During
his extensive travels on Nal Hutta, Lulu the Gungan has become
intimately familiar with much of its swampland. Sometimes, when he is
in a hurry to serve his Hutt bosses or just feeling board, he
experiments with a type of repulsorlift piloting that he calls “swamp
skimming.” This consists of decreasing the amount of lift from his
skiff's repulsordrives, letting it skim a bare meter above the
surface. That makes piloting more challenging, of course, but also
more dangerous and more fun.
It
wasn't long before the Gungan recognized an opportunity to make some
credits through this type of activity. He scouted out a potential
course, one that would provide plenty of obstacles for the
competitors, and then planned how to make it marketable. Then he
pitched the idea to Slarr the Hutt. Somewhat to his surprise, Slarr
liked the idea. In fact, the Hutt offered up a sum of 10,000 credits
as the prize for the winners. Thus sponsored, Lulu put out an open
call for competitors.
The
Competition
Characters
introduced in previous blog articles can provide plenty of
competition for the PCs in a race such as this; here are just a few
of the possibilities.
- The Trandoshan hunters from “Conversion”
- Togala Genu, Xexto hotshot from “The Rival”
- Golthani Ru, a Corellian who works with “Ma'char'ba the Ugor and His Scavengers” (and keep in mind that her sister, Tescali, pilots Slarr's sail barge)
- Sen Wral, a Shistavanen who leads a band of “Nerf Rustlers”
- Kerwen Chee, a Corellian who pilots a “Mag-Lev Train”
- A group of ne'er-do-wells who've developed a reputation as “The Shipjackers”
- The Togorian pirates of “The Fireclaw Horde”
- The mix of beings who operate “Captain Zate's Interstellar Traveling Chop-Shop”
As
always, of course, this also provides the GM with a good opportunity
to introduce NPCs for future use.
Preparations
Those
who wish to participate in the race must purchase a Bantha-II cargo
skiff in order to do so. What is more, Lulu inspects each one in
order to make sure that the repulsordrives have been properly
limited. Given that, the PCs are free to use talents or credits in
order to boost the functioning of their skiff. They also have a
chance to meet the competition, as an introductory “meet-and-greet”
is held at Haiuk's Lodge for everyone involved.
Sabotage?
Of
course, spending some time rubbing elbows with one's competitors also
provides opportunities for cheating. The GM can represent this by
having an opponent (or someone hired by an opponent) make a
Skullduggery check opposes the Perception efforts of a PC. Success
allows the cheater to introduce some kind of flaw into the PCs'
skimmer, such as a fluctuation in the repulsorfield, a flicker in the
propulsion system, or something similar.
Gambling?
Characters
who wish to do so are free to bet on the outcome of the race, with
wagers up to 1000 credits being accepted. Success pays an amount
equal to the initial wager multiplied by the number of competitors in
the race.
Involving
All of the Players
Since
only a few of the PCs are likely to be involved in adjudicating the
race, other players might be given the job of making checks for the
opposing teams.
The
Start
When
the time of the race arrives, competitors are directed to an open
patch of relatively flat and dry ground (area 0 on the map). There
they are directed to the starting line, and Lulu himself begins the
competition by firing a slugthrower.
The
Course
Refer
to the appropriate map for the following area descriptions. To
conduct the race, have the PCs and their competition make a series of
checks, and keep a tally of their total successes and advantage.
After two circuits of the course, the winner is the racer or team who
has the highest number of successes; use advantage as a tiebreaker.
In the event that two characters are tied at the end of the second
circuit, the two pilots in questions should make opposed checks until
one is the winner.
The
first part of the course is known as “The Boil.” It's a section
of swampland that covers a volcanic vent, causing the fetid water to
bubble and churn. To simulate this, have someone in each skiff make a
hard Vigilance check to notice an impending eruption. Then, apply any
advantage or threat from that check to the driver's hard
Piloting—Planetary effort. Totals from the second check are applied
toward determining the winner.
Next
up is the section called “The Tumble.” It is a section of hills
that act like a slalom course for the skimmers. This time the driver
should make an average Strength check, with the results from it being
applied to that character's Piloting—Planetary effort.
Finally
comes the area known as “The Tangles.” It is a bracken of twisted
and gnarled trees through which the racers must steer their skiffs.
This requires a hard Perception check by someone aboard each skiff,
with the results from it being applied to the driver's
Piloting—Planetary effort.
Note,
too, that failure on any checks causes two points of hull trauma to
the skiff in question, as does a despair result. (Failure with
despair, therefore, causes four points of hull trauma in total.)
Vehicles that suffer too much damage are eliminated from the
competition.
Unexpected
Developments
It's
always possible, of course, that events happen which are complete
unanticipated by the competitors. These add drama and difficulty to
the race; a few options are presented below.
It
could happen that fog rolls in across the course. Should that happen,
all characters suffer a setback die to their checks, unless they have
some kind of perceptive ability that overcomes the obscurement.
There's
also the chance that a dragonsnake erupts from the swamp to attack
the 'skimmers. In that event, it latches onto the side of the skiff,
attacking available targets and adding a setback die to all piloting
efforts due to the unbalanced load.
Given
the dangers present by the course itself and the aformentioned
developments, it could happen that the PCs' or one or more of their
opponents crash their 'skimmers and thus cause injury to the drivers
and passengers. This could present a moral dilemma for more
altruistic characters, or a shot at redemption for the PCs if they
are losing the race.
Rewards
In
addition to claiming the 10,000-credit prize, the PCs could also
attract the attention of a wealthy sponsor, possibly a Hutt, who
seeks capable pilots with a variety of additonal skills for other
races or even for entirely different kinds of business.
Races
such as the Inaugural Swamp Skimmer Invitational can provide a
sense of connection and continuity in a campaign, since they can
recur annually throughout the course of play, and thus bring the
PCs back to a familiar location. Similarly, they're also a good
way to introduce rivalries with NPCs, ones that could start out
friendly but then turn nastier as the stakes increase.
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