’re more reliable and sturdier weapons. As a result, several unique slugthrower designs have emerged in the Savareen sector for interested spacers.

This small pistol, created by Czerka Arms, one of the most well-known slugthrower design factories, was originally made for paramilitary forces in the Mid Rim. However, it’s seen success all through the galaxy, as guns-for-hire in the Outer Rim and Rebel Alliance operatives in the Core Worlds have regarded the SH-9 favorably due to its power. Many models of this pistol are equipped with a silencer, giving the SH-9 stealthiness in addition to its deadliness.

A homegrown Rodian product, the TM-31 by Tonena Munitions is a slugthrower pistol designed as a support weapon against heavily armored opponents, bestial or humanoid. The slugs fired by the pistol are filled with a charge that detonates on impact, fracturing the protective gear it comes into contact with.

Prax Arms’s HB-4 Hunting Rifle was designed as a means of hunting down highly agile opponents at long range. While an exceptional weapon for an accurate hunter already, if the target moves out of the path of the original shot, a tiny microfilament cord, trailing from the slug to the rifle, is able to send minor course corrections into the path of the bullet, ensuring that it hits its target.

Although guns are usually sufficient to get the job done, the quarries of the Outer Rim are rarely conventional, and for the discerning hunter, require similarly unconventional solutions.

Also known as a Rodian Throwing Razor, the repulsor throwing razor is a small, jagged, crescent throwing knife used to hit targets at a distance. These throwing knives are unique, though, in that they have tiny repulsorlift generators built in to enable continued flight beyond the throwing distance of the user. Additionally, the repulsor-aided flight is able to ensure that, once thrown, the razor can be returned to its user. If the repulsor throwing razor fails to hit, the user may spend to have it return to his hand.

Most flame rifles, large, open-mouthed devices, are designed to spray large quantities of flammable liquid over an area and light it on fire. The Precision Flame Rifle employs a similar principle to a different result. This long, rifled gun shoots a high-pressure guided stream of propellant followed almost immediately by a plasma torch, creating a weapon that has a targeted fire attack more similar to a beam weapon than a flamethrower.

Drever Corporation’s series of plasma disruptors started as a military enterprise, but following the end of the Clone Wars, they expanded out into civilian markets. The civilian version of their bolt caster, though, is in many ways the same as its military model, the DN bolt caster. Firing a chaining bolt of electricity, the bolt caster is able to shock and incapacitate multiple targets at once, its only real weakness being its rather poor range.

This small thrown weapon is a nonlethal means of obscuring the battlefield, the friend of many a smuggler or thief attempting to make a quick escape. These grenades disperse a heavy cloud of smoke over a small area, making it difficult to see or act. Whenever the user successfully makes an attack with the weapon (whether or not he deals damage), all targets within short range except for the user are Disoriented for two rounds.

Most of the time, business in the Savareen sector is best done at a distance, especially if it’s dangerous business. Nevertheless, sometimes circumstances dictate getting up close and personal with an enemy, and weaponsmiths in the Outer Rim are happy to answer the call of any situation.

The Rodian cryogen whip originated on Rodia but has since become a popular tool in underworld societies across the galaxy. Preferred for its ease of use, the cryogen whip is also a particularly nasty weapon. The handle of the whip contains a small cryogen receptacle, and whenever the whip makes contact, a cold shock hits the victim, aggravating their response to an already painful impact.

This unique blade, found in the employ of the Goa-Ato guild of Rodia, is a small personal knife with wicked, twin, “S”-shaped blades on either side. A great deal of care must be used when using this weapon, as careless handling can damage the user as often as it might the victim. On a successful attack with threat, may be spent to deal half damage (rounded up) to the user as well as the target.

A common sight in many tribal cultures across the galaxy, the hunting spear, while usually just a ceremonial piece, is still a deadly weapon in the right hands. These spears are usually fashioned with easily-harvestable materials, like wood, stone, or bone. Users may treat this weapon as either a melee weapon or a thrown weapon. The spear, once used as a thrown weapon, can be retrieved with a maneuver.

A popular device in many large cities, the snap baton is a small, collapsible melee weapon that can be easily kept in a pocket but rapidly expanded to a meter-long defensive tool.

Cryogen Whip Rodian Razor-Stick Hunting Spear Hunting Spear (thrown) Snap Baton

Melee Melee Melee Ranged (Heavy) Melee

+1 +2 +2 6

3 2 3 3

Short Engaged Engaged Short

2 1 4 -

1 1 0 -

700 450 250 -

4 4 1 -

Stun Damage, Vicious 2 Pierce 2, Vicious 1 Defensive 1, Pierce 1 Pierce 1, Limited Ammo 1

+1

3

Engaged

1

2

300

2

Disorient 2

However, though the tool was designed for defense, it ironically became a popular tool with thieves and muggers for its easy concealability from law enforcement personnel. Add to Perception checks to find a Snap Baton on a wearer’s body. The baton may be deployed from its compact state to its extended state as an incidental.

While many consider armor for its value in a firefight, it’s also worth considering the protection a piece of armor provides for hostile environments, especially if the wearer is going to be far from civilization.

Made by the company known across the galaxy for its hardy clothing, Ayelixe/Krongbing Textiles Corporation, the climbsuit is a lightlyarmored jumpsuit designed to aid with climbing. With special padding on the knees and elbows that adheres to slick surfaces, the climbsuit is appropriate for use in both natural environments like mountains or forests as well as industrial or urban environments. The Climbsuit reduces the difficulty of any Athletics checks made to climb by one.

There are several species of the galaxy that live in amphibious or entirely underwater societies, but even those that don’t often find need to travel underwater. Unfortunately, for most land-dwelling beings, travel underwater is an awkward, slow process. The combat wetsuit, made by Creshaldyne Industries, is designed to minimize the difficulty of working underwater while providing ample protection as well. The combat wetsuit provides both a breath mask and aids in underwater movement. Users wearing the wetsuit may breathe underwater without penalty and never suffer movement penalties when traveling underwater.

Karflo Corporation’s Uni-Environmental Survival Suit was made in response to the need for mining corporations to equip their pathfinders with gear that would protect them no matter what the surface conditions of a planet might be. The survival suit was their most successful piece of personal gear, despite Karflo specializing in mining equipment and not clothing, and it has been used as far out as Wild Space. Those wearing the Uni-Environmental Survival Suit reduce the rating of Fire, Acid, and Corrosive Atmospheres for the user by 3 (see EotE core rulebook p. 214).

Climbsuit Combat Wetsuit Uni-Environmental Survival Suit

0 1 0

1 1 2

400 1150 2700

In the wilds of the Outer Rim, being prepared to fight is a necessesity, but as often as not, an explorer’s greatest opponent won’t be someone or something that’s shooting at them. In cases like that, having the right gear, not the right gun, can mean the difference between life and death.

Sometimes the most helpful thing a lone spacer can have is the ear and voice of someone else. Being able to reach out and talk to that someone is difficult in the frontier, but not impossible.

This personal device is a device of last resort for the spacer or explorer lost in the blackness of space. Containing a powerful, compact power source, this palm-sized device is powerful enough to send a short message to nearly anyone in the sector – however, it can only do it once. Once the short message has finished being transmitted, the power supply is unable to spool back up for another shot and must be completely replaced.

Cybernetics aren’t an uncommon sight in the Savareen sector. Not everyone’s born equal, but the best explorers and hunters don’t let that stop them from trying to shore up their weaknesses with modern cybermedicine.

2 4 5

2 1 1

2 4 5

Implanted directly onto the optic nerve, this tiny cybernetic allows its user to process information about other people in close proximity, including data on heart rate, pupil dilation, and body temperature. This information could then be used to help contextualize the target’s behavior and emotional state. A character implanted with the Verifier gains one rank in Charm and Deception and all incoming Deception checks against the user are upgraded one time.

This small, external ocular implant is designed to give its user insight into the position and actions of a single target. When active, the tracking interface overlays a virtual heads-up display over its user’s field of view, which displays positional data of a target. A character using a tracking interface may select one target they can see within short range, and as long as that target remains within extreme range of the tracking interface, the user will be aware of the target’s position no matter what visual obstruction may occur.

Good help is hard to find, and many solo explorers in the Outer Rim turn towards consistently faithful and reliable droids to help them in their journeys.

Communications Emergency Hypercomm Pulse Cybernetics “Verifier” Monitoring Implant Tracking Interface Droids Seeker Remote Droid Autoturret Drugs and Consumables Pheromone Cocktail Medical Antitoxin Patch Adrenal Stamina Stimulant Stabilization Gel Security Holographic Disguise Matrix Anti-Repulsor Trap Survival EMS-90 Bubble Cloak Foraging Kit Dampener Aerosol Personal Fire Suppressant Tools Repulsor Boots Magnetic Boot Fittings

1150

1

3

5000 6300

0 0

6 5

3150 (R) 2300

2 4

2 5

40

0

3

100 200 750

0 0 0

3 5 5

2400 1950

1 2

7 6

800 150 130 70

1 1 1 1

3 2 4 2

2200 300

2 2

5 3

These small, spherical automatons, like Arakyd’s Journeyman 460 or Rodian D-Tec’s RHTC-120 Explorer, were multipurpose droids designed around a whole host of applications that involve locating someone or something. Fitted with tiny repulsorlift generators, these remotes could be given a task on worlds with the roughest terrain and still perform exceptionally. Seeker remotes are used for a variety of tasks, but their skills made them particularly capable as couriers or scout droids. Some were even known to have their programming modified slightly to allow them to act as assassin droids, a task aided by their small size and tracking capabilities.

1

2

1

2

1

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

1

W. THRESHOLD

2

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Perception 1, Stealth 1, Skulduggery 1 Talents: None Abilities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink and can survive in vacuum or underwater. Immune to poisons or toxins.), Flyer (the seeker remote can fly; see page 202 in the EotE core rulebook), Silhouette 0 Equipment: Storage compartment (can hold one item of 1 Encumbrance or less), General Purpose Scanner

Similar in form factor to seeker or probe droids, droid autoturrets are commonly carried by mercenaries or soldiers seeking to give themselves a tactical advantage on the field of combat. Traditionally found in the employ of the lone warrior (rather than with larger groups), droid autoturrets enable a single person to create a strategic crossfire or set up a flanking maneuver without any companions. While these droids hover in a stationary position when deployed, they have a small profile and are easily hidden and hard to hit.

1

3

1

1

1

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

1

W. THRESHOLD

3

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Ranged (Light) Talents: None Abilities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink and can survive in vacuum or underwater. Immune to poisons or toxins.), Silhouette 0 Equipment: Droid blaster [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun Setting]

Far from the more-highly-regulated Inner Rim and Core Worlds, the people of the Savareen sector and the Outer Rim have access to many items that might raise an eyebrow in more civilized areas of the galaxy.

complete solution, preventative antitoxin patches have saved the lives of many an explorer bitten by an unknown creature on a newly-discovered world. For twenty-four hours after applying the patch, any Resilience checks made to resist the effects of poisons, toxins, or venoms is reduced in difficulty by one.

Similar to a perfume or cologne, this is a strong scent sprayed on to a user. It is designed to elicit a positive reaction from those in close contact. This particular cocktail is fairly inexpensive, and consequently the strong smell may occasionally be unpleasant.

A cocktail of adrenaline, atropine, and other drugs, this stimulant is designed to revive a critically-wounded patient and stabilize him for further medical care. This stimulant provides a temporary heightening of the user’s internal healing processes.

Pheromone cocktails are a one-use item that provides a conditional benefit to Charm checks made at short or engaged range. To determine the effect, the user should roll a d100. If the result is greater than 35, Charm checks made for the next hour have added to them. If the roll is 35 or less, Charm checks (for the next hour) have added to them.

