Quote from: Dr Rotwang!What can you tell me about that pilot?

Human.  Male.  Also Level 1 (I wanted to keep things fair as far as the power level was concerned).  He's a bit of a Han Solo type.  Loyal to those who employ him, but ever so skeptical about the Force and Jedi.  

He owns the small transport that will be used for ferrying between locations.  It's really more of a glorified shuttlecraft, barely FTL capable.  

He's really an NPC character, but someone I can use to flavor the adventure(s) and provide me with a "mouthpiece."

I had thought to have the Jedi Knight killed off, but I didn't want to toss her (my daughter) that deeply into the mix just yet.  I was planning this for a later adventure.  

My thought was that this isn't so much a trade dispute as it's a contractual point dispute.  

Sort of like this:

"Oh!  You thought net 30 meant that you received payment in 30 day!  We thought it meant that we sent payment in 30 days!  Yes, we did send it by the slowest courier possible, so as to accumulate as much interest on the payment as possible before the transaction was completed.  We're dreadfully sorry to have misunderstood, we'll rectify this immediately." [Glances at Jedi nervously.]

It's meant to be a pimple run.  Something to get things started.  The Jedi Knight and Padawan are meant to return later, hence the second element of her mission, to map the asteroid base as completely as possible.

Quote from: RPGpunditA Twi'lek noblewoman would most likely be some kind of very influential.. ehm..courtesan... if you know what I mean.

That's a great angle with two minor hurdles:

1) My wife perceives nobility to include chastity.  More an idealistic Victorian mindset than a realistic one.  

2) She doesn't want to be relegated as a piece of "sweetmeat."  

I do like the majordomo to a Hutt idea, though.  That's good.  

Quote from: Vellorian1) My wife perceives nobility to include chastity.  More an idealistic Victorian mindset than a realistic one.  

2) She doesn't want to be relegated as a piece of "sweetmeat."  

I do like the majordomo to a Hutt idea, though.  That's good.  

Well, then use that clash of the traditional picture of a Twi'Lek with the rather odd ideas your wife has about the nobility
If I remember correctly, a lot of those dancing girls you see were sold as slaves. The noble Twi'Lek could be some kind of activist (probably with quite some feminist leanings) who wants to abolish the slave trade. Whether she also wants to stop the prospering drug trade her people are doing is a good question...

There's one big hindrance to being a Twi'Lek noblewoman: You can't gather your lekku into a bun hairdo...

Quote from: SosthenesIf I remember correctly, a lot of those dancing girls you see were sold as slaves. The noble Twi'Lek could be some kind of activist (probably with quite some feminist leanings) who wants to abolish the slave trade. Whether she also wants to stop the prospering drug trade her people are doing is a good question...

One other factor to remember, we're setting this a full 250 years before the Empire, even before Palpatine's birth.  I'm not sure how much slave trading was done prior to the "humano-centric" viewpoints of the Sith/Empire began to override the value systems of the Republic.

Either way, the specific clan that my wife's character is from has (so far) safeguarded her from the imminent fear of becoming enslaved.

Now, the drug trade is another question.  Especially since the adventure involves the spice mining on Kessel.  As we all know, the spice is an addictive drug that enhances lifespan and perceptive ability (George Lucas' nod to Dune, in fact.)

I'm not going to reveal that little tidbit until the negotiation.  In fact, I'm planning to spring that element on my wife after a little talk about her ideals regarding the drug trade.  I'm sincerely hoping that I can get her to actually write on her character sheet that she despises drugs in all forms and considers their traffic to be evil.  Then, in the midst of the contract negotiation, I'll drop it into the conversation that the "product" is the narcotic spice mined on Kessel.  

That should toss some interesting elements into the midst.  

Hot rods.

Just to make sure no one forgets.

Oh, yeah, Vellorian.  Git yo'seff a copy of The Star Wars Roleplaying Game - Second Edition Revised And Expanded from West End Games.  My suggestion has nothing to do about the rules; you're digging SWd20, so keep on keepin' on.  No, I'm pointing you towards the totally jawsome GM-, setting- and pacing advice contained therein, which rawks regardless of system.

Hell, if you were running it with, like, a Dogs In The Vinyard/Arduin Grimoire hybrid kitbash, I'd suggest you pick up The Star Wars Roleplaying Game - Second Edition Revised And Expanded from West End Games.  It'll hand you all sortsa rad ideas for easy scenario structure, running large battles and so on.

