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.

Character Composite: Asa Ulara

A Nautolan Jedi from Glee Anselm, Asa Ulara was discovered by the Order in her infancy and taken to a Jedi enclave on Bogden 3, where she was one of several apprentices trained under Jeela Ronu, a female Rodian Jedi Master who now serves on the Jedi High Council. Asa was always a rough-and-tumble apprentice, always getting into mischief with the other apprentices, and she displayed a natural talent for clouding the minds of others.

Growing up and training in the years after the Great Sith War, the Jedi Order was very concerned about its role in the Republic and the threat posed by the dark side. Given her natural talents, Asa Ulara was picked out for extra training by a Kuati Jedi named Lysire Nelu, who trained her in the ways of the Jedi Shadow: a Sentinel dedicated to ferreting out dark siders wherever they hid. Lysire took Asa away from the Bogden 3 academy, and together they roamed the galaxy, searching for remnants of the Sith and the Krath.

A mission tracking down a dark side cult on Nar Kreeta ended in disaster, as Lysire was killed and Asa was trapped on a hostile planet. She was saved by a visiting Jedi Knight, Lucien Draay, who told her that his mother, the great seer Krynda Draay, had foreseen that Asa was in trouble and could be a great help to her burgeoning Jedi Covenant as a Shadow. Believing in their mission to prevent the Sith from returning, Asa agreed. Though the Jedi Order believed she was dead, Asa spent the next several years tracking down and destroying (or securing) dark side artifacts, such as the Gauntlet of Kressh the Younger and the Epistle of Tulak Hord.

In 3971 BBY, the Ondrutos Sector seceded from the Republic and closed its borders, its noble ruling families intent on carving out a new empire for themselves. In a violent uprising, they slew the Republic ambassadors sent to negotiate and began attacking nearby worlds in hope of conquest. Krynda Draay had foreseen that Krath survivors of the Great Sith War were manipulating the Ondrutos nobility and dispatched Asa Ulara, among other Shadows, to quietly eliminate the Krath cultists. While evading Ondrutos defense starfighters over Merrouine, Asa drove fighters away from a nearby transport, the Luk Renout, and used the Force to slow the damaged ship's descent to the planet's surface. The ship's pilot, a gold-hearted Duros named Areta Luk, had been smuggling food and medical supplies to the oppressed lower class in the Ondrutos Sector, and he was grateful for the Jedi having saved his life. After the Ondrutos Insurgency was ended, Areta Luk and Asa Ulara became friends, over the years sharing news of the galaxy, with both informing the other about systems in distress and opportunities to help others. Though their friendship became more distant after Areta married and began raising his family, Areta was still grateful for Asa's saving his life, and Asa appreciated Areta informing her about suspicious activity around the galaxy, information she was able to put to good use with the Jedi Covenant.

In 3969 BBY, Asa Ulara found a young Umbaran, Ras Patul, on the streets of Rishi, and arranged to have her found by the Jedi Order and trained at the recently built Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Asa knew that she could not yet teach the young woman, but hoped to induct her into the Covenant Shadows when she became old enough, for she had many of the same abilities that Asa possessed herself. Asa used the Force to encourage Ras not to tell the Jedi Order she was still alive — as she was still a secret member of the Covenant Shadows — and watched from afar as Ras began her apprenticeship at the Temple.

In 3963 BBY, when Haazen took over the Covenant and issued Command Word Vindication, Asa Ulara was far from the Core, searching for the Gauntlets of Simus in the Unknown Regions, and thus was unaware of Haazen's treachery. When she returned to Coruscant, the Draay estate had been destroyed, Lucien Draay was presumed dead, and the Jedi Covenant had been exposed, with the Jedi High Council finding the names of the Covenant Shadows in the wreckage. Realizing that Haazen had duped the Jedi Order, but still believing strongly in the cause of good, Asa Ulara submitted herself to the Council's judgment. While many Shadows were taken into the Order's custody and held on Coruscant for private trial, Asa's old master, Jeela Ronu, spoke on her behalf, and Asa was re-inducted into the Jedi Order.

Asa faithfully served the Jedi Order as a Shadow through the Mandalorian Wars. Though she did not follow Revan and Malak's call to battle, she served the Jedi High Council by keeping a close eye on the Revanchists' activities. While at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Asa re-met Ras Patul, now a striking warrior, and took her as her Padawan, finally feeling she was ready to be a teacher to the young Umbaran. After four years together, Ras is nearly ready to become a Jedi Knight.

Asa Ulara, Jedi Shadow (CR 12)
Female Nautolan Jedi 6/Scoundrel 3/Jedi Knight 3
Destiny: 0; Force: 5
Init: +7; Senses: +8, low-light vision
Languages: Basic, Nautila
-
Defenses: Ref 25 (flat-footed 24); Fort 26; Will 26
HP: 122; Threshold: 31
-
Speed: 6 squares
Melee: +16 lightsaber (2d8+12)
or +16 lightsaber (2d8+12/19-20) with Critical Strike
Ranged: +12 blaster pistol (3d6+6)
Base Atk: +11; Grp: +14
Atk Options: Advantageous Opening, Thrive on Chaos
Special Actions: Critical Strike, Impetuous Move, Indomitable Will
Encounter Powers: Taint of the Dark Side
Force Powers Known: Use the Force +13; combustion, Force shield, Force storm, levitate, mind trick (2), move object
Force Techniques: Improved Mind Trick
-
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14
Special Qualities: breathe underwater, pheromonal sensor
Talents: Acrobatic Recovery, Advantageous Opening, Dampen Presence, Dark Deception, Indomitable Will, Taint of the Dark Side, Thrive on Chaos
Feats: Bad Feeling, Critical Strike, Force Sensitivity, Force Training (2), Impetuous Move, Improved Damage Threshold, Skill Training (Persuasion), Weapon Focus (lightsabers), Weapon Groups (lightsabers, pistols, simple), Withdrawal Strike (lightsabers)
Skills: Acrobatics +12, Deception +13, Perception +8 (* to sense deception or influence), Persuasion +13, Swim +9*†, Use the Force +13
*can reroll, †can take 10
Possessions: lightsaber (self-built, yellow), blaster pistol, Jedi robes, spacer's outfit, utility belt

April 23 recap

On Myzil V, the day after the Sith embassy was sacked (and converted into Elbor's Old-Fashioned Bakery), Ras and Gobmush are trying to examine the security tapes to figure out just what went down at the Republic-Sith negotiations at the Skakoan Council for Development hall when the droids exploded and everything broke down into violence.  Kazbich has been reviewing the security footage, and there does not appear to be any signal given, no button pushed, no premature flinch that indicates anybody in the room knew what was going to happen.

The party decides to try to trace back where the droids came from, given that no one noticed the gas capsule inside one of them; they're maintained by the council hall's own droid maintenance team, but when the party goes to retrieve them, they learn the droids are routinely memory-wiped (and the droids are maintained by other maintenance droids, who are also memory-wiped, and who were conveniently wiped the day after the routine maintenance for the protocol droids).  Going through records, they were donated to the Council by the Herglic gambler Umoe, who Kazbich has dealt with before (Umoe being actually the crime broker in the city).  He gives him a call, to which Umoe's protocol droid replies and arranges a meeting at the Aunaumi Casino.  When Kazbich gets there, the droid reveals that Umoe was murdered the previous day; he was meeting a contact at a sleazy motel in the Human District called the Hutt Palace.  The droid doesn't know with who; Umoe was paranoid enough to keep most of his information committed to memory, and the droid was only told about appointments in vague terms — the when and where, not the who or why.  The party learns that Umoe didn't have a permanent residence, but stayed in one of the high roller suites in the casino.  There's nothing particularly incriminating, except the address and room number at the Hutt Palace where Umoe was going to meet his contact.

With nothing particularly compelling found in Umoe's suite, it's off to the Hutt Palace.  There's a Herglic investigator there, Detective Melbor, and plenty of security droids cordoning off the area, but Melbor explains that planetary security on Myzil V consists mostly of locally produced Movol security droids and a skeleton crew of Herglics and Skakoans.  There is a rather large tape outline where Umoe's body was found, and five slugthrower casings — three by the door, two behind.  Using Gobmush's expert tracking skills, they ascertain a humanoid-sized bootprint coming through the front door — a size 9-1/2 — and a lizardlike footprint already inside, coming through the window.  Melbor also explains there's a witness being held next door.  The party takes a cast of the footprint and decides to meet with the witness.

The witness is a blue-skinned Twi'lek male in flashy clothing named Karawn.  He says that he was on his way to meet with Umoe when he heard gunshots, then ran to find the Herglic dead.  Once Ras convinces Melbor and his observation droid to leave the room (with a little bit of mind-tricking), Karawn says that he smuggled once before for Umoe, and he was being assigned to take public transport to Bandomeer and fly a ship full of droid parts to Myzil V, as droids not built by the major corporations on the planet fetch a nice price; he's a pilot for hire, but he doesn't have a ship.  Karawn offers all kinds of information — he says the manifest for his droid shipment is at the hostel he is staying in — and offers to tag along and help them with the investigation.

The party decides to head back to the council hall to see what they can figure out there, and Karawn is driving them crazy with questions about Umoe, but Ras sees some good in him and considers hiring him on as a pilot.  Once they get there, they go to the morgue — the story checks out, Umoe really is dead — while meeting with the planetary security officers.  Gobmush calls GE-3-RX-34, who tells him that Karawn used to work for the Exchange on Taris and had a large debt to them, which they exacted by taking his ship and stranding him on Myzil V.  Kazbich contacts Mr. Skee, the Rodian crime boss on Sleheyron, and he reveals the same information.  As this is going on, Karawn hunts for records about Umoe, and when the group catches up with him, he's eagerly trying to find whatever he can.  When confronted about having worked for the Exchange, he gets upset and draws his pistols, asking why the PCs couldn't leave well enough alone.  A short gunfight ensues, with Gobmush pretty much knocking the wind out of Karawn and binder-cuffing him.  Karawn admits that Umoe owed him money, and he really did overhear him being shot, so he figured if he played along with the police (and later the party) long enough, he might get close enough to get access to Umoe's bank account and clean it out.  Karawn is a desperate con man hoping for a big score, and (though not mentioned in the game) a degenerate gambler.  He admits that if left alone with the Raraza, he'd steal it and sell it, and he even offers to buy Ras' lightsaber at one point, saying it would give him street cred if people think he killed a Jedi.  Disgusted, the party sends him away to jail.

With no further leads, the party starts to wonder who specifically would benefit from Myzil V being involved in the war.  There's all the corporations on Myzil V, the Republic, the Sith, and the Council for Development itself — the most likely being the Sith.  The corporations themselves don't really benefit from fighting on Myzil V, because they have infrastructure there.  The Sith can benefit by taking over the planet, plus because Myzil V is a member of the Techno Union, it may induce the Union to join the Sith.  The Republic won the negotiations anyway.  The Council wouldn't gain much by fighting on their own doorstep.

Kazbich poses the question of who Umoe's droid belongs to now that its owner is dead, and Myzil V law makes it the property of the state.  Jazz uses the law to get the party access to the droid, and some hacking into its memory finds that it knows the dates and times of Umoe's meetings going back quite a way — Umoe never had the droid memory-wiped (as its somewhat-independent personality made it more adaptable).  Furthermore, since Kazbich knows that Umoe always had his meetings at the casino, in public view, they can match security footage to the meetings and see who Umoe met with.

The pit boss at the Aunaumi Casino is willing to provide the recording cylinders once he learns that Ras is a Jedi, and provides some free chips to their esteemed guest.  The party loses the money back to the casino, and the cylinders just "happen" to arrive after the party is done gambling.  Kazbich and Rek Luk's droids on the Raraza go carefully over the tapes, finding three meetings in the past month that aren't with Herglics or Skakoans — a meeting with a Trandoshan 3 weeks ago, and meetings with an Ithorian 2-1/2 and 1 week ago.  Kazbich gets a better resolution on the video — the Trandoshan is not Wertsnik.

Gobmush realizes that he can read lips on the video (with some great effort) and Chuckles translates for him.  The meeting with the Trandoshan finds Umoe somewhat taken aback and the Trandoshan telling Umoe that there's going to be an Ithorian meeting with him soon who represents somebody big.  The first meeting with the Ithorian has Umoe off-guard and the Ithorian saying he will provide some droids that he wants to make sure get into the Council hall.  In the second meeting, he needs someone to release the krosix-9 gas into the Pit "and it needs to look deliberate, not like an accident."  He also says he wants a Sith shuttle stolen and taken to an outside landing pad.  Kazbich admits that he performed both of these jobs.

Kazbich looks up more security footage from the casino, tracing back that the Ithorian took a droid taxi to the casino from the Oavomi spaceport and the Trandoshan arrived from the outskirts of the Human District.  The group takes the Raraza to the landing pad where Kazbich dropped off the Sith shuttle, but there's nothing there now.  Gobmush spots markings in the dirt that indicate prefabricated buildings that have since been picked up and moved somewhere else.

Ras feels she is out of options and consults with Master Jenica Vigil, still at the Republic embassy.  The two compare notes and Vigil senses that Ras "should consult all of her allies and consider all of her options."  Kazbich talks to Commander Levatt and assembles 24 good men to canvass the Human District to search for Trandoshans, especially in the sleazy hotels.

Ras reveals to Gobmush that Wertsnik was her Republic contact on Myzil V, and he's secretly a Republic agent.  They go to Wertsnik's grocery store, only to find it's under new management — Wertsnik just recently left, and now a Bothan shopkeeper, Borsk, is in charge.  The computers are bare, just containing mundane grocery information.  Kazbich consults the docking officers and learned that the Ithorian arrived on a public transport coming from Coruscant, then meets up with the party at Wertsnik's grocery.  (And Gobmush convinces Borsk to continue selling snoruk mushrooms.)  Given that Wertsnik has seemingly fled the planet, the evidence is pretty damning against him that he was involved somehow in the droid explosions.

The 24 good men then search the docking bays, but there's no Trandoshans there, and none of the passenger manifests show a Trandoshan on any of the ships.  Ras remembers the Chophouse, the shadowport where Aya Lim had been staying, and busts in with Kazbich and Gobmush in tow.  Kraldo the Khil remembers Ras and immediately offers up the information: Wertsnik left just recently aboard a G-type light shuttle bound for Coruscant.  Given the slower hyperdrive on that ship, it's probable that the Raraza can beat it to Coruscant.  The party calls in all of its favors — Ras has Jenica Vigil contact the Jedi Council, Kazbich talks to Skee and has Marina call in her friends, Gobmush contacts Rek Luk and the Bounty Hunter's Guild — to find Wertsnik.  The Raraza arrives at the Chophouse with Lyta and Kelif already aboard, and they take off immediately for Coruscant.

As the adventure ends, the party realizes with horror that the only one who hadn't been personally bamboozled by Wertsnik was Kelif.

Whipping it out

The first preview of the Jedi Academy Training Manual is up at WotC, and it's a doozy; it introduces Lightsaber Form powers, which are Force powers that you can only use while wielding an activated lightsaber (basically, a Force-guided lightsaber maneuver) and gain a bonus if you have the matching Lightsaber Form talent from the Jedi Knight tree.  It seems pretty cool, and reminds me of starship maneuvers from Starships of the Galaxy while still being Force powers.  Makes lightsaber combat a little more exciting.

Check out the preview (especially you, Jake).

April 5 recap

Once again, I have seriously shot myself in the foot with this recap by not doing it the same day.

The party regroups — as Logger and On-Warr depart for Endor, the Raraza arrives from the Champion of Dantooine in orbit.  Introductions are made for Jazz and Oro, and then the party takes a rest.

The next day is the big negotiations between the Republic and the Sith with the Skakoan Council for Development over control of Myzil V.  Ras, Lyta and Oro will be part of the negotiation team alongside Jedi Master Jenica Vigil and her Padawan Bastila Shan, while Kazbich, Jazz, Gobmush and Kelef will act as security outside in the foyer.  The Republic forces process in, followed by the Sith forces: twelve troopers act as security opposite the party, while two Sith officers, a Twi'lek diplomat named Tol Olan, and the red-bone-armor-wearing Sith lady Cariaga Sin (finally revealed the name of the character more than a year after introducing her!) make up the Sith delegation.

The Sith argued that they represented a new galactic order and that the Skakoans would receive a high rank in the Sith army; that the Republic is too weak to defend its own interests and is on the wrong side of history; and that the Skakoans don't join them, the Sith will simply wipe them out with the rest of the Republic.  Ras and Lyta countered all of their arguments, saying that the Sith wouldn't honor their agreements, that the Republic successfully held back the Sith at Ithor, and the Republic honors the Skakoans by holding them equal with all other species.  At the same time, the group in the foyer started gambling and making small talk with the Sith.

As the Sith considered their next move, the serving droids both in the council chamber and the lobby exploded, and comms were jammed.  Energy curtains suddenly activated, protecting the Council for Development and trapped everybody in their respective rooms.  Tensions immediately flared up, and the Republic accused the Sith of starting the fight, provoking Cariaga to hurl Jenica into the wall, and leading to a melee in the council chamber as the council made a retreat.  Gas poured out of the broken droid in the foyer, filling the room with nontoxic, concealing gas.  Sensing treachery, Kazbich shot first, lobbing a grenade for good measure.  Gobmush, Jazz, Kazbich, and Kelif dispatched of the twelve troopers in the room with them.

While Ras fought the Sith officers, Tol Olan cowered near the door, while Cariaga brutally attacked Bastila and Jenica, wielding two lightsabers as a master duelist.  Lyta helped patch up a badly wounded Jenica and Bastila, and once the officers were dispatched, Cariaga phased through the wall to escape.  In the foyer, Skakoan guards wielding stun vibro-axes opened the energy shield, attacking Gobmush and quickly knocking Jazz unconscious.  Kazbich tried to hack through the door, only to find the panels were written in Skakoform.  Instead, he and Kelif decided to cover the entrance to the main chamber, and when that door opened, Tol Olan ran outside, where he quickly surrendered to Kazbich and Kelif.  Once the Skakoans burst into the council chamber, they arrested the Republic forces.

The males and females were separated into separate holding cells.  Gobmush used his one phone call to contact Novin, the Arkanian lawyer, who quickly arrived and said that like the rest of the party, he'd been roped into working for the Republic too.  He arranged to have Gobmush transferred to Republic custody.  In the female cell, Ras failed to negotiate with the Skakoan security forces, so she and Bastila mind-tricked their way out of the cells, freeing the rest of the party.  Jenica disapproved, and indicated as much to Lyta, but what's done was done.  Ras also picked up a video copy of the surveillance in the council chamber, in hopes of figuring out what had happened with the serving droid.  While everybody believed the Sith were responsible, no one had any hard proof.

Back at the Republic embassy, Commander Levatt debriefed the party, just as a transmission came in.  Sith Ambassador Pedric Harrak told the Republic and the Council for Development that given that the negotiations had not gone the Sith's way, they would be taking matters into their own hands.  The Sith had planted bombs under the Aunaumi Casino, which would explode in one hour; the casino would crash into the Pit, cracking the atmospheric seal on the Skakoan colony, causing the toxic gasses to escape; the Skakoans would suffocate on the oxygen, and everybody on the Ridge would suffocate on the Skakoan gasses, effectively destroying the entire colony.

With only one hour to save the colony from certain destruction, the party split up.  Kazbich, Gobmush, Chuckles, and Oro gathered four Republic troopers and an airspeeder in hopes of disarming the bombs in time.  Bastila and Jenica Vigil helped the Republic evacuate key staff.  Ras, Lyta, Jazz, and Kelif went to the Sith embassy in hopes of finding a way to stop Ambassador Harrak from detonating the explosives; Ras would go as a Sith acolyte (with Kelif as her bodyguard), while Lyta and Jazz would go separately as diplomatic envoys from the Republic looking for a peaceful solution.

Novin used his knowledge of engineering to pinpoint where the bombs would have to be to crash the casino, and Gobmush quickly tracked where the first bomb was.  When Kazbich moved to deactivate it, it immediately started talking, thanking Kazbich for trying to deactivate it.  Gobmush sensed treachery, however, and realized the bombs contained droid brains programmed to give bad advice to any saboteur who came by to deactivate it.  The first bomb was successfully deactivated.

Lyta and Jazz arrived at the Sith embassy, seeking the diplomatic corps, and were directed to the third floor.  They arrived at Ambassador Harrak's office and tried to persuade him to stop this madness.  Harrak seemed receptive — explaining that he was from Telos and he'd joined the Sith out of fear when they destroyed his homeworld, and intimating that the Sith had an eye on his family — but activated the alarm anyway, summoning Sith guards to escort Lyta and Jazz to holding cells.

Ras and Kelif arrived at the Sith embassy, seeking the Sith training facility, and were directed to the fourth floor.  They were stopped by another Sith acolyte who hit on Ras, who in turn gave up Jazz's comlink number.  They coerced the receptionist into granting them access to Cariaga Sin's files before trying to leave — just as Sin arrived at the front entrance.  She quickly subdued them (though Ras did convince her to let her hold on to her lightsaber, promising she wouldn't use her lightsaber to escape) and had them imprisoned in the holding cells on the second level, where they saw Lyta, Jazz, and Elbor, the Herglic they'd previous mind-tricked into eating Jedi Scout Cookies.  (So should we call them Multiclass Cookies?  Zing!)  He'd been caught going through the Sith embassy's garbage looking for more cookies to eat.  At about this time, Kazbich successfully deactivated the last bombs (with 20 minutes to spare), but on trying to contact the other party members, got only static.  He did manage to send a garbled message to Lyta, finding out they were being held in the Sith embassy.  (Note: That most of the party was trapped in Sith holding cells when the bombs could've gone off, leaving them to die horribly and causing 3 players to make new characters and 1 player to make a new follower, did not escape me.)

As Kazbich and Gobmush gathered 24 good Republic soldiers (and a bomber) to launch an attack on the embassy for holding their friends, Ras began her escape plan, very slowly using the Force to unscrew wall panels around her and the other prisoners so they'd be able to all escape into her cell (just like Zayne Carrick in Knights of the Old Republic #17, true believers!), then used her lightsaber to open a hole leading down to the first floor.  The entire group landed in a first floor conference room, next to a catering droid, and began making their escape.

At this time, Kazbich and Gobmush rushed the embassy, attacking the Sith guards and forcing them into a full retreat.  The two groups recombined, chasing the Sith to their rear docking bay.  Lyta saw Ambassador Harrak running out and chased after him, just as the last Sith shuttle lifted off, stranding a few of their men, including Harrak.  They surrendered to the Republic, and Commander Levatt countermanded Kazbich's order to bomb the embassy, saying that the Republic could benefit from the Sith computers still inside.

Upon regrouping back at the Republic embassy again, Commander Levatt informed the group that Myzil V agreed to throw its support behind the Republic, and Jenica Vigil informed Ras that in light of her success in the negotiations and saving the Myzil V colony, she has been recommended for Jedi Knighthood, and has been told to travel to Coruscant to meet with the Jedi High Council.

Next stop: Coruscant!

[Achievement unlocked: Hero of Myzil V]

Save Myzil V colony from destruction

[Achievement unlocked: Name Checker]

All characters created by GM before campaign started now named in-game

[Achievement unlocked: I've Been Looking Forward to This for A Long Time]

Kazbich shoots first

Some humor at Kelef's expense

From the short story "Fett Club" in Star Wars Tales #24: