January 27 recap

I like this "playing every 2 weeks" thing.  We should do this more often.

Rek Luk took off in his new ship, and Logger hadn't been seen for days.  Novin, the Arkanian lawyer, gathered Kazbich, Gobmush, and Kelif together at the ship and explained that he had been trying to find a link between Eutix Research Laboratories and the Sith and had thus far been stonewalled.  Gobmush got a job as a corporate troubleshooter, but had been relegated to managing lifter droids at a warehouse near Aekaiki City.  In order to get more help to uncover the shady dealings of Eutix, Novin had contacted the Republic, claiming that he (and the rest of the group) were agents working for the Republic to investigate Eutix, and he convinced the Republic to send representatives to help them out.  They would be arriving shortly at the docking bay; Kazbich ducked out, not wanting any Jedi to sense the taint of the dark side on him, and he worked on establishing contacts in the (admittedly small) Myzil V underworld.  Novin met the Republic representatives at a public transit docking bay, Umbaran Jedi Ras Patul and Selkath doctor Lyta Selistan, weaving the party's recent exploits into a plausible backstory; Novin is a Republic law expert investigating Eutix for a possible Sith connection, Kelif is working at the casino to gain access to the power players in Aekaiki City, Gobmush is working at Eutix as an undercover agent, and Kazbich is their resident hacker, making contacts with the criminal underworld on Myzil V.  Deciding that the direct approach had already been tried by Novin (and ended in being pretty much delayed indefinitely), Ras and Lyta decided to use the Eutix information Novin had already downloaded to work their way up the chain of command.

At the same time, Kazbich put out the word that "Kazbich is the guy who gets things done" and met up with Umoe, a Herglic who frequented the casino and who was said to be the prime person to talk to for shady jobs.  Umoe explained to Kazbich that the Council for Development was planning to receive representatives from the Republic and the Sith in two days and that Myzil V may decide to change hands in the war depending on how the negotiations go.  Umoe told Kazbich to pick up a specific GE-3 droid from an abandoned warehouse in the pit and use it to replace the droid belonging to Movol Droidworks foreman Pel Karmek.  Kazbich picked up a pressure suit to protect him from the harmful gases pumped through the Pit, recruited Kelif, and took the lift on down.

Ras and Lyta first met with Elbor, a Herglic worker for Eutix who didn't know a whole lot but was left with a powerful urge to eat Jedi Girl Scout cookies.  He directed them to his foreman, Kehlor, who told them everything he knew about the machinery (not much, except that it was extremely alien and self-sufficient) and about the other sites.  Gobmush took the initiative to find the other sites by hiding himself in a crate of Telubo! Salty Lichen Discs and letting himself be shipped to another Eutix site.  At first he could not sleep in his armor, but eventually he did pass out.

Kazbich and Kelif found the droid; Kazbich busted it open and found a capsule of a strange, nonfatal chemical inside.  They found the foreman in a Movol Droidworks factory, but when confronted by a security droid, Kelif hid and Kazbich ran for it before deciding to surrender (rather than risk rupturing his pressure suit).  His capsule of Krosix-9 was confiscated from him and he claimed he was sent by Eutix, prompting them to say "The next person Eutix sends will come back in a casket."  Kelif and Kazbich made it back up to the Ridge relatively unharmed.  Oddly, Umoe still paid Kazbich the full amount, and he got the feeling he wasn't being told everything.

The next day, when Gobmush woke up, he managed to boost his comm signal to Kazbich enough that he was able to reach him, and Kazbich triangulated the signal to realize that Kazbich was on the other side of the planet — 12 hours' flight away.  He checked out the area — droid warehouse, landing pad, tunnel leading underground, Givin workers — and hid for most of the day, though he sent Chuckles in to see what he could see, and he found unusual pictograms and an alien language.  Ras, Lyta and Kazbich showed up in the Raraza, and Ras went down into the tunnel to see what was going on.  He encountered a few Givin scientists who were performing mineral surveys.  Ras left and Lyta decided to go down, throwing around her credentials as a Republic representative, so the Givins provided her with their datapads, which gave information about a primary information center about 4 hours' flight away.  That seemed to be the place to go.

Kelif, still back in Aekaiki City, was working at the Aunaumi Casino during all of this.  His pit boss, a portly Twi'lek, told him about a Devaronian gambler named Jubal who he suspected was cheating because he kept winning at trin sticks; Kelif was to confront him and get him to leave, roughing him up (but not killing him) to send a message to cheaters.  Kelif confronted Jubal and tried to intimidate him, with little success; Jubal spotted the blaster he was trying to pull, and he was taken aback that he, a paying customer, was being rushed out the door simply because he was winning.  Disgusted by his treatment, Jubal eventually cashed in his chips and left, but Kelif decided (with his boss' permission) to pursue him through the streets.  Jubal kept trying to distract Kelif and give him the slip, but eventually Kelif's sniper rifle connected, killing the Devaronian.  He stole Jubal's winnings, and Kelif's boss feigned innocence, saying Jubal must've gotten mugged after leaving the casino.

