May 20 recap

Ras and Kelif have been investigating the G-type shuttle that Wertsnik flew onto Coruscant, and come to the conclusion that they'll need Kazbich's computer skills to be able to successfully track it.  They leave the Jedi Temple for a nearby upscale bar, the Force of Personality, and call the entire party together to form a plan of action.  Marina declines to participate, preferring to stay in the ship.  Ras and Kelif lay it all out — they've deduced that since Wertsnik has Republic security clearance, he probably didn't have to go through customs and security to get onto Coruscant, and interviews with local pilots have said that if you wanted to land a ship near Republic City without a lot of scrutiny, you'd do it in The Works, the nearby factory district that isn't as densely populated as the city.  So the thing to do would be to have Kazbich try to detect the engine signature of a G-type shuttle in the Works.  (Trivia note: The Works is the area of Coruscant near Republic City where Count Dooku meets up with Darth Sidious at the end of Attack of the Clones.)

Craskh Luk volunteers to drive his air taxi through the Works to help the party.  While driving through the Works, the party finds only a few other speeders and personnel — the vast majority of work here (manufacturing, security, etc.) is done by droids.  After a long, long scan of the area, Kazbich finds the ship they're looking for at an abandoned factory belonging to Nebula Manufacturing, which went out of business 17 years ago.  A decrepit custodian droid greets the party and directs all inquiries to the corporate offices.

The party enters the factory — Gobmush keeps watch outside, while Craskh keeps an eye out for nearby speeders (with Jazz in tow).  Inside are huge piles of junk, abandoned droids, and nonfunctioning machinery for repulsorlift parts.  At the corporate landing bay is a G-type shuttle, but as the party approaches, three of the large junk piles spring to life!  The junk droid behemoths charge, slamming into Kazbich, Kelif and Ras with their gigantic fists and inflicting significant damage.  Ras uses the Force to slam the droids into each other while Kazbich and Kelif open fire, eventually reducing the junk droids to rubble.  However, the party has been badly hurt by the battle, and Lyta and Oro spring into action, performing surgery to heal their wounds.

Kazbich hacks his way into the G-type shuttle, and the party explores it, but the ship's logs have been wiped clean.  Gobmush enters the ship and, using his superior tracking skills, finds the footprints of a Trandoshan inside — it's Wertsnik, alright.  The tracks lead outside the ship, then stop, suggesting that Wertsnik used a speeder of some kind to exit the building.

I couldn't resist.

Here's a little bit of Kazbich humor for you (here's the link, because the resolution is not so good):

May 13 recap

Good gravy, are we practically up to weekly games now?  I'm not complaining...

In an impromptu session, Ras and Kelif continued their search through the Jedi Archives for information on Kelif's father, only to find next to nothing other than colonization reports from Naboo; they'll probably need primary sources and will need to talk to people who knew his father, Selif, to get more information.  Ditto for information on Kaius Fett, the Mandalorian Rally Master who recruited him, especially given that he is now dead.

While in the Archives, Ras and Kelif met up with Ras' Jedi Master, Asa Ulara, who congratulated her on her approaching Knighthood and told her to be at the Jedi High Council spire at sunset.

Ras worked heavily on her lightsaber, building a crossguard lightsaber and looking to accessorize it.  She worked with Duros Jedi Artisan Master Muz, who used his tech specialist abilities to fully modify her lightsaber.  As Ras worked with Muz, Kelif waited in a nearby hallway, where he met a 5-year-old human named Wuja, an enthusiastic Jedi apprentice who is "top of his class in sense powers."  Ras and Kelif agree to spar with him the following morning — he has 8 a.m. classes — and show him some moves.

Ras and Kelif leave the Temple to look for more information on Selif Binks.  They accessed a public computer to try to learn more, but only found more Naboo colonization reports.  They descend to a lower level — not too far from the surface — and enter Chobar's Drop, a rather seedy cantina run by a burly Bothan.  He asks if anybody there has been to Naboo, to which a drunken Duros named Bor awkwardly hits on Ras and claims to have been a war hero from the Mandalorian Wars.  Ras and Kelif promptly leave, and head up closer to the surface.

