USH'S STAR WARS GAME- Endgame time, and new Episode preview

Having to hurry this out sooner than I thought, because in one of those sudden turns of speed we sometimes get, one of the Episode III threads has almost finished.

So, it is time to begin the summing up, and the start of the process into the nest Episode. Should the OT pilot be successful (and assuming any more actually gets written), this is also the point were I shall inform you whether it is an OT or PT game being played next.

Obviously enough, what with everything else around here, it;s an OT game next.

I also periodically upodate you guys on the planned RPing schedule.... umm... which doesn't look great right now but there's still time.

And then there's the new Episode preview. Now, it must be said, there's already been a LOT of preview done for that, but there is still enough to make it feasible.

Ok, here goes...

Endgame

Some Light Sided players are probably wondering how the end of the Episode can possibly be coming up. On Spiridos, for example, there are many plot threads that have been barely addressed, and the Renegades still have way more many questions than answers.

The answer is pretty simple- this 'year' (four years after TPM) is a double-episoder, just as two years after was. It's not QUITE the same as the Episode I/II transition, but more on that later*- just to re-assure people, don't panic because you haven't sorted anything.

On Charaeus, the Endgame has already begun, because trashing the Ziggura tis all there is to it (Combat mission, combat objective. Yup, my plots twist but it's hard to make a combat mission anything else.) But the nature of the enemy for the Jedi is their mystery.

Xeth's Renegades blunder wearily (and warily) around the ice on Rekiarius, only Xeth's hardcore enthusiasm to nail those Techno bastards keeping them a. sitll there and b. warm. They've nearly found something- and soon Xeth will know where his struggle really lies.

On Cassilis, the Jedi are torn between the soul of the planet and their intense curiousity about what, exactly, it contains. Events are overtaking the Jedi- something terrible is happening, and in their endgame the Jedi must face the truth of what they have foreseen.

On Newhaven, the Dark Siders are still in their eternal struggle to find group cohesion in their days without a leader. Tailed by the Bureau, unhappy with each oither, and with Galder increasingly becoming a psychotic liability, their endgame is simply the seziure of the shoeld generator that (many decades ago, it seems) they came out here to get. How much more complex can a straightforward task become? We'll soon see! Espeically when they try to take out the transmitter, to cover their tracks.

Finally, on Spiridos, the revelations have already been dark and terrible. A drug smuggling operation has been only the gateway to psychotic pacifist priests, dead people happily walking around, terrible diseases, assassination plots on one of the strongest forces in countering poverty in the galaxy, and mass murder at the centre of a hospital, on the most defenceless people you could ever find- for the most nefarious of purposes. Surely not even the Republic is that corrupt? Should they theart their opponent's attempts to stop them, the Jedi can make their arrest, and their endgame involves, as is not hard to predict, the fact that the criminals are not going to go quietly. But as Sienar has told Gallagher, as the Jedi fight one war, there is also another, a battle for the hearts and souls of the peoples of the Republic, and that's more personal than the Jedi know.

Whilst with none of the sustained, slow-build gut wrenching of the end of the Dark Side episode II, I am hopeful that the Episode III endgame period will be one of the most memorable times of the entire game.

Schedule

The schedule remains unchanged from my last update. I have the OT game, then the next Rnegeade/Jedi episode is fine, but I only have 2/3rds of thew Dark Side one- I hope to have all of it by the time we play.

Then I have nothing, unless more gets played here. And since I lat said this, we have played absolutely no Star Wars at all.

Ah well- the plots I have will last as six months at least, I reckon, so we are not in disaster zone yet, but just be aware that there is a potential clock. Mind you, I do have other games I can focus on for a while instead. I wish I could say I would switch to Matrix for a while instead, as I know the demand is there, but I can promise nothing. All I can promise is that I will always be running some Role-playing on-line somewhere, for the forseeable future.

My ideal plan would be to go OT/PT/OT/PT etc. for a while, but we shall see.

How much more complex can a straightforward task become? We'll soon see! Espeically when they try to take out the transmitter, to cover their tracks.

That doesn't sound good.

Preview

Upcoming is Episode I of the Original Trilogy campaign. This is the pilot- the feasibility of the whole campaign will be judged upon it.

Being the first episode, it is a time for you to set your characterisation. The Episode has been written 'character neutral'- no personalised plots, which would obviously be impossible. Your template will very much decide your plot.