Kelif then got a call from Kazbich saying they were going to be 8 hours away at a new dig site.  When the Raraza arrived, however, they were told that it was a restricted landing zone, and soon a group of Juggernaut War Droids attacked them.  The party made quick work of them, then Kazbich hacked open the blast doors to the excavation tunnel and the party entered, though Ras felt the presence of the dark side inside.  The Givins were waiting for them inside, but the party persuaded them to surrender their datapads and leave.  The datapads suggested that a large variety of species were being tested by their DNA against other samples, and that the Eutix scientists had been hard at work trying to decode the alien language.  Upon hacking through another set of doors, they found statues showing a strange-looking people with beaked mouths and eyestalks at the sides of their heads, as well as row after row of kolto tanks as far as the eye could see, each one with a comatose patient (of various species) inside.  Kazbich found a terminal, which indicated that each of the patients had been drugged into an induced coma and that their DNA was being examined.

Ras looked around and decided to let the Force guide her, and she found herself in front of a tank with Logger inside, unconscious, surrounded by other tanks with Ewoks inside.

Dun dun DUN!

Clone Wars errata

As quickly as it comes out, so does the errata.  There wasn't much to change in the book, actually; most of the errata is that a few ships are missing hyperdrive multipliers and the weapons don't list how many shots they get before they have to load in a new power pack.

Only two big changes: The shadowsuit, which used to give a flat +10 bonus to Stealth, now gives only a +5 bonus, and only when the wearer has concealment due to darkness or low light; plus, it now rightfully has a +1 armor bonus, necessitating the armor talents to effectively wear.  (As it should be.  This item was the bane of my existence in Revised.)  And Focused Force Talisman lets you spend a Force Point to recover all expended uses of a single Force power, instead of just one.  (So now it's actually useful.)

Character Composite: Atton Rand

Atton is statted out in the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, but only up to 5th level. I wanted to present a more holistic version of his stats; these are his stats as of the end of Knights of the Old Republic II.

Atton is the consumate scoundrel; he knows no loyalty to anyone but himself. He fought as a member of the Republic military alongside the Revanchists during the Mandalorian Wars, disgusted that the Jedi would not lift a finger to help the millions being killed. Atton believed in Revan as the only Jedi worthy of his respect for single-handedly helping to win the Mandalorian Wars, and so he followed Revan to the Unknown Regions and joined his Sith army, fighting as part of an elite unit to kill or capture Jedi during the Jedi Civil War. Here, Atton learned many ways to kill Jedi, and he excelled at it. Towards the end of the war, he met a female Jedi who told him that he was himself Force-sensitive. She warned him that those among the Sith who displayed Force sensitivity were taken away and broken into becoming Dark Jedi, but Atton refused to listen and tortured her nearly to death. Right before she died, she opened his mind to the Force, and Atton killed her — he said just to kill her for being a Jedi, but deep down, it was to spare her further suffering. Disillusioned, he deserted from the Sith and found his way to Nar Shaddaa, becoming a smuggler. Eventually he found his way to Peragus II, where he met the Jedi Exile, who taught him the ways of the Force.

With the release of the Clone Wars Campaign Guide and Scum and Villainy, I feel I finally have the tools to make a good Atton Rand. He's got a lot of abilities that are good against Jedi — Overwhelming Assault, Unstoppable Force, resist Force, and Labyrinthine Mind. He's also good with a blaster, he's got the requisite Bad Feeling ability, he's a solid pilot, and his Stay Up, Shake It Off, and Tough as Nails abilities make him as tough to bring down as he was in the video game.

