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Pen & Paper Roleplaying Central => Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion => Topic started by: flyingmice on January 19, 2018, 10:01:44 AM

Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 19, 2018, 10:01:44 AM
We are currently simultaneous with the end of The Last Jedi movie:

At the very least, Emperor Palatine's exploration of the Unknown Regions (UR) of the galaxy started as soon as he became Emperor, but it may have been started under the Republic. He established a network of UR study bases, where knowledge of the UR was pooled and applied, and specially constructed - and expensive - survey ships were sent out to map viable paths into the UR.

In the meantime, three other projects were started, the two Death Stars and Starkiller Base. Starkiller Base was bigger, more powerful, and the technology less understood, so it took considerably more time to perfect, and when the Emperor died, it was far from complete. It was finally finished by the First Order 30 some years after the Emperor died.

After the Battle of Jakku, a year after the Battle of Endor, the Empire was forced to sign a peace treaty that involved crushing reparations and strict disarmament restrictions, much like Germany after WWI. The Empire still exists as a rump state, with defined borders and no military, in the northwest portion of the galaxy as seen in the standard map.

Much of the military escaped over the next few years into the UR, via the Emperor's charted routes, where the New Republic could not go without charting their own routes. In the Unknown regions they found various world and system-wide governments, alien and slow-boat settled human, and began conquering them. They soon ran into Snoke's sphere of influence, and fell under his Force aided spell, forming the First Order.

Politically, after the peace treaty was signed, the New Republic was forced by internal politics - i.e. strong separatist sentiment which did not trust any strong centrist republic, like the Republic in the Clone Wars - to partially disarm, drawing down the Allieance war machine to much smaller levels. The Centrist worlds in the New Republic at first resisted the dominance of the Separatists, then began drifting away from the New Republic. Initially, it was a net gain for the New Republic, but since the New Republic was NOT Centrist, they had to allow worlds to join or leave the Republic as they wished.

These Centrist worlds either publicly or, more commonly secretly supported the First Order. But the First Order that could be seen, those few Centrist worlds that were publicly part of it, seemed tiny and weak, as no one knew about the far larger and more cohesive part inside the UR. Leia Organa found out that the First Order was much larger and powerful than the New Republic thought, and tried to warn the Senate, but bribed - and traitorous - politicians blocked her, and information that she was the daughter of Darth Vader was released, discrediting her generally.

She formed the Resistance with funding from a few governments in the New Republic who trusted and believed her, but it was always a scratch force, more as a picket than a true fighting fleet. The fighting fleet would be that of the New Republic, which despite its draw down, was capable of fighting the New Order toe to toe. Then the Movies (VII & VIII) happened...
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: CausticJedi on January 19, 2018, 04:33:22 PM
I'm attempting to begin a campaign during the Rebellion era, but if you don't mind, I'll take some notes for a future campaign because what you're writing is pretty much nothing but awesomesauce.  Thanks!
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Bren on January 19, 2018, 04:52:14 PM
I bet flyingmice won't mind. He often gives ideas away for free. :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 19, 2018, 05:43:23 PM
Quote from: CausticJedi;1020647I'm attempting to begin a campaign during the Rebellion era, but if you don't mind, I'll take some notes for a future campaign because what you're writing is pretty much nothing but awesomesauce.  Thanks!

You are absolutely welcome to take whatever you like! That's why I posted it here! :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 19, 2018, 05:44:03 PM
Quote from: Bren;1020650I bet flyingmice won't mind. He often gives ideas away for free. :D

Bren knows I am just an idea slut... :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: jeff37923 on January 19, 2018, 05:49:01 PM
Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 19, 2018, 06:03:25 PM
Quote from: jeff37923;1020655Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

There is no indication of the Luke thing in canon one way or another, but the Leia parentage thing is definitely canon. Most of this is either canonical references I pulled together, or inferences I made based on canonical sources. None of it actually contradicts canon to the best of my knowledge.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Baulderstone on January 19, 2018, 08:57:26 PM
Quote from: jeff37923;1020655Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

I'd say that Leia being known to be Vader's daughter would give that indication, not Luke. Leia had actual political clout and was involved with the Rebellion at a high level from the beginning. Luke sort of fell into it later, and although he played a pivotal role, he had nothing to do with starting it.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 19, 2018, 09:31:46 PM
Quote from: Baulderstone;1020675I'd say that Leia being known to be Vader's daughter would give that indication, not Luke. Leia had actual political clout and was involved with the Rebellion at a high level from the beginning. Luke sort of fell into it later, and although he played a pivotal role, he had nothing to do with starting it.

