Campaign outline: The New Separatists

[Kemper Boyd]

Former Imperial Fleet Admiral Santek Kiner has left the Imperial Navy service, troubled at what he's seen the Empire become. The racism inherit in the New Order is tearing the Empire apart, and the Emperor isn't dealing with it.

The brutality of Imperial administration in the outlying parts of the galaxy is fomenting rebellion, when Imperial governors meddle unneccessarily in local affairs, not giving worlds representation in government and repressing local populations violently.

Kiner is from an old navy family, a fleet admiral at 35, having a university degree in sociology and served with distinction until the disbanding of the Senate, which he saw as an outrage. When he left the Navy, the Alliance to Restore the Republic contacted him, wanting him to join them because of his tactical skill and his extensive resources.

He said no. While the Empire is poised to eventually fail, he doesn't see the Alliance as any better. They are as authoritarian, and want to bring back a failed system of government. The Republic became the Empire for a reason.

Kiner wasn't alone. He did notice that other people shared his opinion on the Empire and the eventual fate of the Empire, especially nonhumans in Imperial service in the Outer Rim, where he served for most of his career. They were allowed to serve in the Rim region, even as officers, but they couldn't do anything to change the system, and they weren't allowed to advance to command ranks.

So what is there to be done? The Empire won't change before it's too late, the Alliance might win the Galactic Civil War but they won't succeed as a government.

There is always secession.

Admiral Kiner made quiet preparations through old friends and business contacts. He recruited crews and soldiers, bought weapons through false fronts, acquired a small number of ships and sent workers to build an orbital facility and ground facility at an out-of-the-way world called Jomark.

The local Grand Moff is not up to his task, neither is his fleet. The Greater Outer Rim Oversector is underfunded, understaffed and overstretched to govern, and Imperial High Command isn't in the months after the battle of Yavin interested in giving Grand Moff Globus any more resources or ships. The Greater Outer Rim Oversector also is close to the Corporate Sector, which is not well defended or policed from a disciplined force.

In this area, Kiner plans to establish a state he calls the Confederacy of Independent Worlds. He has a few battalions of marines, a modified Bulk Cruiser called Liberation and a handful of Corellian Gunships and Corvettes which will serve as a core to a Confederate navy. He also has arranged an intelligence network and a cabinet which will serve as the start of a civilian government, when the time is right.

Kiner figures out that he has a few months worth of time before there will be significant Imperial response. Grand Moff Globus will try to handle Kiner by himself with his limited resources before he absolutely has to beg for more support from Imperial Center.

Now, the small Confederate fleet sits in the empty void between the stars, poised to attack a small Imperial convoy to get more resources and possibly even a warship or two. In twenty minutes, a new war will start.

---

This is the backstory to a campaign I'll be running at some point. The player characters will be members of the new Confederate High Command, overseeing military operations, intelligence operations, diplomacy, trade and the establishing of a true government.

[Kemper Boyd]

Some notes:

I'll be running this with Star ORE instead of D6, because i like the ORE system better and D6 stats can be converted to ORE easily enough.

Also, I'll be rewriting some of the pre-Ep.IV history for it to fit in better with what WEG published.

[Kemper Boyd]

I've outlined here a few scenarios to be encountered by the players:

Operation GRAVEYARD

It's six months since the Battle of Yavin, and the Special Acquisitions Office (the personal intelligence network of Admiral Kiner) delivers him a troubling report. The Empire has purged a significant number of Alderaanian officers from the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Army, and they are now being held on an Imperial prison world. Wanting to prove his good intentions, Kiner gives his order to the player characters: They are to organize a raid against the fortress world of Gall and figure out how to neutralize the two Star Destroyers in orbit.

Operation BUG HUNT

Confederate recon ships have spotted an Imperial salvage operation ongoing in the Yavin system. Kiner gives the order to stage an invasion to establish a base on Yavin and to seize the salvaged resources for better use.
This leads to the players discovering that the salvage operation is actually a front for something completely different: the Imperials are using the salvage operation as a cover for an intensive search operation in the systems close to Yavin.
The big secret is that General Tagge and Admiral Motti survived the destruction of the Death Star, but they are both severely wounded and embittered, which is why they are trying to hide from the Imperial Fleet.
Tagge and Motti could be valuable allies, if they are found by the Confederacy before the Imperials find them.

