Hazards of Jakku

Detailed below are a couple of the hazards that residents and visitors on Jakku might face in that harsh desert environment. 

-Nate

Sandstorms and the Breath of X'us'R'iia

The latter term refers to the belief of Jakku's Teedo that their world's massive sandstorms manifest from the breath of their goddess. They consists of heavy winds that pick sand and gravel, scouring travelers, vehicles and buildings alike with the powerful mix. In game terms, these sandstorms can be treated like a fire, causing damage equal to their rating (generally from 1 to 3). Those passing through it can make Survival or Piloting—Planetary checks, with the difficulty determined by the intensity of the storm. Refer to page 214 in the Edge of the Empire rulebook for details regarding corrosives.

Strength / Difficulty

1 / Easy

2 / Average

3 / Hard

The Sinking Fields

Located in Jakku's Goazon Badlands region, these areas can trap and drown unwary travelers. In game terms, passing through them requires a hard Survival or daunting Perception check to notice the hazard; failing that then requires an Athletics or Piloting—Space effort, with the difficulty determined by the size of the creature or vehicle in question. Failure on that second check means that the creature is treated as drowning, or that the vehicle is trapped in the sand, forcing passengers and crew to evacuate it (and thus attempt Athletics checks). Only intervention by another creature or vehicle can rescue the victim. Refer to page 214 in the Edge of the Empire rulebook for details about suffocation.

Size / Requirements

0-2 / Make a hard Athletics or Piloting—Planetary check

3-4 / Make an average Athletics or Piloting—Planetary check

5-8 / These vehicles and creatures are generally too large to be trapped in the sinking sands, but can be sucked in by them if they are incapacitated. 

  

The Wrecking Crew

Here are some adversaries for use on Jakku. 

-Nate

The Wrecking Crew

In stark contrast to the inhabitants of Sim-Neleg Village is this band of cutthroats, employed by Slarr the Hutt. They scour the wrecks in search of lost materiel and, more importantly, secrets.

Wrecking Crew Member (Minions)

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 2

Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 5 each

Strain Threshold: NA

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Mechanics, Melee, Perception, Ranged—Light

Talents: None

Abilities: None

Equipment: Heavy clothing, blaster pistol, truncheon, toolkit, comlink

These individuals are rugged and skilled. Motivated by a combination of fear and greed, they are unswervingly loyal to their Hutt employer.

Yahd Denosk (Rival)

Brawn 3 Agility 3 Intellect 2

Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak: 4

Wound Threshold: 15

Strain Threshold: 12

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Cool 1, Melee 3, Perception 1, Piloting—Planetary 2, Ranged—Light 2, Resilience 1, Survival 2, Vigilance 1

Talents: Feral Strength, Frenzied Attack, Knockdown, Lethal Blows, Toughened

Abilities: Free rank in each of two non-career skills

Equipment: Heavy clothing, heavy blaster pistol, vibrosword, comlink

Yahd is, to put it bluntly, a thug. He fills the role of enforcer for the group, acting as the not-so-subtle threat behind Iera's leadership. He's not very bright, but he is tough and adept when it comes to causing other beings pain.

Iera Denosk

Brawn 2 Agility 3 Intellect 2

Cunning 3 Willpower 2 Presence 3

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 12

Strain Threshold: 13

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Charm 1, Cool 1, Coordination 1, Deception 2, Gunnery 2, Mechanics 1, Medicine 1, Melee 1, Negotiation 2, Perception 2, Piloting—Planetary 2, Ranged—Light 3, Skulduggery 3, Stealth 3, Vigilance 2

Talents: Black Market Contacts, Dodge, Grit, Stalker, Street Smarts

Abilities: Free rank in each of two non-career skills

Equipment: Heavy clothing, blaster pistol, vibrodagger, datapad, comlink

Iera is the face of the Wrecking Crew, a former street thief who now makes a comfortable living running this salvage operation for Slarr the Hutt. She sees herself as something of a pirate, the captain of a sail barge for now, but with aspirations of one day commanding a fleet of vessels.

Mineto Huru

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 3

Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak: 2

Wound Threshold: 12

Strain Threshold: 12

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Astrogation 1, Computers 2, Gunnery 1, Mechanics 3, Medicine 1, Outer Rim 2, Piloting—Planetary 1, Ranged—Light 1, Skulduggery 1, Underworld 2

Talents: Solid Repairs, Speaks Binary, Tinkerer, Utility Belt, Utinni!

Abilities: Free rank in each of two non-career skills

Equipment: Clothing, toolkit, datapad, comlink, blaster pistol

Once, Mineto Huru lived the simple but comfortable life of a starship technician on Nar Shadaa. He ran afoul of Slarr the Hutt when a vessel he'd repaired malfunctioned, however, causing an embarrassing and expensive crash. Now he's been given the job of refurbishing salvaged items on Jakku, a throrougly uncomfortable place. While he does his job well, he also keeps an eye out for a find that he could trade for his freedom, leaving service to the Hutt forever.

The Sail Barge Raptor and Outrider Skiffs

The Wrecking Crew is based out of a converted sail barge, one very similar to—but not nearly so opulent as—the one operated by Slarr the Hutt. For deckplans, refer to a previous article.

Sail Barge Deck Plan

The difference is that this one is outfitted with light repeating blasters, one mounted in front of each stairwell and one in the front of the upper deck. There is also a heavy repeating blaster mounted in the middle of the raised platform in the rear. Scavenged junk is stacked in the middle of the upper deck, while the main deck is filled with projects on which the technicians are working.

Skiff Deck Plans

The Wrecking Crew also uses a number of cargo skiffs as outriders; the link above is a printable PDF with miniature-scale deckplans for three of them.

Using the Wrecking Crew in an Episode VII-Era Campaign

This band of cutthroats can be incorporated in a campaign in many different ways; a few of the possibilities are detailed here.

• During any kind of activity for PCs in the Jakku desert, these beings could come along to complicate matters.
• When a scavenger comes stumbling out of the desert, half delirious from the heat and telling of a valuable score, the race is on to find the wreck and claim the valuables aboard it.
• This all becomes even more complicated when a tremendous sandstorm arises in the vicinity of the find.
• When scavenging proves less fruitful than they'd like, these cutthroats could resort to stealing salvage from rival groups such as those at Sim-Neleg Village.
• If Mineto Huru found something really valuable, the Human might seek outsiders with a ship who could take him offword for a share of the profit.
• In that case, locals could seek out offworlders to help deal with the problem.

Village Inhabitants

Detailed here are some of the NPCs who can be found in Sim-Neleg Village.

Typical Villager (Minion)

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 2

Cunning 2 Willpower 1 Presence 1

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 5 each

Strain Threshold: NA

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Athletics, Brawl, Mechanics, Melee, Perception, Survival

Talents: None

Abilities: None

Equipment: Heavy clothing, toolkits, truncheons

These rugged individuals have banded together for the purpose of reclaiming a life from the rugged Jakku desert. While not especially imaginative or altruistic, they are quite resilient and clever when it comes to finding and refurbishing what might otherwise seem to be junk.

Duwo Sim, Sullustan Salvager (Rival)

Brawn 2 Agility 3 Intellect 3

Cunning 1 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 12

Strain Threshold: 12

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Astrogation 1, Computers 2, Education 1, Mechanics 3, Melee 1, Negotiation 2, Outer Rim 1, Perception 3, Piloting—Planetary 1, Ranged—Light 1, Vigilance 2

Talents: Contraption, Fine Tuning, Gearhead, Redundant Systems, Skilled Jockey

Abilities: One free rank in Astrogation skill and Skilled Jockey talent

Equipment: Heavy clothing, datapad, comlink, blaster pistol

Duwo Sim is a smallish Sullustan who dresses in protective clothing and oversized goggles. While not particularly gregarious, he enjoys tinkering and deals fairly with the other beings in the village. Indeed, those who earn his respect can win his friendship, but he is initially distrustful of outsiders.

Sonjah Neleg, Ithorian Scout (Rival)

Brawn 2 Agility 1 Intellect 2

Cunning 2 Willpower 3 Presence 2

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 12

Strain Threshold: 14

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Discipline 2, Leadership 1, Lore 3, Medicine 2, Melee 2, Negotiation 1, Perception 2, Piloting—Planetary 1, Ranged—Light 1, Resilience 2, Survival 3, Vigilance 2, Xenology 1

Talents: Beast Wrangler, Expert Handler, Expert Tracker, Forager, Outdoorsman

Abilities: Free rank in Survival skill; Ithorian Bellow (see page 58 in the Age of Rebellion rulebook for details)

Equipment: Heavy clothing, force pike, suvival gear, comlink

If Duwo Sim is the brains behind the Sim-Neleg Village operation, then Sonjah Neleg it the village's soul. In addition to training and caring for the dewbacks that the villagers use for exploring Jakku's wreckage fields, Sonjah is an adherent to the Church of the Force. She provides medical care—what she can, anyway—to those who need it, and tells stories from the days of the Jedi as a way of teaching these beings how they should live and work together. While Sonjah is friendly toward newcomers, she is not naive; the Ithorian knows that criminals would happily take advantage of her and her fellow salvagers, and that the First Order would like to stamp out any remaining traces of the Jedi and their teachings.

Sim-Neleg, Scavenger Village on Jakku

Many of the scavengers on the planet Jakku live a solitary existence, dwelling by themselves in isolated places and selling what materials they can scrounge to shady, self-interested brokers. There are exceptions to this rule, however, groups who have banded together to work for a common good. One example of this is the beings who live in Sim-Neleg Village. 

The Village

While it might not look like much when compared to the settlements on other planets, on the harsh and arid world of Jakku, this is almost a little slice of paradise. The buildings are made from cut stone covered in a coating of whitewashing clay. None are taller than one story in height, allowing the desert winds to blow across them. All are built around a central square, in the middle of which stands the village's moisture vaporator.

A typical house in the village (1) has a common living space with a kitchen and table (A), along with a larger bedroom (B) and one or more smaller bedrooms (C). There is also a compact but serviceable refresher unit (D). Typically these homes are occupied by a family or by a few unmarried scavengers.