Atton Rand, Fool
Male Human Scoundrel 7/Soldier 3/Ace Pilot 4/Jedi 2
Destiny: 1; Force: 9
Init: +13; Senses: Perception +10, Bad Feeling
Languages: Basic, Huttese
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Defenses: Ref 36 (flat-footed 30); Fort 30 (35 vs. Force powers); Will 29 (34 vs. Force powers)
HP: 129; Threshold: 30
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Speed: 6 squares
Melee: +15 unarmed (1d6+11)
Ranged: +19 blaster pistol (3d6+15)
Base Atk: +13; Grp: +15
Atk Options: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Sneak Attack +1d6
Special Actions: Overwhelming Attack, Sith Military Training, Stay Up
Encounter Powers: Labyrinthine Mind, Lucky Stop, Stay Up
Force Powers Known: Use the Force +14, battle strike, resist Force, surge
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Abilities: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12
Special Qualities: vehicle dodge +2
Talents: Clear Mind, Fool's Luck, Full Throttle, Labyrinthine Mind, Lucky Stop, Outrun, Sneak Attack +1d6, Tough as Nails, Weapon Specialization (pistols)
Feats: Bad Feeling, Force Sensitivity, Force Training, Martial Arts I, Overwhelming Attack, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Shake It Off, Sith Military Training, Skill Focus (Pilot), Skill Training (Endurance), Stay Up, Unstoppable Force, Vehicular Combat, Weapon Focus (pistols), Weapon Groups (lightsabers, pistols, simple)
Skills: Deception +14, Endurance +15, Mechanics +14, Pilot +23, Stealth +18, Use Computer +14, Use the Force +14
Possessions: blaster pistol (+5 damage), lightsaber (yellow), combat gloves, mesh jacket, Ebon Hawk

The Traveler's Guide to Myzil V

Where is Myzil V?
Myzil V is the fifth planet of the Myzil system, located in the Giju Arm of the Colonies region, near the Rimma Trade Route near Fondor. It is only a few light years away from the Herglic homeworld of Giju and was once part of the ancient Herglic Trade Consortium thousands of years before the formation of the Republic. Today, Myzil V is the home of one of the largest Skakoan colonies in the galaxy (outside of Skako itself), as well as home to a sizeable Herglic population. The main settlement of Aekaiki City is a bustling business community in a large canyon, divided into two sections: the upper Ridge, and the lower Pit.

What's So Special About Myzil V?

Not only is Myzil V a bustling corporate colony, but it boasts one of the most unusual atmospheres in the galaxy.  The planet is very cold, has no moons or bodies of water, and has very mild weather.  It has relatively high gravity (125% Coruscant standard), and it is extremely rocky and mountainous.  The atmosphere only settles in the lowlands and depressions of the planet, but it is occasionally blown about by solar winds, sending formerly breathable areas into vacuum.  At the highest peaks of Myzil V, the atmosphere is close to vacuum, so the only settlements are in large canyons where breathable atmosphere is unlikely to be affected by solar winds.  Because the high pressure of the deeper areas of the planet is so similar to their homeworld of Skako, the planet was colonized by Skakoan explorers about 500 years ago.

Our Corporate Masters
Myzil V is not a part of any intergalactic government, though its parent corporations currently support the Republic during the Jedi crisis. The planet is officially owned by the Techno Union, a technology business coalition which encourages corporations to operate on Myzil V, but Yozad Industries holds a shareholder majority on the planet.
The primary corporations on Myzil V are Oavomi Bulk Loading (Herglic-owned), Ikuis Importers (human-owned), Telubo! Lichen Biproduct (Herglic-owned), Movol Droidworks, Yozad Industries (both Skakoan-owned), and Eutix Research Laboratories.
The planet is controlled by the Council for Development, which handles property claims and violations, but justice is outsourced to Movol DroidWorks. Movol's droid security forces are responsible both for keeping the peace (for select paying customers) and maintaining upkeep on Myzil's unique city structure. While most Movol security droids are programmed to stun troublemakers, instigators who repeatedly break the law will not be so lucky.
Most Skakoan firms are housed in the Pit, which encompasses the bottom half of the canyon that Aekaiki City resides in. The Pit is a high-pressure area that is suitable to Skakoan physiology, though non-Skakoan visitors are advised to bring a pressure suit. Most of the buildings in the Pit are interconnected as well, funneling between them the unique gas mixtures of Skako to make the Skakoan engineers feel at home. Security is tight in the Pit, as many Skakoan businesses do not want trouble, and protecting the repulsorcoils that support the Ridge is of tantamount importance to the Council for Development.

Fun And Attractions
Almost anything an enterprising tourist could want is on the Ridge, the Herglic-centric area of the city. All of the buildings are designed for larger species, and vacationers on a budget should be aware that food and beverage portions are served with Herglics in mind; on Myzil V, everybody's a one-beer drunk!

Aunaumi Casino
Love to gamble? The giant Aunaumi Casino dome in the center of Aekaiki is for you! Gambling has a high place in Herglic culture, and the Aunaumi Casino is as much a religious experience as a fun destination. We offer sabacc, pazaak, trin sticks, jubilee wheel, and many more! Every cycle we even host the Neimoidia Trin Series, one of the most prestigious trin sticks competitions in the Colonies. Also enjoy our Myzil-made BT-194 bartending droids, programmed in over six million forms of inebriation! Want to know more? Check out the Aunaumi Reporter, the local holonews source. To get to the Aunaumi Casino, just look for one of our automated droid airtaxis, which can be seen all around the Ridge.