Operation SNOWSTORM

Confederate diplomats on Ryloth have managed to make overtures to the Twi'lek clans on Ryloth. The entire homeworld might just be willing to join the Confederacy, if the player characters manage to prove them that it's worth it.

[Yak Face]

Sounds like a fun concept. After reading the overview provided so far, a couple questions come to mind.
-What is the time frame that this would take place in?
-Do the planets in the new confederacy declare open rebellion when the new war starts?
-Is the new confederacy so small that's it not worth immediately crushing, or is it so big that the Empire can't easily smash it?
-What kind of resources can the new confed call on? Does it include major industrial worlds, or banking resources, or some other major links to sources of war fighting material?
-Is the wily leader a General Lee/Admiral Thrawn type, who overcomes a lack of raw power with clever plans and inspirational command ability? Or will it be up to the PC's to help overcome the flaws of the leadership and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?
-Will the government be representative, and if so, will conflicting interests cause strife and division that would inhibit effective policy making?
_________________
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. -Sir Winston Churchill

[Kemper Boyd]

[Yak Face]

Looks like you've got things pretty well worked out - that should provide a solid basis for an extended campaign. The PCs will doubtless have a huge range of options in terms of their ability to help (or hinder) the cause. If you so desired I imagine that you could easily adapt WEG book adventures to fit in with minimal tweaking, as well.
_________________
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. -Sir Winston Churchill

[hisham]

Aside:

Do you have any D6-ORE conversion notes? Cause I too find ORE fascinating.
_________________
The Enteague Sector | Cracken's Collection of Crackpots
In D6, of course.

[masque]

[hisham]

Gotcha thanks. I only read through Nemesis ORE, which seemed like a good substitute for the BRP system for Call of Cthulhu... if only they added more things in the magic and bestiary section of the pdf.
_________________
The Enteague Sector | Cracken's Collection of Crackpots
In D6, of course.

[masque]

I like Nemesis, and ORE in general, but I have the new Trail of Cthulhu by Kenneth Hite, using the GUMSHOE system, and it is full of win. I think I'll use Nemesis anytime I run Delta Green, but I'll be using Trail of Cthulhu anytime I want a more classic CoC feel.

(I'm still trying to convince my players to let me run Godlike...)
_________________
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

[Kemper Boyd]

I've continued working on this concept and I now have a basic campaign outline prepared. It's based sort of on how most TV series are made these days: there's always a "season arc" and some standalone adventures in every season. I'm trying to give the campaign a serious sense of continuity and advancement by this.

The campaign begins immediately after the Battle of Yavin with the establishing of the Confederacy. Most early scenarios are pre-emptive strikes against minor Imperial bases to hinder the local Grand Moff's efforts to strike back at the Confederates, raids on Imperial shipping to gain supplies, recruitment operations, acquisition of ships and eventually shipyards to strengthen the fleet and finally, the invasion of a number of worlds to get a decent population and tax base to keep the Confederacy running and becoming legitimate.

At this point, Imperial responses are mostly sporadic and uncoordinated.

Before the Battle of Hoth, the Confederacy has made diplomatic overtures to the Rebellion to cooperate with them and supply both sides with critical resources. The Confederacy has money and some industrial production that the Rebellion does not have, the Rebellion has intelligence resources and starfighter technology that the Confederacy wants. Initially, the relationship is quite cordial but it slowly begins to turn sour because the Rebellion leadership (correctly) sees that the Confederacy is exploiting the Rebellion for their own means.

The Confederacy at this point has become a minor regional power in the Rim which allows it to do raids and incursions into the Corporate Sector, because the Corporate Sector is vulnerable and their fleet is not up to fighting regular engagements. There is a small campaign to invade a number of corporate worlds to free indentured workers and gain strategic resources and raw materials.

A bit after the battle of Hoth, the Confederacy has angered some major Hutt clans because the Confederacy has been freeing slaves and interfering with Hutt operations on Confederate worlds. This leads to a Hutt assassination attempt on the Confederate leadership, and the Confederacy will need to retaliate. There is also a question of founding the Confederacy as a republic, which will allow the players to play politics to ensure that the outcome is good.

Imperial responses will at this point be more aggressive and coordinated and the Confederacy, while growing in strength, finds that they need to make much more effort to protect their gains and they are forced into a defensive campaign against the Imperial fleet. The players will need to turn this around to strike back at the Empire to regain the momentum, which is not an easy task when you are outnumbered!

A few months before the Battle of Endor, the Confederacy will probably have defeated Outer Rim Imperial forces to the point that the Empire's grasp is severely weakened. Admiral Kiner then gives the players the order for the most aggressive and dangerous campaign so far: an assault on the Tapani sector. The main goal is to get the Lords of the Expanse to cooperate with the Confederacy and join the Confederacy and put the Fondor shipyards into Confederate hands.

While this campaign is ongoing, news of the second Death Star being built reaches the player characters. It's a desperate moment: the Rebellion is going to take on the Emperor once and for all, and if the existence of the Confederacy is to be guaranteed, the Empire cannot win. While Confederate-Alliance relations are at a low point, the Confederacy gives total support for the Alliance for the destruction of the Death Star.

This campaign season will end with both an epic battle and an uncertain future: The Confederate Fleet arrives to Endor a moment after the Rebel Fleet and is pulled out of hyperspace by the Imperial Interdictor picket line (this picket is mentioned in the Truce at Bakura sourcebook). The Death Star is destroyed and the Emperor dies, but a fierce battle continues for hours, the Confederate Fleet tying down Imperial reinforcements, allowing the Rebels to win and not end up with a pyrrhic victory. Finally, the battle is clearly won and the Imperials begin their retreat. At this point, Admiral Kiner gives a proclamation of General Amnesty: no Imperial that surrenders to the Confederacy from this point on will be tried for previously committed war crimes. This leads to a significant number of Imperial ships surrendering to the Confederacy, which permanently sours the relationship with the Alliance, because they would want their hands on a number of Imperial officers in the fleet. The Confederate fleet has taken serious casualties and losses, but comes out stronger in the long run through the ships surrendered to them at Endor. Finally, the Confederate Fleet leaves Endor, back to their bases to see how the galaxy will look after the Emperor is dead.

[Kemper Boyd]

I'm finally getting around to actually running this campaign, and over the past year or so my concept has changed a lot. First of all, I've decided to skip the GMPC thing because it rarely works, and instead one of the players gets to play the head honcho. The other players get to more freely state their goals and purposes but whoever ends up playing Kiner gets a ready concept of a character.

Second, I've decided to run this under ORE, since it's a good system and I just realized that I can easily convert the Companies rules from Reign to give each player his own fief, so to say, that they can easily do things with. For example, Confederate Intelligence is one Company, the Navy is another and the Office of the Chief of Staff is another.

In Reign, every Company has five attributes. Influence, Might, Treasure, Territory and Sovereignty. I'm converting these to be more specific to the campaign, so they will be Influence, Operations, Resources, Reach and Morale.

It's going to make for some interesting conflicts between players, since the Confederacy of course has very limited resources and the players will have to wheel and deal amongst each other to secure more resources for their own faction. Also, not all Companies are equal so that makes for reasons to cooperate to reach common goals.

[ZzaphodD]

I like the idea, even if Id keep the CIW small and probably not actually taking whole systems due to not wanting to be stomped on by the Imperial Fleet.

I think Ill use some ideas but from an Alliance (player) perspective. The players may cross path with the CIW and try to recruit them into the rebellion. When that doesnt work then perhaps a limited cooperation negotiated instead.

[Kemper Boyd]

[ZzaphodD]

I dont think my campaign will progress much further than Hoth in the timeline.

One thing I dont really get is how this Klinger can be fleet admiral at 35 and yet not be that remarkable when it comes to fleet tactics.