Firestorm
-Nate
Star
Wars: Age of Rebellion: Firestorm
Defeat at the Battle of Yavin has
served as a wake-up call for the Galactic Empire. Not only does the
Rebel Alliance pose a real threat to the New Order, but its
starfighters and pilots are a particular danger. That was why the
Empire developed the Lancer-class frigate, a capital ship
armed with quad laser turrets for use against starfighters. What most
beings don't know, however, is that certain Imperial officers have
been undertaking secret and, some would say, unethical research in
the hope of making that frigate even more deadly.
This project is known by the
codename “Firestorm.” It involves connecting computer targeting
systems directly to operators' brains, using a device similar to the
data goggles developed by the Trade Federation back before the Clone
Wars. In this way, it allows gunners to track and fire on targets at
a much faster rate, making the Lancer's quads much more
effective against small and agile fighters. The only problem is, it's
also been driving test subjects insane.
At first Imperial Research &
Development decided to scrap the program, deeming the benefits not to
be worth the cost. One rogue scientist, however—a Human named Ebla
Muir—has been set up to continue the research secretly. Operating
out of an abandoned B'omarr monastery on Nal Hutta, he has moved
ahead with tests of the cybernetic device, and has finally made it
work. Even so, one of his test subjects—another Human, Terun
Dovis—has managed to escape, wandered into a lodge run by Haiuk the
Whiphid, and there encountered a pair of Tynnan free traders who are
Rebel sympathizers, Nog and Cham Teleus. They managed to subdue the
Human and then passed on word of their encounter to the Alliance, and
it eventually reached intelligence operatives at Tierfon Base.
Adventure
Summary
This scenario begins with the PCs
en route to Nal Hutta, having been ordered to head for that world
before being briefed. After they make the jump they can watch the
holorecording that Lieutenant Juno Bast has provided, carried by an
Astromech droid named R2-D6. Provided with those details, they can
land on Nal Hutta and contact the Tynnans. With their input the PCs
can find Terun Dovis in an upstairs room and learn what he knows. In
doing so they might run afoul of the undercover ISB team that is
stationed at the Lodge.
To pursue the investigation, the
PCs must find a way to neutralize the ISB agents or sneak Dovis past
them. Then they can learn what he knows and set off into the swamps
to find the secret lab. Success in that effort allows them to access
the lab, discover the secrets behind the Firestorm Project, and
possibly even destroy it. The Empire does all it can to combat such
sabotage, however, including launching TIE Fighters from a Star
Destroyed in orbit.
Planning
and Preparation
Outside of the information with
which they're provided en route, the PCs don't have much material
with which to work. In addition to their regular ship, they are
issued a cargo skiff to use while in the swamps of Nal Hutta.
Involving
the Player Characters
Once they make their landing, at
the swamp platform detailed below, the PCs can head to the Lodge to
start their investigation.
Mission
Objectives and PC Duty
Detailed below are some of the
ways in which this assignment can tie into different characters'
objectives.
- Combat Victory: Provided they can find the secret Imperial research facility, the PCs have a good opportunity to face their foes and cause some damage.
- Counter-Intelligence: Similarly, access to the secret lab means that the PCs can steal Imperial research and maybe even plant misleading data.
- Intelligence: As mentioned above, the lab is a good opportunity for characters to steal valuable information.
- Internal Security: Given the uncertain nature of the mission and those involved in it on Hal Nutta, this PC must be vigilant indeed.
- Personnel: As always, this character can support other PCs in all sorts of ways during the mission.
- Political Support: Similarly, this character can win favor for the Alliance by making sure that the mission is conducted in ways that don't cause unnecessary damage or harm.
- Recruiting: This character has a good opportunity to meet potential allies, including Nog and Cham Teleus and Terun Dovis.
- Resource Acquisition: While the Empire is developing technology related to its war effort at this facility, the chances are good that PCs won't want to use it for the Alliance. They should have a chance to steal other valuables, however.
- Sabotage: This is a great opportunity for characters to damage an Imperial facility.