Hunting
Because of its unique atmosphere, Myzil V is home to a wide variety of unusual life forms. Our lichens are studied and processed into all kinds of pharmaceuticals by Telubo! Lichen Biproduct, the creator of Telubo! Salty Lichen Discs, the delicious snack that's sweeping the Colonies. But lichen isn't the only thing found on Myzil V. Our hunting safaris have turned up all manner of strange beasts. The unusual yolaak is a clam-like mollusk that reproduces by spores and can survive in vacuum. And no hunter's trophy case without a rokyem shell; rokyems are fierce, crab-like creatures with a ferocious bite and an armored shell that's said to be harder than Mandalorian armor. If you're looking for more standard fare, we also have imported animals from all corners of the galaxy on our special hunting preserves.

Swoop Racing
Interested in some high-speed action? The Nesulb ice caves are the hottest race track around, and only the strongest competitors are able to compete in the subzero environment. Nesulb swoop betting is one of the hottest sports at the Aunaumi Casino or any of the smaller bars and pubs in town. Rumor has it that five-time champion Chuumo Mnoae is even in negotiations with the Intergalactic Podracing Authority to bring even more action to Myzil V.

First game?

Proposed: First small-group session on Tuesday, January 27, sometime in the evening.

(Yes, I know this would be Star Wars on Tuesday and then D&D on Wednesday.)

If you are interested in playing on this day, please contact me so I know how many players to expect.  If you also have any ideas for what you want to explore or do, let me know these as well; this is mostly going to be side-quest stuff (and not required attendance).

Clone Wars overview, Part 2

Equipment: Lots of equipment.  In the weapons, devices and armor, nothing really stands out as a must-have, but that's not to diminish the quality of the gear; there's a lot of good stuff here.

Plenty of cool droids.  Now you can play as a midwife droid or pit droid, among others.  Basically, if you saw it in the prequels, it's in here.  Pit droid is actually a surprisingly good option to play as, since they've got pretty good stats and they are specifically said to take no penalty to carrying capacity for being small.

Starships: This chapter just covers the non-aligned ships; Republic and Separatist ships are covered in their respective chapters.  The Barloz-class freighter is an extremely affordable transport at 17.5K used (with a deck plan, to boot), and it's pretty durable (even comes with a shield generator), but it's lightly armed.  There's a wide assortment of other transports and starfighters, too.

Clone Wars Campaigns: Tips for running campaigns in the era.  Pretty good, has tips on running Order 66, how to incorporate Jedi, how to write cool villains.  There is also a section on writing "battlefield adventures"; it includes rules for making squads of troopers that act as single characters.  The biggest deal is the mass combat rules, which detail how to have gigantic battles that feature armies attacking each other.  The rules are pretty short and simple, letting you create troops and vehicle units, and telling how to run them for characters who may serve as commanders.  I may have to run a gigantic battle between the Republic and Sith just to try them out.

Galactic Gazetteer: This section details a whole lot of planets: Cato Neimoidia, Christophsis, Geonosis, Glee Anselm, Iktotch, Kalee, Kamino, Kerkoidia, Malastare, Mustafar, Muunilinst, Nelvaan, Polis Massaa, Sembla, Skako, Teth, Toydaria, and Utapau; it also discusses the "main" planets and what's happening on them in this time period.

The Jedi: A whole lot of stats, both for generic characters and specific characters.  Statted out: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Mace Windu, Ahsoka Tano, Kit Fisto, Nahdar Vebb, Ki-Adi-Mundi, K'Kruhk, Plo Koon, An'ya Kuro, Aayla Secura, Saesee Tiin, and Quinlan Vos.  I have one big complaint about these stats: most of them read Jedi 7/Jedi Knight 5/Jedi Master 1, and all of them have the Force Point Recovery technique.  No originality in any of the stats, and between Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda, only one of them has even a single change: Anakin has one different talent, so the iconic three don't even take advantage of any of the new stuff in the book.  Wasn't the idea of making Jedi Knight a prestige class that not every character had to take it, and you could be a Knight without ever actually taking levels in it, ditto Jedi Master?

There are a few Jedi ships here; mostly iconic Jedi starfighters and different variants.  For example, with the Delta-7 Aethersprite, you also have a high-speed variant, a high-maneuver variant, and Anakin's specialized model.

The Republic: The chapter begins with a look at the organization of the Republic, including the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Chancellor.  It then looks at the makeup of the Republic military to give an idea of how it's organized.  Then come the clones: lots of clones and clone variants.  Some of them look badass, like the blaze trooper (which has a jetpack and a flamethrower) and the clone assassin; some look silly, like the subtrooper (for underwater action).  The chapter also stats out some of the most prominent Republic military and political figures.  It then details a number of Republic droids, vehicles and starships.  Especially the latter two.  If you've seen it in any Clone Wars media anywhere, it's statted out here.

The Confederacy: Similar to the Republic chapter, it spends some time detailing the organization and military forces.  It then stats out Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress, Durge, and General Whorm Loathsom, before moving on to lots and lots and lots of droids, vehicles and starships.  I should point out that these sections include a sidebar to point out where other Republic, Separatist, etc. stuff is statted out; for example, if you're looking for Lucrehulk-class battleships, the sidebar points out you can find them on page 146 of Starships of the Galaxy.  There's more droids, vehicles and ships in this chapter than I want to count, but I will point out that Grievous' wheel bike from Episode 3 is statted out.  I always liked that bike; it was pretty popular in an old Star Wars campaign I ran.  It also includes Grievous' flagship from the new Clone Wars cartoon series, the Malevolence, and stats out its ion pulse cannon that is capable of really putting the hurt on Republic fleets.

Fringe Factions: This is pretty much the "everything else" chapter, and it's pretty short.  It stats out various characters like Chewbacca, Boba Fett, and flamboyant stereotype Ziro the Hutt.  It also stats out a few vehicles and ships, as well as two creatures.  Lastly, the book includes a giant appendix that indexes all the characters, droids, vehicles and starships by Challenge Level.

Begun, this Clone War has.

First off, a schedule update — through the end of the month, I am off on Mondays and Tuesdays, if we want to schedule any small-group sessions.

Now — what's new in the Clone Wars Sourcebook?  I'll go chapter by chapter.

Species: Some good races, some rather plain ones.  The Gen'Dai is insanely difficult to kill for a player race — they do live past 4,000 years old, after all — but not broken.  Kaleesh (General Grievous' race) are also pretty cool.  Later in the book are Geonosians, Chagrians, and Umbarans — Geonosians and Umbarans are pretty cool, but Chagrians are a bit bland (though to be fair, their species is not well-developed in the canon).  Also there are rules to play a clone: They get a set ability array, but can put +2 in any ability, and they get the human bonus skill and feat.

Classes: Jedi don't get much (only 6 talents), but what they get is friggin' insane.  Consular's Vitality and Exposing Strike are really, really powerful.  A lot of stuff in this book loves bonus hit points.

Nobles get some good stuff: The Collaborator talent tree lets you work both sides by keeping enemies from attacking you or your allies, sharing bonuses from enemy nobles, and giving your opponents a bonus to give your allies a bigger bonus.  They also get the Loyal Protector tree, which gives them a bodyguard who can exact retribution against enemies who attack you.  They're part of the new "follower" rules, which I have to admit are really, really cool.  They essentially let you play as multiple characters (you can have up to 3 followers), though your main character is much more powerful, and you have to share actions with all of them.

Scoundrels get the Stymie talent for the Misfortune tree, which trips up your opponent's skill checks.  It's pretty solid against Force users.  They also get the Opportunist tree, five talents that give you pretty powerful effects when something else triggers them.

Scouts get the Surveillance tree, which is a little similar to the Spy talent tree from Force Unleashed and is focused on getting the most out of your Perception skill.  They also get the Reconnaissance talent tree, which gives them followers who can do recon work.

Soldiers get the best of the best.  Three new talents for old trees make aiding another and melee attacks super useful.  The new Trooper talent tree gives you attractive bonuses when you're within 3 squares of allies.  The Squad Leader talent tree gives you followers and some squad tactics you can use with them.

Skills: There's some nice new uses for skills.  Knowledge (tactics) can now be used to anticipate an enemy's tactics, Use the Force can be readied to catch and hurl away incoming grenades or place allies in healing trances, Survival can help make "defensive positions" that hinder your opponent, and Perception and Knowledge (tactics) have new uses for the mass combat rules.

Feats: I'm pretty impressed with the feats; almost all of them are combat-oriented or droid-oriented.  Gunnery Specialist makes you proficient as a starship gunner, lets you reroll an attack, and makes you eligible to take gunner maneuvers from Starships of the Galaxy.  Grand Army of the Republic Training is a must-have for heavily armored characters.  Unstoppable Force give you a rather hefty bonus to defenses against Force-based attacks.

Prestige Classes: Ace Pilot gets 1 new talent; Elite Trooper gets the Melee Specialist tree (it's exactly what it sounds like) and Republic Commando tree (which does a whole bunch of different things); Force Adept gets two new talents, and they're both pretty good; Gunslinger gets one; Jedi Knight gets the Jedi Archivist (focused on Knowledge checks and aiding another) and Jedi Healer talent trees (focused on vital transfer and Treat Injury); Officer gets 3 new talents.

There are three new prestige classes.  Droid Commander is a very narrowly focused prestige class focused on droid leaders leading droid troops.  Military Engineer does a lot with technology; a lot of its abilities are about using skills faster, improving vehicles, or improvising weapons on the fly.  The Vanguard is primarily for Scouts, and it's all about getting the drop on your opponent.  Most of its abilities have to do with attacking flat-footed opponents and coordinating allies together.

The Force: Eight new powers.  Cloak gives you concealment and a bonus to Stealth.  Levitate lets you fly short distances.  Malacia moves opponents down the condition track and reduces their damage threshold.  Morichro lets you put enemies into a deep sleep or kill them.  Phase lets you walk through solid objects.  Rend is a damaging dark side power that can be fatal. Shatterpoint reduces a target's damage threshold if you hit them.  Technometry lets you access electronic devices by touch, and also control droids.

There's a bunch of new Force talents, which are almost all awesome.  Aversion makes squares near you difficult terrain.  The Will To Resist lets you substitute a Use the Force check for your Will Defense.  The Light Side talent tree is pretty much solid gold, giving you really powerful abilities.  The Psychometry talent lets you see the past by touching objects.  Shift Sense gives you low-light vision.

A bunch of new Force techniques and secrets; not much to say about them (we're not that high-level yet), but Advanced Vital Transfer is insane, letting you spend a Destiny Point to fully and completely heal somebody.

Also three new Force traditions: the standout to me is the Korunnai (Mace Windu's people), which gives you a vicious Akk Dog follower.

It's getting late now.  I'll post about equipment, ships, stats, etc. later.  That's more than half the book!

I got Clone Wars!

'Nuff said.

Details to come, as I have work in less than an hour.

What's ahead

Here's what's coming up on the Web site:

• My schedule will go up soon so we can start scheduling some of the smaller group sessions.
  
• Continuing recaps of our adventures, including the recap below.
  
• More Character Composites of characters both in and out of our campaign.
  
• The Traveler's Guide to Myzil V.
  

January 11 recap

There was much, much shopping on Taris before taking off for Myzil V.  Rek learned that there was a bounty on Dhiel's head from the Exchange, so he gave them the activation code for the tiny heart bomb he'd installed in Dhiel (leading to his obvious death), collecting a cool 4,000 credits.  Gobmush told GE-3-RX-34 that they were heading to Myzil V, and RX-34 recommended they bring along an ally of his, the Arkanian corporate lawyer and Telubo employee Novin Ealynos.  At the same time, Canderous Ordo, a prominent Mandalorian on Taris working for Davik Kang, learned that fellow Mandalorian Dhiel had been murdered, and asked Gungan Mandalorian Kelif Binks-Fett to find out more about it.  Looking for work at the same timem, RX-34 suggested working security for a freighter bound for Myzil V.  After some initial skepticism, the Raraza crew brought aboard the Gungan and took off.

Late into the 11-hour flight, however, the Raraza was yanked out of hyperspace just shy of Myzil V by an Interdictor-class Sith warship, which promptly sent interceptors out to dogfight it.  A large dust cloud blocked the direct route to Myzil V, forcing the ship to either try to lose the ship in the dust cloud, or fly around.  Novin took to piloting the Cloakshape while Kazbich manned its guns, and Rek Luk took the helm of the Raraza, with Gobmush on sensors, Kelif on lasers, and Logger manning the ion cannon.  At first their goal was mere survival, but Gobmush soon spotted (on the sensors) two Skakoan freighters that had been yanked out of hyperspace and powered down.  Gobmush communicated for them to make a break toward the planet while the Raraza distracted the capital ship.  The ships dispatched of the fighters, then launched a daring frontal assault with proton torpedoes on the warship itself.  More interceptors showed up as the Skakoan ships made it back to Myzil V, so the ships made a break for it, narrowly escaping a tractor beam.

Upon landing, the Herglic docking officer said he would alert the Skakoan Council about the Sith ship holding Skakoan ships, as the planet has professed neutrality in the Jedi Civil War.  His Skakoan assistants were talking quietly amongst themselves about Logger, so Novin pretended that Logger was his assistant.  The Skakoans asked where he "got" Logger before going on their way.  Logger quickly split off from the party in search of On-Warr, Aya, or any Ewoks, but found nothing.  Eventually, he was attacked by two Givins, who offered to take him to see his kind but insisted on blindfolding him.

