Plunder
-Nate
Star Wars: Age of
Rebellion: Plunder
When business is
conducted on an interplanetary scale, it's a big thing. While this is
common knowledge throughout the galaxy, it's especially familiar to
those beings and families whose names are synonymous with trade on
such a scale. Such is the case with the Santhe family of the Tion
Hegemony. They are involved in such fields as shipping and
transportation, shipbuilding and other technology.
What they don't
know is that one of their own has betrayed them.
The treacherous
being is Jal Santhe, a young Human who has built up a considerable
gambling debt in Hutt-owned casinos. In order to pay off those
credits, without letting his parents know what he's done, Jal has
begun selling travel itineraries for Santhe-owned transports to Slarr
the Hutt. That crime boss, in turn, provides the information to
pirates in his employ, allowing them to strike targets that put up
little resistance. This arrangement might have gone undiscovered, if
not for the intervention of another Tionese noble sympathetic to the
Rebellion, Gaea Rus.
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Note to the GM: This
scenario can be played as a stand-alone Rebel mission. On the
other hand, PCs who participated in the events of Turbulence
should already be familiar with Gaea Rus, whom they hopefully
saved from a keelkana attack. In that case, she has provided her
lead to the Rebellion as a way of thanking them for their
assistance.
|
Adventure Summary
This adventure
begins with the PCs planting a tracking device aboard a Santhe-owned
vessel, the Steadfast, a
YT-1300 transport that is docked on the planet Taanab. If that effort
succeeds, then they can track that vessel into the depths of space,
where it suffered an attack, and from there to the hidden pirate base
on Rhen Var. At that point, it's up to the PCs to raid the pirates'
store of spoils and thus acquire supplies and, perhaps, intelligence
valuable to the Rebels' war effort. They're not the only ones
interested in this business, however, and are in for a surprise when
agents of the Empire also become involved.
Planning and Preparations
Although the PCs
are thrown into the middle of the action in the first episode, it is
assumed that they've also had some time to prepare for this business.
For that reason, the GM may allow them to request retroactively any
equipment that they deem necessary. In this case, they should have
the opportunity to do so without expending Destiny points.
Involving the Player Characters
This scenario
should begin in media res,
when they've already landed their freighter and are preparing to
plant a tracking device aboard the nearby Santhe vessel. As mentioned
above, however, they should be allowed a little time for making
preparations that would've happened before departing Tierfon Base.
Mission
Objectives and PC Duty
Detailed below are some of the ways in which this assignment can tie
into different characters' objectives.
- Combat Victory—Although stealth is encouraged during the first part of this mission, there's plenty of opportunity for fighting once the PCs rad the pirates' hideout.
- Counter-Intelligence—This character is, as usual, tasked with making sure that the PCs are not revealed to be agents of the Rebel Alliance.
- Intelligence—The very nature of this business, uncovering a plot to sell out Santhe vessels to pirates, along with the possibility of doing so on behalf of the Alliance, involves this Duty.
- Internal Security—This character should strive to make sure that the PCs don't reveal their true identities or the nature of their activities to Imperial authorities.
- Personnel—While the pirates are likely to become enemies of the PCs, this character might attempt to recruit some or all of them to serve as Rebel privateers.
- Political Support—For this character, gaining influence with Gaea Rus and her noble family should be a priority.
- Recruiting—Much like with the Personnel duty, for this PC securing the support of Gaea Rus and, possibly, the pirates, are also positive outcomes.
- Resource Acquisition—The elements of stealing from pirates and, possibly, acquiring other targets from them, are natural objectives for characters with this Duty.
- Sabotage—Causing harm to the pirates, as well as to the Imperials when they make their appearance, fit in well for this character.
- Space Superiority—Given the likelihood of ship-to-ship combat on this mission, characters with this Duty should have a chance to shine.
- Support—This character can, as usual, help fellow operatives in attaining any of the aforementioned duty objectives.
- Tech Procurement—Much like with Resource Acquisition, detailed above, characters with this Duty have a good chance to steal valuable equipment from allies of the Galactic Empire.
Episode 1: Tracking the
Steadfast
As mentioned
above, this scenario begins with the PCs about to land in a docking
facility on Taanab, one that is adjacent to that occupied by the
Steadfast. They've already
been provided with the following information:
- Recently Gaea Rus, a Tionese noblewoman with Rebel sympathies, has come to suspect that a member of the wealthy and influential Santhe family has been selling out transport ships and their cargoes to a band of pirates employed by Slarr the Hutt.
- She believes that he's doing this in order to pay off a gambling debt.