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Lanzar- for those that know it, a planet spoken of with fear.

Lanzar is one of the most dangerous worlds in the Galaxy- not by its background environment, which is mostly trees and lakes, but by its wildlife, which seems to be stuck in the equivalent of most world's prehistoric periods. No-one knows exactly what happened to evolution on Lanzar, but with the great and vicious dinosaurs that roam its surface, it obviously wasn't being guided by anything friendly.

Now, there are several worlds like that in the Galaxy, but what makes Lanzar truly unique is the species that became dominant upon it- the Osokan.

Descended from some porcine-like being, the Osokan is unique on Lanzar in that they developed true sentience and a sense of civilisation. They started to use tools, and build settlements, and then as time went by they became true innovators of technology, and built cities and guns and eventually spaceships. Lanzar became a world of the Republic, along with the many countless other worlds.

The Ooskan was the product of evolution on one of the toughest worlds there was. Although squat, they are extremely strong. The only thing more impressive than their strength is their tenacity- Osokan hides are thick, and they have a regenerative constitution that is a wonder of the Galaxy. Small wounds heal in minutes, large wounds in hours, and near-eviscerations have been known to only take an Osokan out for months. Short of beheading or vaporisation, the amount of trauma needed to get an Osokan to actually die on the spot is almost beyond reason.

But their world has remained the same- mostly wild, and full of dinosaurs. This might look like environmentalism, but it is beyond sense- many Osokans still die as children from the result of attacks from their most common foe, the Lanzar Raptor- and being killed by wildlife is still the most common cause of death on Lanzar, which makes it at least VERY rare in a Galactic spacefaring world- although their near total immunity to disease contributes to that also.

The fact is, the Osokans LIKE their world that way. A vicious world has produced a vicious people- they revel in challenge and adversity; without it they become lesser beings. They invite death constantly, it is built into the very fibre of their beings. Their moral development is, at best, questionable; their political development very basic, in relative terms.

Chief among the Osokans were the Hunters- those who made a career out of actually going into the wilds and hunting the Dinosaurs. They are the chief caste among the Osokan people, the most respected. Osokan technology is rough and ready, but for their Hunters, they have their crowning achievement- the Neurowhip, a weapon of sophistication to match a Lightsabre, a melee weapon that can incapacitate the mightiest of foes, even a dinosaur. The kill they leave to their ritual hunting knives.

The Osokan hunting lodges are the first citizens of Lanzar; the Masters of those Lodges are the great leaders of the world, and the Guildmaster of them all is the closest Lanzar has to President or Prime Minister- though he rules more like a King.

It is not just pig hunters that Lanzar has to offer. Wily Osokans soon realised that there was a mystique behind their activities, and the various pelts and skins and heads of Osokan wildlife enjoyed a collecting craze once among wealth noblemen- to have a Raptor head in your home, as killed by a Hunter, was quite the conversation piece. The craze died down, but Lanzar still enjoys a thriving trade resulting from its hunts,. Furthermore, with much of the world still wild, there are many medicines that can be harvested within- though, of course, only an Osokan is going to be brave enough to go into the wilds and pick flowers!

Hence, Lanzar became, if not a major trading centre, at least a place that was counted as a good place to do business. Lanzar itself was near the major trade lanes, and many strangers would come there to buy and sell.

But the nature of the Osokan in general was contrary to the nature of the Republic, and the problem they presented grew. Their Hunting Instinct is buried at the core of their being, and they soon went looking for prey on other worlds- and rather often, that included sentient beings. The Osokan habit of dividing all into Hunter and Hunted- rather than Sentient being and animal- lead to what cna only really be describes as Government sponsored murder. The neurowhip was a cruel and terrible weapon, and the Osokans refused to restrict its use.

Eventually it was too much. The Osokans were told to stop their Galactic hunting activities and account for the crimes they had committed. They would not submit. Only one Galactic force had the power to force the issue- the Jedi.

A Jedi team 200 strong went to Lanzar (several centuries before the times of the films), and in a two year campaign, long and hard, finally subdued the Osokan race. The neurowhip was outlawed, and the Guilds abolished. The Osokans were told to never threaten the Galaxy again.

So it might have remained forever but circumstances brought changes.