Most of the party went to the Aunaumi Casino, where Kazbich lost his shirt, Kelif applied for a job working as muscle, and Rek Luk hit the jackpot, turning a 135,000 credit profit.  He quickly turned that investment into a new ship, then announced he would be leaving the party to pursue Riga from behind the scenes and design starships.  He would bequeath the Raraza to the party, insisting only on a 10% cut of profits.  (And he also paid for surgery to get the heart bomb he's installed in Kazbich removed.)

Novin's curiosity was piqued by the mysterious nature of Eutix Research Laboratories' business and hit the jackpot hacking into their systems, finding that they were using alien technology to survey various sites around the planet and hiring Givin workers, who can survive in vacuum, to work deeper into the deeper areas of the planet, where there were no atmospheric pockets.  He successfully petitioned his parent corporation, Telubo, to pay to insert an inside man into the company to find out what things they could be up to, arguing that it could threaten the corporate interests on the planet, and then approached the Eutix offices, saying that if he could hack into their system so easily, they must have a leak, and they should hire him and Gobmush as consultants to find their leak.

Recap

Here's a quick recap for the January 11 game:

• Rek Luk joined the Bounty Hunter's Guild.  The party pursued a bounty on pirate Dyani Zaan and killed her and most of her crew.
  
• Taris Exchange crimelord Ganar made a deal with Dhiel to trade Kazbich for information on his Mandalorian father.  Dhiel got the info, Kazbich got double-crossed, two grenades got lobbed, and the rest of the party stopped Dhiel and Kazbich from killing each other.
  
• Gobmush learned from his corporate broker droid friend GE-3-RX-34 that there's a bounty on his head from another Gamorrean, Globmulch.
  
• Logger got a call on the comm from Aya Lim, a Kaminoan who used to be On-Warr's apprentice, but now works for the Sith — the Sith have captured On-Warr (again), and now they want Logger.
  
• According to the trail of data he's been following, Logger's enslaved Ewok buddies are on Myzil V.
  

Play me a song, Errata Man

Errata and clarifications for the three newest releases — Knights of the Old Republic, The Force Unleashed, and Scum and Villainy — has now been released.  Here are the highlights:

KOTOR:

• The Melee Duelist prestige class's prerequisites have been changed to "Melee Defense, Rapid Strike, and Weapon Focus in any melee weapon."  This means the Melee Duelist can now be played with any melee weapon, including a lightsaber (as was originally intended).
  
• Adhesive and Cryoban grenades have a 2-square burst radius.
  
• Massassi and Kissai treat the Massassi lanvarok as a simple weapon, not an exotic weapon.
  
• The Improved Energy Cell upgrade now costs only 1 upgrade slot.
  
• When using the Gladiator's Brutal Attack talent, you calculate damage first, see if it beats the damage threshold, then add an extra die if it does.  (This is how I figured it worked anyway.)
  
• The Gladiator's Exotic Weapon Master talent now also shares talents across exotic weapons (such as Weapon Specialization).
  
• The Wound power only makes moving down the condition track persistent if the damage dealt by the Wound power moves it down.
  

TFU:

• The Corruption power only deals damage on the target's next turn if it exceeds the target's Fortitude Defense by 5 or more.
  
• Large races get a +5 bonus to damage threshold for their size, making Togorians and Whiphids more attractive options to play.
  
• The organization created by the Natural Leader feat continues to grow in scale as you gain levels.
  
• The Independent Droid's Independent Spirit class feature applies only to a single skill check or attack roll.
  
• The Saboteur's Device Jammer talent works on any particular equipment you choose with an electronic component, excluding droids, vehicles and weapons.
  

SAV:

• If you have the Knife Trick feat and you have a concealed weapon, you threaten squares as though you were armed with a melee weapon.
  
• The Superior Protective Armor trait granted by the Superior Tech feat adds 2 to the armor bonus to Reflex Defense.
  
• The Charlatan's Damaging Deception talent now only triggers on the next attack before your next turn that hits, rather than just the next attack.
  
• The Outlaw's Uncanny Instincts talent now works once per round, not once per encounter.  (Thank goodness, as I couldn't figure out why anybody would take it otherwise.)
  
• All powered armor now has two extra upgrade slots; powered armor is defined as any armor that has "power" in the name (or some variant thereof), so a Corellian powersuit is considered powered armor.
  
• Two items combined by the Dual Gear upgrade each require their own power source.
  
