The Force Awakens Beginner Game from FFG

This please me. It is appropriate for May the Fourth to pass on FFG's announcement of a new beginner game boxed set for The Force Awakens; this seems to indicate that the company has a good future relationship with Disney/Lucasfilm. 

The Force Awakens Beginner Game

-Nate 

May the Fourth

For those who live in the Twin Cities metro area, Fantasy Flight Games will be hosting a night of game demos with an X-Wing tournament on Wednesday, May 4th. Check it out.

May the Fourth (2016)

-Nate

Two Beasts and a Droid

No, that's not the title of a new holovid sitcom. Here are stats for three new potential adversaries.

-Nate

Gorgodon (Rival)

Brawn 4 Agility 1 Intellect 1

Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak: 6

Wound Threshold: 16

Strain Threshold: 12

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Perception 2, Resilience 2, Survival 3, Vigilance 1

Abilities: Thick hide (+2 to soak value); poor vision (suffer a setback die on Perception checks relying on sight); scent (gain a boost die on Perception checks involving smell).

Equipment: Claws (Brawl; Damage 5; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown), Fangs (Brawl; Damage 7; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]).

This predator is vaguely humanoid in appearance, with short legs and huge arms. Its mouth is filled with rows of sharp fangs for gnawing the flesh of of its prey. .

Chameleon Droid (Rival)

Brawn 2 Agility 3 Intellect 2

Cunning 3 Willpower 1 Presence 1

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 12

Strain Threshold: 11

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Computers 2, Mechanics 1, Perception 3, Ranged—Light 3, Stealth 3, Vigilance 1

Abilities: Adaptive camouflage (add 2 boost dice to all Stealth checks); infrared sensors (ignores setback dice on Perception checks due to darkness).

Equipment: Autoblaster (Ranged—Light; Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Medium]); Claw legs (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown); self-destruct mechanism

The chameleon droid, a modified version of the old spelunker droids, is upgraded with an adaptive camouflage that mimics the surrounding terrain. It was developed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems for reconnaissance and sabotage missions; these two are the survivors of one such assignment that pitted them against the Jedi temple on Ilum.

Nerfs (Minions)

Brawn 4 Agility 2 Intellect 1

Cunning 2 Willpower 3 Presence 1

Soak: 5

Wound Threshold: 5 each

Strain Threshold: NA

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Brawl, Survival

Talents: None

Abilities: Silhouette 2

Equipment: Horns (Brawl; Damage 7; Critical 3; Range [Engaged])

These herd animals seek little more in life than obtaining food and water and avoiding danger. They are not aggressive by nature, but can become violent if they feel threatened.

  

Small Massassi Temple

Presented below is a small Massassi temple, one that requires some puzzle-solving in order to find its treasures. 

-Nate

The Temple of the Heavens

The temple is a smallish step pyramid, one similar to those occupied by the Rebel Alliance more than thirty years prior. It sits on a small island in the middle of a river. The grey stone is covered with moss and vines, making it blend in with the surrounding terrain. Failing that, they might need to resort to more drastic (and perhaps destructive) measures.

0. Entry (Not Pictured)

Given the quality of this pyramid's construction, along with the vegetation growing on it, interested parties must make a hard Perception check to find the removable slab at the top of this pyramid. From there, it's a ten-meter drop to the floor of the main chamber (see below for details). The entrance is represented by the six-meter-wide circle depicted on the map.

1. Orrery Chamber

The center of this temple is filled by a single chamber, one that itself is dominated by a broad ring cut from the stone, along with a structure in the middle that resembles an altar. It is two meters in diameter, with a small hole in the center and a series of twenty-four holes in the surrounding edge. What is more, around the outside of the room there is another circular structure, this one perforated by 201 holes. Their purpose may only become apparent once the PCs possess the keys that should be used with them (see below for details).

2. Cells

Surrounding the orrery chamber there are twenty-four smaller rooms, each six meters square. They provided space for meditation when the Massassi still lived and worshiped here. Now they sit empty, with two exceptions that are detailed below.

3. Gundark Nest

In one corner of the structure the aquatic gundarks have built their nest. They have laid eggs within it, and thus are very protective of the area.

 4. Tomb Raider

Characters who explore the cells and make a hard Perception check notice the corpse of a Human wearing a tattered and rotting jumpsuit, with a water-clogged blaster pistol on his or her hip. What is more, in a satchel this ill-fated treasure hunter has three items. Each is a gemstone fitted atop a thin metal spike; one is green, the second is mottled red and cream, and the third is orange. Although the PCs might not recognize the fact right away, they are the key to accessing the temple's hidden chamber (see below for details).

5. Hidden Chamber

The PCs can gain access to this room as long as they manage to solve the aforementioned puzzle. If an when that happens, a circular staircase opens around the base of the central altar, descending into the darkness below. At the bottom is a round chamber twenty meters in diameter, one that has stone sarcophagi lining the walls. While the remains in this tomb have long since broken down into dust, there are still a few physical artifacts remaining. These include a massassi lanvarok and a handful of ammunition disks for it. At the GM's discretion, there could be more items as well.

Solving the Puzzle

The altar in the middle of the temple, along with the ring around it, represent the relative positions of the system's primary star, the planet Yavin and its fourth moon. In order to access the secret chamber, one must place the green gem spike into the center hole, and then the red and cream one on the outside ring of the altar and the orange one in its proper place, representing the positions of those bodies in the night sky. PCs who don't recognize this connection might make hard Education checks to realize that the device is a primitive type of orrery.  

Slarr the Hutt and the First Order, Part 2

Changes in Personnel

Given the passage of thirty years, it should come as not surprise that there have been changes in staffing at Slarr's palace. Most notably, second in command to the Hutt there is a triumvirate of beings—one old, one new, and one who is somewhere in between.

Slarr the Hutt (Nemesis)

Brawn 6 Cunning 4 Presence 4

Agility 1 Intellect 3 Willpower 4

Soak: 5

Wound Threshold: 18

Strain Threshold: 15

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Brawl 2, Coercion 4, Computers 1, Cool 3, Core Worlds 2, Deception 4, Discipline 3, Education 1, Leadership 3, Lore 2, Melee 2, Negotiation 4, Outer Rim 2, Perception 4, Ranged—Light 2, Resilience 4, Streetwise 4, Survival 1, Underworld 4, Vigilance 4

Talents: Greased Palms, Grit, Know Somebody, Master Merchant, Plausible Deniability, Rapid Recovery, Sound Investments x4, Toughened, Wheel and Deal x2

Abilities: Awkward, Ponderous (refer to page 407 of the core rulebook for details); Adversary 2

Equipment: None

Slarr Uwanesh Diann—although few know his third name—is a relatively young Hutt, is well established in the world of organized crime. As such, he is a force with which to reckon in the galaxy. Slarr runs his organization out of his stronghold on Nal Hutta, and commands a growing ensemble of criminal beings. His activities include the production and distribution of illicit drugs, gunrunning and slavery. Most notably, however, he acts as a go-between for agents of the First Order and the parts of space controlled by the New Republic. Like others of his species, Slarr is ruthless in his pursuit of profit and power. While he is happy to share his ill-gotten gains with inferiors who prove useful to him, in the end he looks out only for himself.

Tenrep “Little Dianoga” Cray II, Aqualish Soldier (Rival)

Brawn 4 Cunning 3 Presence 3

Agility 2 Intellect 1 Willpower 3

Soak: 6

Wound Threshold: 17

Strain Threshold: 10

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Coercion 2, Knowledge—Underworld 1, Leadership 2, Melee 2, Ranged—Light 2, Resilience 3, Streetwise 2, Vigilance 2

Talents: Defensive Stance, Durable, Intimidating, Natural Enforcer, Street Smarts, Stunning Blow, Toughened x2

Abilities: Free rank in Brawl and Resilience; can breathe underwater

Equipment: Padded armor, blaster pistol, truncheon

Known as the “Little Dianoga” because he is his father's son, the younger Tenrep tries very hard to fill the shoes of his elder. This is especially the case following his father's death while protecting Slarr from a would-be assassin. Even so, the younger Cray recognizes that his father fought for freedom, and that Slarr's current cooperation with the First Order is really just a return to the type of autocracy experienced under Emperor Palpatine—which itself was a betrayal of the Separatists' efforts during the Clone Wars. For that reason, although he acts as the chief of security in the palace, Cray has begun to question whether or not he is on the right side of this growing conflict.

Aqualish Enforcers (Minions)

Brawn 3 Cunning 1 Presence 1

Agility 2 Intellect 1 Willpower 2

Soak: 5

Wound Threshold: 5 each

Strain Threshold: NA

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Brawl, Gunnery, Melee, Ranged—Heavy, Ranged—Light

Talents: None

Abilities: Can breathe underwater; remove a setback die due to cold or wet conditions

Equipment: Heavy clothing, blaster pistol, comlink

These thugs are oafish and none too bright, but effective in combat. They are quite loyal to Captain Cray, so it would take a good deal of persuasion for them to betray him.

Golun Tosek, Majordomo (Nemesis)

Brawn 4 Cunning 3 Presence 3

Agility 3 Intellect 1 Willpower 3

Soak: 5

Wound Threshold: 16

Strain Threshold: 11

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Astrogation 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 4, Cool 3, Coordination 2, Discipline 3, Lore 3, Medicine 2, Melee 4, Negotiation 2, Perception 3, Piloting—Planetary 1, Piloting—Space 1, Ranged—Light 3, Resilience 3, Skulduggery 3, Stealth 3, Streetwise 2, Survival 2, Underworld 2, Vigilance 3

Talents: Anatomy Lessons, Dodge, Grit, Lethal Blows x2, Master of Shadows, Outdoorsman, Precise Aim, Quick Draw, Quick Strike, Stalker, Targeted Blow

Abilities: One free rank in Resilience; one free rank in Outdoorsman talent

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

Golun Tosek is a cold-blooded killer, nothing more or less. He believes without a hint of doubt that sacrifices earn him the favor of M'dweshuu, and that he will attain through it some kind of glorious standing in a sublime supernatural hierarchy. He is insane. Indeed, that is how he came to take over as Slarr the Hutt's majordomo—by murdering the old Gran who formerly served in that role. Although Slarr is generally pleased with Golun's service, what the Hutt does not know is that this Nikto serves another master, in the form of Snoke.

Nikto Servants (Minions)

Brawn 3 Cunning 2 Presence 2

Agility 2 Intellect 1 Willpower 2

Soak: 2

Wound Threshold: 5 each

Strain Threshold: NA

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Athletics, Brawl, Perception

Talents: None

Abilities: NA

Equipment: Clothing

These Nikto are rough individuals who work for Slarr because they don't have many other options. Even so, the fact that they have a relatively comfortable life working for Slarr buys a certain amount of loyalty. They know who feeds them and puts a roof over their heads, as it were.

Traborn Yerg, Human Technician (Rival)

Brawn 2 Cunning 3 Presence 2

Agility 1 Intellect 4 Willpower 3

Soak: 2

Wound Threshold: 12

Strain Threshold: 13

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills: Astrogation 2, Computers 4, Education 3, Gunnery 1, Mechanics 4, Piloting—Planetary 1, Piloting—Space 1, Ranged—Light 2, Skulduggery 3, Streetwise 2

Talents: Grit, Side Step, Solid Repairs, Speaks Binary, Tinkerer x2, Toughened, Utility Belt, Utinni!

Abilities: One free rank in each of two non-career skills

Equipment: Blaster pistol, comlink, datapad, toolkit

Traborn Yerg serves Slarr by acting as an intermediary between the burgeoning First Order and the Corporate Sector Authority, the primary means by which agents of the former laundered their credits through the latter. In this way, Yerg has risen to a position on par with that of “Little Dianoga” Cray and Golun Tosek. Even so, his newfound influence and wealth do not distract him from his chief passion of building gladiator droids. Indeed, Slarr the Hutt has even asked him to begin building an army of these droids, ones that can be used to begin attacking ships throughout the New Republic. (Slarr the Hutt has it on good authority that opportunities for piracy are about to improve considerably.)

Nikto Technicians (Minions)

Brawn 3 Cunning 2 Presence 2

Agility 2 Intellect 1 Willpower 2

Soak: 2

Wound Threshold: 5 each

Strain Threshold: NA

M/R Defense: 0 / 0

Skills (group only): Athletics, Brawl, Computers, Perception

Talents: None

Abilities: NA

Equipment: Clothing

These technicians are recruited from the ranks of the servants and trained by Traborn Yerg to work in the palace's comm center. Because they know they've been spared from more difficult tasks by him, that gives Yerg some influence over them. He hasn't been willing to exploit that arrangement, however, because of the security that working for Slarr gives him.