- Space Superiority: An encounter with TIE fighters at the end of this scenario is a good chance for these characters to fulfill their duty.
- Support: Here, too, this character can support others in their efforts.
- Tech Procurement: As mentioned above, the technology that's being developed in this facility is of a morally questionable nature, but the PCs might have a chance to nab other prizes along the way.
Episode
1: First Impressions
When they arrive at Nal Hutta,
the PCs can land their ship on one of the docking platforms built
into the swamp for that purpose. This may not be important yet, but
could have implications if they must make a hasty exit later in the
scenario.
Local
Wildlife
Depending on the desires of the
players and the needs of the campaign, the GM can spring some
encounters with native flora and fauna during the short trip from the
landing platform to the Lodge.
Chemilizard—Refer to
page 45 of Lords of Nal Hutta for stats.
Haiuk's
Lodge
Refer to the map below once the
PCs reach their destination. The lodge is a rough but comfortable
place, with pourstone walls and an arched roof. Inside, the main room
(1) is a broad, open chamber with high ceilings and plenty of tables
for seating. The bar dominates one wall, and stairways and lifts lead
to the upper level. A door behind the bar leads back to the kitchen
(2) and storage room (3), the latter of which includes an underground
space for storing perishable foodstuffs. There are also small rooms
for more private seating (4), and refresher units (5). On the upper
level there are more than two dozen rooms (6), each furnished with a
bed, desk, closet, and refresher.
The typical crowd at Haiuk's
Lodge is a diverse bunch, as befits the beings who frequent Nal
Hutta. This is a good chance for the GM to introduce any number of
potentially useful or otherwise interesting NPCs. At the same time, a
number of locals and visitors warrant specific attention, as detailed
below.
- Haiuk, the Whiphid proprietor, is a large, boisterous personality. He has an adventurous spirit, but also enjoys relatively peaceful life in his old age. As such, he could object to unnecessary violence in his establishment—but he has no love for the Empire, either.
- The party's contacts, of course, are the Tynnans, Nog and Cham Teleus. When the PCs arrive, Cham is up in a guest room ministering to the injured Terun Dovis, while Nog waits at the bar, nursing a drink. Once the PCs make contact with him, he tests them with vague questions that hint at the real topic of interest, before agreeing to take them to their quarry.
New
Arrivals
At some point while one or more
of the PCs are waiting in the main room of the lodge, a new group of
visitors arrive. While they look like an ordinary bunch of humans,
they are in fact a team of undercover Imperial agents, ones who are
looking for the missing test subject. They don't know that Terun
Dovis is here, but they are on the alert for suspicious behavior. The
PCs should make Perception checks to recognize that they're not
ordinary visitors.
Imperial Army Officer—Use
the stats from page 419 of the core rulebook.
Imperial Army Trooper—Use
the stats from page 418 of the core rulebook.
The Imperials take action if they
see Dovis or suspect any Rebel activity. Haiuk the Whiphid doesn't
take kindly to violence in his establishment, so he as his staff
could become involved in a fight, too.
The
Test Subject
Guided by Cham Teleus, the PCs
can find Terun Dovis in the upstairs room in which he's sleeping. He
had been stunned and then tied up for his own protection, but is
beginning to awaken when the PCs arrive. Keeping him passive requires
either a stunning attack or an average Medicine check; otherwise he
begins raving and attacks the newcomers, shouting, “No! You can't
take me! I won't go back there!” Should that occur, the Imperial
agents down in the main room should make hard Perception checks to
hear the noise and come investigate.
If they can pacify Dovis, then
the PCs need to find a way to take him out of the Lodging House
without attracting attention. This is largely left up to the
creativity of the players and the adjudication of the GM, but should
entail appropriate opposed skill checks by the PCs and Imperials.
| Mental Malfunctions
Add details for Dovis's madness, similar to the confusion spell. Treating him requires hard Medicine and Computer checks. If he is not treated, then during any stressful situation—including combat and, at the GM's discretion, other moments—he acts randomly. The GM should roll percentile dice, with the following results. 1-25: Act normally. 26-50: Do nothing but babble incoherently. 51-75: Attempt to flee at top speed. 76-100: Attack the nearest available target. |
A
Chase?
