Flying Through Space Ain't Like Dustin' Crops

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, here I am again with more analysis of the convoluted mess that is Star Wars hyperspace travel times.

In the recently released Fly Casual book we find a small chart listing Hyperspace Travel Times (in days) for a Class 1 Hyperdrive.

There is some preamble and the usual hand waving as to whether the established galactic "Trade Routes" are safer, or easier to travel, or whatever. I will save that old debate for a later post (later this week, perhaps).

I won't reprint the entire chart here, but I will use a few relative measurements in comparison to my previously published Star Wars Gazetteer.

Suffice it to say, taking Taanab as an example, the average difference in travel times (in hours) between my Gazetteer and the Fly Casual chart is a 20 times multiplier (minimum of x13, maximum of x25 for the sample I tested). That is, if I say it takes 1 hour to get somewhere, Fly Casual says it takes 20 hours. Another thing to factor in is that I used straight line distances on the galactic map. They might be actually following the trade routes through space. I will try to estimate what difference that would make to these numbers later tonight.

There are numerous canon sources (including the OT movies themselves) that contradict FFG (and WotC before that, and WEG before that) in terms of travel time charts of this kind. The worst offenders, in my opinion, are the variable charts that suggest crossing the galaxy takes a random amount of time.

I have heard it all before: Star Wars ships in hyperspace "...move at the speed of plot." That same bland, facile comment could be applied to all aspects of this Sci Fi setting, in such a way that nothing matters and there are no "truths" anymore.

So that leaves us with evaluating either tea leaves or gut feelings.

How long should it take to travel from point A to point B via hyperspace?


I will look at this question in the following ways, and keep my thoughts in the comments section of this post.

A. Canon sources. A few tidbits from OT movies and some quotes from The Clone Wars. Whatever you thought of that cartoon series, it is one of the only "non-Legend" sources still in existence.

B. Starship Consumables Ratings. I don't get the feeling from Star Wars that the ships we see flitting about, here and there, are arriving at the starport in desperate need of anything, in particular. taking stock of the consumables info might help us to see what the number of trips between re-stocks would be, and whether those numbers seem to make sense.

C. Gut Feeling. I guess, in the end, we need to figure out what feels right for these travel times. I guess I lean toward saying my Gazetteer might have travel times that are too short. Almost all of them (if not all of them) are less than 20 hours. Many are in the single-digit numbers of hours for the Class 1 hyperdrive. On the other hand, the Fly Casual chart lists a minimum of 12 hours and has most of the trip times hovering around the 1 week mark, with a high water mark of something like 11.5 days. That's a looooong time for a crew to be stuck in hyperspace playing Dejarik or wrestling in the cargo hold. It feels too long for a quick paced story to me. Learn this new clue! Pick up the chase! Run to your ship! ...Wait a week....What were we doing, again?

Fly Casual

"...Keep your distance, though, Chewie, but don't *look* like you're trying to keep your distance..."

I just picked up my first Rules Supplement for the FFG Star Wars game: Fly Casual.

What's not to love about Smugglers and their toys? I could not resist this one. New weapons, vehicles, starships, modifications, etc. First, the basics (using Nate's template).

Pages: Contents
1: Crawl
2: Credits
3: Contents
4: Fiction
5-9: Overview and Introduction
10-39 (Chapter I: Free Traders): Backgrounds for Smugglers, including Disadvantaged, Privileged, Ex-Military, Respectable, and Born and Bred; a new Smuggler Obligation chart; three new species, the Falleen, the Gotal, and the Quarren; three new Specializations, the Charmer, the Gambler, and the Gunslinger; some new talents; a new Smuggler Motivation chart; two new Signature Ability trees ("Narrow Escape" and "Unmatched Fortune").
40-63 (Chapter II: Tricks of the Trade): New equipment including 9 energy weapons, 2 slugthrowers, 3 "other" weapons and 1 explosive, 1 Brawl weapon, 3 Melee weapons, 3 new types of armor, a dozen "gear" items (cybernetics, tools, etc), info on two types of drugs, 4 weapon attachments, 2 airspeeders, 3 landspeeders, 3 new starfighters/patrol boats, 11 new freighters and transports, the Interdictor-class cruiser, the Golan I Space Defense Platform, 9 starship/vehicle attachments.
64-96 (Chapter III: It's Just Business): Tips for incorporating Smugglers, smuggling jobs, hyperspace travel, Imperial Customs and other occupational hazards, showdowns and shoot-outs, and smuggling rings into your game.