KLR-1 (Rival)

Brawn 2 Cunning 1 Presence 1

Agility 2 Intellect 1 Willpower 1

Soak: 3

Wound Threshold: 14

Strain Threshold: 12

M/R Defense: 1 / 1

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Cool 2, Gunnery 2, Melee 2, Perception 1, Ranged—Heavy 2, Ranged—Light 2, Stealth 1, Streetwise 1, Vigilance 2

Talents: Dodge, Grit, Lethal Blows, Precise Aim, Quick Draw, Quick Strike, Targeted Blow

Abilities: Droid Qualities, Inorganic, Mechanical Being

Equipment: Armor equivalent to armored clothing, blaster pistol, blaster carbine, vibrosword

Once an experimental prototype known as “Killer,” Traborn Yerg has begun mass-producing these droids to serve as agents of his Hutt master. 

Slarr the Hutt and the First Order

Because of the secrecy of its activities in the Unknown Regions, the First Order needs at times to do business inside the borders of the New Republic by clandestine means. That has led the organization to work through intermediaries such as the Corporate Sector Authority and the Guavian Death Gang. Another of the First Order's illicit partners is the Hutt crime boss Slarr Uwanesh Diann. 

Developing Slarr's Stronghold

Refer to previous posts for details regarding the upper level of the stronghold, which is largely unchanged. The lower level, on the other hand, has seen considerable development, as reflected on the map above. 

Slarr's Palace (Upper Level)

14. Guest Quarters

Each of these rooms has eight beds for visitors, along with tables and chairs and a compact but serviceable refresher unit.

15. Repusorpool

Slarr's sail barge, along with a couple of outrider skiffs, is kept in this broad, open chamber. In addition to the vehicles one can find supplies and equipment for maintaining them.

Spire Outpost

*Huh. Well, it seems that there might be a problem with the material in this post. According to the map in the new Beginner Game for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the origin point for Starkiller Base is exactly where the planet Ilum used to be. That's not good... 

After the destruction of Hosnian Prime by the First Order's Starkiller superweapon, the Resistance finds itself scrambling to respond to the elevated threat that that organization presents to the galaxy. With the New Republic in chaos, however, and only muddled support coming from beings who should be strong allies, the Resistance still needs to act discreetly. The creation of Spire Outpost represents one effort at doing so. This facility provides a place from which to monitor activities in the Unknown regions without attracting unwanted attention.

Spire Outpost

Refer to the appropriate maps and the following area descriptions in order to create this scene vividly for the players. Remember that Ilum is a frigid world, similar to Hoth in climate, but its caverns are also home to beautifully clear crystals.

1. Entrance

The mouth of the caverns provides protection from sensor scans that is a natural property of the surrounding rock and crystals.

2. Lower Cavern

This broad cavern is slowly being expanded for use as a hangar for starfighters and space transports. While the prior can now be maneuvered inside it, the latter must still be parked outside.

3. Maintenance Shed

A small prefabricated structure (like the rest of the ones in the base), this building is used for storing tools and spare parts used in maintaining the base's vehicles and droids.

4. Turbolifts

Each of these units can, in the event of power loss, be used as an emergency ladderwell.

5. Generator

This portable device provides electricity for the base.

6. Tauntaun Pens

The first “vehicles” brought to Spire Outpost consist of these six repto-mammalian creatures.

7. Mess Hall

The heart of the facility is this building, where base personnel can take their meals and spend their limited recreational time.

8. Barracks

Each of these structures boasts a dozen bunked beds, tables and chairs, and two refresher units. Personnel can store their possessions in footlockers under the bunks.

9. Comm Center

This building boasts its own integral power generator, along with communications consoles linked to the experimental crystal transmitter (see below).

10. Medical Center

While small and none-too-well stocked, this building can handle most of the injuries and illnesses suffered by Spire Outpost's staff.

11. Transmitter (not pictured)

The Resistance technicians have connected the base's comm center to a natural outrcropping of crystal, rather than installing any kind of sensor dish; in this way they hope to be able to enable communication and local scanning without attracting unwanted attention.

Spire Outpost Assets and Resources Summary Type: Reconnaissance Base. Location: Crystal Caverns of Ilum. Command: Resistance High Command. Approximate Personnel: Two to three dozen Resistance members including scouts, pilots, technicians medical staff. Commanders/Leaders: Captain Cormen Taoshi. Notable Personalities: Pomm and Kalla Teku; the PCs. Defenses: None. Mission Support: Reconnaissance against the First Order; staging area for “Special Operations” types of missions. Facilities: Prefabricated barracks, mess hall, comm center and med center; vehicle hangar in the process of being built. Starships: BTL-S3 Y-Wing; the PCs' ship. Vehicles: Tauntauns. Special Notes: The natural properties of the surrounding crystals, along with the concealed nature of the base's communications and sensor system, makes this base especially difficult to detect.