Star Wars: The Mandalorian Wars

Started by Inerrant Lust, December 31, 2015, 12:05:33 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Inerrant Lust

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN WARS

War! System after system has fallen
before the terrible war machine of
MANDALORE THE ULTIMATE. Thirteen
years after conquering the Outer Rim, his
crusade against the Republic has begun.

Facing this great threat, the Republic
pleads with the Jedi Order to lead the
war-weary armies to victory, but the Jedi
Council cautions only patience and pacifism
as the onslaught of the mighty NEO-CRUSADERS

draws ever closer to the heart of the Republic.

Against the Masters' wishes, the prodigal

Jedi Knight REVAN has rallied together a host
of his fellow Jedi to defend the Republic and confront

the terrible might of the invading Mandalorian forces...

QuoteCoruscant, the bustling city-planet, the heart of the Republic, surrounded by an artificial ring of warships. It could be seen even from the ground, as three men looked out from a window past the sunset at the ships up above them. A pale grey-haired man, shorter than the other two with bony features and a scowl. He turned to the large Kel Dor beside him, a fearsomely visaged alien in a mask that always announced his presence through the steady repetition of his breath. The alien looked down at the human, "You're ready?" He growled with a hint of impatience.

"Let's get this over with." The human replied, turning and walking down a long corridor into the senate chamber.

"-And so I plead with you one final time!" A dignified and impassioned woman said, standing upon her platform to address the senate, "Vote Yea tomorrow, for the safety of our Republic. I am calling for a total and complete shutdown of all so-called 'refugees' into our systems. They look like us, they speak like us," She began pumping her fist into the pedestal in front of her, "But they are not us!"

Soon her speaker was deactivated, followed by the Chancellor Tol Cressa's droll admonishment that she'd exceeded her elapsed time. The pale human sitting in a platform turned to the Kel Dor with a sardonic look as the chancellor announced, "The floor yields five minutes to Chairman Stayr Vrim Valorum of Ardat-Sienar Technologies."

The sickly-looking man leaned in towards his microphone, neglecting the controls to move the platform towards the center of the rotunda, "On behalf of my company and also three other corporations and seventeen systems, the names of which will be published later today..." He began, "We hereby end all ongoing private and public contracts with the Defense Ministry and your respective systems, senators and representatives-" The chamber was immediately in an uproar, though only one voice echoed through the great theater as he hurriedly rushed his statement, "I am here to tender our secession from the Galactic Republic, and to send a message on behalf of our new benefactor."

Just as Stayr's words left his lips. The younger human beside him strode forward and hooked up a comlink to the platform's controls. He sent the pod slowly drifting away from the dock and the three quickly made their way off of it before it could float too far. "Now get me out of here." The frail-looking man said after he hopped off, looking quite shaken.

The pod drifted into the air towards the center of the chamber and quite abruptly, a holoprojection appeared... towering twenty feet tall and fearsome even in the ghostly form of such a projection- Mandalore. "Members of the Galactic Senate. Coruscanta adate... I now presume to have your attention. No more will your propaganda deafen your people to us... The time has come for you to make the choice between life and death."

He wore a golden mask, the 'T' visor unmistakable upon it- a flowing red cape and brown heavy armor. Mandalore the Ultimate- covered head to toe and every bit as immense as his reputation had foretold. Holonet stations scrambled to interrupt broadcasting for this monumental declaration.

"To those who surrender! -you will treated as the sons and daughters of Mandalore, as if you were Taung yourselves... A glorious life, and a stronger galaxy! Yet to those who resist... you and your kind will be annihilated wholesale, your worlds purged of their life. The earth shall be turned to glass, your monuments dashed to ruins- and your bloodlines extinguished."

Stayr walked at a brisk pace, flanked by his escorts, through the hallways of the senate building. Five armed republic guards approached them, their squad leader putting his hand out to stop them, "Chairman Sta-" The large Kel Dor seized the officer's hand and broke his arm, then swung him into another one of the guards before he attacked the third. The other human went to work dispatching the remaining two as Stayr looked on, wide-eyed with alarm.

