Tuesday, October 12, 2010

EC campaign draft handout

Slightly incomplete, but I think you can get the gist:

Another galaxy, another time....
draft player’s guidelines for an Encounter Critical/Star Wars campaign

1. Forget everything you know about Star Wars from any source published after 1979. The original film is the jumping off point for your adventures.

2. Get out a piece of paper. Preferably ruled ( torn from a spiral notebook), graph, or the back of a take-out menu. Pre-printed character sheets are for wimps!

2. Roll some dice. Specifically 3d6 nine times. Assign them in order to the following stats: ADA, DEX, ESP, INT, LEA, LUC, MAG, ROB, STR. Don’t worry what those are or what they mean just yet.

3. Roll (d100) a race. Adjust stats and note anything else.

01-50 Human, no mods but see step 7.
51-75 Droid
76-80 Wookie
81-84 Jawa
85-88 Sand People
89-91 Greedoian
92-94 Hammerhead
95 Snaggletooth, tall
96-97 Snaggletooth, short
98-00 Walrus Man

4. Roll (d6) a class. Note special ability.

1. Warrior -
2. Warlock* -
3. Pioneer -
4. Criminal -
5. Psi Witch -
6. Doxy/Rake -

Note that you can add a class later, so you can still become a Jedi even if you didn’t roll a 5.All you need to do is find someone to train you.  If there already is a Jedi in the party, you can begin play as their young apprentice.

*If you have a problem with fantasy type spellcasters in a sci-fi setting just remember that Kenobi was a crazy wizard and Vader had sorceror’s ways. Or just get over it. Warlocks are here and they’re queer.

5. Get a gun.

You will need to zap badguys. Everybody gets a starting weapon of some kind. Most folks get a blaster (d10). Wookies start with a crossbow (d12 but ammo is a bigger issue). Sand People receive their choice of a blaster rifle (also d12, longer range, bulkier) or one of those wicked looking beat sticks (d6 melee). Jawas can take a blaster or an ion musket (d12 vs. droids only). Wookies, Hammerheads, Walrus Men and tall Snaggleteeth who are Warriors may opt for a Sigurdian battle-axe (d12 melee) instead of a ranged weapon. Psi-Witches may opt for an lightsabre (2d8 melee) instead of a gun, but fumbling an attack roll with one before 3rd level can be interesting.  Droids don't get a gun unless they are self-owned (see part 8 below).

6. Roll some gear (d30). Roll twice if LUC is 12 or higher.

1. Macrobinoculars
2. Walking stick/pimp cane with silver head
3. Rad detector
4. Righteous hat
5. Cool Jewelry (ring, disco medallion, etc) with secret compartment
6. Thermal Detonator (5d10 damage)
7. Omnitool
8. Gloves (choice of cool driving gloves or armored gauntlets)
9. Awesome pet (space monkey, dragondog, astro-hawk, etc)
10. Mysterious dark cloak
11. Pack of cards, marked
12. Spaceship
13. Grappling hook belt
14. Daynight goggles
15. Cool boots (cowboy, swashbuckler, go-go, etc) - roll again if you got crazy alien feet
16. Tricorder
17. Commlink
18. TAS membership
19. Flashlight
20. Small hookah and 2d6 doses of some semi-legal herb
21. d6 Ninja smokebombs
22. Oxyfilter Mask
23. Fancy change of clothes
24. Toolkit
25. Hi tech vacc suit (non-bulky, collapsable balloon helmet)
26. Cool vest or jacket
27. Boot knife (d4 damage)
28. Bottle of Corellian Whiskey
29. Medkit (pick race it works best on)
30. Vehicle (van, speeder, motorcycle, etc)

7. Humans roll on the Drama Chart (d12).

1. Lost a parent in the Clone Wars
2. Orphaned by Imperial douchebaggery
3. Loved one lost/missing in space
4. Loved one sold out, joined Imperials
5. Loved one in a Rebel cell on an Imperial world
6. Loved one a smuggler

8. Droid determine owner (d6).

1. Another PC
2. Relative of another PC
3. Other PCs liberated/stole droid from previous owner
4. Rebel contact
5. Unknown, may possess secret data
6. Droid possesses self-ownership papers (not valid in some sectors)

27 comments:

  1. Heh. Greedoian . Yeah baby !


    Wish to hell i could play...reminds me of the half-android corellian bounty hunting cousin of Han from days of yore.