• The last line of the Silverplate item upgrade should go with the Spring Loaded upgrade instead.  (If you have the Quick Draw feat, you may draw the item as a free action once per turn.)
  

Also, the missing Bonus Feat sidebar for Scum and Villainy is included!

Jedi: Burst of Speed, Close Combat Escape, Impetuous Move, Impulsive Flight, Lightning Draw, Opportunistic Retreat, Resurgence, Slippery Maneuver, Stay Up, Tactical Advantage, Wicked Strike

Noble: Cornered, Friends in Low Places, Hasty Modification, Impulsive Flight, Opportunistic Retreat, Signature Device, Superior Tech, Tactical Advantage, Wicked Strike

Scoundrel: Burst of Speed, Close Combat Escape, Collateral Damage, Cornered, Deceptive Drop, Desperate Gambit, Duck and Cover, Fleet Footed, Friends in Low Places, Hasty Modification, Impulsive Flight, Knife Trick, Lightning Draw, Signature Device, Superior Tech

Scout: Burst of Speed, Cornered, Deadly Sniper, Duck and Cover, Fleet Footed, Resurgence, Slippery Maneuver, Stay Up

Soldier: Burst of Speed, Collateral Damage, Deadly Sniper, Impetuous Move, Lightning Draw, Resurgence, Slippery Maneuver, Stay Up

Clone Wars copy

Some guy already got his copy of the Clone Wars Campaign Guide, and now I'm here to share spoilers with you:

• New rules for mass combat, so you can have giant battles between opposing armies.
  
• New "follower" talents for the Noble, Scout, and Soldier.  Followers are like animal companions in 4th Ed.; you have to split your actions with them.  Followers come in three types: Aggressive, Defensive, and Utility.  Each of the three classes can do different things with their followers; the Noble can have its follower take attacks directed at him.
  
• New species: Dug, Gen'Dai (although nowhere near as powerful as Durge), Iktotchi, Kaleesh, Kaminoan, Kerkoiden, Nautolan, Nelvaanian, and Vurk.  Also apparently Chagrian and Umbaran.  I'm hoping that Geonosian, Gossam, Skakoan, and other Confederate species are somewhere in the book too, because otherwise that seems like a glaring oversight.
  
• There are rules on playing clone commandos and ARC troopers — the book doesn't recommend playing a normal clone soldier, as they're "bred for obedience and military discipline," not independent thinking.
  
• Three new prestige classes: Droid Commander (a droid-only class), Military Engineer, and Vanguard.  Also, the Jedi Knight prestige class gains the Jedi Healer and Jedi Archivist talent trees.
  
• 21 new feats: Anointed Hunter, Artillery Shot, Coordinated Barrage, Droidcraft, Droid Hunter, Experienced Medic, Expert Droid Repair, Flash and Clear, Flood of Fire, Grand Army of the Republic Training, Gunnery Specialist, Jedi Familiarity, Leader of Droids, Overwhelming Attack, Pall of the Dark Side, Separatist Military Training, Spray Shot, Trench Warrior, Unstoppable Force, Unwavering Resolve, Wary Defender
  
• New Force powers: Cloak, Levitate, Malacia, Morichro, Phase, Rend, Shatterpoint, Technometry.
  
• New talents: There is a new Light Side talent tree for Force-sensitive characters, and one of the new Force talents is Psychometry (Quinlan Vos' ability to read the past by touching objects).  Also three new Force traditions: the Bando Gora (from the Bounty Hunter video game), the Believers, and the Korunnai (Mace Windu's people, from the Shatterpoint novel).
  
• Lots of new gear; no new upgrades.
  
• Lots and lots of new ships.
  

Latest releases

A few minor items:

• The Clone Wars Campaign Guide comes out later this month (on the 20th, I believe). It will include rules for playing as clones, a new system of mass combat, and plenty of material from the Clone Wars novels, comics, TV shows, movie, etc. of the past seven years (egad, did Attack of the Clones really come out in 2002?).
  
• Knights of the Old Republic #36 is out now — the story arc that started in issue #1 is over, and a whole new chapter of Zayne's life begins. The threat of the Jedi Covenant is gone, but the galaxy is still an unsafe place for Zayne, Griff, and their friends as a new scam quickly goes awry.
  
• Legacy #31 is out now too, the last issue of the Vector crossover. Cade, his friends, and the Imperial Knights have allied with Celeste Morne to lure the Sith into a trap in hopes of assassinating Darth Krayt and toppling his Sith Empire, but as Celeste Morne's control over the Muur Talisman starts slipping, it's hard to say who's actually in danger! A major character dies in this issue, changing the Legacy era forever!