STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Respite

Kell has a slender pistol that looks very old, Xeth. He definitely appreciates that you have a grenade launcher; he doesn't have any heavy weapons. He wishes you had more.

"You're going to be using that," Kell assures.

The droids confirm that all is working and prepare to take off to repair your ship.

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Just going over the cursory information that Kell gives you on his forces... comparing them to the information you have from Navir about the droid shipment, Kell is outnumbered. The odds are very much against him.

Too bad we did not get the cultists in on this. Though with all their melee weapons and superstitions I am not sure how much of an ally they would be.

Something to consider, then.

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I just need to track down the rules for large-scale battles (though Xeth and Vera should be familiar due to things they do later) and then we can push forward.

Wazo Kell's warpath will take him along the massive pipes that feed water from the ocean to Tarne's fortress. The water is toxic, but Tarne has filtration systems so he can use it. Still, it does not help him much if Kell shuts off the water supply.

Which Kell does. It will only be a matter of time until Tarne sends forth his troops to retake the pump station. In preparation, Kell sends a speeder scout to relay his orders and organize his troops around the pump station.

The pump station is a flurry of activity as Kell's men prepare for battle, prepping their speeders and guns, and a few other low-tech traps and goodies. Many of them eye you curiously but do not really pay you much mind, Xeth; Kell is the leader here.

Vera-Kin will find herself somewhere comfortable to recuperate but still be able to watch things as they unfold around the pump station. She is glad she was able to take the bunker and not sacrifice Kell's men on that task, even if she was badly hurt in the process.

She examines the skeletal regenerators and winces as they do their job. She will let the medics do whatever they can to improve her condition.

Is Xeth able to snag a speeder bike from Kell's troops? Anyone not using one, maybe?

Wazo Kell flatly denies that, Xeth. A speederbike is a valuable commodity here; he'd rather give it to someone who has earned the right to use it.

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Kell manages to come up with a full inventory of his troops and equipment. Not exactly an impressive bunch but now you know what you are working with.

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UNITS

10x Foot Soldiers: Strength 30
Kell's ragtag soldiers armed with blasters and their wits

10x Speeder Bikes: Strength 20, Fast: Can redeploy at double speed and get +50% Strength on flanking attacks
Rapid deployment speederbikes for speedy assaults and scout work, great for hit-and-run strategies.

1x Mortar Squad: Strength 15, Bombard: Can lend strength from reserve sections
A team of men operating primitive mortars

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You also have one placement of mines to use as a trap.

And a review of the strategic system for large-scale battles:

When a force attacks another force, we compare the total strengths of both forces. If one side is noticably stronger than the other, then the following D6 roll that decides the battle is more likely to favour them.

For example, if both sides are roughly even in strength, then a roll of 1 or 2 means the defenders in the current fight win, a 3 or 4 means an inconclusive and bloody stalemate that turn, whilst a 5 or 6 means the attackers win. But if, say, the defenders are outnumbeed 3:1 on Strength, then a roll of 1 or 2 brings a stalemate and a 3-6 would bring victory to the attackers.

Certain special abilities can shift the odds back in your favour or further against you, like use of air power. The most significant factor is is armoured units- if one side has them and the other does not, the odds shift one step in favour of the side with armour.

Possible odds are: Evens, 3:2, 2:1, 5:2 and 3:1

Whenever units get defeated or caught in a firefight they take a hit. Three hits will render a unit unable to contiue fighting.

When it is your turn, you can order a unit to move in any one direction. if that is into an enemy held area, it is an attack on that area. Do remember that this means that units moving into plug gaps in yuor lines, or just being shifted around, wpon;t be able to attack that turn as their action was to move into place.

If a force that loses a fight began that fight with each unit in it having taken at least one hit, it will also be forced to retreat to the reserves. If there is no room for that then there is trouble.

You both watch for some time as Kell's forces pour in from his outposts and his main base at the resort, bringing with them the sparse supplies they are able to muster. Men on speeder bikes zip about the water pump station to maintain the perimeter and monitor the progress of gathering soldiers and their preparations for combat.

You also notice that the women and children of Kell's lot have come with the soldiers. Kell is gathering them into the pump station for protection. Having sent out orders to pull every last man to the pump station, he needed to draw in his civilians also, lest they lay undefended and give Tarne something to target and bargain with. Special care is given to reinforce the pump station and barricade it. It is intended that if things do not go well against Tarne's men and the battle droids... his last stand will be at the pump station.

Vera-Kin... You notice that none of Kell's men wear a uniform. Somehow, this bothers you. In any case, Kell relocates you to the pump station's upper levels, where he has set up a make-shift command center. It is very low-tech, filled with paper maps and markers to represent his units and Tarne's. Off to one side are markers that represent the Malteen fanatics.

The spot where Kell wants to meet Tarne's forces has been circled out on the map and divided into four zones so Kell's men can make sure Tarne's don't walk past them. The zones are:

Debris Field, Speedway, Ruins, Debris Field

You can arrange your units accordingly. Kell thinks that the Ruins can be used for a hold out, while the speedway is the clearest area and will be better for his speeder bikes.

The water pipeline passes through the Ruins.

I hope 20 units is enough to hold out against the droids. At least they don't have droidekas?

That you know of! Navir didn't say anything about them, at least...

Whilst Vera-Kin works with Kell on the organization of the troops and the deployment begins, there is a period of rest for our weary heroes. You can take 10 points of damage off for resting, then any Medicine rolls that are applied.

Vera-Kin is out of commission and cannot use her own Medicine score, so she has to settle for Kell's medics and their meager supplies. Everyone else either lacks it or is on par with the medics! Everyone takes 20 damage off except Vera, putting Xeth at 17 and Vera-Kin at 50.

The astromechs do not yet apply their Fix-It scores to the Nexu's Grin as they are still ascending.

Navir didn't mention the vulture droids either... Vera-Kin is getting suspicious. The uniforms on Tarne's men bother her, and so does the fact that Navir forgot about the fighters.

Can she ask Navir about that? He's been to Respite before, he should have known about the vulture droids and maybe he knows about the uniforms.

Also... does Kell have a way to transmit messages to the Malteen clan?

Oh, and troop arrangements. Does Kell want to just spread them across the whole way? Or does he want to concentrate them? Because I was thinking of leaving the far right open if the ruins are more defensible (do we get a bonus or something?)

Left Debris Field - 3 foot soldiers, 1 speederbikes
Reserves - 2 foot soldiers

Speedway - 4 speeder bikes
Reserves - 4 speeder bikes

Ruins - 3 foot soldiers, 1 speeder bike
Reserves - 2 foot soldiers, 1 mortar

And we can mine the debris field on the right so that the droids march straight into it. Unless we need to have troops there?

If so maybe we can just have Xeth go do it.

Kell isn't sure how he feels about leaving the right-side debris field open. He would need some convincing on the tactic.

The Speedway gives a +5 bonus to the attack power of the speeder bike units, and the Ruins acts a defensive position, shifting the ratio in your direction by one category.

If you wanted to mine the right-hand field, you either need units there or someone to run out there and do it themselves.

Vera will argue with Kell that she does not want to spread everyone thin right away. If Kell wants, she can move some of the speeders into reserve behind the Ruins so that if the droids push forward, the speeders can outflank them and get their attack bonus.

That way the forward positions have reinforcements if needed. The speeders not on the front can be redirected quickly in the reserves I think.

Left Debris Field - 4 foot soldiers
Reserves - 2 foot soldiers

Speedway - 4 speeder bikes
Reserves - 2 speeder bike, 1 foot soldiers

Ruins - 3 foot soldiers, 1 speeder bike
Reserves - 3 speeder bikes, 1 mortar

We will call that a Persuade roll, and since you can back it up with your reasoning, Kell is willing to go with your arrangements.

In regard to your questions...

Navir didn't know that there were vulture droids here. The Techno Union shipment did have a small escort of the things, but they weren't included in the shipment. As far as he knew.

He has no idea on the uniforms though.

And lastly, Kell has the main broadcast signals that operate planet-wide, like the Malteen clan's.

Vera-Kin will ask for Kell's thoughts on sending out a broadcast to the Malteen clan. We may need their numbers if we want to win this.

That's really unsubtle, so it wouldn't be a surprise by the Malteen if they decided to join. I dunno if that's actually a problem.

Kell is not particularly enthusiastic about the idea.

"What if they decide to attack us once Tarne's forces have been defeated?" he asks. "Or they'll come down on us while we're slugging it out with the droids."

Xeth's problem with it being broadcast to the rest of the planet is also legitimate. Scrambling the message will only scramble it for the Malteen clan too.

Vera-Kin will have to think on her quandaries while things roll forward. Kell gives the orders, and his men move out.

We know how it went when we went blundering into the Malteen camp though...

Vera-Kin watches as Kell implements her strategy from the pump station, hoping that it proves effective in holding out against the battle droids Tarne puts forth.