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Today, I return to my Target Package series of articles. The concept for these articles is simple: I present the skeleton of an adventure you can flesh out and modify, or take a page from my book and just run it as a guide to bare-bones seat-of-your pants game mastery. Each Target Package includes a Player Section outlining the mission in broad terms and a GM Section with an NPC checklist and an outline adventure or selection of adventure seeds for development.
So, gather the troops, update your codes, and prepare for data transfer because I’ve got a mission profile for your Age of Rebellion group. Not all who rebel are Rebels, but if the Republic is to be restored the Alliance will need as many allies as it can get. The players are sent to link up with a local resistance movement, bolster those forces, and eventually get them to join the Rebel Alliance proper. Intended to inspire an adventure that could run at least a few sessions, my hope is this can provide opportunities for multiple player characters to shine in their area of expertise. Alternatively, this could easily be coupled with something like the Rebel SpecForce Advisors campaign concept to form the backbone of an entire campaign.
Player Section
Target: Hyderia Minor Resistance.
Type: Anti-Imperial Guerrillas.
Description: Company minus sized guerrilla group unaffiliated with the Rebel Alliance. Currently conduct minimal hit and fade operations on the Mid Rim mining and industrial world Hyderia Minor.
Desired Effect: Bolster their capabilities, support their operations, and persuade them to join the Rebel Alliance.
Priority: High.
Rationale: Strong Imperial control over the sector has largely prevented the Alliance from conducting operations in the area. Alliance High Command has selected this sector for follow-on action.
Leadership: Full details unknown at this time. The resistance command structure is largely flat, with few layers of leadership. Limited personality profiles available:
- Commander: Aeryn Vander. A no-nonsense ex-foreman, she is gruff and results oriented.
- Vice Commander: Rav Tarall. Formerly a security consultant. A quiet workhorse.
- Quartermaster: Eva Zerrick. Formerly a high priced doctor in the capital city, she is compassionate and eager. Also acts as the resistance’s medical officer.
Personnel: Estimated at approx 80 personnel including non-combatant supporters.
Commentary: At a minimum, High Command requires the support of the Hyderia Minor resistance for the underground movement of troops and supplies through this area of the Mid Rim. Furthermore, Imperial strategic logistics rely heavily on the unimpeded industrial output of the Hyderia System. Establishing a Rebel presence, through affiliation with the local resistance, would provide a strategic benefit to the Alliance by opening a line of communication and vector for industrial sabotage.
GM Section
NPC Checklist:
- Imperial Army Trooper (Minion) – AoR pg. 418
- Imperial Officer (Rival) – AoR pg. 419
- Stormtrooper Sergeant (Rival) – AoR pg. 420
- Stormtroopers (Minion) – AoR pg. 420
- Scout troopers (Minion) – AoR pg. 422
- Local Guerilla (Minion) – Use Alliance Infantry stats AoR pg. 411, but without the Covering Fire ability until sufficiently trained by the PCs
- Quartermaster (Rival) – AoR pg. 414
- Guerilla Commander (Nemesis) – Use Rebel Cell Leader stats AoR pg. 414, but replace the disruptor pistol with a heavy blaster pistol
Actions Speak Louder – Initial Adventure Seeds
The first objective for the PCs must be to build trust and rapport with the resistance. Here are a few options for the PCs to secure that trust either through dramatic action, or slow relationship building.
Ready to Take On the Empire
The PCs could prove their worth by assaulting a target the fledgling guerillas feel unprepared to attack. Their intelligence informs that an Imperial VIP Convoy will move through the area of operations. Success on this target of opportunity proves the PC’s worth to the resistance.
Prison Break
Rescuing captured guerillas would indebt the resistance to the PCs, earning them a chance to make their case. Several guerillas have been captured by the Empire and are being held at a rural outpost awaiting pickup. Three guerillas are held by a small detachment of Imperial Army troopers, consisting of twelve Army Troopers led by one Imperial Officer. The troopers are divided into three teams of four, with one team resting, one team guarding the outpost, and one team patrolling the perimeter until the arrival of the prisoner retrieval team.
The outpost is a spartan prefab structure with a rudimentary command post, weapons locker, and series of locking storage cages. One of those cages has been put into use as an impromptu brig to hold the guerillas. An unpowered perimeter fence surrounds the structure at Long range, with space cleared for an airspeeder landing zone within that perimeter. Cutting the fence with a skill such as Mechanics is an Average (2 Purple) Check, assuming the right tools are on hand, but the doors and locks are Imperial standard and should require a Hard (3 Purple) Check.
Once the alarm is raised, the Imperial retrieval team increases speed and will arrive in 1d10+5 rounds. The retrieval team is comprised of one squad of eight stormtroopers aboard an imperial patrol transport.
Gathering Forces
It is said the wise commander does not fight battles that are not already won. While a dramatic victory could score instant credibility for the PCs, an early failure would likewise almost certainly spell failure. A slow and steady build to the PC’s relationship with the resistance could be achieved as they support the guerillas slow and steady buildup.
The PC’s must prove their worth and earn their keep should they hope to gain the trust of the resistance. The following is a non exhaustive list of options for proving their worth. Exactly how much support is required to win over the resistance is up the the GM, but I will suggest three successful support operations along similar lines as what is presented below. Exceptional effort could easily count the same as two or more minor operations.
- Gather Intelligence: Physical or electronic information gathering using the Perception or Computers skills. The Bought Info talent may be used to succeed in this effort.
- Civic Action: Garnering public support by assisting the local population on behalf of the resistance. Medicine and Mechanics skills to heal the sick and repair damaged infrastructure are just two possible options.
- Train Guerillas: Training of guerrillas in weapons handling and tactics through the Leadership or Coercion skills. Instructor talents may apply.
- Procurement: Acquisitions of equipment and supplies for the resistance, either through theft or grey market activity.
- Sway Support: Convincing local civilians and their leaders to support the resistance, primarily through Charm and Negotiation checks. Propagandist talents may apply here.
Next Steps
What happens next is up to the PCs and the GM. With this type of mission there is often no clear up right or wrong way to achieve success. Almost any adventure suitable for an Age of Rebellion group can be adapted to be achieved by, with, and through the resistance.
Christopher Hunt
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