"Let's go! Keep the squads in distance we dont want to rush in all at once! Trawley take point you're probably our best shot here."
We'll proceed as quickly as we can with caution, no sense in running blindly at something we don't see.
"Harvik do you have a sight on those targets, can you identify them?"
As it turns out, Seth Ketra was not the only Jedi interested in the situation on Boll-Gar. Aurel Sing is a Jedi Knight that was in Seth's classes when they were only younglings and they shared the same interest- the martial side of being a Jedi. However, they walk different paths- Seth Ketra has gone Renegade to pursue his own destiny, while Aurel has remained with the Order and followed the wisdom of the Council.
Having been given vacation time after his last mission, Aurel was persuaded to come to Boll-Gar with Seth by Seth himself. This is, apparently, how a Swordsman spends his free time...
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In order to be fair on Aurel, I will give you the same prep time that Seth got before he is put in the same situation, having caught up to the group that Kart led into the newly-made ruins of Barum. I also want to get a feel for Aurel.
Is there anything important about his lightsaber? Color, how the hilt is designed, etc. It can say a lot about the Swordsman in question.
Does Aurel carry anything else on his person? Equipment, personal items, etc.
How does Aurel dress and what does he look like in general?
Physical appearance seems like a good place to start. Aurel is somewhat pale-skinned, a sign of his youth spent within the temple and his somewhat studious bent from his time spent in the archives. He's rather tall, standing at six feet, five inches. Despite his height, however, he fills out rather well, weighing in at roughly two hundred fifty pounds. He wears the standard Jedi robes, as they've been a part of life for almost as long as he can remember, and he sees no reason not to wear them during his leisure time, given their comfort. He is clean shaven, with an oval face, and less than prominent cheekbones. His nose tapers to point, but fits his face well. Medium sized lips take position above a strong chin. His eyes are hazel and somewhat wide, occasionally being hidden by the lengthy bangs of his wavy, shoulder length brown hair, though it is usually tied back to allow him better vision in combat.
Aurel's lightsaber is of a unique fare. It is longer than a traditional lightsaber hilt by roughly thirty inches, adding room for half an extra "hand" of grip. Aurel uses this extra length to allow greater arcs when defending himself or his allies. This "hand-and-a-half" lightsaber hums to life with a silver blade when activated.
Aurel has a small holopad that contains the images of his parents, Beldor Sing and Eris Moonsong, a memoir that was given to him before leaving them to begin his trainning. He also has a datapad with information he has gathered of the crime lord Junipero, who had harassed his family since before he was born. Beyond these two things, what he carries that is of note is: a first aid kit, kept with him at all times, a habit he picked up from all his study of healing, a small grappling hook device that launches a cable up to one hundred feet and sticks to most surfaces for purposes of navigating with it, and a supply of various rations for unexpected long journeys, roughly two days worth.
Of special note, currently Aurel also has another data pad that he had received just before Seth called on him for assistance. It bears a message from his mother, Eris, informing him that his father has fallen ill.
Then Aurel Sing is with Captain Kart, smuggler pilot of the Dawntreader, and his medic Noland and his mechanic Mendus when they all begin to hear cannonfire on the other side of the village. You cannot see anything... but there are bright flashes in the fog in that direction.
"What is that?!" Noland asks.
"What do you think," Kart says. "We've found whoever burned down the village."
Aurel had not spoken during the voyage to and the landing on Boll-Gar. This was partly due to the recent transmission he had received from his mother just before Seth came to call. His father, Beldor, was bed ridden from illness. Aurel knew this meant that things would soon take a turn for the worse for them, as Beldor's steady supply of funding to the individual known as Junipero kept the family safe in the slums of Coruscant. Even at this time of leave, Aurel was a Jedi Knight, and he knew it would only be a matter of time before Junipero was made to stand for his actions.
Those thoughts had quickly been driven from him, however, once they had passed the pirate blockade and found themselves looking upon the ruins of their intended destination. Whatever his old comrade had agreed to do here, Aurel was certain that plans had changed. The moment they had landed, he had been attempting to use what little skill with sensing using the Force he had to try and garner some kind of information. It gave him nothing, but by that time the cannons had begun firing.
"So much for diplomacy," the Jedi muttered under his breath before finally speaking to Kart as he drew his lightsaber, "watch the flanks, I'll do my best to keep front guarded." As the blade hummed to life, Aurel looked out around them, waiting to see if any flashes came in their direction, or if he could make out any silhouettes.
I imagine there's going to be some kind of combat, but I'm not exactly sure as to the etiquette of preparing for it. I do know that Aurel's first actions will be to activate the following blade schticks: Balanced Guard, Bodyguard, and Charge
Choosing your schticks is indeed part of starting what is known as "Combat Time." In combat, as in scenes of a movie, a turn can take anywhere from mere seconds to a full minute depending on the action. The ebb and flow of battle dictates this.
Now coming out of the ruins ahead of you are a small squad of Garans- enormous lizards wearing bulky armor and wielding an assortment of blasters. You cannot tell if more are coming; you, like Seth nearby, are having trouble sensing life patterns due to the apparently overwhelming number of them.
Kart draws his pistol with fluid ease; Noland and Mendus nervously hold up their carbines to do battle.
"We're counting on you here, Jedi," Kart says. "I'm not the gunslinger I used to be."
Aurel watched carefully as a group of massive reptiles stepped into view from what was left of the village. He saw that they all carried some form of blaster, though the make and model of each were varied. He nodded once to show Kart that he had heard the grizzled captain, while his feet settled at shoulder width, and he held his lightsaber before his body, tilted slightly. He would focus on keep bolts away from his comrades while they laid supporting fire, opening up a moment for him to nullify the threat quickly.
That's good to know, thanks. I also just realized that I forgot to establish who would be benefiting from my bodyguard, should the need arise. At this point I'll be aiding the one called Mendus. I think Kart, experienced as he is, will be able to hold is own for a time, but his crew might not fare so well.
Fair enough! Just remember that you need to stay next to him at all times for him to benefit from Bodyguard.
There are ten Garans total, all wearing bulky armor and wielding guns. One Garan has something bigger, what appears to be a plasmacaster. The final Garan bringing up the rear has a hefty rifle, bigger than what the others carry.
The Garans and the plasmacaster Garan are mooks. Mooks normally require three successes to kill, but Garans are impressively sized and require four successes to kill. On top of that, they all have +2 Armor (+1 from Natural Armor, an Alien schtick, and +1 from the armor they wear). Armor makes mooks harder to kill, so now they need six successes to kill! A lightsaber simplifies this all by ignoring armor and having a * rating on its damage- Aurel needs only three successes to strike one down.
For Supermooks, like the Leader, they take damage like you do. They are generally very weak in comparison to yourself, but more threatening than a mook. Armor reduces incoming damage for Supermooks instead, as it does you.
The Leader has also taken cover- this offers a point of Parry against ranged attacks when he is shooting back, two if he is not. Parry causes your successes to be ignored. Not a worry with melee.
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BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 1
East Village
Garans (G5) x8 (2A) (two turns away)
Garan Caster (HW4) x1 (2A) (two turns away)
Garan Leader (G6): 1(3A)/0 [10B] (two turns away, in cover)
Aurel (LS11): 1(2A)/0 [BGu BG CH] [OGu CL] (5F)
Kart (G11): 1(1P Ranged)/0 [GS ES CF] (4F)
Mendus (G6): 1/0 (1F)
Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F)
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The numbers and letters are:
Name (Dice Pool): Defense(Bonuses)/Damage [Active Schticks] [Inactive Schticks] (Force or Fortune)
Feel free to ask as many questions as you like before getting started.
Additional rule for this fight- you can use as many as your Force points as you like. Normally you need to make them last for the episode, but I want you to get a feel for when to use them.
So if I'm reading the stat block correctly, Aurel currently has a dice pool of 11 with the lightsaber, 1 defense with a 2 armor bonus, 0 damage, and has the active schticks Balanced Guard, Bodygard, and Charge. He has two inactive schticks, Cleave and Orothodox Guard, and he has 5 Force Points.
Did I read all that right?
That is neat, but I think it's better to develop a habit of conservation early, so I won't be using the tactic I discovered. Besides that, it wouldn't fit with Aurel's personality and the context of the battle at this point, in my opinion.
For now, I'll focus on keeping the crew alive until the lizard folk are in striking range. If any of smugglesr can get some cover, I expect they would take, even Mendus, since my bonus may not be enough to keep him fully protected.
Aurel saw the lizards slowly advancing while trying to keep behind blasted walls and other terrain. He recalled hearing that they were not all that bright, but they clearly knew tactics.
"Kart," the Jedi murmured as he kept his stance ready, "I don't suppose I have to tell you and your men to find what cover they can at this point, but all the same..."
To start off each turn and determine who goes first, I make the Initiative roll. 4-2 means you get it! The Jedi ignites his lightsaber and ushers his wards into cover, which they do willingly, making use of the remains of a hut. As they move, they fire. Kart uses his light pistol, a slim job with a flash suppressor, to provide Covering Fire, meaning the Garans need 6s to hit you. Mendus and Noland scores some hits on a pair of Garans as they spray haphazardly.
The Garans charge! They split their fire evenly between the four of you and find themselves immediately frustrated. Garans assaulting you, Aurel, roll three successes- two 6s and a 5 both. However, the 5 is ignored thanks to Kart's covering fire as they duck and weave around his rapid shots. Then, with Aurel in full cover, the 6s are Parried. The Jedi is untouched!
Kart and Noland too are missed when the Garans roll poorly at them. A Garan attacking Mendus rolls four successes, which is dropped to one success by Covering Fire and cover itself. Still, a bolt slips through! Thankfully, Mendus has his Jedi protector to slap the bolt out of its path. The Garans are using targeting rifles, so their guns have a base damage of 3. Mendus would have taken four damage, but it is reduced to two by the Armor from Balanced Guard.
The Garan with the plasmacaster has hung back and charged his rifle, letting off a lethal burst of super-heated plasma at Aurel. I suggest checking the rules on area effect weapons, but more or less, just one success from a heavy weapon is not much. It is a miss.
The leader picks on Kart, but he's a hard target- Eye of the Storm gives him +1 Parry in addition to his cover. Another miss.
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BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 2
East Village
Garans (G5) x6 (2A) (one turn away)
Garan (G5) x1** (2A) (one turn away)
Garan (G5) x1**** (2A) (one turn away)
Garan Caster (HW4) x1 (2A) (two turns away)
Garan Leader (G6): 1(3A)/0 [10B] (two turns away, in cover)
Aurel (LS11): 1(2A)/2 [BGu BG CH] [OGu CL] (5F) (in cover)
Kart (G11): 1(1PR)/0 [GS ES CF] (4F) (in cover)
Mendus (G6): 1/2 (1F) (Bodyguard) (in cover)
Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F) (in cover)
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