If the PCs are noticed by the
Imperials, and decide to make a run for it, then the situation can be
resolved as a chase. In that case, the distance starts out as medium.
The vehicle operators for each side should make opposed
Piloting—Planetary checks. Success for the PCs allows them to
increase the distance from the enemy, while success for the Imperials
allows them to close the gap. This also determines the range for
combat between them, and ranged attacks suffer an extra setback die
for each range increment due to the thick jungle. The Imperials have
three 74-Z speeder bikes (refer to page 263 of the core rulebook for
stats), while the PCs have an Ubrikkian cargo skiff (refer to page 112of Lords of Nal Hutta for stats). They continue the pursuit
until either they are outpaced by the PCs or defeated in combat.
Episode
2: In the Middle of Nowhere
Once they've had a chance to
recover after escaping from Haiuk's Lodge, the PCs can ask Dovis some
questions. To that end, he provides the following information.
- The Empire has been using him as a test subject for new brain implants that connect with starships' gunnery systems, making him a formidable sharpshooter.
- These tests were being conducted in a facility hidden somewhere in the swamps of Nal Hutta.
- He managed to escape, but due to his condition he cannot recall the route that he took from there to Haiuk's Lodge.
- Dovis does recall that he used a drainage pipe to escape, though.
- He can also provide an estimate of the Imperial forces present in that facility, as detailed in its description below.
That's not a lot of information
with which to work, but the PCs can add to it by making a n Average
Computers check to access the memory in Dovis's implant. They can
then use that data like GPS coordinates, letting them retrace his
steps back to the swamp into which the drainage pipe empties.
The
Swamp
This location is pretty simple in
nature; there's a big pipe that drains water out of the secret
Imperial research facility, and it empties into a broad pool. Most
notably, a medium dianoga lives in that drainage pool, and attacks
any potential pray that wanders into it.
Dianoga: Refer to page
432 in the Age of Rebellion core rulebook for stats.
Accessing the drainage tunnel
involves average Perception checks to notice the alarm device
connected to the grill that seals the tunnel, hard Computers to
disable said alarm, and average Mechanics to remove the grill itself.
That last check can be circumvented by causing enough damage to the
grill with weapons such as vibroblades or lightsabers, but failure to
notice and deactivate the alarm alerts the Imperials to an intrusion.
Refer to the guidelines below for continuing this scenario if that
should be the case.
The Tunnel System
The tunnel system itself is pretty straightforward, with one long central pipe leading directly to the Imperial research lab. It opens into a wider central chamber underneath the landing area, with branch tunnels leading out underneath the different chambers that surround it.
The
Secret Facility
The lab is laid out as a big,
circular landing field surrounded by a ring tunnel, with eight
outbuildings arranged around it, as listed on the map above. More
detailed layouts for each of those, along with information about the
personnel who inhabit them, are presented below. Access crawlspaces
beneath the outbuildings allow the PCs to explore the place, but they
still need to be careful. They should keep in mind that their mission
is to learn what they can about Project Firestorm—as well as an
other intelligence about Imperial plans—and not to conquer the hold
facility.
The landing field (1) is
hard-packed earth with duracrete pads for landing vessels. There is
one Lambda-class shuttle parked here when the PCs arrive, and
a pair of Imperial techs are servicing it. What is more, underneath a
tarpaulin cover there is an old droid fighter, one that the Imperials
use for target practice. The ring tunnel (2) is an enclosed passage,
four meters wide, that provides access to the outbuildings.
At any given time there are
usually a handful of off-duty Imperial Navy troopers present in the mess hall, having
a meal or playing a hand of sabacc.
The individual quarters are for
soldiers (two to each); fully a dozen are usually present, half of
whom are sleeping at any given time.
Family quarters are reserved for
officers and scientists; they provide considerable more space.
Captain Ebla Muir, his two lieutenants and three scientists are
quartered here.
The warehouse is just what it
sounds like, a large building with rows of shelves for stacking
crates and barrels of supplies along with other equipment.
The laboratory has a dozen
stations with computer terminals, along with workbenches and larger
platforms at which the technicians can operate. There are also four
gunnery chairs (similar to the ones aboard the Millenium Falcon)
that operate for quad-laser emplacements on the top of this building.
Of particular interest to any PC
slicers is the comm center, which is staffed by two troopers at all
times. It is linked to the facility's satellite dish, which is
mounted atop this building.
Personnel
Use the following stats for the
Imperials in the facility.
Imperial Navy Troopers:
Use the stats from page 419 of the core rulebook.
Naval Engineers: Use the
stats from page 420 of the core rulebook.
Imperial Navy Captain:
Use the stats from page 55 of Allies and Adversaries.
Quad Laser Emplacements:
Use the stats for these from page 278 of the core rulebook.
Droid Fighter: Use stats
from Rise of the Separatists, or from the blog listed
below.
The PCs could have various
interactions with all of the aforementioned elements, until such time
as a general alarm is raised. At that point, a running battle erupts.
Episode
3: Last Call
Unless the PCs manage to
infiltrate the facility, accomplish their objectives and then depart
without raising any alarm, this is likely to erupt into a big fight.
In addition to the Imperials in the facility itself, they can call
down a Gozanti-class armed transport that carries four TIE
fighters. Those attempt to pursue and destroy any repulsorcraft on
the ground, as well as any starships that become involved in the PCs'
escape.
Gozanti-Class
Cruiser: Refer to page 277 of the core rulebook for stats.
TIE/ln Fighters: Refer to
page 270.
Imperial Gunners: Refer
to page 418.
TIE Pilots: Refer to page
423.
Unless they think of something
really unusual, the PCs need to reach their starship, escape from Nal
Hutta's gravity well and make the jump to hyperspace in order to
complete this mission.
Epilogue
Success allows the PCs to deal
the Empire a notable setback, as well as to free Terun Dovis and the
other test subjects from virtual enslavement and possible madness. If
they can be identified by agents of the Empire, then they find
themselves moving higher on wanted lists and receiving more scrutiny
from the Imperial Security Bureau. How that might affect the PCs'
future missions, though, only time will tell.
Rewards
for Risks
At the GM's discretion, the PCs
should earn 15 experience points for a complete success, or 10 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.
Relics of the Clone
Wars
Because the
Imperial technicians at this secret facility have been conducting
research about the Clone Wars, the databanks here can be a
valuable source of information about that time period. To that
end, the GM could introduce any or all of the following elements.
|
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
FIRESTORM
It is a time of civil war.
Desperate to acquire new weapons
for use against the Rebel Alliance,
agents
of the Empire have begun conducting cruel experiments using
technology
from the Clone Wars. One of their test subjects has escape,
however,
and hopes to reach safety by finding Rebel agents...
Appendix 2: NPCs
Detailed below are some of the
NPCs that the heroes can meet.
Haiuk
the Whiphid (Rival)
Brawn
4 Cunning 3 Presence 2
Agility
3 Intellect 1 Willpower 2
Soak: 5
Wound
Threshold: 17
Strain
Threshold: 11
M/R
Defense: 0 / 0
Skills: Athletics
1, Brawl 3, Coercion 2, Cool 1, Medicine 1, Melee 3, Perception 2,
Ranged—Heavy 2, Resilience 3, Stealth 2, Survival 3, Vigilance 2
Talents: Forager,
Grit, Outdoorsman, Stalker, Toughened
Abilities: Claws:
Brawl attacks do Brawn +1 damage and have Critical 3; Scent:
remove a setback die caused by concealment for targets within
Short Range; Insulated Fur: remove a setback die from skill checks
caused by a cold environment.
Equipment: Padded
armor, slugthrower rifle, walking stick (doubles as truncheon),
obviously cybernetic replacement leg (right)
Haiuk
has reached the twilight of his career, but hasn't lost his zeal
for the hunt. To that end, he still loves to tell tales of past
adventures, and to hear similar stories from his guests. One
should not assume that he's completely past his prime, however;
even with the limp that comes from a poorly matched replacement,
he is still formidable in a fight. The Whiphid tends to cut his
patrons a fair amount of slack, but those who cross the line with
him or with other visitors are soon to learn better.
|
Whiphid
Staff (Minions)
Brawn
3 Cunning 2 Presence 2
Agility
2 Intellect 1 Willpower 2
Soak: 5
Wound
Threshold: 5 each
Strain
Threshold: NA
M/R
Defense: 0 / 0
Skills
(group only): Brawl, Melee, Perception, Ranged—Heavy
Talents: None
Abilities: Claws:
Brawl attacks do Brawn +1 damage and have Critical 3; Scent:
remove a setback die caused by concealment for targets within
Short Range; Insulated Fur: remove a setback die from skill checks
caused by a cold environment.
Equipment: Padded
armor, truncheon
While
the quality of their service certainly leaves something to be
desired, there's no arguing the fact that these Whiphids help to
maintain a peaceful environment in the Lodging House. Each is
utterly loyal to Haiuk, and together they are a match for just
about any unruly customer.
|
Nog
Teleus (Rival)
Brawn
1 Cunning 3 Presence 2
Agility
3 Intellect 2 Willpower 2
Soak: 1
Wound
Threshold: 12
Strain
Threshold: 14
M/R
Defense: 0 / 0
Skills: Athletics
1, Brawl 1, Computers 1, Cool 1, Core Worlds 1, Deception 1, Lore
2, Mechanics 1, Medicine 1, Melee 1, Negotiation 3, Outer Rim 2,
Perception 2, Piloting—Planetary 1, Piloting—Space 1,
Ranged—Light 2, Resilience 1, Skulduggery 1, Stealth 1,
Streetwise 1, Survival 1, Underworld 1, Vigilance 2
Talents: Greased
Palms, Grit, Know Somebody, Master Merchant, Smooth Talker,
Toughened, Wheel and Deal
Abilities: Free
rank in Athletics; Hold Breath: Tynnans can hold their breath for
a number of rounds equal to ten times their Brawn rating before
they risk suffocating; Natural Swimmers: Tynnans receive boost
dice on all Athletics checks made to swim
Equipment: Utility
belt, blaster pistol, comlink, datapad, vibroknife
|
Cham
Teleus (Rival)
Brawn
1 Cunning 2 Presence 3
Agility
3 Intellect 2 Willpower 2
Soak: 1
Wound
Threshold: 10
Strain
Threshold: 12
M/R
Defense: 0 / 0
Skills: Athletics
1, Brawl 1, Charm 3, Cool 1, Core Worlds 2, Deception 2,
Leadership 2, Lore 2, Negotiation 3, Outer Rim 1, Perception 2,
Ranged—Light 1, Resilience 1, Underworld 2, Vigilance 2,
Xenology 1
Talents: Confidence,
Dodge, Grit x2, Inspiring Rhetoric, Kill with Kindness, Nobody's
Fool, Steely Nerves
Abilities: Free
rank in Athletics; Hold Breath: Tynnans can hold their breath for
a number of rounds equal to ten times their Brawn rating before
they risk suffocating; Natural Swimmers: Tynnans receive boost
dice on all Athletics checks made to swim
Equipment: Utility
belt, blaster pistol, comlink
|
Nog
and Cham Teleus are a Tynnan couple who once lived in the Cularin
System; now they are regulars at Haiuk's Lodge. While the story
they tell is one of retired industrialists who are now living out
their retirement in a lively new setting, the truth of the matter
is that they are agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
Cham, who is more of the socialite, handles recruiting and
diplomatic affairs, while Nog specializes in logistical matters.
Both are regarded by Haiuk the Whiphid as little cousins. They are
always on the lookout for beings who sympathize with their ideals
and show proficiency in different skill sets that could be used in
combatting the oppression of the Galactic Empire.
|
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