    Have fun. Post.

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  2. Hang on, are you saying that I can't play as one of those orc guys from Jabba's palace?

    No sale!

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  3. You should really consider running an online game for those of us not near you.

    Just sayin', is all...


    Verification word: stiver -- my character's name (or part thereof) in your online game...

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  4. TAS membership. Now that's class.

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  5. While I admire the injokiness of the tall vs. short snaggletooth, this being 1970s style and all, you really ought to include "guy who looks like Satan" on the roll.

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  6. Kelvin, Cole: If someone wants to play an astro-orc or space satan, you think I'm going to say no just because of some stupid table I wrote?

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  7. That's a fair point well made. I withdraw my objection. Fight on!

    I love those Jabba space orc guys.

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  8. Jeff: Of course not! My point is that I recommend you actively encourage noncommital players to roll up space satans. Because nothing says "70's" like "Satan."

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  9. My God, it's full of star....wars!

    /groovy!

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  10. Cole: Point well taken. I had considered an exhaustive list of cantina rejects but I got it in my head that the PCs should all be from races attested to in the Kenner action figure line.

    Maybe satan could be their rebel contact.

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  11. 19. Flashlight

    So, basically another chance at getting a lightsabre? (albeit a low-tech kiddie one)

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  12. Not worrying about what they are, but with stats like LUC and LEA, maybe you should have a HAN stat too.

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  13. Anonymous3:06 PM

    Awesome.

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  14. Anonymous3:30 PM

    @yoyorobbo

    You'll only mix them up once...

    Why isn't my flashlight working?

    Looks at the end, whacks it a couple of times.

    Vruhm! Ssssss! Clink! Thump!

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  15. There must, I say, must, be an option for playing a six foot tall carnivorous green rabbit.

    Jaxxon r00lz!!!!

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  16. I'm half-surprised that "unyielding vinyl/plastic cape" isn't on the list of gear.

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  17. Anonymous5:34 PM

    Very cool! But did you forget cyborgs? Remember Valance the Hunter from the Marvel comic and the general prejudice against "borgs" in the early issues? Not to mention some guy named Darth.

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  18. The only problem with playing a Greedoian is their slow trigger fingers.

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  19. I think you need to include a stat for "Alan Dean Foster"-style Jedis, as per "Splinter of the Mind's Eye." These would be guys who think they're all "totally Jedi" and every time they do something amazing like move a tiny pebble a couple of feet across the room with their minds, they can be all like, "I'm sooo powerful!" just before they go to a cantina bar and get easily opened up like the mystical tomato cans they are by criminals who have death sentences 12 twelve systems.

    Just a thought.

    "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" kinda sucked.

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  20. Hey Jeff, have you included info from the Topps trading cards, or the backs of the action figures, in your background?

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  21. TAS membership?

    Huh?

    I'm totally going to slap myself for not knowing this one, but I'm just not getting it.

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  22. Anonymous11:56 PM

    Here's a good site for character visual inspiration. http://ratherchildish.wordpress.com/

    And here's for the name generation.
    http://www.dimfuture.net/starwars/random/generate.php

    I've been rolling up EC SW characters all evening now Jeff, thanks.

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  23. In my heart of hearts, I read that result as "lost a parent in the Clone Wars (1d20) times."

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  24. pavo: Travellers Aid Society. It's a mustering out benefit of Traveller. Basically it is space Triple-A plus it gets you into the cool people hang-out at all the better starports.

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  25. All very cool, but if I rolled "Hammerhead" I'd be pissed ;)

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  26. @ Jeff R: Thanks, I never played Traveler. It all makes sense now!

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  27. Have you ever looked at some of the early draft scripts of the Star Wars movies? They are WAY ALTERNATE Star Wars realities, with names and characters shifted around, transmuted, and abandoned willy-nilly. Lots of fertile ground for "The Path Not Taken". You can find some at http://starwarz.com/starkiller/category/star-wars-scripts/star-wars-star-wars-scripts/ .

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