Impressions
I quite like the look-and-feel of the FFG products, of course. Great artwork, full color interior, hardcover book. Based on my initial perusal, I think there are a couple of inspirational pieces of art that will form the basis for adventure scenes in my future; I also like the ideas concerning Imperial Customs and BoSS. I am very interested in building a legitimate sounding net of Imperials through which the heroes (in AoR or EotE) have to pass from time to time.

I am not planning on using this book for an Edge campaign, but rather filtering it into the Age of Rebellion motif we're working on here. I will likely make great use of the Imperial Customs material, including some of their starships (Imperial Customs Frigate, VT-49 Decimator) and practices at and around starports where the characters have to operate from time to time.

Finally, I am sorely tempted to re-create one of my favorite old WEG characters, a slightly out-of-shape, just past middle aged Gambler who retired to the Coral Vanda casino on Pantolomin.

Side Note
I am very likely to pick up the Stay on Target book in the near future as well. Having an adventure or two where each of the PCs is flying an X-wing out of the Tierfon hangar is simply to compelling to avoid (and that book could help flesh out the characters and their potential range of actions and options a bit more, I think).

Other Edge books I'd consider are Dangerous Covenants (to fill out Bounty Hunters a bit) and the recent Lords of Nal Hutta (for a guided tour of Hutt Space).

Coordinated Action

Just this last weekend I ran Operation Polar Strike at a local game convention, Con of the North. We had a fun time infiltrating a new TIE base on a moon orbiting Flax. Then blowing it up.

My previous post (entitled "Report on Operation Polar Strike") features a bit of an after action wrap-up of the mission. The players did very well. They kept the raid running at a brisk pace and did not get split up, separated or trapped in the Imperial installation. Many blaster bolts flew in this one, as you might expect of a typical Alliance SpecForce assignment. Add in some demolition charges and a number of grenades (both stun and frag), and you get the idea.

Here is a link to download the adventure background and notes, a PC pre-game read aloud script (an homage to WEG), and the six SpecForce PCs (on form fillable PDF sheets).

Report on Operation Polar Strike

To: Brigadier Reese, Sumitra Sector Command
From: Lieutenant Juno Bast, Intelligence
Regarding: Operation Polar Strike


Brigadier Reese:

   Operation Polar Strike commenced yesterday, 1400 hours Tierfon time, as scheduled. The SpecForce team was transported to the target installation near Flax by a co-opted automated resupply vessel.
   Once inside Hangar 3, the team preserved their cover by eliminating a protocol droid en route to a utility crawlspace access point. The SpecForce troopers then gained entry to the crawlspace and maneuvered toward their objectives in Hangar 1, the new home to an entire wing of TIE fighters.
   Right on schedule the team broke their cover and raided the TIE fighter launch control facility, ultimately removing the ability for the TIEs to leave their landing racks. The team also disabled all entry doors into Hangar 1, then began their assault on the Secondary Shielding Reactor complex, located adjacent to the hangar bay.
   Even before the reactor facility was fully secured the team set to work planting their demolition charges on the hypermatter containment structure. The team fought bravely, holding out through a number of Imperial counter-attacks on their position. At least two of the operators were gravely wounded during the battle. Thanks to the quick action and medical expertise of Trooper Leda Sturm, all of the SpecForce raiders were ultimately able to leave the installation under their own power.
   Against mounting opposition, the team continued to hold the Secondary Reactor section until the next phase of the operation began, a starfighter attack coordinated with the arrival of a light freighter extraction vessel.
   The crew of the light freighter flew their craft into the TIE hangar itself, rendezvousing with the SpecForce team just outside the Secondary Shielding Reactor. Under intense enemy fire, the team leapt to onto the hull of the transport as it hovered 10 meters above the hangar floor.
   Soon after exiting the installation the demolition charges exploded, destroying the hangar and its contents. The resultant blast critically damaged the rest of the Imperial base as well.
   All involved in this daring raid should be commended for their bravery and resourcefulness.

Respectfully,
Lieutenant Juno Bast
Alliance Intelligence
Tierfon Base, Sumitra Sector

Stay on Target

This past week, FFG released its first sourcebook for the Age of Rebellion RPG--Stay on Target. This post provides an overview and first impressions of that book.

Pages: Contents
1: Crawl
2: Credits
3: Contents
4: Fiction
5-9: Overview and introduction
10-37: Backgrounds for Ace characters, including Entertainer, Prototype Tester, Clone Wars Veteran, Imperial Defector and Criminal; Ace Duties; three new species, the Chadra-Fan, Dresselian and Xexto; three specializations, the Beast Rider, Hotshot and Rigger; a compiled list of new talents; a list of Ace motivations; two signature ability trees ("This One Is Mine" and "Unmatched Survivability")
38-65: New equipment including five weapons, six sets of armor, five equipment items, two droids, flak cannons, twenty vehicles and seven modifications or additons for vehicles
66-96: Tips for using Ace characters in campaigns and incorporating Astromech droids; new tables for spending advantage, threat, triumph and despair in Ace encounters; rules for beast riding; seventeen new creatures; ideas for Ace missions and rewards

Impressions
At first glance, of course, this book seems to be ideal for use in an Age of Rebellion game run out of Tierfon Base. Even so, it provides a satisfying addition to this RPG. First and foremost, it is packed with new material. That alone makes it, in this reviewer's opinion, worth the money. I liked the inclusion of the Beast Rider specialization, for aesthetic reasons; it and the Rigger specialization would be a nice addition to an AoR or Edge of the Empire campaign. More importantly, though, any Rebellion-oriented game that features chases and dogfights can benefit from this supplement.

-Nate

Imperial Entanglements

“Where, pray tell, is Captain Reendor now?”

Fleet Admiral Cantari Rast didn’t bother to keep the disdain from his voice. There were definite perks to being the highest ranking naval officer in the Sumitra Sector. Rast strode confidently from the turbolift, heading for the bridge view ports. Behind him, dressed in black, came Commander Xemus Drallig of the dreaded Imperial Security Bureau. Crewmen in their recessed work pits cringed as the imposing figures passed on the walkway above.

Commander Terek, officer of the watch and Reendor’s second-in-command, turned from overseeing the navigation team and saluted. “I will fetch him at once, sir,” Terek added smartly, hoping to assuage the older man’s anger.

Terek stepped toward a rear bulkhead and discretely thumbed his comm unit. “Bridge to Captain Reendor, the Admiral requests your presence at once, sir.”

“Very well,” came the groggy reply. “I’m on my way.”

Turning back toward the fore, Terek strode down the command walkway to join the Fleet Admiral and ISB Agent near the transparisteel windows. “The Captain is on his way, sir,” Terek said in his most accommodating and diplomatic tone. Rast did not acknowledge the information. Commander Terek came to a stop beside the flag officer. The trio stood in silence, staring out into space.

Looking down the length of the Indomitable Will always made Commander Terek smile. The distinctive wedge shape of the Victory-class star destroyer’s white hull came to a point some 900 meters in the distance. Beyond that Terek could see two of Indomitable Will’s sister ships, Demolisher and Protector, also in orbit above the blue-green planet of Boordii IV. To his right the imposing bulk of the system’s space station, to which the Indomitable Will was currently docked, filled the view ports. The Sumitra Sector fleet was a formidable weapon. If it could just be brought to bear on those elusive rebel scum, all of their problems would be solved in short order.

“Commander,” Fleet Admiral Rast interrupted Terek’s reverie.

“Yes, sir?”

“What is the state of my ship? How soon can you depart?”

Terek consulted his datapad. “We should finish the re-supply in two point three hours, sir.”

“Where is that blasted Reendor?”

“Here, sir,” came the reply as Captain Jirra Reendor moved to join them, still adjusting his duty cap.

“Ah, Captain. How nice of you to join us. I trust you had a nice rest?” The Fleet Admiral turned on the newcomer, sneering openingly.

A seasoned officer like Reendor knew enough to ignore the barb. He saluted crisply while waiting for Rast to continue.

“Somewhere out there,” the Admiral gestured out the forward view ports, “traitors to the Empire gather and plot against us. Moff Jusik is not amused by your failure to uncover them. I am not amused either.” Rast turned to let his anger encompass Agent Drallig as well.

“We need more time,” the raspy voiced Drallig began.

Fleet Admiral Rast cut him off brusquely. “I am not interested in excuses, Commander, I am interested in results.”

Eyeing up Captain Reendor, the old Admiral continued, “You will personally lead the sweep of the Thustra B Asteroid Belt. I want a full report in 48 hours. And you,” Rast growled, turning toward the frowning Drallig, “will get me more actionable intelligence. That is what you’re good at, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir,” both men answered in unison.

The Admiral let his caustic gaze linger a moment on the pair of officers before turning to leave. “No excuses,” he reiterated as he crossed the command walkway back to the turbolift.

