Well, let me show you.
---
The tavern is allegedly closed, but familiar figures still frequent the bar. They aren't friends of the owner, not even close, but they have a standing agreement. Keep the tavern free of idiots and violence and they get free drinks until the time doesn't matter. Tonight is one of those nights. Curfew has been imposed in light of current events, and it seems to be raining heavier than usual.
But tonight, the routine is shattered. Tonight, someone decides to knock on the door when the tavern is closed. There is even a 'Closed - Leave or Die!' sign very clearly nailed to the door. Whoever is knocking, therefore, must have a very good reason for knocking or is an idiot.
Tarvis groans and puts out his cigar before abdicating his seat at the bar with the rest of you. Striding across the floor with notable agitation, he reaches out and quickly unbolts the wooden door before letting it swing open.
"Hey, can't you read?" he asks, gesturing to the 'Closed - Leave or Die!' sign. With a flick of his wrist, two foot-long glimmering knives extend from his knuckles. "We're closed. Piss off."
The cloaked figure ignores his blatant threats, stepping through the threshold without paying Tarvis any mind.
"Do you have a death wish? I said we're..."
This time, the cloaked figure acknowledges Tarvis. Silently, the figure raises a gnarled hand and clenches it very firmly into a fist. Before Tarvis can say more, he is gasping for breath, his other hand going to his throat.
"Does anyone else object to my presence?" the figure asks. His voice is deep and bored, but there is an unmistakeable underlying malignance in his words.
The response is an overwhelming "Objection!" without words. In a matter of seconds, every figure at the bar has slid off their stool and drawn a surprisingly wide and colorful variety of weapons, most of them completely illegal. All sights are set on the cloaked figure and the weapons set to kill.
The figure lowers his hand. Tarvis gasps for air as the figure releases the invisible grip at his throat. No longer preoccupied with subduing the man who threatened him, the cloaked figure reaches up and lowers his hood. Despite the elderly appearance of the lines in his face and the frosted shade of his hair, his eyes smoulder with an inner hatred as he glares across all those leveling their weapons toward him.
"I am Count Dooku. I come with a proposition for you all."
---
In game, all players have been inducted into the services of Count Dooku, shortly before the start of the Clone Wars. His intentions are unclear at this point, but it soon becomes very plain what he expects of you: nothing less than causing chaos on the planetary level and striking fear into his enemies through whatever means necessary. For once, someone important with a limitless supply of credits is telling you that the stun setting on your blasters won't be necessary...
Only the Scum & Villainy templates will be used. The Core Rules to Ush's system will be used, though I will create a separate character creation thread and may expand upon the available Devices.
Though I am expecting the usual suspects to express interest, I am hoping that we will bring some new players into the fold.
Since Star Wars: Mercenaries sounds completely generic and dull to me, I have titled the project For the Credits.
For those of you that understand what I'm talking about, there may be some template tweaking (or introduction) involved, and the Devices list will grow slightly. These changes won't carry over into any of Ush's things, so don't get used to anything I implement.
For those of you that have no idea what I'm babbling about, there is a list of templates that we will be using called the Scum & Villainy list. It includes the Bounty Hunter, the Mercenary, the Slaver, the Pirate, the Assassin, and the Primitive Warrior. There are also two templates from other lists, the Agent Provocateur and the Idealistic Noble, which may receiving some alterations to make them applicable for the game.
And the Devices list is a list of Devices (redundant but true) that characters can make use of, ranging from jet packs to flamethrowers to better equipment and so on.
Numbers are involved, but I am willing to walk new players through every step. After character creation, I handle most of the numbers.
For the intent of this game, I am avoiding dealing with Jedi and Dark Jedi, yes. I wanted to try something new, as most of the RPs that come through here tend to be set in the Knights of the Old Republic era or the New Jedi Order era, with all characters as Jedi.
I will gladly help you, Jovan. Trust me, it's easier than it looks.
Tweaks to existing templates will be minor, Josh. I don't think I will make any changes to the Bounty Hunter. The Pirate might receive some tweaks, and I might port over Free Trader, the Agent Provocateur, and the Idealistic Noble as the Smuggler, the Saboteur, and the Corrupted Politician (possibly temporary names).