"Serocco, Cathar, Althir, Nouane, Eres, Wayland- They are all now but dust and ashes..." Mandalore said, his voice booming and dark as he gestured extravagantly before the Republic, "Yet what of the Iridonians, the Zeltron, the Mandellians and Togorians? They are all our brothers... Mandalorians! They do not suffer your false republic, or the laws made by this corrupt gathering of politicians and liars."

The trio hurried marched down into the elevator and immediately began to plummet down to the underside speeder docks. The other human, thick-necked, eagle-eyed, and clean-shaven with a scar arcing on the side of his head, plugged the officers' comlink into his ear as the Kel Dor tied a belt a blaster around his waist. He handed one to Stayr, who looked down at it and then up to the fearsome alien, "I don't know how to use that."

The Kel Dor dropped the spare belt and blaster and looked out the window at the sunset, "You will, soon enough."

"Therefore, I have but one thing to say to you now, men and women of the Republic. If you are warriors and will fight, then fight! If you cannot fight, then prepare to defend yourselves. If you cannot defend, then flee as far as you can...

But if you will not retreat- die."

TL/DR- OOC Stuff

Seeking 2-3 players. The PCs will be Jedi padawans who answer the call to war, with the exception of one who may be a highly skilled Republic soldier to act as their liaison; the Jedi's go-between to the Republic Military.

I will be playing a Jedi Knight who will join the war effort as well. You can play her padawan(s), or just a padawan who just knows her. She'll nominally be in charge of the group, you know, to keep the plot from getting stagnant. :P She'll be a female twi'lek for... reasons.

If no one plays a Republic soldier, I'll GM NPC that person too. Though in that case their role will basically be to distribute mission briefings and sexual innuendo. *cough*

System or no: I'm leaning towards system, and SAGA in particular. I dislike many of things about it, but it can do the job. I feel like a Star Wars-specific system is required for this because I think the dramatic tension loses its edge in more freeform systems. Jedi are, in-universe, quite OP. But not without weaknesses. In many games and films, we see non-Jedi taking on Force Users in ways that are the most disadvantageous to the them. You don't fire a blaster at a lightsaber-wielding guy and expect to hit them, yet mooks line up in droves to get cut down. SAGA, I find, addresses this splendidly. The classes are fairly balanced, and if a non-Jedi actually plays it smart and doesn't fight the Jedi in ways most favorable to the force-user, they can really give 'em a hard time.

I want to you, the players, to have a real sense of dramatic tension about the possibility that your characters could die or become permanently changed by their difficulties, physically or mentally. You won't be fighting stormtroopers who can't hit the broadside of a sand crawler. You'll be fighting an enemy that is cunning and tough, one that will test your characters. Will you rise above the trauma of war and maintain your integrity, or will you fall to dark temptations? Perhaps there is a middle-ground, perhaps some people will need to put their hands in the dirt to keep clean the souls of the innocent.

Themes and Tone: This will be a dark game, at least for Star Wars. It's War and War is heck. One of the big themes I want to explore is the Jedi PCs being exposed to the whole wide galaxy outside the lens of the Jedi. They are technically self-exiled, and no longer bound by the rules and regulations that their way of life has imposed upon them. Even so, they've joined the war out of a sense of good- to right wrongs and come to the aid of a Republic in peril. But you know what they say about the road to hell...

At what point does the sacrifice of one's morality become too great to endure?

At one point does one step back and just stop?

The Masters say that engaging in this war will lead to the Dark Side, but they also said that of love.

Abandoning the Republic to its fate is evil by inaction... isn't it? Perhaps if the Masters are mistaken about this, then they are mistaken about a great many things.

