Star Wars Dungeon crawl?

[Jerrod Owex]

I have been gaming for a long time, mostly D&D over the years but over the past decade I have tried hard to branch out which lead me to stumbling on WEG D6 Star Wars.

My issue is that I started work on a campaign for Star Wars, got a few sessions worth of stuff planned out, at least I hope it's that much, and then noticed that my first adventure seems very much like a D&D dungeon crawl!

Wondering if others have had this issue, if people even think of it as an issue, ways to fix it, and anything else that may be relevant to crafting unique Star Wars feeling adventures.

[CRMcNeill]

In what ways is it like a dungeon crawl? That’s actually something Star Wars doesn’t have a lot of.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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[Naaman]

IMO, a "dungeon crawl" can be Star Wars-appropriate if the "dungeon" is appropriately Star Wars (which can be almost anything, really: a creepy cave or a long dead space hulk/"sunken" pirate ship lost in space, etc).

Traps and such should make sense for the setting (no exploding runes on a floor tile!!!), but rather something like compressing hallways, poison gas coming through the air vents, ray shields, etc, should the characters fail a security check to breach the next door.

You could have security droids that have been dormant for decades (centuries?) come to life in response to the intrusion detection system that comes online when the players jump start the systems in order to start exploring...

The ship itself could be in such disrepair that just walking around is deadly hazardous: step wrong and the floor collapses under foot risking a 50-meter fall into the reactor core or whatever.

As for "loot," this is where it starts to get far from the flavor of Star Wars, but there could be some important intel stored in the ship's computers, some technology that will aid the players in solving a logistical or tactical problem, or perhaps they find an old, but highly effective starfighter in pristine condition in the hangar bay which was somehow protected from the disaster that destroyed the ship in the first place (kind of like an F15, to use a real life example: way outdated, but still a very capable implement of battle).

[garhkal]

The closest i've had to a true dungeon crawl, was when i sent a group against an imperial base.. The base had 4 layers, spread out over 300 meters square each layer.. MOST of the players actually loved it, 2 thought it was a little corney.
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[MrNexx]

Really, I think the capture and escape from the Death Star could be viewed as a dungeon crawl. In KOTOR and KOTOR2, there were a fair number of dungeon crawls... infiltrations of secure sites packed with enemies, usually for some sort of reward.
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[Jerrod Owex]

I'm running a Clone Wars Campaign working my way into something else I want to do, I believe I talked about it elsewhere in the forums, and I'm starting with the Battle of Geonosis.

I have them blasting Droids for a short time, somewhat pointlessly but none of us have ever actually played D6 Star Wars so I feel it's a nice introduction to the combat of the system, or at least that's my hope! Anyway, the next step is too go take out a communication area and this is where I fall into my room after room after room of dungeon crawl: a few B1s, a couple B2s and a Geonosian or two. I have actually had this done for some time now but recently realized it was essentially just a dungeon crawl.

I have NO idea if it will be a problem for the players, we all come from a D&D background but what really bothers me is that it's Star Wars it should feel different!

[Jerrod Owex]

[MrNexx]

[Dredwulf60]

Guys,
I think he is saying that he wants to create dynamic star wars gaming sessions that focus on adventure and role-play...but can't help but default back into D&D style maps and dungeon-crawl type scenarios.

My advice is to focus on the objectives. Since it appears you are running a clone wars military-themed game, I'd start with a clear objective from the player character's commander.

Something like:

"Squad, your mission is to gain access to this Geonosian command center. Once there, neutralize any armed resistance and detain any technicians.

We will send a follow-on intelligence team to sweep the computers for valuable intel. Depending on how the battle goes, you may be on your own for a few hours before they can get to your location."

So your first stage will be the fight against the droids in the field as you planned.

Once they've destroyed a number of droids you can tell them that they have arrived at the outer complex.

No real need to map it out; assume it is an intricate bug-like labyrinth.
Described it as such: "You are moving through an intricate set of tunnels..."

Have them make appropriate skill rolls to navigate through; with high difficulty.

Every time they fail they have an encounter with defenders.

After each encounter, lower the difficulty on the next navigation roll until they finally find the command center.

Here you can have a nice map layout, with computer terminals and stone columns and antechambers and such. This is where you can really get into taking cover and ranges and movement and such.

Once they've taken out the armed baddies and captured the technicians (if possible) they have to prepare to defend it against counter attacks.

They will have to be alert, but there will be some down-time while they wait. Encourage them to have their characters chat amongst themselves. Maybe have an NPC start asking them some questions about what's on their mind. How they feel about what they're doing..etc. This starts them developing their characters.

You could hit them with a few attackers, then a few more, then some more concentrated offensives...and just when you judge they are near to being overwhelmed you can have the intelligence team arrive to help tip the balance.

Then the intelligence team starts slicing the computers...one of them says "Oh my...this doesn't look good at all..."
The players, naturally curious will want to know what. Which allows you to reveal the next plot hook...

All just suggestions mind you. But that's along the lines of what I would do.

[Naaman]

[Whill]

If the goal is to avoid making Star Wars adventures that seem like dungeon crawls, then my simple advice is to start with running published adventures. That will give you a feel for designing your own plot driven adventures.
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