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Welcome to my new series, gamers! Just like it says above, this new weekly series is all about Star Wars Roleplaying. This week, seeing as how I went crunchier with my recent Age of Rebellion: Walker Assault Rules, I’ll be going a bit higher concept by talking to you about one of my favorite ways to play the Star Wars RPG: the “Rebellion in a box” campaign.
In the Rebellion in a Box campaign concept, players form the core of a Rebel insurgency on a specific world or a specific area of space and are solely responsible for fighting the Empire. The name comes from the image of Rebel command forking over a few crates of kit (weapons, explosives, communications gear, etc) and promptly telling the PCs to just get on with it. This is not necessarily the same as a sandbox game, but it does have similar elements and could easily run as a sandbox.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Amazing levels of player agency and self direction
- Player characters are not overshadowed by the big names in the Rebellion
- Well suited for a long running game as the insurgency grows from just the PCs to an entire movement
Cons:
- Like sandbox games, this campaign type can easily fall apart if player interest is not maintained
- Requires a setting with higher fidelity due to the focus on a specific area
- Player directed nature may require the GM to respond to their ideas with little/no prep
As you can see, this game type is for you if you want the players to be in the drivers seat. This is not to say that there can’t be an overarching story line, but that should exist within a framework of empowering your players to decide and act. Player agency vs railroading is too big a topic for this article to handle, so let me point you to the sage advice of Kevin Frane and Alex Montoya’s study on when and how to railroad for advice. Read them well.
The How
The Setup:
The players are all members of a newly formed Rebel cell dispatched to a specific planet to light the fires of resistance. Select or work with your players to pick the planet or region they will be assigned to. For the campaign concept to work, it should obviously be a planet with no official Rebel activity. Pick a world that can offer a wide variety of challenges for combat and intrigue, with a sizeable population for your players to potentially hide among, recruit from, and target with propaganda. Remember, an insurgency is won by securing the will of the people in a tug of war between support and faith in the Rebellion opposed by fear of the Empire.
Players should be given, or quickly pick up, leads on how to meet their initial needs. Are your players starting on world, or do they need to smuggle themselves and their highly illegal cache of supplies in? Once there, most PCs will want to secure a hideout/base of operations if they didn’t pick one via the Rebellion Resource step. They’ll want to find if they have any potential allies or Rebel sympathizers in the area. They’ll seek information on the strength of Imperial and local security forces, and conduct reconnaissance on possible targets such as factories, communications nodes, and command centres. Have a few hooks planned, but be prepared to roll with their suggestions using the famous d20radio “Yes, but…” approach.
Roles:
Just as every Rebel cell is different, so is every player group. While this is true, the Rebellion in a Box campaign suits itself towards the players filling a broader array of roles. Here are some suggested roles for PCs to take in the cell:
- The Tactician / Planner – the cell is outnumbered, but a dagger can kill just as well as a hammer
- The Quartermaster – for keeping the cell supplied and maintained
- The Instructor – for training local soldiers/operatives to widen the fight
- The Propagandist – the will of the people determines the victor
- The Saboteur – sabotaging the Empire’s efforts weakens them, and can be exploited by the Propagandist
- The Medic – local and Imperial hospitals will be on the lookout for injured rebels, so they’ll need to be treated in-house
- The Intelligence Officer – know your foe, where is the Empire strong and what will hurt them most?
Starting Kit / Party Asset:
This is where the GM puts the box into Rebellion in a Box. A lot is being asked of the PCs, so in return they should be given some of the tools they will need. Work with your players on what the Alliance provides them with, but the following can serve as a baseline. Remember, this is all the support the PCs can count on for the foreseeable future. Once on world, they will have to find their own supplies or somehow find a way to open a supply chain back to Rebel command.
Weapons: 2 x Blaster Carbine, 1 x Heavy Blaster Rifle, 1 x Ion Blaster, 4 x Frag Grenades, 4 x Stun Grenades, 8 x Anti Vehicle Mine, 2 kg Detonite with 2 detonators, narratively appropriate supply of Extra Reloads
Kit: 1 x Long Range Comlink, 2 x Macrobinoculars, 1 x Medpac, 2 x Backpacks, 1 x Field Manual (SpecForce Guide to Ambushes), 1 x Field Manual (Cracken’s Crew and the Art of Sabotage), field survival supplies for 3 days (tents, rations, etc) if appropriate
As for Step 10 of Character Creation, Acquire Rebellion Resources, I recommend allowing players to make a single choice from either Age of Rebellion or Edge of the Empire (pick one: Lambda, Y-Wings, YT-1300, Firespray, Wayfarer, or Base of Operations) to represent the PC’s cell potentially needing more discreet transport. Should the players select a Base of Operations, then players should start the game with access to their recently established safe house or outpost and the bonus Rebellion in a Box kit should be safely stored within. I recommend that GMs do not waste the adventure opportunity of having the PCs smuggle themselves and their kit on world in the first session or two, should they select a ship.
A final word on resources. More militaristic PCs may be inclined to select Y-Wings. This should be permitted, but in a Rebellion in a Box campaign two factors will impact the Y-Wing’s long term effectiveness. First, these attack fighters will draw significant Imperial attention over concern that a Rebel fighter base may be nearby. A suitable mercenary cover story will only hold so long if proton torpedoes start raining down on Imperial convoys in the system. Secondly, the Y-Wing is an old and maintenance-heavy vessel. A supply line for replacement parts will be necessary. These factors are not meant to nerf the Y-Wing as a choice, but provide interesting complications to both balance their effective combat power and introduce new narrative hooks to your game.
Conclusion
My group and I are a huge fan of this type of game. When Star Wars: Rebels first came out, we had a joke that they were basically animating our last Saga Edition campaign but added a cowboy Jedi in. On that note, for inspiration check out Season 1 of Star Wars: Rebels before they link up with the Rebellion and Phoenix Squadron – they operate on Lothal and its all up to them, with the rare contact with a handler up the chain of command. For real life inspiration, check out any literature on WW2 resistance movements – not just France, but across the world. The mission and tactics of US Army Special Forces (“Green Berets”) in Unconventional Warfare can also serve as inspiration.
This wraps up our initial look at the Rebellion in a Box campaign concept. Have you tried this game type before, and did you like it? Do you want to see more about this campaign type like adventure seeds, NPCs and adversaries, Imperial targets packages, and more? Let me know in the comments below!
Christopher Hunt
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