I'd agree with that. Leia was a mover and shaker.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: CausticJedi on January 19, 2018, 11:43:27 PM
Quote from: flyingmice;1020653You are absolutely welcome to take whatever you like! That's why I posted it here! :D
Thanks!  I guess I'm not living up to my user name yet, huh?  ;)



Quote from: jeff37923;1020655Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

Hmm... how so?  The rebellion began because of the Emperor taking over the galactic senate.  Vader just did what he was told. Could you expand on your thought?
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Skarg on January 20, 2018, 12:13:35 AM
Quote from: flyingmice;1020603... She formed the Resistance with funding from a few governments in the New Republic who trusted and believed her, but it was always a scratch force, more as a picket than a true fighting fleet. The fighting fleet would be that of the New Republic, which despite its draw down, was capable of fighting the New Order toe to toe. Then the Movies (VII & VIII) happened...
Did that change much? Given the scale of the galaxy, surely no particularly considerable element of a galactic navy would have been concentrated at the New Republic rotating capital system, even if what was there did get hit by the ultra-ridiculous cross-galaxy strike from Starkiller (chuckle) Base.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: jeff37923 on January 20, 2018, 01:58:51 AM
Quote from: CausticJedi;1020694Hmm... how so?  The rebellion began because of the Emperor taking over the galactic senate.  Vader just did what he was told. Could you expand on your thought?

Luke is considered the Hero of the Rebellion since he is the last Jedi Knight and was the one who destroyed the Death Star. I don't think that the secret of him being Vader's son could be kept for the years following the destruction of the Empire. Propagandists from the First Order would love this and spin it to be the family spat I was considering. The Emperor was trying to provide a secure galaxy for the betterment of its citizens (according to Imperial propagandists during that period). The story would be that Vader also supported Palpatine's dream and his children were raised to hate their father and the Emperor, after all Obi Wan Kenobi the turncoat Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker had to have had a hand in raising Luke Skywalker since they lived in the same area of Tatooine.

This is about the spin placed on the truth, used for propaganda purpose, not the actual truth.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: CausticJedi on January 20, 2018, 05:24:51 PM
Quote from: jeff37923;1020709Luke is considered the Hero of the Rebellion since he is the last Jedi Knight and was the one who destroyed the Death Star. I don't think that the secret of him being Vader's son could be kept for the years following the destruction of the Empire. Propagandists from the First Order would love this and spin it to be the family spat I was considering. The Emperor was trying to provide a secure galaxy for the betterment of its citizens (according to Imperial propagandists during that period). The story would be that Vader also supported Palpatine's dream and his children were raised to hate their father and the Emperor, after all Obi Wan Kenobi the turncoat Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker had to have had a hand in raising Luke Skywalker since they lived in the same area of Tatooine.

This is about the spin placed on the truth, used for propaganda purpose, not the actual truth.

Oh!  Duh, my bad.  I totally read it as Truth.  Sorry bout that.  But I do love your idea, thanks for fleshing it out.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Dumarest on January 20, 2018, 11:58:50 PM
Quote from: jeff37923;1020709Luke is considered the Hero of the Rebellion since he is the last Jedi Knight and was the one who destroyed the Death Star. I don't think that the secret of him being Vader's son could be kept for the years following the destruction of the Empire. Propagandists from the First Order would love this and spin it to be the family spat I was considering. The Emperor was trying to provide a secure galaxy for the betterment of its citizens (according to Imperial propagandists during that period). The story would be that Vader also supported Palpatine's dream and his children were raised to hate their father and the Emperor, after all Obi Wan Kenobi the turncoat Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker had to have had a hand in raising Luke Skywalker since they lived in the same area of Tatooine.

This is about the spin placed on the truth, used for propaganda purpose, not the actual truth.

Jeff, if you are going to attempt to take the movies and extrapolate logic and consistency in the Star Wars universe...oy vey...I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!

Clash, your game sounds really cool.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 21, 2018, 01:07:30 AM
Quote from: Skarg;1020698Did that change much? Given the scale of the galaxy, surely no particularly considerable element of a galactic navy would have been concentrated at the New Republic rotating capital system, even if what was there did get hit by the ultra-ridiculous cross-galaxy strike from Starkiller (chuckle) Base.

According to Wookieepedia, "Hux then commanded that the weapon be fired, and massive beams of energy were fired across the galaxy towards the Hosnian system. When they arrived, the astronomical bodies of the system were destroyed, including Hosnian Prime.[1][5] With the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the capital planet of the Republic,[5] came the destruction of the Galactic Senate and much of the New Republic Starfleet." http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hosnian_Cataclysm

I am trying to stay within canon. I figure it's like the Pearl Harbor attack.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 21, 2018, 01:08:06 AM
Quote from: Dumarest;1020844Clash, your game sounds really cool.