Using one dose of an adrenal stamina stimulant requires a maneuver and will provide a when used with a critical injury recovery Medicine check. Adrenal stamina stimulants are one-use items.

One of the most important things a traveler in the Outer Rim can do is to take care of himself. When civilization is often light-years away, there may only be no one else to turn to for help, which is why having the gear to facilitate that is so critical.

A small epidermal patch that is adhered to the abdomen, the antitoxin patch is impregnated with a generalized antitoxin and antivenom, designed to bolster the user’s resilience to known poisons, venoms, and toxins. While not a

Stabilization gel is made from a combination of bacta and other medical agents suspended in a green paste. The gel was designed by doctors on Christophsis to be rapidly applied to painful wounds taken in the course of working deep underground and give its users enough time and capacity to make the journey back to a proper medical facility without distraction. Stabilization gel is a one-use item that removes the side effect of any or lower Critical Injury (although not the Critical Injury itself). It requires a maneuver to apply.

Security far from the rule of law often takes a more proactive approach than it might in more civilized systems. In many Outer Rim sectors, it’s just as valuable to make your move on an enemy before he can make his move on you as it is to try and react to those who might do you harm.

An invention predating the formation of the Galactic Empire by only a few years, the holographic disguise matrix is believed to be the handiwork of a Snivvian bounty hunter from Cadomai, although records are notoriously poorly kept in the underworld. Regardless of its inventor, two things are sure – it’s relatively new, and it’s incredibly effective. The disguise, controlled by a small holoshroud device, projects the form of another humanoid over the user’s body, a deception that’s almost imperceptible to the naked eye. When using this device, Deception checks made to impersonate the individual projected by the device are given two extra .

A small device, not much larger than a vehicle mine, the anti-repulsor trap is creates what’s known as a repulsorlift inversion field. The device works first by sensing the presence of a repulsorlift field within a close distance, and, once identified, sends a feedback pulse into the passing vehicle’s repulsorlift field to immediately ground the vehicle. As long as the vehicle’s engine remains active, the antirepulsor trap is able to use its own repulsorlift field against it, keeping it in place.

Pilots of vehicles that come within medium (personal) range of the anti-repulsor trap must pass a Daunting ( ) Piloting (Planetary) check or be immediately set to a speed of 0 for at least one round. Once caught, vehicles cannot leave the trap unless the pilot passes a Hard ( ) Piloting (Planetary) check.

The challenges of making one’s way in the wilderness of the Outer Rim are extensive and varied. Those explorers, spacers, and travelers that are the most successful are usually those prepared to survive in whatever situation they might discover next.

This thick cape might be mistaken for an ordinary cloak by most observers, but in reality, it’s a self-expanding device designed to provide the wearer with a temporary but effective makeshift personal escape pod. When the user activates a small trigger on the cloak’s shoulder, the bubble cloak expands to its eponymous bubble, a small enclosure a little larger than a meter in diameter. Once inside, the wearer is insulated and enclosed in an environmentally sealed container and provided with a small, two-hour air supply.

Whether it’s because the ration packs have finally run out or because the local food is simply intolerable, sometimes travelers find themselves needing to live off the land for long periods of time. A foraging kit, containing small harvesting tools, an agricultural scanner, and a water purifier, is able to allow users to gather plenty of food to live off of from the

environment around them. As long as a planet supports life, the foraging kit should allow enterprising spacers to find food on it.

A small canister that sprays a fine mist of plasma-dispersing gas, dampener aerosol is often used in industrial situations when heavy energy tools might be in use – mining, for example. Dampener aerosol is often useful for dangerous situations where carrying bulky armor isn't necessary or desired. Dampener aerosol is a personal spray that can be used with a maneuver to grant +1 soak to one person for one round. Dampener aerosol is a one-use item.

These small, handheld firefighting foam dispensers are made to be stored on one’s person in case of fire. By pressing a small plunger at the end of the canister, the device immediately covers its user in a semi-gaseous spray of aerosolized foam, which is usually enough to put out most small fires. A personal fire suppressant canister is a one-use device, and upon spending a maneuver to use it, combustive or chemical flames are immediately doused (removing the effects of Burn without making a Coordination check).

Making one’s way in the fringes of the galaxy is a lot of work, and that work often requires a specialized effort. Having the right tools to take care of whatever problems may arise is key to surviving and thriving in the Outer Rim.

These boots are powered by a micro-repulsorlift unit that effectively allows the user to operate as a very slow landspeeder. Maximum altitude of these boots is only a couple meters, and the boots can only maintain continuous operation for thirty minutes at a time. Regardless of these limitations, repulsor boots have found a niche in machine shop and warehouse use, where they give remarkable vertical maneuverability when working with large machines or vehicles. Repulsor boots allow the wearer to hover within Short range of the ground for up to thirty minutes at a time.

Magnetic boot fittings are made up of bulky electromagnetic pads that can fit onto shoes or inorganic feet. Designed to allow technicians to easily perform maintenance in zero-G environments, these fittings can be easily adapted to allow for other tasks, like maintenance of metallic structures. The boot fittings, while being worn, provide enough force to attach one Silhouette 1 (or smaller) being to any ferrous material. Any Agility or Brawn checks made with these on takes .

Although there are many small, independent shipbuilders in the Savareen sector – as there are in any part of the galaxy – none are anywhere near the scale of Core Worlds like Kuat or Corellia. Most of the time, spacers in the Outer Rim have to make do with whatever they can scrounge up. This makes for a hungry, clever clientele that manages to eke every last bit of use out of designs that might have been rejected in other places.

Customization Hard Points: 1 Weapons: None

The transport vehicles of the Savareen sector have to meet two basic needs – safety and reliability. There’s simply no way around the fact that, when one is working half a planet away from the nearest speeder repair shop, a speeder breakdown is simply unacceptable.

Sometimes it’s best, on worlds where the terrain is dangerous and unstable, to simply take to the sky. Setting oneself away from the dangers of the ground is an excellent way to explore new worlds while minimizing risk.

Originally an aftermarket civilian modification of SoroSuub’s RGC-16 airspeeder, the EGC-16 airspeeder plans became popular enough for SoroSuub to release a set of official schematics for the build, one designed to enclose and reinforce the cabin of the airspeeder against the environment.

2

2

0

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

5

ARMOR

0 6

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Airspeeder/EGC-16 Manufacturer: SoroSuub Corporation/Civilian Maximum Altitude: 50 kilometers Sensor Range: Short Crew: One pilot Encumbrance Capacity: 6 Passenger Capacity: 1 Cost/Rarity: 6,800 credits/2

As one of the earliest production model designs in Bespin Motors swoop bike series, the JR-4 has seen use in many corners of the galaxy. With its relative agedness, the JR-4 has mostly been relegated to second-hand markets in the Outer Rim. However, it’s a rugged, reliable bike and it remains a very effective vehicle for the price.

2

3

+1

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

3

Hull Type/Class: Swoop/JR-4 Manufacturer: Bespin Motors Maximum Altitude: 550 meters Sensor Range: None

ARMOR

0 3

SS. THRESHOLD

Crew: One pilot Encumbrance Capacity: 3 Passenger Capacity: None Cost/Rarity: 2,800 credits/3 Customization Hard Points: 1 Weapons: None

Damage, Burn 3, Blast 8], Stun Panels [Fire Arc all, Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Stun Damage, Disorient 1, Knockdown]

More commonly seen in the Corporate Sector, the JX40 is a rugged, reliable TaggeCo make popular in many areas with law enforcement personnel. It runs double duty as both a prisoner transport vehicle as well as a riot control vehicle.

3 SILHOUETTE

1 SPEED

-1 HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

6

ARMOR

0 7

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Landspeeder/JX40 Manufacturer: TaggeCo Maximum Altitude: 10 meters Sensor Range: Close Crew: One pilot, one gunner Encumbrance Capacity: 100 Passenger Capacity: 40 prisoners Cost/Rarity: 24,000 credits/(R) 5 Customization Hard Points: 0 Weapons: (All these weapons use personal scale, not planetary scale) Grenade Launcher [Fire Arc forward, Damage 8, Critical N/A, Range: Medium, Disorient 3, Stun Damage, Blast 8], Steam Jets [Fire Arc left or right, Damage 8, Critical 4, Range: Short, Stun

SoroSuub’s APC-2 was a testbed of features for a military personnel carrier. While it saw limited use in the ground forces of the Rebel Alliance, ultimately, the vehicle never saw widespread adoption due to its perceived lack of armament relative to its size.

4

1

-3

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

22

ARMOR

5 18

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Armored Personnel Carrier/APC-2 Manufacturer: SoroSuub Corporation Maximum Altitude: 5 meters Sensor Range: Close Crew: One pilot, one copilot, one gunner, one engineer Encumbrance Capacity: 125 Passenger Capacity: 30 combat-equipped troops Cost/Rarity: 61,000 credits/(R) 7 Customization Hard Points: 6 Weapons: Auto-Blaster [Fire Arc forward, Damage 3, Critical 5, Range: Close, Auto-Fire], Beam Turret [Fire Arc all, Damage 8 (Personal Scale), Critical 4, Range: Close, Accurate 2, Prepare 1]

While most think of starfighters as greater parts of a whole, for many snubfighter jockeys in the Outer Rim, their one starfighter is it – home, transportation, weapon, investment. As a result, the starfighters of the Savareen sector tend to be highly unique and heavily customized.

3

4

-2

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

7

ARMOR

2 6

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Starfighter/Planetary Defender Manufacturer: SoroSuub Corporation Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 3, Backup: None Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Close Ship’s Complement: One pilot Encumbrance Capacity: 6 Passenger Capacity: 1 Consumables: One week Cost/Rarity: 35,000 credits/2 Customization Hard Points: 2 Weapons: Twin Wingtip Light Laser Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 5, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Close]

The 8-Q was originally constructed before the Clone Wars as a heavily modifiable spaceframe designed for independent shipyards to customize. The project was ultimately unsuccessful, financially, although certain elements of its design did make it into the far more popular Y-Wing Starfighter.

SoroSuub’s Planetary Defender fighter is not, as one might surmise, a very capable space superiority fighter. Designed to fill the space between small, unarmed fighters and military starfighters, the Planetary Defender is only ever used by small forces, usually a planet’s local defense force – thus the name. For the Outer Rim pilot, Planetary Defenders are an inexpensive way to ward off opportunistic pirates for long enough to make a jump out of the system.

3

4

0

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

11

ARMOR

2 8

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Starfighter/Toscan 8-Q Manufacturer: Shobquix Yards Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: None Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Close Ship’s Complement: One pilot and one copilot Encumbrance Capacity: 10 Passenger Capacity: None Consumables: Two weeks Cost/Rarity: 60,000 credits/6 Customization Hard Points: 3

Weapons: Wingtip Mounted Light Laser Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 5, Critical 3, Linked 3, Range: Close], Concussion Missile Launcher [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Short, Breach 4, Blast 4, Guided 3, Limited Ammo 2, Slow-Firing 1]

This heavy fighter model by Byblos Shipyards was created to fill a niche between personal starfighters and small transports. This ship is treated as a Silhouette 4 vessel for the purpose of mounting weapons and attachments.