Oh.  And your pilot sounds great.  In my opinion, the biggest oversight in the prequels was the lack of a scoundrelly, mouthy character -- there was no Solo.  You've got one, therefore you stand ready to rock.

Your guitar, sir.

Dude!  Vellorian!  Updates, man!  How'd it go?

Well, here's how it went:

My Wife:
I sat down with my wife the other night to describe some of her characters background and we discovered a few interesting tidbits about her family life.

Her father is a Baron of a small clan.  The clan is not a typical Rylothian clan, but owes allegiance to a Hutt.  Her father is gone most of the time, securing the interests of the clan and the Hutt.  In fact, she has only seen her father 15 - 20 times in her lifetime.  He rather disdains her, favoring her brothers.  He has married off her sisters to secure alliances and she is striving against that sort of treatment by taking an interest in the business dealings of her family.

This has caught the attention of her brothers (who find it amusing that their little sister wants to "play business" with them).  It has also ruined her prospects for a lucrative marriage arrangement owing to her "independent spirit".  I think we tossed in something about, "Why can't you just enjoy dancing like your sisters did?"

Her father has a very minor little contractual negotiation in Kessel and all his sons are busy with other engagements, so he has chosen to send her on this "little pimple" of a mission.  He's hedging his bets, by over playing the importance of the events in an appeal to the Jedi Council and has been utterly shocked that they responded.  (His intention was to simply use the threat of their involvement.)

Rozhean (my wife's character) is on Ryloth awaiting the arrival of the Jedi Consular who will join her on her mission to Kessel to negotiate the finer points of the contract.

She is completely in the dark as to the nature of the business, but has clearly informed me that "anything involving slaves or drugs is absolutely against the principles of my character."

My Daughter:
On Coruscant, a young Jedi Padawan, aged 14, named Sylkana, prepares for her first mission outside the Jedi Temple.  Her master is not exactly happy with the decision to send one so young, though he is confident in her abilities.  If it were not such a simple thing, he would have made a louder complaint.  As it is, however, she is going.

She is doing everything she can to control her excitement at being entrusted to a solo mission at such a young age.  Her master has given her additional instructions.  Not only is she to guard and protect the Twi'lek noble, but she is supposed to use a specially designed holorecorder to map out the asteroid base where the meeting is to take place.  This may mean that she will need to leave her charge from time to time so that she can explore, allowing the holorecorder to map out the rooms, hallways and corridors as she travels.

A transport has been provided for Sylkana.  It's small and cramped, but will suffice for the short time they are expected to be traveling.  It is also piloted by a gruff and somewhat grumpy human male who doesn't treat Sylkana with the kind of respect she expects the universe to treat Jedis.  In fact, he's downright rude to her.  He made her carry her own gear aboard.  She expected him to stow it for her, but that wasn't going to happen!  

As we left it, she's sitting in a cramped, two-bunk berth that smells faintly of garlic and anchovies.  The pilot has suggested that he might make a stop on the way to take a few passengers for some extra cash-flow and that she shouldn't get comfy in a room by herself.

She has chosen to meditate to forget the affontery offered her.  She's also stated that she's going to be constantly looking for the components she needs to complete a lightsaber of her own construction.  


We only had an hour or so to pull this together.  I'm hoping we will have additional time after work tonight to bring the two players into connection with one another.

Addendum:

The game-setting is around the time that Chewbacca was born, 200 years before the battle of Yavin.  It is a time of peace in the Republic when the galaxy is free of any major conflicts.  (Though, there will be a great many minor conflicts.)

Some interesting things we have learned...

1) Jedi are cheap.  They send their Padawans off to their adventures and expect them to use public transportation to get to the starport from the Temple.  

2) Jedis do not have to pay for public transportation of any kind.  The Jedi simply approaches the vehicle (usually a public transport speeder) and says, "Jedi business" and is granted a seat.  (Usually with a smile from the driver, glad to be of service to the Republic.)

3) Jedis are respected.  People will nod, bow, wave and even offer edibles to them.  (A street vendor hailed my daughter and offered her a "cornda" (corn-dog).  She thanked him, but declined graciously.)

4) A jedi traveling to Ryloth-Kessel has a surprising amount of baggage.  Three fresh robes, four sets of underclothing, two pair of boots, two belts with bandolier/combat webbing, a meditation mat, a blaster and a lightsaber (oh, and some basic toiletry items, as well).

Hey, Rotwang....

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