Thanks, Dumarest! :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 21, 2018, 01:17:11 AM
Jeff - came across this, also in Wookieepedia: "Senator Leia Organa, the sister of Luke Skywalker, petitioned the Galactic Senate and Republic Command to take action, but found herself sidelined by the political realm of the New Republic, especially after the revelation that Darth Vader was in fact her and Luke's father in a political scandal between the Centrists and the Populists" So... yeah. :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Skarg on January 21, 2018, 02:39:29 AM
Quote from: flyingmice;1020854According to Wookieepedia, "Hux then commanded that the weapon be fired, and massive beams of energy were fired across the galaxy towards the Hosnian system. When they arrived, the astronomical bodies of the system were destroyed, including Hosnian Prime.[1][5] With the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the capital planet of the Republic,[5] came the destruction of the Galactic Senate and much of the New Republic Starfleet." http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hosnian_Cataclysm

I am trying to stay within canon. I figure it's like the Pearl Harbor attack.
Oh, huh... I thought it seemed like the galaxy had a lot more systems and ships in it in films before Eps VII and VIII.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: jeff37923 on January 21, 2018, 05:41:16 AM
Quote from: Dumarest;1020844Jeff, if you are going to attempt to take the movies and extrapolate logic and consistency in the Star Wars universe...oy vey...I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!

I don't even have the excuse that I've been drinking. I just tend to do this. It is the opposite of being a canonista, I just look at the tangled mess of background and see what I can get away with.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: jeff37923 on January 21, 2018, 05:42:29 AM
Quote from: flyingmice;1020856Jeff - came across this, also in Wookieepedia: "Senator Leia Organa, the sister of Luke Skywalker, petitioned the Galactic Senate and Republic Command to take action, but found herself sidelined by the political realm of the New Republic, especially after the revelation that Darth Vader was in fact her and Luke's father in a political scandal between the Centrists and the Populists" So... yeah. :D

Vindication!

Your stuff is great, though. I wish that I was nearly as good with my follow through.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Dumarest on January 21, 2018, 10:11:35 AM
Quote from: Skarg;1020860Oh, huh... I thought it seemed like the galaxy had a lot more systems and ships in it in films before Eps VII and VIII.

That's Star Wars for ya, everything changes to suit the latest plot idea.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 21, 2018, 05:41:30 PM
Quote from: jeff37923;1020875Vindication!

Your stuff is great, though. I wish that I was nearly as good with my follow through.

Thanks, Jeff! :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: estar on January 23, 2018, 10:35:45 AM
The one good I had for a Star Wars campaign was a follow up to the Phantom Menace. The premise is that in the aftermath of the liberation of Naboo, Darth Maul's ship was discovered on Naboo. The Jedi were notified and the council assigned Master Dooku to take charge of the investigation.

The Master Dooku in turn forms a team (the PCs) to go to Naboo, look at the ship and its technology. Then find out where it came from and who built in hopes it will lead to the identify of the unknown Sith Lord behind Maul.

The trail would eventually lead to a Plant that is a giant Junkyard where the PCs discover a hidden Sith factory which would be the climax of the campaign. Along the way the PCs would learn about the Trade Federation and other races that would eventually become part of the Separatists and that they have a few legitimate grievances but also  they have a lot of negative view points as well.

This information would be very valuable to the long term plans of Jedi to keep peace in the Galaxy with these races. But Dooku decides as a result that the Jedi are useless and finally decides to leave the Order. And the information that PCs give him allows him to find Sidious and become his new apprentice.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 23, 2018, 11:49:33 AM
Quote from: estar;1021326This information would be very valuable to the long term plans of Jedi to keep peace in the Galaxy with these races. But Dooku decides as a result that the Jedi are useless and finally decides to leave the Order. And the information that PCs give him allows him to find Sidious and become his new apprentice.

That sounds really cool! Makes sense too. :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 23, 2018, 12:11:25 PM
A little aside here about my perspective. CEC was famous for the complete modularity of their systems - they sold the YT-1300 with the cockpit set to the starboard, port, or centerline, with three different engine packs, with different weapons, with long ans short cockpit necks... Here's a few standard variations, as built by CEC, without aftermarket changes:  http://www.sluisvan.net/download/images/yt-1300_variants.jpg

This to me means in a CEC ship, everything uses standard fittings and ports, so everything lines up and works. You buy a new weapons pack, and the weapon's electronics just plug in with a standard data and power line, and the weapon bolts in to the standard mounting. The electronics say "Hi! I'm the Fabtronics HL-754 Weapon Targeting System! Here's what I can do! (link) Who are you and what do you do?" And the hyperdrive replies "Hola, HL-754! I'm the SoroSuub KET-0097-LV Hyperdrive! Here's my what I can do! (link)" and so on, and the components all hash out how the data gets routed between them like sensible constructs. So you don't have to be a ship engineer and you don't need a shipyard to mod a CEC ship.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Bren on January 23, 2018, 03:21:13 PM
Quote from: flyingmice;1021341This to me means in a CEC ship, everything uses standard fittings and ports, so everything lines up and works. You buy a new weapons pack, and the weapon's electronics just plug in with a standard data and power line, and the weapon bolts in to the standard mounting. The electronics say "Hi! I'm the Fabtronics HL-754 Weapon Targeting System! Here's what I can do! (link) Who are you and what do you do?" And the hyperdrive replies "Hola, HL-754! I'm the SoroSuub KET-0097-LV Hyperdrive! Here's my what I can do! (link)" and so on, and the components all hash out how the data gets routed between them like sensible constructs. So you don't have to be a ship engineer and you don't need a shipyard to mod a CEC ship.
You've left out the bashing it a few times with a hydrospanner that I always felt was an integral part of modifying Star Wars ships.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 23, 2018, 05:23:41 PM
Quote from: Bren;1021370You've left out the bashing it a few times with a hydrospanner that I always felt was an integral part of modifying Star Wars ships.

Absolutely! Especially if you are a Wookiee! Slapping panels with the palm works well too! :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Skarg on January 24, 2018, 02:15:33 PM
With your description, it might even make a bit of sense, if how things connect and interface is determined by robotic systems. Bashing them could prompt them to renegotiate what is going on, and activate some troubleshooting modes and conversations between the components.

QX-428 unit here: Power hiccup in section 230. Disconnection detected on route 236-C.
ML-52423: Agreed. Suggest re-routing through the AL-877 unit.
...

It also helps fudgesplain how/why hooking up an astromech droid to the ship can help a lot.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: Bren on January 24, 2018, 03:31:27 PM
Quote from: Skarg;1021573With your description, it might even make a bit of sense, if how things connect and interface is determined by robotic systems. Bashing them could prompt them to renegotiate what is going on, and activate some troubleshooting modes and conversations between the components.

QX-428 unit here: Power hiccup in section 230. Disconnection detected on route 236-C.
ML-52423: Agreed. Suggest re-routing through the AL-877 unit.
...

It also helps fudgesplain how/why hooking up an astromech droid to the ship can help a lot.
LOL. This is kinda brilliant.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 24, 2018, 03:46:19 PM
Quote from: Skarg;1021573With your description, it might even make a bit of sense, if how things connect and interface is determined by robotic systems. Bashing them could prompt them to renegotiate what is going on, and activate some troubleshooting modes and conversations between the components.

QX-428 unit here: Power hiccup in section 230. Disconnection detected on route 236-C.
ML-52423: Agreed. Suggest re-routing through the AL-877 unit.
...

It also helps fudgesplain how/why hooking up an astromech droid to the ship can help a lot.

Absolutely! Perfect, Skarg! :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: RPGPundit on January 26, 2018, 04:05:19 AM
I'm quite sure that if I ran Star Wars again, I wouldn't use anything from either the new trilogy OR the Expanded Universe. Both sucked, for different reasons.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: joriandrake on January 26, 2018, 02:16:58 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;1021993I'm quite sure that if I ran Star Wars again, I wouldn't use anything from either the new trilogy OR the Expanded Universe. Both sucked, for different reasons.

I liked how the wookiee had a moon dropped on its head
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 26, 2018, 03:44:28 PM
I loved both The Force Awakens and Last Jedi. The EU? Did not get into it. No investment for me.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: RPGPundit on January 28, 2018, 08:31:00 PM
Nope. I'd say "end of Return of the Jedi" and absolutely anything goes from there on in.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: flyingmice on January 28, 2018, 09:22:48 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;1022431Nope. I'd say "end of Return of the Jedi" and absolutely anything goes from there on in.

Good for you! Tastes differ. :D
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: jeff37923 on January 29, 2018, 04:12:06 AM
There is good stuff and bad stuff in the EU, a smart GM picks and chooses.
Title: The Political Situation in My Star Wars-ish Campaign
Post by: RPGPundit on January 31, 2018, 11:15:30 PM
I haven't found much of anything good. There's the Thrawn trilogy, sure, but it's very telling that a basically average sci-fi story is hailed as the best thing in the EU.