In the years leading up to the Clone Wars, laws were passed that re-established the Guilds and allowed once more the use of the Neurowhip. The Osokan Hunters- who had never really gone away- went into specific training. Deadly teams of Osokans were formed, and dark tales are told of Osokan death squads hunting down certain opponents in the Galaxy in those times, under the direction of a Government agency that reported to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Some tell of some ultimate plan and purpose to all this, that had led the Chancellor to allow such a dangerous race such opportunities again.

The truth may never be known. For a while, Lanzar returned to the forefront of the Galactic scene and was on the up and up, but now, the Empire well established, Lanzar is a broken world. A vast Civil War swept the world shortly before the Clone Wars began- and when Osokan fought Osokan, it was vicious indeed. The great days of Lanzar ended, and many of its finest killed each other.

Such were the troubles of the Galaxy that this war went untouched for some while- though it is known that there were still many dealings with Coruscant and the new Emperor in this time. But now,. the Empire is ascendant, and aside from the insignificant Rebellion, the Galaxy is at peace. An Imperial world tearing itself apart in Civil War? Unacceptable!

Yet the original Imperial effort to restore order failed. A new leader by the name of Matadan was elected Guildmaster, with the backing of the Imperial authorities. His reign of eternal peace lasted about one year, before Lanzar fell back into war again. A bloody coup resulted in the toppling of Matadan- amidst rumours of his summary execution- and a new Guildmaster came to power, Drakkon. Drakkon, popular and strong, managed to bring some semblance of order to Lanzar, but malcontent still suffuses the planet.

A new effort was launched to try and make everything stable. The Imperial Senate sent a very significant delegation to Lanzar, led by the famous Senator Coran Andran, one of the greatest politicians in the Empire. Their remit is to deal with the repercussions of Drakkon's coup, and negotiate a deal that will bring true peace to Lanzar, and account for everything that has happened so far.

Aside from Andran’s involvement, this may have gone mostly unnoticed. But unexpectedly, the Imperial machine has made a big deal of Lanzar. it has been in the focus of the news; the eyes of the Galaxy watch it. And for some reason, the Emperor has become VERY personally interested in the situation.

There are two significant reasons for this interest that can be discerned. First, his own efforts to control Lanzar have twice now been thwarted, and he is not a man to take failure lying down. Second, whatever use he once had for the Osokans, is not there any more. Pacified and harmless they were before, and pacified and harmless they again shall be, in his eyes.

Can these reasons alone describe his urgency? And urgent indeed are his actions. Foe he has directed one of his new elite taskforces, recently formed to solve his little troubles in the Galaxy whilst his fleet spreads out to destroy the Rebellion, to go to Lanzar with simple orders.

Solve the Osokan problem by any means necessary

A taskforce of Star Destroyers and the armies within is dispatched to Lanzar to FORCE peace. The Emperor is keen indeed, because the Senatorial mission is still there. The Emperor is still a wily politician, and he does not risk overriding the Senate unless the matter is of great import. Yet his orders are clear.

The Imperials, of course, do not question orders. Lanzar is in chaos. Order must be restored. It has defied the Emperor's will. Those responsible must be punished. Coups and rebellions against elected leaders will not be tolerated in the New Order. The task force goes to war without reservation.

Aside from the intractability of the Osokans themselves, the Imperials will find themselves opposed by the Senate, which will object to an invasion force turning up whilst its own representatives still negotiate. Still, the Emperor is confident in the ability of his hand-picked officers and agents to deal with the situation. But they will face more opposition than they imagined.

The Rebels, of course, have hard of Lanzar, and they have heard of the Emperor's new taskforces. There has been much debate about the Lanzar matter. The Osokans are a vicious and callous people by any standards- many feel an Imperial invasion is what they deserve. But in the end, the Rebellion must stick by its principles, else what is its fight for? Lanzar, whilst dodgy, is in fact a democracy. The people are decided. It is morally wrong for the Empire to invade, doubly so whilst a hope for negotiated peace remains. The Rebellion is seeking to start opposing the Empire at all turns, and its taskforces in particular. The very public focus Lanzar has received makes this a weapon the Rebellion can use- if the Imperial will is in some manner thwarted there, even in only a small way, then the Emperors will... will be challenged. The very demonstration that it CAN be challenged will be valuable, and the altruism of helping Lanzar represents what the Rebellion stands for.