The hub of daytime activity in the village is Duwo Sim's shop (2). Here, scavengers bring their found items to clean and prepare for sale. The main work room (A) is filled with low tables for that purpose. Off of that are a refresher unit (B) and a storeroom for items that are ready to sell (C). There's also a kitchen for Duwo and his assistant, along with their bedrooms (D and E, respectively).

Next door to the shop is the home of Sonjah Neleg, the dewback wrangler. It is laid out much like the other homes, with living quarters (A) and a fancier refresher (B and C), along with a kitchen (D), storage area (E) and bedrooms (F and G). More notable is the fenced-in dewback pen and covered stalls (H), where a handful of those creatures are kept.

What looks like nothing more than a small comm booth (4) is in fact a shrine for the Church of the Force. There is a compact workstation and vidscreen. While this is generally used for contacting nearby settlements and ships in orbit, those who know the proper codes can access a database with teachings about the Jedi Order. (Note that these detail the history of that group, not ways of using the Force.)

After the workday is finished, activity in the settlement tends to take place in the small cantina (5). Rather than having its own proprietor, the cantina is a place where the locals come together to share food, drinks, and whatever entertainment they can muster.

Using Sim-Neleg Village in an Episode VII-Era Campaign

This village and its inhabitants can be incorporated in a campaign in many different ways; a few of the possibilities are detailed here.

• PCs who crew a tramp freighter could be hired to deliver supplies here and thus have a chance to interact with these beings.
• Alternately, the PCs could be natives of the village; this option gives the GM a chance to use the settlement rules from Far Horizons, as well as the shop rules from Special Modifications.
• One who has medical training could even be called on to provide aid to an injured scavenger or even help deliver a newborn dewback.
• When the scavengers run afoul of a ruthless salvage gang, they might turn to outsiders for help settling the conflict. This could involve claim jumping, payment of protection money or something similar.
• During a nastier-than-normal sandstorm, some of the village's scavengers go missing; they ask the PCs to help find them.
• A vicious beasts lurks in the nearby desert and begins preying on unsuspecting scavengers.
• This could be a stop on a Force-sensitive character's path to learning more of its mysteries; these beings might even have met Lor San Tekka, and perhaps know some of the lore that otherwise would have died with him.
• The discovery of a long-lost Imperial vessel in the sands of Jakku, one that holds important secret information, draws unwanted attention to this settlement.
• After the destruction of Tuanul Village by the First Order, some of the scavengers begin calling for militant action against that organization. Others disagree, however, arguing that it's just too powerful of a foe.

Demo Characters

Here's a PDF presenting five characters for use with demo scenario that I printed previously. 

Demo Characters

-Nate

The Guardian and the Teacher

Here are stats for the beings associated with the Church of the Force shrine. 

-Nate

The Guardian

Currently the shrine has one regular inhabitant, a Barabel warrior named Aurakh. He is a skilled hunter who prowls the surrounding jungle during the night and then takes shelter in the shrine as the deadly sun begins to rise. He also spends time interacting with the holocron, slowly learning what he can about the ways of the Force. While some of this training may seem contradictory to the Barabel's inherently predatory nature, Aurakh is doing his best to develop the discipline of a Jedi warrior.

Aurakh, Barabel Force-Sensitive Exile (Rival)

Brawn 4 Agility 2 Intellect 2

Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak: 5

Wound Threshold: 18

Strain Threshold: 10

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Coercion 1, Cool 1, Coordination 1, Discipline 1, Lore 1, Medicine 1, Melee 3, Perception 3, Ranged—Light 2, Resilience 2, Stealth 2, Survival 3, Vigilance 2

Talents: Expert Tracker, Forager, Hunter, Outdoorsman, Stalker, Swift; Sense Basic Power, Uncanny Reaction, Uncanny Senses

Abilities: Free rank in Cocercion; natural weapons; radiation resistance; stun resistance*

Equipment: Hide armor (treat like heavy clothing), hunting axe (treat like a gaffi stick), backpack with five days' rations and fresh water

While he might at first glance look like a savage warrior, Aurakh the Barabel is in fact an honorable warrior dedicated to learning the ways of the Jedi.

*This character is made using stats from the Unofficial Species Menagerie, Revised & Expanded

The Teacher

This item is imprinted with the personality of Ritsam Mit-Sanij as its gatekeeper. As such, it can provide information for characters who hope to learn the ways of the Force (limited at the GM's discretion, of course). He was a Knight who fought during the Clone Wars and survived into the early times of the Galactic Empire. What is more, he managed to record much of his knowledge in it.

To that end, characters who acquire the holocron can use it to study some of the techniques that Mit-Sanij himself had studied when he was alive. Mechanically speaking, those could include any that the GM wishes to allow characters to learn. What is more, the imprint of Mit-Sanij could be a source of information about the events leading up to and during the Clone Wars and the fall of the Jedi Order, since he lived at that time. In fact, although the imprint doesn't know it, the Jedi guardian died on Nar Shadaa, the Smugglers' Moon, after running afoul of a Hutt crimelord's enforcers.