Next game!

How about Tuesday, March 3 for the next game?

Feb. 17 recap

A quick surprise game ("Hey, are you free tonight?" "Yes." "Okay, I'll call Jim.") led to a robust character development session for Ras and Lyta.  Shortly after the two landed on Myzil V and met the party, they met with [identity requires Level-4 Republic Security Clearance] and discussed [classified information requires Level-6 Republic Security Clearance], as well as the nature of the upcoming negotiations between the Republic, the Sith, and the Myzil V Council for Development.  They were informed that a Jedi Master, Jenica Vigil, would be arriving in the system in a few days for the negotiations to determine which side would claim Myzil V.

They then discovered that someone recently had attempted to disperse the chemical agent Krosix-9 into The Pit, which would cause a nonfatal allergic reaction in the Skakoans living there.  The Krosix-9 was safely confiscated, but the perpetrator got away.  Six hours ago, the Krosix-9 was released into The Pit, and many Skakoans blamed the Sith.  Lyta and Ras were told to go into The Pit to both help the Skakoan biologists find a cure and determine who was responsible.

After talking their way in and getting pressure suits, Lyta headed to the hospital, which was crowded and full of patients, where she found her way into the quarantined science area where Skakoan biologists were working on a cure.  Using her superior medical skills, she helped figure out how to create a cure and soon got the doctors to work synthesizing the antitoxin.  At the same time, Ras asked around and found where the initial outbreak was, a few blocks away from the hospital.  She contacted a local security chief and got ahold of security footage; going through the tapes, she found footage of a Skakoan emptying the Krosix-9 into the ventilation of an office tower.  The Skakoan security chief recognizes the perpetrator as Vola Meybor, one of the Skakoan doctors.  Ras rushes back to the hospital.

Lyta notices Vola Meybor, who's in the room helping make the cure, screwing around with some of the chemicals.  When she analyzes the cure, she finds it's been sabotaged to only work for an hour or so instead of being the long-term cure she'd designed.  Ras quickly enters the room as well and points out Meybor as a traitor.  Meybor figures that something's up and tries to bluff his way out of the room, only for Lyta to tell all the doctors that the antitoxin isn't working right and they all need to help re-concoct it, then tries to make Meybor feel at ease and gets him to help with the chemical work.  Ras quietly mind-trick-asks Meybor why he did it, to which he says, "So they'd leave me alone," then realizes what he just said.  He surprisingly Force-stuns Ras and makes a run for it.

Lyta chases after him, but Meybor uses the Force to telekinetically slow her down.  Meybor makes it to the elevator, but Ras dashes inside to follow him, noting that she can't use weapons because they'll create a combustion reaction in the Skakoans' unique atmosphere.  Meybor uses the Force to hurl Ras out of the elevator and then close the door, but Ras uses the Force to smash the elevator door, preventing the lift from leaving.  Meybor quietly surrenders.

Meybor admits that as a child, he discovered he had Force sensitivity and his parents had gone to great lengths to keep him from being discovered by the Jedi; after all, it was right on the heels of the Great Sith War, and Jedi were not well regarded in the court of public opinion because two rogue Jedi had just nearly destroyed the Republic.  He wanted to live a normal life as a doctor, but when he heard that the Sith were interested in claiming Myzil V, he grew afraid that either the Jedi or the Sith would conscript him into working for them.  After Kazbich tried to release the Krosix-9, Meybor acquired the confiscated chemicals and released them anyway, hoping the Sith would be blamed, public opinion would turn against them, and the planet would remain neutral.  Meybor isn't actually interested in the Force or the Jedi Civil War; he just wants to live a normal life as a Skakoan, and Myzil V is one of the only Skakoan colonies in the galaxy (as for why he didn't just leave the system).  Ras and Lyta debated what to do, because he had decent intentions but went about them in a terrible way, but after learning that the complex Skakoan legal code usually does not include the death penalty (and as the chemical was nonfatal, just irritating), they decided to turn Meybor over to the Skakoan authorities for punishment.

Business is business

Rek Luk reminds you all that you agreed to pay 10% of your profits to him in exchange for being able to hold onto the ship.

Feb. 11 recap

This entire short combat was a flashback to a time when Ras Patul flirted with the dark side, seeking out Sith artifacts in the misguided hope that she could destroy them or turn them to Jedi purposes.  On-Warr Bistellion was sent to find her and bring her back to the Jedi Council to repent, and they finally met on the fiery planet Mustafar.

After a debate in which Ras argued that she had the power to control the Sith artifacts and On-Warr argued that though every Jedi is tempted by the dark side, destroying the Sith is a mission for the entire Jedi Order, not just one Jedi, the battle began.  Ras tried to mind-trick On-Warr to letting her go, to no avail; in response, On-Warr temporarily severed her connection to the Force to keep her from trying to hurt him.  She then wielded her lightwhip and lightsaber against him, but On-Warr promptly slammed her into a wall and disarmed her of both her lightsaber and lightwhip, quickly ending the battle.

Feb. 10 recap

Set in the days after Rek Luk left and Logger disappeared but before Lyta and Ras showed up, Umoe contacted Kazbich with a job: There's a ship in Docking Bay 137, in the Human District, that somebody wants stolen and delivered to a landing pad outside of the city; Umoe isn't in a position to give out the customer's name.  Kazbich contacted Kelif and Gobmush about tagging along, as Umoe said there may be some resistance.

It wasn't hard to see why — four Sith guards stood outside the docking bay.  (Umoe hadn't mentioned it was a Sith ship.)  Kazbich tried to bluff his way past, to no avail.  He tried to slip them a bomb, to no avail.  So they started checking out the nearby businesses, because if a fight broke out, Kelif wanted a place to snipe at them from (as he was somewhat unprotected, as his Mandalorian armor was being upgraded at the time).  Their first stop was a grocery store, but when Kelif walked in, in broad daylight, carrying his sniper rifle, the gruff Trandoshan owner, Wertsnik, refused to let him in, and told him that he was a veteran (though not of the Mandalorian Wars), as evidenced by the multiple scars along his arms from constantly regrowing them.  Gobmush did sell him some of his snoruks, however, because they were an exotic import.

Next door they went to a local delivery service owned by a Duros named Plono, where Kelif applied for a job.  They told him they'd call him in a few days.  (They did, and hired him.)  Somehow he lost sight of why he went there in the first place.  Next door they went to a dance club that was closed, where Kazbich hacked open the back door.  Gobmush briefly supervised in the kitchen, where cooking droids were getting food ready for the night crowd, and then entered the manager's office, where a Bothan was going over documents.  He shooed them all out and called security, to which Gobmush knocked the guy out of his chair and sat in it, eventually leaving when security droids arrived.

Kazbich decided to go across the street to a lifter droid dealership, where he asked the Quarren about a programming job.  (Is adventuring seriously no longer profitable enough for you people?)  The Quarren didn't have anything, but Kazbich offered his resume, told him to tell everybody that "Kazbich is back in town!" and then shot him in the leg for no apparent reason.  The guy howled out in pain and Gobmush got one of his droids to carry him to the hospital.

Finally Gobmush just charged the Sith guards, and a brawl ensued.  The three amigos made short work of the troopers, though the two Dark Jedi who emerged from the docking bay were more trouble.  One unleashed his Force powers on Gobmush, hurting him pretty badly, while the other got into the Sith shuttle they were going to steal and tried to lift off.  Kazbich hacked his way into the shuttle, where he and Gobmush fought the Dark Jedi as it lifted off.  A missed shot from Kazbich struck the controls behind the Sith, damaging the autopilot and causing the shuttle to start to crash.  Kazbich made it to the controls in time while Gobmush finished off the Dark Jedi.

Meanwhile, Kelif, having failed to coup de grace the one downed Dark Jedi outside from a distance, decided to pick him up and carry him to the police, might I add in broad daylight on a city street, as a crowd was gathering to see this carnage.  The police took the unconscious Dark Jedi into custody, and also held Kelif for questioning.  Kelif gave up (without any threats or offers) the names of his companions, the name of the ship, why he'd done it, etc.  The police informed him that because Myzil V is a neutral planet (and, in fact, both the Republic and Sith are negotiating with the Council for Development over which side the planet will be on), it's not a crime to be a Sith on Myzil V.  Kazbich and Gobmush promptly delivered the ship to the offsite landing pad, then Umoe informed them that the Myzil V police wanted them for questioning, so Kazbich turned himself in.  Gobmush tried to hide for a while in the ice caves, but was ultimately caught.

Kazbich was charged with aggravated assault in his shooting of the Quarren droid dealer.  In a short trial, Novin the Arkanian lawyer failed to provide any reasonable defense and Kazbich was sentenced to a fine of 250 credits, reduced (thanks to Novin's lawyering) from 2,000 credits and a year-long prison sentence.  (And I got to use the new law system rules from Scum and Villainy!)

Kazbich, Gobmush, and Kelif were charged in the aggravated assault, in public, of a Sith, and in a week-long trial, they pulled out all the stops: Novin convinced the jury that the three were Republic agents (and this is wartime against the Sith); the party convinced Rek Luk to send some corporate lawyers to help them out (as the Raraza had been impounded); Kazbich called Skee, the Rodian crime lord from Sleheyron (way, way back in the first adventure), and got him to strongarm some of the jury.  In a miraculous result, the party was acquitted of all charges, making Kazbich, Gobmush and Kelif the O.J. Simpsons of Myzil V.  Umoe was not pleased with all the attention they were getting.

To get some R&R after their long trial, Kazbich decided to gamble for a while (and won some money), while Gobmush and Kelif decided to go hunting on one of the preserves.  They were taken by landspeeder by a hunting safari group to hunt iriaz, a herd animal native to Dantooine, alongside another hunter, the Kel Dor soldier Zad Darl.  Gobmush quickly snagged some choice iriaz pelts, using his survival skills to field dress his catches, while Kelif used his sniper rifle to bag a few of his own.  While Zad was hunting, Kelif offered to duel him with stun weapons; Kelif would offer his blaster from the Mandalorian Wars, while Zad would offer a pelt and 100 credits.  (Kelif was not able to convince him to increase his wager.)  They did some stun damage back and forth for a while, before Kelif lost his patience, dropped his stun blaster, and drew his sniper rifle... just in time for it to jam.  Zad was not pleased at his treachery, changed his blaster rifle to lethal, and took cover to snipe at Kelif, who at this point was getting badly wounded by Zad's superior shooting ability.  Kelif took the opportunity to surrender, so Zad binder-cuffed him.  Gobmush walked by and took Zad's side, handcuffing him to a nearby tree while they went hunting together.  Kelif eventually wriggled free of the cuffs, running off into the preserve as Kad shot at him.  Kelif eventually contacted Kazbich to pick him up in the Raraza, while Gobmush picked up his discarded weapons.  On the ride back, Gobmush convinced Zad (who turned out to be a former Republic soldier who'd fought in the Mandalorian Wars, lived currently on Dorin, and was on Myzil V to hunt big game, like gundarks, with a group of other Kel Dor soldiers) to not charge Kelif with a crime in exchange for the sniper rifle.  Kelif wanted his weapon back and in fact traded his Mandalorian helmet and pistol to a pawn shop (as Zad had promptly sold the rifle, determining it was a piece of junk) to get his weapon back.

The end.  The gold standard of "getting in trouble" in a Star Wars game is now getting indicted and nearly being sentenced to a year in the spice mines of Kessel for aggravated assault.

The Lure of the Dark Side

So I was flipping through the Force Unleashed Campaign Guide and came upon some optional rules to make the dark side more tempting to Force users.  These rules are now in effect:

• As a free action, any character who has the Force Sensitivity feat can spend a Force Point to add any one power that has the [dark side] descriptor to his or her active Force power suite.  That power can be used as normal.  However, when the power is used (or at the end of the encounter), it goes away entirely and may not be recovered by any of the normal means (including resting for 1 minute, spending a Force Point, making use of the Force Recovery talent, or rolling a natural 20 on a Use the Force check to activate a Force power).  (GM's note: This is any character who has Force Sensitivity, not Force Training.  So even a character who's Force-sensitive but not trained — like Lyta — can call upon the dark side to get some powers in a pinch.)
  