- According to her informants, one of the targeted vessels is the Steadfast, a vessel bound for Lianna by way of Taanab.
- The powers that be at Tierfon Base would like the PCs to plant a tracking device aboard that ship in order to discover the location of the pirates' base.
- Armed with that information, they want the PCs to conduct a raid on the base and acquire the materiel stored there.
- Additionally, if possible, they should acquire information regarding other potential targets belonging to the Santhe family, since they are loyal supporters of Palpatine's New Order.
As mentioned above, if this information makes the PCs think they need
any special equipment for this mission, then they can try to obtain
it retroactively. It should be noted, of course, that the Alliance
has provided them with the tracking device in question.
The
Docking Bay
Refer to the map below for the following area description. Each
docking bay features broad, secure double doors out front (1). They
are little more than open pits with fifteen-meter-high walls (2).
Each one does boast a small set of quarters (3) with bunks, a table
and chairs and a refresher, along with a small workshop (4) and a
storage area (5).
Port Authority
The first
challenge that the PCs face is dealing with representatives of the
local port authority. Upon landing in their assigned docking bay,
they're approached by customs agent Pree Olasa, accompanied by
members of the spaceport security force. He's come to ask some
routine questions, but the PCs don't necessarily know that. As such,
they need to make a Deception check opposed to his Discipline effort,
with bonuses for good or bad roleplaying applied as usual.
Alternately, they could try to bribe the fellow, something that
requires a Charm check opposed to his Cool effort, with a bonus
depending on the size of the bribe offered. After all, Olasa is just
a bored local official, and one who's not opposed to the idea of
turning a quick profit from ordinary daily business. In the event
that the PCs resort to violence, or that their efforts to bluff the
customs agent utterly fail, he can call in one or more squads of
stormtroopers as backup.
Customs Agent:
Use stats for a Spaceport Overseer from pages 430-1 of the Core
Rulebook.
Spaceport
Security Personnel: Use the stats for Imperial Navy Troopers from
page 419.
Planting the
Device
Once they've
settled business with the customs agent, the PCs to devise a means of
entering the neighboring docking bay and planting their tracking
device. The docking bays, it should be noted, are arranged in square
clusters, situated in such a way that their workshops (Area 4) abut
on one another. Given the many different strategies that the PCs
might employ, and the various ways in which the NPCs could respond to
them, a good deal of GM adjudication is likely to be necessary. Even
so, here are a few suggestions for the situation might develop.
- Stealth is perhaps the best option. At any given time only a couple of crew members remain in the docking bay while the others enjoy some time in port. One or more PCs might wish to make Stealth checks opposed to their Perception efforts in order to move about unnoticed.
- It could be advantageous for the PCs to stage some kind of distraction. This, more than any other option, requires the GM to decide how the NPCs react. Ultimately, this is likely to require one or more Deception checks opposed to the crew members' Discipline efforts, perhaps assisted by a Charm check opposed to their Cool efforts.
- Incapacitating the crew members is always an option, if perhaps a risky one. Should that transpire, the crew members could call for backup, but the PCs could still plant the tracking device and make the incident look like a botched robbery attempt.
Steadfast
Crew: Use the stats for
Starfighter Pilots from page 415 of the Core Rulebook.
Following Their Quarry
As
long as they succeed in planting the tracking device aboard the
Steadfast,
the PCs can sit back and wait while it takes off and then makes the
jump to hyperspace. While doing so requires only an easy Astrogation
check, the results of that effort determine the nature of the
situation that they face upon arrival there. Should the PCs think to
ask, the jump leads them to the edge of the Roche asteroid belt.
Finally, a Triumph on this check reveals a second signal coming from
the vessel in question, one that is very subtle and that uses an
Imperial frequency.
Upon reverting to realspace, the PCs find themselves on the edge of
an asteroid field—assuming that they succeeded at the Astrogation
check. Advantage generated by that check can be used to grant boost
dice to the Piloting—Planetary check needed to navigate it without
any collisions, an average effort. Threat can be used to add setback
to that effort, while Despair upgrades the difficulty of the check to
Daunting as the vessel appears inside the tangle of drifting
asteroids.
The
PCs also pick up a distress signal, one belonging to the Steadfast's
crew. They're crammed into an escape pod, having abandoned their ship
as it was being overrun by pirates. The PCs can reach their position
amid the asteroids via the aforementioned Piloting—Planetary
effort, and then devise a means of retrieving the pod. While they're
doing so, however, they attract a flock of mynocks.
Mynocks:
Use the stats from page 413 of the Edge of the Empire
core rulebook.
Once they've dealt with the mynocks and retrieved the survivors, the
PCs must make another Piloting—Planetary check to steer their ship
back out of the asteroids.
Dealing with the survivors—Captain Drebu and three others—provides
a good opportunity for roleplaying and skill use. For one thing, one
of the survivors has a broken leg (a Crippled critical injury result)
and requires a hard Medicine check to be treated. There's also the
matter of pretending that they don't know what happened, should the
PCs choose to keep Drebu and the others in the dark about Jal
Santhe's business with the pirates. On the other hand, they could be
honest with the captain about what has transpired and thus possibly
win him over as an ally. This could be handled with Charm or
Negotiation checks, with boost or setback dice for argumentation and
roleplaying as mentioned above.
Episode 2: The Pirate
Base
A
short time after the PCs stage their rescue, they again pick up the
signal from the tracking device aboard the Steadfast;
it has come out of hyperspace near the planet Rhen Var. The pirates'
base is situated at the end of a narrow canyon in the mountains.
Making
the Approach
Although
the pirates don't maintain any kind of sensor network, they do keep
one of their number aboard their own ship, the Stellar
Wind,
with eyes on the scanners. For that reason, if they want to approach
unnoticed, the PCs should bring their ship in well away from the base
and then approach using the snow-covered mountains for cover. This
requires a Piloting—Planetary check opposed by the pirate's
Perception effort. Once they've found a safe place to land nearby,
the PCs can approach on foot and scope out the scene.
The
pirates have taken over one of the planet's curious ruined buildings,
a squat tower-like structure. They store their plunder on the lowest
level (1), which is divided by columns and has a spiral staircase
leading upward. Next is the level (2) with the dining hall, kitchen,
pantry and refresher units. Above that (3) is a ring of sleeping
quarters. The building's top level (4) is a platform open to the sky
above. On the field in front of it sit the Stellar
Wind
and the Steadfast.
When the PCs arrive, Captain Fellum is overseeing groups of pirates
as they transfer cargo from their new prize into the tower.
Strategy
and Tactics
Given the number of pirates who are present in the base—Captain
Atisako Fellum, two pilots and various groups of minions—the PCs
would do well to avoid an all-out fight. To that end, they might
employ one or more of the following strategies.
- Stealth, as long as possible, is probably the best option. This requires, of course, a skill check opposed to the relevant characters' Perception efforts.
- Deception is not likely to succeed here. After all, this is a remote planet and no other beings are usually found here. Even so, this could allowed with GM adjudication.
- Sabotage could be a good idea. If the PCs can somehow seal the main door into the tower, they could trap some of the pirates inside it. The same thing might apply to the main hatches of the Stellar Wind and/or the Steadfast.
- Along those lines, the PCs might want to bring in their own ship to strafe the pirates, possibly pinning them down and/or destroying their vehicles.
Of course, if's never possible to predict every notion that the PCs
will have.
The Pirates
Refer to the following stat blocks as necessary.
Atisako Fellum, Gran Pirate (Nemesis)
Brawn 2 Agility 3 Intellect 2
Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 3
Soak: 3
Wound Threshold: 14
Strain Threshold: 12
M/R Defense: 0 / 0
Skills:
Astrogation 2, Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Charm 2, Coercion 1, Cool 2,
Coordination 1, Discipline 2, Gunnery 2, Leadership 2, Mechanics 1,
Medicine 1, Melee 3, Negotiation 2, Perception 2, Piloting—Planetary
1, Piloting—Space 2, Ranged—Heavy 2, Ranged—Light 3, Resilience
1, Skulduggery 1, Stealth 1, Streetwise 1, Vigilance 2
Talents:
Call 'Em, Dodge, Grit, Lethal Blows, Quick Strike, Quick Draw, Rapid
Reaction, Toughened
Abilities:
Free rank in Charm or Negotiation; Enhanced Vision (remove up to two
setback dice from ranged attacks and Perception checks due to
environmental conditions; Adversary 1 (upgrade combat checks against
this character once)
Equipment:
Vacuum suit (counts as heavy clothing), heavy blaster pistol,
vibrosword, comlink
At one time, Atisako Fellum was a pacifist and a supporter of the
Republic. He admired the Jedi, and truly believed peace and justice
could exist the galaxy. The Clone Wars changed all of that. Now he
has gathered similarly disaffected Gran around himself, declaring
themselves the Pirates of the Solar Wind. In his mind, the
ways of the galaxy have changed, and it makes more sense to sail with
them than against them. Atisako Fellum has more of a sense of honor
than other pirates. To that end, he may be convinced to engage in a
duel with bold individuals, and he tends to show favor to attractive
females.
Gran Pilots (Rivals)
Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 2
Cunning 1 Willpower 2 Presence 3
Soak: 3
Wound Threshold: 12
Strain Threshold: 11
M/R Defense: 0 / 0
Skills:
Astrogation 1, Charm 1, Cool 1, Gunnery 2, Mechanics 1, Perception 1,
Piloting—Planetary 1, Piloting—Space 2, Ranged—Light 1,
Vigilance 2
Talents:
Dead to Rights, Full Throttle, Improved Dead to Rights, Improved Full
Throttle, Skilled Jockey
Abilities:
Free rank in Charm or Negotiation; Enhanced Vision (remove up to two
setback dice from ranged attacks and Perception checks due to
environmental conditions)
Equipment:
Vacuum suits, blaster pistols, Z-95 Headhunter starfighters
These pilots have been picked from among the ranks of the ordinary
pirates and given advanced training in order to fly the band's Z-95
Headhunters.
Gran Boarding Party Members (Minions)
Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 1
Cunning 1 Willpower 1 Presence 2
Soak: 3
Wound Threshold: 5 each
Strain Threshold: NA
M/R Defense: 0 / 0
Skills
(group only):
Brawl, Cool, Mechanics, Melee, Perception, Ranged—Light, Vigilance
Talents:
None
Abilities:
None
Equipment:
Vacuum suits (count as heavy clothing), blaster pistols, truncheons,
comlinks
These pirates admire and emulate Atisako Fellum, sharing in the
spoils of his victories.
The Stellar
Wind
These
pirates operate a Wayfinder-class
transport named the Stellar
Wind, with the addition
of a second laser cannon. Aboard it they carry two Z-95 Headhunter
starfighters. (See pages 258 and 263 of the Edge
of the Empire core
rulebook for details.) All three vessels are manned by pilots,
leaving Atisako to lead the boarding party. Their usual tactic is to
catch a target unaware, and then to beat it into submission with
cannon fire. Once the vessel has been disabled, the boarding party
moves in to bypass the airlocks and face any remaining resistance.
Episode 3: Imperial—and
Other—Entanglements
The PCs and the
pirates are not the only beings with an interest in the Steadfast.
Agents of the Empire have begun to suspect some kind of collusion
involving the Santhe family and the pirates, and so have planted
their own tracking device aboard its cargo. That is why, some time
after the PCs have made their move against the pirates, the Empire
rears its ugly head.
Just
when this happens is left up to the GM in order to choose the
dramatically appropriate moment. This could be just as the PCs are
escaping with their plunder, when a Gozanti-class
light assault cruiser, the Pride of Pantolomin,
drops out of hyperspace right in their path and begins sending out
TIE fighters. The Imperial Captain, Miryl Krusick, calls for all
vessels to power down weapons and shields and then return to the
surface to be boarded. On the other hand, if the PCs attempt at
raiding the pirate base stalls out or is defeated, then this attack
can serves as a distraction and thus give the PCs a shot at turning
the tables.
TIE
Fighters—Use the stats found on page 270 of the core rulebook.
TIE
Pilots—Use the stats
found on page 423.
Gozanti
Cruiser—Use the stats
found on page 276.
Imperial
Gunners—Use the stats
found on page 418.
Epilogue
As long as the
mission is a success, the PCs have acquired valuable supplies for the
Alliance and possibly bloodied the nose of local Imperial forces,
too. This should provide an enjoyable scene as they drop out of
hyperspace back at Tierfon base and begun unloading the spoils.
Rewards for Risks
At
the GM's discretion, the PCs should earn 10 experience points for a
complete success, or 5 xp for a good effort; players who stick to
their characters' motivations should earn another 5 xp. At the same
time, they should each increase their Duty rating by 5. Depending on
the size of the group, if they've participated in the scenarios
Underground and
Turbulence as well,
then they might achieve their first increase in Contribution Rank,
too.
Appendix
1: Opening Crawl
Presented below is
an opening crawl in the style of the Star Wars
movies for use with this scenario.
STAR WARS
AGE OF REBELLION
PLUNDER
It is a time of civil war.
In an effort to acquire badly
needed supplies for the war effort,
Rebel agents from Tierfon Base are
embarking on a desperate mission.
Acting on a tip from a Tionese
noblewoman, they seek to expose a plot
involving corporate greed,
betrayal and piracy, and thus to claim
the spoils of war for the
Rebellion...
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