And so, both to help the Osokans and to defy the Empire, the Rebel Alliance has constructed an elite team of its own- a team of skilled agents, and competent politicians, who can approach the problem from all fronts. There is little hope, if the Emperor is determined to invade, that Lanzar can hold- the Osokans, aside form being split and divided, are Hunters, not soldiers, and their armed forces are not sophisticated. The Imperial War machine is too much for them. But the Empire cannot be allowed to just invade and get away with it. The Alliance will make it pay.

But there is one other reason as well. The Emperor’s determination to so quickly settle the matter, when time would almost certainly give him better options, has caused a flurry of intelligence activity from the fledgling alliance. They think they know what the Emperor’s interest is. Secretly, they issue additional orders to some of its delegation- an extra mission, whose importance goes far beyond that of Lanzar alone- and may send Imperial and Rebel alike on a new course, as the fight for the destiny of the Galaxy begins.

And so, there is the set-up for the new Campaign! It has some continuity with the old for the benefit of the older players, but by no means actually needs any familiarity with the old to play.

The background of the Osokan 'unpleasantness' is the setting in which the Imperial and Rebel teams will first meet- this will be the first of many planned meetings as the different sides start to duel in the military and political arenas. Imperials have to deal with the thorny issue of the Senate, under the ever growing pressure of the Emperor, and various factions jockying for his favour. Then there are the Osokans themselves to worry about- vicious people as they are- and as for the sudden apperance of Rebel terrorists...

The Rebels, at least, have a straightforward issue- how to save Lanzar from that damn Imperial fleet! NOT easy. And the Senate may not like the Imperial forces, but nor are they about to throw their lives on the line for some irrelevant (and illegal) bunch of Rebels. As for the Osokans themselves- who can deal with a people like that? At least the Rebels don't have someone like the Emperor breathing down their back- but then, they have another mission to worry about...

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It's a good proving ground of a game, with plenty of scope for talk, investigation, and a good old fashioned war! It is a prety straightforward story- don't go expecting anything like the Golden Serpent story, those things take ages to set up. This is a simple pilot. The mood and theme of an Original Trilogy game is real fun of it. Be sure, Zombie Kuylen isn't going to turn up halfway through.

Still, as the Rebel's secret mission suggests, there might be a little bit more to it! All the same, I am more concerned about people getting used to the idea, than throwing vicious plots at them. Besides- this is player vesus player, the first such thing we have seen in over a year here. If you want viciousness... do it to each other!

Well, folks, there you go!

Well this is good. We get to try to stop a whole invasion force.

hehe too bad there is no Tie-Squadron commander yet

Awesome. I suppose that the S&V folks just fall in with their respective teams as part of the elite groups.

Yup.

Thing is, how do the S&V fall in with the Empire if Palps made the group? Are they Empire familiars?

Same way Vader uses Boba Fett. Sometimes the Emperor uses specialist personnel.

I'm like Boba Fett 😱

😛

Except for, you're a chick. 😛

Boba Fette?

Just to make sure everyone is clear- it is important the Rebels understand that if the Imperials launch a full-scale invasion, you won't stop them. You'll quickly find out that whilst they are lethal in person, the Osokans are not designed to fight armies, and their cities won't stand against the war machines of the Empire- and the Rebels hardly have the resources to fight to win either.

This will be a continuous theme of the game throughout the whole campaign- firstly, because the supremacy of Imperial resources is an important factor, and secondly because we all know the Alliance doesn't win a military victory over the Empire until just before A New Hope.

You have to find other ways to win your victories. Don't forget, te REAL pressure is actually on the Imperials, because the view always is "Well, you guys have ALL the resource advantages, why is this even difficult for you?" So don't feel too bad, Rebel guys.

Sounds like one aspect will be sabotage and mayhem, sonething I hope BB and I get to do. Another would probably be political stalling, since the Imps can't realy invade with the senate in the way. Stupid question: Will we be waiting until ALL of the current threads are completely finished before starting the OT game?

Yup.

Well, looks like an awesome campaign.

Ush, does my character know more about Emperor`s true motives? If so, I assume I would get a PM about it, which I am unlikely to share with anyone directly. It is enough I know the truth.

Second question, why Empire has no need for Osokans? They could always be used to hunt Rebels. My character thinks full military invasion is a very blunt move, unless it is kind of training for military.

On the other hand, won`t Osokans make a perfect labor force if enslaved? Better than Wookies I assume.

Anyway, really looking forward to this, I assume Imperial characters will be separated in most cases?