Man, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, gaming-wise. Still no gaming group here, but I’m keeping myself busy.

I’m doing this here blog, as well as a host on RPG Circus (as all of you should know and should listen to every two weeks). I’ve started to work on Pointman, Hacker & Thief, my espionage RPG. I”m running the TwitteRPG on Twitter (currently, the hashtag to find it is #TRP, but I’m thinking about changing it to #TwitteRP) and I’m working with Enrique and Quinn on the Home D&D Encounters project.

I’m beginning plans to run a game of D&D 4e for my family when I go home for Christmas. My sister-in-law and brother haven’t ever played 4e, my sister hasn’t ever played at all, and my mom and dad haven’t played in almost 30 years. The only other person at the table with experience will be Bridget. I’m looking forward to it, and will write up a post about it soon.

I’m also planning on running a quick game of D&D for my sister-in-law and her husband this upcoming weekend. Neither of them have ever played, but they’re both big WoW players.

I’m running my Star Wars RPG on RPOL, which is going swimmingly. I’ll post up all about the progress there soon.

And finally, I’m trying to see about setting up a Dark Sun group locally.

Whew! Am I missing anything? I don’t think so.

It’s been keeping me busy and occupied, and I’m really excited about the stuff I’m working on.

How about you guys? Keeping yourselves busy?

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It’s a common problem: what happens when your actions counteract official canon for the setting your using? Your players kill Vader, wipe out a dragonmark house, or sink Waterdeep into the sea.

As the comic above illustrates, your players may be confused by what’s real and what isn’t in the world. Who do you differ to? The DM or the setting?

Me, I always refer to the DM. If the DM changes things, he’s doing it for a reason, and now this world is a different continuity than the books/movies/comics or whatever they’re based on.

In the campaign you run (or play in), canon is whatever the DM says it is. Period. Everything else is just there to support the DM’s vision.

Now, that’s not to say that things can’t be changed back to the way they were.

Look at the recent Captain America storyline: it was a big huge deal when Cap was killed two years ago. It was on CNN! But now, it turns out he’s not dead after all! Everything’s fixed! While half the comic community breathes a sigh of relief, others cringe that no one can just let sleeping dogs (or genetically modified supersoldiers from World War II) lie.

This is never a method I’m a fan of. If you sink Waterdeep into the ocean or blow up Serenity, it’s gone. No questions asked. Let’s move on and see the consequences from there.

Remember: You are the master of your own canon. Anything else is just distraction.

Heh… space wizards…

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Over at Stargazer’s World, Youseph interviewed one of his buddies about playing D&D while in the Navy. It’s a great interview, and you should check it out.

I had a similar experience while deployed back in ’07, and with our ship about to head out for prep work soon, I thought I’d share what my experiences were, and how shipboard life changes how we game a bit.

To begin, there are a shocking number of gamers in the military. They’re everywhere, crawling out of the woodwork. If you’re in the military, and haven’t found a group of guys to play with, you’re not trying very hard to find one.

When we first deployed, we didn’t have anywhere to play. Finding a storage room three decks down from where we worked, we would sit on boxes of paper and roll dice into box lids, playing Kobolds Ate my Baby, as well as a few sessions of Ravenloft.

When the people in the berthing above us kicked us out for being too noisy, we moved up to the mess decks, where people would pass by, stopping to say high, and generally distract everyone from the game. Besides, no one wants to do a voice while random people are crowding around. While on the mess decks, we played a little Star Wars, as well as some 3.5 Temple of Elemental Evil.

Finally, a guy in our department suggested we play in his shop after hours, when no one was around. He worked the night shift, so he would work while we played. It worked out really well, allowing us to play every Friday night at 8, finishing up around 10 or 11. We ran two Star Wars campaigns from there.

I had a big dice bag, so we never ran short on dice, and an external hard drive had circulated around the ship full of 100 gigs of various RPG books, so we had no shortage of RPGs.

Being out to sea, away from home and any way to get away really gave us the chance to delve into our characters. We would spend the rest of the week thinking about what we wanted to happen next, and I had plenty of time each evening to plan what was in store for my players the following Friday.

Some of the guys I played with out to sea have become life-long friends, cementing our friendship around the shared experience of RPGs.

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The Iron Dawn

The crew of the Iron Dawn is once again ready to take to the stars.

I found a few members of the crew on Facebook, and set up a group, asking them if they were interested in playing once again, online, since we’re in all different parts of the US (I’m serious. One in Portland, OR, one in Indianapolis, IN, one in Minneapolis, MN, one in Spokane, WA, and me, in Norfolk, VA).

We’ve considered that in December, when we’re back in Spokane, we’ll all get together for a game in person, and perhaps once a month, we’ll play by voice chat. Other than that, we’ll be playing by post.

Everyone’s really gotten into it, choosing how the ship should look (we can’t remember the make and model of what the ship used to be), planning characters, and talking about our old adventures. Right now, we’re in the process of making everyone’s characters from scratch, as 10 years later, not everyone has their character sheet.

As we begin the game, I’ll keep everyone updated.

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So, previously I mentioned how only having a couple hours a week to game makes things more cinematic (aka, like a movie). For proof, I offer up A New Hope. We’ll cover the first couple sessions, then fill out the rest of the campaign in a later post. We’ll take a look at it from the perspective of a group playing only 2-hour sessions. The PCs are: Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie and Leia.

Session 1: Look Sir, Droids!

Opening credits. The game begins with Luke receiving the droids. He sees the message from Leia. Plot hook! He removes the restraining bolt, hoping to get more details on the plot and be told by the GM where to go. R2, the NPC refuses to give him the information, and Luke fails a Perception check to realize R2’s bluffing him. R2 goes missing. Plot hook! All of this could be accomplished in 20 minutes, 30 tops. The next morning, Luke goes after him. Encounter with Tusken Raiders! In a standard game, there’d be a whole bunch of them. Not in this case. We don’t have time! One Tusken takes Luke down in a fight taking about 15 minutes. Obi-Wan arrives, using Bluff and the Force to scare off the Tuskens, avoiding a fight. They go back to Obi-Wan’s hut, where the GM hands Obi-Wan a paper of exposition for him to read to the other player to explain the Force. This takes about 15 minutes. We’re at the hour mark. Look how much we’ve accomplished! Luke heads out to find his parents, and runs across the Jawas. Obi-Wan makes some Perception and Insight checks and realizes this is the work of Imperial Stormtroopers (“Only they could be so precise!”) Luke rushes home to find his aunt and uncle dead. He goes back to Obi-Wan. Really cranking out the angst to earn some extra RP XP, Luke tells Obi-Wan he wants to multiclass to Jedi. All completed in one session of an hour and a half. And we’ve only seen one quick fight!

Session 2: A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy

The players playing Han and Chewie are finally able to join the group that week. The GM tells them he’ll find a place to introduce them. The session starts with Obi-Wan and Luke overlooking Mos Eisley. The GM describes the city and how horrible it is. Obi-Wan makes a dry comment about scum and villainy. The GM awards a few extra points of XP for clever dialogue. They arrive in the town. There’s a heavy Imperial presence. Stormtroopers attempt to stop them. Whereas Luke’s player says, “hell, let’s fight them!” Obi-Wan’s more experienced player decides to try tricking them. A simple Skill Challenge and Use the Force skills later, and they’re done. It’s been 15 minutes. They arrive at the Cantina, where they do some Gather Information checks to try to find a pilot. Obi-Wan is introduced to another player who is running the Wookiee. An NPC begins pushing around Luke. With the threats they’re making, Luke’s player realizes they’re probably much higher level than him, and tries to avoid a fight. Obi-Wan steps in to calm them down, but to no avail. Using an opposed Strength check, the NPC throws Luke into a table. Roll Initiative! Turns out they’re just 1^st level Thugs, and with Obi-Wan winning initiative, one ends up dead, the other limbless. Ouch. The fight ends in one round. It’s been another 30 minutes or so. Han is introduced to the other players. They have a discussion, and haggle on the price. An opposing Diplomacy vs. Han’s Bluff skill roll, and they’ve got a deal. The GM tells Luke and Obi-Wan’s players to take a break so he can work out a scene with Han. As Han gets up to leave, he ends up in an encounter with an NPC, Greedo. Plot hook! After a quick discussion and a few failed Diplomacy rolls, Han wins initiative and gets a Sneak Attack in, scores a critical, and drops the NPC down to 0 HP. He departs, and arrives in the hangar bay where he runs into Jabba. Jabba makes some demands, forcing a Skill Challenge where Han haggles down the price with a few Diplomacy and Bluff checks. We’re one hour and fifteen minutes into the game. Only fifteen minutes left to go! Obi-Wan and Luke haggle with a merchant and fail, not getting much for the speeder. They arrive in the hangar bay, and have to rush aboard as stormtroopers arrive. Han fires off a few shots, and they’re away, into space! After a quick successful Astrogate to escape the star destroyers, and it’s the end of the session.

Next time: The heroes find the Death Star, a new player is introduced, and we look at how you could cover the entire Death Star escape in a single session!

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It’s another Monday, and you know what that means? Another fantastic Top 5. These are my top five favorite things this week.

1. Happy Jacks RPG Podcast

Even though RPG Circus recorded a bumper for the beginning of their podcast, and they recorded one for ours a while back, I’ve never actually listened to Happy Jacks until this week. It’s a great roundtable discussion, with a gaming group, talking about different games and topics that pertain to RPGs, such as alignment and player options. It’s been a great listen so far. Give it a listen.

2. One Monk Miniatures

I’ve been downloading free sets from One Monk for a while, and haven’t ever plucked up the courage to actually start putting any together. Then, last week, I started putting together some modern horror figures, and discovered how easy it was to assemble the paper miniatures they make. The Crypt Worm (right) is a different story, but I’m going to try to get it assembled soon and use it in an upcoming game. They’ve got some great figures in the forums created by different people, including some random villagers and monsters of every kind.

3. Getting back in touch with my old group

Three of my players from the Crew of the Iron Dawn are on Facebook, and we’ve been reminiscing about old times. I was reminded of breaking Nate’s foot in a paintball game, causing him to have trouble attending sessions, Kate having no idea why it was I killed off her character in a dream sequence, and discussing the various adventures we all had. These were some great people (still are) and we had a phenomenal time with our group. I’ll be posting up more Never Split the Party posts soon, discussing other games I’ve been a part of.

4. Urban Dead

I’ve mentioned it before, but Urban Dead is a pretty cool game. Playing either a survivor or zombie in a city overrun, you fight throughout the entirely non-graphical city. I’ve maxed out on all my skills at this point, so I’ve been spending my time going around as a zombie making survivor’s lives miserable. If you’re a fan of the idea of zombies killing everything in sight, and you being the only thing standing between them and the world’s complete destruction, here’s your chance.

5. The Lightning Thief

Bridget and I went and saw the movie the other day. She was highly disappointed, as it’s nothing like the books, and it inspired me to start reading them. I’ve just finished The Lightning Thief, and it’s a really good read, if you’re into Greek mythology and the style of Harry Potter. The books are a quick read (Bridget read all 5 within about a week and a half) so it’s not going to take a lot of time out of your Star Wars novel reading (you know you are…)

That’s all for this week’s Top 5. Keep rolling 20′s!

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There’s been a few games I’ve been with over the years. Some have been good, some not so much. I’d like to talk about a few in a series I like to call: Never Split the Party.

The Crew of the Iron Dawn

This is the longest group I was ever involved in, so I have a lot to say. Sorry if this post is long. Two people are referenced in this story that I previously mentioned. Mike and Kate. You can read previous comments about them here.

I was 16. It had been a couple of years since I had played D6 Star Wars with Mike, who taught me to play. I had shifted over into playing war games for the most part, not thinking about RPGs. Then one day, at the local gaming store where I played Mordheim, I saw it on the shelf: Star Wars The Roleplaying Game.

It looked nothing like the book I had learned from, as it was covered in images from Episode 1. I thumbed through it, and picked it up. One of the best purchases I ever made. I wouldn’t be here writing this blog if not for that book.

I was in a set design class at my local theater, where I knew Kate from. One day, during class, I mentioned this new game I had gotten. She was a big Star Wars fan, constantly battling her little sister over which is better: Star Wars or Star Trek. Since we were both actors, I thought it would be the perfect fit for her. I asked her if she was interested in a game. Getting her acknowledgment, I contacted Mike. He was interested, as was his brother, Cliff. My brother Andrew was interested as well, as were two of my friends from youth group, Nate and Ben. Thus, the Crew of the Iron Dawn was born.

I’m afraid, all these years later, I don’t remember all their names. Guys, if you’re out there and read this, and remember your character’s names, drop a note!

The heroes were as follows: Mike played a Miralukan Force Adept who was quite quippy. His brother was a Jawa Fringer who had more money than he knew what to do with. Andrew played Bax, the Dug Scout (later converted to a Tech Specialist). Kate played Irulan D’Elaine Vendalion (a name I only know because she recently commented on a post), a Jedi Padawan torn between her desire for revenge, and the Jedi code. Nate played a Human Soldier, armed to the teeth with grenades and heavy weaponry. Unfortunately, I can’t remember for the life of me what Ben played. Sorry Ben. And finally, Kibur Blastblade, my Human Scoundrel I played as a GMPC.

Now, at the time, I didn’t know any different. I had learned how to play RPGs with Mike running a GMPC, so I just went with what I knew. Kibur was their pilot and a big time gambler, which will come up later.

The heroes spent a lot of time traveling from planet to planet, performing any jobs they could get to keep their ship, the Iron Dawn, flying, including a big job in which they saved Chancellor Valorum from an assassination attempt at a fairly large parade.

The Black Sun Syndicate

Eventually, they drew the notice of two factions: The Black Sun Syndicate, and the Gemini Syndicate.

Black Sun was particularly important from the start, because Irulan, the Jedi, had witnessed Black Sun murder her master in front of her eyes. Black Sun kept showing up to finish the job. Even when the thugs didn’t know anything about Irulan, if she ran into a couple of minions at a bar, there was a big danger of her unleashing the Force on them in her rage. She had a difficult time keeping it in check.

At one point, the heroes assaulted a Gemini Syndicate base on an out-of-the-way planet. Now, the Gemini Syndicate was an organization of my own devising, and I had big plans for them. After defeating the group, the heroes took up residence and claimed the base as their own.

They spent a lot of time on Coruscant, primarily at an upscale bar in one of the high towers of the upper city. Remember this, as it will come into play later.

About a month before the Battle of Naboo, the heroes discovered the Black Sun was hiring. Getting in under the radar under assumed names, they became bodyguards at a large summit of all the Vigos. They couldn’t imagine their luck. Irulan imagined she could quite easily kill all the Vigos in their sleep bringing the Syndicate to its knees.

But as the Vigos were gathering, a cloaked man stormed the fortress, killing everyone in sight with a red lightsaber. Irulan watched as all her friends died before her at his blade, before he came after her. She was outmatched, and just before he struck her down, he pushed back his hood, revealing black and red tattoos across his head, with spiked horns. “Revenge is never pretty,” he said through rotten teeth, before cutting her down.

She awoke, disturbed by the vision. They had never infiltrated Black Sun. None of it had happened. But when she brought up the holonet that morning, news reports were flooding in about Black Sun being wiped out by a single assassin. A shiver ran down her spine.

A few months later, the heroes were sent to Naboo, where they ended up stranded as the Trade Federation took up occupation of the planet. They joined the resistance, and performed a few missions before being brought to a council with Queen Amidala, Boss Nass, and a few Jedi. The plan to save Naboo was hatched, a three-pronged attack. The heroes were to accompany the decoy queen and see her safely into the palace.

At one point, inside the palace, they encountered a cloaked man on his way to the hangar bay. He watched them suspiciously, and Irulan could see the black and red tattoos under his hood. She had seen him in her vision. Before she could warn the others, he had bolted down the hallway at unnatural speeds, and they were forced to move on to protect the queen’s decoy.

Eventually, they helped win the Battle of Naboo, and were duly awarded.

It was about this time that Nate broke his leg. It was in no small part my fault, so I spent the summer going over to his house every few days and playing some side adventures with his hero, blasting away at anything that moved, as was his modus operandi.

During this time, the two of us devised a plan. In order for it to all be on the up-and-up, he took over and GMed for me. Our two characters were hanging out at the Coruscanti bar referenced earlier, when Gemini Syndicate thugs busted in and started shooting up the place, looking for us. Kibur ended up diving at one of the thugs, smashing through a glass window to a vertical drop. Before Nate’s character could get to the window, Kibur was gone. It looked like he had fallen to his death.

When we told the rest of the group, they were visibly shaken. They couldn’t believe a member of their crew had died. The players couldn’t believe that a PC could die.

During a routine assault on a Gemini fortress, the heroes ended up captured, and taken before the Council of Twins, the leadership of the Gemini Syndicate. They each sat in large ornate chairs, lit only by a single light on the ceiling. One chair remained unlit. When the heroes turned to look at the chair, its light activated revealing… Kibur Blastblade, his eye lost in the scuffle at the bar.

Kibur had a serious gambling problem. So bad, in fact, that when it came time to pay his debts, he discovered the group he owed was none other than the Gemini. He was secretly offered immense wealth and power, if only he joined them. He did.

The attack in the bar was staged, sending him out the window and into a waiting speeder below. He had lost his eye when he fell through the window.

There  he began to work against his own party in the shadows, knowing when and where they might attack.

The group was offered up as rewards to the leaders of the Gemini Syndicate. Each hero would be interred in stasis and given to the most honored leaders. They would not be carbon-froze, instead placed in a glass case, frozen exactly as they had been in life. They were lead down a passageway where they would be frozen. But once in the room, Nate’s character swiped a gun from one thug, firing wildly. One shot hit the pipes of coolant, pouring stasis gas into the room. After the room filled for a moment, it escaped out a crack in the ceiling. They finished dispatching the guards before the gas cleared.

The crack in the ceiling grew larger. A farmer was digging into the roof. The heroes emerged from the hole to discover the Gemini secret base had been beneath a farming village in the Outer Rim. They quickly learned that the gas had actually placed everyone in the room into stasis, and 25 years later had been unsealed. 25 years had passed the heroes by in a heartbeat. The Empire was now in power, and the Rebellion was there to oppose them.

This is where the campaign pretty much ended. The group steadily fell apart.

Years later, in the Jedi game I ran (which I’ll discuss in a later “Don’t Split the Party”), Irulan made an appearance, as well as Bax. Following that campaign, another Star Wars campaign, consisting of a band of smugglers, ended up encountering Kibur Blastblade 20 years after he froze his friends in stasis. He had since reformed his ways, and become a prominent member in the Rebellion. The picture on the left, I made of him when the heroes in that campaign encountered him.

That’s it for the Crew of the Iron Dawn. Kate, Nate, Mike, Cliff, Ben and Andrew, if you’re reading this, I had a fantastic time being your GM. “Who do you work for?!”

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I’ve been gaming for about a decade now, and have seen a lot of players at my table. Some have been good, some have been particularly bad, but here’s my list of my favorite players who have graced my table.

Kate's Character, the emotionally torn Jedi Padawan

1. Mike Lehman

This guy was the one to introduce me to roleplaying. A guy with very dry humor, everything was a deadpan joke to him. Once I got Star Wars d20, he joined in my campaign and played a Miralukan Force Adept. His character was a master flute player and had a bad joke for every situation. He was very intent on keeping in character, though, and helped his brother, who wasn’t a very good player, along the way. Mike is now married and living in Seattle, and doesn’t play anymore.

2. Kate Ditton

Kate was in the same Star Wars group as Mike. She played a human Jedi Padawan whose master was killed by the Black Sun Syndicate. Throughout the campaign, she struggled with the desire to kill those responsible at many different turns. I would constantly have Black Sun show up, just to watch her squirm in her seat. It wasn’t until a disturbing vision of all of her friends being killed because of her desire to destroy Black Sun that she finally gave up on her anger. She wavered many times, but always kept herself from falling off the edge. It was great to see her play her character so well.

3. Troy McGuffey

A few years later, when on deployment, I ran another Star Wars game, this time with an all-Jedi cast. My buddy Troy had never played before, and really got into the role. He became one of my best players, really getting into his role, and being a very critical thinker.

4. Bridget Meredith

I’m not just saying this because I’m married to her. She really surprised me the very first time she ever played. Being assigned a pregenerated Eladrin Wizard for the scenario “Into the Shadowhaunt”, she began playing a character who was cocky and arrogant, more interested in flexing her magical muscles than worrying about the other members of the party. If she used an area effect spell, she would put out the warning to move, and if you didn’t, you might end up in the area of effect as well as the enemy. Since then she’s continued to become better and better.

5. Bryan Blair

An occasional writer on this blog, Bryan is very analytical and tactical, studying exactly what he wants to do before doing it, without slowing up the game. He’s been playing as long as I have, and his variety of characters has impressed me. A Bothan Jedi, Cathar smuggler captain, a pair of paladin and cleric dwarves, a pirate, and now your run-of-the-mill human fighter, he’s played them all. He often comes back in to work telling me about going back to Pennsylvania for the weekend and playing in the campaign he’s been in for years, and the crazy adventures they’ve been on. And I don’t mind at all as he tells me about his character.

Who are your favorite players? What do they bring to the table that’s unique?

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Last week, the wife and I went to Central 111, a local club, for my friend’s 30th birthday. Now, mind you, it’s my first time in a club.

I’ve been to bars (quite a few in Manhattan), but never a club. It was an experience, let me tell you.

But, as always, I immediately thought of how this could be used in game. In Star Wars, characters always end up in cantinas and bars, but when was the last time the characters went into a club to look for their informant/contact? Try it out. Here’s some tips:

1. Go to a club

This is the best way you’re going to be able to really see what the club scene is like.

2. Employ dancers

There was a girl in a bra and hot-pants dancing around on a stage elevated above the dance floor, and after a while, she moved up onto the bar. One thing Bridget noticed, however, is how bored she looked. I imagine that if I had to stand there and gyrate for hours on end, I would get bored too. Put that into your game. A Twi’Lek dancer drawing all eyes to herself, but if you roll a high perception check, she appears to be completely disinterested in anything around her.

3. LASERS!

The club had a lot of lasers. They were shooting everywhere, getting in your eyes, and casting cool images all over the ground and walls. There was a lot of smoke, and other than that, it was very dark. You know what that means: concealment. If you’re trying to look for someone in the crowd, you’re going to have a tough time of it.

4. “Pardon me…”

Clubs are crowded! You’ll have a difficult time moving through a crowd. Perhaps reduce all speed by half. The mass of bodies always seems to close in on you just as you are trying to get by. Use this in your game.

5. “WHAT?!”

Clubs are LOUD! Good luck hearing your comlink ringing. You’re not going to be able to hear most (if any) of what someone else is saying to you. If your character and whoever they’re trying to talk to are Twi’Leks, using their lekku should alleviate that, but if not, you’re out of luck. You’re going to have to roll a high Perception check to hear anything. If all else fails, nod and pretend you know what the other person is saying. Maybe during the game, employ some really loud techno to set the scene. If you can stomach techno, that is. You’d be a bigger man than me.

6. Intoxication

There are hundreds of drink possibilities. What does this mean in your game? Lots of drunk girls. Drunk girls dancing on tables, drunk girls dancing with each other, drunk girls waiting for the bathroom and hitting on drunk guys. Let your players make up names for drinks, and have the bartender and waitresses know exactly what they’re referring to. Have the PCs constantly getting hit on by all kinds of girls: humans, zabraks, and… hutts… *shudder*

That’s about all I can think of. Do any of you have any further advice for making your clubs in Star Wars more realistic?

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I know I say it all the time, but I’ve got a new series I’d like to start, and maybe see this one through to completion.

I’ve previously talked about the group template. The template helps all the players to form a cohesive group, so that it makes sense for the group to be together. Without it, sometimes groups can feel… disjointed.

So I’d like to start a series where we look at various RPGs and see what types of group templates could be applied, to make your group as cohesive as possible.

Art by my favorite artist on the Star Wars Artist's Guild, Travis Moore. Check out his gallery at SWAGOnline.net for more fantastic artwork.

In Star Wars, you really do need a group template to get you going. It’s a big galaxy, and if you have an Ewok and Jawa in the same group, for reasons none of you can explain, you need to figure out why, and that’s a lot more work than simply figuring out a group template.

These templates help you avoid ending up with first sessions that begin in a cantina.

Here’s some ideas I’ve had for a group templates. I’m mainly focusing on the Rebellion and Rise of the Empire era, as those are the ones I know best. If you can think of any more, leave a comment, and we’ll assemble a large group of templates that others can use in their games.

Smuggler Crew

This group is one of the most common in Star Wars. In this case, you’ll need a pilot, co-pilot,  gunner, engineer, and perhaps medical personnel, as you tend to get shot up a bit. Take a look at Firefly for the types of people you’d see aboard this ship. You can add in some muscle for dealing with trouble down on-planet, and perhaps a droid or two. Without a template, you often won’t end up with an engineer or gunner, relying on the Noble in the group to man the guns.

The Rebel Cell

This group was mentioned in the Rebellion Era Sourcebook. A Rebel cell can be a very interesting and diverse group, featuring a lot of personalities all working together for a greater purpose. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any kind of organization. You should have a leader of the group, who receives information from the higher echelons of the Rebellion, as well as an intelligence officer, a medical officer, recruiter, security officer, and other roles you could fit into this.

The Jedi

Having a group of Jedi can actually be one of the easiest templates. There’s a lot of variety of Jedi you can make in the Star Wars RPG, and they naturally have a reason to work together. Simply begin the game on an out-of-the-way planet where they’re fighting the Separatists (or whoever the enemy of the Jedi happen to be in the era you’re playing), and go. You could look at having someone be the headstrong Jedi, the thinker, the loner, the one who is unsure of their abilities, etc.

Military Regiment

This could be any era, and can work really well if you know your military terminology. Whether it’s the Clone Wars, the Jedi and Sith wars, the Empire vs. Rebels, or any other number of wars. You would need a commander, an NCO, communications, etc. Plan out the rank and structure, and try using the rules for rank in the Galaxy at Wars supplement.

Entertainment Group

I’ve seen this one work pretty well, actually. You play a group focusing around a particular type of entertainment. There’s three that really work: A band, singer, or a sports team. For the band concept, each person is a member of the band, traveling the galaxy in search of fame and fortune. Same with a singer, but you have one player who is the famous pop-singer, and everyone else plays members of his or her entourage: the manager, the driver, etc. Naturally, to make it exciting, they’d end up in all kinds of adventures along the way to stardom. With a sports team, use one of the many sports featured in Star Wars, such as podracing, shockboxing, or lightball.

Are there any others you can think of? Let me know!

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