Learning 1E running Tatooine Manhunt (Game Report)

[Zulgyan]

I had a great start with my 1E debut game, running Tatooine Manhunt!! We had a blast and the players were hooked! The idea of getting a game going began last "May the Fourth", when I hosted a gathering of SW fans at home.

I used the "Classic Adventures" booklets you can find here, because I don't have access to a real 1E books. This booklets are a fantastic resource to get into the game. They contain some small errors but their usefulness and presentation is superb!

My Background: I've been DMing D&D regularly for more than 18+ years now, with an old school approach to the game. A couple of years ago I abandoned my past career and entered into film school. The skill set I'm developing as a filmmaker translates very well into role playing game mastery! I'm Argentinian and I live in Buenos Aires.

The Players: We are all friends from film school and big Star Wars fans. Our studies in screenwriting came in super handy to create cool and interesting characters, and our training in directing actors delivered some good quality role playing. 5 out of 6 players were completely new to RPGs. But knowing the SW movies so well really helped them to quickly understand the dynamics of decision making, following the spirit of the films and avoiding doing anything stupid.

The sixth player is a FFG SW gamemaster and quite versed in gaming. He uses a lot of the contemporary gaming jargon such as "tank", "healer", "face", etc. I asked him to keep that kind language to a minimum so as to create a more immersive/magical game experience.

A week before the game session I sent them the Player's Manual. I told them it was not required reading to get into the game, that I would explain absolutely everything at the table. Luckily, most of the players read it and began creating their characters in advance.

The Prep: I devoted quite a lot time to getting ready for the game (12+ hours I believe). Not only I read the four booklets at least 3 times, but I lurked this and others forums, trying to learn about the game as much as I could. I studied the Tatooine Manhunt adventure carefully and read what I could find about it in these forums to gather more insight. Thanks for all the help guys!

I also printed out lots of handouts with pictures of the different NPCs, locations and vehicles from the module. Here are some of them:

Space Station Kwenn
Jodo Kast
Adar Tallon
and many more...


The Cast of Characters

Kal Urbo (Bounty Hunter): the only character who used a template straight out of the box. Under the pay of the Rebellion to provide more firepower to the party sent in the search of Tallon.

Maxias Ube-Kai (Jedi who could not complete his training): His master was killed under Order 66, which interrupted his training. He wandered aimlessly through periphery planets until rumors of the adventures of a certain Skywalker prompted him to join the rebellion. He based his character on the "Failed Jedi" template, but gave him the 3 force skills (he started with Control 1D, Sense 3D and Alter 1D). He began the game with a broken lightsaber he is hoping to repair (Lightsaber 6D).

Aludran Daggoth ("beefed up" Kid): Actually 19 years old, she based her character on the kid template but modified the attributes to reflect a newly trained rebel soldier of extraordinary marksmanship (6D Blaster). She's also a good gunner. She's out there to prove herself, followed by her red cat-wolf pet named "Aspi".

Kyle Daggoth (Rebel Sharpshooter): Aludran's older brother, and another custom template. Exceptional shooter who prefers attacking with a rifle from a distance. He was also trained in various diplomatic skills at Coruscant. He owns a BB-5 unit. The Daggoth's both lived their childhoods in Tatooine.

Dino (Pilot/Tech-Expert Hybrid): he created his own template based on the Brash Pilot and the Tonge-Tied Engineer. He's very good with explosives and also owns an R2 unit.

Ghanjaar (Wookie Medic): played the most "gamer" of the group. He said he was going for a tank/support/healer role. He specializes in First Aid and has a backpack full of medpacks. He is also a good brawler. Kind of a "rastafarian" personality.

For starting equipment, we went with what similar templates to their characters provided, with some modifications here and there to fit their skills and backgrounds better. Everyone started with 500 or 1000 credits, depending on the character type.

Finishing the characters together and explaining the very basics before starting the adventure took us 1 hour and a half.

Next post, the adventure begins! Any comments, tips and opinions are welcomed!

[Bren]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[Zulgyan]

PROLOGUE: INTRODUCTION

Making the players read a script as their first ever roleplaying experience seemed to me like a horrible idea. They are supposed to speak as they believe their characters would speak, not follow a scripted and IMO heavily wordy dialogue that doesn't feel anything like the style we have in the movies.

So I threw away that intro from the module and created a very simple one of my own.

The game began at the Rebel Base in Yavin, shortly after the events of ANH. Celebrations for the destruction of the Death Star had to be cut short. It was time get back to work, to grow and reorganize the rebellion, before the Empire could strike back!

The characters were summoned to the Command Room, where they were received by a couple of officers and Princess Leia Organa herself!

This was a good way of making the players present their characters to the rest, as they were asked to introduce themselves formally before the princess.

After the introduction, they were briefed in the mission: undercover agent Dana had contacted the rebels, saying she knew vital information concerning Adar Tallon, the brilliant Old Republic commander everyone thought dead. Leia ordered the characters to get in contact with Dana, who had set a meeting point at Kwenn Space Station, hangar 42. If they found that Adar Tallon was alive, they should look for him and convince him to join the Rebellion. He would be a mayor asset in the fight against the Empire.

Note: I liked this Intro better, because it was more closely tied to the movies and its beloved characters, such as Leia Organa. A common issue I find with groups who are new to RPGs, is that they usually go astray and ignore the story/game objectives. Having a mission assigned by none other than Princess Leia Organa strongly but freely compelled them to stay on track and fulfill the mission. They wouldn't want to fail their admired princess!

They where given the Alabak's Gold starship, 10.000 credits to be spent on the requirements of the mission only, and told not to reveal their rebel allegiance.