***

“We shall leave immediately, sir,” Lt. Commander Seena Yolon replied crisply, closing the commlink connection. Dressed in a black naval uniform, Yolon was an Agent of the dreaded ISB, Imperial Security Bureau. She had detected hints of annoyance and fear in the tone of her superior, Commander Drallig. Rebel activity in this sector was increasing, and it was up to the ISB to put an end to it. Swiftly.

She trotted across the cavernous hangar, motioning to Lieutenant Kiel. On cue, Kiel barked out an order and the Imperial Army platoon assigned as Agent Yolon’s escort leapt to their feet. The men had been resting among the tools and spare parts stacked neatly in a maintenance alcove along the edge of the bay.

As Yolon approached the open boarding ramp of her Sentinel-class shuttle, the nine white-clad stormtroopers of her personal security team fell into step beside her. The crew was already aboard the transport, preparing the craft for departure. The repulsor fields whined through their pre-takeoff warmup and she felt the familiar rush of pride and excitement build within her. On the hunt, again.

Yolon made her way toward the bridge, passing through the auxiliary weapons station. “Sir,” the three members of the gunnery crew snapped to attention and saluted as one. She ignored them and entered the cockpit.

“Sentinel shuttle Mindorian to Demolisher flight control,” the co-pilot spoke into the comm, “requesting immediate launch.”

“Roger that, Mindorian, you are cleared for take-off,” came the reply.

A green indicator on the flight console confirmed that the passengers were all aboard and the loading ramp was closed. Agent Yolon strapped herself into the chair near the secondary communications station, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Suspected rebel activity in the Flax system. She would get to the bottom of it. She would make those traitors pay dearly, indeed.

The shuttle rose from the deck and rotated toward the huge, open blast doors. Beyond lay the blackness of space. The pilot eased the throttle forward and the vessel left the hangar behind.

“Plot a course for the Flax system,” Yolon said.

“Yes, sir,” the co-pilot responded.

The shuttle banked, picking up an escort in the form of a pair of TIE fighters. The trio flew down the length of Demolisher, an aging Victory-class star destroyer. Demolisher was small, by modern Imperial standards, but utterly dwarfed the Mindorian and the TIEs. The shuttle cleared the star destroyer’s bulk and turned away from the planet it was orbiting, Boordii IV, home to Sumitra Sector high command. In the distance, off to the right, Agent Yolon could see the imposing shape of Demolisher’s sister ship, Protector. On the other side, farther out, hung the Boordii IV space station. Currently docked for resupply was the sector’s flagship, a third Victory-class vessel entitled Indomitable Will. The powerful trio represented only half of the star destroyers in the Sumitra fleet. Yolon smiled, thinking of the potential destruction such capital ships could unleash. Finding them appropriate targets is the job of ISB, she thought. My job.

The TIEs turned back at the edge of the Military Exclusion Zone, leaving the Mindorian to join the steady stream of civilian vessels of all shapes and sizes heading to and from the planet-side starports. The shuttle vectored toward the flow of outbound ships heading for the popular hyperspace entry points. Frowning, Agent Yolon couldn’t help but feel some of the nearby transports must belong to rebels. Right here, under our very noses.

“Course set in, sir,” the co-pilot said.

“Engage,” Agent Yolon commanded. The stars stretched to long white lines then quickly gave way to the mottled blue and white backdrop of hyperspace. Another mission was officially underway.

Sumitra Sector ISB

Sentinel-class shuttle

The dreaded Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) has 34 agents working in the Sumitra Sector, all trying to track down Rebel sympathizers and other traitors to the New Order.

Led by Commander Xemus Drallig, each ISB field agent is given the effective Imperial Navy rank of Lt. Commander, though most are simply addressed as "Agent" while on assignment. Each Agent is escorted by an entire platoon of Imperial Army troopers (42) and a single squad of Stormtroopers (9). All of them fit aboard a Sentinel-class shuttle.

The following NPCs (from the Age of Rebellion CRB or the Imperials and Rebels Adversary Deck can be used to represent the Agent and his or her retinue.

Imperial Intelligence Agent (Rival)- the ISB agent in charge
Imperial Army Officers (Rivals)- the Army platoon leader and Executive officer, a Lieutenant and a 2nd lieutenant
Imperial Army Trooper (Minion)- the other 40 rank-and-file members of the Army platoon
Imperial Stormtrooper Sergeant (Rival)- leader of the stormtrooper squad
Imperial Stormtrooper (Minion)- the other 8 stormtroopers in the squad
Imperial Gunnery Corps (Minion)- the three gunners aboard the Sentinel-class shuttle
TIE Pilot (Minion)- the pilot and co-pilot of the Sentinel-class shuttle