Imperial Surveillance Training

[ender5000]

I started a game last night, it went pretty well. 3 players: Shazzo - a female Twi'lek who specializes in droid,vehicle, and weapons repair and can use a medkit. Flargon Chu - a bounty hunter/pilot. And HK-42 an assassin droid. Apparently the assassin droid is a character in a Knights of the Old Republic computer game. I had not seen it.

Well, Shazzo and Chu are three weeks into a Imperial Surveillance Training. Time setting is about a year after the Battle of Yavin. The Empire is running short on officers so it starts conscripting those who score high on certain tests in schools. Chu was in jail on a smuggling charge when the Empire came to the planet he was on. He looked enough like the magistrate's son that the magistrate bribed the collection officer to take the bounty hunter instead. Shazzo volunteered to go in place of her younger sister.

The first day is weapons training. HK-42 is the training droid used to teach the cadets about all the different weapons. (Since it was the first time for us to play, this time was used to exppse them on how the d6 system works). We did a little brawling and tossed a thermal detonator.

Chu did really well shooting, and actually beat HK-42 in a shooting contest. For fairness, HK disabled his visual receptors and went off memory. (-2D to blaster, but he wrote the program and knew where the targets were) Shazzo was grappling/brawling with an officer and 'accidentally' hit him after the training was done. As a result she is put on kitchen detail because the droids are malfunctioned.

After watching a propaganda video about the Imperial Galactic War on Terror, Shazzo notices Rijel, a loner who seems a little too interested in the officers and equipment of the base. Shazzo has to do kitchen cleanup and notices the droids broken. After getting some tools out of the supply closet, she fixes both of them, then her supervisor's holovid player, then his friend's speeder.

While test riding a speeder she fixed, Shazzo notices Rijel out scouting the main base area, an area off-limits to cadets.

For his excellent shooting, Chu is put in charge of an upcoming tactical training exercise. He is a squad leader of 15 soldiers in a platoon of 60 whose job it is to defend a base from an impending Rebel hit and run. Dummy droids are used and everything is on stun. It takes awhile for the droids to show up (to test whether or not the leaders would put their guys on sleep plans). They did, except for the platoon leader who tried to stay up the whole time. While Rijel (who is in Chu's squad) is asleep, Chu notices a bulge in his pocket. He orders some cadets to take him down to the main terminal in the base and searches him to find two data sticks, one of which have schematics for the base, and designs for the heavy crew served weapons, and what looks like transmissions to a remote satellite. Chu grabs the data sticks and is about to do something when the battle commences, the rebels/droids start their assault. Chu runs to his command post and lets Shazzo deal with Rijel. He runs off and she doesn't shoot him.

The platoon leader gets shot and no one revives him because he is a jerk. Chu takes over the battle and successfully take command of the platoon and starts directing fire.

The battle is long but the cadets are victorious. Rijel is nowhere to be found. A shuttle lands in the middle of the base and it is the base commander and the 'drill sergeant.' The base commander starts grilling Chu about the data stick. Rijel went back and told him that Chu and probably Shazzo are Rebel spies and says the proof is in their pockets. Chu pulls out the data stick and accuses Rijel of being a spy. The base commander throws them all in the brig.

And that's it 'til next week. I gave them 12 char points, they did well roleplaying. HK dipped out early but he'll be featured in the next adventure. I wanted them to turn in Rijel as part of the test within the test but I think I like this way better, now they are all in trouble.

Comments? Suggestions?

-Ender

[Trusty]

I'd make some Sleezy lawyer NPC come in and have to defend them all against espionage. Since it is the one lawyer representing all of them, as the Empire would just assume they accuse each other rather than all face the same charge thus lumping them together...I'd make their fate be tied to Rijel until they can prove their non-guilt without the help of their lawyer...who also assumes (you know how Imperial Public Defenders are ) they are all linked.

Roleplaying courtroom scenes are fun. It requires characters to roll for different reasons. Even if innocent, they can't get away with perjury. Be mindful of what they say. If the PA lies in his questioning, I'd make them roll against their con to see if the judge/jury believes them or the PA.

Though, I would have their lawyer at least be good enough to put them all on house arrest during the course of the trial, so they can try to seperate themselves from Rijel an go about proving their non-association (at least) to their lawyer, but without any help from the lawyer...who assumes they are all guilty and he just wants his paycheck (partly paid for out of their paychecks, of course ) .

[KageRyu]

I think the lawyer/courtroom deal might be a little to whimsicle for an imperial based campaign. In military justice it would be a court martial, not a trial, and an officer would be appointed as an advocate for the defense, while 3 other officers serve as judge and jurry. But we all know the empire doesn't behave so nicely. An interrogation droid and a good brow beating sequence would work though (an NPC using interrogation and intimidation, combined with truth drugs and torture to get to the facts, and see how the players react). Remember that interrogator/torture droid in the first movie? This would also test the PCs metal as potential special forces in the future (resisting interrogation is important if captured). Another option would be to bring in something Akin to an imperial inquisitor like in Dark Empire (Dark adepts of the force trained by the emperor, with some force skills, especially sense, for interrogating prisoners); but a group of cadets would probably be well below the threat level to warrant an inquisitor.

Now, if Rijel had a good willpower skill (under PER) and was able to withstand the torture, or worse, provide false information further damming the PCs, while convincing the interrogator he had broken (Con), that could lead to some interresting developments. Just don't have the PC's taken out and shot too earlier.
What if they are accused of, and believed to be Rebels, and this is part of the imperial plot to get insurgeants into Rebel camps...or the PCs then flee to "prove their loyalty by finding and dispensing some rebels".

sorry...too many possibilities yet
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra

[Trusty]

[Argamoth]

Or maybe the Twi-lek can use her skills to brake out of the cell and cause lots of fun and explosive goodness all over.

[KageRyu]

[Trusty]

[KageRyu]

[ender5000]

I figured that it fit in with the Empire and how they would dole out justice, especially in a military setting. They were subjected to shock electrocution. Shazzo was there to revive Chu after the guards failed utilizing a medkit.

However, Rijel turned out to be an Imperial agent that was there to test the cadets, to see if anyone would notice him. Since Chu and Shazzo did, they were chosen for a mission. After they "passed" the interrogation by not blubbering, crying, or begging for mercy.

The base lost an assassination droid, HK-37. It was intercepted in shipment by the Rebellion and issued to a diplomat of the Rebellion as his personal bodyguard. Chu and Shazzo's mission was to accompany Rijel and HK-42 to a neutral planet where the diplomat was visiting and trying to convince the planet to join the Rebellion.

They met up with a 4th player-character, Droggie, a weapons specialist. In order to find out where the diplomat is, they enlisted the help of an NPC slicer named Naeem who, for a price, was able to find three personnel who met with the Council of the planet that day. They determined, correctly, that the one that didn't list on the itinerary where he was staying that night. They stayed in their ship that night.

The crew moved out, and Naeem for some reason wanted to tag along. (Naeem was a anarchist and 'nationalist', wanting neither the Rebellion or the Empire to take influence his home planet. The players didn't know this.)

Upon reaching the cargo bay, they entered in the front. If they had looked they would have seen a back entrance where they would not have been noticed. Three guards immediately rushed out and opened fire. The firefight ensued. After two of the guards dropped, the turret on the Corellian Corvette in the hangar came active. HK-37 (the stolen droid) came out and started firing. After destroying Chu's body armor, the party ionized HK-37 with an ion rifle that the base commander gave HK-42. The ramp up to the ship closed and tried to takeoff. Meanwhile, Rijel had gotten hit and was wounded. Shazzo went over, pretended to revive him but purposely made him worse, he dropped to incapacitated.

The ship tried to take off alone, but crashed into the wall. Naeem broke into it, locked the door behind him and killed the diplomat. HK-42 was carrying an ionized HK-37. Droggie and Shazzo were running. Chu for some reason decided to shoot an incapacitated Rijel. At this point, HK-42 shot Chu (he was under orders to kill Chu or Shazzo if he witnessed them sabotaging the mission).

So Chu was captured by planetary security. Rijel is dead. Shazzo escaped and slipped into the crowds. HK-42 took HK-37 to their ship (YT-1300). Naeem escaped. Droggie ran away. So the whole group is scattered.

And SCENE.

So, I certainly didn't expect it to end that way. I figure there are some things I can do to get them back together. We'll see.

[KageRyu]

Sounds like a lot of twists and turns, and utter chaos. I bet the players resented Rijel for that interogation...maybe they didn't quite understand he was an imperial agent. Seems they've managed to honk off the rebellion, the imperials, and the local authorities...not good.

Hope you pull it together.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra

[Argamoth]

I'm confused. Are they with the good guy or the bad guys? I guess their on their own side.

[ender5000]

They aren't on any side now, except for HK-42, the assassination protocol droid.

Chu - captured by local authorities, in jail for the murder of the visiting dignitary. Rebels will be after him also, as well as Imperials.

Shazzo - blended into crowd, no money (<100 credits) Has no love for the Empire, wanted to escape the training camp. Imperials will be after her.

Droggie - escaped also, not with shazzo, but will be in trouble from his imperial contact who paid him to escort these other PCs. Imperial agent on the planet will be after him.

HK-42 - standing by in the YT-1300 for a message from the base. Not likely that the Imperials will be mad at their droid, but will desperately want to recover it, they don't want to lose two of them.

Naeem, an NPC, may be the only way I can bring the crew back together. We'll see.

[KageRyu]

A thought, might help...

While fleeing the local and imperial authorities, the PCs encounter greater resistance. After many close calls with Imperial and Local peacekeepers, the two on the run could bump into each other again. Realizing the planet has become too "hot" for them, they must find a way off the planet. They remember the docked YT-1300 they had access too, but wouldn't you know it, only the one that was captured had the access codes to fly it... Now they would have to blast him out of the local prison (prison breaks are fun), blast their way into the starport, steal their own YT-1300 (after answering to, or disabling the assasin droid), and blast their way off planet (chases are fun too).

Just some ideas to help you pull the PC group back together. Hope they do.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra

[Jedi Skyler]

Yeah! Although you have all of them scattered, it sounds like a lot of fun... lots of groans and forehead slaps from the players!

[KageRyu]

I was just curious as to whether or not you were able to continue this plotline? I realize it has been some months. I was interested in hearing if the team was able to pull together, or if it ended with everyone going their seperate ways (create new characters, start new game)?
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra