STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- The Cursed Swarm

Space, aboard the Dawntreader

The Dawntreader is putting along through hyperspace, carrying its cargo toward Boll-Gar to deliver it unto the primitive Bollan people. You do not know a great deal about Boll-Gar or its inhabitants, Seth, but you understand that the highly irksome Burning Fist pirate clan has seen it fitting to mess around with the natives. You cannot think of anything more annoying than that! You've decided to help out Captain Kart in order to get a chance at kicking pirate butt and getting things back to normal on Boll-Gar, whatever normal is for them.

The Dawntreader is also carrying a handy crew. Captain Kart himself is the spitting image of an old sailor, with a bushy white beard, a wood-carved pipe always hanging out of one side of his mouth, and a cybernetic eye to replace the one he lost to the space squid that tried to take his precious cargo... and it is the Captain now that calls you up to the cockpit.

"Laddy, we'll be upon Boll-Gar soon now," he says. "I expect these dastardly pirate-types to have that spinning rock blockaded, so I do. Hence why the Bollans needed a smuggler instead of a cargo-man!"

I'll take Foresight along with me for this one over Dreams.

Seth will make an attempt to try and dissuade a space shoot-out.
"Do you think it will be possible to avoid conflict? Maybe it'll be better to try and slip past them rather than go in guns blazing. These supplies are important, you can bet yourself these pirates would love to get their filthy hands all over them."

I'm afraid you'll have to take Dreams for this, Lib- Seth can take it for free, but he doesn't have the powers necessary to use Foresight. Oh well! This being a personal plotline by nature, he is guaranteed a vision.

"If we can outrun 'em then sure, but Dawntreader ain't the fastest or most agile of vessels. I think we'll get caught up. But that's why I have three turrets on this thing. Think you'll be able to handle one? I'll put Trawley and Harvik on the others as I steer this bucket through their lines."

Trawley is Kart's security officer and First Officer. Harvik Olo is a hired gun.

No worries, thats fine with me, Dreams it is.

"Very well, but remember what we're carrying here Kart, these supplies are vital to Boll-Gar. I don't want to take any unnecessary risks. I've also got a 3-P0 droid on standby, if we can find a use for him I'm sure he'll do his best to help out."

You believe that Monarch will come in handy here, Seth. Neither the Bollans nor the Garans speak Basic! They're both fairly simple species. The Bollans are akin to Pygmies- short humanoids- but have a knack for agriculture and have established a warrior hierarchy. The Garans are hulking lizards who have a penchant for violence but are honestly too dumb to fight the Bollans. It sounds like the pirates have helped them out.

"Aye, I be aware of that, boyo," Kart says. "Don't you worry your little Jedi head. We'll get these supplies down to the Bollans in fair order. I'm not sure I can help ye with yer mission to settle the dispute, I'm afraid. They didn't pay me to smuggle them a solution."

"Don't worry Kart, getting the supplies there in one piece will be more than enough. Now lets see how well you can fly this thing Cap'n, good luck."

I'll head over to the turret now and prepare for any action that may occur.

Just a question, am I within ear shot of the Captain while on the turret or the 'bridge', or is there a form of comm system for communication. I'm hoping to attempt to avoid conflict with the pirates by a means of diplomacy or espionage of some sort.

There is a comm system- all turret-users have headsets with mics. You can have Kart relay any messages you have for the pirates. Your intuition gives you a sense of impending dread that makes you think a dogfight is inevitable, but no harm in attempting to prevent violence!

The Dawntreader drops out of hyperspace when it reaches its destination. Ahead of you is Boll-Gar- a lush, green planet, due to its warm, immense rain forests.

Outlined against the green orb, however, is a light cruiser, dark in color. It bears the emblem of a clenched fist holding a strand of flame- the symbol of the Burning Fist pirates.

"Sensors picking up fighter patrols in orbit near the cruiser," reports Noland, the mechanic and sensors officer. "They have their weapons online and shields up."

"They're being cautious," Kart says. "Seth, am I sending any message?"

"Take her in slow Kart, do you think they realise we're here? Keep her at combat ready just in case, if they try and hail us let me talk to them, we might just be able to avoid a scrap although its highly unlikely. Its your ship Captain I won't force you into anything, I'm just trying to protect these supplies and get them safely to those Bollans."

"Aye, so am I," Kart says. "Say yer piece when they start talkin."

The Dawntreader edges closer to where the pirate cruiser is maintaining its orbit. The village that Kart must get to, Barum, is directly below it.

The pirate cruiser sends a clear warning.

"This is Dunn of the cruiser Scorcher. I suggest you turn around and go back the way you came. Boll-Gar is nothing but trouble."

Will Charisma play into effect in this conversation?

"Captain Dunn, my name is Seth Ketra on board the ship, the Dawntreader. We're but simple pilgrims looking to visit and spread our message to peoples of exotic worlds. We will be fine, I am sure that no harm will come to us but thank you for looking out for us. We will be no trouble to you at all Captain."

Yes, but it depends upon your social skills to be truly effective in a situation like this.

The pitch you are offering this Dunn character is that you are pilgrims, for example. Do you have the skill Lying or the Force power Presence?

I don't have the skill of Lying, but I do have the force power Presence. What can I do?

In most situations, if you lack a skill, you are penalized to the point of making a roll not even worth it. However, I rule that having Presence allows you to attempt. Do note that Ush might rule differently, of course.

Going to tell your lie?

Going to at least give it a shot. Tellin' the lie, let's see how this goes.

Dunn laughs on the other end of the comms, and he sends his hologram through to a display in the turret. He is a tall but not quite as muscular as his voice makes him sound. Rather Dunn is quite lanky and awkward.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Dunn says. "I know you aren't who you've said but I don't really care. The damn planet is a death trap."

"Death trap? How so? Can you give any specifics?"

I turn to Kart and nod letting him know we have a chance of avoiding conflict.

"I couldn't tell you. I lost contact with my men on the surface."

"Very well. We'll have to make do then, thank you Captain." I face Kart again and nod,

"Take her in Captain Kart, but be warned, we have no idea whats going to be waiting for us on the surface. Here goes nothing."

"Aye," Kart says. "Thankee, Jedi."

The Dawntreader sneaks past the loose blockade that the pirates are holding and starts its descent into Boll-Gar's atmosphere! You descend quickly, just in case the pirates change their minds and their fighters sneak up behind you. That doesn't happen.

Boll-Gar's atmosphere is heavily foggy, making it hard to see anything.

Kart picks up on the beacon.

"Coming in on Barum," Kart says. "Keep your eyes peeled."

You can see the primitive village coming out of the fog... something doesn't feel right to you.

"Kart take her in slow, there's something... not right here."

Is it possible to use Sense, Presence, or Intuition in this situation?

It is your Intuition that is telling you that something is amiss.

As you swoop into Barum, you see what it is. All of the village structures have been burned, and some are still burning.

I turn to Kart, "Take her in easy I don't like the look of this. Does your ship have a scanner of some sorts? Any signs of life forms?"

"Aye," Kart says. "Noland, get on it. Give me a scan of the area, see if we can pick up any life forms nearby."

"Yes, Captain," Noland responds, the mechanic getting on his Captain's orders. "It'll just take a sec."

Kart starts the landing process, making a pass over Barum. He sets the Dawntreader down in a scorched field beside the village, the freighter setting down heavily onto its deployed landing gear.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Mendus, the ship's medic, comments as you all gather in the main room.

"Whoa," Noland says. "Scan complete, but... this doesn't make any sense. I'm reading thousands of life forms in the area."

Oddly enough, your own Senses can confirm that. You are experiencing a sensation that you are familiar with when on city planets like Coruscant, where you are surrounded by intelligent life on a daily basis, millions of life forms all around. You are sensing that here, but... your eyes tell you otherwise. Then again, you were never very Force-minded anyhow.

Kart looks to you. "I think we need to load up on weapons before we head out. Something's not right at all."

"Agreed. So I'm guessing you're sticking around after all Captain?"

I continue to try and understand the immense feeling of life around me. Yes I conclude, my force powers were never precisely as accurate as a trained Jedi's, but there was no way this was some minor fluke in the force.

"Boll-Gar is by no means close to civilization," Kart says. "I flew out here and am risking it with these pirates being about. I want my money."

"Aye," Trawley says. "Gotta pay your crew somehow!"

"Hush, you," Kart says.

Kart gives the order for everyone to arm up shortly after, and after the Dawntreader is powered down, the hatch is opened onto the surface. Boll-Gar's atmosphere is breathable and safe, so you all head out into the scorched field. The village is ahead of you.

What is Seth bringing? Anything besides your lightsaber (or lightsabers)? And for stylistic purposes, what color is it?

If it's possible I'd like to take along a DL-44 blaster pistol with me. What are the options of things to bring?

MONARCH is armed with an E-116 blaster rifle.

My lightsaber colour is orange.

Being a protocol droid, MONARCH likely is not much a combatant, but better to equip him than not! He will have a dice pool of 6.

Kart has a number of supplies aboard his ship for the crews' use, if you think you might want anything. Rope, flashlights, etc.

Righto then! I'll take the essentials, first-aid kit, rope, flashlight.
And of course my blaster and light saber.

"Let's set off, spread out and keep your eyes peeled." We'll move cautionausly/stealthfully towards the village.

Alright! Ropes and flashlights have their own uses of course, but having medkits with you allows for Medicine ratings to be doubled. Handy in a harsh environment.

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Noland asks. "I mean, some of us aren't exactly Jedi..."

"Would you prefer us to split up, Seth?" Kart asks.

"How many of us are there exactly? It might be a good idea to form shock squads, bunching up makes us an easy target. We don't know what we're going to encounter, I don't want to take to many risks."

I'm assuming my senses are still being overloaded with 'targets' so I won't really be able to try and sense whats ahead?

Indeed, it is making it difficult to sense in any direction. Life is all around you...

You have Kart, Harvik, Trawley, Noland, Mendus, MONARCH, and yourself. Kart and Trawley are practiced gunslingers, Harvik has all his bounty hunting toys, and the last three are all using blaster rifles and have little combat skill.

"Right, I've got an idea. Let's say we form into three squads, Group 1, Group 2, and a Forward Scout," I turn to the face the band, "Group 1 will be me, MONARCH, and Trawley. Group 2 will be Kart, Noland, and Mendus. And to act as a forward scout, Harvik."

Seeing as how I'm a Jedi I figured taking a good shot would be a good idea in the case of a firefight, and MONARCH can provide some basic covering fire as well if there is a chance to close the range and get in there with the lightsaber.

Group 2 relies on Kart acting as the leader he is, he has two not so good shots but I'm hoping that his leadership alone will be able to keep the squad intact in case of any trouble.

And Harvik was chosen as the scout solely on the fact he is a bounty hunter, a veteran of hunting and killing. He'll be able to use the terrain to his advantage and give us a report on what he see's ahead, essentially he is the eyes and ears beyond our small ring.

That is the plan anyways.

"The two groups will split off, forming a parallel line between us as we move. Harvik will move ahead in the center of the blocks, that way if theres trouble he will only need to move backwards to be into our friendly line. At the first sign of trouble we can always make a line, that way connecting the two groups. Does that sound like a plan then gents?"

Kart is alright with that arrangement.

"Yeah, I'll play scout," Harvik smugly says. He wears a dull gray suit of blast armor, with a flamethrower strapped to one wrist and a mortar launcher perched on his back. His hair is slicked back and a band encircles his head, covering his ears. He takes his blaster rifle off his shoulder and slaps it into one hand, then starts out ahead.

Trawley comes with you as Kart's group branches out toward the opposite side of the village.

"So, let's get moving," he says, a hand placed cautiously on the handle of his heavy pistol.

MONARCH just nods quietly in agreement, stiffly holding his assault blaster.

"We need to move slowly and carefully, there could be clues to what happened here anywhere." As we progress everyone is carefully checking their surroundings for any evidence that could explain this unnatural phenonmenon.

Does my 3-P0 droid get any special perks besides speech translation?

How is Seth's Observation?

For the record- Trawley is your run-of-the-mill smuggler, the roguish and handsome Han Solo type.

And aside from an obscenely high Language score, 3PO droids have little else to them! They are keenly observant, at least, but no more than the average human.

Observation? If it means anything I have a Perception skill of 3.

Observation is the skill relevant to investigating an area for clues, noticing the little tihngs. Seth may not have it, but Trawley and MONARCH can make up for it. Some of it is very plain to see anyway.

"See these scorch marks?" Trawley says, gesturing to a series of small crater ahead of you. "Blaster cannons. Whoever burned the village did so with lasers. Doesn't look like a ship cannon, though. You think the pirates came down here and did this?"

"They mentioned something about trouble occuring on the surface. Yes, pirates are not beneath assaulting a village, it doesn't explain why they would remain in orbit. And theres no sign of bodies, if it were pirates there would be bodies, and lots of them. Let's keep moving on and see if we encounter some harder evidence. I also want to see if the other groups have picked up on anything."

Indeed- you have found no corpses, blasted or otherwise.

You check in with Kart. He has made the same observations as Trawley.

You check in with Harvik and get no immediate reply. However, you do hear a blaster cannon go off somewhere ahead of you.

"We've got company!" Harvik shouts back over the comms in response.

"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?"

From out of a row of village huts, you see Harvik come bolting toward you.

"Garans!" he shouts.

Garans being the hulking reptilian species that share the planet with the Bollans. You see one after it summarily take out a hut with the mountable blaster cannon it is wielding like a standard blaster...

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...

-

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.

Alright! Are there any questions that you have before I put you in the situation?

Nothing comes to mind at the moment, no.

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.

----

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 (two turns away, in cover)


Aurel (LS11): 1(2A)/0 (5F)

Kart (G11): 1(1P Ranged)/0 (4F)

Mendus (G6): 1/0 (1F)

Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F)

----

The numbers and letters are:

Name (Dice Pool): Defense(Bonuses)/Damage (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?

Yes indeed! For further explanation on the pool, Aurel normally clocks in at a whopping ten dice for his Lightsaber pool. Balanced Guard gives you +1 dice.

Alright. I can see what could possibly be a fast way to neutralize a decent number of my opponents, but it would require I use at least two Force points. Considering their meant to last an entire game, I imagine spamming them like that isn't a good tactic?

Indeed, it could be potentially wasteful. However, since it is your first fight, I'm allowing any Force points you use to be replenished when it is done.

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.

----

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 (two turns away, in cover)


Aurel (LS11): 1(2A)/2 (5F) (in cover)

Kart (G11): 1(1PR)/0 (4F) (in cover)

Mendus (G6): 1/2 (1F) (Bodyguard) (in cover)

Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F) (in cover)

----

Now, when it says "x turns away" beside my opponents, does that mean I would be unable to reach them to attack unless I focused on getting closer?

It depends on how far they are. If they are more than a turn's distance, you must spend your turn closing the gap. If they are a turn's distance away, you can reach them and attack in one turn.

Charge, handily enough, can change that; you can attack and then move away or to cover using it.

I see, so for the mooks that are "one turn away", I can move to engage them, and since I have charge active, I can also move back afterward? Meanwhile the caster and leader would take me a turn and the effects of charge to get into range?

Not quite. It is considered that once you make your attack, your turn is done. With Charge, if you wanted to attack first and then move, you could.

For those a turn away, you'd have to move in and attack.

With the other two, you would spend a turn moving in, and then another turn moving in and attacking. The Force power 'Dash' could reduce that all to a single turn.

Ah, I see...I'll remember that for the future. On this next turn coming up, I will tap my Balanced Guard schtick, which I believe adds to my armor. I will also swap out Bodyguard for Cleave, and move into range of the mooks, rather than wait for them to come to me and the other crew. Also, to help thin the numbers, I going to use a Force point to utilize my Twirl force power. With luck, I can mow a majority of them down immediately.

Aurel fought the pain as the caster bolt grazes him, just barely managing to deflect a few bolts from Mendus. He immediately saw that allowing the Garans to get into close range with the crew would not end well, and so the swordsman made a split-second decision. "Stay under cover," he calls out to Kart, Mendus and Noland, before stepping away from the ruined hut. Shifting his lightsaber before him and tightening his grip, Auel charges at the group of lizardfolk, falling into a crouch as he spins within their ranks, silver saber screaming a wide arc.

Let's see how Initiative is...

It goes to you! Aurel, then, bounds out from his cover and launches his attack. He Twirls into the pack of Garans with a pool of six and scores three successes, cutting down three Garans! Mendus and Noland injure two more with their shooting. Kart's still pressuring the Garans.

Aurel's heroic assault has drawn the Garans' charge to a hault! Instead of breaking past your friends' cover as they had planned, they all turn and fire you. However, you're well prepared! Kart's Covering Fire means your shooters all need 6s to hit, and your Balanced Guard tap means you have a Defense of 4 and an Armor rating of 3 (or 4 if your shooters roll any 1s or 2s). And so everyone misses as you whirl about and deflect incoming shots. Good going!

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 3

East Village

Garans (G5) x3 (2A) (one turn away)
Garans (G5) x2*** (2A) (one turn away)

Garan Caster (HW4) x1 (2A) (two turns away)

Garan Leader (G6): 1(3A)/0 (two turns away, in cover)


Aurel (LS10): 1/0 BGu CL CH] (4F) (one turn away)

Kart (G11): 1(1PR)/0 (4F) (in cover)

Mendus (G6): 1/2 (1F) (in cover)

Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F) (in cover)

----

Now would be the time for Aurel to swap out Balanced Guard. Once you tap a power, it becomes inoperable until a Refresh turn comes. Each turn I draw a card out of a nine-card deck. If I draw an Ace of Hearts, you get a Refresh. Schticks only refresh if you have a schtick swapped out.

Then swap out I shall. Since there's no point to Bodyguard someone I'm not even close to, I'll swap out the tapped Balanced Guard for Orthodox Guard.

With three of their foes down, Aurel pressed his attack, the grip on his weapons shifting as he took the well-practiced stance that most Jedi learn from the temple. Without hesitation, he surged at the Garans, not out of anger, but necessity. The young Jedi was not untouched by the deaths of these poor, ignorant creatures, but spurred by such violence, he could only respond in kind and hope that the Force would make them realize the danger they put themselves in. His lightsaber hummed and shined as it arced to and fro, it's deadly beauty not being lost by those who observed the Jedi in his deadly dance.

Initiative is lost to you this turn!

The Garans concentrate their fire on you and only one hits thanks to Kart's looking out for you, for 4 damage.

The Garan with the plasmacaster decides to go after Kart, while the Leader shoots at you. Kart stays clear thanks to his cover while the Leader hits you with his first attack for 5 damage and misses his second.

Aurel responds by rolling nine successes, more than enough to cut down a pair of Garans with Cleave. Noland and Mendus fail to kill their targets, but Kart taps Covering Fire so that he can get an attack of his own in. He also taps Gunslinger and gets seven successes on the Plasmacaster Garan, then spends a Fortune point to refresh Gunslinger as the Garan goes down.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 4

East Village

Garans (G5) x1 (2A) (one turn away)
Garans (G5) x2**** (2A) (one turn away)

Garan Leader (G6): 1(3A)/0 (two turns away, in cover)


Aurel (LS12): 3/9 (4F) (one turn away)

Kart (G11): 1(1PR)/0 CF] (3F) (in cover)

Mendus (G6): 1/2 (1F) (in cover)

Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F) (in cover)

----

The hail of blaster fire around him briefly disorients the Jedi. Aurel shrugs off the burn as the Garans concentrated their fire upon him, one or two bolts managing to penetrate his defenses and Kart's covering fire. He glances for a instant in the captain and crew's direction, seeing them safe behind the surprisingly sturdy hut walls. With their numbers dwindled, the battle was quickly shifting in their favor. Rather than cut down the rest of the lizardfolk in cold-blood, Aurel decided it was time to face their leader. So with blurring speed, he dived through the throng of Garans to where the leader lurked, bringing his blade forward.

So, if the narrative isn't clear, I'm going to tap Charge to move into range of the Garan Leader and attack before initiative next turn. That's about it, not much commentary this time.

If you happen to get initiative, do you want to still tap Charge for its bonus dice?

Oh, I forgot about the possibility of winning initiative...considering it's still a tapping of Charge, it works with my stylistic narration, so sure!

As it turns out, you get initiative! As Aurel moves forward to launch his attack a Garan gets picked off by Kart with a well-placed shot. Noland takes down his man and Mendus wounds his; this Garan promptly surrenders. They may be dense but they are not suicidal.

Aurel drives his lightsaber through the cover that the Garan Leader is using with a sixteen dice assault due to his Charge tap. He rolls a whopping eleven successes on his strike for 17 damage to the Leader, cleaving off a piece of his armor.

The Leader's response is less than satisfactory for him. He grazes you for 5 damage but misses his second shot completely.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 5

East Village

Garan Leader (G6): 1(3A)/0 (in cover)

Aurel (LS12): 3/14 CH] BGu BG] (4F)


Kart (G11): 1(1PR)/0 CF] (3F) (in cover)

Mendus (G6): 1/2 (1F) (in cover)

Noland (G6): 1/0 (1F) (in cover)

----

Aurel steadies his hands as a bolt glances him through his defenses. The heat of anger rises in him, but he quickly fights it down, knowing that emotion in battle could quickly lead to the dark side. Instead, he takes a methodical approach toward his opponent, keep his defenses up and utilizing the stance taught to him by the temple to strike when it would be most effective. He only needed to wound the leader into submission; killing him would be of little benefit.

That boost from Charge was nice, but now that it's tapped out, I'm going to swap it, which also brings me to a question: is it possible to swap out a schtick and not replace it, or is it required to always have a minimum of three schticks active?
If the latter, then I'll swap Charge out for Bodyguard and just not utilize its effects if possible.

It is entirely possible to swap and not replace, yes. Sometimes you just don't have anything to replace it with.

Aurel goes for a standard attack to disable the Garan commander. Sadly, non-lethal blows with a lightsaber are a rule that has yet to be developed. An impressive eight successes cuts your target down either way.

After the ruckus of blasterfire and shouting has stopped, all that reminds is the humming of your lightsaber. The skirmish is won.

You can have that Force point back, too.

Son of a gun! I misrepresented my character. I don't suppose we could mulligan that last moment?

If you like! Such opportunities are rarely given, keep in mind.

I understand, and thank you for the opportunity.

Aurel steadies his hands as a bolt glances him through his defenses. The heat of anger rises in him, but he quickly fights it down, knowing that emotion in battle could quickly lead to the dark side. Instead, he deactivates his lightsaber, the silver beam vanishing in an instant as the hilt disappears into his robes. His muscles tense for a brief moment as he falls into a martial stance, keeping his defenses up. He only needed to wound the leader into submission; killing him would be of little benefit. "Your men have lost the will to fight," he says to the leader, hoping that without his unit behind him the lizardman would be more willing to listen to reason, "please halt this attack."


If Aurel was really trying to not kill, which he would, then he would have actually deactivated his lightsaber. Considering the Garan will probably be much more confident without the laser sword in his face, we'll be sure to utilize combat schticks. In this case, I'd be using Impervious, Dodge and Weave, and Martial Arts.

Alright! More tutoring for the newbie!

In the midst of a fight, you need to swap in schticks one-by-one, even if you have changed weapons (or gone to barehand.)

Fun fact- with Swiftness, you can jump between Lightsaber to barehanded without spending your action drawing your sword or putting it away.

...That is a woth remembering, most definitely. Given the situation, then, in this case I'll be swapping Cleave for Impervious at the moment.

I also recall that little fact when I was looking over the powers. Glad I decided to take it.

As are we all! Content with the fact that Impervious will not do you much good against a gun?

Given that it is (if I read the mechanics right) marginally better than Dodge and Weave first, yes.

May want to consider that Dodge & Weave functions against blaster weapons whereas Impervious only works if he punches you.

...Ohh yeahh, huh? dur

Dodge & Weave it shall have to be, then. Too bad, I guess the Garan isn't the honorable type.

Alrighty! Just keep in mind that I am loathe to take back turns. You've spent one of your new player points, and you never get those back.

As before, Aurel goes for what looks like a standard attack... before switching off his lightsaber and trying to punch the Garan. Three successes is a decent hit. Aurel's fist thumps into the Garan's armor for... 1 damage. That armor and its tough hide are problematic for fisticuffs.

He blasts off a volley and nicks you for 4 damage.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 6

East Village

Garan Leader (G6): 1(3A)/18 (in cover)

Aurel (C8): 2(1A)/18 CH] BGu BG] (4F)

----

He roars a mighty response to your attempt at getting him to surrender. He doesn't seem inclined to call it quits...

I understand, and agree. I'll try to make sure I don't misread my own character's actions again, as well.

Aurel winced slightly as he subjected to another blast, but he endured. It was clear the leader had greater personal pride than his followers. And the scales to prove it, Aurel thought to himself, that last punch almost sliced my fist open. I'll have to pay more attention to how I strike.
However, first things first, he mused, and attempted to disarm the armored warrior. It was no good to attempt fisticuffs if he was only going to be greeted by another bolt to the face.

Okay, things are going to get interesting here, I imagine. Disarming someone isn't a normal combat action. Are there rules in place for this type of maneuver? I hope so. Also, I'll be swapping out the tapped Charge (which I should have done last time. Thank goodness it wasn't a refresh round) for Martial Arts.

I will rule that a Disarm is a contest of pure Strength, without the benefit of schticks.

A successful Combat Push can disarm as well.

Too bad I don't have Push/Pull mastered. A contest of Strength it is.

Initiative goes to... Aurel! Aurel has a Strength of 5 and so rolls a pool of five for an impressive four successes. The Garan responds with a Strength of 6 but only nets three. Aurel pulls away the blaster!

The Garan responds by clawing at you for three damage.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 7

East Village

Garan Leader (C6): 1(3A)/18

Aurel (C8): 2(1A)/21 (4F)

----

And it's a refresh!

The Jedi flexes and heaves against the might of the massive lizardman. Finally, with grunt and burst of strength, he slips the blaster free of the massive lizardman's iron grip. Aurel feels the sharp pain as the Garan's claws dig into his soft human flesh, but fights it off to stuff the blaster into his robes, to keep his opponent from claiming it again. Calling his early training, he feels the pain from his wound subside, and the swordsman looks at the Garan with renewed purpose, launching into an offensive of his own. It would not be a simple matter to impress this creature.

Strength 6...ha ha, I forgot about that. Lucky me, eh?

Also, whoo-hoo, refresh! Looks like I swapped out Charge just in time. Since I'm still in basic combat, my Orthodox Guard isn't doing me any good, and now that we're in melee, I think Impervious will actually help out, so I'll be swapping my final blade schtick out for it.

The Garan gets his blow in first but between Impervious and Dodge & Weave, he's not going to do much against Aurel. His claws give him +1 Damage and he scores two successes for one point of damage against Aurel's defensive stance. Aurel does just as much against the tough hide and armor of the Garan.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 8

East Village

Garan Leader (C6): 1(3A)/19

Aurel (C10): 2(3A BH)/22 (4F)

----

Behind you, Mendus and Noland keep Kart covered as the old pilot snatches the Garan minion's rifle away.

"Finish him, Jedi!" Kart shouts.

Aurel hears the captain's remark but says nothing, focusing his energies as the Garan's claws dig in barely. Perhaps if he could stun the lizardman it would be more willing to listen. Studying his opponent while avoiding his slashes, Aurel targets a point he can reach, the exposed scales from where his lightsaber broke the leader's armor, and strikes!

Alright, so I'm sure my defences are the only thing keeping the Garan from really hurting me at this point, so I'll leave them be. However, I will swap out Martial Arts with Focused Blow to attempt to stun the Garan Leader, and what's more, I'll tap FB to make the attack unblockable.

Aurel goes first, tapping Focused Blow for a concentrated hit to stun the Garan. It does not go as planned; he rolls four successes but only one of them is a 6. The Garan isn't stunned. However, tapping FB makes the attack Unstoppable! Armor is ignored, so the Garan takes 5 damage from the hit.

Aurel can be annoyed that the Garan then rolls three 6s, putting him at evens with the leader.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 9

East Village

Garan Leader (C6): 1(3A)/24

Aurel (C8): 2(3A BH)/24 FB IM] (4F)

----

Aurel feels a twinge of irritation as his strike goes off-mark. Damn, he curses to himself, that was almost perfect! The Jedi was beginning to lose his patience with this creature, and if he could not make it stumble, then he would strike with his entire body, intent to drop the reptile to its knees in submission. Shuffling back for a brief moment, Aurel surges forward, driving his elbow towards the Garan's chest, an attempt to wind him by striking its diaphragm, if it had one.

Oh my, Aurel's getting angry. To accentuate this, I'll be swapping the now tapped Focused Blow for Flying Attack, and tapping that schtick as it comes in!

That's the spirit! What the fighting templates like the Swordsman lack in Force power they make up for in schtick-tapping ability. Aurel throws himself into a powerful hit with two successes, then taps Flying Attack for a total of six successes! Even the Garan's armor cannot compete with that.

The blow you deliver is enough to kick the Garan to the ground. He doesn't seem interested in surrendering but he's now too battered to keep it up.

Watching the massive reptile collapse under his assault, Aurel feels a vicious pleasure in his action. Now, to finish it, he thinks to himself. His lightsaber is back in hand in an instant, the smooth cylinder raised high to strike even before ignition. As the familiar hum fills the air, however, a gnawing at the back of the swordsman's mind halts him. No! Remember your training, Aurel, he scolded himself, Emotion cannot rule your actions. Closing his eyes briefly, the Jedi takes a deep breath, lowering the saber from its deadly position and opening his eyes to stare into the silver beam, using it as a focus for his thoughts. Satisfied he was once again calm, the Aurel pointed the tip of his saber at the Garan, murmuring to the lizardman, "You and your men fought well, but this is over. Know it did not have to end this way."

My my, seems as though Aurel's got a temper to him. Might be best not to let him fight hand to hand often. I'm assuming combat is indeed over, given the lack of another turn display.

It is. You get your Force points back (a one-time event) and all schticks refreshed (happens always).

There are drawbacks to unarmed combat against an Armored opponent.

"Why have you come here?" the Garan leader hisses.

"I speak for myself when I say I have come on request of a comrade and his allies. As for their motives, I believe it would be best for the captain of our vessel to tell you," Aurel says calmly to Garan, signaling Kart and his crew to come and join the conversation. As they close the distance, the Jedi murmurs to Kart, "Captain, if you would be so kind, our 'guest' wishes to know why we are here."

Indeed, large drawbacks. Originally I had planned to take Streetfighting to counteract that disadvantage, but sheltered little Aurel wouldn't know how to shoryuken people just yet.

"You come only to die!" the Garan hisses. Kart wanders over while Noland and Mendus keep the other Garan covered.

"Looks like you gave him quite a beating," Kart says. "What are we supposed to do with them?"

Aurel looks at the Garan for a moment, pondering Kart's question. Finally, he looks at the captain and replies, "We know too little about what transpired here, and the Garans don't seem to take kindly to strangers, particularly this one," with a nudge towards the leader. "I'm afraid we're going to have to take them with us, for now." The Jedi turned back to the lead Garan, looking into the reptile's eyes; he deactivated his lightsaber and put it away.
"You're coming with us for the moment. I advise you do not try to escape," Aurel tells the Garan as he pulls the lizardman's blaster from his robes and hands it to one of the crew members. He turned to Kart and asks, "Do we have anything we can do to see to his wounds?" It would be both a sign of good faith and practical, in Aurel's mind, to heal the Garan so that it was not slowing down the group while traveling.

The Garan spits on your boots.

"The Swarm is here," he snarls. "We are lost."

Aurel- you sense danger.

"What is the Sw-," Aurel begins to say, but he stops short as his intuition alerts him. Before another word is spoken, the Jedi's lightsaber is back in his hands, silver beam shining brightly as his eyes scanned the landscape for potential threats. His gut told him somewhat was wrong, but he couldn't discern what, which only left one option in the swordsman's mind. "We need to leave," Jedi Sing said to Kart and the crew, "now."

As if on cue, there is a chittering, shrieking noise in the near distance.

"What the..." Kart says.

"The Swarm arrives," the Garan leader says. "We were fleeing. You stood in our path. You have doomed us!"

The thousands of life patterns you sensed begins to surge toward you. The ground starts to rumble.

Good news, though. Seth Ketra comes tumbling through a line of burnt huts with Kart's first mate and hired hunter in tow.

"Do you sense that?!" Seth shouts to you. His lightsaber is out- an orange blade.

Aurel doesn't waste time to consider who was to blame for what. Instead, the Jedi once again deactivates his lightsaber and puts it away, and in one fluid motion tucks his body underneath the Garan leader's massive shoulder and heaves with all his might, lugging the creature to its feet and calling on the force to aid their escape. "Now's not the time to think!," he calls out to Seth, "RUN!"

Alright, so I'm sure this will require some sort of roll, considering the size and weight the Garan probably is. I'll have to hope my 5 Strength will be enough for it. If I do manage to get him up, I'm going to use a Force Point (so soon after getting it back, sigh...but this most certainly seems like a dire situation), and I'm going to activate my Swiftness ability to double-time both me and the Garan to the ship.

You can carry the Garan no problem, with a -3 penalty to your dice pools.

The Dash expenditure will not help you get back to the ship any faster, as you are quite aware of the thousands of small insects that emerge shrieking from the ground. Most could fit in the palm of your hand. Some that explode from the soil are nearly as big as you are! All have a roughly beetle appearance.

"B'ssk!" the Garan minion wails, taking his gun back from a shocked Noland.

Ah...alright, then.

"NOLAN, SNAP OUT OF IT AND RUN!" Aurel shouts to the crew member, feeling his irritation return at the other Garan's opportunistic action. He says to the Leader, "Tell your man to forget about shooting, it will only slow him down!"

"There's nowhere to go!" Noland shouts back at you.

The insects have encircled you all. The Garan minion tries to make a run for it, blasting into the ground. He manages to blast a few of the bugs before they start burrowing into his armor and scales, crawling up his legs. He screams and disappears beneath a horde of them...

"We'll need to clear a path!" Seth shouts, Trawley and Harvik readying their blasters behind him. "It's the only way through to the ship!"

Aurel didn't need to hear Noland's cry to realize they were indeed trapped, and the despair it brought into his heart was echoed by the Garan's death rattle. "May the Force guide us," the Jedi mutters as he hears Seth's shout, activating his lightsaber and holding up the Garan Leader against him, ready to slice any insects that attempted to go near his charge.

Back into combat so soon, oh my. Well, if my narrative wasn't clear, I'll be coming in with lightsaber and Blade Schticks at the ready, most notably Bodyguard to defend the wounded Garan Leader. I'll also be using Balanced Guard, and I'm rather tossed up about either using Cleave or Charge, but I think Cleave will be of better help at this moment.

No need to worry about the Garan; you are carrying him. I'll give you Cleave and Charge to keep things moving.

There are far too many of the smaller insects to count individual beetles. Instead, these are counted as Swarms and treated as mooks. They attack by jumping up onto you and biting.

The larger Soldier beetles, however, are their own entities and Supermooks. They resemble giant rhinoceros beetles with tremendous horns and unpleasant pincers.

All of the insects are emitting a deafening shrieking noise... everyone takes a -1 penalty to their dice pools as the effect is nauseating.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 1

East Village- Rise

Aurel (LS7): 1(2A)/24 (5F) (carrying Garan)

Kart (G10): 1(1PR)/0 (4F)


Swarms (C5) x10

Soldier A (C6): 0 (1A)


East Village- Row of Huts

Seth (LS11): 1(2A)/14 (5F)

Trawley (G9): 1(1PR)/4 (3F)

Harvik (HW7): 1(2A)/2 (1F)


Swarms (C5) x15

Soldier B (C6): 0 (1A)


East Village- Burnt Hut

Noland (G5): 1/0 (1F)

Mendus (G5): 1/2 (1F)


Swarms (C5) x10

Soldier C (C6): 0 (1A)

----

Seth and company are a turn away from you; Noland and Mendus are two turns away.

Aurel wastes no time, knowing that every moment wasted meant more of the swarm encircling them. "Kart, on me," the Jedi calls out, and begins clearing through swarms with wide arcs from his blade.

This is a matter of speed, so I'll be focused on attacking to kill as many of these little critters as fast as possible right now.

The B'ssk Swarms win the initiative and close in.

On the rise, Aurel and Kart are assailed by five groups of the Cursed Swarm each. They roll remarkably well against the Jedi but his Guard keeps him safe, while they roll less well against Kart. The Soldier chooses the greatest threat as his target but only gets a success on Aurel as it tries to skewer him on its horns.

Those at the row of huts take light damage. Trawley takes the worst of it; Seth's Guard and Harvik's Armor serve them well. Seth evades the Soldier just as Aurel did.

Panicking Noland and Mendus are swamped but luckily the Swarms and the Soldier get few successes.

Your turn! Aurel wields his lightsaber one-handed while carrying the Garan, making his attacks awkward. He manages three successes, clearing a group of the bugs with wide sweeps. Kart gets six successes and picks off a group of bugs himself.

Seth intercepts beetles as they jump at him, sizzling them with his lightsaber. Trawley goes to town with his heavy pistol tapping Carnival of Carnage for four attacks, rapidly firing at the ground to clear the bugs. Harvik unleashes a stream of flame from his flamethrower, revealing a weakness of the Swarm in the process!

Noland and Mendus spray for their lives with the assault carbines.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 2

East Village- Rise

Aurel (LS7): 1(2A)/31 (5F) (carrying Garan)

Kart (G10): 1(1PR)/7 (4F)


Swarms (C5) x8

Soldier A (C6): 0 (1A)


East Village- Row of Huts

Seth (LS11): 1(2A)/20 (5F)

Trawley (G9): 1(1PR)/16 CC] (3F)

Harvik (HW7): 1(2A)/7 (1F)

FR-3PO: 2/0


Swarms (C5) x8

Soldier B (C6): 0 (1A)


East Village- Burnt Hut

Noland (G5): 1/13 (1F)

Mendus (G5): 1/13 (1F)


Swarms (C5) x8

Soldier C (C6): 0 (1A)

----

Seth's protocol droid comes hobbling up behind Seth and company at that impractical droid gait. It is whining loudly about the danger of the situation.

Aurel could feel fatigue setting in as the swarm cascaded upon them. His earlier fisticuff with the Garan leader took its toll and it was beginning to show, but simply fending off the bugs would only delay the inevitable. He would have to press the attack. "Kart!" the Jedi cried out, and with a grunt dropped the leader on the ground beside the captain. With his hands free, the swordsman shifted his stance, targets the swarm, and charged in with a whirl, becoming a silver blur within the swarm.

Things are really not looking good, and there's a very good chance I could regret this metagame wise, but here it is: I am swapping out Balanced Guard for Orthodox Guard, then I am tapping both Orthodox Guard and Charge, for +6 to my dice pool, and using a Force Point to activate Twirl once again to try and clear the swarms. I will not be opting to attack first if I lose initiative this turn.

This is a very big gambit, indeed. mmm Let's see how things turn out.

If you don't get initiative, do you want to keep with your plan for Charge?

Yes. I thought I had made that clear enough. Sorry.

I missed that part; my bad!

Initiative to the bugs again is bad news for all. Aurel gets his +2 Parry from Orthodox Guard being tapped and stays safe from most assailants. Kart gets a little chewed up.

Those by the huts are less overwhelmed. The Soldier their charges down on Seth and knicks him, but Seth taps Riposte and carves a cauterized groove into the giant beetle's shell with twelve successes.

Noland and Mendus are getting chewed up as well.

Aurel unleashes a Twirl that clears our four groups of the Swarm, still managing to be elegant despite his burden. Orthodox Guard's dice conversion and Charge's extra dice make getting the full Twirl easy. Kart backs him up, his light pistol kicking up bugs into the air with each shot.

"Help the others!" Seth instructs while himself spitting the Soldier on his blade. It gives one final shrieking and falls quiet, as do the Swarms around Seth. Trawley follows orders and picks off a group of Swarm by Noland, while Harvik goes down on one knee and fiddles with a control on his wrist. A mortar round poomfs from his backpack and takes down a wall of the hut by Mendus, who dives clear. It kills some of the Swarm, at least.

Mendus and Noland kill off more with their spraying.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 3

East Village- Rise

Aurel (LS6): 1/32 OGu CL CH] (4F) (carrying Garan)

Kart (G10): 1(1PR)/15 (4F)


Swarms (C5) x6

Soldier A (C6): 0 (1A)


East Village- Row of Huts

Seth (LS12): 1(2A)/25 RI] (5F)

Trawley (G10): 1(1PR)/21 CC] (3F)

Harvik (HW8): 1(2A)/10 (1F)

FR-3PO: 2/3


Swarms (C5) x7


East Village- Burnt Hut

Noland (G5): 1/25 (1F)

Mendus (G5): 1/21 (1F)


Swarms (C5) x6

Soldier C (C6): 0 (1A)

----

Before any actions take place this turn, the Swarm reinforces itself by doubling its dwindled numbers. Strangely, this does not happen near Seth and company.

Aurel cleared the swarms with ease, only to see the remnants be fueled by more coming from everywhere. "This isn't working," he mutters to himself, looking at Kart for a moment. The captain was sporting his own set of wounds now, and with the swarms surging at every moment, it wouldn't be long before they were both overwhelmed, and that large one. "Kart, keep the swarms off me," the Jedi called out, turning his saber towards the massive beetle, "I'm going to deal with this one."

Alright, so that was ineffective. Oh well, I'll switch my focus towards the Soldier this time, and I'll swap out Orthodox Guard for Balanced Guard again.

Things just aren't going your way in this. Initiative to the bugs again. Aurel fairs well but Kart takes a few particularly nasty bites to his legs. Those by the huts have turned their situation around now that the Soldier is dead. Noland is taking a beating from the Soldier near him.

Aurel slashes at the Soldier! Three successes results in 9 damage as you shear off one of its legs. Kart has your back on this one as well; he aims true and blows out one of its eyes with an epic seven successes for 8 damage.

"I'll finish him!" Kart says.

Seth clears part of the Swarm while Trawley takes a potshot at the Soldier going for Noland. Trawley tries shouting to Noland and Mendus to take down the creature but they are too panicked. Another mortar round from Harvik leaves the endangered duo in better standing.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 4

East Village- Rise

Aurel (LS7): 1(2A)/36 CH] OGu BG] (4F) (carrying Garan)

Kart (G10): 1(1PR)/25 (4F)


Swarms (C5) x6

Soldier A (C6): 17 (1A)


East Village- Row of Huts

Seth (LS12): 1(2A)/27 RI] (5F)

Trawley (G10): 1(1PR)/24 CC] (3F)

Harvik (HW8): 1(2A)/12 (1F)

FR-3PO: 2/3


Swarms (C5) x6


East Village- Burnt Hut

Noland (G5): 1/37 (1F)

Mendus (G5): 1/27 (1F)


Swarms (C5) x2

Soldier C (C6): 8 (1A)

----

The Jedi felt a twinge of annoyance as Kart ignored his order, but he was certain that the captain was well aware of the situation, perhaps even more so than Aurel himself was, and so said nothing as he focused his assault on the Soldier while keeping the grizzled old man from harm.

Okay, so I'll continue attacking the Soldier this turn, and I'll swap out the tapped Charge for Bodyguard, and be using it to defend Kart.

Oooh, Initiative tie as both sides roll 5s. In such cases, it goes to the heroes of the story! Aurel makes short work of the Soldier- delivering a heavy-handed blow down the center of the giant beetle's head and killing it- and leaves Kart to take out one of the swarms.

Seth chops up bugs. Trawley starts to aim for the last Soldier again, but Harvik gets in his way.

"I've got this," he says before pumping out another mortar round from his pack. His Heavy Weapons attack rolls a surprising five successes. The Soldier has enough survival instinct to try dodging such a thing, but Harvik having the schtick Ka-boom makes it impossible for it to evade. It takes only 8 damage but the Swarm around it is obliterated.

Trawley joins Seth in bug blasting, and with nothing left to shoot at for the time being, Noland and Mendus bring down the Soldier by them with a spray of fire.

The Swarm ineffectually nibbles on the Hut Row group but Aurel is still beset with troubles. However, the shrieking has stopped entirely and the Swarm seems less effective without guidance.

----

BATTLE AT BARUM, Start of Turn 5

East Village- Rise

Aurel (LS8): 1(2A)/41 CH] OGu BG] (4F) (carrying Garan)

Kart (G11): 1(1PR)/29 (4F)


Swarms (C4) x5


East Village- Row of Huts

Seth (LS12): 1(2A)/28 RI] (5F)

Trawley (G10): 1(1PR)/26 CC] (3F)

Harvik (HW8): 1(2A)/13 (1F)

FR-3PO: 2/7


Swarms (C4) x4


East Village- Burnt Hut

Noland (G5): 1/37 (1F)

Mendus (G5): 1/27 (1F)


----

Aurel's limbs burned with effort of keeping the Garan aloft and fending off the swarm. His previous injuries only compounded his fatigue. Still, he fought on, and struck with a savage ferocity, his blade swinging wildly to keep the insects away from him.

Okay, REXXXX, I'd said last post that I was swapping out Charge for Bodyguard on Stan.

This turn I'm tapping Cleave to try and keep the last of the bugs from...well, killing me.

So you did! Kart can have the damage he took reduced, then.

Initiative to you bodes well! Five successes clears two groupings of the Swarm from your path and Kart takes a third out with repeating shots from his pistol.

Those by the huts wrap up their involvement there- the bounty hunter torches multiple groups with his flamethrower, leaving Trawley and Seth to claim the last groups.

"We need to go!" Seth says as the shrieking begins anew, this time more distant.

"Then let's go!" Aurel replies, hefting the Garan with his last muster of strength and rushing towards the craft with its captain and his comrades. Whatever was going happening on this planet, this was not the time to figure it out. Not if they were to make it out alive with the knowledge.

The shrieking begins to grow louder and more piercing as you move at a mad dash for the Dawntreader. The ground around you appears to shift as the insects keep pace with you and start to move ahead. As you run, your companions keep a steady pace of fire- you can run and gun with ranged weapons- to keep the bugs in the ground and slow them up. With Charge you can do the same with your lightsaber; Seth, lacking it, switches to his pistol and gets to blasting.

You tumble headlong onto the lowered and waiting loading ramp of the Dawntreader and collapse onto the deck as your companions move past you. Kart is the last man in and he shuts the hatch behind him.

The shrieking continues outside the ship, though the sound is dulled.

"What were those?!" Seth asks.

The Garan commander you saved mumbles a word.

Aurel lays upon the cold metal of the ship floor, finally allowing his exhaustion to take hold, his living cargo slipping from his grip. He barely even had the energy to replace his lightsaber into his robes, ripped and blackened as they were. It made the Jedi glad he packed two extra sets. Fatigued as he was, he tried to leaf through the pages of his mind, to see if any clue revealed itself to him from his time within the archives. Though he had focused upon learning the history of the sword, there had been moments where Aurel simply had to take up a new subject, something else with which to peruse while he absorbed previous knowledge.

With no luck, the swordsman opened his mouth to speak when he heard the Garan stir. The warrior was not in much better shape than himself, and Aurel was amazed he was even able to say anything.

"Priorities, Seth," Jedi Sing said, taking on a slight air of command, "Make sure Kart can get his ship out of here so we're out of harm's way. Then," he added with a wince," we tend to the wounded." He was curious as to what the Garan had said, but he would be unable to listen properly in his current state.

The Garan passes out while everyone else gets to shouting.

"Did you see me take down that big one?!" Seth says, excitedly. "Vwum! Took him down...!"

"What WERE those things!?" Harvik asks. "I was not paid to fight an infestation, just to run security if..."

"They almost killed us!" Noland shouts. "I'm not going back out there..."

"Captain, you're bleeding," Mendus notes, retrieving his medkit.

"We're not leaving," Kart says, waving Mendus off and ignoring everyone in order to respond to your orders.

Gods, I keep swearing I'd already posted here. Sorry, sir.

Aurel said nothing at first, his aching body almost physically refusing to obey his commands, but this is was imporant. Wincing through the pain, the jedi walkover to and to Kart, murmsing quiestly, so as to help chicken cnat you wait not be bought by the gallong sized for nothing. That stupid.
"What is keeping us from taking off?"

I'm gonna figure out what's going ss to keep the bus on.

No worries!

"I have goods to deliver to those who are in dire need of them," Kart says. "Would you just abandoned a vulnerable and helpless people, Jedi?"

Nodded at Kart briefly before replying, "Of course not. It is clear that there is a dire situation upon this planet, and the inhabitants can any aid possible. I was not suggesting an escape, only a tactical withdrawal. Those...insects out there may or may not be able to damage the ship, but I do not believe having them swarming along the hull would be very beneficial, as well." The swordsman leaned against a control panel, careful not to accidentally do anything, and added, "This is your mission, Captain. I am only here to help in what manner I can. Do what you think is right."

"I'm with you there, Aurel," Seth says. "We'll follow whatever you decide, Captain. The Jedi are here to help those in need."

"Good," Kart says. "Now. We need to find a way to counter the bugs. We can't try fighting our way through again. Any ideas?"

Harvik volunteers that his flamethrower was very effective. Kart nods and waits for others.

Aurel was losing focus, but the young Jedi fought his fatigue to listen to the suggestions of the crew and Seth. The statement from Harvik caught his ear, and he tried to wrack his battle-wearied brain to make sense if what his instincts were telling him.

"Perhaps," he began with a pause to gather his thoughts, "if it were possible to concentrate them to a single area, Harvik could take the fire to them." It was an option, but something was still hinting subtly at him. As though he was not thinking big enough. The swordsman quietly cursed his injuries, and himself for being so weak that he could not keep himself from being hurt so.

"A choke point?" Harvik says. "It'd be hard to pull off. We're not sure how good they are at chewing through things. They bit the protocol droid and my armor just fine."

Look back on the fight and think of things that nullifying would have made the fight easier.

Here we are again...

Hycott

Iffa Na'Worru, you are on the planet Hycott, a small world on the very edge of Republic space. You and another Jedi, Mah Ar'cor, had been in pursuit of a terrorist responsible for a series of bombings. The terrorist- a man named Malish- had been trying to flee beyond Republic space. You caught up to him while he was refueling his ship.

The local authorities helped you arrest him, and currently you are stuck filling out paperwork to make it all official that he is being taken to Coruscant.

Mah returns to the office, having gone to check your ship. He seems to be in a hurry as he crosses the room to talk to you.

"Iffa," Mah says. "Step outside with me. Paperwork can wait."

A man of few words, Iffa raises an eyebrow at Mah, before smiling and following him.
"Sounds intriguing...." he says.

"It is," Mah assures.

You step out of the office and Mah takes you into an empty side room.

"We've just received a message from the Council," Mah says.

"what do they say?" replies Iffa.

Mah outlines the situation for you.

In times of emergency, the Jedi can use emergency signals to get the attention of the Jedi Council. Apparently one has been used in your area of space, though a short ways outside the Republic.

The Council wants Mah Ar'cor to escort your prisoner back while you go on to where the signal was issued, a small simple world called Boll-Gar.

The reason they chose you is because your particular talents (the combat-related ones) are needed. Boll-Gar is in a constant struggle between the humanoid Bollans and the reptilian Garans. It may be dangerous.

The Council is not sure what Jedi triggered the signal. They want you to find out.

Iffa thanks Mah and prepares his Starfighter. Punching Boll-Gar into the nav computer, he quickly plots his hyperspace route and heads to the planet.

Mah informs you that he intends to have the Council send him back, to back you up.

To Boll-Gar! Does Iffa want to make any preparations on Hycott?

Perhaps see if the council have any more info on the situatio?

The Council has nothing further to share. You are going to be their eyes and ears on Boll-Gar, after all.

Then off I go! Perhaps get some ropes, etc to take

The Hycott police force can supply you with some high-grade rope, and ask if you require any other supplies.

Also, out of curiosity- what kind of gun does Iffa use?

He doesn't use a gun! Far too uncouth. Relies on his trusty lightsabre.

Aha! More the 'can use a blaster if necessary' sort. Noted!

Aha! More the 'can use a blaster if necessary' sort. Noted!

With your rope packed up, you are off! Boll-Gar is a short journey away, and you reach it within the day with your ship's hyperdrive. Boll-Gar itself is a lush green world covered in rain forests.

Outlined against the planet's glow is a light battle cruiser. It is hailing you.

Respond - 'Jedi Iffa N'Aworru - and you are?'

"This is Captain Dunn of the Scorcher," comes a gruff voice. The hologram that appears is of a lanky, awkward man, not how you envisioned him after hearing his voice. "What is a Jedi doing here?"

I'm investigating an emergency signal triggered by a Jedu -do you have any idea whatsgoing on on Boll-Gar?

"Ah, that's what that is," Dunn says. "I do, but it's none of my business now. All mayhem down there."

You come closer to the cruiser and notice a symbol on its side. A clenched fist encircled in flame. These are the Hands of Fire pirates! Oh dear...

'Thanks for the info,' replies Iffa, before turning the ship around and heading towards the planet.

Your scanners go off. You are being targeted.

"Where are you going?" asks Dunn.

'to do my job,' replies Iffa, 'and I could ask you the same thing.'

Take evasive manoeuvres!

The cruiser fires warning shots from its forward batteries, and your sensors indicate that it is launching fighters.

"Turn around, Jedi!" Dunn warns. "Your authority is not recognized out here!"

Get out of range of the main ship, then see how many fighters there are to deal with.