Higher Level Campaigns

High level adventures are still too hard to design. I'm starting to think that, if the Star Wars films are our iconic vision of what a Star Wars campaign should feel like, then Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie should all be 20th level characters at the end of Return of the Jedi. Their further adventures in the EU? I'm wondering if those just aren't, effectively, wholly different campaign...or if the idea of an ever-continuing story just isn't something the RPG should support.

I wouldn't bother writing a campaign for anyone whose demands do not coincide with a connoisseur of the Star Wars universe or anyone who thinks ewoks are midget humping balloon hucksters. Ewoks eat people...they are serious business...either on special occasions when their gods visit or to celebrate a bountiful harvest...yet mistake not it is definitive lore written within the holy trilogy that ewoks ritualistically consume the flesh of sentient life.

It's too big a universe beyond the Skywalker saga to have every campaign to end at level 20. I consider the average competent NPC in the galaxy to be around level five. So for the sake of immersion XP should be allocated appropriately. In my experience most groups won't last three weeks without breaking up so to solve that if each character received full XP per encounter they would level faster between sessions. P.248 in the Core Rulebook suggests total XP be divided by number of PCs when awarded so then I'd apply that after level 5 to give a sense of time and scale or years as experience between PCs and galactic heroes. Luke didn't kill Vader after all, he only wore down the Sith Lord's defense with a lightsaber feat and disarmed him with a destiny point.

The structure of DoD seems to be earning a level just before the boss fight at the end of the chapter and that's a cool idea if the group stays together long enough. I'll have to read more since I plan for some higher level application of Scout Troopers which occurs to me require a “Shadow Scout” mid-level rank before level 9 Imperial Commandos. Scouts are more than Biker Scouts after all if an Elite Rebel Trooper is only one level higher than a standard Rebel troop, and the same between Scouts and Stormtroopers, so Scouts could be effectively used like Army Rangers outside the main battlefield eliminating supply routes, heavy weapons or sniper support. When done right a Star Wars adventure should have all the gravitas of a Tom Clancy novel.

Imperial Commando

Star Wars Saga Edition Campaign Setting
Imperial Faction
Levels 1-10

Imperial Commando is a campaign designed for Imperial Scout Troopers. Players may build their characters however they want provided the GM issues Scout Trooper armor and later speeder bikes for the missions and a command outpost stocked with any gear scouts might need to buy.

Set to begin 0.2 ABY when the invasion of Ralltiir has been halted by criminal and Rebel forces and reassigned a blockade. For several years Ralltiir with its varied inhabitable environments existed as a valuable proving ground for troopers, tactics, and weapon systems for all sides of the conflict.

Blockade of Ralltiir
"The neat thing about the old and the new buildings on Ralltiir is that they aren't, as near as I can tell, segregated based on economic conditions. On some planets, you get all the old classical-style buildings in the more run-down sections of the world, and the more modern-looking buildings in the newer sections where there's more traffic. That's not the case on Ralltiir."

Level 1
Players are assigned to PX-4 Ident: MCB 08-Cresh as an adjunct of Stormtrooper Division 368 tasked with securing a ghetto in the towering urban sprawl of Grallia.
Mission 1: Sniper Trace
Mission 2: Clear Walkway

Level 2
Mission 1: Secure Building
Mission 2: Eliminate Heavy Weapons Emplacement

Encounters and Raids

Rebel Alliance Faction
Encounter: Speeder Park Ambush CL 7

Liberation of Meridian Sector

Star Wars Saga Edition Campaign Setting
Levels 1-5

Help the Rebel Alliance establish a base of operations in a small Outer Rim Territory.

Planetside: Bladescape Levels 1-2
Planetside: Demmit Station Level 3
Planetside: Cybloc Shadowport Level 4
Raid: Car'das Enclave Level 4

At the conclusion of this module players will be at level five and the Rebellion will have gained the loyalty of the small yet not insignificant population of the Meridian Sector.

Encounter: Speeder Park Ambush

Star Wars Saga Edition Encounter
Speeder Park Ambush CL 7
Rebel Alliance Faction
Rewards:
3,600 XP
14,000 credits

Mission Briefing: A sympathetic Imperial Intelligence Officer has informed the player's Rebel contact there will be a pair of highly competent Imperial Storm Commandos in transit to an Imperial check point in a major trade sector in a large city. The Commandos carry intelligence information vital to the Rebellion in the region. The party's mission is to intercept the Storm Commandos and bring the intelligence data to their Rebel contact.

The players are given the location of two buildings above the speeder lane where the Storm Commandos are expected to pass at night. Two small speeder parks on either side of an alley will serve as the engagement area. There is a walkway between the two buildings which provides cover. Additional shaded areas in green will provide cover. The Storm Commandos on their speederbikes will be expected to approach from the south.



Equipment: The players are given an unfamiliar sensor probe lightweight and small enough to carry in a backpack. They are told the sensor has been tuned to detect the modified Aratech 74-Z speeder bikes (p.176 Saga Edition Core Rulebook) the Commandos will be riding. The sensor may be activated with a Mechanics or Use Computer check DC 10 and placed the below the walkway between the two buildings with a Climb check DC 10. A datapad controlling the sensor will alert the party when a 74-Z speeder bike passes through their weapons range allowing them to target the two vehicles normally.

Hazard: When the player characters have taken their places and their equipment is ready they wait the equivalent of two minutes before they hear a loud pop like a streetlight exploding from electrical failure and the sensor control goes blank. Within five rounds two level 9 Storm Commandos (p.123 Rebellion Era Campign Guide) appear in the red-shaded squares on either side of the walkway.

Encounter: The player characters roll against a Perception check DC 25 to avoid a surprise round. The Commandos will fire with Double Attack on a single PC or choose to take cover and fire once per round with their full attack bonus.

Resolution: When defeated one of the Commandos will have the intelligence information on a datapad in his utility belt and can be found with a Perception check DC 10. A Gather Information check DC 10 will determine the Storm Commandos were tipped off to the ambush by the noise made when the faulty sensor failed. Their speeder bikes are no where to be found.