That long IC above was mostly my fun little attempt to do something equivalent to the 'in medias res' introduction that most Star Wars films/games begin with- an action sequence to capture your attention. Your PCs would be already in the employ of the Republic, and conveniently the only ones nearby to respond to this dramatic turn of events in a timely fashion. In other words, prepare for a speeder chase in the skies of Coruscant. However, the rest of the game may be more often on battlefields, with a lot of time devoted to the down-time when your characters get a chance to cool down and respond psychologically or inter-personally to the things they've seen and done.

Of course, this being a total different format than film or video game, I can start the RP off on a much less dramatic note.

Muse

#1
Ooh!  You're trying this again, I.L.? 

I'd be extremely excited to play! 

I could happily go with the republic soldier or a jedi, either one.  : )

*  *  *

Edit:  If the soldier roll is open, I envision a kid growning up on Corsucant.  THe family buisness was flying taxi cabs.  When not going to school or chilaxing at the arcade playing first person shooters, s/he would work the family buisness--not just flying the swoop-cabs, but maintaing and restoring them--and the droids that worked on them. 

  At the start of the Mandalorian Wars, s/he enlisted in the republic's army out of a sense of duty, and also because he'd made a study fo the Mandalorians and felt that the Neo-Crusdaers were a betrayal of a life style s/he'd actaully admired.  S/he impressed someone vaugely important in an early campaing and was given special training to serve under them--equiped with better armor (corellian power suit plox?) and the chance to customize his/her kit. 

  Noteworthy skills iwll include Pilot and Mechanics.  (Possibly also use computer.)  Ideally s/he'd become a tech specialist with vehicular combat along with blaster feats.  If the game goes long enough, s/he would enter the prestige classes Elite Trooper and Ace Pilot. 

  So, there's one rudimentary pitch.  H oping to hear back from you soon!
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

AndyZ

It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

AnneReinard

Love the idea from a basic sense, because I love Star Wars. And being with the Revanchist would be quite interesting, even as a Padawan. I will definitely have to come back in a short bit with any ideas that may percolate through my head. Though I have to say...

...the idea that Jedi is balanced in Saga Edition is kind of odd to me. The only case where I wouldn't prefer Fantasy Flight Games is specifically the case where the players are all Jedi, because I think FFG's version doesn't really feel like a trained Jedi without gobs of XP. It's easy to get Use the Force to high values at low level and be autohit against just about any target due to how defenses scale, while at high levels a Jedi has so many options that it didn't matter that the defenses scaled up.

...but that is neither here nor now. I'd just say that the Republic Soldier player better be prepared to optimize a little if they don't want to feel use impaired, or at least REALLY love the character they are going with. ...though with any sort of game with smut, perhaps losing is not as bad as it could be?
Ons and Offs

Always free for a little teasing back and forth. Or suggestions to titles to make this exhibitionist squirm! I adore silly little PMs.

Batman4560

Status: Stepping away for a while.

ShadowFox89

 Interested in a position are a normal, an SIS agent who has been back and forth across the galaxy more times than she cares to count. Good with a blaster, better with a vibroblade, carries a cortosis sword in a thick cane in case she needs to deal with a jedi.
Call me Shadow
My A/A

Inerrant Lust

Muse; That I am.

If someone's specced for it, then expect vehicular combat to be a thing. Usually the way it goes in these games is that one person drives/pilots and everyone fucks off while they do it. And vice versa, too- the pilot/driver fucks off while the rest of the party does fun stuff. Needless to say, I intend to avoid this. My recent back-to-back binging on Mad Max Fury Road has left me with a craving to run such kind of action sequences, if you couldn't tell from that intro... ;)

In other words, if there's vehicular combat- i'll do my best to incorporate all members of the party. Well, spaceship combat would be more difficult to do... I suppose I could do something like the side-by-side spacefighter/ground fighting sequences in the Force Awakens. If there is vehicle combat, expect it to involve military-grade vehicles moving through battlefields.