On the way to the ship, one of the characters accidentally bumped into... Han Solo ("Hey, watch your step kid!"). Chewbacca was there too, and Ghanjaar the Wookie exchanged some growls and hugs with him (see "Holiday Special" if you want to know how that looks like). Players were thrilled to meet and interact with these characters!

Soon they departed to Kwenn and the travel time allowed them to role play some conversations between the characters, getting everyone to know each other better .

Next, EPISODE I: THE MISSION BEGINS!

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

Ah, that's why your group is going lightning fast through the adventure. They are given the directive right off the bat. No stumbling around Kwen Space Station, as the adventure is designed, and bumping into the "real mission". That can take half or a full game session, right there.

But, I like your choices. I've never used the scripts, either. I think they're silly, and players feel silly (or like they are in high school) reading parts like that. Maybe not your group, with the acting/filmmaking background. But, most people.

I really like the part about bumping into Han Solo and Princess Leia.

I'm ready to read more.

[Zulgyan]

The way I understand the module as written is way faster than my intro. You are supposed to read script and once you finish, the action begins in media res with the dead agent in sight and the fight against the imperial officer and it's mercenaries. What am I missing?

[Zulgyan]

[Solo4114]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[Solo4114]

[Zulgyan]

EPISODE 1: THE MISSION BEGINS


The group arrives at Kwenn Space Station and manages to dock at Hangar 40 (first roll of the game, a successful easy CON check by the Rebel Sharpshooter when dealing with station authorities). Dana would be waiting at Dock 42. The party sets of to investigate their surroundings, finding only light imperial patrolling. They are already suspecting some kind of ambush.

The Jedi character approaches the blastdoor to hangar 42 and tries to use the force to sense "if there is anything dangerous or foul happening beyond the door". s***, there is no explicit force power to do that, so I had to come up with my own ruling. I didn't want to say "you can't do that" to the player, whose main strength in the adventure would be force sense powers, since his characters sucks at pretty much everything else. So he rolled 3D and got a 15! I told him he could sense "death and danger" beyond the door.

Question: Do you think it was a sensible ruling of the Force Sense skill?

Meanwhile the pilot-technician character was checking a station computer for information. When he heard about the "death and danger" happening in hangar 42, he asked me: "Can I hack into the security cameras with my R2 unit and get to see what's happening there?".

This was something not laid out in the module. The adventure as a whole has very few instances where a tech guy is useful. And the character's piloting skills would only come in to shine in the final episode. I also did not want to give the impression that combat oriented characters would be the ones most prominent. So I went ahead and said: "Sure, you can, give me a roll for the droid, 7D and you must get a 20". He was successful and I described him the scene: an imperial officer dead on the floor, 2 bounty hunters checking her, an imperial officer supervising them, and the shadow of an armored man, projected from a blast door to the right.

Question: Do you think it was good game mastering to allow for the tech-guy to do that, even though it was not part of the module?

The party gets ready for battle and opens the blast door. They now clearly see Jodo Kast through another blast door to the right. They exchange some dialogue with the bounty hunters "who are you? why are you here?" The imperial officer says the must leave the premises of hangar 42. Finally patience runs out and the mercenaries begin to fire!

First combat! Everything was running smoothly until a bounty-hunter threw a grenade... For a game that focuses on simple rules that deliver cinematic action with no use of board or minis, the grenade rules seem to me overly complex and very tactically detailed. A successful grenade attack requires way too many rolls and calculations: 1. Roll to Hit Target, 2. Roll To Hit PCs within radius of explosion, 4. Find out distance between point of explosion and each PC, 5. PCs roll Dodge, 5. Roll Grenade Dmg (taking into account PC distance from point of explosion), 6. PCs roll Strength.

If the thrower fails his grenade roll, you must roll for scatter direction and scatter distance on top of that (2 more rolls). It's too much detail and takes way to many rolls to resolve.

In the middle of the session I didn't have the rules so clear (I don't even have them that clear now). I didn't what the players to see me stumbling through the books in the first combat ever of the session. So I just went with my instincts and made up the rules on the spot to resolve the matter quickly: I based myself on the regular shooting rules, but instead of being a single target attack, I used it as an "area of effect" attack. I made an opposed roll between the bounty-hunter's grenade skill vs. PC's dodge skill (+distance). And with those who were hit I made the regular damage vs. strength roll.

I believe my solution was correct for the situation, as I didn't want to bring the game to a halt. I could get away with it because nobody knew how the rules work. I will try to know the grenade rules better for the next session.

Question: Do you think grenade rules are too complex? What do you think of my temporary solution?

The imperial officer was killed before he could use his comlink. Also, the tech-guy used the R2 to block the blast doors, so that no enemies could escape. Again, this was not laid out in the module, but was a cool and "movie faithful" thing to do.

They defeated the enemies, the Wookie Medic got everyone patched up. They found and hacked Dana's datapack for the info on Adar Tallon and his hideout in Tatooine. They took an incapacitated bounty-hunter back to the ship for interrogation.

Suddenly the imperial's comlink sounded saying: "is everything ok?" (similar situation to the scene in ANH). The Rebel Sharpshooter using CON again was able to fool the imperial.

Before they attracted more attention they left for Tatooine. I had the BB-5 give the players the other "Data Info" about Adar Tallon. According to the module this is supposed be found on the station's computers, but they missed it. Remember this are RPG newbies, I have to be kinda easy in some spots to them and getting this extra info only enhances the adventure experience.

Question: Should interrogating prisoners with violence deserve a Dark Side point?

Next, EPISODE 2: WELCOME TO TATOOINE!

[Zulgyan]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]