3

4

-1

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

12

ARMOR

3 8

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Starfighter/G-1A Manufacturer: Byblos Drive Yards Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Close Ship’s Complement: One pilot and one copilot Encumbrance Capacity: 20 Passenger Capacity: None Consumables: One month Cost/Rarity: 115,000 credits/5 Customization Hard Points: 2 Weapons: Twin Medium Laser Cannons [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 6, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Close], Light Tractor Beam [Fire Arc Forward, Damage -, Critical -, Range: Close, Tractor 2]

The Z-10, by Starfeld Industries, was built in response to a call for quick, small vessels for exploration in the Outer Rim and beyond. Although the vessel is lightly armed, it’s capable of supporting long-range scouting missions deep into potentially dangerous territory,

thanks to its easy reconfigurability and fast hyperdrive.

3

4

0

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

0 -

- 0

HT. THRESHOLD

14

ARMOR

3 11

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Scout Ship/Z-10 Manufacturer: Starfeld Industries Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 1, Backup: Class 12 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Long Ship’s Complement: One pilot Encumbrance Capacity: 50 Passenger Capacity: 2 Consumables: Two months Cost/Rarity: 45,000 credits/4 Customization Hard Points: 4 Weapons: Auto-Blaster [Fire Arc forward, Damage 3, Critical 5, Range: Close, Auto-Fire]

While there are certainly ships larger and more capable, few types of ships are more versatile than the small-to-medium freighter classes owned by independent operators that make up the majority of Outer Rim space traffic.

Of the dozens of attempts made by the Corellian Engineering Corporation to advance consumers beyond their YT-series, especially the YT-1300, few have been successful, and many have been outright failures. The YV-545 was one of the more successful attempts, although everything’s relative. Never quite surpassing its older sister ships in popularity, the YV-545 was still a capable freighter that became especially popular in the Outer Rim.

4

3

+1

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 1

HT. THRESHOLD

25

ARMOR

3 17

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Freighter/YV-545 Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Short Ship’s Complement: One pilot and one copilot Encumbrance Capacity: 115 Passenger Capacity: 5 Consumables: Three months Cost/Rarity: 120,000 credits/5 Customization Hard Points: 4 Weapons: One Dorsal and One Ventral Turret Mounted Twin Medium Laser Cannon [Fire Arc all, Damage 6, Critical 3, Linked 1, Range: Close]

Weapons: Twin Medium Laser Cannons [Fire Arc forward, Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Close, Linked 1]

Once considered one of Corellian Engineering Corporation’s most promising and innovative freighters, the Barloz-class has long since seen its popularity fade, as it was phased out in favor of newer models before the Clone Wars even started. However, the Barloz-class was a customizable, easy-to-maintain ship, and it’s not uncommon to see vessels of this class still available to use and purchase as you get farther away from the bright center of the galaxy.

4 Developed in response to the popularity of their Z-10 Seeker scout ship, the ZH-25 was Starfeld’s attempt to focus on the areas they’d already seen the Z-10 be customized for – high-speed, long range delivery. To address the defensive deficiencies of the Z-10, the ZH-25 was scaled up in size, offering greater protection at the expense of just a little speed with no loss of range.

4

3

-1

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 1

HT. THRESHOLD

30

ARMOR

3 20

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Light Freighter/ZH-25 Manufacturer: Starfeld Industries Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Medium Ship’s Complement: One pilot, one copilot Encumbrance Capacity: 100 Passenger Capacity: 6 Consumables: Three months Cost/Rarity: 115,000 credits/6 Customization Hard Points: 3

SILHOUETTE

3 SPEED

-1 HANDLING

DEFENSE

1 -

- 1

HT. THRESHOLD

20

ARMOR

3 14

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Medium Freighter/Barloz-Class Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: Class 12 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Short Ship’s Complement: One pilot, one copilot Encumbrance Capacity: 120 Passenger Capacity: 4 Consumables: Two months Cost/Rarity: 90,000 credits/6 Customization Hard Points: 6 Weapons: One Port and One Starboard Turret Mounted Light Laser Cannon [Fire Arc all, Damage 5, Critical 3, Range: Close]

Many of the largest ships that pass through the Savareen sector are the massive industrial ships that support the various industries on its resource-rich worlds. Capable of transporting large amounts of cargo safely and performing operations on a scale that would simply be impossible for transports or fighters, these vessels are the backbone of many of the Outer Rim’s commercial enterprises.

Designed for small, independent mining crews but often drafted into service for larger mining concerns, such as those on and around Christophsis, the Y-8 mining vessel was made to be hardy enough float idle in dense asteroid belts and mine using mining cutting lasers. Because of the Y-8’s stout defenses, mercenaries were known to occasionally refit the vessels as combat ships.

5

3

-2

SILHOUETTE

SPEED

HANDLING

DEFENSE

2 1 1 2 HT. THRESHOLD

21

ARMOR

3 20

SS. THRESHOLD

Hull Type/Class: Mining Vessel/Y-8 Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation Hyperdrive: Primary: Class 2, Backup: Class 15 Navicomputer: Yes Sensor Range: Close Ship’s Complement: One pilot, two copilots, four gunners Encumbrance Capacity: 1700 Passenger Capacity: 4 Consumables: Two months Cost/Rarity: 165,000 credits/6 Customization Hard Points: 2 Weapons: Twin Mining Lasers [Fire Arc Forward, Damage 3, Critical 4, Linked 1, Breach 2, Range: Close], MediumTractor Beam [Fire Arc Forward, Damage -, Critical -, Range: Close, Tractor 4]

No matter what the age or condition of the ship, if the ship’s mechanic makes a concerted effort to change, tweak, and modify the vessel, even the grungiest of freighters can surpass a ship fresh off the factory line.

Pirates, criminals, law enforcement – there’s no wanting for danger for those skirting the edges of the Outer Rim in a starship. While a quick getaway is always ideal, sometimes a spacer’s got to fight his way out of a situation, and if he’s going to get into a fight, he may as well be prepared.

This small, missile-launched projectile is known far and wide across the Outer Rim as the preferred tool of pirates and thieves. Once deployed, a Conner net envelops a ship and deals massive amounts of electrical damage to the vessel. This is usually enough to completely incapacitate smaller vessels, making them easy prey for hijackers.

The magnetic pulse warhead is a system recently developed, a result of the ongoing war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Originally confined to military starfighters only, plans of the warhead leaked to civilian manufacturers, enabling knock-off versions to become available to enterprising space fighters across the galaxy. Whenever a starship is hit by a mag pulse torpedo, any Critical Hit results in one of the target’s weapon system (attacker’s choice) being disabled for one round.

A beam weapon system, the jamming beam, rather than disrupting the flight of enemy craft like a tractor beam, instead disrupts their offensive capability. The jamming beam sends massive amounts of junk sensor data that overwhelms the fire control systems of its target, preventing it from making an accurate target lock. Whenever a successful hit is made with the jamming beam, regardless of whether or not it deals damage, all of the target’s attacks made for one round take .

Conner Net Mag Pulse Torpedo Launcher Jamming Beam

Close Short

12 4

3 1

4-10 3-10

12000 8500

(R) 5 6

Close

-

-

3-10

5000

6

Ion, Limited Ammo 3, Slow-Firing 2 Ion, Breach 2, Guided 1, Limited Ammo 3, Slow-Firing 1 Accurate 1

Nestled just near the border of the Mid Rim, the Savareen sector is, for many, the gateway into the wilderness of the Outer Rim. Not as rough-and-tumble as the large swath of Hutt Space further to the galactic north, nor as structured and controlled as the Corporate Sector even farther away, the Savareen sector is a unique combination of civilization and frontier; a galactic border town. Located near the terminus of the Corellian Run, one of the galaxy’s largest trade routes, the Savareen sector is home to worlds like Rodia and Christophsis, large, developed worlds home

to millions. It also holds worlds like Nelvaan, worlds that are untapped, rich worlds full of promise, only recently visible in the galactic eye. Despite the vast developmental differences between worlds like these, though, all the systems of the Savareen sector have one heartbeat – the search for the rare and the novel. Far from the galactic core, the mysteries of the galaxy’s frontier feel almost tangible here. It’s this hope that pulls explorers, hunters, and treasure-seekers from around the galaxy into this portal into the Outer Rim.

Astronavigation Data: Tyrius System, Savareen Sector, Outer Rim Territories Orbital Metrics: 305 days per year/29 hours per day Government: Clan-based dictatorship Population: 1.4 billion (Rodian 98%, Other 2%) Languages: Rodian, Huttese, Basic Terrain: Jungle, swamp, ocean Major Cities: Iskaayuma (capital), Equator City, Matza, Karsteeku, Samana, Yusk Areas of Interest: Chekkoo Enclave, Wesessa Sea, Sirinettu Highlands Major Exports: Weapons technology, tracking equipment, exotic animals Major Imports: Foodstuffs, luxury goods

into a violent hunter people, a cultural tendency that took a great deal of effort to work past before rising to prominence in the galaxy. More prosaically, the tendency of the wilderness to grow unabated has forced Rodian settlements into a unusual architectural style – despite the largely hospitable nature of the environment, Rodians build most of their large settlements in giant, clear-domed protective structures.

Trade Routes: None Special Conditions: None Background: Rodia is the green jewel of the five-planet Tyrius system; a lush, wet world known for its variety and complexity of tropical flora and fauna. Nearly the entire world is watery in one way or another, from its dense tropical rainforests to its swampy jungles to the vast seas that cover a majority of the planet. Although the environment is a rich one, it also bears many dangers. The fruitful land has given rise to fierce predators, and this has influenced the Rodian culture in many ways. The Rodians have been shaped by these dangerous wilds

Most planets that use large enclosures to protect their settlements do it as a matter of life or death – the environment outside is simply unlivable. Rodia is a different case. Its wilderness is eminently capable of supporting life, so capable, in fact, that Rodians in the past have had a hard time constructing longterm settlements that aren’t overrun by natural growth within a year or two. Consequently, Rodia has adopted a middle ground – their cities are fully enclosed, but rarely do they shut out the full breadth of nature outside. This makes for an exotic experience for the residents – almost like living inside a zoo.

The rich world of Rodia could have been one of many lost, primitive Outer Rim worlds were it not for the tenacity of its people. Rising from the ashes of centuries-long clan warfare, Rodian society found ways to smooth its rough edges and emerge as a major player in the larger galaxy.

The whole history of the planet has been shaped by competition. Rodia, a verdant, fruitful world, was bountiful enough to give rise to several dangerous species. Despite – or perhaps because of – the vast natural riches of Rodia, the various native species eventually grew in numbers enough to force a fierce struggle for those riches. Enter the Rodians. While not possessed of the sheer power of the ghests or the durability of the karstagg, they possessed a fierceness and intelligence that allowed them to dominate their natural world. Ironically, because of the density of the naturally-grown fauna on Rodia, the Rodians were unable to effectively turn the land for agriculture, and so needed to likewise compete with the dangerous animals of their world to survive. This fight to live shaped Rodian culture for the rest of time. They became extraordinarily proficient at hunting, and when early Rodians started running out of dangerous creatures to hunt, they began to hunt each other. This turned into a cycle of internecine warfare between Rodian clans that lasted for hundreds of years.

It wasn’t until the advent of the Soammei clan into prominence that Rodia saw its first glimmer of global organization. Their leader, through force of both arms and personality, created the position of Grand Protector to act as dictator over all Rodia. This first government was none too soon, as short years after the Protectorate was established, the first visitors from the galactic core arrived on Rodia. Although the Rodians were – as had become their wont – initially violent towards the newcomers, the current Grand Protector arrested the violence in favor of learning about the galaxy beyond, reasoning that intergalactic travel offered Rodians something new and highly desirable – the chance to hunt and dominate somewhere completely new. As Rodians began to integrate into galactic society, having joined the Republic as early as fifteen thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, their skills as hunters and trackers became well-known throughout the galaxy. They continue, to this day, to be known as some of the keenest bounty hunters the Outer Rim has to offer. Today, Rodia remains a relatively free society despite the hegemony of the Galactic Empire. Although the Empire is fiercely pro-human, Rodia has largely been spared any Imperial yoke simply because her people are so critical to the institution of bounty hunting, a practice both sanctioned and encouraged by the Empire.

The eponymous residents of Rodia, the Rodians are a culture of directed aggression. Despite their shorter-than-average stature, this reptilian people is well-represented in the prominent

actors of the Outer Rim, and even the galaxy as a whole. Rodians naturally tend towards roles that involve tracking or hunting, as is supported by their biology. They are largely colored in hues that afford them camouflage on their home world, which are most often shades of yellow and green, although abnormal pigmentations like red or blue are recessive traits that show up in occasional members of the species. They have exceptionally good perceptive senses, with a greater-than-average vision, allowing them to see farther into the infrared spectrum than humans. Rodians have social structures centered around clans, large multi-family groups that originally banded together as regional civilizations. These clans are now the foundation of cultural power in Rodian society, with the most powerful of the Rodian clans given the right to place a Grand Protector in charge over all Rodia. Although Rodian culture was originally characterized by internal strife, Rodians have found many ways over the years to turn their aggressive tendencies into useful assets for their development as a culture. The most prominent of these, of course, is their rise to prominence as some of the premiere bounty hunters and trackers in the Outer Rim. This has seen Rodians spread throughout the Mid and Outer Rim to become an extraordinarily populous species. Interestingly enough, another development of the Rodians’ sublimated aggression has been their notable dramatic theater production. Their original Rodian theater was designed to be a popularly consumed bloodsport, but over time, the fights evolved into something more ritualized. This gradual development into

something visibly creative has created an appreciation for the arts in Rodian society, something that often seems paradoxical to outsiders.

Rodia is characterized by its flourishing jungles and forests, and many of its most interesting and exciting sites are outside of the civilization Rodians have worked so hard to build. The following is a selection of some of the places to see on Rodia.

Nestled on the southeastern shores of the Sika Peninsula on Encheeko, Iskaayuma is the current capital city of Rodia, recently replacing Equator City as seat of power. This recent change was due to Rodia’s current Grand Protector, Navik the Red of the Chattza clan, desiring to minimize the influence of outside voices on his governance of the Rodians. Iskaayuma reflects this desire for control, as the city is in a perpetual state of near-martial-law. A common sight for citizens is a marching squad of Navik’s maroon-clad Protector’s Guard.

Iskaayuma’s other large industry – other than government – is weapons manufacturing, and there’s no bigger name in Iskaayuma weapons manufacturing than Rodmark. Interestingly enough, Rodmark used to be only in the middle of the pack of local weapons manufacturers, but after Navik the Red’s ascent to power, he went after the heart of the Roolek

clan, who had holed up in Rodmark Weapons Plant. The subsequent takeover and nationalization of the planet has brought it more success and profit than it ever had under control of the Roolek clan.

This large body of water emptying into the Iuliu Sea is actually the geographical center of Iskaayuma. As the city grew, it built outwards from its initial harbor until it fully surrounded the bay. The heavy industrialization of Iskaayuma has resulted in substantial changes to the ecology of the bay. Originally a relatively-deep inland body of water, as the land was cleared to further develop the city, the shores of Chattza Bay pushed further and further inland and the water level of the bay dropped until its connection to the Iuliu Sea was nearly dry. Subsequent efforts have been made to restore the flow of water out from the bay into the sea, as the bay acts as a source of both recreation and drinking water for the city residents.

Known in Basic as the Grand Protector’s Hunters’ Guild Hall, this large complex of buildings serves as the seat of the Grand Protector’s Hunters’ Guild. The Hunters’ Guild is the most ancient of Rodian bounty hunting organizations, with ties back to the very first bounty hunters ever allowed off-planet. The Eanca Goa-Ato, in addition to containing facilities for governing the Hunters’ Guild, also contains a great chronicle of all the previous hunts of guild members, a large auditorium, and special chambers reserved for the Grand Protector himself.

One of the few capitulations to visitors, travelers, or the arts, the Iskaa Concert Hall is the home stage for the world-renowned Rodian Galactic Drama Troupe. Designed in the style of some of the earliest Rodian coliseums, this ornate, open-air auditorium sits on the shore of the Chattza Bay and, especially when the Rodian Galactic Drama Troupe is in town, can hold nearly twenty thousand viewers. The Concert Hall is notable for being – according to Julo Rodof’s Travel in the Outer Rim – “the only place really worth seeing on the whole continent of Encheeko.”

Navik the Red, the current leader of Rodia – its Grand Protector – is the most prominent member of his own Chattza clan. He rose to power after the fall of the Republic, and he made several brutal, hard moves to get there. He took steps to display his power by turning the might of his Chattza clan against the weaker Tetsu clan. This served a twofold purpose. Not only did it demonstrate to the rest of the Rodians his power and resolve – a critical requirement for ascending to the role of Grand Protector – but it eliminated ideological rivals in the more peaceloving Tetsu clan. Once in power, Navik continued ruling with a hard hand. He was relentless in hunting down the remainder of the Tetsu clan, despite its expulsion from the home world. He also continued to consolidate his power by moving Rodia’s capital from its traditional home of Equator City to his clan’s stronghold in Iskaayuma.

The largest body of water on Rodia, the Wesessa Sea sits on the western border of the continent of Betu. As the location of some of the final battles of Rodia’s destructive inter-clan wars, the sea holds great historical significance for most Rodians.

Far in the northern reaches of the Wesessa Sea, this historical battlefield appears as normal as any other part of the vast ocean. However, once underwater, the countless sunken wrecks of ancient Rodian naval vessels tells the tale of Rodia’s most destructive historical war, the Third Great Conflict. This was the deadliest war Rodia ever saw, and it was their final one before taking to the stars. The multi-front war came to an end here, at the Senna Naval Battleground, where Rodia’s first Grand Protector forced two opposing clans to back down under threat of extraordinary force. This marked the beginning of Rodia’s Protectorate government. It is said that the first Grand Protector, upon his death, was given a full burial at sea at the Senna Naval Battleground.

This large archipelago sits in the western waters of the Wesessa Sea. Home to the An’yettu clan, these islands are a soft prison for its people. The current Grand Protector of Rodia imposed heavy geographical restrictions on the An’yettu clan, who he felt were making unearned inroads into the continent of Betu to the east. Consequently, he limited An’yettu holdings to this archipelago, and forced official clan settlements to uproot and return to the islands.

While the islands are rich in natural resources and are very capable of supporting the An’yettu clan at its current size, the population of the island is firmly opposed to the rule of Navik the Red, the current Grand Protector, and many of its inhabitants feel that their efforts would be best spent consolidating power in anticipation of making a move on Navik when he and his Chattza clan next show weakness.

One of the most ancient still-standing settlements on Rodia, the Chekkoo Enclave is something larger than a town, but lacking in the infrastructure of most modern Rodian cities. Originally built over twenty thousand years ago, the Chekkoo Enclave is an unenclosed settlement constructed largely out of quarried stone, although most modern repairs are made with other materials, giving the buildings a patchwork appearance. In lieu of an environment dome, the enclave is protected from overgrowth by a series of concentric walls, four in total. The majority of the enclave’s living facilities and working places lie in a massive tower located in the center of the settlement. This tower, built in sections over the course of a hundred years, sits nearly fifty stories tall. Other smaller buildings radiate out from the tower’s base, but the innermost wall prevents much further expansion, limiting the settlement to its current population of two hundred thousand Rodians of the Chekkoo clan.

The Sirinettu Highlands is the largest mountain range on Rodia – although compared to offworld mountain ranges, it’s rather short. The unique feature of the Sirinettu Highlands is its

vibrancy. While most mountain ranges are limited to a small subset of a planet’s flora and fauna, the Sirinettu Highlands sit in the middle of a large, dried inland sea on the continent of Betu, and consequently don’t rise very far above sea level. This mountain range, then, is covered from foot to peak in dense jungles. Some of the rarest forms of life on Rodia dwell in the Sirinettu Highlands. The Zooptu “soaring snake,” once thought hunted to extinction, can be found flying and dwelling in the upper altitudes of the mountains, while the ponderous, two-headed Guriguri dwells in the valley surrounding the highlands. The Sirinettu Highlands are also the main source of the tree which grows the Galma fruit, a deep red fruit prized for its nutritional density. The largest construction in the Highlands is a group of several Rodian orchards on the eastern face of the mountains designed just to harvest this fruit.

Rodia’s vast jungles are home to many different creatures, and collectors and xenobiologists all over the galaxy relish the opportunity to see them. The greatest and deadliest of all the creatures from Rodia, however, remains its clever and dangerous masters, the Rodians.

These giant, six-meter long reptiles sit comfortably at the top of the food chain in some swampy areas of Rodia. They have four clawed legs, although they are capable of rearing up onto their two hind legs and using the front legs as grasping arms. Rodians

originally assigned a mystical quality to the Ghests; because of their capacity to hide so effectively and strike so quickly, they were originally called “swamp demons,” believed to be spirits responsible for taking the souls of the dead.

4

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

1

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

2

9

S. THRESHOLD

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Skills: Brawl 3, Perception 1, Resilience 1, Stealth 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: None Abilities: Lurker (may take a maneuver to descend into mud or water, forcing a Perception vs. Stealth check to see it) Equipment: Feral Claws [Brawl, Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Disorient 1], Toothy Maw [Brawl, Damage 4, Critical 2, Range: Engaged, Vicious 3]

The Kwazel Maw, an oceanic slug species, shares many similarities with other species of slugs found around the galaxy – with the exception of its size. Capable of growing up to 100 meters in length, the Kwazel Maw is rarely seen on the surface. Instead, it hunts its prey with a unique lure. In the bottoms of deep swamps and other bodies of water, the Kwazel Maw entrances its prey with a series of bioluminescent lights along the length of its body, and when it moves in close to investigate, the Maw swallows it whole.

5

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

8

3

3

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

15

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Brawl 2, Deception 2, Perception 1, Resilience 3, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Vigilance 1

Talents: Adversary 2 Abilities: Bioluminescent Flash (As a maneuver, may make a Deception check against any target in Short range; upon succeeding, the target takes to its next check against the Kwazel Maw), Silhouette 3 Equipment: Full-body Tackle [Brawl, Damage 8, Blast 4, Critical 4, Range: Engaged, Disorient 2]

Also known as the Rodian Karstag, this amphibious mammal is a common sight in Rodia’s deep forests and swamps. While larger than Rodians, this predator usually chooses to dine on much smaller creatures, such as fish and rodents, although if pressed, it’s quite capable of defending itself against much larger creatures. Covered in a leathery armor shell, the Karstag is as home in the water as it is out, and it’s capable of moving rapidly in both environments, thanks to its webbed feet. In addition to its natural armor, the Karstagg has a particularly deadly spiked tail, which the creature uses as a swung weapon.

3

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

4

1

1

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

10

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Brawl 3, Perception 1, Resilience 2, Survival 1 Talents: None Abilities: None Equipment: Bite [Brawl, Damage 4, Critical 3, Pierce 2, Range: Engaged], Spiked Tail Club [Brawl, Damage 7, Critical 2, Pierce 1, Range: Short, Vicious 1]

This small, serpentine winged creature is known to Rodians best as the “soaring snake.” Born in nests in the jungle canopies, Zooptu drop to the ground as hatchlings and appear to be normal serpents until their first adult molt, when two pair of small wings emerge on the snake’s body. As the wings grow, the Zooptu becomes a more and more capable flyer until it eventually spends most of its time in the upper boughs of the highest jungle trees, hunting birds and other small creatures. Zooptu rarely attack large creatures (Rodians included), although when pressed to defend themselves, they are more than capable of delivering a painful, long-lasting venom to anyone.

2

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

4

1

1

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

8

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics, Perception, Stealth, Survival, Vigilance Talents: None Abilities: Flyer (adult Zooptu are proficient flyers, see the EotE core rulebook page 202) Equipment: Venomous Fang [Brawl, Damage 3, Critical 1, Range: Engaged, Pierce 2, Burn 4]

Rodia’s hunters and trackers are regarded as some of the best all across the galaxy, but some of the most lauded of all of Rodia’s hunters are those from the Goa-Ato, or the Grand Protector’s Hunters’ Guild. The Goa-Ato is an ancient society, having been around since the very first Rodians traveled offworld in search of new quarries. Today, this guild still represents the best of the best from Rodia, with new members being inducted by guild consensus and approval of the Grand Protector after particularly dangerous, successful, or thrilling hunting quests.

3

4

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

5

2

3

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

14

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Coercion 1, Deception 1, Discipline 1, Gunnery 1, Melee 1, Perception 1, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Resilience 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2, Vigilance 1 Talents: Adversary 1, Expert Tracker 1 (Remove from checks to find tracks or track targets. Decrease time to track a target by half.), Hunter 2 (Add to all checks when interacting with beasts or animals. Add +20 to Critical Injury results against beasts or animals.), Natural Marksman (Once per session, may reroll any Ranged (Light) or Ranged (Heavy) check.), True Aim 2 (Once per round, may perform a True Aim maneuver to gain benefits of aiming and upgrade combat check twice) Abilities: None Equipment: Modified blaster rifle [Ranged (Heavy), Damage 9, Critical 3, Range: Extreme, Cumbersome 2, Accurate 2, Stun setting], Vibroknife [Melee, Damage 4, Critical 2, Range: Engaged, Pierce 2, Vicious 1], Blaster pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 6, Critical 3, Range: Medium, Stun setting], Electrobinoculars

Astronavigation Data: Christoph System, Savareen Sector, Outer Rim Territories Orbital Metrics: 369 days per year/26 hours per day Government: Merchant-led oligarchy Population: 35 billion (Human 68%, Rodian 13%, Kerkoiden 11%, Other 8%) Languages: Basic, Rodian Terrain: Crystalline, rocky Major Cities: Chaleydonia (capital), Soriniya, Deep Mooritona Areas of Interest: Mooritona Canal, Great Crystal Sea, Farinom Impact Zone Major Exports: Raw materials and minerals, Artwork, Industrial goods Major Imports: Foodstuffs Trade Routes: Corellian Run Special Conditions: None Background: Christophsis, the crystal world, is a geological rarity. The planet’s surface is almost entirely covered in blue-green crystal growths, reflective and visible even from orbit. This led some spacers to give it the nickname “the Savareen Sapphire,” and many of those who approach the planet on the day side might agree with that assessment. Christophsis is also notable for being the most densely-populated world in the Savareen

sector, and indeed, is one of the most populated worlds in the Outer Rim. While it is indeed a beautiful planet, the reason for its large population has more to do with its location than anything else – it’s the primary hub on the Corellian Run for the Savareen sector. This, combined with Christophsis’s unique geological makeup, has allowed industry to flourish and populations to grow and support that industry.

NATURAL LIFE Because of Christophsis’s planetary geology – the surface is nearly entirely crystalline – very little in the way of natural organisms live on the surface. The few that do are usually imported species from visitors or immigrants to the planet. Christophsis isn’t without its own ecosystem, though. Deep beneath the surface of Christophsis lies a vast, underground cave system that supports many different varieties of life. These life forms rarely interact with the Christophsians on the surface, having adapted to living in the dark, dank cave environments. Miners have reported occasional encounters with these creatures, although usually the two groups know to stay out of each other’s way.

Christophsis has long been defined by its desirability, both as a world replete with harvestable resources and as a key waypoint on a major hyperlane. From its early history as a mining colony to its recent history as a major point of contention in the Clone Wars, Christophsis has never been short on suitors.

Ever since its discovery, early in the plotting of the first major hyperlanes, Christophsis has been recognized as a treasure trove of raw materials. At the center of a system with three major asteroid belts – the Barren, the Hammers, and the Halo – Christophsis has, in addition to its own rich land resources, been a prize for those who would journey into the system. However, for many thousands of years, the sheer volume of asteroids in the approach to the planet meant that only the bravest or the most foolhardy would attempt to tap into its resources. Consequently, up until about five hundred years before the dissolution of the Republic, Christophsis was only a curiosity, deemed too much of a risk to mine, despite its large potential. That changed when a Core Worlds mining concern from Tepasi made a concerted effort and expenditure of resources to transform the planet and its system into a workable mining colony. While the effort was extraordinarily expensive, as the first crews began to mine Christophsis and its nearby asteroids in earnest,

they discovered deep mineral veins far in excess of their original projections. The planet had transformed from a location of interest to speculators to a seriously prolific mining colony in just a few short years, and the original investors’ efforts paid off handsomely. The rapid growth – in both cultural prominence and resource output – continued up until the onset of the Clone Wars, at which time it was notable as one of the largest citizenries in the whole Outer Rim. This fact didn’t escape either side in the war, both of whom set their eyes on Christophsis as a critical strategic resource. Over the course of the war, the planet changed hands several times, at times even existing in partial control of both sides. This unstable allegiance was aided by the collapse of the planets oligarchical government at the beginning of the war. This collapse escalated tensions between the native Christophsian humans and the native Rodians, Kerkoiden, and other non-humans, the latter of whom saw the humans as representative of the oligarchy that had oppressed them for so long. After the end of the war and the transformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Christophsis saw a return to its pre-war form. It fell under the loose control of the Empire, and its mercantile oligarchy was reinstated under direction of Moff Grinak, governor of the Savareen sector.

The majority of Christophsis’s thirty-five billion inhabitants are humans, although non-humans, chiefly Rodians and Kerkoidens, represent nearly a third of the population. Humans also made up the largest part of the merchant ruling

class, although that group represents fewer than ten percent of the population. Despite its shining appearance from space, Christophsis is a world marred by class conflict. The majority of Christophsians lives on the planet to support its massive mining endeavors in some way, shape, or form, and they make up a laborer underclass that sees little of the vast prosperity Christophsis’s oligarchs possess. This results in a perpetual undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the ruling merchant class, which often comes to the surface in times of instability, as seen during the Clone Wars. However, none of the citizens of Christophsis sink into the depths of poverty that one might see in Coruscant’s Invisible Sector, for example. The reason for this is twofold. Primarily, this is because the expansionistic nature of mining in the Christoph system requires frequent new workers, and wages must be kept high enough to attract miners and laborers from out of the sector. Secondarily, as the wealthy of Christophsis have expanded across the surface, driving the creation of its massive cities visible from orbit, they’ve abandoned older areas in favor of new ones, allowing “second-hand” cities to be repopulated by the lower classes. This has prevented, or at least slowed, the descent of poorer neighborhoods into slums.

Most travelers to the Christoph system rarely see more than the impressive approach into Chaleydonia or one of its sister cities, since all business is conducted in the metropolitan areas. However, naturalists and geologists see an entirely different world – Christophsis’s

unique environment provides habitats for several rare cave-dwelling species, and there are truly remarkable sights to behold below the surface of the planet. Christophsis also isn’t without its share of fortune-seekers looking to strike it rich the way the daring often did before the arrival of the major mining companies. Although most of the surface mines are kept under tight control, some spacers still manage to slip into the asteroid thickets and harvest valuable cargo from the ground there.

Chaleydonia, the teal-hued capital of Christophsis, is the largest major city on the planet and center of commerce and social life. Because of the giant crystals harvested as construction material for the vast majority of its structures, it’s known to residents simply as “Crystal City.” Despite being the site of multiple major ground battles during the Clone Wars, Crystal City saw very little in the way of long-term harm to its growth. Because of the use of local crystals as the backbone for construction, Chaleydonians were able to use a special “re-seeding” process to grow back most of the war’s damage within months.

The New Tagge Mercantile Hall is the dual seat of government and economic power on the planet. Built immediately after the founding of the first Christophsian mining concern, the Hall is mostly occupied by high-volume materials traders managing sales and acquisitions for the industrial and commercial interests of Christophsis.

While most offworld business matters are handled discreetly in high-altitude or orbital facilities, the Mercantile hall is one of the few places on the planet’s surface where offworlders are at least as prevalent as natives. Consequently, this is one of the few places where a fixed Imperial garrison is assigned, given that billions of credits change accounts in here each day.

On the very fringes of Crystal City sits Christophsis’s densest population of Kerkoidens, the third-most-represented species on the planet. While the residents call it “Hiren Maldine,” Kerkoidese for “Maldinian’s Hope,” most of the non-Kerkoiden residents of the city simply know it as Little Kerkoidia. Little Kerkoidia is notable for being the only spot in the city where arboreal life flourishes, as the Kerkoidens erected a large savannah-styled arboretum in the center of the neighborhood. The arboretum is also kept stocked with a small supply of Kerkoiden Farrabeasts, a grassland animal featured prominently in Kerkoiden cooking.

The subterranean city of Deep Mooritona stands out among the numerous cities of Christophsis for being a real experiment. As surface mines became less and less profitable, many of the mining facilities moved deeper and deeper underground. While this opened up access to richer sources of materials, it also presented logistical challenges, as planetside supply lines became crowded and slow. Deep Mooritona was a proposed solution for that. Sitting at the junction of several core mine

access tunnels, Deep Mooritona started as the management facility in charge of directing traffic to the core mines. As technology and processes improved, supply line issues abated, but Deep Mooritona was still well-placed to make an impact on the larger and larger underground mines. Since deep delves into the mines took increasingly long periods of time, it became convenient to add to Deep Mooritona the resources necessary to support a long-term settlement, primarily to house miners and support personnel. Today, Deep Mooritona remains a busy hub of activity for miners working long tours of duty in the core mines. While few make permanent homes here, preferring to stay for only months at a time, the city is central enough to all the mines that it maintains a year-round population in the hundreds of millions, making it one of Christophsis’s largest cities.

The Mooritona Canal is jokingly referred to by the miners of Deep Mooritona as “that big mistake.” Connected to a vast underground water system, the Mooritona Canal encircles Deep Mooritona and heads off in one direction into what appears to be a core mine access tunnel. The first mining groups to tap into the surface at the location that would become Deep Mooritona attempted to branch out first in the direction of the Mooritona Canal. Believing the already-partially-bored route along the waterway would save effort, the miners bored the tunnel for about three kilometers before work abruptly halted and all the miners disappeared. Follow-up investigative crews found no remains of the miners, and in the interim, other mine access tunnels had been

started. After the fact, geological surveyors determined that it would be potentially dangerous to keep building along a waterway the size of the Mooritona Canal anyway, and the effort there was abandoned with little fanfare.

Not really a “sea” in the traditional sense, the Great Crystal Sea is a collection of constantlyshifting crystal shards in the southern hemisphere of Christophsis. Located on top of the intersection of several major fault lines, the Sea is thought to be caused by a naturallyoccurring seismic event that breaks down crystal growths after a certain amount of time. The crystals of the Great Crystal Sea are highly prized by both artists and engineers, for obviously different reasons. The crystals from the Sea are extraordinarily resilient, and they are ideal for shaping and cutting into jewelry pieces. Additionally, the crystals react sympathetically to multiple forms of energy, and Christophsian scientists have been working for years to adapt them into power generation devices. These dual facts have been the cause of at least one notable incident where a Christophsian noble was hit by a stun shot and then subsequently vaporized. Even though the crystals from the Great Crystal Sea are potentially valuable, few venture to the sea to harvest them. The terrain is notoriously unsteady and dangerous, being known to swallow excavating parties whole. Crystals in the sea have also been known to cause strange feedback loops in the repulsorlifts of certain types of vehicles, compounding the issue.

One of the first regions on Christophsis turned to a profitable resource-gathering site is the Farinom Impact Zone. Fifty kilometers south of Crystal City sits this large scarred plain, the site on the planet where asteroids most frequently fall. Believed to be caused by gravitational “eddies” in the gravity well of Christophsis, the Farinom Impact Zone sees over three hundred asteroid impacts every year. Although the danger posed by an asteroid falling onto someone’s head can’t be overlooked, the Impact Zone is rich with minerals ready-extracted from the broken asteroids that pockmark the surface. A global sensor net currently tracks the movement of the asteroids, and most of the large mining companies schedule resource retrieval around those warnings. While that information is kept proprietary, it’s not unheard of for individuals to venture out into the Impact Zone in an attempt to strike it rich. Fottari Zubo, one of the first Kerkoidens to manage a mining company, is said to have made his first hundred thousand credits by rolling the dice at the Farinom Impact Zone and turning his profits into a business. How true the story is remains unknown, as most scavengers in the Impact Zone rarely have the resources to gather much in between the trips the larger companies make.

The very first thing that drew speculators into the Christoph system was its picturesque and unusually dense asteroid belt system. Composed of three different asteroid belts, orbital positions at various points in the system are thick with asteroids, providing on the one

hand quite a collection of resources, but on the other, a massive navigational hazard.

function effectively as another tool in the mining companies’ toolbox.

The Barren, the asteroid belt located closest to the star in the middle of the Christoph system is the most dangerous to access and consequently, the least profitable and least used. Orbiting at a relatively short distance from the star, these asteroids move unusually quickly. As such, collisions over the years have ground the belt down to very small microasteroids.

At the very edge of the Christoph system, beyond the orbit of its outermost planet, Erodsis, sits the largest asteroid belt in the system, the Halo. The Halo belt is the most accessible to newcomers in the system, as it’s farthest from the monitored spacelanes.

Few would even consider the Barren as more than a curiosity but for the fact that the star Christoph has an unusually high rate of coronal mass injection activity. Every few hours, a wave of energy from the star surges over portions of the Barren, exciting some of the material contained within. These asteroids glow for days at a time, during which radioactive fuel material can be extracted. It also provides for an observable spectacle; visible from high orbit as far out as Christophsis.

The Hammers are so named for two reasons. They were originally called the Hammers because they represented an enormous navigation hazard to light freighters and exploration vessels trying to make it to Christophsis. After the planet was popularized as a center of mining, the mining corporations tried rebranding the belt as the “Tepasi Hammers of Christophsis” because of their unique interaction with Christophsis’s gravity well and its Farinom Impact Zone. While the new name didn’t stick, it’s undeniable that the Hammers

Unfortunately, its accessibility also means that it’s the most picked-through of the resource mines. It’s not uncommon for a prospective miner to set down on a promising asteroid in the Halo and find several deep tap shafts already dug into its core, with abandoned mining equipment simply left there. The Halo was the very first of the asteroid belts in the Christoph system to be noticed, and it was inspection of this belt by crews plotting the Corellian Run that originally drew visitors into the Savareen sector.

While the vast skyscrapers of Christophsis’s large cities might lead one to think Christophsis has few mysteries left, the vast caverns underground would give that assumption the lie. The mining corporations of Christophsis have made themselves masters of the surface, but what lies below is its own world.

A common sight in the underlevels of many large metropolises and ecumenopolises, duracrete slugs are large silica-consuming parasites. Believed to have originated in the Core Worlds, probably Coruscant, these large mollusks feed off of building materials, especially duracrete. They rarely interact with people, but they can be very destructive to property.

3

1

1

1

2

1

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AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

W. THRESHOLD

3

7

S. THRESHOLD

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Skills: Resilience Talents: None Abilities: Silhouette 2 Equipment: Consume [Resilience, Damage 10, Critical -, Range: Engaged, Breach 2, Prepare 2]

This leathery-winged avian predator makes its home in high aeries wherever there are strong wind currents, and as a result, they’re commonly found in cities and mountains alike. Hawk-bats are most often found in large groups, and they’d hunt their prey – duracrete slugs among them –by mobbing it and tearing it to pieces. Hawk-bats are not threatening to people or other large animals, although they can be dangerous – especially in a group – if they are adequately provoked.

1

3

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AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

1

2

2

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

6

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics, Coordination, Survival Talents: None Abilities: Flyer (Hawk-bats are excellent flyers, see EotE core rulebook p.202)

Equipment: Fell Swoop [Coordination, Damage 3, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Vicious 1]

Of all the creatures that make their homes deep underground the surface of Christophsis, this one is perhaps the most commonly seen, as reported by the miners of Deep Mooritona. The aquanid is a large, water-dwelling spider. These spiders are known to be fiercely individualistic, rarely coexisting with even their own kind. Capable of growing up to a meter in length, the aquanids will prey on anything they can isolate and attack, even other aquanids.

2

2

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

3

2

3

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

9

S. THRESHOLD

-

1 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Cool 1, Deception 2, Perception 1, Stealth 2, Vigilance 1 Talents: None Abilities: Amphibious (aquanids may breathe underwater without penalty and never suffer movement penalties for traveling through water), Paralyzing venom (targets hit by the aquanid’s “bite” attack must make an Average ( ) Resilience check or be immobilized for one round) Equipment: Bite [Brawl, Damage 5, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Pierce 1]

Also referred to as “tunnel wraiths” by the few who have been unlucky enough to see them, these large, vole-like creatures dwell in the near-total-darkness of Christophsis’s vast underground caverns. Fiercely territorial, subterrics live in large dens of dozens or more – reports from surviving miners only report experiencing several. Subterrics rarely hunt people or large animals as prey; they’re only aggressive when confronted in their nests. Unfortunately for most who dwell below the surface, though, subterrics are nearly invisible to the naked eye, possessing a gland that enables the subterric to absorb energy on the electromagentic spectrum, including visible light.

2

2

1

2

1

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE

W. THRESHOLD

2

5

S. THRESHOLD

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

-

Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Stealth, Survival, Vigilance Talents: None Abilities: Energy Leech (Subterrics have +1 defense against any energy-based weapons), Imperceptible (Subterrics are effectively invisible to the naked eye; sensing them requires a Hard ( ) Perception check) Equipment: Rip and tear [Brawl, Damage 5, Critical 4, Range: Engaged, Vicious 2]

Christophsian miners come from all over the galaxy and all walks of life, although many of them are humans, Rodians, or Kerkoiden.

3

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AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

2

2

2

1

2

INTELLECT

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W. THRESHOLD

8

S. THRESHOLD

-

M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Discipline, Knowledge (Education), Mechanics, Ranged (Light), Resilience, Survival Talents: Strong Arm (treats thrown weapons as if they had one greater range) Abilities: None Equipment: Light blaster pistol [Ranged (Light), Damage 5, Critical 4, Range: Medium, Stun setting], Mining equipment (breath mask, mining laser, glow rods, scanner goggles)

The near-total hold that Christophsian mining enterprises have over the planet means that, no matter what you think you’re doing, you’re always doing business with someone. Those individuals in high positions with a corporation or very successful individual businessmen have a huge degree of control over the life of the average Christophsian.

2

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AGILITY

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2

3

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

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W. THRESHOLD

8

S. THRESHOLD

-

3 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Charm 1, Computers 1, Cool 1, Deception 1, Knowledge (Core Worlds) 1, Knowledge (Education) 1, Negotiation 3, Streetwise 1 Talents: Nobody’s Fool 1 (May upgrade incoming Charm, Coercion, or Deception checks once), Smooth Talker 2 (May spend to add to Negotiation checks), Natural Negotiator (Once per session, may reroll any Cool or Negotiation check) Abilities: None Equipment: Holdout blaster [Ranged (Light), Damage 5, Critical 4, Range: Short, Stun setting], Datapad, 1000-credit credit chip

Astronavigation Data: Koobi System, Savareen Sector, Outer Rim Territories Orbital Metrics: 349 days per year/24 hours per day Government: Tribal Population: 23 million (Nelvaanian 96%, Bothan 3%, Other 1%) Languages: Nelvaanese, Basic Terrain: Glaciers, Mountains, Rivers, Forests Major Cities: Rokrul settlement Areas of Interest: The Mother’s Breath, the Frozen Weald, Tsu’rey Monitoring Post, Otthont Az Ördög Major Exports: Water

Until the transformation of the planet during the Clone Wars, Nelvaan was only occasionally visited by outsiders, and no civilization ever saw fit to establish a long-term colony or settlement there. In recent years, Nelvaan has become more frequently visited, although by and large its natives still exist outside the sphere of influence of the galaxy at large.

Major Imports: None Trade Routes: None Special Conditions: None Background: Nelvaan is a world that has only recently been considered part of the general astronavigational corpus of the Savareen sector. For thousands of years the world existed as a quiet, temperate world, although in recent years, the world has been effectively terraformed into an arctic globe. The primary inhabitants of Nelvaan are the native Nelvaanians, an undeveloped people who live in small tribal groups scattered over the face of the planet.

Nelvaanians, despite existing in a pretechnological culture, are not ignorant of the world beyond. As far back as the galactic Cold War, Nelvaanians had been contacted by alien cultures, but since no effort was made by the people of the galaxy to maintain long-term contact, the meetings were largely ignored or forgotten. Even today, when the impact of the galaxy at large is impossible for the Nelvaanians to miss, the usually choose to ignore those who visit from offworld, perhaps because of the harm they saw visited on them by the last large group to arrive.

Once a beautiful, peaceful planet – if somewhat out of the way – Nelvaan has long been home to the isolated, primitive Nelvaanians. Today the world is a frigid world with a people no longer blissfully isolated from the advanced galaxy around them.

Nelvaan was originally a pleasant, temperate world, ignored by most outsiders, and the Nelvaanians have lived there for thousands of years in a relatively unchanging state. Despite being visited on occasion by alien powers, Nelvaan escaped the fate of so many other worlds, that fate of figuratively being ground into fuel for the vast machines that power the galaxy’s great civilizations. The only things that Nelvaanians saw with any consistency were the occasional visits by Bothan traders using the planet to load their freighters’ holds up with water. This calm was shattered, though, midway through the Clone Wars. A Techno Union science team, working for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, decided that Nelvaan was the perfect, out-of-the-way planet to use as a laboratory for several experimental technologies. The first and greatest change to Nelvaan was brought by a massive power generation device known as a siphon generator. Constructed deep underground, the Techno Union’s siphon generator tapped into the thermal energies of the planet and converted it directly into electricity used to power the entirety of a CIS

ground base and all its experiments. The generator was effective in its task but inefficient, as it drained excessive amounts of geothermal energy and caused a climatological crisis on Nelvaan. Mere weeks after the generator was first activated, the planet’s average temperature had dropped nearly thirty degrees, resulting in a global ice age. Amidst the drastic changes to Nelvaan’s environment, the laboratory had a secondary purpose – creating a new breed of cyborg soldiers to aid the Confederacy’s all-droid army. The Techno Union tapped the Nelvaanians themselves as the base biological component, capturing male Nelvaanians and subjecting them to experimental genetic and cybernetic modifications. Ultimately, the lab was destroyed in an attack by a strike team from the Republic, but the effects of the Techno Union’s presence reverberated far into the future. Nelvaan’s climate appears to be permanently changed into its current state, a frozen, icy land. Similarly, the changes made to the small group of male Nelvaanians have persisted – while the cybernetics were eventually removed, the genetic modifications seem to have passed down through male lines, appearing in the sons and grandsons of the affected Nelvaanian males.

Nelvaan has a fairly small global population, the majority of which are Nelvaanians, a tribal people spread out into small communities over the face of the planet. They use little-to-no technology, existing instead as partially nomadic hunter-gatherers.

The Nelvaanians have a shamanistic tradition that centers on worship and communion with the spirit of the planet, known to them as the Great Mother. This belief manifests itself in a careful tending of the land out of deference to the planet’s well-being. The tribe’s spiritual leaders ritualistically commune with the Great Mother, passing on prophecy and direction to the clans. Some outside observers believe this shamanism to be connected to Forcesensitivity, as records from the Clone Wars indicate that a shaman from Rokrul village predicted with some degree of specificity the environmental calamity and the subsequent resolution that their planet saw. Nelvaanian societal responsibilities are split along gender lines. In alignment with their view of the planet as the Great Mother, Nelvaanian women were given roles central to the tribe’s day-to-day life, including construction, entertainment, and education, while the men were given roles in the periphery of the tribe’s life, including tribal defense, scouting, and hunting. Very few Nelvaanians ever leave the planet or interact with the larger galaxy, although ever since the transformation of Nelvaan during the Clone Wars, Nelvaan has seen more visitors. Occasionally, this leads to a curious Nelvaanian working with alien species and, in rare cases, leaving the planet with them. For more information on the Nelvaanian people, including character creation rules, see Chapter II: Player Options.

It is a rare traveler that makes it to Nelvaan, given its population and lack of activity. However, for hundreds of years, Bothan traders have recognized the world as rich in natural resources, especially water, and they’ve made it a stopping point on their trading routes. Additionally, since the transformation of Nelvaan from a temperate to a frozen world, many naturalists from the Mid and Outer Rim have made their way to the Koobi system to investigate the new normal on Nelvaan.

At the heart of the destroyed, Clone-Wars-era Techno Union laboratory sits what the locals call “The Mother’s Breath.” The Mother’s Breath is a massive, stationary ice cyclone whipped up from the geothermal energy taps made by the now-ruined siphon generator deep underground. The cyclone spins at speeds varying between 30 and 130 kilometers per hour both day and night. It’s responsible for a number of strange weather phenomena in the area, not the least of which is the fact that the surrounding thirty square kilometers never see precipitation. Nelvaanians who live nearby consider this to be the act of their Great Mother blowing away the clouds. Initially, researchers who made it onto Nelvaan after its ecological cataclysm attempted to use the icy vortex as a controllable means to harness wind energy, although several efforts proved fruitless. Ultimately, the output from

the winds there was too inconsistent, resulting in overstressed turbines.

Rokrul settlement is one of the few settlements of Nelvaanians that has any regular contact with the outside galaxy. As the settlement most directly affected by the Clone Wars incursion – they were located a mere seven kilometers from the Techno Union lab – they were among the first to establish a rapport with off-world visitors coming to investigate the world’s changes. Rokrul is unusual in its more permanent nature. By the dictates of their belief system, Nelvaanians rarely make permanent settlements, choosing instead to make minimal impacts on the land out of respect. Rokrul, however, was built into a natural cavern system underneath a mesa, and very little in the way of excavation has actually taken place. The locals consider it to be a blessing provided by the Great Mother to allow them to care for their people in the face of hardship. Rokrul is also notable as being the epicenter of a genetic offshoot in the male Nelvaanian population. It was the males of Rokrul that were captured and experimented on by the Techno Union during the Clone Wars, and many were able to return following the destruction of the Techno Union laboratory. It was this effort, made by a Republic strike team led by what the Nelvaanians refer to as a “Holt Kazed,” that inclined Rokrul’s population so much towards off-worlders. Those returning males were still able to father children, and their male descendants inherited the genetic modifications made to their fathers.

Today, Rokrul is still a small, primitive village by galactic standards, although with a population in the thousands, it’s one of the largest gatherings of Nelvaanians in one place on the whole planet.

Situated in high orbit above Nelvaan, Tsu’rey Monitoring Post was established nearly a decade ago by a group of Bothans as a small relief station for spacers arriving in the Koobi system and a place for scientists to gather planetary information on Nelvaan. It was constructed piecemeal after a Bothan trader, Lon Tsu’rey, took off from a water run on Nelvaan. After exiting the atmosphere, his sublight engines failed, and he was unable to clear the planet’s gravity well to make the jump to hyperspace. He might have been stranded there for a long time, however, within a week a research team from Rishi arrived to perform a planetary survey. Tsu’rey’s ship was unsalvageable, but the researchers purchased his ship and left it in orbit with a permanent sensor package attached, making it a makeshift listening post. The use of Tsu’rey’s freighter became a tradition of sorts for visitors to the system, and over the years, arrivals have added to the ship as they’ve seen necessary. Today, the ship is entirely encased in modular components, looking more like the small space station it acts as than like the ship that it was.

While the crowd that visits Nelvaan has grown more eclectic since the end of the Clone Wars,

the majority of visitors are still probably water freighters, as Nelvaan became a more popular stop as word of its existence has started making its way across the Savareen sector. The most popular place on the planet to fill up on water is a massive submerged plain known to the Nelvaanians as Otthont Az Ördög. Otthont Az Ördög is the seafloor plain that surrounds a large, low shield volcano set in the middle of one of Nelvaan’s largest freshwater lakes. Following the icing-over of the planet, the rift zone surrounding the volcano and its magma flows have broken up the surface ice floes, making the lake surrounding the volcano one of the few sources of freshwater that doesn’t require extra effort to access. Visiting Otthont Az Ördög is not without its dangers, though. The same rifts that keep the ice melted do occasionally vent lava, and they vent it explosively, causing large steam geysers on the lake’s surface. These geysers are massive in scale – more than one freighter sits at the bottom of the lake, having had its repulsorlifts knocked out completely by a sudden jet of heated water.

On a large archipelago near Nelvaan’s equator sits the Frozen Weald. So named for the thin layer of frost that sits on the leaves of the trees here, the Frozen Weald is, ironically, one of the last places on Nelvaan not completely given over to ice or snow. The Frozen Weald is an area on Nelvaan where no Nelvaanians are believed to have ever lived, but it’s been noted by visiting naturalists as a place of great interest, given the relatively high level of biodiversity there. Because of its high temperature, compared to the rest of the

planet, the Frozen Weald is able to support species that scientists have theorized may be the last of their kind on the whole planet.

Although Nelvaan has almost entirely frozen over, its life forms are a hardy bunch, and many of them have thrived in the change, especially its larger creatures more able to retain body heat. Nelvaan boasts a wide variety of largerthan-normal animals, given its slightly lower gravity – eighty-five percent the Coruscant standard – than most other planets.

While not technically related to its namesake, the beast of burden so commonly seen around the galaxy, the white-furred bantha is indeed similar. A four-legged creature with a dense, white hairy coat, the white-furred bantha is found both in the wilds of Nelvaan as well as in Nelvaanian camps around the planet. As one of the few creatures that can be reliably tamed and trained, the white-furred bantha is used as both a food source and riding creature for the native inhabitants of the planet.

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6

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15

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3 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Cool 1, Resilience 2, Survival 2 Talents: None Abilities: Silhouette 3 Equipment: Pointed Horns [Brawl, Damage 7, Critical 4, Range: Engaged, Pierce 1, Vicious 1], Trample [Brawl, Damage 8, Critical 2, Range: Engaged, Knockdown, Disorient 1]

One of the most dangerous creatures on Nelvaan, the horax is not actually a large-scale predator. Instead, this massive territorial reptile uses its curved tusks to dig through thick layers of snow and ice to reach and consume the nutritionally-rich burrows of small creatures beneath. While the horax never has to fight for its food, it is still very aggressive to any creatures it finds in the territory it makes as its home, including others of its species. Native Nelvaanians would run into a lone horax on occasion as they moved from one home to the next, and they’ve become very proficient at recognizing the marks left by a foraging horax, knowing that it usually indicates that the tribe should keep moving. However, there is one exception to the Nelvaanians’ avoidance of horaxes – young Nelvaanian males, as part of a rite of initiation with a tribe’s warriors, might have to face a horax and live to tell the tale.

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BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

8

2

3

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

22

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Perception 1, Resilience 3, Survival 1, Vigilance 1 Talents: Adversary 2 Abilities: Silhouette 4 Equipment: Wicked Tusks [Brawl, Damage 12, Critical 2, Range: Engaged, Pierce 3, Vicious 2, Defensive 2], Bone Club Tail [Brawl, Damage 6, Critical 4, Range: Short, Concussive 1, Knockdown, Disorient 2], Fanged Bite [Brawl, Damage 10, Critical 1, Range: Engaged, Pierce 4, Vicious 1]

The nixorr is well-known in Bothan water freighter hands’ circles as a great way to break in new crew members. Amphibious and gigantic, the sight of an eight-legged nixorr breaking through an ice sheet and climbing onto the land is enough to turn neophyte traders as white as the snow outside. Other than the shock of seeing one for the first time, nixorr are usually very docile. While quite agile underwater, where they dine on fish, they move ponderously slow on land. Nixorr spend most of their waking hours underwater, although they emerge onto land to sun themselves or to sleep.

6

1

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

7

3

2

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

17

S. THRESHOLD

-

3 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 1, Cool 2, Perception 1, Resilience 1, Survival 2 Talents: Adversary 1 Abilities: Silhouette 4, Amphibious (Nixorr may breathe underwater without penalty and never suffer movement penalties for traveling through water) Equipment: Trample [Brawl, Damage 16, Critical 4, Range: Engaged, Blast 8, Knockdown, Inaccurate], Toothy Bite [Brawl, Damage 12, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Pierce 1]

Few of Nelvaan’s creatures are as strange as the mimarin floater. Nearly ten meters in length, the first thing most notice about the creature is its giant gas bladder, a large, red, balloon-like sac on the creature’s rear. The mimarin floater biologically synthesizes a lighter-than-air gas that fills its gas bladder, allowing the large creature to float several meters above the ground. Found in small colonies living on top of Nelvaan’s mesas, the mimarin floaters are

herbivorous and use their hovering to reach the tops of Nelvaan’s hardy conifers as well as evade predatory creatures. Mimarin floaters are able to manipulate their gas bladders to expel gas at will, acting as a kind of ballast system to control their flight as well as a defensive measure.

3

4

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

8

3

3

2

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

22

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 1, Coordination 2, Perception 2, Survival 2, Vigilance 2 Talents: None Abilities: Silhouette 3, Hoverer (Mimarin floaters do not have to spend additional maneuvers when navigating difficult terrain, additionally, they may hover at extreme range from the ground) Equipment: Expelled Gas [Ranged (Light), Damage 2, Critical 2, Range: Short, Burn 5, Breach 1, Disorient 2]

Nelvaan’s natives usually keep to themselves, living as semi-nomadic wanderers with their tribes. While it is generally the men of the tribe who will explore into the wilderness, all the Nelvaanians are quite resourceful in the face of a planet that’s suddenly changed form on them. They don’t have any innate distrust of or preference for offworlders; as a people, they’ve seen them appear on their world on occasion but usually have no particular affinity for interacting with them. Very few of the Nelvaanians, outside of those in the Rokrul settlement and their immediate neighbors, are aware of the reason for the sudden change in their planet’s climate. Most view it as a portent, and see the increased presence of aliens as simply another part of the changes that the Great Mother is bringing to them.

3

3

BRAWN

AGILITY

SOAK VALUE

4

2

3

1

INTELLECT

CUNNING

WILLPOWER

W. THRESHOLD

12

S. THRESHOLD

-

2 PRESENCE M/R DEFENSE

0 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Coordination 1, Cool 1, Discipline 1, Medicine 1, Melee 1, Perception 1, Ranged (Light) 1, Resilience 1, Survival 2, Vigilance 1 Talents: Keen Eyed 1 (Remove from Perception and Vigilance checks. Decrease time to search a specific area by half.), Outdoorsman 1 (Remove from checks to move through terrain or manage environmental effects. Decrease overland travel times by half.), Hunter 1 (Add to all checks when interacting with beasts or animals. Add +20 to Critical Injury results against beasts or animals.) Abilities: Unlearned (Nelvaanians have little cultural experience with technology or the intellectual advancements of the galaxy. All Astrogation, Computers, Mechanics, and Piloting checks are automatically increased in difficulty by one.) Equipment: Obsidian Spear [Melee, Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Engaged, Pierce 2], Obsidian Spear, thrown [Ranged (Light), Damage 7, Critical 3, Range: Short, Pierce 1], Hide Shield [Brawl, Damage 3, Critical 5, Range: Engaged, Cumbersome 2, Defensive 2]

Although the Savareen sector is in the galactic frontier, it certainly has more systems than the three aforementioned. Below is a set of descriptions for the remaining major systems of the Savareen sector, highlighting places players might visit on their adventures in the sector.

A small system at the edge of the Savareen sector, the Apatros system is likely one of the cosmologically oldest systems in the sector. All the planets in the system are tiny rocky planets, while the single star at the center is a fading orange-red sun. The only notable world in the Apatros system is its namesake, Apatros. The second planet in orbit from its star, Apatros is a barren world that nevertheless caught the eye and effort of the Outer Rim Oreworks Company for being a valuable source of cortosis ore. Apatros, both the planet and the system, have a very small population that exists entirely to service the single mining colony located there. Very few arrive in or out of the system, excepting, of course, the occasional mine company vessel picking up shipments of cortosis ore.

The Fordon system is considered a “red system” to the people of the Savareen sector. This otherwise unassuming system is surrounded by a large ring of nebular clouds, and inside the clouds sit at least one large pirate shadowport.

Records are not specific about the location of the shadowport, as the location is believed to be kept a closely guarded secret by several Outer Rim shipjacking crews. Sector law enforcement patrols, what few there are, tend to avoid the Fordon system as well. While some attribute this to evidence of a massive pirate fleet hidden in the sector, many simply believe it is more likely that the pirates have established terms of a quid pro quo with the Sector Rangers.

The Korness system is home to the planet Gellefon and, in fact, many also know it as the Gellefon system. Gellefon is the sole inhabited planet in the system, home to a large colony of humans under the governance of the Galactic Empire – one of the few planets in the sector controlled as such. Gellefon was founded by a group of human settlers nearly fifty years before the Clone Wars, and the colony has expanded healthily since then. The Gellefonians have carved a pair of large cities, Kig Dannen and Mir Farrakan, out of the rocky world. The human settlers have also forged a unique relationship with the intelligent, near-sentient gellbeasts of the planet, a large, four-legged canine species. The original settlers were met by the cautious gellbeasts, who led the settlers from their landing site to the site of the future city of Kig Dannen. Ever since, the gellbeasts and humans of Gellefon have been inseperable.

Like many first discoveries of planets, the planet Redcap was first discovered by enterprising miners looking for a place to land their excavators. Although initial system scans suggested that Redcap would indeed suit their needs, the miners had to change tack when they realized their excavation droids were getting stuck. Redcap’s surface, as the miners soon found out, is nearly entirely covered in muddy, wet plains and swamps. While there were indeed rich veins of ore deep beneath the crust, access was a tricky endeavor. Soon, though, with more eyes on the problem, the miners discovered what’s now known as Tyma Canyon, a gigantic rift along the southern edge of the equator on the largest continent. This split far into the crust, and more importantly, provided a dry, deep access to resources below. Today, Tyma Canyon supports multiple spaceports and miniature settlements, while other settlements have sprung up around fault lines – mountains and canyons – all along the planet. Many of its population are still involved in mining, but in recent years strides have been made towards development of aquaponic technology that allows the mud lakes of Redcap to be used for agriculture.

The Ruhe system’s planet Ruhe is an interesting case. A temperate world, Ruhe has a broad variety of vegetation and animal life, although the geology of the planet would indicate something very different. Underneath its verdant cloak, Ruhe’s surface is marked by several large craters, scars of ancient asteroid or meteor impacts.

It is believed that Ruhe once possessed no atmosphere and at some point before the foundation of the Republic was terraformed into the world it is today. However, the first recorded humans to have colonized the world found a green world with no other sentient life forms dwelling on it, so the mystery of who transformed Ruhe remains to this day.

The namesake of the Savareen sector, the eponymous planet is a lush, misty world filled with rolling hills and dangerous seas. The planet is one of the most established in the sector, third most populous, following Christophsis and Rodia. Savareen is best known for its spirits, which are considered a luxury even as far into the galactic core as Coruscant. Perhaps the most famous of its spirits is Forsom’s Stellar Green, known to most simply as “Savareen brandy.” Besides several famous breweries – Forsom’s, Maladar’s, and Ithop’tep’s, to name a few – Savareen is also known for producing top-ofthe-line sensor equipment for land vehicles. Since the first arrivals to Savareen, industrial production of planetary exploration craft have been important, and that industry has transformed to produce some of the best repulsorcraft sensing and detecting packages in all of the Outer Rim.

While Nelvaan and the Koobi system could consider itself fortunate to have avoided the ravages of industry and exploration for so long, the neighboring Tythe system and its namesake planet cannot consider itself so lucky. Originally a flourishing, grassy world, an industrial power company, LiMerge Power, beset the world and stripped it of its resources. Once full of life, the planet today is little more than a wasteland, having been long ago abandoned by LiMerge Power, whose facilities on the planet imploded due to failing safety standards and overwork. The LiMerge facility’s wreck remains today, but having survived both its original use and use as a stronghold in the Clone Wars, there is little left for even scavengers to pick through.

A system only recently discovered, Zaadja is the primary planet in a system with a dying sun. It sits in a far orbit, and consequently, temperatures rarely exceed freezing anywhere on the surface. Zaadja was most recently discovered during the course of the Clone Wars. Geonosians, allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, decided to try and make inroads into the Savareen sector from the neighboring Arkanis sector and established a base on the planet. Few can guess and even fewer might know why Zaadja, given the Geonosian environmental preferences of “hot” and “dry,” but the facility built on Zaadja was of enough concern that it was the site of a minor battle in the war. Following the war, no records indicate any inhabitants remained on the planet.

The Savareen sector, despite its size, shares many commonalities with its neighboring sectors, given their shared position – cartographical and sociological – in the galaxy. The following section highlights some of the major details about those sectors adjacent to the Savareen sector.

Perhaps the best-known of Savareen’s neighbors, the Arkanis sector is home to such worlds as Geonosis and Tatooine. The Arkanis sector is often seen through the lens of its role in the spice trade, part of the sector making up a large majority of the Spice Triangle, those worlds most involved in the trade. The Arkanis sector is also just at the periphery of the Hutts’ grasp – located far outside Hutt space, but active enough in the underworld that several prominent huts, including Gardulla (“the Hutt”) Besadii and Jabba (“the Hutt”) Desilijic Tiure, who found reason to exert influence over the world of Tatooine. The Arkanis Sector, likely because of its visibility in both enterprise and crime in the Outer Rim, is one of the few sectors heavily controlled by the Empire. Most of their efforts are exerted in the so-called “Regency Worlds” of the sector, including Arkanis, Issor, and New Ator, although Imperial garrisons of some size can be found on most planets in the sector.

Daimar, Savareen’s neighbor to the galactic north, sits just over the border in the Mid Rim. The Daimar sector was known for being the

home of a number of spacefaring species, including the Radnorians and the Yuzzem. Unfortunately, Daimar was also a hotbed of slave trading. Few of the races of the sector represented major powers in the galaxy, but some of those races made excellent slave labor for those willing to pay, including the Hutts and the Galactic Empire. One notable recipient of this treatment was the Yuzzem species, who were enslaved on a scale only comparable to the Wookiees of Kashyyyk. Extraordinarily physically gifted, the Yuzzem were often forced into manual labor, including work on several major construction projects of the Empire – although surviving Yuzzem, when asked to provide specific details, were unable to identify exactly which.

The Dalchon sector, home of the Pacithhip people, was a major trading sector. Located along the routes of both the Corellian Run and the older-but-still-trafficked Old Corellian Run, It saw vast movements of interstellar cargo move through its spacelanes. Some of this cargo was legally legitimate, but the vast majority was cargo being shipped in and out for extralegal businesses, including the spice and slave trades. Skirted on one edge by the Triellus Trade Route and split down the middle by the Corellian Run, nearly half of the Dalchon sector was right in the middle of the Spice Triangle, a major shipping zone and center of business for (primarily) ryll spice, harvested from Ryloth.

It also played a significant part in slave trade shipping, facilitating shipments from the Arkanis and Daimar sectors into its neighboring Gaulus sector as well as farther travel into Hutt Space.

The Karthakk sector finds itself largely under the sway of one group, and it’s not the Empire. A group of pirates, the Lok Revenants out of the Karthakk system, have styled themselves as freedom fighters of a sort. While originally founded as a militia-type organization in support of the Galactic Republic, the Lok Revenants have formed themselves into a small pirate fiefdom in the Outer Rim. Today, the Lok Revenants hold little sway outside their home sector, although inside, and especially on their home planet of Lok, they hold absolute control. The Empire has never exerted massive amounts of resources to seize control over the sector, likely because of the desolation of the worlds therein – while the Revenants hold their territory, it’s a constant effort to keep resources flowing in, and most of the time fall back into piracy on any vessels unlucky enough to stop in. Fortunately for the other residents of the Karthakk sector, including the aquatic Mere of Maramere, the sons of Lok have not yet made any moves to exert ruling control over other planets. So exists a tenuous, tacit alliance between the unaligned people of the sector and the pirates who call it home.

The Tolonda sector, despite being far out into the Outer Rim, was an Imperial sector throughand-through. Placed directly under the iron fist of Grand Moff Ravik along with the half-dozen

other sectors of the Tolonda Oversector, the sector was quickly reorganized into his center of command for his management of the Outer Rim worlds. Few of the native peoples of the sector resisted the rule of the Empire, and consequently, the systems of the Tolonda sector were nearly as crime-free as many Core sectors – which is to say that they were at least better than most other Outer Rim sectors.

Neighboring the Savareen sector to the galactic north alongside the Daimar sector, the TransNebular sector is so named for the massive nebular zone at its core, making the whole sector a dangerous astronavigational hazard. For many thousands of years, the sector remained “dark” to galaxy charts – simply existing as a blank spot where so many other sectors were filled in with star systems and planets. It wasn’t until the Republic pushed its borders far out into the Mid Rim that the sector really began to be explored in earnest. What was discovered at the center of the sector was a powerful neutron star, the Vestor Pulsar, which radiated its intermittent signal across entire sectors. Consequently, the pulsar has been used as a navigational beacon. However, because of the nature of the star – its gravity well is orders of magnitude larger than most stellar bodies – the large nebula in the center of the sector remains unnavigable for direct hyperspace jumps.