AnneReinard: I took one quick look at FFG and dreaded the idea of running it on a forum. I wanted to give it a shot, and I think it could work well on tabletop. I agree that Force-using characters can get a big advantage over others in SAGA at all levels, but especially once they start to get more and more options available to them... the mitigating factor can be the smorgasbord of gadgets and stuff in all those splat books. Compare Revan and Mandalore's statblocks in the KOTOR book. Personally, I don't believe for a second the greatest leader of Star Wars' Proud Warrior Race wouldn't be armed to the teeth with weaponry and gadgets enough to shame a golem made out of swiss army knives.

And yes, there shall be smut. ::) No moar Jedi rules- Celibacy is for nerds!

Batma4560n & AndyZ: Gimme a character concept then. ;)

Shadowfox89: The odds of having 'to deal with' a Jedi is fairly slim. :P Granted, the Great Sith War occurred thirty years or so prior to this game's beginning so it's not absolutely unheard of either. Back then, the Mandalorians were allied with the Sith (who were in turn led by fallen Jedi) and even besieged Coruscant, with the dark Jedi Exar Kun killing the chancellor in the senate chamber.

Batman4560

I like the idea of playing a Mandalorian who joins up with the jedi and becomes a Padawan. :)

If not I'll go through the books and figure something out!
Status: Stepping away for a while.

Muse

  Wow!  And again we have more applications for non force using rolls! :D 

  For people who think the force is the be all and end all of this game, I have a fairly large list of talents with which to refute you.  :)  Shanta Greensong very nearly took a sith master all by her lonesome in her first level of bounty hunter. 

  You want to know what the most powerful thing in Saga is? 

  The stun setting. 

*  *  *

  Do you have character generation rules for us yet, I.L.?  Do you know what gender might blend better for my soldier?  And the same question for a jedi I might pitch as an alternate? 

*  *  * 

  Ship combat--an area where jedi frequently suffer.  True, a jedi with the Force Pilot talent and the Vehicular combat feat can be a pretty devistaing pilot. 

  Of course, there's a bunch of other stations where a PC can be very useful in combat.  These call for the thing the jedi class is weakest in. 

  Skills. 

  Want to get those shields back up before we're blown to smithereens?  Or jury rig the hyperdrive so we can escape to light speed?  This calls for the VERY important roll of ship's operator/engineer.  Mechanics skill ftw.  :) 

  Oh, and what if your R2 got left behind and you need to make a hyper drive jump without querying the holonet for coordinates?  That calls for Use Computer. 

  oh, wait a second, we've got guns that aren't controlled by the pilot?  ship's gunner please!  (Heavy Weapon Proficiency or just a handy scoundrel talent.  :)  )

If you can't find any other way to be useful?  Take a seat in the co-pilot's chair and make pilot checks DC 10 to "aid another" the pilot, and perception tests to operate the sensors, 

(The jedi consular's skilled adviser is good there too!) 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

KirbysFolly

Hmm. I'm not the hugest fan of d20, but this sounds interesting.

I'll toss an old Jedi healer I never got to really use in for consideration. Here's a sheet link. I think we used a 28 point buy to generate them. Skill points are distributed in Acrobatics, Perception, Treat Injury, and Use the Force. I was avoiding physical Force talents, figuring she's not great at things like telekinesis.

A brief background is on the sheet, I believe on the last page.

Inerrant Lust

Batman4560; That would be quite interesting... Given that the Mandalorians are more of a cultural thing than strictly racial. At this point, the original Mandalorian race (The Taung) are on their way out. By Jango Fett's time, they were almost entirely human.

That being said, there's such a thing as being born into the Mandalorians- and Jedi are wont to pluck young force-sensitive children from anywhere they can find them. It'd be quite an interesting backstory, that's for sure. I'm curious as to what would prompt this character to answer the call to fight against his own people.

Muse; Nothing yet as far as char gen goes. Lemme think on it a bit. Male or female, it really depends. In truth, my Jedi Knight character might just exist to tempt the PCs (or be tempted by them, actually...) so I have a slight preference for males for the padawans. The soldier type character is also supposed to tempt the padawans, to a lesser extent. Mostly the soldier's role is to expose the padawans to thinking outside the Jedi frame of reference.