• Similarly, any character who has the Force Sensitivity feat can spend a Force Point as a free action to temporarily gain the use of any talents from the Dark Side talent tree, the Dark Side Devotee talent tree (Force Adept prestige class), or the Sith talent tree (Sith Apprentice prestige class).  A character must meet all the prerequisites for one of these talents to be able to use it, and the character can spend more than one Force Point over the course of an encounter to gain multiple talents from those talent trees.  Talents gained in this manner count temporarily toward the prerequisites of other talents, and the effects of these talents last for the remainder of the encounter.  Additionally, at the conclusion of the encounter, the character increases his or her Dark Side Score by a number of points equal to the number of Force Points spent in this manner.  For example, in the first round of an encounter, a Jedi could spend a Force Point to gain the benefit of the Power of the Dark Side talent for the remainder of the encounter.  In the following round, he can spend another Force Point to gain access to the Swift Power talent, since he temporarily has access to its prerequisite talent.  (GM's note: You have to meet prerequisites for the talent, not the prestige class it's based off of; so even a low-level character can temporarily gain Sith or Dark Side Devotee talents.)
  

Character Composite: HK-47

HK-47 requires no introduction, meatbag. He appears in both Knights of the Old Republic video games, as well as the Star Wars Galaxies expansion Trials of Obi-Wan.

HK-47 is a killing machine, as his stats clearly show. Assassin was the best prestige class for him, as it lets him pile on even more dice when he gets a hit (an extra +1d6+3 against a "mark" he chooses at the start of combat, and an extra +1d6 whenever he moves an enemy down the condition track, which is very often; plus, Sniping Assassin gives him +3 damage against targets not in point blank range). He's got the ability to bring even the toughest foes down pretty quickly.

As he's a well-prized assassin droid, I even gave him enhanced Dexterity from the Superior Tech feat and a much-improved blaster rifle; the hair trigger lets him reroll damage once per encounter (taking the better result) when he uses Rapid Shot, the double trigger improves his aiming, and the targeting scope is just necessary for sniping.

HK-47, Assassin Droid
Fourth-degree assassin droid Soldier 3/Scoundrel 1/Independent Droid 5/Assassin 7
Destiny: 1; Force: 7
Init: +19; Senses: +18, darkvision
Languages: Basic, Binary, Huttese, Mando'a
-
Defenses: Ref 36 (flat-footed 30); Fort 31; Will 33 (36 vs. reprogramming)
HP: 153; Threshold: 31
Immune: restraining bolt
-
Speed: 6 squares
Melee: +17 unarmed (1d4+11)
Ranged: +21 blaster rifle (3d8+15, devastating, +1d6+3 vs. mark)
or +19 blaster rifle (4d8+15, devastating, +1d6+3 vs. mark) with Rapid Shot
or +23 blaster rifle (4d8+15, devastating, +1d6+3 vs. mark) aiming
Base Atk: +14; Grp: +17
Atk Options: Dastardly Strike, Devastating Attack, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Sniping Assassin
Special Actions: Careful Shot, Deadeye, Murderous Arts I-II
Encounter Powers: hair trigger, independent spirit +2, mark, Ruthless
-
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 22, Con -, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 10
Special Qualities: droid traits, independent spirit +2, mark +3, sapience
Talents: Combat Repairs, Dastardly Strike, Defensive Electronics, Devastating Attack (rifles), Murderous Arts I-II, Repair Self, Ruthless, Sniping Assassin, Weapon Specialization (rifles)
Feats: Armor Proficiency (light, medium), Careful Shot, Deadeye, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Sniper, Toughness, Weapon Focus (rifles), Weapon Groups (pistols, rifles, simple)
Skills: Initiative +19, Knowledge (tactics) +15, Mechanics +15, Perception +18, Use Computer +15
Possessions: blaster rifle (+5 damage, double trigger, hair trigger, low-light targeting scope), superior ability modification (+4 Dex)
Droid Systems: walking locomotion, heuristic processor, 2 hand appendages, darkvision, improved sensor package, locked access, secondary battery, translator unit (DC 5), vocabulator

Character Composite: Bao-Dur

Bao-Dur is statted out in the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, but I didn't really feel that it took advantage of all of the options available in the sourcebooks now. So here is my own version of Bao-Dur as of the end of Knights of the Old Republic 2.

Bao-Dur is a master mechanic who served with the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars, serving in the Engineer Corps, though he lost an arm. He was a brilliant engineer whose hatred of the Mandalorians led him to build the Mass Shadow Generator, the superweapon that allowed Revan's ultimate victory at Malachor V. When the Mass Shadow Generator decimated both the Republic and Mandalorian navies, Bao-Dur realized the deaths he had brought to the galaxy and dedicated himself to peaceful pursuits. After the Jedi Civil War began, he traveled to the ravaged planet of Telos to lend his technical expertise to helping restore the ruined world. He built the gigantic shield network that allowed the planet to be divided up into restoration zones. While working to disrupt Czerka Corporation's attempts to take over the restoration project, Bao-Dur met up with his former General, the Jedi Exile, who trained him in the ways of the Force. Their journeys led Bao-Dur to once again defend Telos, this time from the fury of Darth Nihilus, and to confront the Mass Shadow Generator he had built on Malachor V.

Bao-Dur is an unarmed master, having all of the Martial Arts feats and taking levels of Elite Trooper to gain access to the Teras Kasi talent tree. He's got a host of technical talents as well, able to hack into networks and security systems with ease. The Military Engineer prestige class lets him repair droids faster, which is useful for his remote droid companion who helps him with repairs, and his Superior Tech feat means all of his weapons are upgraded to the utmost. The new follower rules from Clone Wars let him get a droid companion, which lets him get his ubiquitous remote. (Normally you can't take a Tiny follower, but I'm allowing it for the sake of his character.)

Bao-Dur, Master Mechanic
Male Zabrak Soldier 4/Scoundrel 5/Elite Trooper 4/Military Engineer 2/Jedi 1
Destiny: 1; Force: 7
Init: +8; Senses: Perception +10*
Languages: Basic, Binary, Huttese, Sullustese, Zabrak
-
Defenses: Ref 33 (flat-footed 29), Elusive Target; Fort 33; Will 31
HP: 152, DR 2; Threshold: 33
-
Speed: 6 squares
Melee: +17 unarmed (2d10+18)
Ranged: +15 blaster pistol (3d6+13)
Base Atk: +14; Grp: +17
Atk Options: Ignore Damage Reduction, Point Blank Shot
Special Actions: Conditioning, Gearhead
-
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 10
Special Qualities: field-created weapon +1
Talents: Commanding Officer, Elusive Target, Gimmick, Ignore Damage Reduction, Master Slicer, Melee Smash, Repairs on the Fly, Security Slicer, Teras Kasi Basics
Feats: Armor Proficiency (light, medium), Conditioning, Force Sensitivity, Gearhead, Martial Arts I-III, Point Blank Shot, Skill Focus (Mechanics, Use Computer), Skill Training (Knowledge [technology]), Superior Tech (weapons), Tech Specialist, Weapon Groups (lightsabers, pistols, rifles, simple)
Skills: Climb +16*, Endurance +15*, Jump +16*, Knowledge (technology) +16, Mechanics +21, Perception +10*, Use Computer +21 (* to improve access), Use the Force +12
*can reroll
Possessions: droid remote (utility follower), combat gloves (+5 damage), blaster pistol (+5 damage), cybernetic arm

Bao-Dur's Droid Remote
Tiny droid utility follower 16
Languages: Binary, Basic
-
Defenses: Ref 31 (flat-footed 28); Fort 26; Will 28
HP: 26; Threshold: 26
Immune: droid immunities
-
Speed: 6 squares (hovering)
Melee: +10 tool (7)
Ranged: +15 cutting laser (3d4+8)
Base Atk: +12; Grp: +2
-
Abilities: Str 6, Dex 16, Con -, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 10
Special Qualities: droid traits, follower qualities
Feats: Armor Proficiency (light), Weapons Groups (pistols, rifles, simple)
Skills: Mechanics +14, Stealth +21
Possessions: heuristic processor, cutting laser (treat as hold-out blaster)