They go to a more posh bar where Republic troopers in uniform are enjoying drinks.  The comely human bartender, Kira, directs them to a pilot — the handsome Twi'lek swashbuckler Nawara, who takes an instant liking to Ras.  Nawara confirms the travel time for Wertsnik's incoming shuttle, as well as the long wait in customs, but something still doesn't feel right.  A female Ithorian confirms the travel time, but Ras then realizes that since she met Wertsnik as a Republic agent, it's entirely likely he has clearance to go past customs.  Nawara says if he was heading for Republic City, he'd probably land on the outskirts in the Works, the large factory district.

When Ras and Kelif look for information on Naboo, they talk to two human Republic soldiers, Darven and Salek.  Darven hasn't been to Naboo, but he did serve two tours during the Mandalorian Wars, setting Kelif on edge.  Salek has been to Naboo, delivering supplies to the colonists there, though he makes a gaffe in referring to the Gungans as "savages."  He apologizes profusely, but says he doesn't know any Gungans personally (and thus doesn't know Selif).  Ras and Kelif realize they'll probably have to go to Naboo to learn more — there's only so much they can learn from Coruscant.

As sunset approaches, Ras and Kelif then attend the Knighting ceremony.  The council chamber is dark, but as Ras enters, she is surrounded by thirteen ignited lightsabers, one for each member of the Jedi Council and one for Asa Ulara.  Master Vrook formally declares Ras Patul a "Knight of the Republic."

After the ceremony, Ras informs the Council of the search for Wertsnik.  The Council says that she has semi-autonomy now, and the resources of the Temple are at her disposal.

The next morning, bright and early, Ras and Kelif practice dueling with Wuja, and Kelif buys a cortosis weave sword on the street.

Jedi Academy overview

I have picked up the Jedi Academy Training Manual, and let me just say this is one of the best books in the entire Star Wars RPG line.  This book is not just essential for Jedi — it's a must-have for Force-users of any kind.  If you liked the Force material in the old Hero's Guide for Revised Core, you'll find a lot of familiar things reprinted here.

There are very few new species in this book, and in fact there is no "new species" section.  Shards, Celegians, Krevaaki, and Vultans get their own sidebars as appropriate.

The book opens up with the "Power of the Force" chapter.  New uses for the Use the Force skill are reprinted from Clone Wars and KOTOR.  The book then introduces Force regimens — training exercises that Force-users and lightsaber duelists can use to get a small game benefit.  These are pretty flavorful and take hours to perform, so it's not like they're something simple you can perform on the fly.  For example, the Oxygen Bottle regimen has you emptying a small glass bottle of air, then using the Force to only allow pure oxygen inside.  If you can complete it, you gain a bonus against inhaled poisons and hazards, or if you roll high enough, you become immune for the day.

Next come the talents.  Of which there are a lot.  The Jedi class gets 6 new talents — nothing that's a must-have, but Shoto Focus gives some love for the short lightsaber, or "shoto," Hold the Line gives you basically the 4E Fighter's "Combat Superiority" class feature, and Grenade Defense lets you hurl grenades away harmlessly as a reaction.

There are a lot of Force talents — 17, to be exact (one is a reprint).  Several Alter talents build off of the Illusion talent, letting you disguise yourself or see through the eyes of your illusion.  The Control talents are both winners — Channel Energy lets you immediately use a Force power after successfully using the Negate Energy power, and Force Harmony lets you, once per encounter, activate a Force talent that requires a Force Point without spending the Force Point.  The Dark Side gets Transfer Essence, which lets darksiders try to possess people or objects when they die.  The book also introduces the Guardian Spirit talent tree — you have a Force spirit that aids you in various (and powerful) ways.

Prestige classes get a lot of new talents.  First, the Force adept: The Dark Side Devotee gets its own version of the Force Talisman; the Beastwarden tree lets you control beasts; the Mystic uses the Force in strange and magical ways; the Telepath makes you a master of mind-affecting powers and lets you perform some pretty powerful mental tricks.  The Jedi Knight gets four new talent trees: the Jedi Artisan tree gives you bonuses when wielding a lightsaber you built yourself; the Jedi Instructor tree lets you share your Force secrets, techniques and talents with other Jedi; the Jedi Investigator is great at tracking down prey and avoiding deception; the Jedi Weapon Master is good at wielding two weapons or using unconventional weapons.  The Sith Apprentice gets the Sith Alchemy tree, which lets it create all kinds of Sith trinkets (armor, amulets, talismans, weapons), modify its gear with its own Tech Specialist-like tree, and mutate creatures or people into Sith abominations or chrysalis beasts (both templates provided).

There's only five new feats; they're not anything super-awesome, but they're pretty good.  They're pretty much only for lightsaber wielders or Force users.

Then come the Force powers.  Holy moley, are there a lot of Force powers.  Blind hurls debris at a target's eyes; Convection makes your skin incredibly hot, making your unarmed attacks more powerful; Crucitorn increases your damage threshold; Cryokinesis damages objects; Drain Energy turns off small objects; Fold Space lets you teleport objects; Force Light creates a radius of light that burns darksiders; Force Storm is a name reprint of a power from The Force Unleashed campaign book, but creates an acid rain storm in a large area; Force Track lets you follow a target without the need for Survival checks; Hatred creates waves of pain that hurt your enemies; Inertia lets you run up and along walls; Inspire gives your allies a boost to Will (and is heads above the similar power Valor from the KOTOR book); Intercept throws objects in the path of incoming ranged attacks, letting you negate the attack; Memory Walk forces your enemies to relive their worst moments (straight out of the Lando Calrissian novels and Darth Bane books); Mind Shard sends wracking pain into another creature's mind; Plant Surge grapples a whole lot of enemies at once; Thought Bomb deals damage in a burst.

Also technically Force powers are the Lightsaber Form powers, which basically function to create a complex lightsaber dueling system.  There's a lot of really cool stuff here (I won't list them all, but there's 24 powers here), like Draw Closer, which pulls an enemy towards you; High Ground Defense (wonder where that came from), which grants you extra attacks while you have high ground; and the high-powered Tempered Aggression, a Vaapad-influenced power where if you exceed your target's Reflex Defense enough, it's an automatic critical hit.

There's also a few Force Techniques, which mostly boost new powers introduced earlier on, and two new Force Secrets: Holocron Loremaster lets you borrow Force powers from your allies, and lets you record your own holocron, while Mentor lets you lend powers to your allies, and is only accessible to those who have trained a Padawan all the way to Knighthood.

The next chapter is Philosophy, which is dedicated to exploring what it means to be a Jedi, how the Force works, and how people can fall to the dark side.  If you read the same section in the old Power of the Jedi Sourcebook in Revised Core, a lot of this will be familiar to you, which is a good thing, because this really gets in the nitty-gritty about how people can live up to the Jedi ideals.  The section also includes rules for giving Padawans to players, which are surprisingly unintrusive and smooth; they're just nonheroic characters, they borrow defenses from their master, and they don't take party XP.

Next comes the Equipment & Artifacts chapter.  Every lightsaber that has seen print so far is reprinted here, as well as a few new ones (archaic lightsabers, dual-phase, great lightsaber, crossguard, dueling, and even the rare san-ni staff, the lightsaber tri-staff).  There's a huge section on lightsaber crystals — just about every kind you can think of is listed, as well as where they're from — and there's a small section on extremely rare crystals, like krayt dragon pearls.  There's a small section for lightsaber accessories that don't do a whole lot gameplay-wise but are still pretty flavorful.  There's a section on Jedi and Sith armor, and orbalisk armor gets reprinted from Threats.  Then there's a big section on holocrons: how to use them, how they can be used in combat, how to build them, how to stat out their gatekeepers.  The section ends with some Sith artifacts: amulets, Sith poison (really, really nasty), scrolls, talismans, and the Muur Talisman (of Vector fame), which is statted out exactly how you'd think it is.

The Affiliated Programs comes next, basically a list of other Force traditions that are traditionally allied (or at least tolerant of) the Jedi.  Aing-Tii Monks are mysterious mystics from the deep reaches of space, and they have crazy teleportation powers.  Baran Do Sages are Kel Dor adepts who specialize in seeing the future.  Fallanassi are stealthy and secretive, favoring powers that let them avoid detection.  Iron Knights are really old school, from the West End Games Star Wars RPG — sentient Force-sensitive crystals that inhabit droid bodies.  Matukai use the Force to push their bodies to their physical limits and wield the unique wan-shen weapon.  Seyugi Dervishes are Force-wielding assassins who really love the Whirlwind Attack feat.  The Shapers of Kro Var are a new tradition — they use the Force to control the elements, with a strong mystical bent.  The Tyia are also from the West End Games version, being peaceful diplomats who seek only life and harmony.  Wardens of the Sky are new, a wandering group of spacers who excel at martial arts and grappling.  The Zeison Sha are grim survivalists who thrive on telekinesis, especially with their signature discblade weapon.

Instructors & Alumni stats out previously unstatted characters: Anoon Bondara, Arca Jeth, Cay Qel-Droma, Cilghal, Corran Horn, Dace Diath, Grand Master Luke Skywalker (level 20 version), Kieran Halcyon, Kyle Katarn, Mara Jade Skywalker, Nomi Sunrider, Odan-Urr, Ooroo, Oss Willum, Shoaneb Culu, Thon (no Tchuukthai stats, sadly), Tott Doneeta, and Vodo Siosk-Baas.  A whole lot of high-level Jedi all around.

Next is the chapter "Dangers of Study," delivering plenty of dark side threats.  Named characters are Azrakel, the Blackguard, Brakiss, Carnor Jax, the Dark Side Spirit template, Hethrir, Irek Ismaren, Kueller, Massassi Abominations, Nightsisters of Dathomir, Prophets of the Dark Side, Sedriss, Shadow Academy Students, Sorcerors of Tund (no Croke stats, sorry Andy), Tamith Kai, and Xanatos.  A good mix of low-level and high-level threats.  There's also a whole lot of dark side creatures: Two-Headed Battle Hydra, Beck-Tori, Chrysalis Beast, Derriphan, Droch, Dxun Tomb Beast, Hssiss (Dark Side Dragon), Marsh Haunt, Nighthunter, Shyrack, Silooth, Sith Warbird (the picture is more funny than threatening), Sith Wyrm, Storm Beast, Taozin, Terentatek (finally!  I have been waiting for these for a long time), and Tuk'ata Sith Hounds.

The book ends with the Studying Abroad chapter, which lists a lot of Force-strong locations.  Light side spots include the Chu'unthor, Dantooine, Ossus, Yavin 4, and Ruusan, while dark side sites consist of Dxun and Korriban.

All in all this is a fantastic book.  If you liked the old Hero's Guide and Power of the Jedi books, you'll find a lot to remember in here, and there's just so much for any aspiring Force-user in this book.

May 6 recap

The Raraza takes off for Coruscant, and Ras builds her own lightsabers on the way there.  En route, Marina brings up a good point — Kelif shouldn't be seen wearing his Mandalorian armor on Coruscant, seeing as how the Mandalorian Wars just ended a year ago.  Ras puts Kelif into a Force trance, and to cover the illusion, Lyta dopes him up full of sedatives.

Upon emerging from hyperspace, they find a long line of ships in the spacelanes waiting to get through customs inspections.  (In the KOTOR era, Coruscant is as pristine now as it will be during the Clone Wars, aided in large part by the fact that the Republic has allowed many corporations to invest directly in Republic infrastructure — expediting reconstruction after the Great Sith War, but giving corporations unprecedented power over government.  In terms of security, Coruscant is guarded both by the Republic military and by corporate security forces.  And I quote from the KOTOR Campaign Guide: "Security procedures during this time more closely resemble those that will be in place during the reign of the Galactic Empire.")  Kazbich whips out fake IDs for himself ("Rusty Shackleford," in a King of the Hill reference) and Marina ("Nancy Gribble-Shackleford").  A Rodian customs inspector boards the ship and questions everybody, checking everybody's cover stories and running a scanner for foreign contaminants.  The party tells the inspector that Kelif is being transported to a medical facility on Coruscant "to make sure what he has doesn't spread."

Ras proceeds to ask the inspector about G-type light shuttles that may have come through to Coruscant (as that's the kind of ship Wertsnik left Myzil V on); the inspector says he'd seen at least 5 that day, and began fishing for a bribe.  Ras gives him a few hundred credits and tells him to look into the traffic logs and try to trip up any G-type that enters the system, as well as contact her if one does show up.  The inspector agrees and goes on his way.

While coming in for a landing near the Jedi Temple (relatively new, built in the past 40 years), Kazbich is informed that the Temple's landing bay is still under construction, so they'll need to land somewhere else nearby.  There's a public landing bay nearby where they can land — not one of the fancy floating ones (those are reserved for dignitaries), but attached to one of the downtown towers.  As the Raraza lands, Kazbich notices on the sensors that there's an air taxi following their descent — registered as a normal air taxi belonging to Core Worlds Taxi Service.  Upon landing, the dockmaster emerges, and offers a reasonable price for staying — 10 credits a day to dock there, another 10 for droids to maintain the ship — so Kazbich has no problem paying a little extra.

The air taxi lands and a Duros emerges.  He looks at a holo, then looks at Kazbich, and says, "You must be Kazbich."  Kazbich draws his pistols and threatens the Duros, to which he chuckles and says he must be Kazbich.  He explains that he's Crask Luk, a cousin of Rek Luk; Rek owns the Raraza, and he told Crask that the ship was heading for Coruscant, so that Crask can keep an eye on them.  He immediately offers to take them wherever they want to go in Republic City, the capital; Ras and Kelif agree to go to the Jedi Temple, while the others want a tour of the area.

Upon landing at one of the public entrances of the Jedi Temple, Ras and Kelif are blocked by K'Chuk, a massive Whiphid who serves as the Jedi Gate Keeper.  Ras convinces him that she is a Jedi and they are allowed to pass.  K'Chuk gives them directions to the Jedi Archives.

Crask gives everybody else the whirlwind tour — the Galactic Senate (still undergoing construction), the Senate Plaza, Monument Plaza (home of the only untouched land on Coruscant), and several high-powered towers and buildings, before descending into a lower level (a ways away from the government buildings) with some bars and a casino and such, but which is still under Republic guard.  Kazbich is interested into even lower levels, but Crask says that those are dangerous — the sun doesn't shine down there, and most Republic guards won't go down there, so they're pretty much run by the gangs.  Lyta and Oro get out in the still-nice area, looking for a free clinic.  Lyta is looking to make contacts in hopes of establishing a Red Cross/Peace Corps type of organization, and meets up with a Toydarian doctor, who shares some medical news about the area (a Cardooine chills outbreak lately) and shows surprise that Lyta isn't looking for benefactors in more pristine places like the University of Coruscant.

Kazbich inquires about the crime scene on the outskirts of Republic City, and this particular deep area is run by a Ryn named Gaph, a rather bloodthirsty and unrestrained crime lord who controls the spice flow and provides protection in the area; the Exchange doesn't have a presence there that Kazbich can find.  Kazbich, with Gobmush, Jazz and Marina in tow, arranges a meeting with one of Gaph's people, a rather stoic Gand who responds to most questions by silently nodding.  Kazbich expresses an interest in working for Gaph, but the Gand says that he'll first have to pass a loyalty test, which are always violent and often fatal.  Kazbich begins to have second thoughts, as Lyta and Oro reconnect with the group.

In the Jedi Temple, Ras and Kelif talk about their beliefs, and Kelif talks about Kaius Fett, the Mandalorian who came to Naboo and recruited Gungans during the Mandalorian Wars.  In the Jedi Archives, Ras does some research on Kaius and Naboo, among other things, in preparation for her Knighting ceremony.  While in the Archives, Ras meets up with a Jedi Master — a female Miraluka named Neyeria.  Neyeria introduces herself, and asks after Lyta; it turns out Neyeria trained Lyta briefly when she was still considering Jedi training.  Neyeria hopes to meet up with Lyta during her stay on Coruscant — across the city, Lyta suddenly gets a chill.

Ras also asks about Cariaga Sin, the Sith woman in red armor who they encountered on Ithor and then on Myzil V.  Neyeria says that Cariaga was once a Jedi who was extremely skilled with dual lightsabers and was very beautiful — she had the eye of many a Padawan.  Cariaga became filled with pride over her abilities, and when Revan gathered followers to fight in the Mandalorian Wars, she joined them, believing that her extraordinary lightsaber skills would help quickly end the war.  She was corrupted by battle, using her lightsaber skills to create death and mayhem among the Mandalorians, and she followed Revan into the Unknown Regions, so she now fights on behalf of his Sith Empire.

Around this time, it was getting super-late and we decided to end the game.