As for ship-to-ship combat, the easy way to get everyone involved is a good old fashioned boarding party. ;)

KirbysFolly: Looks interesting- might be fun to have a character more reserved and shy, depending on the other PCs.

Batman4560

Well if he were taken as a child it could simply be that he doesn't know he was Mandalorian. Or to gain a better understanding of tactics, like many Mandalorians would do, he willingly answered the call to fight his people and see how he measures up to the others.
Status: Stepping away for a while.

Inerrant Lust

If using SAGA, there is the temptation to reduce all level and BaB requirements for PrCs by 2.

One of my gripes with it is that there's more or less a level cap of 20 (if you look at the canon NPCs) and you just about need to be halfway to that before you can start to take PrCs and really diversify your build. I found I felt like I didn't have quite a lot of options and I'm usually t

If you wanted, you could theoretically go to an even Jedi 5, Jedi Knight 10, Jedi Master 5.

That being said, there's an annoying shortage of non-force user 12th level prestige classes...

But that's all just hypothetical. I don't know if this game will go to 20 (but then again, I have ran a game on E that lasted for a good.. 4 or 5 years?)

ShadowFox89

4-5 years with 4-5 month breaks due to your deployment *cough*

I would suggest FATE, but I would suggest that for anything :P

Otherwise, someone did a nice port of Savage Worlds Star Wars.
Call me Shadow
My A/A

KirbysFolly

There's also the already-existing FFG rules.  :P

AnneReinard

#15
I love FFG rules, but I must say. It is absolutely atrocious to use without a custom roller applet or the like.

And since there isn't one for this site that I know at, I would avoid it like the plague. Translating 1d6/8/10 into special symbols constantly and then working out conversions? BLEGH.

Edit: Meant FFG, didn't mean to say FATE. Oops.
Ons and Offs

Always free for a little teasing back and forth. Or suggestions to titles to make this exhibitionist squirm! I adore silly little PMs.

TheFourthShade

I rubbed my two brain cells together and came up with the idea of a Zabrak Jedi who lost his (since the gender preference here is male) Master to a Mandalorian terrorist attack.  Naturally, the call to join the war would ring loudly in his ears as it would in any other who lost loved ones to Mandalorian attacks.  He might have even gone 'rogue' before the call to war reached his ears, feeling unable or unworthy to return to the Jedi temple after his superior died to save him...

And I must agree that FFGs Star Wars is terrible (with regards to rolling) without an app or being at the tabletop.  It wouldn't be so bad if there was only one set of symbols to deal with (FATE's being easily handled as 1-2 being -, 3-4 being blank, and 5-6 being +), but...

Well, yeah.  Rpol.net has a custom roller for it, which makes things a little easier when you're trying not to get shot by stormtroopers in a bar.

KirbysFolly

I do absolutely love the FFG games themselves, but will totally agree that the custom dice are pretty annoying at times. They work out okay in person, and would probably be great if my players would ever use their advantages and disadvantages, but online, they are a bit of a hassle.

Etherealgirl

I'd love to play a young Jedi Padawan. :D Not so sure about the rules. I'm not familiar with SAGA.

Muse

  The rules are based on d20 system, Etheral.  And there's not a huge need for armor unless you want to build around it.  :)  I'd be happy to help you. 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Etherealgirl


Batman4560

Yup, Saga is super easy from what I have played of it. :D
Status: Stepping away for a while.

Flying Tengu

I really like the idea for this game.  I think I could manage to play an idealistic young padawan, all full of strong positive emotions, and thoroughly temptable.

tyr4n02r

I apparently insulted Dicebot's mother, and it still remembers... you've been warned...
Mainly missing on Tuesdays, sorry.
Intro!  My Ons and Offs

Inerrant Lust

It's not quite first come, first serve.

I usually expect a sheet- if not all the mechanical crunch, then character background and details and the like. Where your character's been, where they could go. What they expect, what you as a player expect. Ect. ect. ect.